Her heart dropped to her stomach after Stella heard a very familiar voice screaming for help from a distance away, 'Chris?' Stella thought to herself as the panic instantly surged through her. She remained standing on top of the roof looking through her binoculars that can reach further away, all colour drained from her usually tanned face.ย
"Chris!..." Her crying voice echoed in the air as she called out his name. The regret of separating was sinking deeper and faster wishing they never did when she saw the wreckage of a red truck but the vehicle wasn't as important as the man who means everything to her, the only light that gives her life meaning to stay alive, Chris is the first person to ever heal her lost and broken heart, he gives her the strength to overcome life's challenges.ย
To have strong feelings in a dangerous and crazy world like this is very rare and it's worth fighting for and to lose that will make her life pointless when she has no one else if the only source of her happiness is cruelly taken away from her. Stella did not just stand around doing nothing, she was quick to aim her gun directly at the heads of these two lads who dare to take away a beautiful yet misunderstood soul that deserves happiness after everything he's been through.ย
Keeping her breathing calm even though she is shaking on the inside, the adrenaline is super high, Stella kept a shape eye through the machine gun's viewfinder keeping it dead straight on her prey with one single shot to the head with blood splattering everywhere as she killed the one with the gun in his hand saving her dark prince from death's hands, killing in cold blood with no hesitation when it comes to her loved ones.ย
Although Stella slowed down the other by shooting him in the leg, he fell screaming in agonizing pain while looking around in haste for the one responsible but she was very quick when a bullet was fired in her direction, she ducked down. Stella climbed down the roof jumping to her feet as she landed on the ground, she sprinted towards the car getting in and sped down the road like the wind towards the direction where her beloved Chris is, she will never leave his side ever again.ย
A black car fastly appeared in the distance with a very enraged young woman behind the wheel, "Chris!..." she quickly got out of the car and rushed over to Chris with tears in her eyes as she feels terrible for leaving, if she stayed with him, none of this would have happened, he wouldn't be in so much pain. Stella gasped when she saw the injury to his leg, "What happened? are you hurt? can you walk?" she will do everything to treat him back to strength once they're somewhere safe, walkers must have heard the gunshots, loud sounds lure them in, that's why she doesn't use guns a lot but she had to do something to save Chris.
Stella ignored the other two, she'll deal with them but Chris is more important to her, he's always had a very special place in her heart as she carefully helped him sit up with her hand cupping his cheek brushing dark hair from his lovely eyes, her fingers stroking the side of his face before embracing him with her gentle touch which is normally rough, but with Chris, she is very soft and feels comfortable to show her emotions around him. She has missed him so much, with him is where she belongs, the first time she's ever felt belonged anywhere with anyone.
"Oh Chris, I am so sorry for leaving, I regret doing so, I truly do. If I stayed with you, none of this would have happened, you mean everything to me. I am never leaving you again, I will help you.."
Stella pulled back a little to look into his eyes before her soft expression turned harsh when she turned her aggression onto Derek as she kicked him violentlyย in the face withย the sharp blade of her dagger pressing into his neck, she is not the one to be messed with and this fella is a weak idiotic fool for dealing with a dangerous woman as she glared furiously into his soul, the coldness in her voice.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you asย I did to your friend? Why were you going to kill Chris?...and don't you dare lie."ย
Enid expelled a long sigh. "Oh yeah, I've had more than my share of one walker at a time. Let me tell ya." Her mind quickly jumped back to the hoardes of walkers that she's faced in her past. Crowds of them would gather at a time, the growls growing the closer they became. They were at every angle she turned. Leaving the fact that there was nowhere to actually turn. "But I had help. You just grab what you can and swing it, then hope it hits. And you gotta do it fast despite how slow they move. Weird, huh?" She grinned.ย
She supposed something like that would never change. But it was on that thought, however, that something rustled off a short distance away. Enid froze. Suddenly jarred completely awake, she rolled over and zipped down her sleeping bag to step out of it. Then she glanced over to Chris. "Something's out there." She pulled out her knife, voice low and eyes searching. The noise came again. She tightened her grip on the handle, a familiar raspy groan sounding this time.
