Breathe || the walking dead

Three

Season one,Alaska camp

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"I'm beginning to question the division of labor here" Jacqui states as she eyes Shane and Carl who are playing in the water.
Jessica nods in agreement as she does the laundry at the lake with the other women in the camp.
She would much rather be catching frogs with her god father and uncle but her mother had forced her to help the women,reminding her everyone has to do their part with chores.
Carl didn't have to do any chores though, it wasn't fair in the girls eyes.

"Can someone explain to me how the women ended up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work ?"
Amy scoffs,"the world ended. Didn't you get the memo?"
"It's just the way it is.." Carol adds solemnly.
"It shouldn't be" Jessica pouts from her place beside Carol as she scrubs at one of Shane's shirts.

"I do miss my Maytag" Carol speaks thoughtfully,pondering on life before the apocalypse.
"I miss my Benz,my sat nav" Andrea sighs.
"I miss my computer...and texting."
"What do you miss Jessi?" The women turn to the younger girl who thinks wistfully.
In truth,Jessica couldn't narrow it down to missing just one thing.

The teen couldn't help but miss everything about her old life. Things she had never thought she'd ever miss.
She missed her friends,her house,her phone..she hated to admit it but she even missed school.

"I miss everything..life."
The woman grow quiet at Jessica's confession,suddenly feeling sorry for the girl.
They hadn't realised how hard it must be to grow up in this world.
The girl had her whole life ahead of her and it was all stripped away from her in the blink of an eye.
She could've gone to college, she could've become someone.
Now she was just Jessica Grimes, a survivor in a dead world. Everything she had known and loved was just gone. It wasn't right.

"I miss my vibrator" Andrea smirks,attempting to lift the dull mood that had fallen over the group.
The women all burst into laughter,Jessica included.
"Me too" Carol admits.
This causes the group to cackle further.

"What's so funny?" Carol's husband Ed approaches the group, venom seeping from his voice.
"Just swapping war stories Ed" Andrea replies as the laughter quickly dies down.
"Problem Ed?"
"Nothin that concerns you. And you ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club" the plump man spits at the women in disgust.
"Ed, tell you what..you don't like how your laundry is done, you're welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here" Andrea spits before tossing an art ikr of clothing at the man.

Ed throws it right back in Andreas face,"ain't my job missy."
"What is your job Ed? Sitting on your ass all day smoking cigarettes?"
Dread settles itself in Jessica's stomach as she realises something bad is about to take place.
The camp were quick to realise Ed Pelletier was not a nice man.
Many had suspicions of him abusing his wife and little girl,Sophia.
Jessica often felt sick to her stomach when she would catch sight of bruises along Sophia's arms and legs. Sophias the same age as Carl,just a kid.

"Come on,let's go" Ed snaps at Carol,tugging at her arm.
Carol obediently stands before Andrea decides to challenge the man further,"I don't think she has to go anywhere with you Ed."
"And I say it's none of your business.come on now,you heard me."
Andrea quickly takes Carols other arm,refusing to let the woman leave with her husband.

Jessica watches as Ed increasingly grows more agitated.
All hell breaks loose when he slaps Carol across the cheek.
Jessica jumps up,refusing to stand by and watch any longer.
She shoves Ed away from Carol only for him to backhand the young girl harshly,blood pours from her house as Carol screams in horror.
The other woman stand back in shock,Ed had just hit a kid, in front of the whole group.
Shane who had been watching from his place in the lake rushes up to the group before shoving Ed to the ground and repeatedly beating his face.
Jessica holds her nose in shock as Amy pries her hands away,trying to get a look at the damage Ed had caused the girl.

Shane continues to beat Ed's face to a pulp.
Delivering punch after punch.
Jessica had never seen her godfather like this before,it honestly terrified her.
The women screeched at the man to stop,if he continued on he would murder Ed.
Shane didn't seem to listen,he was in a world of his own.
Jessica winced as she heard a crack come from Ed's nose.
"Shane! Stop it!"
"That's enough Shane."
Jessica reached for Shane's arm before he could deliver another punch,"Shane! Please stop it! You're gonna kill him Shane please! I'm okay look,I'm fine." The girl pleaded with the man.
Shane finally stopped,turning to his god daughter with wide eyes.
Before turning back to Ed,"you put your hands on your wife,your little girl,Jess or anyone else in this camp one more time,I will not stop next time. Do you hear me?" Shane spits in the mans eye before standing.
Amy leads Jessica back to base camp to get her nose cleaned up, Jessica still a little shook up from seeing that side of Shane.

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Jessica groans as Lori is hunched over her daughter,cleaning up her nose which Ed had caused to bleed."Mom I'm fine,it's just a little bruised."
Lori scoffed,silently seething in anger that the man had dared to lay a finger on her daughter.
"Mom! Look at all this fish!" Carl squeals as Amy and Andrea return to camp with a basket of fish.
"Thank you" Lori smiles to the two women as Jessica nods in appreciation.
The girl had never liked fish,something about the slimy texture had always disgusted her, but fish in the apocalypse was a fine dish.

The happy mood dims when Dale announces Jim's strange behaviour to the camp.
Jessica turns to look at the older man who was up on top of the hill, digging in the ground as he had been doing all day.

"Hey Jim,why don't you hold up,all right?"
"What do you want?" The man answers as he continues to dig.
Jessica can't help but step a bit behind the group,his behaviour was definitely weird.
"We're all just a little concerned,that's all. Dale says you've been out here for hours." Shane continues.
"So?" Jim shrugs.
"So why are you digging Jim?  Are you heading to China?" Shane presses.
"What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone!" The man finally snaps at Shane,becoming agitated at the interrogation.
"Yeah except maybe yourself. It's a hundred degrees outside today Jim. You can't keep this up" Shane tries only to be ignored by the man who keeps digging.

Lori steps forward,"look Jim,their not gonna say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my kids and Carol's daughter."
"Jim I'm not here to argue with you okay? Just give me the shovel okay?" Shane states before taking ahold of the shovel.
The situation quickly escalates as Jim refuses to let go,threatening to hit Shane with it.
Shane tackles the man to the ground as he begins to panic,"you got no right! You got no right! No no no no no!"
"Shh Jim no ones gonna hurt you alright? You hear me? Shh" Shane tries to calm the man but it's no use.

"That's a lie! That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys. It didn't matter they came out of nowhere. There were dozens of em,just pulled 'em right out of my hands."
Jessica's heart breaks for the man,this was the first time she'd heard about his family.
"You know,the only reason I got away was because the dead were too busy eating my family."

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