Hey Guys, Crescent Rider here and I am back with another chapter. There isn't much for me to say except for one thing.
At the end of this chapter, expect a major surprise...
That is all, and enjoy the chapter!
Once again, Jackson undergoes another dream. Though he sees nothing, he can hear various voices echoing around his ears.
There weren't any clear words said to him, just whispers and wails of separate individuals he had met in the past. They weren't just there, they were overlapping with each other.
Over time, the whispers, and wails became screams in various ways and it soon caused a drastic effect on his mind as he covered his ears before the dream ended right then and there.
Present Time
At the end of his dream, Jackson snaps his eyes wide open and exgasps as he becomes alarmed by his surroundings and pans around his initial surroundings. Since he woke up so early in the morning, he saw nothing but branches as he slept on top of a large tree he converted into a hideout.
Once he realized that he was back in reality, he sighed to himself and pinched the bridge of his nose. He then turns to Sophia, who was sleeping next to him after they arrived here. Only to widen his eyes as he saw a young and brown-haired girl sleeping next to him.
This wasn't just some random girl he found, it was someone he knew from long ago. Rather than reach out for her, He closed his eyes and shook his head several times before opening them again.
After his eyes were opened, the girl was gone and Sophia took her place as she slept quietly. Jackson then makes a sour look as he turns away from Sophia. For having to hallucinate someone he knew in the past, he somehow knew that he wasn't fairing so well with himself.
Rather than be open with it, Jackson kept it to himself and settled for another meeting he planned for tomorrow. As for today, he decided to head back to a hideout with a roof and gently woke Sophia from her sleep.
She'd sit up and rub her eyes a few times, "Jackson?"
"Gather our things, we're heading back to the hideout," Jackson ordered,
Sophia agreed and gathered the things she could carry before she and Jackson carefully descended from the tree.
The two then departed from the area and made their way to the suburbs where their most comfortable hideout's located. But as they made their way through the woods, Jackson heard something faint and held his hand up to Sophia to stop.
He then placed one finger onto his lips to keep her quiet and focused on his hearing across the trees. With the being so absurdly quiet, Jackson could practically hear a pin drop but in this scenario, he heard something else.
The growling and rustling sounds of walkers...
Because of this, Jackson became alarmed and quickly turned to her, "We better get out of here fast,"
"What?" Sophia expressed,
"Now!" Jackson insisted and both ran through the woods,
The direction they were heading was somewhere north-east, Sophia was concerned by Jackson's hastiness and it almost caused her to tumble on certain occasions.
When minutes passed, Sophia showed sights of fatigue due to her small stature and Jackson noticed her falling behind. Thus, he took the bold risk of carrying her and her bag onto his back and kept running.
Despite the strain he was feeling, he endured through it all and kept running while Sophia held onto him while occasionally glancing from behind. Moments later, they saw what Jackson feared on his left.
A few walkers were strolling about, and they seemed to be together despite their distancing. Jackson could take them on alone, but with the direction they were moving, they assumed that the others were not far behind.
The only thing they can do, mostly on Jackson's part, is run until they get to safety.
Late Afternoon...
They had returned to their hideout and Jackson was exhausted even when he didn't show it. His breath was ragged, his sweat pouring down on his face and body, and Sophia had to assist him climb in a ladder due to his aching limbs.
With the two catching their breath, Jackson grabbed a water bottle and drank half of it before passing it to Sophia.
After they've taken a breather for the past few minutes, Jackson decided to grab some binoculars and go out the window to survey the area ahead of their location.
He'd stayed focused in that direction for a few minutes, and that's when he saw what he didn't want to see. A large pack of walkers strolled through the forest together.
He sighed to himself, then he closed the window and went to his sleeping bag.
"Looks like we're staying in for the day," Jackson said, and grabbed the bag carrying the compound bow,
He'd inspect every part of the bow to ensure that it was still in good condition to use and proceeded to notch an arrow to check the elasticity of the string.
Once he had determined its elasticity, he pushed the arrow until the bowstring returned to its original state and I put the arrow and compound bow down before lying on his sleeping back with his hands underneath his head.
As for Sophia, she would eye on the compound bow for a while, then turn to Jackson, "What's it like?"