Surviving the cruel and broken world with deadly diseases in the air is a challenge that thrives the lone survivor to keep on fighting. For that what being brave did for Stella, it gave her the strength to conquer fear and accept her pains as lessons she needed to master in dangerous situations, to always have her eyes and ears open at all times when trouble comes along and she's ready to strike them down.ย
She is alone, which she prefers to be, yet her stubborn mind is always drawn to a very special someone that gives her the strength she needs to stay alive, Chris is the greatest that has ever happened in her entire life, he is the only good thing that has come out of this madness even though they went their separate ways. Stella never thought she would meet someone who's been through so much pain and darkness just like her, darkness is what brought them together and she was starting to regret not going with Chris as she wants to keep on seeing him, she's just used to being on her own that she didn't even think about travelling with someone.ย
Chris is the first person she felt comfortable around to have a conversation with, to have a connection with, she shared her story with him and for the first time in her life that heavyweight she carried on her shoulders for as long as she could remember has finally been taken off allowing her to breathe freely, it's a rare thing to meet someone who understands. They're both outcasts, they're both misunderstood, they've both suffered a lot and done bad things to survive, there will always be difficult choices to make in a world like this even those choices damage their humanity.ย
They are dangerous and that's what Stella finds so badass about him, not to mention very handsome as well, she hopes to see him again, the urge is strong and endless. The warrior once felt all the pain of the universe and it forged her into a fighter. These days she keeps only the memory of the pain, not the feeling, and this frees her to become all the stronger, all the more creative, in the ending of suffering.ย
The road never seemed to end as she drove along the deserted streets of an eerie town that came into her view, Stella was driving pretty slowly to prevent any loud noises to attract the slow rotting minds of walkers that roamed every corner. Her ass is beginning to ache from sitting in this car for too long, there was nowhere for her to go and she doesn't want to waste any petrol. Stella just parked the car right in the middle of the street, that's one of the advantages of the apocalypse, free parking anywhere.ย
Stella got out of the car and stretched as she looked around seeing no soul in sight, this is her wilderness, ย she doesn't believe in safe communities, they never last long and families make her feel more alone since she's never had a family. Her scar reflected in the sunlight with the movement of her head, the scar runs from the corner of her eye down her cheek, there is a story behind her scar that she wouldn't share with anyone unless it's Chris who she has opened up to. Her mother almost killed her when she threw a glass vase at her, the glass smashed and some of it pierced through her already-broken skin, she bled and it nearly took her eye out.ย
As the years went by, Stella became an accomplished archer. The bow and arrow is her favourite weapon of choice, she is a highly skilled archer, weapon designer, acrobat and hunter, which she learnt from her father and she added fishing and trapping to her skills. Stella has good reflexes, mainly when carrying a bow, she can draw an arrow and strike several targets with impressive speed and flexibility, she trained herself up to protect herself to survive. She has become the most dangerous and deadliest woman in the wild, anyone who has messed with her when they cross paths didn't end well for them, she watches like a hawk.ย
Trust is very hard to find in anyone these days. Stella is vicious with a mouth on her, fiery, seductive, quiet as a shadow when she targets down anyone suspicious wanting to cause trouble, she knows how to hunt to keep herself fed. โStella is not like other girls, she is different, she's matured pretty fast at a young age, she isn't perfect, there's no such thing as perfect when mistakes are made to happen, mistakes lead to improvement.ย
Stella took care of herself when others didn't even bother, she has a dozen tattoos on her body, her tattoos also tell a story, she got them whenever she ran away from her house and the owner of this tattoo parlour always welcomed her, giving her a roof over her head and food in her stomach as well as badass tattoos. Stella wore a black leather jacket with protective gear on her shoulders and forearms to prevent walkers from biting her, she carried her bow and arrows on her back with her sword and guns attached to her weapon holster around her hip, she wore combat boots.ย
The lone wolf wandered the area checking every store to find any important supplies, there were a few walkers around but they were occupied so she just ignored them, she found some alcohol that she couldn't resist, she wished she had someone to share it with, just in case she grabbed a bottle from the shelf before climbing to the roof of the store. Stella sat on the edge and watched from high level with her binoculars and shotgun at the ready.ย
"Hey now! What did I say about giving them ideas, huh?! They don't need to know anything about us and where we're sleeping or that we're even on the menu. Not that we are, cause... we're not. My treehouse is strictly going to be a walker-free zone, and that's that on that." Enid flattened out her hands and drew them out to accentuate her point. But she was grinning at the leaves that were thrown in retaliation.
Having to have constant eyes, ears and pretty much everything else on walkers in general was something she was getting used to adapting to. It was a way of life when it came to dealing with the dead. But reaching the point where she was able to joke about them wasn't anything she'd thought she'd find herself doing. Maybe that meant found some level of acceptance to even think of doing something like that. But she couldn't do that if she didn't have her friend, so there was that as well.
