Notes: Sorry it took so long! Real life, bah. Warnings: Attempt at rape, OC death, violence all sorts of nasty thingsye be warned!
Maya watched the rain droplets race each other down the window pane, only half-listening to the conversation behind her. Crystal had gotten a dog-eared pack of cards out from somewhere and the group had promptly settled in to teach Lily the finer points of poker.
"Ha, read 'em and weep!" Crystal crowed, smug in yet another victory. "Fork over all your imaginary wealth to me, your Queen Empress of cards."
Lily frowned at her own cards. "Guys I still have no idea what any of these even mean. Full house? Flush? How much is a three worth again?"
Crystal reached over to pat the girl on her knee. "It's a good thing you're so pretty, honey."
Janet leaned over to snatch one of Crystal's cards, holding it aloft accusingly. "And a good thing you're such a lousy cheat, your lady empress!"
Maya tuned out the ensuring scuffle, narrowing her eyes back on the soaked view beyond the cracked glass. The storm showed no signs of abating, the winds only picking up more speed. A loose shutter banged loudly somewhere, battering against the slats and Maya counted the beats, tapping her fingers along on the counter.
"Hey, Maya! Gonna join the next round?"
Maya didn't bother turning around, shaking her head. She knew she was being a party-pooper, that her mood was just as miserable as the weather outside, but she felt she was justified in some of it. How come she, the victim and prisoner here, was feeling like the bad guy? Mickeyhad been the one to go all Neanderthal, and yet here she was feeling…guilty. Like she had hurt him in some way.
And that…didn't sit well with her. But God, wasn't she trying? She was trying to find some way of living in this hell, to make things bearable. He could give her a break and be a little more understanding.
She watched blurry shapes move through the rain, sentries bent double in the wind as they hurried to their positions. She tugged Mickey's flannel shirt closer against her skin, thinking of Marcus and Ed out in the leaky shed, and hoped they were warm and safe
"Maya?"
At Lily's voice Maya dragged herself away from the window, forcing herself back towards the group. She felt years older all of a sudden, seeing them all sitting cross-legged, heads bent together as they compared cards. She hadn't known these women a week ago, and now here they were, an odd-ball family forced together under the worst circumstances. Another family Maya needed to protect.
"Yeah, Lil?"
The teenager looked pale, Maya noted. The past few days hadn't been easy on any of them, but it was easy to forget how ill Lily really was, how fragile she could be.
"I…" Lily lowered her voice. "I need to use the ladies room."
Sarah chuckled. "You mean the mouldy outhouse? It's probably flooded, pet."
Lily looked stricken. "But I need to go!"
Janet got to her feet with a yawn. "C'mon squirt, I'll take you. There's a good tree we usually use out back, hopefully the branches have kept it a bit drier."
"A tree?" Lily spluttered. "I can't use a tree!"
"Well you don't pee on the tree, you pee around it!"
Maya stepped between Janet and Lily. "I'll take her. It's still raining cats and dogs out there."
Janet smiled easily, not deterred. "No offence, but it would look pretty suspicious don't you think? You're new. She's new. Making off into the trees is a recipe for disaster. She'll be perfectly safe with me, don't worry."
Maya wasn't convinced. "The sentries-"
"Won't give Janet any trouble," Sarah spoke up. "Lord, do you ever relax, gal?"
"No," Maya said bluntly, temper flaring. "Not since I got kidnapped by rape-crazy hillbillies."
"I'll go with Janet," Lily interrupted quickly as Sarah squared her shoulders. "I'll be okay, Maya. Five minutes tops."
Maya's protests died as she looked down at Lily's earnest expression. As much as Maya wanted to just wrap her arms around the girl and never let go, she couldn't. If she was going to keep her sanity, she needed to be able to trust these other women to help her keep Lily safe, not bark and snarl at everyone that offered to help.
Trust. Right.
Maya sighed. "Fine. Five minutes only. I'll come out there and drag your wet butt back here if you're late!"
Lily was already halfway out the door, Janet on her heels. "Roger that, el Capi-tan!"
Maya could feel the chill of the wind as it forced its way inside and she shuddered, rubbing her arms even as the door slammed shut on Lily's laugh.
Crystal snorted as she started dealing out cards again. "Baby Bear has us too, Mama Bear. She'll be fine."
Worry gnawed at her stomach and Maya turned away to resume her watch. "It's the Papa Bear I worry about."
