Curative
By Kaimaler
There seems to be some healing going around! But who knows what comes next. ;3
Also, I guess just a little thing, but a took a day break to draw a new, refreshed image of Laura on my dA page. If you would like to see my interpretation of Laura's appearance, please check my profile to see a link to it titled simply as "Laura"
Please be patient for the next week/two weeks for updates! I have three classes for mid-terms this semester and all college work will be on top of my "To Do" list.
By Wednesday, October 22 (10/22/14) My mid-terms will be over but the final few exams will begin. Updates might slow down until the end of the semester.
(Psych class has a 10 page essay + 30 person minimum custom survey as part of its finals so... yeah.)
That's it in ways of announcements, if you have any questions, comments, or concerns; feel free to PM me here on FanFiction or you can request my email over FanFicton PM's.
Thank you for reading and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!
Five Days Later...
Laura sincerely hoped that the group was not considering this.
She stood, arms crossed defensively as she listened to them explain their plans. Carol seemed pleased with it, the more traveling together the safer they all were. However, Laura had not given them any signal that she approved.
It was an impossible situation for Laura. If she refused out of spite to Red and his group, Carol would chastise Laura and they would leave the group less safe than before. If she accepted their plans, than they would travel with Laura and Carol as they searched for Rick and the others. This also meant that Laura would have to fight more in order to keep them safe. Not from other survivors or walkers, but from herself.
Of course, there were many pro's and con's to each side. Laura could fail and hurt Carol, if Carol failed to defend herself, Laura's instincts would take over and kill Carol. That would mean that if the group traveled with them, than if Laura did lose herself, than they would put her down before Carol was hurt badly. There was a higher chance this would happen to any of them if they joined up; Laura could only resist so much for so long.
While the last few days were easier than she anticipated, their close proximity always flared up her struggle against her hunger. At the same time, she did feel as though the hunger was also struggling. The Voice was not ready to get itself killed, but its patience was wearing thin. In the last weeks, the Voice had initially backed off to make room for Laura to act normally within the group. To do anything else would be suicide. This was a boon to Laura at the beginning, yet it became apparent that the Voice was not allowing her this good luck for very long.
Eventually, just as Laura had always been worried about, the Voice would overpower her through the strength of the hunger. It was a roaring beast that Laura could not contain herself, only hold back temporarily. Gradually, over days, the Voice was increasing the hunger ever so slightly. Laura did not know how she would react when the hunger hit its full strength; as Laura understood, she had not yet experienced this while she was cured. Before, in her memories of mindlessness on the table in her father's personal lab, she remembered it.
It was stronger than anything she had ever come across. If the Voice forced that on her, she would be unable to stop herself any longer. This was another reason that coming across Red's group was a good thing, it helped postpone this full strength scenario that played in her head.
Pushing passed all else, Laura was still very displeased when she was speaking to Red about it.
Which was at this very moment. Red was looking at her, studying her reaction to his proposal. He had only just told her that he and the rest were planning on leaving the house as it was getting riskier every day just by staying here. They were hoping that no other survivors ever found them, but it was unlikely that they would even go another two weeks before someone came across this well protected country home. The fence line was enough to grab the attention of any passing survivor.
This also included the groups that they had came across before, the heavily armed group having been sighted not too far away. Red explained that the group they spotted driving in a military vehicle was not but a few miles from this house. It was dangerous to stay here, none of them could rationalize staying for much longer.
The group and Carol had all been so exhausted by the time they found this house that they were unwilling to leave until they were all properly rested and ready to get back on the road, if only to put distance between the hostile survivors and themselves.
Laura wanted to leave one of the first days they arrived, but due to various reasons that she had already considered she remained to protect Carol.
"Well?" Red questioned, it was a viable and good option. Safety was most important at the end of all things, but Laura was having a hard time deciding if it was safer for them to join up and protect each other or for Laura and Carol to continue alone.
"I don't know." Laura had a hard time discussing anything with Red. She ended up keeping her eyes off of him, when she did stare him down, she felt a stronger need to feed her hunger than she had done with most of the others in the group. It was a murderous hunger, one built on both the need to hunt to survive and the desire to kill those who wronged her. This ache for vengeance inside of her was not something her more rational side wanted to encourage.
