CHAPTER 10 | NEFARIOUS

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  Something changed.

It wasn't significant, but Lauren acted differently than before; there was a reason for that. That day, Carl had taught her that you are allowed to let people in, because if you didn't you would never be at peace. Love doesn't make you weak.

It makes you stronger.

This wasn't anything romantic by any means, but the love of a home; a family. Carl noticed the way she acted around the prison. Instead of eating alone in her room, she chose to eat with the group downstairs. She didn't say much, but Glenn and Michonne would often chat with her; Lauren even tolerated Maggie a bit more than she did before.

Lauren noticed when she began remembering the occurrences that went down in that cellar, she would distract herself by talking to someone around the prison. It made her feel better knowing that that helped better than killing ever did. How could she have been so blind?

All she needed was someone to trust and it wouldn't hurt so much.

Something also changed between Carl and Lauren, she began becoming more comfortable with unraveling her past with him. She would only spill little details every day, and he would be patient to hear her story.

She hadn't gotten to the worst parts yet.

Night had fallen, and Lauren sat in her cell in solitude. Something had been bugging her for awhile, as she continued staring at her bow in the corner of the room. Every time she laid eyes on that weapon it gave her shivers down her spine. Memories of that toxic group came to mind, she couldn't take it anymore.

She had to move on.

Pushing herself off her bunk, Lauren stepped towards the bow, which laid on a satchel of arrows. The young girl picked up the weapon with her calloused hands, examining it. Her top teeth bit down on her bottom lip, as she couldn't let go of the idea that the bow kept her from forgetting.

Lauren stepped back, threw her leg upwards and smashed the bow on her knee, breaking it in two. A sense of relief washed over her, as she did the same with all her arrows.

She had to start moving on.

Making her way out of the prison, she threw, reluctantly, the remnants of her old weapon on a pile of things that soon needed to be burned.

Lauren turned to hear a constant banging sound, to see Carl and Rick by the fence. The two of them seemed to be working on keeping the wall up as Carl was nailing in supports. She decided to check up on them, to see if they needed help. After all, she had nothing else to do.

Rick turned to see Lauren making her way towards them, and smiled lightly. Lauren gave a weak smile back, not used to the fact that she could smile again.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Rick asked, Carl turning to see his father talking Lauren. The two shared a quick look before Lauren looked back towards Rick and nodded. The girl shoved her hands in her back pockets as she got closer to him.

"I just-just wanted to say...thank you, for saving my son's life in that woods," he began, Lauren's looking towards the ground in denial. "He told me how you caught him before he fell off that building, I'm truly grateful for that. You're really one of us now."

Lauren glanced back at Rick, lost for words. Her heart felt like it grew two sizes at the mention of him saying she was one of them. She had major trust issues since her old group, knowing that people truly cared for her here made her feel loved for once.

"It was nothing..." Lauren muttered, shrugging her shoulders bashfully. She could never admit that she'd done something good.

"It was definitely something. Carl's life, that's something you saved." Rick contradicted.

Before Lauren could reply, Carl spoke up. "Think they're okay?" He asked, speaking of the supports he was nailing into the ground.

"If things were going bad, we would have heard more shots and Maggie would've gotten us," he replied while turning around to face his son.

Lauren passed Rick, walking up to the wall. Dozens of walkers on the other side begged for entrance, as they banged harshly against the cold metal fence. She grabbed an area on the fence safe from a walker's biting distance and rattled it lightly. Lauren questioned how stable it really was.

"We have to do this," Rick declared.

"Let's do it," Carl agreed.

The two began grabbing a large plank of wood that had not been added as a support yet, trying to lift it against the fence. Carl rushed for his assistance in the lifting.

"I got it," Rick stated. Carl seemed to not care.

"Let me help," the boy protested.

Lauren made her way over too. "Same here," she added on.

