Deadland

Epilogue

(TW!! mentions of suicide!!)

(Inejra Beaumont's POV:) I haven't stopped looking for Adrian and her family, I've explored every single day, even since we've been at the Commonwealth. Kelly sometimes comes with me, though, she thinks we won't find them. I've started believing it too; I guess it's just something to do since Alyssa died. 

I know why Adrian left, I mean, I've heard the whispers and rumors since she was a Savior, even the rumors she didn't know about. That's why about two years after Rick's death I beat some woman's ass because she was saying some dumbass shit about Adrian. However, even though I know why she left, I'm still pissed she didn't even ask me. I would've gone...I think.

They've been gone for a little over two years now, which means Beatrice should be about seven or eight; crazy. I still remember the day they were gone and the panic that grew deep within my stomach. 

"Gabriel!" I yell, running into his room as he and Rosita are asleep. 

"Woah," He shouts, sitting up and looking around confusedly. "Is everything okay?" 

"What happened?" Rosita asks, noticing my panicked breathing. 

"Adrian, Magna, and Beatrice are gone!" 

They look at each other and then back at me, "What?!" Gabriel exclaims, leaping out of bed. 

When I lead them, along with Aaron and Daryl back to Adrian's house, the eerie silence from the house immediately swallows us. Their stuff is all still here, most of their food, their shoes, and a lot of their clothes. But their beds are messy and all of their weapons are gone. It feels like the house's windows are watching us walk through, like there's a secret we don't know about. 

"Was there a note?" Daryl asks, searching through drawers. 

I shake my head, "No, I looked. That's the closest we're gonna get to one, though." Daryl's eyes follow my finger as I point to the bracelet-making kit and the tattoo gun on the kitchen counter. They both look oddly colorless, almost like Alyssa and Adrian each took the color with them when they left. 

Aaron runs his hand through his hair and sighs, "Did they leave or did that group find them?" 

Daryl shakes his head, "They're dead. And, Adrian woulda' shredded their skin off and made 'em eat it for what happened to Alyssa. We woulda' known if they were here." 

My eyes well with tears and I turn to Gabriel, "They left." I whisper, barely able to contain my composure. "They left me." 

He nods and pulls me in for a hug, "Adrian didn't do it to hurt you, she hasn't felt a part of this group since..." His eyes meet Daryl's.

"She's never felt a part of this group." Daryl says, leaning against the counter and staring at the couch. The couch still has a bug book on it and Adrian's pain medicine for her wounds after she got beat by those Whisperers is on the side table. 

"I know," I reply, sniffing and breaking the hug with Gabriel. "I know." 

"So what's the plan?" Rosita asks, looking around. "Are we going after her or letting her leave?" 

"She's hurting...bad. What's she gonna do if she has a gun on her twenty-four-seven?" Aaron asks. 

Daryl shakes his head, "She wouldn't leave and then kill herself, that's putting Magna and Bea at risk. We can look for her...but we gotta think if she wants to come back, that's if we find her. She knows how to cover her tracks, she knows how to get far without bein' seen."