She could see Lily's bright colored hoody through the rain, winking back at Maya as the girl ran for the cover of the trees, Janet close behind.
Kelly fanned out her cards in her hand, making a noise of annoyance. "Tell us about yourself, Maya."
Taken aback by the sudden question, Maya looked over at the woman curiously. "What?"
"She's military," Crystal offered, swapping a card. She chuckled, shaking her head. "Probably why she can't relax for five goddamn seconds."
Kelly's eyes widened, more interested in Maya now than her cards. "Military? You came in with those assholes who set up camp in town?"
"No," Maya said. "I was up here vacationing when…it all went down."
Sarah looked shrewd, tapping her cards against her chin thoughtfully. "Bet you know how to work a gun then."
"Might be," Maya evaded, uncomfortable. "But I don-"
The front door banged open, cold air shrieking into the kitchen and startling all of them. Penny flinched away, scrambling until her back was up against the counters as heavy boots and loud voices filled the house.
"-more ammo!" Maya heard Mickey's bellow over the commotion as the gun safe was open and emptied. "If those bastards think they're gonna shove in now, they got another thing comin'."
Men spilled into the kitchen, reloading and shoving ammo into pockets and bags. The women crowded against the counters, huddling together like a flock of frightened pigeons. Maya shoved through them, gaze sharpening on the familiar figure loading a duffle with molotovs. He was soaked, a red splatter across one thigh that hadn't been there before.
"Zombies?" she asked, not caring about portraying herself as cowed and demure. If there was trouble she needed to know what it was and how she could help.
Mickey straightened, scowling as he saw her in the kitchen doorway.
"Take everyone upstairs," he growled at her. "Bar the door and don't let anyone in 'cept me, yeah?"
Several men shoved past her, jostling her against the wall. "I will if you tell me what's happening."
Two strides and he was in front of her, dripping and glowering. He kept his voice low for the benefit of the men, and Maya tried to look suitably chastened. "I know you have a thing fer not listenin' to me, but Christ, Maya, will you just do as I say?"
Maya took in the grim faces of the men, how none of them cracked a joke or smile. It was unlike the unruly drunken bunch she was used to. "Not zombies. People. You said something about rival gangs-"
"Yeah and now you git your ass upstairs with the young 'un and the others," Mickey snapped. "Might be in for a firefight so keep your heads down and-"
"Mickey!" a man was waving furiously at the door. "They got cars, and just smashed through the fence up at the barn!"
"I gotta go, you-" Mickey paused as if there was something else he wanted to say, but shook his head with a dark growl. "Just git."
He turned and was swallowed up by the milling men, all pushing forward and out onto the porch with shouts and cocking guns. The door had barely shut before Maya was moving, striding back into the kitchen and towards the back door.
"Sarah, take the others and go up to Mickey's room," she ordered, shrugging on her old military ways as easily as donning a coat. "Bar the door until I come back with Lily and Janet."
"What's happening?" Kelly cried as Crystal hurriedly got to her feet, grabbing the woman's arm to help. "Maya what-"
"Just do it!" Maya yelled, tugging the door open. "I'll be back, just go!"
The wind tore at her as she stepped outside, the rain screaming gleefully at a new victim. The tails of Mickey's plaid shirt whipped around her waist and Maya braced her arm in front of her to block some of the gust.
She spared a thought for her boots still safe and dry in Mickey's room, but there wasn't time. The grass squelched as she walked, water and mud rising between her bare toes as she hurried across the lawn, zeroed in on the tree line. The sentries were yelling to each other, taking up more defensive positions along the sides of the house. None of them took any notice of her as she stepped into the trees, her hair plastered against her face and shirt clinging to her shoulders. Leaves and twigs jabbed into her soft feet and Maya winced.
"Lily!" she yelled, voice swallowed in the howl of the wind. She pushed further into the trees, looking for the tell-tale flash of color. "Lily!"
Nothing. Trying to calm the panic rising in her chest, Maya turned in a circle, senses on high alert. The trees rose tall and dark around her, jostling her with sodden branches.
There! A voice, just for a moment.
With a growl Maya darted forward, all purpose. She ignored the pain in her unprotected feet, sweeping through the trees like a wrathful mother on the hunt for misbehaving toddlers.
"Janet, Lily, you-"
Maya rounded a large tree and stopped.
