❪ 𝗗𝗘𝗩𝗜𝗟'𝗦 𝗔𝗗𝗩𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗘 ❫

𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝖾𝗂𝗀𝗁𝗍 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━
losing the last piece. ╱ season four, episode sixteen.
TW: DESCRIPTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT, READ WITH CAUTION

FRANKIE FEARED the path of humanity in a world like this. There was an uneasiness that filled her chest when thinking of the future. People and who they once were slowly slipping away with each day that passes. Different aspects of who they were, get ripped away with each moment they're out in the world surviving. Who Frankie is now can attest to that. She was no longer that snarky sixteen-year-old that dreamed bigger than what her world was able to give her. Frankie was now a woman with hands dyed a deep crimson with every person she had taken from the world. And as time passed, her skin was only getting bloodier. She didn't know how much of this she could truly sit through.

The thought of the darkness consuming her was terrifying. She feared being a person that was truly lost in it all. She hated the thought of changing even more, and losing the last pieces of herself to the plague that was the world that surrounded her. Frankie thought she would always put people's lives first, and that she could easily save someone from a nasty fate. But today, she proved herself wrong. Ducking behind a tree as a man gets ripped apart as walkers hounded him, was something that changed her perspective.

She knew that even if she tried, there was no way that Rick would let her by, even if he fought Carl as he tried to rip himself free. When Frankie first heard the screams, the begging, she didn't hesitate to run after Carl who was sprinting as soon as the pleads bled into the morning air. She intended to make sure Carl didn't get hurt, but at the same time, something was bubbling in her stomach that screamed to save the person in trouble.

She could hear the panic flood from the people behind her, calling for Carl and her to come back and wait. But with the adrenaline rushing through her body, she didn't bother to stop running. Her mind and thoughts had solidified, there was no way she was stopping until there was no other option.

But Carl was quickly grabbed by Rick and they all came to the edge of a clearing, watching a man get hounded by a group of walkers. Frankie moved to get her gun, but Gabi suddenly appeared next to her, putting her hand on top of Frankie's, her face solemn. When noticing the look, the girl let out a rough sigh, adverting her eyes, refusing to look at the stranger who was now screaming in excruciating pain as the dead ripped him apart.

Frankie was sick of watching moments like that happen time and time again. She was tired of having to see such death. She ached for time to stop, for things to go back to the way it once was. Where people didn't have to die at the drop of a hat, where the dead weren't hiding behind every corner, just waiting to sink their teeth into an unsuspecting victim.

Even hours after, Frankie was still feeling the sunken aftermath that lay heavily on her chest. The images of the stranger haunted her mind. She wanted to talk to people about it, but she knew she would just receive a half-minded answer with something along the lines of "it's just how it's gotta be". She was sick of getting that answer again and again, it exhausted her that people just shrugged it off, as if people dying due to their hands wasn't affecting them.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Frankie shot her head up at the question, her hands becoming less interesting as she gazed up at her best friend, "Yeah, I'm good,"

"Are you sure?"

The question made her pause for a moment, as she tried to figure out what the best answer could be. She didn't need Gabi to worry about her, she was tired of people worrying about her. Even if she was going through internal battles, she just didn't want people to know. "I'm just...do you ever miss the way things used to be?"

"When we were with your dad?" Gabi questioned, pure confusion lacing her features. The thought of that made panic flood Frankie's veins.

"God no," Frankie instantly shook her head, sighing as she accumulated her thoughts into one concise sentence. "I mean before the world...you know."

"Went to shit?"

"Yeah basically,"

Gabi shrugged, tucking her hands into her jeans as they walked along with the others. "No, not really,"

"Why?" Frankie asked, her question slightly desperate as she looked at her friend, "Things used to be so simple,"

"Not for me," Gabi stated quietly, her words getting soft due to her remembering who she once was. "You know that,"

Frankie regretted her choice of words at that moment, knowing what Gabi had gone through all until they had left her father's compound together. "I'm sorry, I totally spaced, I was just so caught up in myself, and forgot to think about what happened to you,"

The girl next to her shrugged at her apology, linking her arm with Frankie's, "I know things are hard now, but it doesn't help to reminisce on what could've been because it's never going to be like that again. Life can never fully go back to what we lost."

