Thread: the new beginning // randomname & sixlikesgoree

XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx MAGGIE GREENE xxxxxxxx The days grew shorter for Maggie Greene , expanding her nights into almost never-ending endeavors. Every night was the same as the last she'd retire to an empty bed of a long day of putting on a front, and strip herself of her farm clothes. Once naked, she'd delicately wrap herself in one of the leftover over-sized shirts that still held the fragrance of a ghost from her past - a man she hadn't seen since before the end of the world began. It was nearly all the twenty-two year old had left of Jake Frazier, a man who still cling to the underside of her eyelids with every blink. Unfortunately, even with the familiar smell of her childhood sweetheart still barely clinging to the material of the shirt, it took the oldest Greene daughter hours to finally breach sleep every night tossing and turning, always reaching for a warm body that was never there. Naturally, the night before had been no different for the brightly green eyed girl, resulting in the woman waking up less than refreshed and ready for the day. As her orbs opened, the sounds of the farm's daily life filtered in through the open windows, helping rise her senses. Sitting up, the brunette took a moment to rub the sleep from her eyes and shift her long locks from her face, tucking them behind her ears. Easing her hands down the front of her self-proclaimed night shirt, her fingers shifted to ball the material within her fists, bringing the collar of the shirt up around her nose to inhale. As the faint smell of her lover seeped into her nostrils, a spark of pained hope struck her in the chest - she knew she shouldn't keep holding onto him, not so tightly, but Maggie couldn't help it. His smell was the only thing that got her out of bed most mornings. Changing into a pair of jeans, a light tank top, and a half-sleeve plaid pull over, the twenty two year old got herself as presentable as possible before leaving her room - Jake's shirt safely hanging on the back of her closet door. With the hardest part of her day accomplished, the oldest Greene sibling started her day weary smile firmly in place, always ready to keep the conversation on anything but herself. Hours had passed since managing to gather herself out of bed, and within those hours, she'd tended to most of the farm work that she primarily took care of. With the animal work done, Maggie continued onto the clothes and linens, knowing that with a household running on its own supplies now, they needed clean clothes and towels for washing. And, with the added personnel on the farm, it didn't hurt to keep towels and linens freshly ready, just in case of an emergency. Luckily, the quarry was crowded, giving her plenty to distract her mind with as she conversed with the women from Rick's group, swapping cleaning nightmares back and forth to pass the time. As the sun was shifting to its highest point in the sky, Maggie's laundry run had come to an end. With the help from Lori, Maggie and the mother of one carried the wicker baskets of wet clothes into the farm's back property to hang on the lines. A task that hadn't crossed Maggie's mind as dangerous as it turned out to be to most people, having a relaxing conversation while hanging laundry would almost seem too good to be true now. But the topic that rose was a topic that Maggie had been avoiding every day since Jake had left for the Army. Although Lori hadn't necessarily brought Jake up like that, but her referring to finding Rick on a whim didn't make the green-orbed woman feel comfortable with the discussion. And as soon as the laundry was finished hanging, Maggie abruptly excused herself from the conversation, and quickly disappeared inside to help begin preparing dinner. Now this was something she could do without worrying about someone jabbing in about their husband resurfacing - her Father had strict rules and regulations about the house, and the kitchen wasn't a place of fooling around. When you were preparing a meal, you did it with respect, and care conversations were idle, and normally only ever consisted of the meal, or tasks that were dinner-related. So, when the usual calm atmosphere that had cloaked the farm ever since Rick's group had settled started to crack, and shouting could be heard outside, Maggie's irritation levels were beginning to rise. Letting out a soft groan under her breath, the twenty two year old finished checking the colour of the turkey meat, releasing the carving knife and fork beside it on its serving plate. Wiping her hands off on a towel, the eldest daughter carried her boots heavily towards the front of the house, looking for an explanation to all the commotion that was serving as an irritating distraction. However, as she rounded to the front hallway, and peered through the screen door, her orbs had to flood past the group that had gathered there in order to see what had caused everyone to stir. A glimpse of a truck's grill flashed before it disappeared behind someone's shoulder, and Maggie lurched forward, slamming the screen door open so suddenly that Carl nearly fell off the bench against the house. Maggie? she heard someone ask, concern thick in their voice. The inquiry was ignored as she shuffled through to get a better look at the front drive, hands coming to rest on the rail of the porch. For a moment, Maggie's eyes widened as her orbs grazed the sight of a truck she hadn't seen in what felt like decades. A sight that was too good to be true - it had to be a dream, a really vivid fantasy. But the longer she stood there, grip tightening into the banister of wood, the further that familiar vehicle crawled up the driveway, with no signs of slipping away out of thin air. Who is it? Is it Shane? another voice asked, a click of a gun being taken off its safety sounding over Maggie's left shoulder. As soon as the click made its way to her ear, it was like someone had set off a switch in her brain, releasing her muscles and demanding them to move. The twenty two year old fired herself over the porch's railing, despite someone attempting to grab her, scrambling to land on her boots to take off in a run as soon as she hit the ground. Yells and screams fell on deaf ears as she ran for the front gate, arms pumping at her sides as she stared at the familiar six-digit licence plate, begging and hoping this wasn't some sick trick. Every step that pulled her closer to the gate was another notch in her demeanor, chipping away her green eyes began to well up with tears, eyebrows pulling together so closely that the look of confused awe was obvious on her face