"𝐜𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐞„

twelve, 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗎𝗇𝗂𝗍𝗒

Since the incident last month, the two girls stuck to the woods, not daring to even go near any towns or roads. It wasn't the walkers that were a threat anymore, it was the people.

Which is why they were so cautious around the girl that had just appeared in-front of them.
Jane held out her gun, knowing that if the girl stepped out of line she wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

"Raise your hands above your head." Ellie said, and the girl did. The strange thing about her wasn't her sudden appearance, or tattooed body - it was the fact that she was completely clean. A cloud white T-shirt hung over her top half, and some sky blue jeans clung to her legs. Her jacket was a dark leather, and looked completely untouched. Jane hadn't seen anyone this well-presented in years. The only thing ruffled about her was her hair, as it had been caught in some tree branches.

Her face was soft, and even the curves and edges of her jawline weren't sharp. If friendly was a girl, it would be this one. She had big, round eyes that shone in the sunlight and....pink hair? In the apocalypse?

"Easy. I won't hurt you," the girl says. She doesn't look scared, more....confident. "My name is Tonya."

"What are you doing following us?" Jane demands. She still doesn't break, and her expression stays completely unchanged. She's not scared, and she won't be.

"I saw you not long ago. I'm out looking for recruits-"

"Well you can shove your recruits right up-" Ellie starts, but Jane stops her, wanting to know more about tonya. "Recruits?"

"Recruits for our community."

★

Tonya, after a lot of talking, persuades the two of them to follow her back to their community. On the way there, the thought crosses her mind that, maybe, Carl found his way there before she did. It's almost impossible, but that's all she can recite in her head. That and a slight worry for Ellie.

Ellie was changed after that night. She's been distant, and quiet ever since. Jane understands, because she herself has also been a little reserved. She just hoped Ellie would settle in, if they decided to stay.

They arrived, and Tonya ushered them to a stand in-front of a small well.

"Quick, Tonya's found people!" A girl shouts, and around 50 people crowd around them. They felt like animals at a zoo, being prodded and poked at. Everyone chatted amongst themselves, like the girls were aliens.

They almost were, new people were about as rare as gold to them.
Instead of focusing on the loud, obnoxious sea of heads, Jane decided to look around a bit.
From where she was standing, she could see houses. Straw, brick, wood. Almost everything looked handmade, and the small village had no walls. Dead fish were strung up outside the houses, and nets were slung over almost every tree. Jane recognised these as fishing techniques, and shrugged. Maybe the village was somewhere close to a the sea, or a lake.

It had a sense of community, a sense of home - If you looked past the smell of seawater. Even though everyone had left their houses, or rather, shacks to commemorate round the girls - it never felt empty.

A girl made her way through the crowd, one that resembled Tonya almost exactly - minus the tattoos and hair. She looked younger though, around Jane's age. Her features were smoother, and softer - and Jane couldn't shake the thought that she slightly resembled a rabbit, but in a cute way.