"I just thought of something." Enid randomly mumbled after a minute of silence. "Climbing those trees everyday... would suck. I never realized how much these things make us have to work. The walkers, I mean. We can hardly do anything without having to look over our shoulder." She made a face, but then grunted a laugh. "If this treehouse thing turns out to be a thing.. I might look into retractable ladders."
// Aww!! I see. Well that's very sweet ;~; If I do decide to get one though, I'll definitely let you know!
Enid's eyes started growing wide as she watched the male begin to rifle through his belongings. But then they zeroed into an accusatory squint once she realized he was joking, grunting in amusement. "Hey! Not funny! I ain't about to be dinner for those wacko's." She picked up a handful of leaves and then flung them lightly in his direction, laughing. The brunette settled back into her bag afterward and glanced around them anyway. Just in case.
Thankfully, it was still quiet. Nothing but the cool breeze of the evening air swept through the trees nearby and the distant chirp of crickets. Enid made a face, hoping one of those things wouldn't end up in her bag. A trivial thought at best. The world was probably crawling with more walkers than bugs nowadays, but Enid still hated those creepy crawlies more than anything else. She wouldn't go near anything at all if there was the chance that a spider was lurking in the area.
But she shrugged it off after she gave the whole tree idea some actual thought. "Ya know, I wouldn't be surprised if that's what everyone ended up doing someday. Treehouse and all, even. I've yet to see a walker start climbing up those things. You might not be too far off the mark with that one." She started gazing around them, eyes easily scanning through the ones that surrounded them. Then she stifled a laugh as another thought came to mind. "It's a good thing walkers can't read. Any sign I'd put up on my door, treehouse or not, wouldn't exactly be the most inviting."
//I don't!!! D; I'm sorry! I'm lame. I'm such an outsider to that thing. v_v
Enid's eyes opened up as he explained how he snagged himself a couple of times. "Man... talk about getting hooked." She shook her head, fighting off a sliver of a chill at the thought. The closest she could relate to that was a cat scratch. An experience that she was never partial to. But she grinned when he handed her half of the granola bar, chewing off a piece of it. "Thanks for this. I didn't even think to pack up any rations. So much for thinking ahead."
The brunette turned over on her back afterward. Both arms now rested over the front of her sleeping bag, eyes casted upward toward the sky. It was completely dark out now if you didn't count the moon and the millions of stars that surrounded it. And thankfully enough, it came without any walkers. It almost seemed like it might've been any other night if it weren't for the apocolypse looming over them. It was one of those next-to-normal situations, but one that didn't come without gratitude.
It lead to her to thinking about how there was a time when things actually were normal. How those normal things turned into something else, and if something like it could ever exist again. But Enid spent alot of time wondering about stuff like that. Maybe it was a waste, but it gave her something to do when she wasn't in the moment of taking down a walker. "That's good, anyway. That you know how to camp outside. I mean, ideally, it would be a luxuary not to have to do it in the first place. Especially now. But it's good to have that just in case. And by the way," Enid glanced over to Chris and held up her finger. "Don't even think of giving these walkers any ideas about cheese and hot sauce. Otherwise I'm sleeping in a tree!" She nudged her elbow toward the nearest one and laughed, but kept it quiet so as not put themselves at risk.
Enid grunted a laugh at his jestful remark. "Heck no! I ain't much of a fisher, anyhow. I have a different use for this stuff. But fishing itself? Not in a million years." She grinned, pausing once to survey her work. All she needed now was something that would wake them up if a walker actually did manage to stumble into their campsite. That's when the brunette started going through her bag again, pulling out empty waterbottles. She turned a few of them over in her hand and made a face.
"Not exactly what I'd prefer for an alarm system. But, better than nothing I spose." She shrugged, then started placing the items along the makeshift tripwire. "I guess I should've had something better to supply for a sitaution like this. I mean I've had my fair share of outdoor overnighters, so you'd think I'd have more to show for it. Ah well." Enid offered a sheepish grin before slipping into her sleeping bag. Then she shoved a handful of leaves under the top half of it to make for a better pillow.
