#ohdeathz

EDEN HAD SEEN A LOT OF STRANGE THINGS in her time up in these woods, but this was really taking the cake. unless she was having a very strange dream or the isolation was finally getting to her and she was losing her mind, eden was currently living through her sixth tuesday this week. there was absolutely no explanation for what was happening and eden had not a single clue why any of it was happening ⏤ all she knew was that she needed to find them before it was too late. that seemed to be the only consistency to this strange loop. the how or what was never the same but they were always there, seconds away from being met by a hiker with ill intentions or a wild animal attack or whatever other gruesome death the universe could invent in a place like this. eden packed her essentials, tightened the straps of her backpack, whistled for her border collie, willow, and set off. willow happily bounded ahead ⏤ always too far for her to quickly catch up, but never too far that she couldn't see her. every once in a while willow would slow, patiently waiting for her person to close some of the distance. in a way, eden was relying heavily on her loyal friend. these woods were dense and vast and it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. it almost felt like willow had a better understanding of the recent events than eden did, leading her right to the person she was trying to find. "hello," eden called out carefully, learning from past mistakes that they never remembered her and never liked that she knew their name, "are you -" their surroundings finally started to sink in, willow pacing and whining nervously, but not approaching the other. these ledges had become notorious in recent months. two hikers had already lost their lives due to rocks giving way. "i work here, okay? in the tower," eden took a cautious step closer, "i need you to listen to me, yeah?"

" very funny, arsehole. " tried to hide the slight shake in her voice and failed. had no idea who she was calling out too, their end goal. " i'm spooked, okay?! you win. "

it's been years since they have seen each other, so long now that grayson has assumed that the last time could have been just that: the last. confronted with them now in such a setting, a corporate fundraiser where grayson had to put on his best mechanical smile, catches him off guard. while he manages an hour of going through the motions and only allowing his eyes to trail towards them a few times, he excuses himself momentarily to find reprieve outside. the solitude lasts a singular exhale before someone is standing next to him, and his breath catches when he notices that it's them. there isn't enough time for him to gather the strength to reconstruct his faux smile. all he can manage is a wobbly upturn of one side of his lips. "are you having a good time?"

being the head nurse and one of the few medical professionals at the camp meant you got things others didn't. the only thing she asked for? cigarettes. she used them sparingly. it was the end of the world...so, she had to ration what she got or she'd run out too fast. when she had her more stressful days, she has a couple, and today was one of them. one of the groups had gone out to get provisions and they ran into not only another group, but walkers, too. the medical center was full up when they returned. once the last patient had been taken care of and everything was calm, eleanor headed outside for just a break. she lit up the cigarette and leaned back against the brick wall with a deep breath. she closed her eyes and leaned her head back. she had blood all over her clothes and she was exhausted. when she heard footsteps, she didn't bother opening her eyes, "i just need a minute..."

she was trying to be brave, not give away how her heart bashed against her chest. " are you going to kill me? " maybe she deserved it, she couldn't deny that much.

"an hour?" he repeats, sounding defeated. riaan can't say he doesn't understand keeping it to herself until now — as selfish as it is, he probably would've ran away if he had gotten bit instead. tears blur his vision as realization sets in that this could be their last moments together. riaan gently pulls her head onto his lap. "hey.. remember the first time i met your parents?" through the pain, he manages to let out a chuckle. he looks down, brushing her hair out of her face. "i'm pretty sure there's a part of your mom that still hates me for that prank."

she swallowed thickly and he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

when she heard they were back in the emergency room, she sighed to herself, but quickly asked if she could take over their case. "i know them pretty well by now..." she chuckled as her friend switched their files and nodded. hayley grabbed the file and made her way down the hallway and knocked on the door before peeking her head in, her eyebrows raised, "should i have a wing of the hospital dedicated in your name at this point?" she teased as she walked into the room and closed the door behind her. "what in the world happened now?" she asked as she sat down on the seat in front of the computer as she signed in with her tag and bit down into her lower lip.