FALLEN ANGELS.

chapter twenty-seven, the fallout.
[ season four, original episode ]

WATCHING SOMEONE YOU LOVE die is hard. It's hard because you remember it for the rest of your life. It's hard because you know you'll never see them again. It's hard because you never got to say goodbye or tell them how much you really appreciate them.

Odessa never got say goodbye to Hershel Greene.

Losing Hershel was hard. The pain in her chest was near unbearable. It hurt so bad.

The Governor was gone for months. They had no problems with him after Angela and Andrea. They should've looked harder.

Odessa knew she should've been never stopped looking after she was attacked by those men. She should've looked harder.

And now everything was gone.

Hershel, their home, her family.

She didn't expect to be separated from her group. But she was grateful to have Theo with her.

The two teens stuck to the woods. After the war, both now knew it was better to run into walkers than people.

Once they made it far enough from the prison, Odessa needed to stop. She was still weak from the sickness. The heat and the running left her gasping for breath.

She kneeled in the grass and Theo kneeled beside her. He helped Odessa take her bag off her shoulder then he rifled through it for her med kit.

When he found it, he pulled it out and set it on the ground. He popped it open and grabbed the small roll gauze and alcohol pads.

"This is gonna sting like a motherfucker, 'kay?" Theo looked and her and she nodded. She pulled her shirt down so Theo could look at the wound. "There's an exit wound, that's good, Dessa."

"Just get it over with," she grit out. He shrugged and pressed the alcohol pad to her shoulder. She let out a loud cry at the sharp sting. 

"Holy fuck," she whispered as he did repeated his actions on other side of her arm.

"Told you it was gonna sting," Theo glanced at her.

After he finished cleaning her wound, he wrapped it up with the bandage. He pulled Odessa to her feet by her good arm then grabbed her bag and handed it to her.

Odessa glanced back in the direction of the prison. She could see the smoke rising into the air.

"We need to get outta here."

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When night fell over them, they made a small fire. Both sat against on either side of the flames. They didn't want to bring any unwanted visitors to their little spot for the night.

Odessa's mind ran wild.

Did her father and Carl make it out? Did someone get Judith? Was Beth okay? Did Daryl even get out of the courtyard? Did Glenn get out of A? Did Cole get out with Maggie?

She just wanted to know if her family was alive.

After losing Hershel, she didn't know how much more she could handle. If she and Theo stumbled on their people dead in these woods, she was sure to lose it right there.

The Grimes didn't even look at Theo as she asked, "did you kill him?"

Theo didn't respond at first, he just stared at the fire. "Yeah," he nodded. "I did."

"Good," Odessa muttered.

"He got us when we were burnin' the walkers. Knocked out Michonne. Then I hesitated. Again. That's why Hershel's dead. That's why we all got separated," Theo rushed out, his voice cracking at the end.

"Hey, no," Odessa's brows furrowed. "It's not your fault, Theo. You didn't know what he had planned. What happened is no one's fault expect your father's."

Theo blinked his eyes and a tear fell from his left eye and into the dirt. "If I had just pulled the goddamn trigger months ago. Nothing ever would've happened. Angela and Andrea and Hershel would all still be alive. We'd still be at the prison."

"You can't blame yourself, Thee." Odessa told him. "If you start now, it'll never stop."

"How do you know?" Theo looked at her.

"Because I blamed myself for my friend's death and then I really was to blame for someone else's. You just can't, Theo. It's not your fault. You didn't roll up on us with a tank and hostages." Odessa continued.

Suddenly, leaves rustled in the distance. Both teens shot up in an instant. Odessa had her gun in hand.

"We should go," Theo said.

"Good idea," Odessa grabbed her bag while Theo kicked dirt onto their little fire. Odessa waited for Theo to join her side before she began to walk away.

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Theo and Odessa stood back-to-back as the morning fog rolled in. The scuffle and groans of walkers circled around them. They couldn't tell how many there was exactly but they both knew their was enough that it could turn out bad for them.

The first walker lunged at Theo. He grabbed its shirt and stabbed it. It dropped onto the dirt below.

The next one came at Odessa. She lifted the blade in her right hand and shoved it under its rotting chin.

More and more walkers came at the two. By the time the fog lifted, both teens were covered in sweat and walker blood. There were no more walkers coming at them.

Odessa wiped both of her blades off on her black jeans and turned to Theo. "That was fun." She scoffed.

Her arm hurt. In fact, it hurt like a bitch. She winced when she moved it to quick. Theo looked at her arm in concern.

"You okay?" He questioned.

"Hurts like a motherfucker," she responded. "Not as bad as when I was shot in the head though."

Theo stared at her for a moment, dumbfounded. Odessa's brows bunched. "What? I didn't tell you that story?"

"No!" He exclaimed wildly.

"Oh," she glanced down at her feet. "Well, I'll tell you as we walk. Come on."

The two walked through the woods together as Odessa told Theo the story. "We lost someone in our group, Carol's daughter. We were lookin' for her. Me, my dad, Carl, and.," Odessa shut her eyes tightly and sucked in a breath, "and Shane separated from the rest of our group to go look for her a little longer."

Theo nodded as Odessa continued. "And then Carl saw this buck. It was so beautiful. It just stared at us while we walked up to it. Then Carl was shot in the stomach. And then I got shot in the head. It was only a graze."

She pushed her hair back to show the spot on her scalp where her hair no longer grew. "The guy thought I was a walker and didn't want it to get his deer. The bullet that hit Carl went straight through the deer. Damn animal saved his life. That's how we met Hershel and his family."

"Jesus," Theo murmured. "You're so damn lucky, Odessa."

"I've been told," she shrugged. "But I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Everyone I touch dies. Shane, Mom, Hershel, Dale, T-Dog, Andrea, Sophia. It's like I'm cursed," she said quietly.

"Hey." Theo nudged her, "you remember what you told me last the other night? It's not your fault, Odessa. None of it."

"Shane is," she muttered.

"No. Shane pushed you and your dad until he almost killed both of you. You did what you had to do." Theo said firmly.

The duo walked out of the woods and stared at the train tracks. Then they looked to each other. "The others would follow it," Theo said.

Odessa then motioned to the tracks. "Shall we?"

Together, the teens walked down the tracks for about a mile until they both stopped again.

This time, they stared at a sign and a map.

It read: "sanctuary for all community for all those who arrive survive."

It was time to go to Terminus.

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word count: 2,312

i will never stop talking about theo and dessa's relationship. I LOVE THEM!!! they're my favorite besties ever.

they're so kind to each other. even though they argue like siblings and have gotten into several fist fights, they still love each other and would do anything for the other. odessa being there for theo and vice versa makes me so happy. 

anyway, it's time for the terminus story arc!! and scary terminus odessa i mentioned in the last author's note.

next chapter is a cole chapter!! it's short but it's definitely a must need for the rest of this story and cole's development.

guys, there's only four chapters left of this book!! i'm so excited to y'all to finally get to read found lands. i've already wrote the group meeting gabriel and omfg i'm so excited to write the rest of season five.