silent cries |twd|

chapter 02

THEIR SYSTEM CHANGED AFTER THAT NIGHT.

They slept in the trees. The two girls found ropes in a cabin on the bank of the river and would tie themselves to the branches to make sure they wouldn't fall out.

Harley would take first watch, only staying up until she couldn't see anymore. Then Nora would take watch until a few hours before dawn. Then Harley would take watch again as the sun came up.

They never let their guard down, in fear of those men returning and getting revenge for their fellow group members.

The women had to scavenge for new supplies. They didn't want to risk going back to get their stuff, in fear of what they may find. Either a trap for them, or the men had taken their stuff. Either way, it wasn't a risk they were going to take.

It took weeks to find more bags for them to store their stuff. And another week to find things to put in their bag.

Harley found a Swiss Army Knife in the cabin by the river. She liked all the different tools, so she kept it stuffed in her sports bra in case they were ambushed again.

It began to get colder as they travelled north. They passed a few towns on the way, scavenging for warmer clothes. Harley found a jean jacket with white, fluffy fabric around the collar while Nora grabbed a black cargo jacket with lots of pockets.

After only finding a few scattered cans of food on the bottom shelves of the supermarket, they went back to the woods.

Harley sat in the tree as Nora fished in the creek. She flicked her Swiss army knife in and out, while keeping her eyes monitoring the area.

Any leaf that blew in the wind, her eyes were drawn to.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted something dark moving to her left. She turned her head to spot a guy with a cross bow slowly heading towards the stream, his weapon ready,

He spotted Nora, and he was going to attack her.

She had to protect her.

Harley grabbed her gun and waited until the man was below her before whistling a low tone.

Nora spun on her heels, spear at the ready. Harley grabbed the branch and swung down, letting go to land on her feet behind the man,

"Always check the trees." Nora smirked,

The man paused at the sound of the safety of a gun being turned off behind him. He lowered his crossbow, his other hand raised in the air to signal a surrender.

Nora nodded at the redhead and she stepped forward, her hand going for the man's knife. Harley took it out of its' sheath and put it in her belt before searching the rest of him.

He was pissed. The other one was quiet, too quiet, and his missed them. He fucking missed them.

He felt their breath on his arm as they continued to search him. And when they stepped around him to pat down his front, he tensed even further.

It was a tiny fucking girl. At least, he thought it was a girl. She looked young, but her eyes were cold as they glanced up at his face.

She ripped the crossbow from his hand, backing up to Nora and handed it over to her.

"You alone, big boy?" Nora asked, handing Harley her spear. Harley put her gun in her waistband before holding the spear up, ready to launch it at the man,

"Ya mean out here or in general?" He grunted, keeping a close eye on both of them,

"Both."

"I'm alone... but I got a group." He answered,

"How big?"

"Big enough." He narrowed his eyes at them, "There more of ya in the trees?"

"Possibly." Nora stated, "Do anything and you'll find out."

The man scoffed, "Cute. Look, my group are takin' people in, it don't look like yer strugglin'... but offers still open. We got walls... a fence... people. It's safe."

Nora nudged Harley's arm and the two took a few steps back. The man watched as they gestured wildly, but no words were exchanged,

"Do we trust him?" Harley asked,

"I don't know." Nora sighed, glancing back at him before continuing, "It's going to be a cold winter out here."

"What if they're like the others? Like those men?" Harley signed,

"Then we kill them and take their stuff." She answered,

Harley nodded and they turned back to the man. They knew he wouldn't run off without his things.

"Fine." Nora stated, "But we keep the weapons while you lead us there."

He nodded and began to lead them through the woods, away from the creek. Nora kept her gun in her hands, ready to use it at any moment in case it was a trap,

"I'm Nora..." The brunette introduced, "that's Harlow."

He glanced back at the redhead, who still held the spear, "Wha', she can' speak for herself?"

Nora smirked, "She's deaf. So, yeah, she can speak for herself but you wouldn't be able to understand her."

"So that hand wavey thing..."

"ASL? It's how we communicate." Nora answered before turning to Harley, "He called ASL hand waving."

"Boys are dumb." Harley rolled her eyes before noticing the man staring at her, "Ask him about his group."

"Like what?"

"Are there women? Children?" Harley elaborated, "We need to know what we're walking into."

Nora sighed, "What's your group like?" She asked him,

"Lots of women... kids." He answered, "We all work together, help the place run."

Nora translated it to Harley real quick before continuing, "What's your role?"

"I hunt, go on supply runs." He answered,

"So you're not the leader." Nora stated,

"Nah, we have a council. You gonna have to meet with 'em when we get there." He explained,

Harley kept glancing over her shoulder, keeping an eye out for anything that might sneak up on them. Nora kept asking questions as Harley noticed a bush shift slightly. Harley let out a small whistle, catching Nora's attention.

The walker stumbled out of the bushes and Harley raised the spear, aiming it before throwing it into the dead's head.

When she stepped forward to grab the spear, the man grabbed her arm. He pressed his fingers to his lips, signalling to keep quiet.

She ripped her arm away before walking over and gripping the spear, pulling it out of the walker's head.

She quickly wiped the walker's brains on her jeans before walking back over to the other two. Nora gave her a look and the redhead shrugged, "What?"