He nodded, taking a deep breath in and releasing it, his breath was visible in the now even colder weather. Laura noted that it was getting worse out and keeping warm would be harder. Perhaps another benefit to bringing the entire group with them, they would be able to share heat while they had to sleep on the road. Laura hummed to herself, it was just a thought.
"I know, I know." Red said under his breath, "It could help us all. You and Carol are both able survivors. Your hunting skills could help us through some bad spots when we have to worry about food, and out there, we will. We can all help each other, survive together. Whether or not you like us anymore is... not as important as all of our survival. Carol's included."
Laura did not turn her head, but her eyes flicked to the side to give him a shifty look. Red acknowledged this by putting up one hand in his defense. "I want them to survive, I want to survive, and I want you to survive. We all want to live together, safe, and protected. The more of us there is, the higher chance we have of making it to a secure place to live. If not for however long we have left, than just a home to call our own for a few months."
She gave him a sneer, "I can't even look at you without seeing that room, that knife in your hand."
Red and Laura had not spoken more than the bare minimal words to each other since Laura and Carol arrived. It was a strange moment when they actually spoke, but Laura made sure it was only when necessary. Otherwise, she ignored him and he gave her all the space she wanted. This mutual avoidance never allowed either one to express their thoughts about the incident in Atlanta or how it affected them. Red understood that it hurt Laura much more than it hurt him and his group, yet also realized that the suffering they caused her was unneeded so he never bothered her by how he felt about it.
This was a moot point now, this was not about them personally and more about how all of them will make it in a dangerous world.
"I can't change that, doesn't mean I won't try. I'm just more concerned by how all of us will live. How many of us will endure what's out there. It's going to beat us down, or try to anyways." Red looked over the field with Laura, "This is bigger than us."
"I can see that." Laura huffed, "Doesn't mean I much care for it."
"You lead Carol where you both need to go, maybe you find your group... maybe you don't. It's hard to find anything out there so you know it won't be easy. There could be anything out there." He pointed out, trying to convince Laura. "I have to take care of my people too. If you never find your group, than you'll need someone there over time. You both can't survive on your own forever, you will have to find some kind of permanence with a group."
"I won't risk Carol to save any of you." Laura brought up, "If there is ever a situation where it is Carol or any of your group. I will choose Carol above all."
Red tilted his head back slightly, looking down to her as he considered the implications. There were more likely to be problems on the road, many in fact. Red could barely keep up with the trouble they had before. It was complicated and Red put no fault on Laura for this, it is an acceptable trade off. He and his group could protect themselves, but no one wanted to leave Carol and Laura behind.
"I can deal with that. So long as we all protect each other. If it ever comes down to one of us or Carol, I can help my own people. Just... on the road, we watch each others backs." He held his hand out, offering it as a conclusion to this discussion.
Her eyes narrowed on Red, suspicious of him. Begrudgingly, she accepted the offer and shook his hand. "Carol is more important to me than anything else in this world right now, she must make it to her daughter; I don't care how it happens or when, so long as she does."
"You care an awful lot for someone who acts like she doesn't care at all." He gave a knowing smile. Carol meant more to Laura than she ever dared to say out loud and she defended her privacy with Carol with deadly force.
Laura merely shrugged his statement away. "It was Carol's daughter who was lost in the woods. She was bitten and died in those same woods before we ever found her." Red frowned, his own son came to mind. "But I brought that girl back after she had turned. I can do that apparently. They were all so happy to see that little girl alive again. Now, that girl, Sophia, is thinking and feeling the same thing that Carol did when Sophia was missing. I'm gonna' do it twice; bring two people back from the dead."
"Sounds like a bunch of heroics." Red resisted a more sarcastic tone. Half of him was glad to see that Laura was struggling to survive not for herself, but for Carol. The rest of him told him that it was nonsense that would never work; this world was not so kind as to make such miracles happen.
