I personally like this chapter. We have a bit of a flashback for Blake. Enjoy Chapter 13, please please please please review. I have only had one review, I would really like to continue this story but I'm going to need you guys to be more vocal with me! Please hit me up in a review or send me a message! Anyways, enjoy! I do not own The Walking Dead, just the OC's
Chapter 13
The group traveled a safe distance from the CDC before the caravan stopped along a dirt road. Tanyon and Blake exited the RV to check out the commotion when they saw Shane angrily approaching them. Tanyon put his arm in front of Blake and pushed her behind him to put himself between her and the raging bull. Shane eyed Tanyon as he walked past them to the door of the RV.
"Where is he?" Shane bellowed as they heard stomping inside.
Commotions of Dale and Glenn trying to stop Shane halted when Kris came flying down the RV steps onto the dirt ground. Shane stepped out after him and pinned him to the group with his knee grasping him by the collar of his shirt.
"Did you know?" he seethed. Kris' mouth shook, his eyes wide with fear when Shane yelled again, "DID YOU KNOW?" he punctuated with a punch to Kris' face. Kris began to fight back, turning over till Shane was underneath him. With an attempt to punch back, Shane head butted Kris right in the nose. The crack of bone made Blake wince.
"Shane," Rick yelled as he approached the fighting men. "Back off," he said as he ripped the angry man off the young doctor. A cloud of dust flew up around Shane as he hit the ground. With a low voice Rick spoke, "You need to get control of yourself, brother," then holding his hand out to help Shane back to his feet. "We'll talk to him together," Rick finalized.
Shane nodded his head and looked back at Kris who was nursing a bloody nose. "Get up," Shane said as he grabbed the doctor by the collar, the angry glint still in his eye.
Blake walked toward the doctor and sheriffs, "Don't hurt him," she said with a harsh stare. Shane started heatedly down at her then Rick touched his shoulder. Looking at Blake he comforted her, "We won't. We just have to talk to him. You know why," he said.
Blake nodded her head and turned back towards her brother. She caught a pair of blue eyes staring at her again from the beat up pickup. She locked eyes with Daryl. When he had been caught his eyes shifted downward. He mumbled something under his breath and went to the bed of the truck searching through god knows what.
Blake walked up to Tanyon, pushing a stray curl behind her still ringing ears. "How you doin'", she asked.
"Pretty shitty…not gonna lie. She stayed behind," Tanyon said, leaning against the RV, avoiding his sister's eyes.
"Yeah, I know, Jacqui was a great person. She made up her mind though," Blake said, thinking about the fact she wouldn't be seeing the small African-American woman around anymore. Her nurturing reminded her of their grandmother in North Carolina.
"Jacqui was a sweet lady, but I'm not talking about her, Bea. I'm talking about Daphne," he said, his sad eyes finally meeting his sisters. "I know it sounds stupid, to be getting upset over someone we met yesterday, but we stayed up all night talking and I don't think I've had that connection with another person in a very long time. She seemed so….full of life, despite what was happening beyond the walls," Tanyon said. Blake remained silent, not exactly sure how to approach this topic with her older brother.
Tanyon continued, "She hoped to find a cure, she was sure she could figure something out with Kris and Jenner. I told her about myself, about my past….my addiction. She didn't even blink an eye. A complete stranger. She was just….really nice. I just don't understand why she gave up," he finished.
"Tanyon, everyone has the right to choose if they wanna live in this fucked up world or not," she said.
"She was so confident, but when given the chance to leave she couldn't take it," he paused and looked at the ground. "Why can't I shake this feeling of her being a coward…..after all she said to me," he finished. Tanyon bore his chocolate brown eyes into Blake's green ones. She was shocked with his statement and was at a lost for words. "I just need a moment Blake, I'll catch up with you later," he finished and stalked off towards the front of the caravan.
Blake watched her brother walk away and then entered Carol's station wagon for her bag. She sat in the backseat and closed the door. She rummaged through her worn brown bag to see what supplies she had left. She pulled out her .38 special revolver. She hadn't touched it since Atlanta. She had no choice now, her bows and belt quiver were evaporated into oblivion. Blake stared at the revolver, hands shaking as the memories flooded back to her.
"We have to make it to the outskirts, that's our best bet for safety. We are only a few blocks away. We have to head north," Carl breathed heavily as he and his two siblings sprinted down a side alley to reach the street. He stopped suddenly and Blake crashed into his back, shaking uncontrollably.
"What are we gonna do? The street is over run, the army is killing everyone," Blake said, fear coating every word.
"We should double back, go down Park Ave it'll take us a little further away from the center of the city. If we have to go all the way around so be it," Tanyon said as he peered around the corner.
"Let's go," Carl said as the brothers and sister sprinted back down the alley, following the many side streets until they reached Park Avenue. The brothers were struggling to take out the dead, Blake was putting some down with her revolver. She only had so much ammo, she didn't want to waste it.
