WHITE FLAG

chapter forty-seven : arrow on the doorpost
{ season three - episode thirteen }

IT WAS EARLY morning when Vickie, Zayn and Kloe took a walk around the fence of the field. Rick, Daryl and Hershel had left for a negotiation with the Governor and his pals that Andrea insisted they'd have three days before.

Rick, Carl and Michonne had gone to Rick's hometown two days prior, saying that he had a friend there that may have had guns. That night, he returned with a load of weapons, and it definitely gave them a higher chance.

"We missed you a lot, you know?" Zayn broke the forty-second silence that was held while they thought about everything. "After dad died, we wanted to see you."

"I know, your mother told me that," Vickie replied, her hands in her black leather jacket that had a broken zip.

"Then why did you never visit us?" Kloe questioned, averting her dark brown hues from the grey concrete beneath their shoes. "You knew we wanted to see you, so why did you stop?"

Vickie let out a heavy sigh. "'Cause your mother didn't allow me to," she answered honestly. "Every weekend, I knocked on the door to come see you two, but Elisa turned me down every time."

"But why?" Zayn inquired more. "You were mom's best friend. She wouldn't turn you down." At this point, the Schmidt siblings were perplexed. The last time they saw the woman was the day before their father left - the last time they saw him.

The Parson woman blinked profusely. "She had her reasons. I understood why she didn't want someone like me around her children. The only family she had left."

This only made them confused furthermore. "You're making zero sense, Vick," Kloe stated. "Like Zayn said, you and mom were best friends since college. Why would she randomly stop letting you see us?"

The woman halted to a stop, making the siblings stop one step in front of her. They both turned around to face the woman, who released a shaky breath. "Because of Brianna," she answered truthfully. Zayn and Kloe both eyed each other, puzzled.

"What does Brianna have anything to do with stopping you from seeing us?" Kloe pondered again. "How old was she at the time? Like, six-years-old?"

Vickie inhaled a deep breath once more, before announcing the one statement that would instantly put Zayn and Kloe into shock. "Brianna is your half-sister."

Both Zayn and Kloe's mouths fell open, their brows deepening as every millisecond passed. "What?" Zayn blurted, the unexpected news making him forget about the walkers that were attempting to reach them through the chain-linked fence. "Brianna's our sister?"

Kloe couldn't blink, she only stared at the woman with eyes as wide as pans, her body frozen, and her mouth still dropped. "I- " she stammered, unsure of what to say. "H- how is that possible...?"

"An argument Elisa and Jason had one night is how it's possible," Vickie shared, the looks on the Schmidt siblings signaling her to continue her explanation. She sadly sighed. "Your mother wanted another child, but your dad didn't. So that night he went to the local bar, which at the time is where I was, celebrating my sister's thirty-sixth birthday. We spent most the night talking while drinking, and while we watched my sister blow out her candles, someone spiked our drinks. Neither of us knew what happened that night. We woke up in separate beds. But a few weeks later I figured out I was pregnant, and I had no idea whose it was. So..." she paused, taking a breath as her eyes began to coat with clear liquid from guilt. "So, once Brianna turned two months old, I took her to have a DNA test done. Once I got the results back, I knew I had fucked up with everything."

Now, the siblings were watching the woman sympathetically, but still with shock. Their father had an affair behind their mother's back. "Did- did dad ever know?" Zayn quietly inquired, pity in his eyes.

Vickie's bottom lip began to quiver, and after a few seconds, she shook her head. "No. No, I never told him. He never knew he had a third child," she sniffed. "That's why, after he passed away, I knew I had to tell Elisa about Brianna. I managed to keep it a secret about having her for six years, and the moment I told Elisa, I knew I would never see you two again. While she wanted to have another child, your father impregnanted another woman. And I was meant to be her best friend."

Kloe felt her nose burn with sorrow as she stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Vickie. The older woman sobbed before she hugged the young woman back. Zayn, who looked down at the ground, still shocked, stood in place as he tried to process everything.

Kloe carefully turned her head to her older brother, and extended out her arm to offer him a hug, but he only shook his head in return. The man hesitantly walked away from them, the blood drained away from his face.

The two that were left in an embrace pulled away, watching him walk further and further away and into C-Block.

...

Brianna Parson kept her arm held high behind her head, her dagger tightly in the grip of her palm as she aimed at a rotten apple. Isabelle Marshel had found it in the abandoned cafeteria, among all the other rotten food she had encountered. The rotten apple stood frozen on the table Jayce had wheeled out for them.

