Chapter 33 "Family"

Day 94; Group A

It was morning. Things were nice. The weather was warmer than it had been over the past few days, and everyone was thankful for that. Beth sat in the front room of the store, looking out a large window they opened the curtains for when it was daytime. She had been thinking long and hard about something, and she was thinking now was the perfect time. They were in a good place, so the group wouldn't have to deal with this on top of any pain that they may face. If she were to do this at any time, she should do it now. While things were peaceful, and nice, and beautiful, and safe.

She was planning to adopt Mika. Ryan was a distant father, and even though he was probably still out there looking for Mika, Beth wanted to make sure this girl was going to have a parental figure. Ryan could have been gutted by a walker, or murdered by Kelly, or could even be heading the group in their direction as she sat there. She just didn't know. Whatever was going on with him, she didn't know. She couldn't. But she did know that Mika needed a parent to look out for her.

Mika was asleep, and Beth had a plan for how today was going to go. She sat there at the window, awaiting 8:00 AM. When it was finally time, the blonde rose from her seat and went to the back storage room, where they slept. Mika was fast asleep. Beth got down on her knees and gently shook the girl awake. "It's time to get up," she said.

"I don't wanna," Mika groaned, rolling back over.

"Come on, we've got a big day ahead of us."

"Whyyy? Can't I sleep just a few more minutes?"

Beth smiled, and laid down next to the girl. "Alright," she said, snuggling up behind Mika, wrapping her arm around the child. "Five more minutes."

Later that day, Malcolm, Taylor, Allan, and Patricia were standing around the front room, while Sarita was out in the woods using the restroom and Beth and Mika were in the backyard watching leaves fall.

"So, where did y'all come from?" the buff one asked.

"Georgia," the old blonde replied. "Mostly. Allan and Mika're from Arkansas and Lyrik's from New Mexico, but we all just came from Tennessee, most recently. All been here in Missouri for a long time, though. Little over two months, I think."

Malcolm nodded as he grabbed his long, brown hair and put it up into a ponytail. "We came from Kentucky a...few days ago, I think."

Taylor nodded and told their story. "We were staying with some people we thought were good. They were nice people. Then we found out that they were crazy and just heinous. Any person they met, they killed and looted, no matter who it was. Big strong threat, sad lonely woman, scared lost child, anyone. Me and Malcolm had been together from the beginning, so we got out. We brought Sarita, too, because we knew she was on the same page as us."

"My people came from Arkansas," Allan said. "We came here with our leader, because he was nuts and had two little girls with him. We were afraid for them, so we couldn't just let him take those girls out into the open. Patricia's people found us a while later while they were scavenging."

"Then a herd separated us all, and now it's just us five." Patricia played with her sleeves in the thin brown jacket she was wearing over a stained red shirt.

"Little girls?" Taylor asked. "Is Mika one of this crazy guy's daughters?"

"Yeah," the thin man said bluntly.

"I thought she was, uh," the buff man began, and paused, forgetting Beth's name, "um…that blonde girl. Bessy? I thought that was her girl."

"Beth," Patricia corrected. "No, Beth's not the girl's mom. But I think she wants to be."

"Really?" Malcolm asked, slightly impressed that someone so young had a heart big enough to adopt a child. "How old is she?"

"Seventeen," Patricia stated behind a smile, proud of the girl she had watched grow up.

The two new men nodded their heads. "So, how many of you was there?" Malcolm asked.

"Twenty-one," Allan stated, making a few of them lift their brows. "Eight of them were my people. The rest were Patricia's."

"They weren't exactly my people," Patricia shrugged. "But we were all in the same group when we came together with Ryan's group... Allan's leader, I mean."

"So, there was a lot of you," Taylor said, looking moderately surprised. "There's no way you're the only survivors, then."

Allan and Patricia shrugged. "I'm sure at least a handful of them made it," Allan said.

"Six of 'em were out scavengin' when it all happened," Patricia added and looked to the ground, "so I'm sure at the very least they made it."

"One or two of 'em could have died on the mission… Or since then."

"Allan," Patricia glared. She hated talking about people dying. Especially those that she loved. Otis and Shawn were the only people she had left who weren't with her and that she knew from before all of this, and if she lost them or Beth, she'd be lost. Since this began, even, she had found people that she has grown close to that were out there, like Robert, Seth, and Sierra. Finding out that one of them had died would be almost as devastating as losing her remaining family.

"Sorry," he apologized half-heartedly. He was only stating facts. In this world, people die, and constantly. Deluding one's self into thinking that people would be okay no matter what was not only stupid, but harmful.

Malcolm and Taylor looked between themselves, sensing the tension. "I'm sure they're fine," the smaller of the two said. "Me and Taylor have been together since the beginning, and we're both still here."

Allan raised a brow. "Wait, 'together?' Are you guys…?"

"Oh my god," Patricia chuckled, putting a hand on her face.

Taylor's eyes went wide. "No! No, no, no! We're not like that!"

Malcolm laughed. "Speak for yourself," he grinned.

Everyone, including Taylor, gave him a questioning look. "Really, man?"

Malcolm smiled. "Nah," he shrugged. "Not as far as I know… But I'll try anything once," he said, winking to Allan.

Allan's eyes went wide, mirroring Taylor. "Dude, I'm not…"

"Jesus Christ," Malcolm chuckled, "why are you people so gullible?"

The man's laughter was put to a halt as Beth and Mika walked in through the back door, Beth with her hand on the smaller girl's back, leading them in. Beth had a huge smile across her face and she nodded to Patricia, who smiled and put a hand to her heart in response, knowing Beth had succeeded. She walked over to the two, and the three blondes of different generations shared a warm hug as Sarita walked in behind them.

Beth and Mika had got up early that morning, and they went out to the benches behind the store to look at the leaves fall. Beth had her gun in her holster, now reloaded with plenty of bullets, thanks to the guns Malcolm stole when he left his old group. She had another gun in her bag, just in case something happened and she would have to arm Mika. They were only going outside, but there was no harm in being careful anymore.

"I love fall," Beth said. "It's my favorite season."

Mika smiled and scooted closer into Beth as a cold breeze hit them. "It's pretty," she said.

Beth smiled. "It really is. My mom called it tree snow when I was little."

"That sounds kinda silly," the girl giggled.

"It is silly. My mom liked to make dumb jokes like that."

Mika smiled, thinking back to her mom. "My mommy sometimes said things like that," the girl said. "She'd call rain God's tears, and sweaters were wool hugs."

Beth looked fondly at this girl. She was so innocent, and that needed to be protected. "You know she loved you."

Mika nodded, "I know."

"She's a mom. That's what they're for."

Mika smiled and they turned their focus back to the falling leaves. Beth played with the girl's hair, mulling over whether or not now was the right time. Mika sighed and cuddled closer into the older girl.

"Mika?" Beth finally asked.

"Yes?"

"You know I'm here for you, right?"

"Yeah."

"And you know I love you, right?"

"Yeah. I love you, too… Are you gonna run away, too? Like Daddy and Lizzie?"

"No, no, no, no, no!" Beth exclaimed and hugged the girl tighter. "I'd never do that. They'd have to rip me away from you for that to happen."

Mika smiled to herself as she listened. "Promise?"

"Yes," she said. "I promise. Of course. And you can come to me for anything. I'll always be there for you."

Mika smiled. "You're like a momma."

Beth grinned, happy with the way things turned out. "Exactly." They stayed there, watching the leaves fall, and Sarita could be heard approaching the house, stepping on crunchy leaves, from the woods. "We should head in," Beth said, a large smile across her face.