from a mile away. Jacob.. she called under her breath as the truck rolled to a slow stop, reaching the gate. The moment her right hand grasped the handle of the gate's latch, however, Maggie froze. Her eyes bore into the windshield of the truck, staring deeply into the driver's side of the cabin no matter how much she squinted, however, whoever was inside wasn't seen due to the sun's reflection. I-is it really.. you? was nearly all she could breathe out as the door to the truck opened. The tears that had been threatening to fall came crashing down as soon as Jake had one foot outside the truck - just one step was all Maggie needed to see, and she knew automatically who that was. The latch was nearly ripped off its hinges as Maggie jerked the gate open, her legs carrying her as fast as they'd ever carried her. Her small frame scooted around Jake's open truck door, unable to contain herself longer enough to let him close it before her arms were colliding around his neck. Instantly, her head was pressed to his chest, and her arms squeezed tighter, keeping him as flush against her body as she possibly could. As though if she'd even give them a small centimeter apart, it'd grant him the ability to slip away from her again. After a moment, her head lifted, bright green eyes pouring up to inspect his face, both hands shifting to lift up to her love's cheeks to physically examine him. No injuries were seen, no massive scars, no life-threatening changes that she could see.. but that didn't mean that he was unscathed. She couldn't even begin to understand what he could've been through. Are you hurt? she asked, sniffling to try and ease her tears, and maintain her breathing as the woman inspected him. Slightly satisfied her search came up with nothing, her tippy toes were used to press a deep, powerful kiss against the man's lips. A kiss that at first had began in a soft peck, but after Maggie had pulled away in order to suck in a gentle breath, she couldn't resist the urge to lunge forward again, melting into another passionate kiss. If she was dreaming, she never wanted to wake up. Ever. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx CHARLOTTE ARCHER xxxxxxxx Two days - or had it been three? - had passed since Charlie had the unfortunate luck of falling into an amateur ambush. Although she insisted to herself that it was an 'amateur' ambush, she still couldn't deny the fact that she'd fallen into it in the first place. That's what getting sloppy got her, naturally. It wasn't a very big encampment, with a handful of people at most running the shots. Charlie hadn't had the luxury of seeing much of her surroundings, considering she hadn't been all that conscious when they had brought her in, but from what she'd gathered from overhearing, these weren't very secretive or smart people - smart enough to catch a dehydrated and nearly starved twenty four year old, but stupid enough not to kill her after taking all of her valuables. For the most part, the few women in the camp seemed to be the only reason that Charlie hadn't been completely violated and left to rot by now one of the two of the women generally kept an eye on her throughout the day, sometimes bringing a mouthful of water, almost like they were ready to keep her alive. For whatever purpose, the ex-merc couldn't fathom beyond possibly needing more hands to work for them. Either way, the redhead wasn't entirely set on sticking around long enough to find out their great scheme with their hostage. Come the fuck on! cursed the woman under her breath, shifting her weight in the sitting position she'd been forced to maintain, due to the bonds around her wrists. Stretching her right leg out once more, she attempted to reach out and hook a bucket of what appeared to be miscellaneous items. With any luck, she might be able to fish something out that would be sharp enough to cut the ropes from her wrists - that's not mentioning the luck she'd need in order to reach this bucket, however. Almost.. Charlie breathed out under her breath as she stretched again, the toe of her combat boot grazing the side of the bucket. The door to the cabin she'd been stuffed inside quickly swung open in another attempt to stretch forward, causing the redhead to flinch her leg back, and quickly slam her eyelids closed. Assuming a 'sleeping' position, Charlie opened her eyes just enough to see through her eyelashes, able to make out two of the more familiar males who seemed to kick around the cabin more than everyone else. Only, they were carrying in a second body by the arms, and had little to no interest in her which wasn't something Charlie was about to complain about. New meat? After the cabin door closed again, signalling their retreat, Charlotte's eyes opened again, revealing dark hazel orbs. These orbs peered across the close quarter cabin, and came face to face with another being. Pinching her eyebrows together, the twenty four year old slowly did a once-over from what she could see no weapons, definitely roughed up.. Yep. He was a sorry bastard, just like she was. And just like her in the beginning, he was out cold, which probably explained the lack of fight when they tied the same restraints on him that she adorned. Great.. misery loves company. As time passed, and Charlie became more and more comfortable with seeing the stranger across from her, her plan to escape resumed. Contorting herself once more, she stretched herself as far as she possibly could - ropes biting into her skin in order to get that extra few centimeters. Even still, her boots weren't the best for trying to shift a heavy bucket along a dirty floor without rising the suspicion of the entire encampment. And no matter how much Charlie stretched, her legs were only so long, and if she kept up like that, there'd be no skin left along the outside of her wrist. Desperation was starting to cling to her thoughts - eyes constantly seeking something new to possibly try and reach that might help easing her body into this position or that position in an attempt to achieve that extra inch of room. No matter what Charlie did, or thought up, it was useless. She wasn't getting out of this alone. Time to execute plan 'wake this other poor bastard up'. Hey! Wake up! Okay, so, probably not the best attempt at waking up someone who's been knocked out, but given that it'd been some time since he'd been brought in, Charlie was hoping the sound of her voice would at least cause him to stir. C'mon, buddy.. Open those eyes.. she mused, kicking the heel of her boot against the floorboard underneath them to add an extra echo of sound. xxxxxxxxxxxxxx XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXX