CHAPTER TWO

         IT WAS A SMALL HOME, BUT ONE SHE CHERISHED WITH ALL HER MIGHT. It wasn't as if she needed more space anyway, it had just enough room to house herself. A bedroom big enough for a queen sized bed and a bathtub she could fully emerge herself in, which was exactly what she was doing right now.       

The water was warm and as she slid down the heated porcelain, her already dark hair darkened as it disappeared underneath the surface. Her muscles were still aching from the five day long patrol and she found that the hot water eased it. Vienna could easily count the freckles on her arms through the slightly soapy water and as she brought her hands up, her fingers were pruned.

If she could she'd soak in this bath all day and not get out until she needed to go to sleep, but soon the water would turn cold and she never liked cold water. Vienna closed her eyes and fully submerged herself in the tub, running her fingers through her hair before sitting up, sloshing the bath water onto the tiles.

"Christ," she muttered, rubbing at her eyes before she got to her feet and stepped out of the tub carefully. 

As Vienna wrapped a towel around herself she caught sight of her shoulder in the mirror, brows furrowed as she took in the long pink line across her skin. The brunette turned slightly to take in the second one, too. That one was thicker and a lot darker and she screwed her eyes shut as she reached to trace her finger over it.

It was almost as if she could still feel the knife that carved through her skin sliding down her flesh as she touched it. Vienna dropped her arm and kept her eyes closed for another moment, taking a step forwards so she'd be no longer in front of the mirror. The scars were aching now and send shivers down her spine. 

Vienna heaved a long sigh and padded to her bedroom, dripping droplets of water in her wake along the wooden floorboards. Grabbing her brush from her vanity she combed it through her hair, trying to get rid of the knots within her dark locks as she sat down on her bed. 

It happened again. It had been happening a lot more lately and she didn't know how to stop it. These moment of silence were torture and she felt trapped within her own mind. Eugene had distracted her during patrol but now that she was back at home, there was no escaping the horrors she had endured all those years ago. 

Vienna didn't even know how she could have survived such a thing, but she did. The scent of burning flesh and blood was something she'd never forget and if she closed her eyes she was back in that forest surrounded by corpses. The infected were bad, but humans were far worse these days. They were selfish and all they cared about was power and that made them more dangerous.

There was a shriek outside and the brunette snapped her eyes open, gazing at the half open window with furrowed brows.

'Oh, come on, man!' 

It had come from the house across her own, and she got to her feet as she ambled toward the window. Vienna leaned forwards, resting her elbows on the window sill as she glanced toward their front yard. The home hadn't been occupied in five months, not since Vince and his wife died from pneumonia and she hadn't thought anyone had moved in.

There was a girl on the porch steps, holding her boot upside down as she shook it violently. Another groan escaped her as whatever it was she wanted out didn't do as she wished. There was a grumble of a laugh behind her and Vienna averted her gaze to the man who came through the front door, arms crossed over his chest. He seemed amused by the teen as he leaned against the railing behind her.

"It's not funny, Joel." hissed the girl, green eyes widening. "I've been trying to get this stupid rock out for like five minutes. It's stuck."

"It's a little funny." he shrugged, smile tugging at his lips.

His hair was greying but still looked healthy enough that it curled against the shells of his ears, his jaw and chin were adorned by a salt and pepper stubble. His eyes were wrinkled at the sides from his smile and his dark blue flannel wasn't buttoned all the way up. 

He was older than Vienna, perhaps a year of ten but she couldn't quite tell. He seemed so youthful in that moment that she couldn't tear her gaze away from him.

Joel Miller. She recognised him then and could see the similarities between him and Tommy. The same dark eyes and the same nose, but the older of the two Miller brothers seemed much more worn than Tommy. As is he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Vienna tilted her head to the side, goosebumps erupted on her skin as a breeze of wind entered her home through the open window. The woman stepped away from the window, not feeling his eyes on her retreating back.

DESPITE IT BEING HER DAY OFF FROM PATROL, VIENNA FOUND HERSELF WALKING THROUGH JACKSON THAT AFTERNOON. Her boots made no sound on the pavement as she walked through main street, only stopping to refill her bottle of water in the cafeteria before continuing on her way.

"Vi! Wait up!" his voice was strained as he called after her.

The brunette turned on her heels and slowly walked backwards to see the sixteen year old boy storm towards her. His black hair fell over his forehead messily and he almost tripped over one of the flower pots in front of the school.

"The answer is still no, Jesse." 

The teen came to a halt beside her, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. His cheeks were red and his eyes closed as he tried to compose himself. He had been looking for her all over town until he had spotted her at last. Vienna raised a brow in amusement.

"Look ..." he heaved, pushing himself to his full height. "I know what you're going to say, okay? I know the answer is still 'no', but if you could just put in a good word for me with Tommy or Eugene than maybe -"

"My word doesn't matter, kid." said Vienna, crossing her arms over her chest as she began to walk again, Jesse falling into step beside her. "You're sixteen and the rule is that you need to be at least eighteen to start patrols. No matter how good you're doing in lessons. I can't do anything about those rules, Jesse."

"I know." he sighed, rubbing a hand over his face as they took a turn toward the stables. "I'm not expecting to be allowed to go on patrol but maybe I could join you on just one? You know, like a test or something? Just to see what it's like out there. I wouldn't be on my own i'd be with you and Eugene. Totally safe."

Vienna narrowed her dark eyes at him as they entered the stables, the scent of hay like a slap to the face. 

Buck was just to their left and she averted her gaze toward the animal who stood silently in his stable, enjoying the fresh hay.

"Just one?" she mused after a moment as Jesse leaned against the wall with a hopeful gaze on his face. The teen nodded his head quickly. Vienna rolled her eyes and said, "Fine. I'll ask Tommy and Eugene, but I'm not making any promises, okay?"

"Shit," he cursed, beaming up at her. "thanks Vi!"

"Yeah, yeah." grinned the brunette as she watched him storm out, most likely going to tell his friends. 

Vienna rubbed Buck's nose, slapping away a fly as it flew to close to his eyes. He was hers and she loved him dearly. He had been found with two other horses a few days before she was taken to Jackson and Maria's father had trained him himself. He was the first horse she had ridden in her entire life and he was always good to her.

They didn't come across much horses anymore these days and they were trying to breed their own now. They had two foals a few months back and they were doing alright.

"Is he yours?" 

The brunette turned her head to see the girl from that morning standing a few feet away. She wore a jacket that was too big for her and her reddish brown hair was tied up in a low ponytail. 

"Yes," she said. "his name's Buck."

"Cool name." she rocked back and forth on her heels, pursing her mouth as she glanced around the stables. Vienna kept her mouth shut as she watched the girl, perhaps fifteen years old. "You have a lot of horses here. Are they all used for patrol?"

"Mostly, yes." nodded Vienna. "Sometimes we use them for labor."

"Smart," she mused. "i'm Ellie by the way. Just moved into town. Joel, the man i'm with told me to go ... socialise so ... here I am. Socialising ..."

The brunette tried to hold in her smile as she said, "You know, there's a hangout spot not to far from here where the kids your age usually are. I could show you if you'd like?"

"No," said Ellie immediately. "they kind of freak me out."

"Well then, Ellie." she said. "I'm Vienna. Nice to meet you."

chapter two is finished, i have so so many plans for this story and I am so excited to explore more of it. hope you liked this chapter, not too sure about the ending but i'm just going with whatever comes to mind as I write it.

Thank you for the 1K views so far <3