Rick grabbed the front, Carl grabbed the back, and Lauren helped with the middle. As Lauren lifted it up with them, the two teens shared another glance.

"Alright, set it down," Rick ordered as Lauren let go of her hold on the support.

Suddenly, the sound of wood creaking filled the night air, as all three turned to the source. A few supports over was one that was breaking in the middle, and Lauren wasted no time rushing over there.

Rick had begun holding the fence up, the support beginning to hold less and less. Lauren was about to help until the inevitable sound of the snapping of wood filled their ears.

"Run!" Rick shouted as he failed to hold his weight, the side of the fence collapsing completely. Seconds passed as walkers made their way through instantly. Lauren spun on her heel, running the other way with Carl a few feet ahead of her.

Before she could run any further a walker made it's way in front of her, making her crash into it. Its large jaw began snapping at Lauren ferociously as she pushed it away from her, swiftly taking out the knife in her holster and slashing it across its forehead. As the walker fell to the ground, more were already catching up.

"C'mon!" Carl yelled as Lauren continued running with heavy breaths.

Carl then opened up the door to the prison tower, Lauren rushing inside with Rick right behind her. Rick turned around, and slammed the door shut, leaving the walkers banging on the door in attempt to have them all for dinner.

Lauren took a moment to catch her breath, ruffling her hands trough her hair in frustration. There were probably more than a hundred walkers that got through, they were so screwed.

The three then went out the other exit door that lead to the other side. Through there they were protected (for now), but they had to do something about the walkers.

"Dad, what do we do?" Carl questioned as Rick placed his hand on his forehead in thought.

"Maybe I could back the bus up against the fence." He replied.

"Will it really hold?" Lauren questioned realistically. Rick turned to her, not answering but giving a clear response.

He didn't know, none of them knew.

"C'mon," he ordered while ushering Carl and Lauren down the walkway. All three came to bin full of guns and ammo. Maybe they had a chance after all.

"Pockets," Rick stated while giving both of them ammo packs, Lauren quickly stuffing them in her coat pockets. Sadly they weren't small enough to fit in her jean pockets.

"Here," he continued as he gave Carl and Lauren both a shotgun. She was capable of using a machine gun from previous use, but there was no time for arguments.

"Got it?" Rick asked both kids.

"Yep," Carl replied while Lauren gave a subtle nod.

After Rick grabbed his own weapons, the three began walking back to the fence the walkers were rattling against.

"Alright, listen to me, magazine goes in here, release is here. Make sure it latches." Rick continued. Lauren listened carefully, knowing she had never used a shotgun before. "Pull back the operating rod, and rounds feed up. Keep squeezing the trigger for rapid fire, okay?"

Both Carl and Lauren nodded in agreement as they continued their way there.

Rick came to a halt to face both of them. "You shoot, or you run. Don't let 'em get close, Okay?" Both nodded once again.

Lauren turned to see the fence that was protecting them collapse, as she grabbed her magazine and inserted it into the shotgun.

All three got closer to the hoard, before they began firing. Lauren took a deep breath in, before focusing on one walker at a time.

One down. Two down. Three down. The loud sounds of gunshots pained her ears, but that wasn't the problem at the moment. Dozens of walkers had been killed by now, but the three began to inch backward as they continued their shooting, making sure they weren't too close to the creatures.

"Back up!" Rick shouted as all of them took larger steps back. Lauren took this time to reload, glancing quickly at Carl. He seemed to be as focused as she was. Looking back in front of her, she suddenly noticed a walker only a few feet away from her. Using the end of her shotgun, she slammed it into its head, the walker falling down. It began to snarl before a bullet pierced through its skull. Lauren turned to see the bullet come from Carl's weapon, the two nodding at each other as if telling the other they were okay.

Lauren turned to see Rick struggling to find a magazine. Lauren whistled for his attention and tossing him one of hers. He nodded her thanks, as she turned back to the walkers to shoot at them. She felt lingering stares from both Grimes' before they continued shooting too. The amount of walkers piling through seemed endless, but they never stopped. The adrenalin was pumping trough her veins, her shots were steady but quick.