The redhead nodded, agreeing with her friend, but the thoughts never fully faded, "Sometimes it's easy to just wish the only thing I have to worry about is what college I'm applying to and if the boy I liked would like me back,"

"Did he though?" Gabi questioned, a smile poking at the edge of her lips.

Frankie snorted at the question, "No, he thought I was annoying as hell,"

"He sounds like a dud," The girl shrugged, slightly elbowing Frankie's side, "If you were my type, I'd be all over you,"

"Please, you should've seen my horrid bob I had when I was sixteen," Frankie stated with a grimace, shivering from the image of her when she was in high school, "I was lucky if a guy even looked my way,"

"Well look at you now, it's his loss honestly," Gabi said with a confidence that made Frankie smile, "Imagine not wanting a hot ass post-apocalyptic girl, that would honestly be embarrassing,"

"Shut up," Frankie snorted, rolling her eyes with faux annoyance.

Gabi smiled, letting out a small laugh, "I'm serious, we just need to find you a hot man,"

"I'll keep my eyes open,"

"Come on, what about..." Gabi trailed off as her eyes fell on Charlie who was staring straight ahead with a strong glare set on his features.

"Please, he barely tolerates me, like that would never happen," Frankie's words were hushed as she leaned toward Gabi, making sure the boy wouldn't hear them.

"You never know," The girl next to Frankie, smiled teasingly as she bumped her shoulder with hers.

"If you're so interested, shoot your shot,"

"Men are gross, I'm saying for you," Gabi shuttered, apparently the thought of her being with a man was too much. "He's like gruff and greasy in a good way,"

Frankie could help the laugh that escaped her at Gabi's words. Her chuckle instantly pulled all eyes to her with confusion swirling on their features. Frankie couldn't help but ignore all the eyes, only focusing on a certain pair of brown ones. The calculated stare made the smile on her lips quickly faded as she diverted her gaze back to her friend next to her.

"I feel like he heard me," Gabi whispered distantly, her eyes focused on the boy that once had his eyes glued on Frankie. Even when the girl had turned her gaze away from the boy, Gabi couldn't help but catch his eyes wandering up and down the redhead's body.

"Maybe he has super sonic hearing?" Frankie offered, not bothering to stop the amused smile that was pulling at her lips due to her own comment.

"I don't know maybe," Gabi added as she giggled quietly, her eyes soon meeting Frankie's as her smile dropped slightly. "But there's one thing I've learned from his stared down,"

Frankie paused for a moment, not liking the sudden ominous tone the girl had. "And what's that?"

"He definitely likes you," Gabi stated with a mischievous smile, bumping her shoulders with Frankie's.

The girl instantly shook her head incessantly, "You're so delusional it hurts,"

"He definitely wants to have your children," Gabi snorted, her vicious confidence and dramatic word choice made Frankie jump at the thought.

"Gabi!" Frankie hissed, her tone hushed as she grabbed the girl's forearm tightly in surprise, not expecting the girl to utter any kind of words of the sort.

"What?" The girl questioned, but the smile on her face told Frankie that she knew what she was doing.

"I'm walking away from you," Frankie concluded, dropping her arms to her sides. She rolled her eyes watching Gabi slapping her hand over her heart as if she was offended. "And I definitely won't get this type of delusion and dramaticness from Carl,"

"You'll be back," Gabi snapped back, and a teasing look fell over her features. "You love my delusional ass too much,"

"After your recent comments, that's definitely debatable." Frankie snorted, soon picking up her pace so she could fall in line with the younger boy who was following closely behind his father.

