Janie's Got A Gun (A 'The Walking Dead' Fanfiction)

Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Bottlecap Necklace

Four Years Earlier
The girl took off running towards the noise of rustling leaves, she came to a stop to see a golden retriever sniffing in a bush.
"Stella!" She cooed. "What have you found?" Stella dug her nose deeper into the bush and suddenly the girl heard a groan from inside. "Come here girl." She said, patting her leg and the dog ran back to her. The girl got down on her hands and knees, not worrying about the mud that was coating them, and slowly crawled into the bush, at first she saw a booted foot, the boots were scuffed and muddy. She followed the boot to a leg, the persons legs were skinny and clad in, what looked like a pair of once tight, black jeans, which were now loosely hanging off of them. She crawled in further to reveal that the person was lying in a foetus position and was wearing a large green jacket and leather waistcoat. The girl sat down and reached her hand out towards the person's bony arm before lightly shaking it. The person sat up instantly to reveal their dirty and scared face and long matted hair.
"Hey." She smiled but the girl just stared in bewilderment.

Janie opened her eyes suddenly and sat up, she rubbed her eyes and when she pulled her hand away there was an angel like figure in front of her. The girl had long, flowing ginger hair that looked like warm honey and soft freckles that covered her face. She wore a floral summer dress and denim jacket, her knees were littered with scrapes and bruises and her converse had little hearts drawn all over them with Sharpie.
"Hey." She smiled and suddenly a dog appeared behind her. "This is Stella."
Janie stuttered for a moment not knowing what to say.
"I have a weapon." She blurted out but the girls smile didn't falter.
"So do I." She replied in a 'what's your point?' Kind of tone.
"I'm not afraid to use it." Janie continued as the girl reached into her pocket.
"I'm not going to hurt you." She said, pulling out a bottle of water and an apple and handing them to Janie. Janie hesitated for a moment before remembering it had been days since she had last eaten or drank something and she needed to get her strength back up. She took them without saying thank you and downed the water instantly before throwing the empty bottle into the bush. She then took a bite of the apple,
"Who are you?" She asked with her mouth full and the girls sparkling green eyes lit up.
"Alice." She replied.
"I'm Janie."
"I have a camp." Alice continued. "Just up the stream with my dad's."
"Dad's?" Janie asked. "You have two?" Alice nodded cheerfully and Janie looked at the ground. "I wish I didn't even have one."
Suddenly Janie heard a shout in the distance and Alice jumped up.
"Got to go." She said. "See you around."
Janie crawled out of the bush after her and watched as she ran off with Stella at her side.

The next day Janie was sat on the ground drawing pictures in the mud with a stick. She drew the perfect stick figure family, a happy mom and dad with big smiles on their faces, holding hands and their happy daughter wearing a triangle dress. The noise of panting suddenly got louder and a golden mound of fluff suddenly sat on her drawing.
"Hi Stella." She smiled as she reached out to stroke the dog.
"Hi Janie." A voice said and Janie looked up to see Alice wearing a light pink dress with a white lace collar and long white socks, all of which were covered in a layer of dust and dirt. "What are you drawing?"
"Oh nothin'." Janie replied shyly as Alice leaned over and gently took the stick from her hand, brushing her fingers lightly against Janie's as she did. She held the stick like a pen and drew a star in the mud with long lines coming out of it to show how bright it was. She then placed the stick on the ground and unzipped her bag before pulling out another bottle of water, a granola bar and a tin of beans; Janie grabbed them instantly and started to unwrap the bar, only stopping briefly to thank Alice. When she was done she looked over at Stella, she was staring at the stick and wagging her tail. Janie smiled and picked up the stick before throwing it as far as she could, Stella leapt to her feet and ran after it as Janie looked down at the spot where she was sat. Her happy family were gone.

Two days had passed when Alice returned, Janie saw her from atop an oak tree which she had climbed, she was looking around aimlessly for Janie who was giggling at her confusion. She pulled an acorn from the tree and threw it at Alice's head, instantly she looked up and stuck her tongue out at Janie before climbing the tree to join her.
"Hey." She said cheerfully,
"Hey." Janie replied
Alice rummaged through her bag before pulling out Janies bottle of water and snacks. She unscrewed the lid from the bottle before taking a pen knife from her pocket and removing the shoe lace from one of her trainers. Janie stared at her in a befuddled way as she poked a hole in the bottle cap with the knife and threaded it onto the shoelace.
"What is that?" Janie asked as Alice held it up, grinning.
"It's a necklace." She replied as she leaned closer to Janie. "Here." She spoke as she tied it around Janie's neck.
"Thanks." Janie replied before taking the knife from her hand. She held it up to the tree trunk beside her and carved a J into it, then Alice took her knife back and added +A before carving a love heart around their initials.