Hey Guys, Crescent Rider Here and I am back with another. But before you begin, there are some things I need to explain first.
The first thing on the list is to be aware that I may make mistakes in writing things about America since I'm not from there.
Second, sometimes. Certain scenes will revolve around Rick and his Group. It won't be too long, and it'll only involve mentions about Jackson.
Lastly, some of the earlier chapters will contain flashbacks of Jackson's past. Right now, it is one of them.
That is all, and enjoy the chapter!
Jackson finds himself inside a convenience store with a pistol raised against an adult walker. However, he was hesitant in pulling the trigger, and often took a few steps back as the walker limped its way towards him.
His breath was shallow despite his lack of fatigue, and cold sweat was rolling down his face due to his hesitance toward the walker.
What's uncharacteristic about him was some tears flowing from the corners of his eyes...
Before he can pull the trigger, everything goes black for him.
Next Morning
Jackson gasped as he snapped his eyes open and sat right up from his sleeping bag. His breathing was a bit shallow, but he'd regain his composure especially when he turned to see Sophia sleeping rather quietly by his side.
He tried to stretch his hand to run his fingers against her hair but chose not to as he pulled his hand back and carefully left his sleeping mat.
The next hideout they stayed in was in the attic of another suburban home. Despite how small the space was, it was enough and no walker would be able to reach them.
However, he did break the attic ladder to prevent people from gaining access and the only way to get inside the attic is through some ladders that are conveniently placed by the window.
Jackson would go through the open window with a pair of binoculars and make his way to the top of his home. He then surveyed the surrounding area and found a few walkers just roaming around the area. He then loomed his binoculars in the direction where his previous hideout.
Even with five walkers wandering the streets, he knew that the house may still be filled with walkers and they wouldn't be gone for a few hours.
Jackson then focused on the streets until she reached the end, then planned on going to ground level, handling the walkers roaming about, and searching the untouched houses of the suburbs.
But before he does all that, he needs to stay a little longer as he doesn't want to leave without Sophia's notice.
A Few Minutes Later...
After some discussion between the two, Jackson was practically forced to have Sophia by his side and went to the first house across the street.
Jackson wasn't the type of person to march through the front door for a multitude of reasons, so they went to the fence and checked if the fence door was locked.
Once they've confirmed that it's locked, Jackson made an alternative option by bending his knees down and clasping his fingers together, "Up you go, Sophia,"
Sophia doesn't seem to question his actions, puts her foot onto his clasped fingers, and then he proceeds to boast her up on the fence.
"What do you see?" Jackson asked as he maintained his hold on Sophia,
After a brief period, she turns to him, "I don't see anything,"
"What about the fence door?" Jackson asked and lifted her a bit higher,
"I see a lock," Sophia said,
"Does it have a padlock?" Jackson inquired, "And you know what a padlock looks like, right?"
"Um..." Sophia trails off for a bit, then turns back to him, "I don't see a padlock,"
"In that case, you wouldn't mind hopping over the fence and unlocking it from the inside, right?" Jackson requested, "With a locked door, I'm sure that there aren't walkers lurking about in the back,"
"Promise you won't leave," Sophia asked,
"Of course, I won't leave. What would be the point of bringing you along for a scavenging run," Jackson questioned,
With that, he proceeded to push Sophia upward and then rubbed his sore shoulders a few times. After that, he heard her dropping down from the fence and the sound of the fence door being unlocked from her side.
Once opened, Jackson walks right in, closes the door, and locks it to prevent any walkers from going through this waypoint.
Then they walked their way to the backdoor and Jackson was the first to check if the door was locked. Fortunately, this door was unlocked and opened rather quietly.
"Stay quiet," Jackson said, and Sophia nodded,
With the door wide open, the two snuck inside and peeked by the first room, which was the kitchen. With nothing there, they move on to the next room.
After they determined that the room was clear of walkers, the two proceeded to block the front door with a couch they pushed together and moved to the next floor.
They were still playing it quiet since they didn't to attract any walkers that might be present on the second floor. There were a total of three rooms and the first room they checked was the farthest.
As soon as they reached the door, Jackson pressed a single finger onto his lips while Sophia nodded in response.
He then pressed his ear against the door in hopes that he heard something. Because nothing is worse for their comfort.
Jackson hears nothing, and the unsettling part begins as he gestures for Sophia to take a few steps back. With a knife at the ready, he slowly but carefully pushes the door open.
Tensions were high in his mind as the door creaked in response to his opening. Eventually, the door is opened and Jackson manages to take a peek inside the room.
From there, he saw the first half of the bed and a pair of unmoving legs. He then opens the doors wide and sighs at the sight he finds miserable.
Sophia takes a peek herself and places her hand on her mouth. She couldn't gasp at the sight of the bed, but she couldn't avert her eyes away from the sight.
For the bed had one occupant...
...
...
...
One dead girl...
Based on the scene before him, the girl may have been dead for months after the initial outbreak. What stopped her from turning was the obvious bullet hole through her temple.
He also noticed that the girl was about the same age as Sophia, and they both dread at the sight of her lifeless body. Before the mood could get any worse, Jackson would enter the room, find a blanket in a closet, and put it over the girl.
With another sigh, he turned to Sophia and noticed how sad she looked. He walked towards her and then placed his hand on her shoulder. He wanted to say something but decided not to as there was something odd in the scene.
He had found a bullet casing on the floor, and blood was minimal in the room. In other words, this girl didn't die alone here...
He'd make his to the master bedroom without Sophia and opening that door to peek through the room had revealed the truth. Compared to the girl's room, this one was a mess with blood on the walls and empty bottles on the floor.
As he opened the door, he was revealed to another death in the house. A man with an empty pump-action shotgun by his legs and a head blown to bits.
Jackson stared, then walked inside and went to inspect the shotgun. He'd pumped the shotgun once and it ejected an empty round. Then he inspected its ammo capacity and learned that it was empty.
This considered the shotgun useless especially when he checked the whole room for ammo. When nothing came up, he just decided to lay the shotgun next to the man, cover him with a blood-soaked blanket, and leave him there.
Just as he is about to step out of the room, he gains a recollection of the people he once accompanied in the past. He'd see the father who was determined to keep his beloved daughter alive and the look on his face after he learned the cruelty of this world's reality.
Before he could get stuck in this trance, he heard one voice in the room, "Jackson?"
He'd blink once, then he saw Sophia standing outside of the room. He looked quite concerned for him, then she'd hear him sigh as he walked to her, "Let's go, Sophia. Before the nightfall approaches,"
As Jackson walked passed her, Sophia just glanced at the man and then she left him to scavenge the place for supplies. Once the place was stripped of everything valuable, they'd leave the same way they came in and run back to the hideout before the sun had set.
The Following Night
Upon their return, Jackson and Sophia ate tonight's dinner and their only sort of light was a battery-powered lantern. It wasn't much since Jackson wanted to conserve its battery life, but it's enough for eating tonight's dinner.
But even after they ate, the mood is still sour considering what they've found in the house they went to together. Thus, Jackson had to lighten it by being a little open with Sophia, "Hey, you want to know why I was named Jackson?"
Sophia nodded, and then Jackson started explaining the details to her, "Well you see, I wasn't born in Georgia. Rather, I was born somewhere farther down, Somewhere in the state of Florida,"
"And where does your name come from?" Sophia asked,
"Why it comes from the same place where I was born..." Jackson paused, then spread his arms apart, "Jacksonville,"
"Oh... Oh, I see," Sophia said as she understood, then cracked up a smile, "Is that why you're named Jackson"
"Exactly," Jackson said as he pointed his finger at him, "The people in my school used to tease me all about it to no end, but no one wouldn't dare to go against me,"
"Why?" Sophia asked,
"Well, I was considered a handful of trouble for being quite the delinquent against students who dared to cross me. Sometimes, I'd be the one who starts the fights since people never knew how to play nice among other people," Jackson explained, "I even sent three senior students to the infirmary with one of them still holding their loose teeth,"
"Why would you do all that?" Sophia asked,
"There were a lot of things I hate more before these walkers roaming on the streets to eat everyone alive," Jackson revealed, "One of them is scumbags who think they can get away with assaulting a harmless girl for their life of leisure and mischief. So I confronted them and beat them all until they couldn't get up themselves. What I get is suspension from school while the three seniors spent their time in the comfort of their homes,"
Jackson sighed to himself as he deemed those times to be quite memorable, then he lost his joyful expression and revealed the last part of his story, "After that, I was stuck in my home due to suspension and this plague struck the whole town. I didn't know of it at first, but seeing and hearing those things mauling and eating people, I knew that I would die if I didn't put my well-being first. As for the rest of that story, I think I'll save that part up some other time,"
Sophia seemed more curious about his story and sad from the last part since that happened in the past. She didn't understand what was happening in the world, but somehow knew that it was bad when people panicked across the highway,
Therefore, she asked a different question, "What about your parents?"
"What?" Jackson mouthed in confusion,
"Your parents, where were they when it happened," Sophia repeated,
Jackson opened his mouth as he wanted to say, but when he recalled the dream from earlier. He was hesitant and just said, "That's a story for another time,"
Jackson just went to his sleeping bag after he ruffled Sophia's hair, "Now get some sleep, we've got much to do tomorrow,"
"O-Okay," Sophia replied, and watched him lie on his sleeping bag, "Good night,"
Jackson was silent in his sleeping bag, and Sophia just went to hers. But noticing the space between them, she decided to drag the sleeping bag next to him and then tuck herself in for the night.
As Sophia sleeps for the night, the same goes for her curiosity...
Merry Christmas, Everyone!