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FRANKIE KEPT HER eyes trained on the dancing flames in front of her, finding the way the fire jumped a perfect image to let her trail off in her own mind. She could hear the people around her chattering about their next plans. The small makeshift camp they made next to the abandoned car wasn't too bad. Frankie was excited to curl up in its front seat, she was looking forward to having some type of walls around her even if they were metal.

Her eyes traveled a couple of times towards the car, making sure the young boy that was occupying it was alright. He had turned in a long time ago, before that, he and Frankie were causing quite a ruckus with jokes and borderline bullying each other, their antics didn't hesitate to make the people around them laugh. Frankie hadn't had the chance to hear Rick's laugh before and she was pleasantly surprised by its soft nature.

The only person who hadn't quite cracked was Charlie, there were no sounds that escaped the boy, and the only inclination of his amusement that may have tipped Frankie off was when he bit his lip to hold in his smile. She knew she was wearing him down and she loved it. She just wanted to know what was going on in his brain. Especially after what Carl had told her about him, Frankie wanted to make sure he didn't feel alone. But she knew if she went up to him and told him that, it wouldn't be good. She knew he didn't want that, she knew how he would react even with her barely knowing him.

Only five of them sat around the fire now, with Gabi splayed out in the driver seat, mouth open as she leaned her head against the window, far away in dreamland. Frankie wished to do the same thing, but there was something bubbling in her stomach. She chalked it up to them being surrounded by woods and no viable vision of either side, but it was still unknown and she couldn't shake the feeling away.

There had been a small silence that surrounded the group for the past few minutes as the exhaustion of the day had finally caught up to them. Frankie's eyes were occasionally drooping as she rested her arms against her knees, leaning her face on her fists. Watching the small fire slowly was causing her body to scream more and more for sleep, but for some reason, she couldn't let herself give in.

"If you don't mind me asking, the fur coat? What's the story behind it?"

The sudden question from Michonne enlivened Frankie within seconds. People's eyes drifted to her, awaiting her answer, almost as if they were hesitant to ask the question themselves. Frankie dropped her face from her hand as she straightened up, lightly scratching her forehead as she answered. "It's mostly because I like it, but other than that, I guess it's me coping with the world, and keeping pieces of myself from before. Reminding myself, I'm still in there."

The words made Michonne smile to herself, "I like that. I used to have something like that. One time me and Carl found this beautiful cat sculpture and I had to have it. It reminded me of something I would buy before the world changed."

Frankie noticed how Rick smiled at the mention of the cat, and Frankie knew he was a part of the day it was found. The girl sent Michone a smile in agreeance, "It doesn't hurt to indulge in stuff like that, it reminds us that the person who we thought we left behind is still there, they just haven't been able to escape for a while,"

"Hopefully Terminus is legit, a lot of us might be able to get that opportunity to do that," Michonne offered.

Frankie sighed, moving her foot back and forth against the rubble. "I really hope it does, I wouldn't hate to have a solid roof over my head, haven't had that in a really long time."

"How long exactly have those men been chasing you?" Rick asked.

"Weeks. But we were on the road long before that. We just never really got a break since I left my dad. I'm really praying that changes." Frankie replied, her words covered with a sudden softness, exhaustion that none of the new people had ever experienced before.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to get you that roof then," Michonne responded with a comforting glance toward Frankie.

"I wouldn't hate it, if we found it," Her words gave Frankie not only hope for her future in their group but the hope in a sanctuary for them. She could sense a stare, and looking up she was met with Charlie, and for the first time she noticed a faint smile twisting on his lips, and she felt something. Maybe it was the words from Gabi, maybe it was just her mind leading her on. But the satisfaction she felt from seeing his smile even if it was just a slight one, was something she had never quite felt before.

The voices began to cease, and following her words were soft smiles. Silence traveled between them, the four others watching as Rick put out the small fire in front of them. Cold was quick to seep into Frankie's bones as darkness began to snuff out the light around the small group. There was nothing for them to worry about at the moment, there was a lightness that Frankie had never felt before with them, it washed through the group with the new hope of the place they were heading to. But Frankie should've known that it wouldn't last long.