"Yeah, probably." Laura admitted outright, "I don't care. One way or another, Carol will see Sophia again."
"And that's something I can admire. Family is the best thing to have in this world, gives us all something to fight for." Red was reminded of all the family they had lost though and it was almost self defeating. Markus recently losing his sister, Red's own son and parents, Daisy and Melanie's family, and Braddock's girlfriend and siblings.
Laura started to turn to walk away, "You guys going to get ready to go then? You got a plan? 'Cause Carol and I are continuing the same way we were going, whether you join us or not."
"About the bast way at this time. We don't have much of a direction, just the way we were going, but it's not a good idea to just wander into the woods this far out of the city. Who knows what's out there." He sighed, "We can go the way you both were heading, until there's proof that it's too dangerous."
"That we can agree on." Laura finally left Red on the porch, walking away as Red went to start planning with his group. Laura was unsure how willing she was to travel with them, but to deny the additional protection was not a smart move when Carol was the only person that walkers went after. A deeper, darker side of Laura told her that if they were ever overwhelmed, than they could provide a distraction to the walkers while she escaped with Carol.
It would take a few days before Laura and Carol were ready to travel with the rest of the group. Though they already had been preparing, this was the final step until they left the fenced in home to find a new, safer place away from the other survivors in the area.
They had the plan to leave in two days time. This was to coordinate people, arm them all equally, and explain the direction they would be taking to the entire group. Also to make sure they had the best plan they could possibly come up with, just to be sure that they all agreed on the plan of action. Red voiced his idea to the rest and told them to take the last day at this house to think about it.
For the moment, Laura was checking the are around the house. Markus and Braddock were back at the house keeping watch on the land. She was the only one capable of walking around inside and outside the fence without risk of being hurt. As she had done so in the last few weeks, she went to clear the nearby area of walkers, check for weak spots in the fence, and keep a look out for any sign of survivors too close.
Laura kept herself well hidden while she explored the area around the fence. Usually she would find one or two walkers near the iron bars and kill it. There was never anything more exciting than that. Yet she wore her heavy jacket and she would keep her hood up as she did with her last jacket so as to keep her appearance hidden, but she felt no need to do this when walkers were their only concern now.
She looked down to the fur on her jacket, remembering how Daisy caressed it and remarked how soft it was despite the condition of the jacket. It had blood stains and had not been washed in a very long time. The fur stayed relatively clean and had not yet been exposed to weather or dirt. Laura quickly became attached to it as it kept the chill off her bones and made her feel more comfortable.
It was a decorative piece though, Laura did not need it and only carried it in the beginning in case Carol needed to use it. They carried a few blankets with them now and Carol had a large size coat to wear now anyways.
In order to prepare for their leaving, Carol and Laura had packed their belongings together and had them set at the back door. Laura had tied and wrapped two thinner pieces of blanket to her large belt. One was a piece of sheepskin rug that had seen better days, but functioned as good insulation. The other was an old brown wool small blanket that they used before, but had become too worn down to use as a covering at night. Both of these kept Laura's temperature higher and, as Laura had noticed, the cold had made her numb to any cut or her old injuries.
She would rather remain aware and warmer. The cold even slowed down her reaction times when she remained stationary for too long. To keep moving was a difficult thing when there was no where to go and nothing to do but stare at a gate. So Laura substituted the blankets that they were going to throw away, to keep whatever heat she could take in.
With her machete in hand, she struck down another walker reaching through the iron fence. It could barely even reach its forearm as it leaned over the strong brick base. Laura wiped her machete on her pant leg and moved on. The blowtorch was secured to her back by a modified gun strap that allowed her to have it slung over her back for easy access without having to worry about dropping it when having to cut down a walker.
Out here she did not carry a gun, so as to not even pose the risk of attracting attention of a larger group of walkers or any hostile survivors around. They could remain here for the last day and leave so long as they did nothing to bring anything or anyone to them.
Safety always remained the top priority and, out here shifting through the trees and overgrowth, Laura realized that there was not much out here. The herd had passed them already and none of the large body of walkers noticed that the living were in the house. A few were left behind and dealt with quickly after the herd left sight.
