.・゜-: ✧☾　☽✧ :-゜・.

𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐋𝐀 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒 𝐇𝐀𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐏𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐒𝐀𝐅𝐄 𝐅𝐔𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄. She believed that their spot in the quarry was safe. Even though she was sort of waiting for an attack, she truly believed that they would kill the walkers with ease. She underestimated the creatures. Underestimated how deadly they were. After the night of the attack, Stella realized how badly she needed a taste of the danger. She needed to learn how dangerous they really were. And she had learned, she knew that she would never again underestimate them.

Stella packed the very few belongings that she had and left the tent. The stench of the dead outside made Stella's nose scrunch and her stomach turn. She placed her bag in one of the cars and looked out and over the empty camp, that had been filled with life and laughter only hours ago. Now, it was plagued with memories and pain, emptiness and stillness. It was a graveyard.

The air was thick and got even thicker when Jim revealed that he was bitten. His fever was torturing him and groans and moans would escape from the RV.

Stella and Levi sat on a lodge and watched as the camp got packed away.

"Hey, you know what you should do," Levi said.  "Have you read Robin Hood?"

"The movie?."

"No, dumbass! The book." Levi said playfully.

"Oh, to read a book right now. I could kill for a book." Stella said.

"You got a favorite?" Levi asked.

"I like the Hunger Games and one hundred years of solitude."

"Mine is invisible man."

"That one is like really old."

"I like the Spider-Man comics as well." Levi smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind." Stella chuckled. Even though the heavy weight of Amy's death felt like a hole inside her, she forced a smile on her lips.

"Everybody listen up!" Shane shouted to get everyone's attention. "Those of you with C.B.s' we're gonna be on channel 40. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now you got a problem, don't have a C.B., can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna got your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan. Any questions?"

"We're, uhh...." Morales sighed. "Me and my family, we're not going."

"We have family in Birmingham." Morales's wife continued. "We want to be with our people."

"You sure?" Stella's father asked.

"We talked about it." Morales smiled at his family. "We're sure."

Rick and Shane handed over a gun and a couple of bullets to the family.

"Thank you all... for everything." Morales's wife began to sob softly.

"Come here." Stella's mother pulled her into a hug.

Their family went around to hug and thank everyone. Tears ran down people's faces as they said their goodbyes.
Stella felt as her eyes began to gloss. It wasn't just the goodbye to Morales and his family that caused her reaction. But saying goodbye to the camp. Their safe place. And heading out into the ruins of the earth with very small odds of finding something safe. Stella didn't know what the world looked like now, but after seeing what happened when around a dozen walkers attacked she feared what a fallen world with 7 billion dead people roaming would look like. She didn't even dare to imagine it.

☼

Stella sat in the back of her father's car along with Levi, her mother, and her brother. The girl swayed from side to side as the car drove up the roads. She looked out to large forests that grew along the way. It was strange to think about that the trees had lives. When she was younger she would always think that the trees were looking at her. The fear of being constantly watched by the large trees became one of her biggest fears. But looking at the beautiful summer trees that they passed on the road- she couldn't understand what it was that she was so afraid of.

The cars in front of them came to a halt.

"Stay here," Rick said as he got out of the car.

"What's going on?" Stella asked.

"Not sure." Her mother responded and followed her husband.

Jim had decided to give up. He wanted to be with his family again. The fever was killing him and burning him up. He had fought for long. Rick and Shane didn't want to leave him to die, but the man had decided. Everyone knew that he only had a short time left and keeping him with the rest of the group would be putting everyone in more danger. Stella's father and Shane carried Jim to a tree and the rest of the group gathered around him to say their goodbyes.

Nothing can prepare you for a goodbye. Stella had never said goodbye to anyone like this before in her life.

As one of Jim's closest friends, Jacqui spoke first.
"Just close your eyes, sweetie." Her voice was thick with tears. "Don't fight." She placed a kiss on his cheek before slowly backing away from him.
"Jim," Rick said as he leaned down so he was face to face with Jim and held out a gun to him.  "Do you want this?"

"No. You'll need it."

Everyone returned to their cars in silence. The air was thick with sadness for the rest of the drive. Stella didn't know Jim very well. She had only spoken to him a few times but he was a very quiet person. Stella felt bad for not getting to know him more. But even though she didn't know him well, losing someone in your group, no matter how close you were or weren't, it still hurts.