"What do you mean?" Jackson inquired,
"Pulling that bow, how did it feel?" Sophia asked,
"Oh... Well, it's tough and heavy," Jackson admitted, "But I've had my fair share of uses with a bow like this one before. Therefore, I wouldn't worry about it aching my fingers. Strong pulls often lead to great penetrations as bows require aim and power to shoot an arrow,"
"Do you think I could do it?" Sophia questioned,
"You could, but you'd have to know how to notch an arrow, pull its string hard, and steady your aim while holding the string in place," Jackson listed, "It isn't easy, but it won't be difficult when you get the hang of it with patience and practice,"
Sophia smiled at his words, and then she asked the important question, "Will you teach me?"
Jackson just stares at her, then lets out a small sigh and smirk that he did not show to her, "Sure, why not? But not today or tomorrow though,"
"Why?" Sophia inquired,
"Because I plan on meeting someone," Jackson said, "I'd take you with me, but I can't take that chance since those freaks are lurking about,"
"Does that mean you're going leave me here?" Sophia asked rather worriedly,
"Yes, but I won't be gone for long," Jackson said, then he noticed her worried expression since she was not afraid of losing him, but afraid of being alone again.
He sighed at her thoughts, sat upstraight, then decided to toughen her up a little with his legs crossed together, "You can't rely on everyone around you, you know. Because there will be a time when you'll find yourself alone and crying won't help nor save you,"
Sophia turns away and looks down on how she was before she met Jackson.
"No one is born strong, Sophia. They're made to be strong," Jackson said, "So I'm asking you to endure my absence until my return,"
"But what if you don't come back?" Sophia asked, "What if you become one of them?"
"Don't be so negative, Soph. If there's anything in this new world I'm good at, not dying is one of them," Jackson said, "But if I do die, I'd want you to gather what you can carry, find your group, and be strong than be a nuisance to them. You said that they're gonna look for you, at this point, they might be thinking that you're either dead or you became one of them now,"
Sophia doesn't turn away, instead, she just listens as she finishes the last part of his explanation while placing his hand on her shoulder, "Be strong, not a nuisance. You understand?"
After some consideration, Sophia nods and Jackson closes his eyes and nods once.
"Let's get a bit of work done here, then we rest for the night," Jackson declared and the two inspected their supplies as well as their weapons,
The Following Day
Just as Jackson prepares today's items of trade, Sophia sees him off by the ladder. But before he left, he made a solemn vow for Sophia's sake by cupping one side of her hair, pulling her close, and gently pressing his forehead against her as he promised, "Whatever it takes, I will come back for you,"
As soon as he pulls his head, he descends from the land and goes off alone while Sophia watches from the window and shuts it after he is nowhere to be seen.
Jackson held a sharp hatchet and navigated his way through the forest without drawing any attention to himself as walkers were roaming about.
But due to their numbers and behavior, Jackson took the opportunity to pick them off by sneaking his way behind them and striking his hatchet against the back of their heads.
He'd pulled the corpse down, then pulled his hatchet out of its head before navigating his way further into the woods.
It took a lot of minutes and killing, but he'd soon arrived at the place he needed to go; A Family Farm...
Before he walked his way there, he decided to scope the place out with a pair of binoculars. He may have spotted a few of the residences of the farm, but he couldn't help but spot a few unfamiliar faces and grew weary of them since he had never seen them before.
He would glance at the sack he carried and try to reconsider his decision. But due to his history with the people of the farm, he decided to wear the same vest he did with the survivors he met the other day, take a deep breath, and walk towards the farmhouse.
Farm (Shifting Perspective)
An old man is finishing his inspection on an RV after discussing it with one of the members of his group. He felt conflicted about a certain man whom he declared a danger to the group, but he wouldn't be able to convince anyone since no one would listen and that person was just doing what he could to keep this group safe and alive.
With a heavy sigh, he looks out in the distance and gets his thoughts together. However, he soon spotted someone in the distance which prompted him to grab his binoculars in the RV and see if it was a survivor or just another walker.
With one good look through his binoculars, he saw that it was a survivor walking towards the farm with a large sack on his back and decided to put his binoculars down and go inside the house.
He'd knocked on the open door and get the residents' and one of his fellow member's attention to him, "What is it, Dale?"