Stragglers were common, but since the herd had left, walkers were even rarer out this far in the countryside. Before Laura and Carol would come across a few every now and then, less than they were used to since they had the experience of Atlanta and the quarry behind them. The country was a little safer were it not for a roaming herd.
It still was not as large as the packed streets in Atlanta had though. They could literally touch one building on the far side of the street to the next with no space in between. Laura was glad they did not have to navigate the city anymore, especially not when it was just Laura and Carol alone. Too many things could go wrong that none of them expected.
There was always a chance that something happened beyond their ability to control. Laura would do whatever she could, but there was a limit to her usefulness. With the rest of the group coming with them, it reduced this chance for something to go wrong. She knew it was a good thing and still hated the idea of having to deal with them all.
Laura had decided to just let what was going to happen, happen. Carol would appreciate the company even though Laura already fought to keep them safe from herself. Carol knew the pressure Laura was under and also knew that they would need help to survive out there. It was too dangerous alone and exhausted Carol to continue on anymore.
While they would still tire themselves out at the end of the day, they had a higher chance to find food, shelter, and keep a steady time to rest as more than one person needed it. The group joining them also made Carol relax when she thought about all the times she needed rest and Laura did not. It would provide a better reason to have longer rest stops and Carol would not feel so tired by the end of the day.
The benefits would all appear to them in time, but for the moment, they were relaxed knowing it was almost time to leave the house.
Laura cleared out a few walkers while circling the fence. There were not many out, the few that were would have most likely just walked passed the house without ever knowing the group was there. The danger was passing them by and remained ignorant to their existence. It was a good sign that they were able to stay quiet and avoid detection.
She sighed, bored as she explored the area. There was nothing abnormal, not even the fence line showed any recent rusting or damages. It was cold, bright, and windy out. A few walkers here or there, none of them excited or noisy enough to attract other walkers. Most of the animals that Laura would hunt are harder to find as many have disappeared into their nests for hibernation.
As she saw it, there was not much to do near the house. However, this was not the end of her daily duties. She had to investigate any surrounding areas for other survivors or any potential threats. It could take an hour or two depending on what Laura found or did not find. Occasionally she would take a bit longer than it would actually take just so she could feel a little more in control of herself before heading back to the house.
It was a bit of a freedom that she took advantage of when she could. It would not be every day that Laura went out to check out the local area. When she had this opportunity, it always proved fruitful. She would take a deep breath, sit down, and clear her mind. If she wanted to look into it, she was meditating and it helped her balance her troubled mind. She did not want to explain why she meditated to anyone or that she even started.
For this brief moment where Carol did not need her, the walkers were kept away from the group, and there was nothing hassling her; Laura was calm. The Voice had not bothered her for a while, her hunger subsided for a short time, and there was not a single person leaning on her for support.
In a perfect state of relaxation, Laura listened to the world around her without thinking about a single thing. Her head was clear, no voices or urgency. It was a minimal help to the long term problems she dealt with in the group. This was almost as relaxing as she found being submerged in water was. The few times she experienced it, Laura was in situations where she could not stay to enjoy it. Falling into the creek when the horse threw her and Daryl off and when she tripped over the large ditch and fell into another creek when she was chasing Sophia.
She realized now that resting in water made her feel as though she was almost human again. The feeling of refreshing cold water, weightlessness, and her previous aches and pains dissipated. If she had it her way, she would have a tank full of water to just rest in.
This was as close as she could get to that feeling of perfect clarity. The crisp wind whistling through the trees, a few birds here or there, the crackling of leaves being brushed away with the wind. Not a single interruption to the natural sounds around her.
She was sitting on a fallen tree, the large log enough to hold her there comfortably. Near enough was the gate to the house and she had a view of it through the dense trees and on the far side the road with some abandoned cars far away. It was a road off of the main road they followed before and those cars they had long since scavenged for anything from gas to supplies.
Carol would most likely feel better with Laura around at all times or someone she trusted just as much. Laura still did not want Carol to trust her so much though, there was too much risk behind it.