Maggie, who was out on watch, was only just above them, so she had her eye on them at all times while they did what they did.

The two teenagers were practicing their aiming skills for the Governor and his troops. Although, to make it more entertaining, Isabelle had gotten a white chalk and wrote tally marks on the ground in front of her.

At that moment, Brianna was winning. But that's what Isabelle expected since the Parson teen had a lot more experience than she did. Brianna had a total of nine, while Isabelle only had five.

They agreed that whoever got to twenty first would earn a packet or pretzels. And for the two girls, they both loved pretzels, so they were in it for the win.

"Please miss, please miss, please miss..." Isabelle wished, crossing her fingers on both hands as she watched Brianna. "Wait, no, don't miss. We don't want you missing. I just want pretzels."

"I've said for the tenth time that you can have the pretzels," Brianna replied, closing one eye before throwing the dagger straight at the apple. Within an instant, the apple sliced into two pieces. "But you have to give me one," she added before jogging over to the now two slices of apple and a dagger on the ground.

"My greediness for pretzels wouldn't be able to, though," Isabelle jokingly whined, groaning as she wrote down another line for Brianna's side of the tally chart. "I would eat the whole packet within a few seconds."

"Well too bad. Seems like I'm winning, and I decide if I get a pretzel or not," Brianna winked at the other teenager. Isabelle rolled her eyes as she rose to her feet, stepping over to the girl. "Your turn," Brianna went to hand her the dagger, but pulled it back when she went to grab it. "But wait... Should I trust you with this dagger if I just threatened you over pretzels? A.K.A, the one thing you desire most at this moment."

Isabelle sarcastically laughed at the shorter girl, lunging toward the knife that Brianna kept pulling back. Trying to grab the dagger, Isabelle accidentally pushed her arm instead, sending the dagger backward as it crashed and slid on the ground.

The dagger came to a stop in front of a feminine figure, in her shadow. The figure bent down, wrapping her fingers around the handle. She straightened her back as she examined the apple covered knife.

Kloe's eyes landed on the small golden metallic writing on the handle once again, a sad smile plastering her lips. She shook away the sadness as she felt the two pair of eyes on her.

"All this over some pretzels?" she laughed, walking over to the two teenagers that now stood side-by-side. Brianna sent the other teenager a side-lipped smile, while Isabelle just shrugged.

"Anything for pretzels," the Marshel teen responded, a soft smile etching her lips as she imagined the small snack in her mouth. "I haven't had a pretzel for a year, and they're my favorite snack."

"Plus, this isn't just for pretzels. We're doing this for training, too," Brianna commented as Kloe came to a stop in front of them. "I don't mean anything in a bad way, Kloe, but because I missed your head back at Woodbury, that kind of gave me the hint that I needed to train more."

"Yup," Kloe nodded, popping her lips on the 'p'. She stared down at the gold writing, staying in that spot for a moment. Isabelle and Brianna watched the woman, noticing instantly that there was something there she had to say. She looked back up at Brianna. "Do you know my last name, Brianna?" she inquired.

Brianna's brows furrowed, so did Isabelle's. Why would Kloe ask a weird question like that? Brianna shrugged. "No, I- I don't think so? Why?"

"What does B.S mean?" Kloe wondered, although she already knew the answer. "And no, Isabelle, it doesn't mean bullshit. I thought that too."

Isabelle's brows connected and her hands flew up defensively and if she had been accused. Brianna tilted her head to the side, her eyes jumping from Isabelle to Kloe. "Uh, well I would tell you, but my mom said I wasn't allowed to tell anyone-"

"Your mom already told me it was okay to ask and that you could tell me," Kloe intercepted, sending the teenager a tight-lipped smile.

"Oh, okay..." Brianna trailed off, standing straight. "They're my initials," she answered, pointing at the gold metallic writing.

"Isabelle's face scrunched up, perplexed. "What? But wouldn't it be B.P for Brianna Parson? Why is it 'S'?" she questioned, her hands on her hips.

"Because it's not my true name. Well it is, but my real name is Brianna Schmidt-Parson, not just Parson," she clarified, making Isabelle's jaw drop.

Isabelle's eyes flew over to Kloe, who watched the girl with a normal expression. It was like Kloe already knew. "How the hell...?" Isabelle mumbled.

