(A/N: The lemon in this chapter does not involve Y/N and will instead be two other characters that we will jump to later. Just wanted to let you know because I felt like I had to clear up any confusion beforehand)

• • •

THE WALK THROUGH the empty road seemed to go on forever. It had been over an hour since the chaos at the prison. Y/N and Mika kept moving since then.

Y/N's face was still bruised and bloodied and his nose was messed up once again from the fight against the Governor. He held his side as it ached from one of the blows he took. It was a far cry from Mika...who looked untouched coming out of all of it.

The two barely talked throughout their travels, with the man only giving a stay close or come on when the little girl would slow down. Y/N just looked forward and kept walking.

Suddenly, Mika stopped. She held her thighs and hunched over. Y/N heard her pants and turned around.

"Mika, come on." He said.

"My legs hurt." She breathed out.

Y/N was adamant about moving. "You'll get over it. Let's go."

"Let's stop—"

"We can't!"

Y/N's sudden outburst startled Mika. He went up to the little girl and continued.

"That burning you feel? It don't matter. The walkers don't get tired. The people coming after you will use that as an advantage to hurt you!"

The little girl didn't know what to say, simply staring at the young man. She looked hurt from his scolding, and once Y/N saw her eyes...his glare eased. He quickly realized that he was sounding just like his father.

"I...I—" Y/N stammered. "You're right...we've been walking a little too much."

He looked ahead at the road, seeing a small church in the distance.

"Just a little bit more and we'll stop there." Y/N pointed. "Maybe there could be some stuff there too."

Mika nodded. Y/N turned around and they kept walking down the road. They did so in silence until they made it to the yard in front of the church.

Y/N's only weapon was the knife in his boot. Mika had a knife along with her handgun, which she still held. Once they neared the doors of the building, she tried handing the gun to him.

"What?" He asked.

"You—you should take it."

"It's yours." He took out his knife, letting her know he was already armed.

"I'm not good." She admitted. "I'll just miss."

Y/N sighed. She had gotten some training back at the prison but not as much as they could've offered. Mika continued.

"Back there...there was a girl with a gun. I tried but I couldn't. Lizzie did it for me."

"You couldn't because you thought you'd miss or because you were scared?"

Mika stayed quiet. She was actually just not willing to kill a human being. Walkers, sure...but not somebody alive.

"Okay." Y/N relented and took her pistol. He gave her his knife instead. "You know your way around that, right?"

Mika looked at the blade. Y/N continued.

"Don't say no. I know what Carol's been doing instead of storytime."

"You knew?" She asked.

"Of course. Reading Huckleberry Finn to y'all? I knew there had to be something else."

They shared a small chuckle. Before Y/N opened the door, he gave Mika some advice.

"If there's any, go for their knees. Once they're down then you could stab them in the head."

The little girl nodded. Y/N immediately opened the door and looked in with his handgun raised.

Thankfully, it was empty. They went deeper into the church until they neared the altar. Y/N lowered his guard.

"Looks clear."

Y/N turned to his right and saw a door. He assumed maybe it'll lead to a kitchen or pantry that the pastor or congregation would usually use.

Mika stayed in front of the altar as Y/N went to the door. She gazed up at the marble statue of Jesus Christ's crucifixion.

"Mika?" He called out once he turned around, he also noticed that she had closed her eyes. "Mika, what are you doing?"

She opened her eyes and started walking back to Y/N.

"Praying for us...for everyone else too."

Y/N simply nodded, accepting her optimism and faith. He motioned toward the door with his head.

"Help me look through this."

Mika and Y/N were in the living area within the church, which is what they found out was behind the door earlier. Although their cupboards were mostly cleared out they still found bags of trail mix and some water which they were currently enjoying.

Once again, it was mostly silence. They sat on the worn-out sofa and ate from the bag of trail mix. Amidst the quiet, Mika finally spoke.

"I'm sorry for being tired. I need to get used to it...to walking a lot."

Y/N shook his head. "No...I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled like that."

Mika chewed her snack and swallowed. There was a beat before she spoke again.

"It's okay. I know...I know you're sad right now."

Y/N simply nodded but didn't say anything else. He ate some more nuts and looked ahead.

