So it's been a good minute since my last update but here the latest chapter! I wasn't sure how to go about this chapter so I rewrote it a couple of times before posting this as the finished product. Now this story focuses on Mo, especially this chapter, so some stuff from the episode didn't get included and I'm not sure how well I did on Mo's part to make up for that. Just a little heads up about that incase someone gets upset about not seeing something they were expecting from the episode.
A huge thanks to LittleMirror, xxxMiss-Bella-Swanxxx, Nom, LeeForShort, ZToastinatorD, PsychoXen, and ObsessiveReader for reviewing!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Z Nation, only Mo.
Chapter 3
Philly Feast
The guys in the back of the pickup truck all sat as far from Mo, who was sitting with her back against the tailgate with her jacket covering her head, as they could. You couldn't see her face because of her jacket but it didn't matter because you practically feel the glare she was giving everyone. For the last two hours she had been sitting there like that; tense like a statue, legs crossed Indian style, arms folded in front of her chest, and her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles were white. Nobody had ever she her so upset and angry before so nobody knew how to calm her down. Both her and Cassandra had argued against going through Philly like they were doing, both wanting to take a different route but Charlie and Warren shot that idea down. Cassandra had given in, knowing that it wasn't her place to tell them what to do since she was still new to the group, but Mo on the other hand didn't let it go until Warren had had enough and went off on her about how she was being nothing but a selfish child. They knew that they were both in wrong but since both of them were so freaking stubborn neither would admit it. Warren had quit fuming an hour ago but Mo was still a ticking time bomb which worried the guys sitting in the back with her. About thirty minutes into her tantrum Mack had tried to cheer her up but ended up getting punched in the face by her instead when he accidently asked if it was that time of the month for her. Doc had been surprised but didn't say anything about it, from his past experiences with women he knew better than to poke the bear. 10K did attempt to comfort her but she merely shrugged him off and he left it that. When they stopped in Philly he was the only one to notice how the angry tension left her and was replaced by something else as Doc and Mack both jumped out of the truck as quickly as they could. Concerned he gently removed her jacket from her head and saw that she was no longer glaring but instead looked like she was near tears.
"I don't want to be here." Mo whispered quietly.
"Why?" 10K questioned gently.
"Black Summer." Mo answered with a bit of fear lacing her voice.
"Well you're okay now, it's over." 10K told her.
"No…" Mo whimpered.
Mo pushed him away and pulled her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself in comfort with a faraway look in her eyes. 10K desperately wanted to ask what was wrong but he didn't want to push her. He backed away slowly, still keeping an eye on her, and turned around just in time to kill a Z that was sitting in a truck with the Liberty Bell in the back before it could get Warren.
"1,075." 10K said.
He looked back at Mo but she hadn't moved. He sighed and hopped out of the truck so he could walk over to her and be at level with her. She only blinked in surprise when she noticed that he was practically in her face but that was the only reaction she had. It was a reaction so 10K gladly took it over nothing.
"Is your name Monica?" 10K asked.
"No." Mo said quietly.
"Ah damn, I thought I had it that time. That's three down." 10K said.
Mo didn't say anything and 10K sighed in frustration. She was looking off into space again until 10K boldly took her face between her hands and gently turned her head so she was looking him in the face. Mo's eyes were wide with shock and her heart began racing in her chest.
"You have bad memories of this place, I understand that, but I promise you I won't let anything bad happen to you. I'll keep you safe okay?" 10K said gently.
"Okay, I trust you 10K." Mo admitted with a blush.
10K grinned but their little moment was ruined by Charlie. At least she wasn't upset anymore.
"Mo you're riding with me, Warren, and Murphy. Everyone else follow in the pickup." Charlie said.
"We'll be out of Philly soon right?" Mo asked as 10K helped her out of the truck.
"Yep we're heading out now." Charlie assured her.
"Cool." Mo grinned.
She squeezed 10K's hand in thanks before letting go and hurrying off into the other truck. They wasted no time before taking off again but of course Warren had to run over as many zombies as she could, making another bumpy ride.
"You know you could try to miss some of them instead." Charlie pointed out.
