OH MY DARLING! || LOUIS

8 | CALM BEFORE THE STORM.

LOUIS IS THE FIRST TO REACH THE OTHER GROUP. Aasim and Jamie was just behind, maybe a couple of steps slower. By the time Jamie can have a better look at the other group, they all had an apprehensive look on their faces.

"Who's this unlucky fella?" Louis asks, motioning towards the walker caught in one of their traps. Jamie makes a face of disgust at the way this walker was killed. A long spear jabbed through it's open mouth.

"Where have you been?" Clementine asks, eyebrows furrowed.

"Checking nearby traps." Aasim answers with a shrug of his shoulders. "The ones that were sprung were all empty. All the rest are broken."

"Someone robbed us?" Brody questions immediately, her eyes widening in obvious panic. Her breathing is getting erratic. Even from where Jamie stood, she can feel Brody's panic attack starting. She'd seen it before. But Marlon and Violet usually had better luck with calming her down.

"Oh great, and now we're gonna starve." Louis adds. Not at all helping with Brody's state.

The red-haired girl turns from the group, walking away and cursing to herself. Jamie takes a step forward but stops herself when Violet does the same.

"It's just... Fuck... It's okay, it's... Breathe, Brody, c'mon..." Brody mutters to herself, taking deep breaths through her mouth, but Jamie can hear the way her breathing is becoming faster. Sharper.

"You're gonna be fine." Violet finally says, a tone of calm compared to Brody's. It brings a sense of deja vu back to Jamie. Back then, when they were all just friends. Friends that didn't have to worry about what to eat or if they'll live another day. "It's just a panic attack."

"Take a second," Clementine pipes up, taking a step towards Brody. "Breathe in deep and hold it."

Apparently, the girl's attempt at help was the only thing Brody needed to be set off. Because in that moment, Brody turns on her heels, eyebrows knitted tightly together and her cheeks red.

"Just shut the fuck up, okay?!" As angry as she looked, the sudden exclamation was enough to calm her down all together. Brody's eyebrows relaxed and she seemed to cower into herself for a moment. Jamie could only watch with wide eyes.

"Excuse me?" It was Clementine's turn to furrowed her eyebrows.

"I-I...I have to tell Marlon about this."

"Um, we still need food. You know, to live." Louis crosses his arms. Maybe their earlier conversation finally soured his mood. "You know, to live. We definitely don't have enough here." He motions to the two buckets half-filled with fish and their one caught rabbit. If they tried to ration this out, they'll be starving before dinner even ends.

Jamie feels her stomach rumble at the thought.

"You guys figure it out." And with that final statement, she pushes past the group and towards the direction of the school. Hands clenched on her sides, leaving no room for protest from the other kids. Jamie watches as her back slowly grows smaller the farther she stomps off.

"Um," Aasim clears his throat. "I can just take our haul back and try to ration it out, or something."

Jamie steps forward, picking up a bucket of fish with her free hand. "I...I have a bad feeling in this forest. Since we've seen the traps messed with...um, I'll head back with Aasim."

She looks over at the other four, a bit apologetic about leaving early, but she wanted to get rid of the goosebumps crawling up the back of her neck. And she felt bad, leaving things the way they did with Aasim earlier. This would be the only time they have left together. Alone. For a good while, anyway.