"I came to tell you all that a boy is walking his way here," Dale said, "He appears to be alone and it carrying some bag on his back,"
The blond woman may not know who it is, but the residents of the house do as the boy assumed, "It must be Jackson,"
"Who?" The blond woman inquired,
"Jackson, he's that boy that comes here to trade with us," The brown-haired girl revealed, "We told Rick about him before, maybe he has something that might help my sister,"
"Then let's not keep him waiting," Dale said,
With that, he and the two girls went out of the house and met up with Jackson. However, they did not go unnoticed as two others saw them leave the house and other from the distance.
By the time the three confront Jackson, they are met with a simple greeting despite the distance between them, "Hello, Maggie. It's been a while,"
"Likewise, Jackson," Maggie greeted back, "Do you have anything for us?"
"I'd tell you," Jackson glances at the two people beside them, "After you introduce me to these folks first,"
"Name's Dale Horvath," Dale introduced himself, then gestured at the blond woman, "And this here is Andrea, You are?"
"Jackson," Jackson introduced himself, "Jackson Rhodes,"
"Nice to meet you, son," Dale greeted,
"Don't call me that," Jackson insisted,
"Who the hell is this?" Everyone turned to the voice and saw a bald man with a gray-haired woman walking up to them, "What do you want from us?"
"Shane, show some modesty to the kid. He came out here all by himself here," Dale demanded,
"Came all this way, have you? Why is that," Shane questioned, and it immediately made Jackson somewhat uncomfortable as he took a step back,
"Hey, would you relax? He just came here to trade with us, there's no harm being done here," Maggie reasoned, and Shane just glanced at him before backing up a bit as she handled the rest of the conversation, "Sorry about him, we had a bit of trouble with the barn and all,"
"You mean the barn filled with walkers? What happened to it?" Jackson inquired, which aroused everyone's suspicion excluding Maggie,
Before any of them could say, another man approaches, "We killed them all. Every last one,"
Jackson turns to the voice and saw a redneck approach from the right. Though he asked who this was, he put that matter aside and sighed to himself, "So much for all that work then... Speaking off, where's Hershel or Otis? I'd normally meet one of those two when I discuss our terms.
Maggie paused for a bit, then revealed the condition of this place, "My Dad isn't here right now after the barn got cleared out. As for Otis..."
She didn't have to say, for Jackson knew what this pause meant and offered his condolences, "Give my condolences to Ms. Patricia then,"
Maggie nods while Andrea decides to question his involvement with the barn, "How did you know about those walkers in the barn?"
"I often run into Otis in the forest whenever he finds walkers by the creek," Jackson revealed, "I even helped him with it as long as they provide the goods I need,"
"So you're into whatever they were thinking, aren't you?" Shane questioned in a hostile manner,
"No," Jackson bluntly admitted, "If I had it my way, I would have cleared those walkers myself. But that isn't something I'd do without Hershel's permission,"
Shane eyes him rather suspiciously while Jackson switches his gaze toward the gray-haired woman beside him. Though she'd caught on his gazing, "Is there something you want?"
"Not much, just a name," Jackson said,
The group turned to her for a while, then she decided to reveal her name since everyone shared theirs with him, "It's Carol,"
"Carol... Carol..." Jackson muttered and got his thoughts around her name, then slightly widened his eyes and quickly raised his head towards her, "By any chance, is your last name Peletier?"
Everyone, including Maggie, expressed some level of surprise. Though Shane and Daryl acted more cautiously towards Jackson after he guessed Carol's last name correctly,
"How the hell do you know that?" Daryl questioned and Shane became more cautious than the rest of the group,
Jackson was silent for a time and looked at every one of their eyes as they demanded answers for his assumption. After some consideration, he decided to reveal a small detail that may piece the truth altogether, "I picked up stray a few days ago, and they told me all about you more than the rest of the group,"
Everyone, except Maggie, seemed confused by what he meant just now. As far as they know, they don't have any pets or any animals they're taking care of. But with given time, the only person who realized the truth of it all...
...
...
...
Was none other than Carol herself, "Sophia...?"
This caused everyone to turn to him, and Jackson's response...
Was a simple nod of his head, and brought down a revelation which shook the majority of this group towards the young survivor...