Janet lay in a dead sprawl on the forest floor, one arm twisted unnaturally and legs askew. Her lips were only just losing their pink, her dark hair hanging in straggles against her bare shoulders. Her shirt had been ripped, hanging down her arms as if destroyed in a struggle, her breasts exposed and pale in the rain. Even from her spot, Maya could see the red discoloration around Janet's neck, the fingerprint bruises that would blossom as she continued her silent vigil into eternity.
She'd been strangled.
Lily stood a little further away, back rammed up against a tree and forced up on her toes by a meaty hand on her throat. She was crying, choked gasps that shook Maya to the core as her fingers scrabbled at the arms of her assailant.
For a moment, Maya just stared. The man held Lily with one hand, the other fumbling with the front of his jeans. He forced a knee between Lily's thighs, and the girl wailed, a weedy and quiet thing.
"Think yer so uppity now, do ya?" he was muttering, giving the terrified girl a shake as he struggled to open his jeans. "Well I'll show ya. I'll showhim that bastard, makin' a fool outta me in fronta the men!"
Jake, Maya's mind helpfully supplied. It's that fucker, Jake.
Bearded man.
The forest fell away from her, replaced with a buzzing that matched the sudden throbbing behind her eyes. Maya's world narrowed in on the man's back, on Lily's breathless whimpers and pleas to let her go.
Maya had no weapon. She was barefoot, her body far from its peak, the days of work taking their toll, and the man was probably twice her weight. One direct hit from him could knock her out cold.
But it didn't matter. Nothing mattered, except getting him away from Lily.
And killing him.
She was on him before her brain could process it, hooking him around the neck with her right arm and pulling hard. He choked, torn away from his prize. He stumbled, his jeans falling down to mid thigh and nearly tripped. Lily slid down the tree to her knees, sucking in deep breaths. Quick as a cat Maya slid between the two, legs braced and arms up.
Jake's eyes flashed as he struggled to get his jeans back up into place. "So. You want some too, huh? Must be my lucky day."
Maya didn't waste time speaking. Reasoning would not work on a man like him, and even if she had tried, Maya couldn't make her voice form anything other than promises of violence.
Use it, she told herself, struggling to keep her mind cool and sharp. Dammit it Torres, use your anger. Channel it. Take this fucker down and make sure he stays down.
Keeping Lily at her back, Maya bounced lightly on her feet, ignoring the twinge in her soles as rocks and twigs dug into her skin.
Jake guffawed as he took in her stance. His stained wife beater clung to his round flabby gut, and Maya bared her teeth as he took a step closer. "You think you can take me, bitch? You're stupider than you look, then."
"You ki-killed her!" Lily sobbed, voice hoarse. She clung to the tree, wet and shivering. Her hair had been pulled out of its usual pony tail, and there was a bruise forming on her cheek. "When…when J-J-Job gets b-back-"
"Job won't do shit," Jake spat, hands curled into meaty fists as he eyed Maya with a leer. "I'll say it was them others and who's gonna know? Now shut yer trap. I'll get to you in a bit."
Maya breathed out through her nose, and rushed him.
She went in low, jamming her shoulder into his gut and pushing, trying to get him down on the ground. If he went down she'd have a better chance of overpowering him, on his feet he could generate more power than her and was more of a threat.
Jake stumbled back, but stayed firm. The asshole was built like a brick house, and Maya darted beneath his arm as he swung at her, bringing her arms up to protect her ribs and shot back one of her own. She got him in the face, and quickly moved out of range as he yelled in pain.
"You bitch!" he roared, and when he spat again, Maya saw blood. "I'll fuckin-"
He charged her, quicker than she gave him credit for, and recognizing she wouldn't be able to move out of the way, Maya braced herself.
They collided, and though Maya landed an awkward blow to his chest, fingers wrenched at her shoulder, sending her flying into a tree. Pain exploded across her back as she hit it, and she grunted, flopping to the sodden forest floor.
"First I'll kill ya," Jake was saying, and Maya got to her feet, ignoring the spasms in her back. "Then I'll fuck your corpse."
He swung at her, but Maya ducked under his arm, jamming her elbow as hard as she could into his unprotected stomach. He doubled over, coughing and she slammed her knee up into his face.
There was a satisfying crack as his nose broke.
Screaming he tackled her, bearing her down onto the wet leaves and Maya thrashed, trying to draw her knees up. He pinned her arms, muscles straining to contain her and sat heavily across her thighs, curling his lip.