"Yeah was the lesson not learned last time?" Mo added.
"Why? One less zombie to kill." Warren countered.
"Leave some for Psycho-Boy Two Thousand." Murphy said.
"Ten Thousand." everyone corrected him, Mo fiercely glaring at him as well.
"Ten Thousand? It's good to know that kids today still have goals. So what about you kid? Got any goals?" Murphy asked rudely.
"My name is Mo and yeah I do, it's to get your rude ass to California ass and when they're done with you, kill you myself." Mo said.
"Mo…" Charlie warned.
"He started it…" Mo huffed.
"Harsh." Murphy said before he started chugging some water.
"Hey take it easy there, that's the last of your water." Charlie said.
"Actually it's the last of her water, mine's right here." Murphy said.
"Really dude?" Mo asked in disbelief.
"Give me that! Just because we got to get you to California alive doesn't mean I can't kick your ass between here and there." Warren snapped as she snatched back her canteen.
"Look out!" Charlie exclaimed.
A car was coming right at them so they had to quickly swerve to get out of the way. Everyone held on for dear life and Mo fumbled to get her seat belt on. The Liberty Bell snapped free of its restraints and went flying down the street, ringing loudly and taking out Z's as it went. The truck came to a rough stop and Mo quickly got out to see how far the bell would go until it stopped.
"That was so cool!" Mo cheered.
"Yeah! I'd pay money to see that again!" Doc added.
"Ooh let's do it again!" Mo said.
"That would be a no since the axel broke." Warren announced.
"Alright everyone in the truck!" Charlie ordered.
"Get out, I'm driving." Warren said.
"Haven't you driven enough for today?" Mo groaned as she hopped in the back of the truck, followed shortly by 10K.
"Oh hush." Warren told her.
Everyone rearranged their sitting positions and once again they were off. It didn't take long though until they stopped again, this time to eat, which made Mo and Cassandra nervous. While everyone ate the Twinkies that were passed out Mo caught Cassandra stashing away the Twinkie she had been given and Mo couldn't blame her. Philly brought back bad memories of Black Summer and even though Mo had been out for nearly a year she still stashed away food sometimes too. Mo split her Twinkie in half and gave Cassandra one half while she ate the other. Cassandra gave her best friend a look of gratitude and started nibbling on her half.
"Enjoy, that's the last of the food." Warren said as Mo watched Murphy greedily devour his Twinkie and lick the wrapper in disgust.
"God I'm so hungry my big guts are eating my little guts." Murphy complained.
"I wish…" Mo muttered to herself, earning an elbow nudge from Charlie.
"You gonna eat all of that?" Murphy asked 10K.
"You just inhaled yours." Mo told him as 10K shoved the whole Twinkie in his mouth.
"Selfish little bastard." Murphy muttered.
"Like you have any room to talk! We have no food left so you should have made it last!" Mo snapped.
"Easy there Mo. She's right though, we need to split up and look for food and water." Charlie said as he placed his hand on Mo's shoulder.
"Oh and if we can find a two way radio or even a satellite dish I can try and contact that Citizen Z guy." Addy added.
"That's good. Okay you and Mack do that and the rest of us will look for food. Doc you take Mo, Cassandra, and 10K. Warren and I will take Murphy. Stay close and meet back here in a hour. Alright let's go." Charlie said.
"Wait, I thought that we would get out of Philly first?" Mo said confused.
"We were but the thing with the other truck happened so we have to stock up first if we want to make it. This is more important now okay?" Charlie said.
"Yeah I understand." Mo mumbled.
"I'm sorry Mo, be careful okay." Charlie told her.
"You too." Mo said softly.
Cassandra put an arm around a disappointed Mo as they followed Doc and 10K. The girl had tried her best but nothing worked. Both of them knew that they weren't going to find any food or water, Philly was a dead zone. The whole time they were walking Mo was tense, she felt like they were being watched. She glanced around but she never spotted anyone following then or anything. They stopped when Doc found a satellite dish and Mo signaled Cassandra to help her keep watch as the feeling got stronger. She knew that she was being paranoid but she had a really bad feeling about sticking around.