She groaned at herself, she would worry about all that later. She needed to take herself a private moment, to focus on what was to come and how she was to control it. The Voice was silent, there were no disturbances. With a long draw of breath, she tried to concentrate on remaining calm and collected.
Her acute hearing picked up some animal a little distance away just scurrying around, another sound came from the whine of the trees as the wind pushed and pulled them. The cracking of sticks and leaves as the pattern of footsteps became clear.
Laura's eyes snapped open. In front of her was trees, autumn leaves, and the piles of dead organic debris mixed with various weeds. She could not see the animals she had heard, though they were small and probably further away than she originally thought. She know she heard footsteps, but she was not aware if they were close to her or far.
She rose to her feet cautiously, turning around to look through the trees to find the source. There was a uniqueness to the steps of a person compared to an animals. It called for great concern, there was someone out there and she was unable to see them. Perhaps they had already spotted her? She was not trying to hide herself, there had never been another person out here just wandering the woods.
It exactly copied when she had heard Markus behind her and Carol back on the road. Before anything bad had happened, Laura was able to figure out it was Markus and rejoined the group.
But this felt wrong. There was someone out there and she could feel herself tense up. The unfamiliar scent that reached Laura told her this person was not part of the group. "That's new." She frowned, but ignored this development. Her smell could pick up the strange scent, but all that did was tell her what she already knew at this point. An unknown presence was near.
Laura crouched down, she needed to reach the house to alert the others. This was why she was out there, searching for suspicious activity and any danger to the group. All she had to do now is figure out how to return to them without being spotted.
Unless they had already seen her, in which case; it was time to test her hunting skills on another survivor.
Slowly, she inched her way back towards the house. Keeping low to the ground as much as possible, Laura listened carefully for any more footsteps. She made her way through the trees, taking a moment break to patiently wait to see if anything was around her. When she heard the steps first, she was not paying close enough attention to tell which direction the sound was coming from.
They might be quite a ways behind her, just mapping out the area as the person makes their way forward. For all she knew, those steps could have been leading to the house already and she was too late.
The thought wracked her with worry. If someone had already made it to the house... Was it just one person? Was it a group, big or small? Were they armed? Was Carol alright? Laura gritted her teeth and restarted her stealthy trek to the gate.
She watched the path she chose, for anything that would make too much noise. Out of practice in both hunting and survival against enemies. "Enemies is a weird term for this..." Laura thought unfavorably, she had no idea who it was. It was not a walker, the smell that usually followed them; a rancid, corpse stench as anyone could pick up on.
With a huff, she continued, but she kept hearing the footsteps behind her. Laura was almost panicking, she knew the sound was coming from a short distance now. It was a single person, walking at a normal pace from what she could tell. There was nothing to suggest that this person knew she was there and in no way would she risk being seen.
Taking one last look around, Laura could see the outline of another person through the woods. It was one person as she figured and he was carrying a rifle of some sort. While he looked to be alone, Laura would not be surprised if he had company elsewhere. She could see him out there and he had not yet spied her through the woods. Laura felt lucky that the woods, even with a large portion of the leaves having fallen off, still provided excellent cover.
Laura saw the gate clearly now, it was still closed and Laura was swift to slip through the gate and close it behind her.
There were no trees to hide behind on this side of the gate so Laura ran back to the house, expecting the group to spot her on approach. On the porch Laura could see Markus step down the small stairs and had his gun at the ready. She waved just to be sure they knew it was her running to see them and not a walker that figured it out or a stranger barreling down their driveway.
"Laura?" He came forward, meeting her part of the way to the house. "What is it, what's wrong?" He stood beside her, inspecting her for any injuries and was satisfied that he did not find any.
She pointed the house, "Get everyone inside and ready to go, now." She pushed him away by his shoulders. It was urgent enough for Markus to realize that this was not a request. Laura has served as their best watch guard for the last few weeks, her word carried weight with it, even more so in the event of an outside threat to the group. So Markus hurried off to gather the other members that were on watch.