"Oh you'll pay fer that," he gurgled, blood oozing down his lips and chin. Maya grimaced, turning her face away as hot blood spattered against her cheek. "You'll pay fer that but goo-"
With a bark of annoyance, Maya slammed her forehead up and forward. Jake reared up at the last second, her head connecting with his mouth instead of the nose she had been aiming for, and sharp stabbing pain erupted at the contact.
Her shoulders hit the wet ground again, and she gasped, vision lurching.
That hurt , oh God that hurt.
She couldn't tell if it was rain water streaming down her temples, or warm blood. She'd be lucky if she hadn't just given herself a concussion.
Stupid, Torres. Very stupid.
"Fuck!" Jake screamed, and triumphantly Maya noticed she had knocked one or two teeth loose. Her victory was short lived though as with an inhuman bellow, Jake released her left wrist and muscles bunched like a pro boxer, he delivered a backhand to her already aching head.
It was absolute pandemonium. Three crippled cars had been driven through the fence, and were now abandoned, their smoking engines and lights drawing all sorts of freaks from the surrounding area. The fucking cowards had abandoned them, hoping that the zombs would do their dirty work for them.
Mickey stared out across the blood soaked field, jaw clenched and teeth grinding as he weighed up how many men he could spare.
"How many?" he snapped at the closest man. "They broke through here, over by the shed and-"
"That's it so far," someone said to his right. Goddammit, Mickey didn't know any of these men, too many new recruits Job had hauled in. "But we got one o' them heavies comin' in from the south."
"Fuck," Mickey spat. "Who we got on that one?"
"'Aint got no-one. Everyone's busy up here what with the walkers, and then-"
"Yeah yeah," Mickey interrupted, stomach sinking at the odds. Trust Job to go away for one fuckin' day and the whole place goes to shit without him. "And the bastards that did this? Where they at?"
The man shrugged, his rifle banging against his shoulder. "Took off. Only 'bout a dozen of 'em to begin with. Guess they was testin' us."
"Well I'm feeling pretty goddamn tested!" Mickey fired as a zomb came ambling out from the bushes. The shot was good, the head exploding in a spray of red. "You lot stay here, try and clean up, get that fence fixed. If we're attractin' this much attention then Job'll have heard too. He'll come with the cavalry and then we'll regroup."
"Aye aye," a young kid saluted him and Mickey considered shooting him too. "Where you gon' go?"
"Help with that fat one, that's what. Now go do your fuckin' job!"
Men scattered, hurrying to obey. At least Mickey still had that. Past couple of days the men had been bickering and fighting, and Mickey had worried that the appearance of the extra women threatened some sort of mutiny. He could only protect Maya and Lily so far, he couldn't be everywhere.
Unhappily, he stormed back to the house. The rain made everything miserable. Already some guns had misfired, and visibility was shit. They'd lost three men, one to the initial gunfight, and two to zombs who had come in through the holes in the fence. Job would be pissed.
The house was quiet as he entered, and Mickey glowered at the peeling wallpaper, shaking himself like a dog to try and get some sort of dry. His boots squelched with each step and he grimaced, yanking open the gun cabinet door with more force than was necessary. There, hidden away at the back behind some ammo boxes, lay Maya's rifle and axe. He studied them contemplatively.
"Damn pea-shooter," he muttered. He turned, patting the gun at his back protectively. "Aint got nothin' on you baby, I swear."
Mickey's own rifle clicked in resentment. Still, that little pea-shooter and axe had taken down not one, but two of those big ones, and countless zombs. Grumbling unhappily, Mickey leaned into the cool dark recesses of the cabinet, and snagged both weapons.
The axe was surprisingly light. He hefted it, testing the feel of it, looping the rifle onto his arm with his.
"Don't make me regret this," he sighed, kicking the cabinet shut. "But Maya darlin', we need your sharp eyes."
Job was going to murder him. Not only had Mickey lost men, but he was about to give a weapon to Maya Torres, one of the best marksmen in the valley.
She just might kill him. Mickey thought he was alright with that.
He took the stairs two at a time.