Luckily they would have a broader range of accomodations once they reached Alexandria. The place itself was as normal as normal could get, and definitely could hold up its own. Enid then zipped up the sides and cocooned herself within the confines. She glanced down at herself shortly thereafter, completely concealed except for her head before looking over at him. "I feel like a human burrito." The brunette cracked a grin, then shook her head. "Let's just hope those walkers don't think I look like one." She suppressed a laugh before settling down into it. "How about you, though? You sleep outside often?"
"Dibs scmibs. If we see a console, you'll have to fight me for it!" Enid grinned. It was all in good fun, of course. She couldn't remember the last time she made a joke like this with someone. People were never usually in a laughing kind of mood with everything that was almost always going on. Sometimes it was a real stretch to try reaching for something different, something else. So she welcomed any kind of comedic relief wherever she could find it.
Then she leant her bag to the ground and opened it up before starting to rifle through it. "I have slept outside before though, yeah. Before I made it Alexandria. It wasn't anything I was crazy about at first, but then I got the hang of it. All you gotta do is make sure it's in a safe enough spot and then set up some kind of barrier. Or something to let you know if anything is nearby. Which reminds me," The brunette started digging through her stuff before pulling out a fishing line. It was just long enough to make a circle around the two of them, tripping anyone or anything that might wander into their makeshift campsite. Enid momentarily set it aside.
"That'll help us with security. But first thing's first." She then pulled out and unrolled her sleeping bag, opening it up and laying it down. Then she returned to the fishing line and headed to the nearest tree. Enid began by wrapping it around the trunk and moving to the next, and so on until she enclosed the space entirely. "Phew, there we go!" She stepped back afterward, picking up her bag once more. She sifted through the contents again, then pulled out a waterbottle with a grin. It was all the way full as she held it out to Chris. "Here, take this. I always carry extra."
"I'd sure love it if we did have a college there, I'll tell you that." Enid grinned. "The closest we have to that is a makeshift grade school for the kids. Nothing like a real school, but it's something to give them some kind of an education." It was the closest thing to normalcy that she'd seen in a while, too, now that she'd thought about it. Substitutions were all they had to really rely on after everything that's happened. Creating a new normal, although less than what was. But it was something all the same. Better than nothing. And it beat the hell out of wondering what came next when you had no place to start. Now it all came down to taking what was there and making the best out of it.
But then an idea came to her. "Tell you what though. If we come across a camera somewhere out there, we'll make up our own photography course. I know I could definitely use a distraction from all this walker business. Same goes for any video game consoles we see lying around." The brunette smiled again and kicked aside a few rocks that lay fallen in their path. The descending sun casted a brilliant shade of gold and purple across the sky by then, signaling the end of the day. It was one of those things that crept up on her. She lost track of time, too immersed in conversation with her new friend to notice. But she was happy to discover what she did of him, that they both shared that streak of humanity. Something like that was all too rare these days. Enid paused once after that to glance around the two of them.
"Looks like it'll be getting dark here soon." She had come to a stop shortly thereafter. A circle of trees surrounded them, clouding up most of what was left of the remaining light. But it was more seculded than what she was used to on the way here. It really only left the one inevitable thought to cross her mind. "We should probably set up for the night. I'm afraid we'd end up getting lost if we kept going. What do you think?" She asked, turning to face him.
The question was one she thought on for a minute. It was harmless and didn't sound like something he meant seriously, perhaps even along the lines of something in jest. But she thought on it anyway nonetheless. It wasn't something she spent too much time on, however, and eventually shook her head. Then she spoke in a voice that was almost a whisper. "No." A beat of silence passed, leaves breaking and splitting under the tread of her heavy boots as they walked on. "I've kept at it for so long that I almost made it a rule with it for myself. As hard and confusing as everything is, I don't want to let it get away from me. I guess you could just call it stubborn faith."
The brunette glanced over to him. She could tell that it was definitely something that he held onto himself. Especially after opening up about his life and ultimately trusting that she was of no threat whatsoever. People who were only in it for themselves wouldn't give something like this the time of day, opting instead to use whatever they could to their advantage. And it was only then that humanity in itself would start to collect dust. So, she was glad to see that wasn't the case here.
Then she grinned. "I love photography, though! I had a camera at some point a long time ago. It's interesting and totally fun dabble in. One of my favorite kinds were images capturing a still shot of something moving fast. But you never know, though. College could still be on the table. Although I have to agree that math is definitely not something I want in the cards for me either." Enid paused after that, laughing. She'd much rather play video games than do anything involving math anyday. "Maybe you could be the guy that comes up with all the video game characters. It's best part!"