"I'm going to miss her." Mika added. "She was the best. And...it always seemed like she loved me like I was her's."

"She was like that." Y/N solemnly admitted about Liliana. "She loved kids...she loved you and your sister. In a way, I think you reminded her of herself when she was little."

"She said that once."

"Hmm? Really?"

"Yeah."

Y/N nodded. He looked down at the trial mix bag and kept eating. Suddenly, the little girl spoke again.

"Y/N?"

He turned to her. She seemed to hesitate and the man questioned Mika.

"What's up?"

The little girl contemplated taking the photo she had out of her pocket and giving it to him. But a part of her feared his reaction upon seeing it. She chose not to show it to him yet.

"I—Can I have some water?" She pointed at the bottle near him.

"Oh, yeah. Sure."

Y/N handed her the bottle. He then got up and stretched a bit.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I don't know...somewhere out there. Stay here, all right?"

Mika nodded. Y/N made his way out of the living area and shut the door, choosing to take a leak in the far corner of the church.

After he was done, he looked out of the window into the darkness of the woods. He let out a breath...when he suddenly heard a voice.

"Look at you now..."

He felt a sudden chill when he heard it. And it sounded so...familiar. Y/N slowly turned around and saw who spoke...a man sitting in the pews.

"Been a while since I've been to confession. When's the last time you have?"

Portrayed by Josh Brolin

Y/N immediately saw who it was within the dimly lit space. It was his father. He was long dead...so the young man was flabbergasted.

"Wha—?"

"Your momma was always keen on taking you boys to mass every Sunday. I always told her it'd be fucking useless. Why put your faith in something...ask for things...when everything given to you has to be earned?"

The young man was still speechless. His father got up from the pews and went up to him.

"And what'd he give you? Huh? Tell me."

Y/N was going to question how he was even there, but something in him decided to ignore that fact and simply answer his question.

"A good mom. A brother. Talents that took me to where I was."

His father let out a laugh.

"Where's all that now? Gone. Now he's given you this shit world...a hell you have to live in."

He paced around in front of Y/N. The man stopped at the window and continued.

"But it's a hell you can still overcome...thanks to me."

"I ain't thanking you for shit." Y/N shot back.

"You'd be fucking dead if it wasn't for me. Same with your brother...I have a good feeling he's still out there."

"I'm out here because of me. Me and the folks I've been with."

"Folks that are dead now." He spat. "And that girl is gonna turn out just like them."

"You don't know that."

He turned to Y/N. "You gotta wake the fuck up or else it will. I saw how you yelled at her earlier. She got sad, boo-fucking-hoo, but now she knows how serious it is. That's what I tried showing you."

"Yeah...you showed us how much of an ass someone could be."

"I showed you how to be a fucking man! How to be strong! Tough! Not that soft shit your momma did. That same soft shit they've been showing those girls. Same soft shit your damn girlfriend was showing them."

"Don't talk about her." Y/N said as he stepped up to him.

"What was her name? Liliana, right? She's dead because she didn't have what it takes—"

"I. Said. Don't. Talk." He interrupted.

"She couldn't even protect herself from the Governor and because of that she had his kid, who's also fucking de—"

The older man was punched across the face by his son. He held the side of his jaw as Y/N glared at him.

"Shut the fuck up!"

His father chuckled as he rubbed his jaw and looked straight back at him.

"Been dying to do that, huh? You were too pussy then and lost your chance once you got older and I died."

"You're here now, so I can beat your ass as much as I want."

"And what good will that do you? Remember, I'm dead."

Y/N thought about it. He was right. Obviously, he was just a construct of his mind at the moment, and practically beating up air just sounded insane.

"And you should've stayed dead." Y/N replied. "Why the hell are you here anyway?"

"You need me. And I'm here because I'm needed."

"I don't need you."

"You will. You've tried to ignore what you are...what you can become."

"What I can become?" Y/N chuckled. "I'm not you. And I never will be."

"You don't need to be me. Just look at what you've done. You killed that druggie in the woods when you didn't have to. You killed people in Woodbury who were just doing their job. You killed Philip's daughter, you took his eye out, then later ended up stabbing him like twelve times and left him to die."

Y/N took a breath. "I had to do that."

"You did. And what I did raising you boys...I had to do that too because it prepared you for how things are now."