"Hey kid, give me a hand with this will ya?" Doc said.
"Me or 10K?" Mo asked.
"Heavy lifting." Doc said.
"That means you 10K." Mo said as he went to help Doc.
"I don't know why we stopped here in Philly. We should have kept going." Cassandra suddenly spoke up.
"Going where?" Doc asked.
"Anywhere but here." Mo said.
"We need a way to communicate with that Citizen dude and I think Addy can do something with this dish. Who knows, maybe we'll get lucky and pick up some porn." Doc said.
"Never seen porn." 10K said.
"You've never seen porn?" Doc asked shocked.
"Really? Never?" Cassandra asked just as shocked as Doc.
"Before my time. Is it any good?" 10K asked.
"Yeah." "Meh." Doc and Cassandra said at the same time before giving each other a look.
"Ugh you two…" Mo said as she blushed in embarrassment about the topic of conversation.
"Awe you're so innocent it's adorable." Cassandra teased.
"Shut up." Mo mumbled as she blushed even more.
Suddenly Cassandra shook Mo's shoulder and pointed at two familiar guys walking their way. Panic swelled up inside of Mo and she grabbed Cassandra's wrist as they took off running. The two guys chased them until they turned a corner and almost ran into a group of feeding Z's.
"Sunshine! Angel!"
"Come on, we'll have to split up if we want a chance of ditching them." Cassandra said.
"Okay, watch your back." Mo said.
"Yeah you too." Cassandra said.
While the guys were fending off the Z's Mo took off in one direction and Cassandra in another. Mo couldn't remember the last time she ran as fast as she was running now. Her legs felt like they were going to break and her lungs burned with the need for air but she didn't slow until she was sure she wasn't being followed. She caught her breath and spotted Addy sitting alone in a police car not too far from her. She made her way over to her and looked over Addy's shoulder to see her messing with the wireless radio.
"Hey Addy." Mo said.
"God damn it Mo don't scare me like that!" Addy scolded after she got over her surprise.
"Sorry, sorry. What are you doing?" Mo asked.
"Getting this radio to work, I'm almost finished I think." Addy said as the radio crackled.
"Is that a good thing?" Mo asked.
"Yes! Mayday, mayday! Calling anybody on this frequency. Mayday, mayday. This is Addison Carver and Mo with Delta-Xray-Delta. Trying to contact Citizen Z. Come in Citizen Z. Mayday, mayday." Addy said into the radio.
"Delta-Xray-Delta, this is Citizen Z. Do you copy? Over. I'm picking you up loud and clear. Do you copy me?" the voice of Citizen Z said over the radio.
"Copy you loud and clear Citizen Z." Addy said in relief.
Mo was about to cheer when she was suddenly grabbed roughly from behind and dragged away from Addy. She screamed as she watched a familiar face from her past tase Addy before her everything around her went black. Not too long after that Mack returned and panicked when he couldn't find Addy. At first he thought that the Z's might have gotten her but then Citizen Z contacted him through the radio Addy had been messing with and told him, much to his shock, that Addy had been taken by people, along with Mo. By the time he had gotten back to the others both girls were very aware of the situation they were in. Addy had come to before Mo did and had been screaming which is what woke Mo up. When she opened her eyes she realized that her wrists were tied down to the arms of a chair and she couldn't move in the last place she wanted to be. She saw that Addy was in the same situation she was in but she had a bag over her head and her screams were being muffled so she was probably gagged as well. Mo glared over at Tobias since it was the best and only thing she could do until he motioned for the bag to be removed from Addy's head along with the rag that was in her mouth.
"It's okay, you're safe now. You're safe. No one is going to harm you." Tobias said.
"Touch me and I'll kill you." Addy snapped.
"Sweet child that won't be necessary. Please the last thing we want is to harm you. Especially since you brought back our little Angel." Tobias said.
"Fuck off." Mo spat.
"Our friends are looking for us and when they find us they will kill you. They will kill all of you!" Addy shouted though she gave Mo a confused glance.
"I get it, you don't trust me. Why should you? I know you're not ready to hear this but I'm going to say it anyways. I'm sorry." Tobias said.
