#endverse.

it was going to be a simple run,      something to get her back out there,      the first time willingly past the gates since she came here,      since she lost her brothers and wandered until she found survivors or,      rather,      they found her.      she was told it was a there and back job,      no more than an hour tops if it all moved efficiently,      if they didn’t run into any complications along the way,      which could never be counted on of course.      something always seems to happen on runs,      no matter how big or small it is,      how many people they have.      it wasn’t always so dire,      maybe they didn’t get so lucky this time around to find anything good,      there wasn’t always a life lost,      but sometimes there was and sometimes horrible things happened and that was the worst part of going out with these teams,      you never know which run is going to be the last.

she used to,      long before dean,      before she was ever introduced to this camp,      let herself travel with the idea that things could be okay,      nothing too horrible could happen if she and her brothers were careful,      treading slowly over thick terrain,      mindful,     watching all around them,      and then she let her guard down,      they all did.      bradly and john ended up infected within days of each other,      both dead and buried somewhere in the woods now,      miles and miles from where the camp stands.

    he'd learned the distinguishing creaks  &  weathered whimpers of the floorboards within his cabin, knew when another breached the threshold even if he’d left the door open for the crisp air to converse with his skin. it does nothing to help him settle when a lithe pair of steps make themselves known in the entryway, dusk having set upon the camp, a thick fog glowering murkily with the moonlight along the grounds. he doesn’t shift where he sits, nursing a wound he’d taken to on one of the evening trips to find food, sterilized needle working a thin thread through marred flesh. his concentration is hardly dulled, but his voice piques just enough for the intruder to hear.    ❛  thought i made it clear i don’t wan’t anyone in here?  ❜