**This is the sequel to 'Watching The World Burn'. I just want to give a spoiler warning, as I am basing this story heavily off the comics.**
Chapter 1 -'Dellilah'
Kate pushed through the overgrown brush at the side of the road. Ahead, she could hear Simon screaming for her, but she couldn't find him. There were cars on fire in the middle of the highway, and the smoke obscured her vision. The screams were growing louder, ones of pain and desperation. She tried to push through the weeds but they kept tangling at her feet.
"Kate! Kate!" Simon continued to call out for her.
"Kate? Kate, are you okay?" a tall man placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Kate had been having nightmares for the last week. It was nearly three months to the day that she had escaped Negan and arrived at Mount Vernon. With each day that passed, it was becoming more clear that no one was looking for her. But she was still convinced that she was not 100% safe.
"Thanks, Hank, but I'm fine." Kate rolled over on her cot and smiled. Hank Smith was in the tent next to her, and always came to check on her when her terrors were especially bad. Hank, Kate had learned, had been at Mount Vernon from the 'beginning'. He had worked there as the resident livestock veterinarian, and couldn't bare to leave the animals on their own. The more they got to know each other, the more they realized they had a lot in common. Both had lost a sibling at a young age. Both lived in the same area of Washington DC before the world 'ended'. In fact, as it turned out, Kate discovered that she had once treated Hank's mother in the ER for the flu.
Kate dressed and pulled on her boots. She could hear people moving around outside, as the sun started to rise over the horizon. People talked and laughed, working together as the readied for their day. All in all, there were about thirty people at Mount Vernon, many of whom had remembered the historical property in a rush to escape the Metro area when there was no where else to go. Everyone had a job, and a means to keep pushing forward. Everyone genuinely wanted to see this community thrive.
Kate's first stop was to the kitchen, where she found fresh bread and whatever fruit was in season. She was handed a plate with a smile from a young boy and his mother. Kate thanked them and took a seat on the grass outside. Even now, in this place that was better than anything she could have hoped for, she couldn't stop thinking about Simon. She had no idea if he was still alive. Had Negan killed Simon when he discovered that she was gone? If Simon was alive, did he miss her? These questions filled her head almost every waking moment. Try as she may, she couldn't find anything that would fully distract her from her demons.
After breakfast, Kate made her way to the large tent that was staked to the main lawn of the estate. This was the medical tent; Kate's second home. After recovering from her fever when she first arrived, one of the medics realized that Kate was a true asset, and immediately gave her a job in their hospital. At first, Kate was in awe. They tent looked like something out the Revolutionary War. Old leather bound books on anatomy and herbal medicines lined one table, while another contained all manners of jars, dried leaves, and even some medical instruments from the house's museum.
Elizabeth had been a part time curator at the museum before the fall of society, and she believed that this was the only way that things could run smoothly, medically speaking. She shunned any modern medication in the camp for the pure fact that it would expire, sooner or later. That, and she wasn't as familiar with pharmaceuticals as she was with herbs. So she amassed an extensive collection, and no one ever complained about her remedies not working for them. In addition to her love for history, she was also a retired hospice nurse. She was realistic and sometimes unfavorable in her mood, but she knew her natural herbs.
"Good morning, Kate. Nightmares again?" Elizabeth was boiling bandages in a large pot over a fire pit that was outside the tent.
"Nice to see you, too. No, I didn't sleep well."
"I know that I'm not always the easiest person to talk to, but I have one piece of advice for you."
"Shoot", Kate responded, finishing her slice of bread.
"When you go back looking for Simon, take at least one other person with you."
This statement shocked Kate. She had told Elizabeth everything when she had first arrived at Mount Vernon. She didn't want to hide anything, and more importantly, she wanted to get it off her shoulders. That, and she was later told that she screamed for Simon in the midst of her fever dream. As much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Elizabeth was right. Sooner or later, if she wanted to sleep at night, she was going to have to go back to the Sanctuary.