"Who are you? What do you want with us?" Addy asked.
"Fair questions. I'd be angry too if I were brought here against my will. Please, I don't want you to be afraid." Tobias said.
"You're doing a pretty shitty job then." Mo scoffed as Tobias started playing his piano.
"I must apologize about my overzealous companions. They're good men but sometimes we have to resort to less than civilized means. We live in a less than civilized world. You know it, I know it. So when we encounter strangers the family has to take necessary precautions. Isn't that right Angel." Tobias said as Mo and Addy were untied, though still held in place so they couldn't run, especially Mo.
"What family?" Addy asked while looking between Tobias and Mo.
"Ours. This is our home. And I'm responsible for their well-being. I'm Tobias Campbell, I guess you can say I'm like a father to our little family. But like a family we take care of one another. Everyone contributes, everyone benefits. It's how we've survived the last three years. Angel here is part of the family but like any unruly teenager she ran off to be independent and we thought she was dead. She was still weak from the Black Summer so we didn't think she made it after we couldn't find her. Thankfully she has returned and is safe and sound." Tobias said.
"I belong to a different kind of family." Mo spat.
"You two must be hungry, please eat. We have plenty to share." Tobias said while giving Mo a disapproving look.
"I'm not hungry." Addy said after seeing the warning glance Mo sent her.
"You will be. Until then why don't you go with Moonshade and Stormy? Ladies be so kind as to find some fresh clothes for our newest guest and Angel." Tobias said.
"We didn't say anything about joining your family." Addy said.
"Oh I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be presumptuous. It's just that once people see the love and bounty that we share they never want to leave us. And Angel is already a member of the family. Ladies?" Tobias said.
"My name is Mo!" Mo snapped as she and Addy were led away.
Meanwhile Cassandra had just caught up with Doc and 10K but her heart dropped when she didn't see Mo with the others. One thing she didn't miss were the glares Mack and Garnett were giving her.
"What's wrong? Where's Addy?" Doc asked.
"And Mo?" 10K added worriedly.
"Missing." Mack said.
"Are they…" Doc asked nervously.
"No, taken alive." Mack said.
"What?" Doc asked confused.
"By humans." Mack told them.
"Who?" 10K glared.
"We thought you might know." Mack said as he cornered Cassandra.
"Me? Why would I know?" Cassandra asked nervously.
"You were with her last." 10K muttered accusingly.
"You recognize these guys?" Mack asked as he showed her the men on Addy's camera that had been left behind.
"No why would I?" Cassandra asked.
"Creep on the left was one of those two bikers back in Jersey, with your friend Travis." Warren said.
"I told you, I didn't know that guy." Cassandra said.
"And I don't know them either." Mack said.
"Cassandra where did they take my daughter?" Charlie asked forcefully.
Mack started going off on Cassandra and threating her and 10K and Charlie just stood by and let him. They couldn't blame the guy, they were just as angry as he was especially 10K. Mo had been scared that something bad would happen to her after Black Summer had scarred her so he promised her that he wouldn't let anything happen to her but he let her down, he broke his promise. Now he was willing to do anything to get her back and make up it up to her. He was so wrapped up with what was going on he barely noticed a Z coming their way in time to shoot it, giving Cassandra the chance to slip away. He silently cursed himself and prayed that Mo was okay. Said girl was changing with Addy in one of the campers Tobias owned. Mo had just reluctantly changed into a black cropped tank top that showed off a lot of her midriff, black leather short shorts, and black ankle boots. She scowled at her reflection, they didn't really expect her to walk around dressed like this did they? All the other girl had on more coverage then she did.
"So Angel huh? Is that your real name?" Addy finally spoke up.
"No it's the name Tobias gave me after he took me in. He said that Mo wasn't a fit name for a young lady." Mo said softly as Moonshade brushed out the tangles in her long blond hair.
"That's because you're our innocent little angel. You looked like you fell straight from heaven to be with us." Stormy cooed, using the exact same words Tobias said when he renamed her.
"Please, if I fell from heaven I wouldn't have done it when the world was in such a hell hole." Mo scoffed, causing Addy to snicker.