A snap of a branch in the distance made everyone tense up, none of them hesitating to pull out their weapons, waiting for the person or walker to jump out at them. After a few seconds of thick silence, time moved slowly as they waited, all anxious waiting for something to pop out in the darkness. But as nothing slithered out of the bushes, they all sat back down where they resided before.

A conversation began to start up between Michonne and Rick, Frankie only listened half-heartedly, finding her own fearful thoughts to be more entertaining. But she wasn't able to stay deep in her mind for long as her horrifying thoughts became her reality. Panic seeped into her bones as she heard a click of a cocking gun right behind her head.

"Oh dearie me." An all too familiar voice interrupted, Frankie let out a fearful breath knowing that death was finally knocking on her door. "You screwed up, asshole."

Frankie flashed her eyes toward a frighteningly frozen Rick as the barrel of a gun dug into his temple. "You hear me? You screwed up."

"Holy shit," Another familiar voice uttered, footsteps traveled to stand right in front of Frankie. The girl swallowed the panicked whimper that begged to escape as she met the eyes of someone she never wanted to see again. "Joe, look who we have here."

All eyes fell toward the girl in the fur coat as she closed her eyes in fear. The leader's words were now directed at her. "Would you lookie here, my, my, my, we have been looking for you everywhere,"

"We sure have," The man in front of her muttered as he tugged her up to her feet by the sides of her fur coat. His unclean breath wafted over her face as he twisted a strand of her hair in his fingers. Frankie didn't hesitate to recoil away from the touch, disgust traveling over her features. "It's my lucky day. The same day my fingers healed is the day we find the bitch that broke 'em in the first place,"

Frankie didn't reply as she turned away from his insidious glare to meet Sydney's panicked eyes as she stared helplessly at the scene in front of her. The man who had a tight hold on Frankie was getting angry at her lack of response, so before she knew it she was thrown to the ground. Her body made a sickening thud on the pavement below, and the group sitting on the log around her watched as she was thrown right at their feet. Frankie was again grabbed roughly as he pulled on the collar of her jacket "What? Got nothing to say?"

Frankie's anger began bubbling and before she could think, she spit right in the man's face as she raised her head up from the ground in defiance, "I was thinking about how I should've just killed you instead, would've made my life so much easier,"

The man stopped for a second to laugh at her words, but they ended up leading to a swift and rough slap in the face. She could hear a couple of roars of detest from the group at the sound that echoed through the small camp. While her face throbbed violently and she could feel blood trickle out of bottom lip, she didn't dare let her glare falter. "You stupid fucking bitch, you just made it so much worse for yourself."

"Randy, move her and have your way with her over there, I got to deal with him," Joe interrupted, gesturing to Rick as he ordered the man with Frankie tightly in his grip.

"Sounds good boss," Randy nodded, soon dragging Frankie against the jagged pavement as she kicked and grunted, just aching to get away from the man.

She could feel the fear coursing through her veins as she knew what was coming next. Frankie began to feel tears run down her cheeks as she couldn't stop looking toward the group she was getting dragged away from. She couldn't help but think this was all her fault. She put them in this position, she did this to them. If they had never met Frankie, none of this would've happened.

"Today is a day of reckoning, Sir." Joe began, moving his eyes to all the people below him. "Restitution. A balancing of the whole damn universe. Shit, and I was thinking of turning in for the night on New Year's Eve."

Frankie struggled to escape Randy's grasp as she watched helplessly the scene before her. His arms were wrapped tight around her as he pulled her up to her feet, his large body tightly pressed against hers. Frankie tried to hold in the bile rising in her throat, but his next words made it impossible not to as he whispered them in her ear, "You're not gonna like this part, but we will."