Every bullet that sprung from her gun gave her a familiar feeling, but that was a long time ago.

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Lauren refused to eat.

It wasn't that she decided not to eat, she simply wasn't hungry. It was like that for awhile now. One of Joe's men had brought her down a meal, as she sat tied down in the cellar. Her skin had few purple stains, but there were cuts on her face. There were times where the man with the curly hair who did most of the cruelty used a knife on her, swiping at her dirt covered skin. Dried blood had collected on her wounds, as she was not able to reach her face to wipe it off.

The man shook his head and began walking away back up the stairs. Lauren's eyes locked to the cold floor below her, waiting to hear that familiar click of the door shutting.

But there was no sound.

Lauren glanced upwards, seeing that the door was ever so slightly shut, but she swore she couldn't hear the sound of it closing.

That gave her an idea.

The ropes that held her wrists were pretty loose, the last person who tied her down didn't do a very good job. After minutes of endless pulling, Lauren finally got her hands free.

Sneaking slowly across the cellar and up the stairs, Lauren attempted to push open the door. Her eyes glistened with hope and vengeance as the door was unlocked. Lauren used the rest of her strength to push it open, the girl looking around to see if anybody was there. Thankfully, no one was in sight.

Lauren stepped out of the cellar and closed the door. It was tough to see in the dark, but everyone seemed to be in their tents with their lights on which gave her an advantage. She looked around anxiously, trying to find something.

Lauren had a plan.

Anger had taken over her, she thought there was one way to solve her problem. Lauren found the basket full of guns at the training station, picking up a silencer gun. After checking for ammo and successfully finding some, Lauren searched for a certain tent.

The girl crept along the dirt quietly as she made her way to a tent. Lauren knew from experience that Ana always slept in the children's tent. Zipping it slowly open, Lauren stepped inside to see a woman sleeping in her sleeping bag. Lauren gritted her teeth in anger, a nefarious feeling taking over her body.

Without hesitation, Lauren raised the silencer to the woman's brown mousy hair and pulled the trigger. The gun made very little sound, blood splattering across the tent and onto Lauren.

It had to be done.

"What the hell?" Lauren heard behind her, turning around to see Joe. Lauren let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Her stomach twisted, but she couldn't feel nervous; not now.

"How does it feel?" Lauren shouted as she backed up to show Joe the dead body behind her. His face turned pure white, it seemed as if steam was about to pour out of his ears.

"You're dead bitch!" He screamed while walking towards Lauren. Before he could put his hands on her, Lauren raised the gun in between his eyes. The man froze mid-step, gulping in worry.

"You didn't want her remembering that night, huh? Well now look, your problem is solved." She hissed, keeping the gun aimed at his forehead.

"I'm gonna kill-" Joe stopped mid sentence, looking like he had an idea. That worried Lauren.

"Oh, I'm not gonna kill you. I'm just gonna make your life a living hell!" He boomed, tears swelling in his eyes. Lauren's jaw hung open slightly, knowing that this was the perfect time to pull the trigger.

But she was too late.

A large fist collided with the side of her face, before everything around her turned dark.

It seemed like no time at all passed before Lauren groggily woke up. She wasn't in the same place though, she was back in the cellar, due to the cold floor that stung her cheek. The girl sat up slowly, hissing in pain as she felt it all along her stomach. Her hands seemed to be tied to the wall again, as she glanced at her burning red wrists. Blood stained along the ropes, meaning that they tied it till she bled in pain.

Her lip began to quiver as she lifted up her shirt, seeing large cuts along it in random places. They weren't wide, but they still stung like hell. Whimpers escaped her small mouth, as her fingers traced one of the cuts, crying out in pain when it stung ferociously.