Kloe sent Brianna a small smile. "Nice to meet you, Brianna Schmidt-Parson," she greeted, making Brianna confused. "My name's Kloe Schmidt."

The Schmidt-Parson teen's eyes widened at Kloe's somewhat sarcastic greeting. "Wait, what?" she blurted out. "Your last name's Schmidt too? Are you my cousin or something?"

Kloe chuckled. "Nope. Uh..." she paused, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly. "Your mom kinda, uh, told me and Zayn that you were our younger half-sister, so..."

At that point, Isabelle just watched the two new siblings with widened eyes, deepened brows, and parted lips, her head going side to side as she looked back and forth at them.

Brianna froze, her eyes unable to blink as her mouth dropped with shock. "You're- you're my what?"

...

The entire group were surrounding the one rectangle table that was covered with the weapons Rick, Michonne and Carl had brought back from their trip the day prior.

Everyone grabbed onto their weapons, clicking and reloading them as they examined them. Kloe stepped forward, a PPS.43 instantly catching her eye as she grabbed onto it. She looked it up and down, nodding to herself clipping out the magazine, weighing the weight of it to check if it had ammo, and it did.

She wrapped her fingers around two more magazines, shoving them inside her jacket's pockets. She occasionally glanced up at Vickie and Brianna, still in shock with the news.

"Carl, come here," Glenn called out to the youngest boy. Carl walked over to the man, his eyes landing on the box of ammo in his grasp. "You stash these at the loading dock. Alright?" Carl nodded, taking the box into his own hands. Glenn turned to the third youngest of the group, offering her a box of ammo. "Beth, put more up on the catwalk. If anyone gets pinned down, we need to make sure they have plenty of ammo."

Kloe scratched the back of her neck, the thin hairs that fell from her bun tickling her. She looked over at Isabelle, who was fiddling with a pistol, attempting to work out how to reload it. She stepped over to the teenager, grabbing onto another pistol from the table and demonstrated how to do it.

Isabelle watched carefully, her eyes trained on the ammo. Once Kloe finished, Isabelle nodded in understanding, making Kloe nod in reply before stepping back to where she previously was.

"I'll go work on the cage outside," Glenn said, grabbing onto a blowtorch. He started to walk away from the group with a rifle in his other hand.

"What we should be doing is loading some of this firepower in a truck and paying a visit to the Governor," Merle spoke up, making Kloe roll her eyes as she looked over at him. "We know where he is right now."

"Are you suggesting that we just go in and kill him?" Glenn asked. Everyone else paid no attention while they continued doing what they were doing, but Glenn, Kloe and Michonne only glared at the man.

"Yeah, I am," he replied simply.

Michonne slowly turned her neck so she was looking at the man she despised. "We told Rick and Daryl that we'd stay put," she stated sharply and firmly, making herself clear.

"I've changed my mind, sweetheart. Being on the sideline with my brother out there ain't sitting right with me," Merle shook his head.

"The three of them are right in the middle of it," Glenn began. "No idea we're coming. They could get taken hostage or killed. A thousand things could go wrong." The Korean started to walk again, but he was stopped once again by the same man.

"And they will."

Kloe looked between her boyfriend and Merle, and in Glenn's eyes, she could see the angered fire engulfing them. Carl, who looked up at the Dixon, moved his head side to side. "My dad can take care of himself," he snarled, rolling his eyes as he walked over to the door.

"Sorry, son, but your dad's head could be on a pike real soon," Merle warned, watching the young boy leave the building.

Kloe stared at the man with disbelief. "Don't say anything like that to him," she blinked, her brows connected with disapproval. Merle raised his hands and apologized silently.

"It's not the right move," Glenn remarked. "Not now. Can't take the risk of putting them in the crossfire. That's my decision. It's final."

The group shared a look with each other as they watched the young man leave the building.

...

After ten minutes, Glenn walked back inside. Most of the group went back into the cell block, the only people in the room being Maggie, Kloe and Merle.

Maggie sighed as she watched the Dixon lump down a duffel that he began packing. Kloe crossed her arms over her chest, shifting weight onto her right leg.

"Hey, you're not going," Glenn reminded, shutting the door behind him as he scoffed.

"I don't need permission," Merle retorted, ignoring the man as he continued filling the duffel with more guns. Glenn lifted his eyes over to his girlfriend, who was already watching him.

He looked back down at the second man he hated most in the world. "I can't let you."

