Humans arent, and never were, anything valuable to the world

Life was like a broken clock, replaying the same moments over and over until ultimately, you cant take it anymore and you replace it with a new, shiny one destined for great things

Human were like said clocks, nothing special or unique and most definitely expandable

The world went to shit 300-something days ago, and since then clocks had began to die out, becoming more and more extinct by everyday. Thats why, clocks took care of other clocks when they had the chance — Alas, in a world with less clocks, those still around were desperate to keep in power, through any means necessary

This isnt about clocks

Malaya Blake wasnt a clock though, not at all. She was different, unique and she made sure those around her knew of this. She was a certified hellraiser, a rowdy teenager with a no-nonsense attitude

She lived in a so-called democracy — more like the dictator made the decisions and everyone else followed along or suffered the consequences — in a town called Woodbury. The dictator in question was her uncle, Philip Blake, or the Governer as he called himself like the presumptuous asshole he was

Even before the apocalypse, Maya wasnt fond of Philip, the man always coming across as arrogant and egotistical on the few occasions she actually saw him

The town of Woodbury was a fortress, eyes and ears everywhere. No one new ever came, and no one ever left — Thats just the way things were. Malaya hated that, as she did everything about the god-forsaken town

One thing she specifically despised was the playpark. It was there when the first lot of town's inhabitants arrived, and was made of metal, a sure death wish upon the young that played there. To the town, it was the last part of normal in many of the children's lives

Its not that she hated that, not at all — She'd never admit it, but Malaya missed the normality of her own childhood. But that didnt matter now. The world was hunt or be hunted, and Malaya would rather act as a hunter than a kid

Her mother wanted nothing but the best for her, deep down she knew that, but the constant reminder that Malaya was infact not a grown-up nor treated as one just made her want to mature twice as fast

Woodbury was a town and not in the sense that it was a community that cared for one another. It was rows of buildings kept behind four walls, shadowed away from the broken reality of the new world. It was filled with weak-minded sheep, the helpless that needed someone and something to follow or they'd be doomed

Well, Malaya Blake was no sheep. The girl had dreams, desires that needed to be fulfilled even in the destruction of the planet, and making it for herself was one of them — Her mission for the past six months or so (the girl had stopped counting after being put on town arrest) was to get the hell out of Woodbury, and experience life in its fullest for herself

The master plan to escape had been constructed many moons ago, and now the teen was just waiting for the perfect opportunity to act

Michonne Hawthorne was a new addition to the town, captured by the most despised in the settlement, Merle Dixon. The woman was just as dissident as Malaya herself, something the girl didnt believe to be possible. Michonne too wasnt trusting of anyone but herself, a trait imperative for survival and preferred to be alone similar to the Blake girl — However, her partner Andrea did not feel the same way, taking a weird liking to Maya's uncle

Michonne wasnt fond of the way of living in Woodbury, but deep down, did want a place safe of the demons that lay in the shadows. Nevertheless, said place needed to meet expectations, and having free will to come and go when wanted was one of them

Andrea had grown fond of the town, both Michonne and Malaya could see her changing, and neither liked it. The Governor was a difficult man to please, an even harder one to break down, but the blonde woman was doing so faster than Malaya believed possible. Perhaps it was an act, a way for Philip to manipulate them to stay — If so, it was working but Malaya, and likely Michonne could see straight through his bullshit

The Governor needed manpower, the small amount of soldiers in the town not enough to prevent incoming dangers, but enticing Andrea wasnt the way to do so. She wasnt what he needed, Michonne was. And like his niece, she wasnt a follower

Within the week of arriving, the Samurai had left, a audacious Malaya at her side, a shit ton of food, water and weaponry stuffed into her old, checkered school backpack. Michonne, in exchange for supplies, had smuggled the teen away from the town, but as per agreement, the two had split ways shortly after, only when far enough from Woodbury's perimeter

And so, like she had always wanted, Malaya Blake was alone to achieve her dreams with the world at her feet

Okay, she'd spoken too soon

The world was cruel, Malaya knew this, but the past couple of days alone, wandering the woods with no purpose but survival had been a horror

Her shoulder-length hair was a mess, dirt and mud mixed in with the knots and despite never caring about her appearance, she now wished she'd brought a hairbrush

And extra water. The liquid from the stream was rancid, most definitely due to the bacteria, and being dehydrated was much worse than drinking that — Not that she had much of a choice

Malaya felt like she'd be moving in a circle, and in all likeliness, she probably had.

All of a sudden, she missed Woodbury. The (semi) warm showers, the comfort of her blue and yellow flowery bedsheets, her mother and her chicken stew — She missed it

And although May was a self-proclaimed spiteful bitch, she'd run back to the safety of the walls in minutes

If only she knew the way

Malaya continued to move forward in silence, the occasional rustle in the bushes or bird call from above keeping her on alert. She had an rusting steak knife in her right hand hidden up the sleeve of her old bomber jacket just in case of danger, human or otherwise

The Blake girl came to a halt at the sound of a whistle, turning back and scoping the area out intently. Yet, after a moment of no further movement, Malaya opted to sit for a moment and catch her breath, especially after spraining her ankles hours prior. She pulled her checkered backpack onto her lap, unzipping it and rummaging through the selection of cans

None were exactly what she fancied (which was chicken stew or chicken soup or anything chicken related) but eventually May decided on the tin of sweetcorn with a questionable expiry date

The food was just as questionable, leaving a sour taste in the back of her throat that could be soothed if only she had water. Clean water

Another whistle emerged from the quiet, followed by the sound of footsteps in the leaves. Malaya jumped to her feet, dropping the leftover sweetcorn onto the floor, knife now revealed in her grip. The teen climbed onto the mossy tree stump to get a better view, not seeing or hearing anything new, "Hello?" no reply, "Hey asshole!"

