Finally

Too Scared to Care

I don't remember staying with the group that rescued me long enough to know what happened to Daryl. All I know is, I ran off before anyone else could speak to me.

Smart move, Seren. Leave the only safety you've seen, the ones who saved your ass, to go scavenging in the woods yet again, knowing that Phillip Blake will be after you again. Don't forget that you have zero weapons!

Dumbass.

I know it's too dark to see anything, but I keep in mind that I still have the walker bone from the sketchy Woodbury room. I have to thank the "prison" kid, Glenn, for that one. I admire the couple hostage "buddies" I made while in custody. Poor guys, I think to myself.

I do want to know what The Governor meant by "prison group". Whatever, doesn't matter right now. All that matters is me saving my own ass for a change.

I sprint along a path that seems to endlessly lead to nowhere through the pitch black darkness of the Georgian sky. Odd enough, there aren't any biters, or walkers, whatever these damn things are called, in my way. I freeze in my tracks. This seems too clear to be real. I decide to cut through the thick walker-infested woods instead. Less drama, I remind myself, and it is. Less road, less drama. I'm almost out, I think to myself as I can see the light of the other road, or as I like to describe it, the "light at the end of the tunnel".

Suddenly, my feet betray me. My right foot makes friends with a pulled up root, forcing me to lose my balance and trip, landing me on my face. I quickly push myself up with my palms and come face-to-face with a walker. It immediately reaches for me and opens it's mouth, or what's left of it, and starts for my shoulder. I hastily bring my leg up, kicking it over. Before it can make it's way back up, I stomp on it's fragile skull, ending it all for the poor man who had to suffer through this. The sticky flesh sticks to the bottom of my black combat boot as I slowly raise my leg up, dark red blood oozing out from the cranium. I cover my mouth in disgust.

"Damn," I quietly utter. "You are one ugly son of a bitch. Kinda looks like that cheese pizza Aunt Jean made that one Thanksgiving." I quietly laugh to myself as I make my way out of the woods.

Stepping out of the once peaceful but now horrid foliage, I approach a vehicle. I don't even hesitate to jump in, locking myself in and burying myself under a blanket in the backseat. If I want to stay hidden, this will temporarily do the job. Besides, I'm pretty sure this vehicle belongs to my saviors back at Woodbury. Surely they'll come back.

I think about everything I've been through since this whole "lab accident" or whatever obscure lie they could come up with. Before everything, I was just a simple teenaged girl. I had the posters on my walls, the CD's, obsessed over whatever was "in". My parents loved me, and so did my two siblings. My dear Father, Gregory Owen Matthews. My dear Mother, Opal Louise Matthews. My older sister, Zoe Lynn. My little brother, Vincent Dean. And then there's me, Serena Grace Matthews. My family always called me Seren, though, so that's what I've always went by. I remember the very day it happened. Mom was in the kitchen cooking dinner, Dad was outside mowing the lawn, Zoe was off at college, and Vince was playing with his toys in his bedroom. Me? I was playing guitar in my bedroom, watching television. That's when the broadcast came on. My parents called us in the living room to all watch together. We watched until it went off. My dad quickly jumped up and grabbed the only gun in the house we had. Mom handed out knives to my brother and I. We all actually believed that this would blow over in about a week. Zoe arrived in about three hours, wielding an excuse note from college. The family, together at last!

We traveled for weeks on the road until we stumbled upon Hell itself.

Woodbury.

And Satan himself.

Philip Blake. Or, as he calls himself, The Governor.

We all got comfortable except Zoe. Zoe left after about three weeks, for she didn't trust The Governor. Vince wanted to leave, too. I think he mainly just wanted to find free toys because the Woodbury ones just weren't cutting it. Mom and Dad were devastated. They held me close as we all praised The Governor for his beautiful safe haven town. In fact, we loved him so much, Dad decided to become one of his henchmen. I decided to just hang around this lame kid named Patrick and a few other nerds to occupy myself. I had almost forgotten about the horrible world outside the walls of Woodbury.

That is, until I realized something Zoe could sense the moment we walked in.

I was much closer to the enemy than I thought I was.

Dad happened to forget something while having dinner with Phillip, so he decided to check in and snatch it while Ole' Gov was away. The thing is, he found this room and decided to be nosey and check it out.

Murdered on the spot, boy, let me tell you. Captured and thrown in the walker pits to turn. Yanked out of the walker pits. Mom and I wake up in some room, tied to chairs. I guess the guy has a thing for bondage. Dad walks in. I mean, "Dad" stumbles in. He decides to give Mommy a lovebite. Suddenly they remember the "No PDA" rule, and Mom suffers the consequences.

And then there's me.

I kick my "dad" over, kicking him repeatedly until I finally manage to get myself untied. I see a pair of rusty scissors on the ground behind me and end it for my father. My own father. Murdered in cold blood. Then I look at my poor mother.

"Never forget who you are, Serena Grace. You know I love you, and you know your father loves you. I'm dying as we speak, but let me pass. I want to spend the rest of my life looking at you, and I will do so. I love you, darling. Never forget this."

My mother struggles to speak, choking on her own blood and sentence as she sputters her last words to me. I fight back the tears, swallowing hard, pouring my heart out for her.

"Mom, I love you too. I will never forget this."

My beautiful mother struggles, smiles, and wipes the tears away from my eyes, kissing me on the forehead.

"I want you to look at me until I die, Serena. Those beautiful eyes. My last request."

I stare at her beautiful face through foggy eyes.

"As soon as I pass, do not leave me here. Do me a favor and end it for me before it begins. I love you so, so, much. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom. So, so, much."

Her gaze slowly fades as she smiles at me, bleeding out from her neck. I wipe away my tears and do what has to be done. I don't let her turn. That would be cruel. Her words echo in my head as I regain my balance, and I see red. I burst through the door, breaking the lock. I decide to just leave The Governor's death for later and sneak out of Woodbury. I remind myself I don't have time for anything anymore.

That night, I must have killed over twenty walkers with only a pair of rusty kitchen scissors. I climbed a tree really high and sat there until sunrise.

Haven't slept or felt anything since that night.

My thoughts fade away as I drift off to sleep. The Governor's henchmen will probably come after me now. I'm not quite sure.

Too scared to care.