"You can't stop me."

"If you're gonna live with us, it's gonna be on our terms," Maggie told the man firmly as Michonne walked into the room.

He only ignored the woman as he threw the duffel over his shoulder and clenched his teeth. Kloe groaned loudly. "Can you for once crawl out your own ass and actually help us out? Why the hell is it so hard to just listen?"

Merle stopped in his tracks, exhaling heavily as he peered over his shoulder to look at the Schmidt woman. "'Cause it's my brother out there, Klo-Klo," he answered. "What's the matter with y'all?!" he bellowed, his eyes dancing between the three women that stood side by side.

He then sprinted up the steps, where Glenn waited at the top. Merle stopped directly in front of the Korean, glaring across at him. "I'm not gonna let you put them in danger," Glenn seethed.

"Nut up already, boy," Merle growled. "This guy cops a feel of your woman and you pussy out like this?" Kloe bit the inside of her cheek as she wearily watched the two men. They were less than an inch close to physically fighting. "Get out of my way."

"No."

There was what felt like a long silence while Merle sucked in a deep breath, rage flowing through his veins. Without warning, Merle thumped his fist into Glenn's stomach.

Glenn bent down, wrapping his arms around Merle's waist. Both men let out yells as they pushed each other down the stairs, rolling down together. Kloe felt the blood drain from her face as Merle hovered over Glenn, aiming a long blade directly at his face.

Within an instant, Kloe lunged forward, jumping onto Merle's back as she enclosed his neck with her arms, putting him into headlock. "Get off!" she yelled, using all the strength she had to pull him back off her boyfriend.

Both Maggie and Michonne joined Kloe's side. Michonne grabbed onto Merle's blade for an arm, pulling it as far back as it could go while Maggie latched onto his other arm.

Making her body want to leap out of its skin, Kloe whipped her head over to the entrance to the cell block as a loud piercing gunshot rippled through the air. Everyone snapped their heads over in the direction where Beth Greene stood.

She lowered down the handgun in her palm, staring at the small group with an unamused expression. A second after, Isabelle joined her side, her eyes flickering between the five of them.

"Let me go!" Merle shouted as he shuffled around to remove Kloe's arms from around his neck. "Let me go!" he roared, making the two women that held his arms stand back. Kloe didn't move, she didn't want to. But Maggie, who wrapped her fingers around her wrist, pulled her back.

...

Kloe kept her eyes set on the back of Glenn's head as she watched him linger his eyes over the walkers that pushed against the gate to get inside. She noticed him leave a few hours after his argument with Merle, and since, she hadn't spoken to him.

She pursed her lips before pushing herself forward, making her way over to her boyfriend. Hearing her footsteps approaching, Glenn turned his head to the side, his gaze softening upon seeing Kloe.

"Hi," she lightly smiled. "I saw you come out here, but I thought it was Maggie's watch," she said, lifting one eyebrow as she continued to watch her boyfriend.

"I told her I got it," he replied, returning the small smile she had on her lips. "You alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay." There was a moment of just silence, except the growls coming from the walkers that were beyond the fence. "Want some company?" she offered, fiddling with the ends of her black leather jacket.

Glenn gestured his head to the side, signaling that she could. She smiled, stepping forward. She set her arms on a piece of wood that was connected to the fence, resting her chin on top of her wrists as she watched the dead stare at her. "Damn... There's so many more now..."

Her boyfriend nodded his head in agreement, before tilting his head to the side. "Earlier, that was one hell of a choke hold," he stated, making Kloe look over at him. She grinned at his impressed expression.

"Honestly, I think I would've made everyone's day a lot better if I just..." she stood up straight, holding out her hand as she lightly thumped it with her fist, "knocked him out right there and then," she chuckled.

There was a long silence again, making Glenn face the ground and stare at his shoes as new thoughts plunged into his mind. He lifted his chin back up to look at his girlfriend. "I'm sorry," he began, making Kloe face him again, "for everything. I- I made everything about me and-"

"Hey," she interrupted him, offering him a reassuring smile, "don't be sorry. You've done nothing wrong. We were all mad, and we all had our reasons for that."

"But I acted like such a jerk to you the other day... And to everybody else," he added, staring down at the ground, ashamed. "I'm sorry," he whispered, catching Kloe's sympathetic eyes again as he faced her. "I'm sorry." He stepped forward, pulling her into an embrace.

