Tales of The Wallking Dead

Chapter 20

Freyja and Lily all made it back safely and Jacob quickly ushered them all inside to get the rundown on things. Jacob stared at them both sternly. "What happened, Lily you have blood on you." Jacob said as Lily covered up the blood. Freyja stood up and paced the room. "When me and Blaze got there we pulled Lily and Payton aside to-." She got cut off by Jacob. "Where's Payton?" He said frantically just realising she hadn't come back. "I'm getting to that part." Freyja said annoyed but cleared her throat. "As I was saying we pulled them aside to discuss plans when we heard a faint 'gotcha' in the distance and Lily without thinking made a really stupid move and dove towards Connor, knocking him out of the way and Jones who must have been running the operation missed his shot as he has some sort of forced anger for Connor." Freyja said taking a second to catch her breath as Lily made an input. "He said it was because Connor betrayed his country in its time of need or something? I was there the memory is just hazy." Lily said as Freyja nodded slowly. "Anyway, after that stupid stunt Jones tried against having Connor in his crosshairs but... Tyler he, he dove in front of the barrel and the bullet caught him instead and I saw a look of pure shock flicker through Connor's eyes as he tackled Jones and shot him." Freyja said. "As we left I think Payton ran off somewhere, she wasn't behind us and we're not sure if she's dead." Freyja added and Jacob slapped his hand on the table. "Did he really have to kill?" Jacob asked as Lily gave him a surprised look. "Well yeah, he'd just lost his friend he'd gone to primary with and was clearly seeing nothing but red." Lily said as Jacob sighed. "I recall being told once that I'd soon learn that the living wanna kill me and it's a kill or be killed world. I think that's the point Connor was trying to get across back in the school house where all the music crap was." Jacob said as it'd finally clicked that this is a kill or be killed world and he could no longer stick by not killing the living.

As the three awkwardly said nothing they realised something, Blaze hadn't followed them back and Freyja caught wind of this first as she started looking around outside for any signs but couldn't see anything. "Goddammit! See this is why you listen to me." Jacob said. "I told you guys not to go out and you've lost one of our own and another's run off into the woods." Jacob grumbled as he paced the room. Lily still sat with a solemn look on her face. "It'll be fine." She said softly as Freyja stared at her. "Fine? Fine?! What do you mean fine! We've lost 3 of our group in the span of a single day! This is so far from fine!" Freyja shouted but Lily's expression remained unchanged. "It'll be fine." Lily reiterated as Freyja became more frustrated. "No! It will not be! If you hadn't ran at Connor then Payton wouldn't be missing and Blaze wouldn't be fuck only knows where! Connor can handle himself!" Freyja yelled as Lily sighed and stood up. "I know he can, but I wasn't taking any chances. I refuse to lose him, I couldn't bear it." Lily said as her solemn expression became more sad. Freyja scoffed as grabbed her stuff. "I'll find them myself." She said as she walked back outside and slammed the door.

Jacob slinked out the room during the argument and Lily was left alone with her thoughts. Freyja however had started running out of the school and back into the woods to track down the 3 missing members. As she ran she saw some scattered walkers but after she reached around the same spot she saw Blaze leaning over a walkers body as Blaze was propped up by a rock next to the walker. Freyja ran over to her and saw how out of fight she was. "C'mon let's get you home." Freyja said as she slung Blaze around her shoulder. Blaze looked at where the camp used to be and turned to Freyja. "Where's Connor? He's still out there. You gotta go back for him." Blaze insisted as Freyja started to think about something and scanned the surrounding area and after a while she must have seen something as she stared at the figure in the tiny clearing and she became a lot more frantic. "No, he's back and he's alive don't worry about a thing. He came running when I was leaving so he's okay." Freyja said quickly as Blaze calmed down. "Okay good, please take me back. I can't stand it out here." Blaze said as Freyja started to take them both back.

Connor tripped on a rock and landed in some dirt as walkers were close on his tail but being fuelled by rage kinda helps things and he was taking out walkers left and right. As he recovered from the trip up he slowed down a few more walkers and went to reload but checked his remaining ammo and saw he had a box full of bullets and only two loaded clips left. He loaded another clip making sure to train his aim carefully on the walkers' heads making every shot count as he kept running through the woods. As reached a tiny clearing but it was just clear enough for him to make out Freyja scan the tree line. He waved to her but Freyja stared at him before turning to Blaze and running off. Connor stood there in shock but a walker grabbed him from behind and knocked him down forcing him to fire another shot off. "Dammit, wasting ammo." Connor muttered. "Can't believe she just ran off. Do they think I'm a killer?" Connor said as he stared at his hands and the blood on his clothes. "I can't got back there. Not yet." Connor said as he looked in the direction of the school but sighed and ran the opposite direction.