"Now now Angel, Tobias takes care of us, protects us from the dangers out there." Moonshade tsked as she began to apply makeup to Mo's face.
"Hey none of that goes on my face, especially that shit that's gonna stab my eye out! I've never worn makeup before and I don't want to be bothered with the hassle of having to keep it nice and then having to take it all off later, it's just not practical." Mo said.
"You've never worn makeup?" Addy asked.
"Nope, I was only fourteen when the apocalypse happened and I wasn't allowed to start wearing any until I was in high school but that never happened." Mo admitted.
"It's only a little bit." Moonshade said as she finished up.
"Well you're both done." Stormy said.
"You look beautiful." Moonshade told them as they let them out.
"I look like a post-apocalyptic stripper, Jesus." Addy said.
"Well I look like I belong on a street corner regardless of the apocalypse." Mo said.
"More like bait." Moonshade said.
"Same thing." Mo grumbled as she tried to cover herself up some.
"Look at you two. Mother will be so pleased. Supper will be ready soon. Set the table and set a place at the table for our guest next to Mother." Tobias said from over by the grill.
"Alright Addy do not eat anything they give you okay? All of our clothes are together in a plastic bag in the camper and they put my weapons in the camper too so it won't be hard to grab them when the others come to save us and we'll have a clean get away. I'm so sorry this happened to you Addy. I should have told someone but I was too scared to. Look where that got us though…" Mo said.
"Don't worry okay Mo? The others will come soon; Charlie, Mack, 10K." Addy said while playfully nudging Mo.
"Knock it off." Mo muttered with a blush.
"Hey I think it's cool that you like him; he seems pretty cool and isn't bad to look at either. He seems to like you too but putting boy talk aside how are you going to get our stuff back? They locked the camper back." Addy pointed out.
"I took the key off of Stormy." Mo said.
"Damn you're good. But where is it? You don't have any pockets…" Addy said.
"Stuffed it in my bra. I couldn't pick pockets in this, there's nothing to hide things in! That's why I love my cargo pants so much, I don't have to worry about a key jabbing me in the boob!" Mo complained.
"Well just hurry up and het our stuff." Addy laughed.
Mo checked to see if the coast was clear before unlocking the camper and slipping inside. She managed the cabinet door holding her weapons and placed them except for her machete in the bag with their clothes before Addy started screaming. She used the distraction to her advantage before taking off with their stuff. She was almost to the gate so she stashed their things near the camper closest to the gate. Of course Tobias had someone guarding the gate but she expected that. He spotted her and she let him take her back to Tobias, she would never leave Addy behind, especially here.
"I found her trying to run away again."
"Angel what are we going to do with you? You and your friend have upset Mother. You're going to have to be punished." Tobias said.
"We have fresh meat."
"You two, get this meat back into the kitchen then get into position." Tobias ordered.
The others had come for them, Mo was sure of it. Tobias held a knife to Addy's throat so she wouldn't run and he had another guy hold Mo tightly by her hair. Tobias thought that he had things handle and under control but when there was a gunshot he dragged them out to the gate to be used as leverage. Mo gave Addy a reassuring look when they were taken out, she had complete faith in the others that they were going to save them. Sure enough Charlie was on the other side of the fence and Mo wanted to cry in relief.
"Garnett! Get us out of here! These people are insane!" Addy cried out.
"Say that again and I will eat your heart. Apparently we both have something the other wants. Perhaps we can make a deal. Give me back my Sunshine and you can have your precious Addy." Tobias said.
"I'm not going to negotiate with a cannibal. You're going to give me Mo and Addy, we're gonna walk away, and you can eat anybody you want." Charlie said.
"I'm not going to let Angel leave again. You know the first rule of negotiation is the person who wants it least." Tobias said.
"If you harm them, we will kill every one of you." Charlie threatened.
"Kill away, frankly I've had about all of the zombie apocalypse I can take. But of course, you and the red head will be the first to die. That's what I thought. Do you know what the second rule of negotiation is?" Tobias said.
"What?" Charlie asked.
"The guy with the 50 caliber machine gun wins." Tobias told him.
