Is This Real? (Nick Clark X OC) Fear The Walking Dead

The Storm

(Three hours later)

Frankie sits on Nick's bed in his room reading another magazine she found. She had decided to stop watching Nick, and that he can figure it out himself. She owes him that at the very least after he defended and protected her from the Doctor's interrogation. She flips a page. A person stomps down the hallway so fast she can't even recognize who it is. They slam the bathroom door. Frankie quickly gets on her feet and goes to the door. She knocks gently.

"Hey, you okay?" She can hear herself sound like a comforting mother, making her feel weirded out. She shakes it off and puts her ear to the door.

"I'm fine." Nick's muffled voice comes from the other side of the door. He sounds distraught over something. Sounds similar to how he did back when they were in the hospital and he had just seen their friends eating each other.

"Nick, please let me in. I won't get mad at you, whatever it is. I'm sorry I got mad at you before. I shouldn't have been so harsh. I'm a piece of shit. I won't-" She's cut off by the door opening. Not wanting to risk being cast out before she can reach him, she slips into the smaller room and shuts the door behind her. Nick glances up at her and then back to the floor, trying to hide the tears building in his eyes.

"Nick? Are you okay? I'm not mad. It's fine whatever it is. If you used, it's fine." He just rapidly shakes his head no and hangs his head like he's ashamed. "Hey, it's okay. It's okay." She affirms in a soothing voice. She hugs him and clutches the back of his head, holding his face into her shoulder. He relaxes into the hug, and lets out a cry. They remain there for a few minutes, quiet other than his muffled sobs.

"My mom..." He starts to get out some words. Frankie really strains herself to listen because of how soft his voice is, but she also doesn't want to pull away and let go of holding him. "She....she walked in on me trying...trying to find something to use and.....she just started screaming at me........." He shakily takes a deep breath in. Frankie hugs him a little tighter.

"I'm sorry." Frankie says, feeling bad. "Didn't she do that before too?" She references their past time during high school. Nick and her would disappear for days at a time and Nick would often come back home to a raging Madison.

"Yeah, but....but this time she....." He pauses. "...she stopped screaming and she hit me..." Frankie pulls back from him and places both her hands onto the sides of his face. "....a lot." Nick finishes telling her. Frankie's eyes turn sad and she pulls him close again, masking her facial expression. Something in her clicks. Like a match hitting a floor doused in gasoline. Her eyebrows point down in anger.

"I know how hard it is." She tells him soothingly, her voice matching the burning feeling in her chest. "You know I do......" She laughs a little through a few tears. Vehicles can be heard pulling up to the house outside. The two pull away. "Griselda. They're probably transporting her to the facility." Frankie explains. Alicia hesitantly opens the bathroom door. She steps into the room a little confused.

"You guys okay?" She asks, with a lot more concern than most. About time someone notice how fucked up the two are in the head. They nod 'yes', knowing there's nothing more to be done. "The officers are here." She tells them and leaves down the hallway. Nick and Frankie follow, staying at the end, away from the soldiers. Griselda is seen being carried out on a stretcher. Daniel, her husband, is discussing something with an officer.

"I have two names." The soldier claims. Daniel nods his head understanding.

"Griselda Salazar, Daniel Salazar." Daniel points to his wife and then himself.

"No, not you. Nicholas Clark." The soldier corrects him. Frankie's eyes go wide. Her stomach drops. She snaps her head to look at Nick. Madison had told them about what she saw outside the fence. Why, they shouldn't trust the military. That the soldiers kill people without losing a wink of sleep. If Nick goes there. Wherever they take him. He probably won't come back. Frankie can only hear herself mutter one word.

"Run."

Nick knows what to do. It sort of reminds Frankie of their old times running from the cops together when a drug bust happened. Nick bolts to the back door, the soldiers sprinting after him. Frankie yells it now. "Run!" Nick is about to get out of the house through the back door when two soldiers catch him and start dragging him back to the front.

"Woah, woah, woah. Hey, that's a mistake!" Travis shouts to the officers, attempting to deescalate the situation. Frankie ignores his efforts and raises her voice as loudly as she can, talking over Travis.

"Get off of him! Don't touch him!" She screams at them. Nick tries to break free from their hold and a soldier hits him in the face. "Don't touch him!" She runs over to them and another officer grabs both of her arms holding her back.

"Lady, stop." The cop firmly tells her.

"Don't hurt him!" She jerks her head back and whacks the soldier in the face. His grip loosens and she shoves him off herself. She runs to one of the soldiers that's taking Nick and throws a punch in their face. The man she got off her gets back up again and gets a fist full of her hair, slamming her to the ground.

The man then sits her back up onto her knees. Her ears ring loudly and she can see Madison, Travis, and Alicia all scolding at the men. Nick is taken out the door and she loses sight of him. Screaming is seen all around her, yet she just hears the high pitch ringing. Then the voices appear. They get louder, clearer. More real. It sounds like at least a hundred different people, telling her things, directly in both ears. The voices get more and more intense until it all cuts out. Silence once she speaks.

"I'm an addict." She confesses. The real people go quiet and all turn their heads at her with a look of surprise.

"What did you say?" The officer holding the back of her head, by her hair asks.

"I'm sick! I have schizophrenia!" She starts to shout showing how desperate she really is. "I'm a pcp addict! You have to take me! I'm sick! I lied before! Take me to the doctor! I need treatment!" She rambles on and on with tears down her face, still having a neutral expression.

"Get on your feet." The soldier commands with a heavy exhale. He lets go of her hair letting her stand up.

"Frankie no-" Madison tries to stop her. Frankie gets up shakily and is escorted out of the house. The man holds both of her hands behind her back and takes her to the truck holding the Doctor Exner.

"What is it?" Exner asks, looking down over the side of the truck.

"Tell her what you told me." The man says to Frankie and pushes her a little closer to the car.

"I'm sick. I lied. We lied. I'm a drug addict. I have schizophrenia. You need to take me to where Nick is. I'm sick." Frankie pleads. The Doctor sighs, but doesn't look shocked at all, more like she expected it even.

"I don't have time for a check up to see if you're lying. Just take her to the facility. Put her in a car." Frankie's shoulders relax relieved. The soldier directs her to the car where Nick was put in. They walk down the road silently. Frankie looks back at Exner over one of her shoulders. Her eyes narrow and a small smile flashes on her lips just for a moment.