He was a bad man, that much was fucking obvious. He was no better than his brother, rutting against women who couldn't say no. The hell kind of man was he? He had told her he would protect her, not…not…
Her skin was so warm beneath his hands, his work roughed callouses following her curves. He felt rough next to her, too coarse and mean. Like that movie Eli was so obsessed with as a tot, some sorta monster in love with a princess. But she didn't kiss him like he was awful, didn't cry and try and get away like Job's lays. But what choice did she have? Beneath those little moans and gasps she hated him, course she did. He was a Wilkerson and thinking anything else was stupid. Ridiculous. She couldn't like him, not like he liked her-
Mickey nearly walked face first into his own bedroom door. Ruthlessly he shook himself, trying to get his mind on track. He could mope and whine around later like some twitterpated fool, right now killing needed to be done.
"Maya!" he yelled."Woman get your ass out here, we gotta problem an-"
The door swung open, and Sarah hovered there, pale and anxious. Her white hair had come free of the long braid she normally had, making her look frazzled, terrified.
"She 'aint come back," the old woman blurted. "She went after the gals and…and she-"
Pain shot up his arm, and Mickey dully realized he had been squeezing the axe until his fingers creaked. "What?"
"Lily needed the toilet, so Janet took her," Crystal bumped Sarah out of the way. "Maya went to get them and said she'd be back but she's not. Might have made a run for it."
"In this weather?" Sarah asked incredulously, shouldering Crystal back into the room. "It's idiotic, even for that gal. She's got a sharper brain than that. She must've-"
Zombs, Mickey thought with rising horror. Shit they musta let 'em in round the back too, could be dozens of 'em..
"Stay!" he barked at the cowering women. "Don't open the door 'till I get back."
He hurried back down the stairs, not seeing anything in his path.
Maybe she did run for it, he thought bitterly. She oughta, get as far away from this shithole as she can.
The thought didn't bring him any joy, and Mickey hated himself even more for it.
Someone was screaming.
Maya grunted at the sound, annoyed. She tried to bring her hands up to cover her ears but her movements were sluggish, uncoordinated. Her arms flopped around listlessly and Maya tried to open her eyes, confused.
Pain lanced through her skull and she groaned, her jaw throbbing.
"Back with us, huh bitch?"
A voice was speaking over her, full of malice. Maya struggled to open her eyes, to get them to focus. There was a hand groping at her chest, squeezing and pinching, but Maya could barely feel it over the pain in her head.
Finally, she blinked and a face swam into view. She couldn't remember who it was, couldn't remember why she was lying on a sodden carpet of leaves and twigs, or why there was a girl screaming.
Her shirt was gone, the plaid lying in a torn sodden pile in the mud. Maya's head lolled and she could see a woman slumped to her right as if sleeping.
Janet. Yes, that was Janet. Maya knew that name, knew that woman. Was she having a nap? Why was she doing that? There was something moving in the forest, just beyond what Maya could see, branches swaying.
Groggily Maya rolled her head back towards the man pawing at her chest, trying to peer down at her own body.
Her breasts glistened obscenely in the rain, peppered with red marks. As she watched, the man clamped down on her left, mouthing at her and biting down with his broken teeth, hard.
Her body convulsed automatically, but Maya barely felt it.
He bit me, Maya thought to herself, still struggling to connect her brain to her body. That sonofabitch bit me. What…what's happening?
"I'm gonna show you what we do to misbehaving bitches," he was saying, and he was yanking on his jeans now, rutting his hips against her limp body in his eagerness. Revulsion rose in Maya's throat, an emotion strong enough to force through the cotton in her head, but not enough to snap her lucid.
"Gonna fuck you," he muttered, struggling to get her pants off now, rolling her where he wanted her. "Damn Mickey for thinkin' he could have you all to hisself. Well he 'aint gonna want you after I'm done, that's for damn sure."
Mickey. She knew that name. Her confused brain brought up a man's face, bearded and stern. The man on top of her wasn't Mickey. It wasn't Mickey's hands trying to slide her sodden pants down her thighs, his fingers punishing as he pinched at her skin.
This wasn't Mickey. The thought angered her but she didn't know why.
Maya's head rolled back towards Janet, wondering if she knew why. Maya blinked.
There was a woman on Janet.
The sight was so alien that Maya had trouble reasoning why there was a woman on Janet. Why was Janet not pushing her off? And who was that? Did Maya know her?
The screams were growing hoarser. Who was that? Was that Janet?
"Maya," a girl sobbed. "Maya please-"
Lily.
Awareness ripped through Maya like a tangible thing. The woman on Janet raised her head and Maya remembered, she remembered.