The machine gun was fired and both Mo and Addy jumped in surprise. Well Mo sure didn't remember them having a machine gun when she left.
"Stop!" Mo screamed.
"You gonna give me back my Sunshine or do we continue this conversation in hell?" Tobias asked.
"Stop and let her go Tobias." Cassandra said as she ran up next to Charlie.
"What are you doing?" Charlie asked her.
"What I should have done in the first place. Let her go and I'll come back." Cassandra said.
"Don't do it! Kill them, kill them all." Addy said.
Tobias let go of Addy and Cassandra was let in. Mo took a chance and elbowed the guy holding her in the gut, making a run for their stuff, and throwing it at Charlie and Addy before they ran off. Mo grinned to herself but was suddenly struck in the back of the head with something and fell to the ground. She groaned in pain and tried to blink away the spots in her vision.
"I was returning her clothes to her you asshole!" Mo snapped.
"You gave them your machete." Bernt said.
"To remember me by, jeesh." Mo groaned as she got up and brushed the gravel off of her.
"You shouldn't be hasty. Let's get you two back to Mother." Tobias said.
Mo and Cassandra rolled their eyes but followed him back regardless. It was still supper time so Tobias had Cassandra feed his wife while Mo cleaned herself up from her fall. She went down pretty hard and had scratches on her from the gravel as a result and her head was throbbing. She wouldn't have had to worry about all the scratches if she had more clothes on!
"Mother is so much happier when you're both here." Tobias said.
"I would be too if I was stuck around you people all the time." Mo muttered to herself.
"Got some fresh meat in trailer two looking for something on the young side and/or exotic. Took the two for one special." Bernt said.
"You're on Sunshine, Angel." Tobias said.
"Me? You never made me before." Mo said.
"You were younger then and really weak. It's time for you to earn your keep. Don't worry Sunshine will help you." Tobias said.
Mo and Cassandra were led to trailer two, Cassandra rubbing Mo's back the whole way there. Mo was on the verge of breaking down, how could he make her do something like this? Cassandra had done it before but Mo had no idea what she should be doing. Her heart was racing out of control and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. This couldn't be happening. When the trailer door opened and she saw Doc standing there she really did almost cry in relief. It took everything she had to not hug him then and there.
"Mmm, that's what I'm talking about." Doc said.
"Twenty minutes and no rough stuff." Tobias said.
"Define rough stuff." Doc said.
"Sunshine will let you know. And Angel is a hands only deal unless you're willing to up the price for her first but I highly doubt that you can pay that." Tobias said.
"Nah hands are cool." Doc said with a smirk as Mo's face went red with embarrassment.
"What are you doing?" Cassandra asked as soon as she was sure Tobias couldn't hear them.
"I am so happy to see you." Mo said as she threw her arms around him in a hug.
"Ssh, the right thing. Just follow my lead." Doc whispered.
A few minutes later Mo was sitting on the couch in a silent fit of laughter as Doc and Cassandra rocked the camper back and forth while making sex sounds. Doc was amused by the young girl's reaction and Cassandra fought her own urge to laugh. Suddenly loud music could be heard in the distance and Mo took that to be the signal that they were waiting for because what idiot would listen to music that loudly in the zombie apocalypse? When Doc acted like Cassandra attacked him Tobias came in to take him away but Mo was waiting for him and knocked his taser out of his hand before hitting him in the head with a metal bar she had found. Cassandra then tased him in the mouth and they were out of there. The pickup was driven through the gate and the Z's started flooding in as the music stopped.
"It's now or never." Doc said.
"Now." Mo said as she jumped into the back.
She didn't look back as they drove away or even tried to block out all the screaming. They only stopped once but only to gather up everyone. Charlie was the first to welcome Mo back, giving her bear hugs and checking her over to inspect her for any serious injuries. Addy did the same but she was crying. Doc and Warren each gave her hugs while Murphy stayed in the truck and Mack only gave her a small relieved smile but he looked like he was going to be sick while doing it. While everyone began welcoming back Cassandra, 10K finally showed up and practically tackled Mo into a hug. Mo wrapped her arms around him tightly, enjoying the safety she felt while in his arms. He buried his face in her hair, not sure if she was the one trembling or him. He had been so worried about her he almost couldn't think straight and when he saw one of Tobias' men hit her with the butt of his gun and knocked her to the ground he almost flipped. He broke his promise to her this time but from then on he wouldn't let it happen again.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry I let this happen." 10K told her as he pulled away.