Once again, no reply, but Malaya could admit that she wasnt that intimidating, especially to an adult, "Show yourself!" Malaya recalled a spy film she'd watched once, courtesy of her older brother, in which the agent would walk around and turn at the same time with his gun outstretched — Malaya did the same but with her knife and without the cool effects

"What, are you a coward? Scared of a little-" the girl cut herself off with a yelp, a rope tightening around her left ankle and thrusting her into the air, "Are you shitting me?"

A scoff came from behind a particularly tall bush, a red-haired woman emerging, clapping her hands in amusement, "Wow, got too big for your boots sweetheart?" Malaya struggled in the trap, feeling the blood rush to her head as she desperately tried to keep hold of her knife

"Shut it," The Blake girl warned warily. Although, both knew that it was an empty threat, as May was not exactly in stealth nor strength mode

"Careful there kid. Dont want to lose that leg," the woman joked with a snigger, sitting down on the same tree stump and tipping the items out of Maya's backpack onto the forest floor, "Wow, you got fuck all. Thanks a lot. Now I've got to kill you and reset the trap."

The woman continued to ramble on, something regarding how useless traps had become, but Malaya wasnt listening. From behind the same bush came a reaper, grey cardigan torn at the bottom and sickly flesh oozing from its mouth, "Hey! Reaper!" Malaya cried, the redhead turning quickly, dropping her spear in the process. The creature pounced on her, teeth clashing as it pushed itself closer to the woman's neck

The woman groaned, lifting her knees and kicking the dead in the stomach causing it to fly back and hit the ground. Alas, it wasnt hurt and it only continued to snarl. Malaya watched, holding her breath, not wanting the woman to die despite still being strung up in the oak tree

Her muscles' flexed as she wrapped her arms around the reaper, tightening her grip around its throat, more and more flesh falling from its mouth, straight onto the woman's head

They drew dangerously close to May, and for a moment, the teen was sure she was gonna end up as reaper food — Her adrenaline kicked in, and with a huff, Malaya pulled the blade from her sleeve, stabbing the reaper not once, not twice but three times in the head

The redhead dropped to her knees beside the reaper, brushing away the stray hair that clung to her forehead with one hand, cutting the rope with the other. Malaya cried out as she hit the floor, shoulder throbbing from the impact, "Thanks a lot."

She let out a dry laugh, resting her hands on her thigh and pushing off the ground, "I could've just left you up there, let you starve. Or, become walker grub."

"And I could've let the thing rip your throat out," the teen spat back, pulling her knife from the dead's head, wiping the blood on a wet leaf, "So, you're welcome!"

"I had it under control," she mumbled, re-attaching her spear to her backpack, along with a tin of beans that she'd swiped from Malaya's bag

"Really? Didnt look like it!" Malaya spat back, storming over to the other woman, snatching back the can of beans, "Looks like I saved your ass and you owe me a thank you!"

The redhead gave her a dry chuckle, shoving her hands into her green cargo's pockets, "Careful round here kid. My group might not be as merciful," as she began to walk away, Malaya's heart stopped, as did her body

She had a group, and by the sound of it, one that was nearby, "Wait!" she did freeze, looking back at the teen, "You have a group?"

The woman rolled her eyes, readjusting her sleeves, already fully aware of the question about to asked, "How many people have you killed?"

"None."

"How many walkers?"

Malaya bit her lip, presuming she meant what she called 'reapers', looking to the corpse against her feet, "That was my first," the woman looked skeptical, arms crossed over her chest protectively, spear only an arm's length away

She didnt think that this teenager was some psycho killer, but better safe than sorry, right?

"I don't believe you," she hissed accusingly, taking a step towards the girl once again

"Its the truth. Scouts honour!" Malaya pleaded, dropping her knife to the ground to prove a point, backpack along with it, "Okay, I wasnt a scout but I super-duper swear. Im alone!"

The redhead continued to glare at the Blake for a moment longer, face filtered in a stone cold expression before sighing, dropping her arms back to her side, "S'pose you're only a kid," she said with a surprisingly soft voice. Leaning over, she picked up Malaya's knife, sliding it into her pocket for safekeeping, "I'm Katrine."

"Malaya. Malaya Blake," the Blake girl responded, a smile lighting up her face

"Well, c'mon Malaya," Kat said, gesturing through the woods, "Follow me."

And she did, a genuine smile, like one she gave out like candy on Halloween before the apocalypse, for the first time in weeks. Things were finally looking up for her, and she was hoping this group had what she was looking for — Family