✫

Stella looked out the car window and saw what she used to call her home city. She didn't even recognize it. Walkers roamed as far as the eye could see. She could see decomposed bodies and walkers leaning over dead that were scattered on the ground.

As Stella stepped out of the car she was met with a ripe stench that made her stomach turn. The group walked slowly towards the CDC with Rick in the front, steadily holding his rifle in front of him. Stella looked behind her multiple times to make sure that Carl was with her.
Her hand was resting on the knife in her holster. She would have felt a lot safer with a gun.
Swarms of flies buzzed around her making the whole experience much worse. She made an effort to get them out of her face, which only resulted in her getting even more upset flies at her.

"All right, everybody. Keep moving." Shane gestured towards the CDC.

Stella pressed her arm against her nose, trying not to smell the awful stench. She felt sick to her stomach, it was a combination of the foul stench and the sight of all the bodies on the ground being gnawed on by maggots. As they got closer, the bodies began to multiply. Stella had to tiptoe between the dead on the ground scared that any of them would wake up.

They made it to the shutters and Shane and Rick began to bang and try to lift them- nothing. The doors were locked and wouldn't open, not even with the help of the whole group.

"There's nobody here," Levi said under his breath.

"Then why are these shutters down?" Rick's eyes shifted around to find a way in.

"Walkers!" Daryl warned as he lifted his crossbow towards the approaching walkers, about 50 yards away.

Stella flew in front of her mother and brother swiftly, using her body as a shield from the dead. She could hear her brother sob in fear as his mother tried to calm him down.

"You led us into a graveyard!" Daryl shouted to Rick.

"He made a call!" Shane defended him.

"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl argued.

"Just shut up! You hear me? Shut up. Shut up!" Shane spat out his rage freely. "Rick, this is a dead end."

"Where are we gonna go?" Carol's voice was filled with stress and worry.

Stella could spot more walkers in the distance. Hearing everyone's panic and fear made the girl's heart beat faster. They had nowhere to go and it was getting dark. Stella had completely forgotten about the stench. Instead, she felt a bullet of panic rise in her throat.

"Do you hear me, Rick? No blame." Shane's eyes were flashing with panic and stress to leave.

"He's right. We can't be here, this close to the city after dark." Lori stated.

"Fort Benning, Rick— still an option," Shane said.

"On what? No food, no fuel. That's 100 miles." Andrea's words made a Stella think that there was no hope. That they were going to end up just like the dead on the ground. They were dangerously close to the city, they had nowhere to go. No resources.

A loud argument began between the panicked adults, as both Sophia and Carl cried out in fear.

"Come on, let's go." Shane and T-dog said as they began to hurry towards their vehicles.

"Let's go." Levi turned to Stella and grabbed her arm. They followed Shane and T-dog.

"The camera—it moved!" Rick's words made Stella come to a halt- along with the rest.

Rick ran up to the white camera.

"It's an automated device." Shane tried to tell him." It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now come on." Shane tried to pull Rick with him but he fought out of his grip and ran back to the camera. He banged on the shutters again as the group shouted for him. Panicked and eager to leave.

"I know you're in there. I know you can hear me." Rick shouted into the camera.
Stella shouted her father's name multiple times without getting his attention. They had to leave. But where would they go? The panic grew in her and she began to run to her father.

He continued to shout, begging to someone who didn't even exist.

"Dad, we have to go." Stella tried to tell her father.

"We have nowhere else to go!" He ran past his daughter like she wasn't even there. And began to bang on the shutters once again, screaming and yelling "You're killing us."

Shane dragged him away from the shutter begging for him to listen. Stella stood in front of her father, trying desperately to gain his attention.

"Dad, there's no one there."

But just as Stella said the last word, the shutter opened and a bright light shone at them from the inside. Stella turned around hastily. Her father walked first followed by Stella and then the other's.

"Hello?" Stella's voice echoed in the building. It seemed empty.
"Close those doors," Dale said and Daryl obeyed.
They walked slowly over the stone floor with their guns in a firm grip in front of them.

"Watch for walkers," Shane said.

"Hello?" Levi's voice echoed.
The sound of a gun clicking behind them made the group flip around with their weapons pointed at the man. He was in his mid-40s but his face wore a wrinkled skin. He held up a gun, aimed at the new group.

"Anybody infected?" He shouted.

"One of our group was," Rick said. "He didn't make it."

"Why are you here? What do you want." The man's voice was stressed and filled with fear.

Stella and Levi exchanged a look. Levi held his Glock in front of him with his finger on the trigger.

"A chance," Rick answered.

"That's asking an awful lot these days."

"I know," Rick said.

A silence was laid around the room as the man scanned every unfamiliar and new face.

"You all submit to a blood test." The man said. "That's the price of admission."

"We can do that." Rick nodded.

The unknown man lowered his gun." You got stuff to bring in, you do it now. Once this door closes, it stays closed."

✧

Stella, Levi, and T-dog were the last to do the blood test. They sat and waited in three red armchairs in a big white waiting room, like the ones in hospitals.

The door to the room where they were going to do the blood tests opened and Dr. Jenner's head snuck out.
"You." He said and nodded towards T-dog who stood up and followed him into the room, leaving the two teens alone.

Dr Jenner, that was the man's name. The group had learned that he was a scientist. He was the only one left on the CDC. He claimed that everyone else had fled.

Stella looked around the dull room before her gaze focused on Levi. He was sitting with his elbows resting on his knees as his legs were taping nervously on the carpeted floor making his whole body shake from the action. He was biting his nails and staring blankly in front of him.

"You okay?" Stella asked. "You seem stressed."

"Yeah.. no... I... I'm good." He stuttered.

"I can tell that you are not. Is it Dr. Jenner? This new place?"

"No.. not that." He cleared his throat.

"Then what is it?" Stella furrowed her eyebrows.

"If I tell you, promise me you won't laugh." Levi met Stella's gaze and stared into her eyes with a serious look. "Promise?"

Stella nodded.

"I'm kind of.. afraid of needles." He whispered the last words, and his eyes stared at his lap in embarrassment.

A laugh escaped Stella's lips. Her hand flew to her mouth to cover her laughs. She felt bad for her reaction, but the thought of Levi- the strong young man who survived on his own for so long and who could fight off three walkers with ease was very funny to her.

"I'm sorry." She tried to calm herself down.

The door opened once again and Dr. Jenner spoke.
"Young man, your turn."

Levi took a deep breath before standing up and walking towards the door.

"Do you want me to hold your hand?" Stella shouted after him.

"Oh, shut up," Levi said as he closed the door.

After about two minutes it was Stella's turn. She walked into a room with light blue walls and a wooden floor. A brown desk was placed in the corner of the room and on top of it a bowl of lollipops, a pile of old dusty books and a bunch of well-organized needles, and a computer- not a working one of course.  In front of the desk stood a red chair. The room had that smell that only hospitals have.

Stella sat down on the chair as Dr Jenner pulled out a stool with wheels and sat down next to the girl. He grabbed one of the needles and Stella felt a slight sting in her arm. She watched as her blood filled the tube.

"All done." The doctor said as he pulled the needle out and placed a small band-aid over the tiny hole where the needle had just pierced. "Lollipop?"

"What?" Stella smiled, puzzled by the man's question. "Really? I'm fifteen." She laughed.

"Your friend got one."

As Stella walked out the door, she saw Levi leaning on the wall with a lollipop in his mouth.

"What are you, five?" Stella teased playfully.

"Shut up, you're just jealous."

☾

Laughter and the sound of cutlery against plates bounced between the walls in the big room. Stella sat slumped in her chair with her cheeks burning red. The wine in her father's hand had brought up some embarrassing oversharing of Stella's and Carl's childhood. Levi, who sat next to the girl, laughed so hard a few tears had escaped from his eyes.

Dr Jenner had given everyone a plate of spaghetti and wine for the adults and soda for the children. He was a nice man, a lifesaver really.

Once Rick was finally done oversharing and the topic of conversation had changed, Stella sat up normally again and began to eat from the food in front of her. A smile grew on her lips as she heard the laughter and ongoing conversations and saw the bright smiles of pure glee on her group's faces. She felt as her eyes began to gloss. This level of happiness and joy was unusual in this world. The last time she saw it was the night of Amy's death. The night their camp, their home, had become a graveyard.

"You, know in Italy, children have a little bit of wine with dinner," Dale said as he poured up a glass of wine to Lori. "And in France."

"Well, when Carl is in Italy or France, he can have some then." Their mother said placing a hand on the young boy's glass to prevent Dale from giving her son any of the liquid.

"What's it gonna hurt? Come on." Rick grinned, turning to his wife. "Come on."

Everyone around the table, including Lori, bursted into laughter as the woman lifted her hand from the glass, allowing Dale to pour some of the red wine into his plastic cup.

"Here you are, young lad."

The excited boy placed the cup to his lips and tasted the unfamiliar drink.

"Ewww!" He grimaced in disgust.

Everyone bursted into laughter once again.

"That's my boy. That's my boy." Lori said proudly.

"Yuck. That tastes nasty."

Levi suddenly reached over the table and grabbed to wine bottle. He poured up the wine into Stella's glass and gave her a sly grin as he said: "Now you."

Stella frowned and gave him a dramatic eye roll. Before placing the cup to her lips, she looked around the table to see every couple of eyes staring at her. She hated being the center of attention like this, but she had to beat Levi and as she chugged to the whole drink in one sip she pictured what his shock would look like when he saw how fucking cool she was.

It wasn't the first time she encountered alcohol. She wasn't unfamiliar with the liquid. Though she never really liked wine. She preferred beer. She would drink at parties, but not as much as her friends did. They would pass out and Stella had to help them home. They would throw up on her, spill drinks on her, and blab about the boys they liked. She never drank as much as the others because she knew how her parents would react if they found out.

She finished the drink and let out a proud "ahhh" as she gave Levi a superior smile. He stared in amazement and shock. But then she met her parents's shocked eyes. Her father's surprised look transformed into laughter but her mother's eyes remained a stare in silent shock.

"Something tells me that's not the first time."She said and tilted her head slightly and raised her eyebrows causing everyone to burst out in laughter.

Stella giggled awkwardly, trying to determine what her mother's look meant. She couldn't figure out if she thought it was funny or if she was mad.

"Well, I think both of you should stick to soda pop there." Shane laughed.

"Not you, Glenn," Daryl smirked.

The cap-wearing boy looked up from the wine bottle in his hands.

"What?" The boy smiled in confusion.

"Keep drinking, little man. I want to see how red your face can get." Daryl grinned. "You too, Levi."

Daryl filled the boy's glass with wine with a cunning grin.

Watching the group burst out laughing once again, Stella was filled with a warm feeling of hope. The corners of her mouth rose and a bright smile was printed onto her lips. It felt unbelievable that only a day before she had been fighting for her and her family's lives. Only a day ago that she watched her home turn into a ruin filled with memories and plagued by grief and death.

A clinking sound broke through the laughter causing everyone to fall silent as Rick stood up to speak.

"It seems to me we haven't thanked our host properly."

"He is more than just our host." The drunken T-dog blabbed, lifting his glass.
Stella along with the others did the same, raising their glasses in the air.

"Here's to you, Doc. Booyah!" Daryl exclaimed.

Stella was surprised to see Daryl Dixon this happy. She understood that the wine was a big reason for the unusual behavior but she never thought that it was possible for the grumpy Daryl Dixon to be so full of joy.

"So when you gonna tell us what the hell happened here, Doc?" Shane said, breaking the laughter instantly. "All the other doctors that were supposed to be figuring out what happened, where are they?"

"We're celebrating, Shane. We don't need this now." Rick said to the man who'd just spoiled the good mood.

"Woah, wait a second," Shane argued. "This is why we're here, right? This was your move. Supposed to find all the answers. Instead, we found him." Shane pointed to the doctor. "Found one man. Why?"

Stella rolled her eyes. The light warmth that she had felt only seconds ago extinguished. Stella found it simple to understand that the rest of the doctors were either dead or they had left.

"Well, when things got bad, a lot of people just left, went off to be with their families." Dr Jenner began to explain. "And when things got worse when the military cordon got overrun, the rest bolted."

"Every last one?" Shane had a grin on his face like he enjoyed seeing that the doctor hated talking about the subject.

"No, many couldn't face walking out the door. They..." Dr Jenner said with resigned sadness in his eyes. "opted out."

Stella wanted nothing more than to return to the joyful atmosphere that they had before. The laughter that had echoed in the room earlier was now replaced with an awkward and thick silence.

"There was a rash of suicides." The doctor continued. "That was a bad time."

"You didn't leave. Why?" Andrea asked.

"I just kept working, hoping to do some good." He answered.

"Dude, way to ruin the mood," Levi said before finishing the last liquor in his cup.

𐮜

"Most of the facility is powered down including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable but there are cots in storage if you like." Dr Jenner stated as the group followed him down the hallway. "There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy." He turned around to face Sophia and Carl." Just don't plug in the video games, okay? Or anything that draws power. The same applies—- If you shower, go easy on the hot water."

"Hot water?" Stella's eyes were glowing with excitement and a big smile on her lips.

"That's what the man said." Levi grinned at Stella before he hurried into the shower.

The smile on Stella's lips never faded. It stayed printed onto her mouth as the hot water ran down her skin. She could stay there forever. Her water was so warm it burned her but she didn't mind, she hadn't had a shower like this in way too long. She closed her eyes and let her hands run through her greasy and tangled hair, feeling the heat from the water against her skin and the warmth inside her.

She put on her pajamas and put her wet hair up in a bun as the someone knocked on her door.

"Come in!" She yelled.

The brown door opened and Levi stepped inside. He was wearing gray sweatpants and a blue shirt. His eyes were lit with excitement and smiled as he walked into the room. He hid something behind his back.

"I found something in my room." He smiled.

"What?"

"This!" He pulled out a book with a red cover. Stella's eyes widened and her mouth flew open to the sight of the book in his hands.
"The Hunger Games"

"Oh my god, Levi! Thank you!" She grabbed the book and let her fingers trace the cover. Her fingers ran over the words in the title and felt the material.

"Thank you so much!" She wrapped her arms around the proud boy. Seeing Stella's excitement and joy made him happy.

"Well, I'm gonna leave you alone so you can get started on that book."

"Bye!" She said not taking her eyes off the book in her hands.

Once the door closed she jumped up and down in excitement before stopping herself, realizing how childish she must look. She giggled at her reaction before she walked out into the hallway, going to tell her mother about what she had gotten. Her pare feet walked over the carpeted floor, leading to the rec room where her mother had been earlier. But as she got closer to the door she heard loud yelling. She immediately recognized her mother's voice. Pressing her ear against the wooden door she tried to identify the other voice.

"I love you. There's nobody here." It was a male voice. It was Shane's.

"Please! No!" Her mother yelled. "Shane, stop! Get your hands off me!"

"Stop, Lori! Just—-"

Then silence. All Stella heard was the sound of heavy breathing and panting. Then footsteps, approached the door that she was pressed against.
She backed away and hastily ran around the corner. The door opened and Shane flew out in rage and stormed down the hall. Sobbing and cries escaped from the rec room.

"Mom?" Stella whispered.

Lori quickly spun around turning her back to the girl and tried to quiet her crying.

"Mom." Stella put the book down and ran to her mother, hugging her from behind. "What did he—"

Before Stella could finish her mother broke down, sobbing violently in the her hands, which she covered her face with.
"Honey, I'm so— I'm so sorry."

"Mom, what? Mom, you didn't do anything."
She let go of their mother who turned around, revealing her red eyes and tears that were steaming down her rosy cheeks.

Her mother tried to say something but couldn't form a word.

"Mom, I swear to god, I'm gonna kill him." Stella was wild with rage.
The person who she had looked to as a father was now a monster to her. He hated him. A few weeks ago she loved him, but now she hated him.

_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____
𝟒𝟑𝟔𝟖 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬
𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟐𝟖𝐭𝐡
𝟕 𝐏𝐌
_____ ˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚ _____

𝐀/𝐍

oh my gosh! we're almost on seasons 2 and I'm so excited!

Also love all of ur comments. Like please don't stop commenting bc it's so funny to read! Love you all🫶🏼

And I'm so sorry bc this is soooo long

VOTE IF YOU HATE SHANE😘