"I'm sure you fucking knew the world would end." Y/N shot back sarcastically.

"Nonetheless...you're alive now. And being willing to do the unthinkable...what could be seen as evil...it will keep you alive."

Y/N didn't respond. His father paced around in front of him and looked down for a moment.

"Violence and fear...they're a natural way to gain power...order. But most importantly...they're crucial in protecting all that you care about...and keeping that structure intact."

Y/N remembered that philosophy. Such a thing would be hard to do in a civil society like before, but in the world they're in now...that would be easier to achieve, and possibly could be...right?

The young man shook that thought out of his mind. The older man continued.

"That's what I've been trying to teach you boys. What would I always tell you? Huh?"

Y/N stared at him. His father egged him on as he knew his son remembered what he'd told him and his older brother.

"Come on."

The young man relented. "You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry..."

"But then you get over it and suck it the fuck up." He finished. "You gotta do what you gotta do even if it makes you seem like a piece of shit."

"You're wrong. I don't have to do that. Again...I'm not like you."

The older man shrugged and shook his head.

"And again...you don't have to be me exactly. I'm just here for a front-row seat to see what you can actually be."

Suddenly, in what seemed to be a literal blink of his eye, his father disappeared. Y/N looked around and saw that the whole church was empty.

He processed the old man's words. Y/N could remember the talks he'd give him and his older brother years ago and they often were of the same things. How the world was out to get them and how they needed to be ready. How they had to do whatever it takes to protect what they had, even if it meant being violent.

He never thought those lessons would come back to haunt him. But they did. And for a moment...Y/N believed maybe he had a point.

Again, the young man brushed off those thoughts. He turned around and made his way back to the living area where he had left Mika.

• • •

MAKING A FIRE didn't sound like much of a hassle. But when you're actually put in a situation where you have to do so...it isn't as easy.

Beth Greene tried to use the sun's reflection through a broken car mirror onto twigs. It wasn't working and she huffed in disappointment.

"I got something." Ramon said as he walked into their makeshift camp. He had a dead chipmunk in his hand. "Only one...but it should be enough."

The twenty-two-year-old sat on the log and put it down. He pulled out his switchblade and was about to start skinning it, but saw that the blonde girl was shaking her head.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Can't get the damn fire to start." She replied.

"Oh." Ramon went to his back pocket and took out his lighter, tossing it to Beth.

"You had this and you didn't tell me?" She asked after catching it.

"You didn't ask."

Beth rolled her eyes and used it to start the fire, which was successful. She closed the flip top of the lighter and looked at it.

"This is pretty nice." She remarked.

Ramon nodded. "Y/N gave it to me a few days ago."

The man's mood changed after mentioning his friend's name. Even Beth, who thought of him and the others who were in the prison. They feared they were all dead but Beth was adamant about finding them.

The two young survivors ran into each other right after the prison's collapse. They have been on the move since, hoping to reunite with their friends. But as the last 36 hours went by...it seemed like a fruitless thing to expect.

Ramon started to skin the animal he had. Beth looked at him and questioned where he learned to do such a thing.

"Oh...I don't know." He admitted. "I would always see Daryl prep and stuff before Carol would cook the meals. Going off of memory honestly."

Beth kept watching him. He was halfway through when he looked up and saw her still watching.

"What?"

"Not bad for your first time."

He quietly chuckled. "I thought I was doing horrible."

"Well, I'm not an expert on that so it looks alright to me." She replied. "Or maybe I'm just hungry and I'm okay with however it's done."

"That's probably it." Ramon said.

He finished skinning the chipmunk and they roasted it over the fire. Although it was a small portion they were content with the food they were able to eat. Despite the amount he had, Ramon offered Beth some of his after she was done.

"I'm fine." She said.

"You sure?"

"You need to eat."

"I got more meat on my bones."

"You calling me skinny?"

"No. I mean...yes? What's the better answer?"

Beth scoffed which turned into a chuckle. Ramon relented and started finishing the portion he had. They sat there in silence until the blonde girl spoke up.

"I need a drink."

Ramon chewed his food and grabbed the bottle of water they had with them, tossing it to her.

"Don't finish it all, this is gonna make me thirsty."