"Now who's gonna count down the ball dropper with me, huh?" Joe announced, his psychotic smile making even more panic rise within Frankie's chest. "Ten Mississippi, nine Mississippi, eight Mississippi-"

"Joe!" An unfamiliar voice shouted, and everyone instantly paused in their tracks. Frankie watched confused as a man stalked up to the scene with a determination that made Frankie nervous. She watched as a mix of recognition and slight relief rose on the faces of Michonne, Rick, and Charlie. The looks only confused her more. "Hold up,"

"You're stopping me on eight, Daryl,"

"Just hold up," The man repeated, his eyes glued to the three seated in front of him.

"This is the guy that killed Lou, so we got nothing to talk about," Another man from Joe's group hissed, gun aimed directly at Charlie. Frankie's eyes widened at his words, they were going to kill them for something she did. The truth burned at the girl's throat, she needed to make things clear, maybe she could save them from her fate. It became even more apparent that was what she needed to do as she saw Carl and Gabi looking at her with dread in their eyes. She could see Sydney staring at her with frustration filling her features as she discreetly shook her head no. But Frankie already knew it was what she needed to do.

"The thing about nowadays is we got nothing but-"

"He didn't do it," Frankie announced, her voice carrying with vigor as she struggled against the man holding her. She could see the group's concerned eyes jumping on her, but she didn't dare look at any of them. "I killed your guy, not him,"

Joe snapped his eyes to her, sending her a calculated stare as she returned it. He pointed his gun away from Rick, turning its direction towards her. "You? You killed Lou?"

"Yeah I did, no one else, just me. None of them did anything wrong, it was just me." Frankie's words started off strong, but then they fizzled out when she begged to let them live.

Joe took in her words, visibly tossing them around his head. Frankie waited, frozen in fear as she waited for the impending gunshot to pierce her heart. But it never came. "After that confession, Daryl, I'd like you to say your piece."

"These people, you're gonna let 'em go. These are good people."

"Now, I think Lou would disagree with you on that, especially since they've kept his killer by their side," Joe replied, directing his words toward the girl with new grimy men surrounding her. "I'll, of course, have to speak for him and all, 'cause their friend over there stabbed him in the throat."

"You want blood, I get it." Daryl started, eyes drifting between the girl and his group, soon dropping his crossbow to the ground below him. "Take it from me, man."

Frankie opened her mouth in surprise watching the man in front of her sacrifice his life for his group and a couple of strangers. Joe's face looked defeated as he watched Daryl stand there with his arms open, awaiting his fate. "That girl killed our friend and broke the hand of another. You're friend is still with her. You say he's good people. See now, that right there...that is a lie. It's a lie!"

Within seconds of his words, three men were on Daryl, beating him to the ground. Frankie let out a cry watching the people in front of her scream out in anger and fear watching their friend get beaten to death. Frankie couldn't help the tears flooding down her face, knowing everyone was going to die because of her actions. Things only got worse when Gabi and Carl were dragged out of the car and forced into the hands of one of the men.

"No please," Frankie cried, her words begging as she desperately tried to break away from the man holding her. "Kill me, just kill me, leave them out of it. None of them did anything it was all me."

"Don't worry dear, you'll pay for what you caused, and watching your friends die before you do sounds like a good way to start." Joe's answer didn't hesitate to make Frankie's face fall into defeat and agony as she couldn't begin to prepare for what was about to happen. "But before that, boys teach her a lesson,"

Frankie didn't have time to process his words before she was pushed into one of the guys as a laugh broke between the two men. A sickening grunt left the girl as she was shoved right into the smelly chest of a man. His grip was constricting as each second his hands got tighter and tighter, as much as Frankie tried to break free, the grip never ceased. She was constantly getting pushed from one guy to the next as they all gripped different parts of her jacket as they caught her. It wasn't long until Frankie heard an echoing rip come from the fur material on her back.

Her heart shattered as she felt the chill of the night air nipped at her back. But the desecration of her jacket was the least of her worries as the newfound glimmer of skin made the men around her turn hungry. No matter how much fear ran through her veins, the girl never stopped scratching and fighting to get away from the men around her.

She could barely pay attention to the sounds of scuffling around her, she ached to look towards the fire pit, fearing what her eyes would fall upon. A shot rang out in the distance, but it quickly faded away when she heard Joe mocking Rick behind her.

