melancholy - carl grimes

by lmaochambler

"your group is so broken, carl. it's so broken, but you guys care for each other unconditionally and protect each other without hesitation. your group is broken, but it's strong. that's something i haven't seen or been apart of in a long time." - the walking dead season five - ? / lmaochambler 2017

2. 001

madalynn bolted between the trees, her backpack bouncing against her back. she couldn't gauge how long she had been running, but her legs felt like she had been at it for hours. surely the horde of walkers had long since tracking her; she had to have moved too fast for them to catch up to her.

she slowed to a stop, leaning against a tree for support. for a moment, she wondered if this would have happened if her father was still around. she checked her gun for ammo, as if more would have magically appeared in the magazine of her pistol. her knife was her only form of protection until she could find more bullets or another gun that had some.

with a huff, she slid down to the forest floor, deciding it best to take some time to recover from her running. the surrounding area was clear for a while; there were no footsteps rustling leaves and no groans from the dead.

"god, i need to find another group," she muttered to herself as she rifled through her backpack.

she pulled a single cup of applesauce from the front pouch, relishing in the energy it replaced and the full feeling it gave her as she ate it. despite always being constantly on edge, she felt calm. there was no one around to hurt her and she had supplies to last for at least another week.

the girl only moved once before nightfall, packing her things and relocating closer to a river. the sound of the rushing water filled her ears, a calming sound amidst the terror filled days of the apocalypse. there she stayed, fingers skirting across the surface of the water and washing away the dirt and blood of the week's buildup.

the sun was setting as madalynn began to pack her things before setting off to find shelter for the night. everything was placed in their rightful pouches in the backpack, including her now useless gun. knife in hand, she stood and placed the straps over her shoulder.

taking a deep breath, she turned towards the tree line, already mapping out a path to take. as she stepped forward, she heard a twig snap behind her on the other side of the river.

whipping around with her blade at the ready, madalynn sighed when she realized it was only a roamer. with no need to hurry, she turned back and made her way through the woods, in search of her next temporary home.