Dark circles traced her green eyes, the girl glancing upwards to see the cell door fully closed.

What was her punishment, to stay here till she rotted? Lauren didn't really know. But she had to leave.

She began tugging her wrists from the ropes, a scream penetrating her throat when pain radiated along her hand. Lauren's head fell in dismay to the cold floor. Hot tears fell in droplets to the cold floor, but she didn't want to give up.

Hours seemed to pass as the pain and screams continued, Lauren trying to get her hands out of the ropes. Finally, one hand slipped out, dried and new blood staining her wrist. It burned like hell, but she had one more hand to go. The other hand was easier to get out. By the time both hands were free, Lauren let her body lay on the ground, tired and hurt. Her hands shook from the cold and the pain, as fresh blood escaped from her bruised and cut wrists.

Lauren slowly sat up with heaving breaths. Her vision was blurry and distorted, but she had to get out somehow. Remembering how Sarah, the woman who first found her, taught her how to pick a lock in certain situations gave her an idea. There was a shelf nearby with junk, maybe she could find what she needed.

Lauren crawled her way over, rummaging around the junk and successfully finding a small metal object that was a paperclip.

Opening it up, Lauren crawled up the stairs and started working. She tried recalling the steps, and after 10 minutes of trying she finally got it open.

Lauren weakly pushed it open, the sun glaring down on her harshly. She covered her eyes with her hand, before glancing down to see a note and a pile of things.

The pile had a shirt, a pistol, a knife, and a few granola bars. Lauren reached over, taking the note and deciding to read it.

'I hope you survive somehow.

Ana.'

Lauren let out a sigh of relief, glad that Ana had done that for her.

But what had Lauren ever done for her? Lauren didn't deserve Ana's thoughts and prayers after killing her mother.

Thinking of her mother and the group, Lauren looked up and around her to find the tents and the people.

Nothing was in sight.

Lauren's breath hitched in her throat, as she began choking on her tears. They left her here to die, that's what Lauren's punishment must have been. Luckily for her, she escaped.

Lauren stepped out of the cellar, a sense of darkness filling her. She was alone once again, and she had to go somewhere.

The young girl grabbed the things that were left for her, and ventured off weakly, hoping to never return to the place that haunted her dreams ever again.

She would never be the same.

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Coming back to reality, Lauren realized that there were only a few walkers left. Each of them shooting their last rounds, all the walkers laid dead on the ground.

The three walked along the pile, using a stick to kill some that were still alive. Sweat drenched their tired heads as Lauren drove her stick into the last Walker alive.

Silence passed through the night until they heard a car pull up into the prison.

"Dad," Carl began, "everything's gonna be okay." Before Lauren could say anything to add on, Carl ran off back to the building. The girl shook her head at his unpredictability and walked back too.

She was gonna have a nice long sleep after that night.

➸ ➸ ➸

The sun was high above the horizon when Lauren awoke, she was already outside. She carefully watched the two groups of people. On her left, Michonne was about to go on a car ride with Hershel. On her right, Rick and Carl were farming. She felt like a break, but something inside her told her to stay.

She ignored that feeling.

Running over to the truck on her left, she greeted the two.

"What brings you here Lauren?" Hershel questioned, Lauren shoving her hands in her back pockets in thought. She did that often now.

"Could...I come with? I just need a break from all this." Lauren asked. Hershel and Michonne gave a questioning look to each other before he nodded in permission.

Lauren decided to sit at the back of the truck. The only thing that she did not like about sitting back there was the fact that she sat a mere feet away from a pile of dead walkers; fortunetly she was used to their stench now.

As the truck began driving its way through the gate, Lauren gave a smile to Carl who had been watching her. A faint smile also played at his lips, his hand raising slightly to wave her goodbye.

Something in the pit of her stomach told her that something bad was going to happen.

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a/n: yayayayy new chap hope u like it

sorry it was a tad boring but next chap i promise u itll be crazy action