Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2015 1:33:19 GMT -5
It didn't feel right. Leaving that girl behind after raiding her house. Killing what appeared to be the only guardian she had left in this world. It left a bad taste in Ashley's mouth. She'd offered to take the girl with her, but the girl had refused. Maybe because of what Ashley had done moments before hand. She'd killed many walkers since this all began, but never quite like that. Not since the very beginning had she killed one so freshly turned. The only consolation that Ashley could take from that moment was that the girl hadn't had to do it herself. She wasn't sure that the girl would have had it in her to do it if she'd returned to that house and found her friend in that state. Worse, she might have gotten turned herself when she hadn't been able to finish the walker off.
Ashley tossed and turned in her sleep. The memory of watching the girl fade in her rear view mirror almost to much to bare. She had first looked at Ashley like she was a monster. A killer. The worst kind of person imaginable, and maybe in some way, Ashley had become that person. She hadn't hesitated in killing the walker to protect her sister. She hadn't thought of who that person might have been or if they were important to someone. You stopped asking those questions when monsters started eating people. In that moment, and even after, Ashley hadn't felt guilty. Not for protecting her family. She'd felt bad for the pain she'd caused the girl, but never for protecting her family.
Ashley had offered for the girl to come with them, but she could see the distrust in her eyes. She was probably the last person the girl wanted around her at the moment. So Ashley had left half of what they'd taken from the girl with her as a peace offering. A way to try to ease her guilty conscience over leaving her behind. If the nightmares she had been having every night since were any indication, it hadn't worked. She was only a teenager and she was all alone. The girl could already be dead and Ashley would never know. She should have forced her to come with them.
“Mommy...” Ashley woke suddenly, feeling her daughter shaking her. As her eyes adjust to the light pouring in through the windows, she glances around. She was still lying in the back seat of the mini-van they had found a little more than a day ago, but it was no longer in the early morning hours. If she had to guess, it was closer to late afternoon. Had she really been asleep that long? “Mommy?”
Her daughter's voice brought her attention back to her. They had taken both of the back seats out when they'd found the mini-van to give them more room and filled it with any blankets that had managed to find to make it as comfortable as possible. Camille was sitting on her knees beside her. Ashley sat up. “What is it baby girl?”
“Aunt Kylie said something is wrong.”
Ashley looked around just noticing that the van wasn't moving. She crawled over to the side door and slide it open. Kylie was standing at the front of the vehicle with the hood raised.
Shit...
Could nothing ever be easy for them? Ashley made her way to the front as Kylie glanced up. “What's wrong with it?”
“I don't know. The hood just started smoking. I got worried and pulled over. Maybe I was just pushing it too hard. This thing wasn't exactly new before everything happened.”
“Okay, let me see if I can figure out what's wrong with it. Go rest up. If we can't get it fixed, we might have to start walking.”
Kylie nodded and left Ashley alone to figure things out. Yeah, right. Ashley knew next to nothing about fixing cars. They had already had to abandoned the last car they had found because of a flat tire and although they had used the spare, they hadn't been able to find another vehicle for miles and the spare had eventually given out as well. They had been walking hours before they finally found this one. Chris was so much better at this stuff. It made her miss her husband even more now. After staring blankly under the hood of the car, Ashley felt like cursing and screaming her frustrations out. That would have attracted unwanted attention so she refrained, but she did kick the front tire to release some of her anger before beginning to pace back and forth in front of the vehicle with her hands over her head.
What am I going to do now? They are depending on me.
notes: open to anyone
Ashley tossed and turned in her sleep. The memory of watching the girl fade in her rear view mirror almost to much to bare. She had first looked at Ashley like she was a monster. A killer. The worst kind of person imaginable, and maybe in some way, Ashley had become that person. She hadn't hesitated in killing the walker to protect her sister. She hadn't thought of who that person might have been or if they were important to someone. You stopped asking those questions when monsters started eating people. In that moment, and even after, Ashley hadn't felt guilty. Not for protecting her family. She'd felt bad for the pain she'd caused the girl, but never for protecting her family.
Ashley had offered for the girl to come with them, but she could see the distrust in her eyes. She was probably the last person the girl wanted around her at the moment. So Ashley had left half of what they'd taken from the girl with her as a peace offering. A way to try to ease her guilty conscience over leaving her behind. If the nightmares she had been having every night since were any indication, it hadn't worked. She was only a teenager and she was all alone. The girl could already be dead and Ashley would never know. She should have forced her to come with them.
“Mommy...” Ashley woke suddenly, feeling her daughter shaking her. As her eyes adjust to the light pouring in through the windows, she glances around. She was still lying in the back seat of the mini-van they had found a little more than a day ago, but it was no longer in the early morning hours. If she had to guess, it was closer to late afternoon. Had she really been asleep that long? “Mommy?”
Her daughter's voice brought her attention back to her. They had taken both of the back seats out when they'd found the mini-van to give them more room and filled it with any blankets that had managed to find to make it as comfortable as possible. Camille was sitting on her knees beside her. Ashley sat up. “What is it baby girl?”
“Aunt Kylie said something is wrong.”
Ashley looked around just noticing that the van wasn't moving. She crawled over to the side door and slide it open. Kylie was standing at the front of the vehicle with the hood raised.
Shit...
Could nothing ever be easy for them? Ashley made her way to the front as Kylie glanced up. “What's wrong with it?”
“I don't know. The hood just started smoking. I got worried and pulled over. Maybe I was just pushing it too hard. This thing wasn't exactly new before everything happened.”
“Okay, let me see if I can figure out what's wrong with it. Go rest up. If we can't get it fixed, we might have to start walking.”
Kylie nodded and left Ashley alone to figure things out. Yeah, right. Ashley knew next to nothing about fixing cars. They had already had to abandoned the last car they had found because of a flat tire and although they had used the spare, they hadn't been able to find another vehicle for miles and the spare had eventually given out as well. They had been walking hours before they finally found this one. Chris was so much better at this stuff. It made her miss her husband even more now. After staring blankly under the hood of the car, Ashley felt like cursing and screaming her frustrations out. That would have attracted unwanted attention so she refrained, but she did kick the front tire to release some of her anger before beginning to pace back and forth in front of the vehicle with her hands over her head.
What am I going to do now? They are depending on me.
notes: open to anyone