"It's okay..." she assured quietly, burying her head into Glenn's jacket-covered neck, sealing her eyes shut. Glenn rubbed the back of her neck as he mumbled out more apologies.

"I love you," he said quietly, although it was muffled since his face was buried into the crook of her neck. "I love you..."

The pair pulled away from the embrace. Kloe cupped Glenn's cheeks, staring deeply into his eyes as she watched the sadness dance around in them. "I love you too," she murmured assuringly. Before Glenn could apologize once more, she cut him off as she pressed her lips against his.

Within the second she did, she instantly missed the feeling of his lips being on hers. She couldn't help but smile into the kiss as he kissed her back. Just as Kloe dropped her hands to Glenn's shoulders to pull away, he cupped her cheeks and brushed a few loose hair strands behind her ear as he connected their lips again.

This time, neither of them pulled away. Their lips moved in sync, and after a few seconds, it began to get heated. Kloe pressed her body against Glenn's, trying her best not to smile as he drew circles on the back of her shoulders with his thumbs.

The snarls erupting from behind them made them pull apart, though. Hesitantly, they both turned their heads to face the walkers. "I can't do this. Not in front of them..." Glenn muttered, swallowing thickly as he eyed them.

Kloe licked her lips, a smirk plastering them as she turned back to face him. She motioned her head to the side. "Well...the garage has a door," she suggested.

A small laugh breathed out of Kloe's chest as she intertwined her fingers with Glenn's, pulling him with her inside of the small garage. Quiet laughs escaped their lips as they hurried inside.

Kloe reached up for the garage door, pulling it down with one hand. It didn't shut all the way, but it was low enough that no one could see them. As soon as it was down, she spun around to face her boyfriend, watching as he shrugged off his jacket.

Doing the same, she let her leather jacket fall down her arms as Glenn gently pushed her against the wall, pressing his hand against the side of her neck underneath her ear. He pressed his lips onto hers while Kloe threw her jacket onto the ground, joining Glenn's.

Pulling away again, Glenn lifted his white long-sleeved shirt over his head, revealing his bare skin. He unbuckled his belt, with the help of Kloe who, for some reason, couldn't stop laughing. He pulled them down, but kept them on.

Her back still against the chilled wall, Kloe brought her lips back onto Glenn's, running her hands down his bare arms. He grasped onto the edges of her forest green tank top, beginning to raise it up her body. She lifted her arms up to help him out, reluctantly separating their lips so he could pull it over her head.

Glenn dropped her top on the floor, catching her lips once again as he set his hands on the side of her stomach. Kloe's hands snaked down to her gray skin-tight denim jeans, undoing the button.

She broke away from the kiss, a giggle escaping her as she slid down the wall. Glenn snickered, crouching down onto the floor. The small slide down onto the ground ended up just falling, making Kloe let out a stifle of laughs.

"You okay?" Glenn asked through his own laughs. Kloe snorted as she nodded her head. He gripped onto her boots, pulling them off. She pulled down the zip to her jeans, causing Glenn to grab onto them and pull them down for her.

Along with her underwear, Glenn managed to remove any clothing that Kloe had on her lower body. Kloe laughed more before Glenn placed his hand on her upper-arm, he pushed his lips onto Kloe's. She caressed the back of his neck with her left hand.

She pushed her body up with one hand, wrapping her legs around his waist. He held onto her back as she pushed herself sideways, making them switch positions. She was now on top of him.

He shivered as the wall his naked back was pushed against sent cold chills. But he only laughed as did Kloe. As she straddled him, their faces were less than an inch closer to each other's. The feeling of Glenn's hot breath on her face made her grin.

They both released heavy breaths as Kloe properly sat herself onto him, licking her lips before connecting them with Glenn's. After three seconds, her eyes fluttered down to her chest. She grabbed onto the straps of her bra, his hands over hers as she let the straps fall off her arms. Glenn slithered his hands to her back, unclipping her bra, making it fall onto the ground beside them.

Kloe pressed her lips against his neck, while he sent soft kisses on her chest. As she pulled away from his neck, he kept his hand firmly on her back as he pushed forward, making it so he was now on top of her.

She softly groaned as the coldness from the floor rocketed through her spine. She brought Glenn's head down to hers, passionately kissing him heavily.

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words: 4429
29th october 2022
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uh, well now you know the reason why brianna's last name is schmidt i guess LMAO-