"We are only a few blocks away from the outskirts, we'll just hop the fence and fucking run. We can't be here much longer because I have a bad feeling about this place," Blake said as they reached the end of the alley. They were finally approaching the road that would bring them to the homestretch. Blake checked her cylinder and had one bullet left. She began to shake, knowing she didn't want to become one of those things. She knew that bullet might be her last meal.
As the siblings prepared their final sprint Tanyon took the front while Carl covered the back, the brothers protecting their only sister. Tanyon peered around the corner before he saw two enemies. Coming down from the right was an Army tank and coming toward the tank was the largest herd of the dead he had seen since they left downtown.
"We have to go back…. army and the dead," he said as he shooed his siblings back down the alley. Before they made it fifteen feet one of the side alley doors had broken open beside them releasing another group of the undead.
"Fuck," Carl yelled in fear as a walker grasped onto his arm. Blake began to panic and pointed her gun to the walkers head, ready to use her last bullet to save her brother. She hesitated; she didn't want to hit him.
"Carl," Tanyon bellowed, running back towards his siblings when they weren't by his side. Before Blake could pull the trigger another walker clamped its teeth into Carl's leg.
"NO!" the siblings screamed as another walker clamped down onto Carl's neck, silencing his screams as the gaping hole in his neck gurgled with his struggling breaths.
"Carl," Blake yelled, tears streaming down her face. Blood. There was so much of it as they all piled down on him. "You fucking bastards," she screamed as Tanyon grabbed her waist and covered her mouth with his hands. As they looked at their only exit, they tried waiting for the army to past. The only reason they were able to stay rooted to their spot was because the walkers were too busy tearing apart their brother. Blake's tears spilled over her brothers hand as she clenched her eyes shut, trying to clear her ears of the mushing sound of human flesh and gnawing teeth. As the army tank passed by the alley way, its road wheels took out the majority of the living dead coming down the street, making an opening for the two siblings to run to the department store across the street.
"We gotta go, Bea," Tanyon said as he gripped her hand , wiping tears from his own eyes as well as they quietly ran across the street. The street was silent, but not too far away they could hear the sounds of automatics and piercing screams of those who weren't as lucky to get away downtown. Blake and Tanyon jumped through the shattered glass of the sporting goods store. Tanyon immediately ran to the vending machines, taking out snacks and treats. He scanned the department store for bullets. Blake stared motionless through the store window, torturing herself by staring down the alley way where her brother died…..because of her.
Tanyon let her be, needing to find supplies for themselves so they could get the fuck out of this hell hole. Blake stared out the window, tears streaming down her face as she watched smoke billow up from beyond the tall buildings. She had her arms crossed and with anxiety was scratching her nails up and down the smooth caramel colored skin of her arms. A hand touched Blake's shoulder and she jumped away, ready to kill.
"It's just me," Tanyon said. "Here take this," he said as he tried handing her a Savannah Long Bow and a black belt quiver stuffed with arrows. "You'll need this….we'll need this. You're the best shot with this and we can't afford to make noise," Blake just stared at the objects in his hand, continuing to run her stubby nails down her skin.
Tanyon sighed, devastated for the loss of his brother and the distant look in his baby sisters eyes. He pulled her in for a hug as more tears spilled from her emerald orbs. They stayed for only a couple moments before Tanyon grabbed her shoulders and lightly moved her back. With a firm grip on her shoulders he looked into her eyes, "Things are gonna be different now baby sis. It's me and you, and we're going to survive. No more tears. Not ever," Tanyon said as he wiped away the remaining tears off of her face. "It's time to be strong. It's time to survive," he said pushing the bow and quiver into her chest lightly.
She grabbed onto the item, cladding herself in her new weapons as she stashed the revolver into her brown school bag. Tanyon was right. No more tears. Time to survive. She looked up at her brother and nodded when she finished. He was standing with one leg out of the shattered window with his hand stretched out to her. She gripped it tight and together they ran down the street. Away from the death, away from Atlanta, away from their brother, away from what was.
Blake snapped out of her memory when Rick knocked on the window. "Fuck," Blake yelled, scared shitless from the intrusion on her personal moment. Her hand gripped her chest as Rick opened the door with an apologetic look, "Sorry, Blake. Didn't mean to scare you. You alrigh'?" he asked sincerely as he saw how pale her complexion was.
"Yeah, I'm alright," she lied.
"Okay, well, we're about to hit the road again. Kris is stayin'. I'm sure he didn't have anythin' to do with Jenner. I was gonna have him sit in the pickup with Daryl but I don't think that's his safest bet right now," Rick said as Blake huffed out a weak laugh. "I'm going to have him set up in the RV with you and your brother, do you mind? I need someone to keep an eye on him for now," he finished.
"Of course, Rick. Yeah," Blake said as she stuck her legs out of the door Rick opened. She made her way to the RV.
"That's a nice piece," Rick complimented her revolver then added, "Sorry to hear about the bow. I'm sure we can find you another one," he said.
"Eh. Maybe," she paused, "Not like that one though," Blake deadpanned as she stuck the revolver in the back of her pants and made her way back to the RV.