Freyja and Blaze arrived back at the school and Jacob brought Blaze in as a slight smirk appeared on Freyja's face. "Job well done. You will love me." She muttered. "He's not good enough, I will be." She added as she walked off back inside. A couple hours floated by as people became increasingly concerned about Connor and Payton's whereabouts and Blaze's deteriorating condition. Freyja was taken to a small room which used to be the headteachers office and Jacob sat her down with Blaze there as well. "So, Freyja. Blaze tells me that you told 'em Connor was here?" Jacob said as Freyja started to panic. "Well, he must have passed through and you guys never saw him." Freyja said trying to hide the stammer growing in her voice. Jacob nodded slowly. "Mhm, alright and might I ask, did you see him in the woods?" Jacob asked as Freyja became more nervous. "See him in the woods? Me? No don't be silly? Who's Connor?" Freyja said now visibly sweating. Jacob gave her a stern glare. "Blaze, leave the room." Jacob instructed and Blaze got up and left as Jacob stood up and walked up to Freyja. "You saw him didn't you? You aren't very good at lying. I see right through you." Jacob said as Freyja finally cracked and a sinister expression spread across her face. "You caught me. I did see him, ignored him too. Why? You might ask well, he's a liability to me and my relationship." Freyja said as Jacob seemed genuinely surprised. "Wait, this is about Lily very obviously having a crush on Connor?" Jacob said holding down laughter. Freyja grimaced when Jacob mentioned this. "Yes this is about that if you must know." Freyja clarified as Jacob stated to giggle but that giggle quickly tuned to annoyance. "So you left Connor in the woods because you didn't want Lily to fall in love with him?" Jacob asked as Freyja nodded. "Too late, Lily went out looking for him after you stormed off and came back without him after saying you'd find 'them' not just Blaze." Jacob said as Freyja's eyes widened. 

Freyja ran out of the room and Jacob sat back considering that a job well done until Clementine came barging in. "Blaze's supposed cold has gotten worse." She said as Jacob stood up. "Let's go." He said urgently as the three of them ran to the sleeping room to see Blaze lying pale on a sleeping bag. Sophie came up to him. "She's been coughing up blood and she's been getting progressively paler as the hours tick by." Sophie said as Jacob raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong with her." He asked as everyone kinda just shook their head. "She's developed quite the nasty fever seemingly like that." Sophie said clicking her fingers as Jacob looked at her. "Alight. Keep an eye on that fever and get some antibiotics or something, could just be a virus." Jacob said as everyone got back to work keeping Blaze alive. Everyone kept asking about Connor but Jacob just shrugged them off as an 'in progress case' which seemed to settle most. Everyone was quick to fall asleep that night as the days events had been thrilling for them all but when Hannah and Sophie were checking up on Blaze they noticed how much worse the sickness has gotten as Blaze was no longer moving and seemed almost lifeless. "Hannah, gimme a hand with this." Sophie said as Hannah rolled up Blaze's sleeve and Sophie checked Blaze's pulse. "Pulse is gone." Sophie said shocked. "But how?" She wondered as Hannah gasped. "Yeah I know how." She said as she turned Blaze around and a huge bite mark was visible on her back. "S-she got bit? But when? we'd been taking such good care of her as well." Sophie said incredulously as they stood about wondering what to do. "Wake the others. Tell 'em the news." Hannah instructed as her and Sophie began to wake everyone up. 

A very loud clattering noise was heard from a few classrooms away which nobody payed attention to. Once everyone was up Hannah got explaining the situation. "So turns out a symptom of a walker bite is a fever that'll overwhelm your body. So Blaze got bit and we didn't realise until like 5 minutes ago so we gotta do something before Blaze turns." Hannah said urgently as Clementine pointed behind her. "Then where'd she go?" Clementine asked as Hannah very slowly turned around to see where Blaze was lying empty and the door to the room ajar.