"What? This was my fault not yours." Mo said confused.
"I promised you that I would keep you safe here and I didn't. Look at what happened to you." 10K said.
"Hey no don't think like that. It-it was bound to happen. I couldn't run away from it forever. You came back for me though right? I bet you did some sharp shooting to get my ass out of there so thank you, thank you so much 10K. As for the whole promise thing, I'll just hold it to you from now on. From this moment on I'm appointing you as my official body guard, you know as long as you're not going to get killed because of it deal?" Mo said as she squeezed his hand tightly.
"Yeah." he murmured as he took her hand in both of his.
"Okay let's load up everyone." Charlie said, startling the two and ruining the moment.
Charlie climbed into the back with Doc surprising Mo but she soon climbed in after him, followed by 10K, and they were off, hopefully without any more delays in Philly. This time as they drove away Mo watched as the dark part of her past got left behind. 10K suddenly shot the Liberty Bell as they passed it, the loud ding it made startling Mo as the realization that she didn't have to run anymore finally hit her. It was really over this time. The relief was almost overbearing.
"If anybody asks we were nowhere near that bell." Charlie said.
"I always heard that Philly was a tough town but sheesh." Doc said.
"Zombies with attitude." Charlie agreed.
"I'm so sorry." Mo whimpered quietly.
"Mo?" Charlie asked concerned.
"None of this would have happened if I would have just said something but I was too scared. I never said anything because I thought that you all would be mad and hate me but I put everyone in danger instead. My father had just died and Tobias took me in but then Black Summer hit and I was dying because if it. It was almost too late when they started feeding me again but I didn't question what they were giving me because it was keeping me alive. I just kept eating until I got better. Finally Cassandra told me everything when was strong enough and thought I was ready. I was disgusted and so scared of what they were capable of. I barely got away and then you found me and things were normal and I was scared of what everyone would think. I didn't mean for this to happen, I never wanted it to happen. I'm sorry I lied and kept secrets. I'm so sorry." Mo cried.
10K wrapped his arms around the small girl and held her as the sobs shook her body and Charlie rubbed circles on her back while Doc gave her a sympathetic look. Her confession had surprised them, this was the most she had ever said about her past and they were shocked to hear what all she had been keeping bottled up. They had been quick to judge Cassandra when they found out so they could understand why she would want to hide the truth from them. Despite her past and how much it upset them she was the same Mo they've grown to adore in the past year and they couldn't put her in the wrong for surviving and carrying such a large burden alone. Seeing the girl he thought of as a daughter breakdown broke Charlie's heart.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's all over now, you won't have to worry about them ever again Mo. We understand why you didn't say anything and we're not mad at you. We can never hate you either. Everyone is fine, nobody was seriously injured, and some very bad people were stopped." Charlie said gently.
"All in all I'd say things turned out pretty good." Doc added.
"Mo none of this was your fault. You weren't the one telling those people to make the choices they did and you wanted nothing to do with them. Don't be so hard on yourself okay? Now cheer up and dry your eyes before you start looking like a raccoon." Charlie said.
"I think being a raccoon would suit you. They're cute and they're little thieves too." Doc said, trying to cheer her up.
"Yeah we're going to have to stop and let you and Addy change back into your old clothes." Charlie said.
The corners of Mo's lips twitched up but all she did was nod her head and rub the tears away from her eyes, smearing her makeup worse. 10K helped her wipe away the smudges with his thumbs and Charlie could see just how upset and embarrassed the poor girl was. Being back in Philly really messed her up and now all they could do was help her pick up the pieces.
Well I'm happy with it but tell me what you guys think by leaving me some reviews. Any type of feedback is welcomed and I would love to hear what you guys want to see happen in the future chapters. Seriously, you guys don't know how much reviews mean to me but don't forget to favorite or follow either! Until next time!