The zomb had heard Lily too. It had no throat, just a wet gaping mess of shredded muscle and sinew. It was missing a lower jaw, it's swollen black tongue slapping wetly against it's ruined skin. It had been mouthing ineffectively at Janet's shoulder, only managing to rip off a small chunk with it's mangled mouth, and Maya could see the gleam in its dead milky eyes as it spotted them. Janet was a cooling corpse, and the zomb much preferred moving, wriggling meat.
Jake was still thrusting against her thigh, and Maya gagged as she felt the heavy weight of his erection trail against her skin. He was trying to force a finger inside her but Maya clamped her thighs shut, forcing him to raise up on his knees to try and pry her open.
"Yeah, fight me," he growled, forcing her thighs apart. Her hips twinged with pain as he held her legs down. He was poised, ready to rape her, and the damn zombie was too slow, still shuffling towards them no faster than a geriatric.
Maya summoned what little strength she had. Jake lowered his body on top of hers, chest crushing against hers, erection jabbing against the back of her thigh as he tried to enter her.
"I will," Maya croaked, and Jake looked surprised, like he had forgotten she was still there, not just a warm body. It was a mistake he would regret.
Maya lunged, head spinning, rain and blood stinging her eyes. Her aim was true though, and she snapped her jaw shut as hard as she could, Jake's broken nose clamped between her teeth.
He shrieked like a banshee, releasing her and rearing back as if that would separate them. Maya stayed firm, locking her jaw and worrying back and forth like she had seen dogs do. Blood flooded her mouth, hot and salty, and Jake's screaming rivaled Lily's.
The tension was gone, and Maya flopped back to the sodden ground. Jake was screaming, clutching his face and stumbling off her and Maya watched him go dazedly. Belatedly she realized there was something in her mouth and she rolled to the side, spitting and retching.
A mangled human nose swam into view in front of her, and Maya vomited, dragging her aching body up onto all fours.
Jake was yelling, stumbling and swaying like a drunk. The zomb closed in on him.
Shaking hands touched Maya's shoulders, helping her up.
"We have to go," Lily's terrified face was difficult to focus on but Maya tried, tried to ignore the blackness on the edges of her vision. "There're more, Maya. More coming."
"The house," Maya managed. Lily slung Maya's arm across her slender shoulders and Maya leaned into her smaller body, trying to ignore how Jake's screaming was now a terrified gurgle.
Together, both women stumbled through the forest.
Maya's legs felt heavy, her feet dragging. She looked down at herself, making a face.
"I'm naked," she announced. That wasn't normal, surely? She couldn't feel her legs, a numb blanket of static wrapping around her head. "And…and dirty."
Lily said nothing, merely tightening her hold around Maya's waist.
Miraculously they went the right way, the trees thinning. Maya made it out of the trees but then her legs gave out, her knees sinking into the water-logged grass.
"Maya!"
Maya slumped, feeling ridiculously tired. The rain felt good against her pounding head, the tightness of her skin. Lily's hands tugged insistently on Maya's shoulders but she couldn't budge the older woman.
A man's voice rose over the rain, and Maya looked up absently, hoping it wasn't that nasty naked man. She hadn't liked him. What was a naked man doing in the woods anyways?
It wasn't naked man. A different man was running towards them, boots sending up sprays of water. He had been carrying two guns and something shiny, but he dropped it all on his mad dash as if it would lend him more speed.
"Mickey!" Lily cried out, and she reached for him like a lost child, shuddering and crying.
Mickey, yes. Maya remembered that name. That was good. Mickey was good.
He skidded into them, boots slipping on the mud. Lily was babbling, eyes red and face twisted in fear as she clung to Mickey's shoulder, but Maya couldn't keep up with all the words.
Maya was enveloped in Mickey's arms, pulled into his body. She tilted her head up at him, pain pounding at her temples. Something warm and wet stung her eye, oozing slowly down the side of her face.
She tried to say his name, but it came out all slurred. He was speaking, looking at her with an expression so stricken, it scared her.
What had happened? Was everyone okay? Was Lily-
"Lily," she tried to look for the young girl, but she couldn't move her head. "Li-"
Her tongue felt too big for her mouth. Mickey cradled her to him, one hand stroking her hair gently. He was speaking to her, and Maya tried to pay attention, but she was so tired.
She…she just needed to rest her eyes for a moment. Just a moment. Everything would make sense after, she just needed some rest, that was all.
Maya closed her eyes.