"No. I meant a real drink. Like...alcohol."

Ramon looked at Beth as he continued chewing, arching a brow. She continued.

"I've never had one. 'Cause of my dad. But he's not exactly around anymore, so..."

"So you want to go find some?" Ramon finished her thought.

"Exactly."

Ramon finished his meal and wiped his hands on his pants. He thought about it for a moment.

"That's...uh..." He began as he looked ahead, then turned to her. "You really haven't drank before?"

"Never. You have, right?"

"Yeah. Definitely. Pfft." He quickly replied. "Of course. You know how college is."

"So...want to go look for some? We passed by that golf course earlier. Maybe..."

Ramon continued looking at her as he thought, deliberating if he should accept this quest for booze.

"What the hell?" Ramon raised his arms and slapped them back down on his knees. "We should live a little, right?"

Beth smiled and the two shared a laugh. Ramon looked up at the night sky.

"First thing in the morning then. We should turn out for the night. Sound good?"

The blonde nodded in agreement.

• • •

MIKA AND Y/N kept moving the next day. They ended up in a neighborhood within the town of Aldora. A red-brick house caught their eye and they decided to stop there for a bit.

The former shortstop held the gun up as he went through the door and checked their surroundings. Mika was still behind him with the knife. The coast seemed clear initially but Y/N wanted to make sure the other rooms were as well.

He went down the hall and checked the first room, opening the door and quickly seeing that it was empty.

"Kids' room is clear." He informed her.

He moved on ahead, seeing that the already opened bathroom was empty too. He moved to the next room, also seeing that it was open and vacant as well. The last room to check was the master bedroom ahead.

Y/N opened the door and peeked inside. There, he saw the bodies of a couple on the bed. They were long dead, as when he neared them...they already were decomposing and there was a pistol in the man's hand.

He put his gun in his waistband, looking on at the sight. Y/N let out an exhale.

"Y/N." Mika came into the room holding something. "Look what I—"

"Mika." He called out and tried to stop her from coming in, but she immediately saw the same thing he was seeing.

But, she wasn't deterred as he thought she'd be. All that happened was the excited face she had before was now replaced with one of dispirit.

"They gave up, didn't they?" She asked.

Y/N looked at the bodies and then back at her. He solemnly nodded.

"At least they did it together." Mika said.

The young man went up to the bed and grabbed the gun. Unfortunately, it was empty. He dropped it back onto the bed. Y/N then ushered themselves out of the room and closed the door.

"What was it?" Y/N asked, wondering what she was calling him for earlier.

Mika held out a doll that had long red hair. She smiled once again.

"I'm gonna name her...Griselda Gunderson."

A quick and rather weak smile formed on Y/N's face. It felt nice seeing that despite their current situation, the little girl was finding something to be happy about.

"I'm gonna go check the backyard. Maybe they got a shed that has some useful things."

"Can I come?" She asked.

Y/N just nodded and made his way toward the back door. Mika followed and they entered the yard. There was no shed...but something did catch their eye.

Next to a large tree, there was a small plot of dirt. It had a makeshift cross and another doll next to it. Y/N quickly realized that it was the grave of a little girl...likely of the dead couple inside.

Mika seemed to understand too. She looked at the doll she had, then walked up to the grave. The young man watched as she gazed down at it then placed the red-haired doll next to the other.

Y/N looked at Mika as she walked back. He didn't need to question her action since she told him immediately.

"She probably liked Griselda too."

• • •

THEY HAD GOTTEN passed some walkers in front of the country club building and entered. It was a rather horrible sight within, seeing the reanimated corpses of people who decided to hang themselves along with totally dead ones who had ended their lives with a bullet to the head.

Beth and Ramon crept passed the cots and piles of clothes and scattered items. Walkers pounded at the doors and they quickly moved through the dimly lit hallways.

Ramon pointed a flashlight at a sign, reading that the bar was on the far right side of the building. He let Beth know and they continued moving.

They crossed through the kitchen, scavenging for things on their way to their true destination. They split up with Ramon still looking through the kitchen and Beth searching a pantry, where she climbed up a shelf to get a wine bottle.

Once down, she left the room but was startled by a walker that came out of a nearby closet.