Laura threw the door open and rushed towards the living room and kitchen area. She spotted Carol and Melanie both checking the packs they would all carry when they left. "Carol, keep Melanie here. Grab a gun." Laura appeared so quickly that Carol almost did not notice she had arrived. There was never a use for a gun outside guard duty, so when Carol picked up on Laura's order, she reached for the pistol closest to her and brought Melanie to the far side of the house. Red had made sure everyone knew about the escape plan and Carol was going to make sure Melanie was ready to run if need be.
She left the living room, knowing that Daisy would be upstairs where she usually kept watch on the backyard. A large viewing window that gave her a bird's eye view of the entire backyard was more beneficial than being on the ground.
She stormed up the stairs, sure to grab the attention of whoever else was in the house still. Rushing down the hallway, Laura entered the master bedroom and she saw Daisy with her rifle, windows open, carefully scanning the backyard.
"Daisy," Laura stole her attention away for a moment, "Downstairs now, emergency."
Daisy, who spun around in place and was about to greet Laura, took a moment to process what she had said. Glancing back out through the windows, she spotted Markus having just reached Red in the backyard and spoke to them before they both turned towards the house. Daisy swallowed heavily, something was very wrong and she made a quick check of her rifle before following Laura back down the stairs.
Laura waited until people began to gather in the large open area between the living room and the kitchen. Carol and Melanie were by the backdoor, Daisy just coming down the hallway, and Markus, Red, Micheal, and Braddock all entering through the backdoor.
"What, what is it?" Red was alert, all Markus had told him was that Laura ran in from her perimeter check and told Markus to gather everyone he could. This was not a good sign and made everyone in the room antsy.
Laura looked around the room, making sure everyone was there. "I saw someone in the woods. A man, not a walker. He was armed with a rifle."
The group all shared looks with each other, confusion came to mind, worry, and questions began to form. Firstly, Daisy stepped forward. "Were there any other people?"
"Just one man, alone as far as I can tell. He's not far outside of the gate right now." Laura could hear everyone's hearts skip a beat. People were afraid of other people in this world, it could bring all forms of hell down on them. From what Red explained already, they had enough with meeting new groups.
"If it's just one man, what's the concern?" Markus asked, not to question Laura's urgency, but more to question what it meant to them.
Red crossed his arms and his eyes narrowed, "Could mean a lot. He could be a scout... Was he carrying anything other than a gun? Could help figure out if he really is alone."
Laura shook her head, "He didn't have anything to use as a pack at all. No bags and he didn't look like he was freezing or starving to death. All I saw him holding was that gun and he only had on this sweater..." She sighed, "Means he's most likely to be part of a larger group and he's just looking out ahead for them."
"How do we figure that out?" Daisy frowned in concern, giving only a quick glance to her young sister.
Micheal gestured back to the front door. "Means that if he's out surviving well enough, then he must have food and shelter somewhere. If he's not wearing winter gear, that means he isn't traveling, just looking around. If he had a bag and a coat on, it could mean that he was following the road to find shelter. It is possible that he doesn't have either of these, but that's extremely unlikely. None of us could survive in this weather for very long without a place to stay warm or clothing to keep us from freezing."
"So he's got a place somewhere." Markus stated, "And it can't be too far if he's just in some old sweater. It's getting cold as fuck out at night, no one could survive the cold at night alone, without heavy jackets and blankets anymore."
"This is a problem." Red pressed a knuckle against his temple. "He has a group and they are not far. Even if they were, they're coming this way and that scout is going to tell them about this place. A securely fenced in standing building is too much of a good thing to pass by. They will stop here. We can't assume he's alone... even if we don't have any evidence either way. It's too much of a risk."
"Are we ready to leave tonight? We packed food, water, and necessities to last us and as much as we can carry." Daisy pointed to the packs all set up and waiting to be carried away.
Braddock huffed, "I can carry enough to last us two weeks. We don't need to worry about that. All that we have to figure out is if it's safe to leave right now." Red nodded to him, acknowledging that it may not be the best time.
"Why would we wait? The longer we stay here the more time we give whoever the hell is out there to find us." Micheal loaded his pistol and holstered it in one of the few belt holsters they actually had. "We should get out of here."