"Look at how she's struggling. It's cute that she thinks she's going to get away from us." Randy's sickening voice echoed next to her ear as he pressed his body into her back. Frankie recoiled away feeling his hard body against hers. Her loud sobs only made their laughter louder. They enjoyed hurting her. With each shove, scratches and bruises formed on her body, due to their nails digging roughly into her skin. "I'll hold her, someone cut her shirt off,"

Frankie let out a cry, trying to wriggle her way away from Randy, but his grip made it impossible to do so. "Fucking let go of me, you sick freak,"

The man opened his mouth to respond to her words, but something made him stop. Frankie heard a palpable silence flow through the turmoil in the makeshift camp. The men in front of her had a look of surprise and slight fear slip onto their features. Frankie tried to push herself away from Randy, but his grip only tightened when his eyes fell on Rick.

Frankie felt like she couldn't breathe, her eyes fell upon the man standing with a blood-soaked beard, his eyes looking down at Joe, who was gasping for air as blood spurted from his neck. It wasn't long until everyone began fighting back, in succession, gunshots rang out and Joe's group began dropping to the ground along with him.

The two other men around her fell to the ground, the cause being the bullet from Sydney's gun as it landed right between their eyes. Frankie struggled and scratched at Randy's arms, hoping the pain would give her the chance to break free, but once she felt the cold steel of his knife against her neck, she froze completely.

"Let her go," Sydney seethed, her gun pointed directly at him.

The man only tightened his grip on her neck, Frankie winced feeling the knife slightly digging into her skin, no doubt causing blood to trickle. "You shoot me, she's going down with me,"

Frankie couldn't help but notice Sydney's eyes wavering behind them, just as Randy was about to act on his promise, a deafening snap of branch behind him. And before he could react a slice of flesh echoed in the redhead's ear. Once his grip loosened, Frankie didn't hesitate to run from his vicinity. She instantly turned to see Charlie standing behind him with nothing but fury in his eyes as he watched the man fall to his knees. Randy desperately grasped at his neck to stop the blood from pouring out, but to no avail, the blood never stopped seeping out of the wound.

The redhead's eyes never left the man, finding satisfaction in watching the life drain from his features. She could hear a silence flooding the air as her group listened to the deafening slash after slash behind her. She glanced over to see Rick stabbing a man again and again. But her attention quickly flashed to Carl as he stared stoically at his father, with no emotion on his face, just numbness. Frankie couldn't help but feel the exact way as she found herself sitting on the crumbling pavement below her, the scraps of her beloved jacket held tightly in her trembling hands.

Her heart refused to stop pounding as the reality of the night hit her like a freight train. She felt different as she sat staring at the coat, the cold chill of the night swallowing her whole. Frankie couldn't bring herself to meet the eyes of anyone around her. And she certainly didn't have the courage to meet the gaze of the boy who saved her, who she knew was looking directly at her.

She felt like she had finally lost the last piece that made her feel some type of normalcy. The hands of the deceased around her were permanently etched into her skin, and she felt the bile rising in her throat. There were no words that could come out of her mouth, her mind was empty, and her heart felt numb. She had no idea how she would be able to ever come back from this. The only thing that she could do was let the darkness of the night cover her like a thick fog. That would hopefully give her some comfort in the wake of the incident that just happened.

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𝗔𝗨𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗥'𝗦 𝗡𝗢𝗧𝗘:

HEY LOSERS!! I'M BACK!!!!

we got some emo and existentialism
from our girl, she'll be okay! (she will not).

We got a lot of trauma coming out of
this chapter and I'm sorry in advanced.
Frankie is very much going through it badly

Next chapter is a crucial bonding moment
between my babies and I'm so excited to
share it with y'all!

ALSO‼️‼️‼️‼️
Check out my TikTok I've got
Some fab Charlie and Frankie edits up
and I love them sm

TikTok: @gardensongsswp

hope you guys enjoyed!!!