━ CHAPTER TWO,
emotional scars.

CASSANDRA WENT INTO her tent; she had her own with the company of her German Shepard. She took off her boots and put her hair into a bun. She sighed as she laid down on the hard ground and when she turned onto her left side, she saw Birdie, already sleeping and not giving attention to the blonde.

She smiled softly, finally feeling some hope again since a few months ago when she realized that there probably was never going to be a cure. Her and her family were going to be okay.

Once she closed her eyes, trying to catch some sleep while her mind wandered all the events of the day. Walking down the road, meeting Glenn and Daryl, The questions, the- the questions. The question.

The blonde opened her eyes once that memory started playing in her mind and the darkness behind her closed eyes. She wanted to cry but she couldn't. Cassandra groaned and laid on her back, looking up to the sky of the tent and thought about that day.

The day that haunts her over the shoulder.

two months ago

IT WAS BACK TO THE ORGINIAL GROUP. It happened during the night, Apollo was on watch for the next few hours before daylight, it was going smooth until he fell asleep against the tree trunk. The next thing he knows, he's wakened up from a shake on his shoulders and a yell.

"Apollo! Apollo!" "Wake up!" The brunette woke up with a gasp and was visibly shaking. As he was sleeping, he had a nightmare. A common recurrence since the night in Atlanta, when everything went bad. This time it looked like he left a nightmare to wake up in another one.

There were walkers everywhere.

Liberty, who had joined the group a few months back had woken up from a walker coming towards her, the sounds of her struggles led to the rest of the people around her to awake as well. Just to see a herd coming towards them, more than the amount of people they had.

Cassandra was the first one to remember a person missing and remembrance that he must've still have been on watch.

"Where's Apollo?!" Cassandra looked at her brother, beside her with panic shown on her face, eyes and in voice. Instead of answering, Drew saw something behind her and shouted, "Behind you!" Cassandra turned and saw a walker coming towards her, reaching his arms out as if she was food. She twirled her knife into the right position and stabbed it in the head, pulling it out and looking back at her brother for an answer as if nothing happened.

     "Where is he?!" She exclaimed.

The Hastings boy ran through the woods, his chest heaving from his adrenalin. He was on a mission to get Apollo but once he reached him, he saw Apollo laying against the tree trunk with his eyes shut.

"Apollo! Apollo! Wake up!" He shook him. He woke up with a gasp, "What's going on?" Drew told Apollo about what has happened, not without scolding him for falling asleep. Drew held out his hand and helped him up.

They ran back to the group, only to see Liberty telling the family to run and she'll hold them off. While running away from the herd, Liberty screamed as she got towered over by them, distracting.

Cassandra looked back as she heard the scream and cries. Delilah grabbed her daughter's hand, making Cassandra face her, and looked her in the eyes. "Be strong." The blonde nodded and let her mother take her away.

She'd always follow her mom.

It was now daylight out. Everyone was quiet, not talking about what had just happened. They lost another found family. Cassandra held her mother's hand as they walked through the woods, she was starting to believe that she was cursed. Even with the quick run ins and close calls she had, the people around her kept dying.

Roman sensed the exhaustion and numbness on the group, he told them to sit down on the side of the road for a moment. None of them said anything but did what was said.

"I'm going to go look around for anything." Apollo stated while standing on his legs and as doing so his legs shook, knowing they were too weak to walk any longer right now. Nothing less, he wanted to get away for the moment.

Cassandra peaked her head up from off her knee and looked at him. "I'll come too." Apollo looked at her, as if trying to say that he could go alone but before he could also say anything, Roman spoke up. "Okay. Just stay together and come back." Cassandra stood up and walked to Apollo. With that, the two teenagers walked off.

Minutes went by, they found an old cabin in the woods. Cassandra looked behind and at Apollo, almost as if confirmation if they should go inside and check it out. He nodded.

She took her knife out of the hostler and gripped it in her hand as she walked towards the house, the Maxwell boy right behind her.

They stepped on the porch, both of them standing on both sides of the door and as they begun to count to three ( just like Roman taught them to do ). Cassandra heard a walker sound coming around the house, behind Apollo. She froze when she saw the face the walker held.

"Cass?" Apollo called out her name, "Cassie?" He looked in her eye line and saw her looking behind him. He was about to turn before Cassandra grabbed his shoulder roughly, "Don't move. Don't look, okay?" He gave her a confused look and nodded.

She kept her hand on his shoulder until she walked past him and down the porch steps, gripping her knife and sneaking towards the walker.

The moment, she saw her, she knew it was time to kill the walker. She was about to raise her knife before she heard Apollo's voice.

"Mom?"

Cassandra's head turned to her best friend, her face softening at the sight of his own face. He was always good at hiding his emotions but he let it all out on his face that time.

"Apoll-"

The walker lunges for the Hastings girl, making her fall to the ground with a thump and dropping her knife in the process. The woman tries to bite the girls face but being pushed back by Cassandra's strength.

She starts to cry, not only was she close to death at this moment but this was her best friends mother. The person who welcomed her into their home, made her sandwiches and watched TV with her while waiting for Apollo to get home.

Her arms began to get tired pushing the woman away along with her cries and pleas getting louder.

Cassandra didn't hear the pained scream escape Apollo's mouth before lunging the knife into his dead mothers skull. Blood trickles down onto the blonde's face as she gasps.

Mrs. Maxwell dead body falls from on top to the side of the teenage girl, landing on the hard dirty grass. Leaving the sight of a sobbing Apollo in front of her. She lets out a few cries and gasps. She finally gets the courage to stand up on her own, walking closer to Apollo with hesitation if she's allowed to hug him.

"Apollo?" He nods as if she knew what she was going to ask and almost right away, she's wrapping her arms around him as he cries over the sight of his dead mother.

Apollo had one choice that evening.

Save his mother who was already dead in his head or the girl he cared for and stood right in front of him, alive.

He chose her.

He will always choose her.

The two teenagers head back to the last place they left the rest of the group as the two teenagers held hands.

Cassandra had a grocery basket in her other hand, filled with some canned food she found in the cabin along with the rusty knife inside. Her face was still stained of blood and tears but she didn't care. She only cared about the boy next to her at the moment.

When they come into sight on the road, the family lights up and stands up to their best tired ability before seeing the demeanor around the two and the blood on Cassie's face.

"What happened?" Drew spoke up first.

Apollo looked at the speaker, opening his mouth about to say something before dropping his head down as he felt tears come in.

Drew was the first one to hug the Maxwell boy. Delilah joining in next, followed by Cassandra and Roman. The next thing you know, they are all standing in the middle of the road hugging the boy they all grown to call one of them.

Family.

( word count: 1515 )

authors note.
apollo's first kill is revealed!!!
this was very hard to finish bc it was just
so sad :,( buttt it's finished and i do love this
chapter. and next chapter, we'll see rick
and his crew 😍😍

anyways, love u, don't be a silent reader.

#ripmrsmaxwell