"They might spot us." Red was playing as many possibilities as he could in his head. "We don't know where these people could be. If they have an idea we're here, trying to leave during the day would be risky. They could see us, track us; we need to think about the best course of action."
"We can't travel at night! It's dangerous out there." Daisy bit her lip, her hands grasping her rifle closer to her. Walkers could come out of no where even during the daytime. While night during the winter did provide more overall moonlight to see with, walkers were tricky and never easy to spot without some kind of pre-warning; that almost never happened of course.
"Laura can." Carol answered, "I don't know if we... explained how advanced her senses are now. She can see at night, just like it was day. If Laura takes point, she can try to keep an eye out for walkers nearby."
The group turned to look at Laura. Some various aspects of her cured state of being was explained and so much was left circumspect. "Is that true, can you do that for us?" Red asked first, hoping to hear the best answer he could hope for.
"I can see at night, yes. I can't promise that I will be able to pick out every walker if the group spreads out too far. I'm only one person after all." Laura answered to confirm what Carol suggested. It was a possibility, but it would not be easy.
"Then we stick together until either the sun comes up or we find another place to hold up for the night?" Markus posed the option and received a few nods and agreements around the room.
"We can't rest until tomorrow night though. If that guy has a group, then we need a day of traveling to put some room between us and them. Just to be safe." Red heard them all take turns sighing tiredly, no one disagreed and instead was getting ready for a long night. With Laura's good sight or not, there are more things that can go wrong that Laura has no effect over.
The group was nervous, anxious, and all around scared now. Mainly Red and his group has they had found less than optimal groups out there, both not being any better than the other. They had no idea if this man belonged to a new group or was part of one that they had already came across. Either way, they were not willing to find out.
"Everyone get ready, make sure we have what we need; we leave tonight through the back. Just like we talked about." Red set out the plan before them all. "Once it starts getting dark, we leave immediately and we will spend a full day on the road. We eat on the way, no stops at least for a day. Any questions?"
Each person took a moment to think over the plan, look at one another, then shake their heads. Everyone had been listening to this plan for the last few weeks and were practicing drills to prepare for this event. There were no questions about what they needed to do anymore.
"Good. I suggest every eat, drink, and get some rest before tonight. It's going to be a long night and a long day tomorrow."
Laura instantly appeared beside Carol, her expression and approach expressed enough to Carol to explain the concern and watchfulness Laura was already starting before they started traveling again.
The rest of the group started to break up, looking through supplies and taking out their nightly rations each. Daisy and Melanie headed back upstairs, Daisy was going to make sure the girl got enough sleep in to keep her awake for the next day. The little girl, though young and still learning, was rather smart and capable of helping the group out.
Red, Markus, and Braddock stayed in the living room to talk over plans and the progression of tonight's escape.
Ensuring that Carol was taken care of, Laura went back to guard duty. She sat at the front window, watching out of the corner of the window so she could see the gate but no one looking at the house would be able to spot her. Everyone were remaining inside to avoid drawing the attention of the man outside the house. If he spotted the house, he may or may not decide to investigate it.
If he did, they would have to deal with him. If he just went back to his group to tell them it was there, then they might have enough time under the cover of dark to escape without being seen and have a significant head on them.
Laura would remain at this spot until it grew dark out. Everyone else slept, ate, and drank as much water as they could to last them. It would burn them all out to start their first day back out on the road with a full day of nothing but moving forward.
She watched the gate like a hawk, just waiting to see a man on the far side ready to break in and create problems for them. The excitement was getting to her bit by bit, she felt herself rise in anticipation. There was no telling exactly what would happen or how this stranger would react to seeing this house or them inside of it.
FtDLulz: That's good! A lotta' people do and tend to push them aside a little. I think it's less of dialogue-heavy and more like zero-plot progression that they dislike. But don't worry, we only see a tiny bit here! We will see more in the next few chapters! A lot more! :D
Just a Wonderland: Yeah she's just barely opening up, but it's definitely a push forward!
And I love writing dialogue heavy chapters, but I find it can also have a negative impact on a chapter. If I want to progress the story plot-wise, events of action must take place. If I want to progress the story character-development-wise, I must input a problem/issue/puzzle for the protagonist to solve. If I want to create more tension or give the reader the feeling of depth between characters, I must insert a lot of dialogue or character interaction.
There's so many options more than that too, but it's just complex and hard to decide on what to mix and when! xD
Well neat-o. One day this will be finished and you can read it through all the times you like! So long as you still like it all the way through until the ending! ;3
I know rightttt ugh, I love it when authors abuse their characters. I figure, a world like this, has no real boundaries anymore. There is no need to hold back any longer, no rationality and no government to punish criminals. So there's nothing stopping me from doing the absolute worst to my characters.
And honestly, in the next few chapters, Laura will become the single most abused and destroyed character I've ever written, just to let you know. x3
Ideas are always a good thing too of course, you never know what you'll get right. :O
Yeah, I always thought that if Daryl was even thinking about it, considering any kind of relationship or closeness to a woman he liked he wouldn't be the kind to beat around the bush. He strikes me as the guy who would tell a guy off if they said they liked a girl but were too shy to admit it. Like... "Grow a pair and buy her a drink, asshole." That kinda' thing.
He also seems like the guy, based on some episodes we've already seen even into S3 that he understands, sympathizes, and actually cares. But like it's stated in the story, he'd rather kill someone than admit it. Though there is a definitely different side to him when he's actually around the one person he exposes this lesser-used side of him with. But yay! OTP!
I think they'll both go through a lot of shit, both as part of the zombie apocalypse and part of Laura's condition. There's a lot of issues coming their way and they have nooooo idea.
Ahhh, you're too kind. I'm trying to remain interesting without just straight up being too predictable, so I try to make up my own shit from scratch. (I.E. Laura and her condition) It takes longer and sometimes I make mistakes or release something I don't feel is 100% complete, but I do love writing it all out. Maybe one day I'll revise the entire story, rewrite, and make it even better!
But I'm glad I don't sound like I repeat too much stuff, I don't want the story to be repetitive. I know my limited vocabulary is already risking a lot of the quality, but I do try to expand my horizons by exploring more and more of the English language and using my own understanding of debate and reasoning in order to instill plot and realism.
Nahhhhh I love hearing from my readers and I enjoy reading anything from short reviews to long ones! There's no limit on a review for me! All reviews are a valuable contributing to the progress of my own mental state when writing. xD
The reviews are what makes me want to keep publishing new chapters, I probably would anyways, but it is really nice to hear that people read and enjoy my story.
And yeah, the flow for the last chapter was crazy nice. I just ran through 2,000+ words without even noticing. It comes and goes of course, but it is really nice to know that I can get it back again after being gone for so long. (I had to learn how to condense sentences/paragraphs in order to seem more professional/academic for the APA and MLA essays in class. This, unfortunately, carried through into my hobby writing)
I like the idea that I could write a slightly more unique story idea. I know the entire story isn't unique or original, but it is very enjoyable to write and I hope I can keep readers in the story. I hate that I know sometimes I've written parts to a chapter that can break immersion. Ego boosts are always nice. :D
Thanks! I will definitely keep trying and doing what I can to keep the chapters in the higher quality area. I don't want to diminish it and I do feel I have a minimal standard so if I ever feel like I can't continue on a chapter until I figure out the direction better, I will pause and solve it before continuing.
I will try to not make you wait too much longer for another chapter! I'm actually really wanting to start writing the next few chapters really soon, but it's like 3:15 AM right now so I'm tired! x3
It's really nice to know I have a dedicated fan of the story! I hope it continues to enthrall you so well! Just be sure to tell me if something doesn't make sense or needs to be double checked, I won't leave my readers disappointed if I can help it. ;3
And yeah! You have been reviewing each chapter! It's nice to look forward too, but don't worry if you ever miss a chapter or don't have much to say; I know you're a fan and love getting your reviews in! So long as I can keep your interest in the story and not ruin what you like so much about this story, then I'll be happy! :D