It grabbed her but she pushed it away, breaking the bottle over its head. It kept going and grabbed her again, and she tried stabbing the broken bottle into its face.

SULK!

SULK!

SULK!

That didn't work either. Fortunately, she was able to take her knife out and dispatched the walker with it.

SULK!

Its body fell to the floor. Ramon ran in with a gun drawn, which was actually Y/N's M1911. He looked down and saw the dead walker.

"You good?" He asked.

Beth nodded. Ramon holstered the pistol and motioned his head toward an exit.

"Come on. We're close."

The two walked into a shop within the country club. As Ramon looked around with his flashlight, Beth spotted a yellow shirt and a white sweater on a rack that she liked. She went into a fitting room nearby to put it on.

Ramon noticed that she wasn't around anymore. He harshly whispered as he gazed around.

"Beth? Beth!"

"I'm over here."

The blonde finished putting the fresh clothes on and walked out. Ramon looked at her and noticed her change of attire.

"Cash or credit?" Ramon joked as he tilted his head toward the register across the room.

Beth laughed. "You should get something too."

He shook his head. "Nah. These polos and ascots are little too white for mi sangre (my blood). That fits you perfectly though."

Ramon started walking away. Beth looked at her attire and then at him.

"That supposed to be a compliment or are you just calling me too white?"

The Latino didn't answer. They continued through the building when suddenly a grandfather clock tolled its bell. The two knew that it would alert any walkers in the vicinity.

"Let's move." He told her.

They jogged through the hallways and immediately heard growls and snarls. Ahead were a couple of walkers. They were about to go into another room but saw a few more.

"Shit!"

Ramon and Beth ran the other way and entered a lounge. A walker was stumbling ahead and Ramon quickly killed it with his switchblade.

SULK!

The duo continued through an exit and shut the door. From there, they moved down the hallway while following the directions to the bar on the signs.

Finally, they found it. The two could see the messy bar ahead along with overturned tables and glasses everywhere. They walked into the room.

"I know this is stupid." Beth began as she went up to the bar table. "But I don't care. I could've laid down and cried...I wanted to today, but we can't let ourselves do that. I want this."

Ramon looked at the eighteen-year-old, not saying anything for a couple of seconds until he nodded.

"It's not stupid. I get it." He looked toward the dilapidated bar. "So...what do we got?"

Beth got behind the bar and rummaged through. She only saw one bottle that had some liquid in it, placed it on the table, and sat back down.

"Peach Schnapps." She eyed the tag. "Is it good?"

"Never had it." He replied as he went toward the pool table, grabbing a ball and rolling it into a pocket.

"I thought you were a crazy college boy?" She teased.

"Well..." He rubbed his neck. "They didn't have that."

Beth started to open the bottle. Ramon stayed at the pool table and tried playing a bit for the heck of it. Suddenly, he could hear Beth sobbing at the bar. He looked at the blonde and wondered what happened.

She kept crying. Ramon put the cue stick down and went up to her.

"Uh...was it that bad?" He asked.

She wiped her eyes. "Sorry...I'm sorry. I don't know. Just—"

Beth sniffled, rather embarrassed from her sudden emotional outburst. Ramon grabbed the bottle and looked at it. If he had a say, it looked like a sad bottle of liquor.

"For what it's worth...my sister said Peach Schnapps fucking sucks." He put the bottle back down, thinking for a moment until an idea popped into his head. "I think...I think I know a place with better stuff. Shouldn't be that far."

"You do?"

Ramon nodded, leaving the bar and going toward the back exit. "Come on."

• • •

LATER THAT DAY, Mika and Y/N stumbled upon a small pharmacy on the outskirts of Yatesville. The inside looked pretty much ransacked already but it didn't hurt to keep searching.

They checked the aisles. Mika called out to him from one end and Y/N went over to see what she found.

"My dad loved these." She said as she held up a protein bar, the same one Y/N liked.

"Heh, those are my favorite too." He replied.

"Are they good?"

"I think so. Always had one with me during games."

"I forgot you played baseball."

He exhaled. "I forget too. Sometimes."

They then heard faint snarls nearby. The two crept up toward the front counter where the sound got more prevalent. Behind it was a door to what was possibly the owner's office, and through the small window they could see a walker.

Y/N felt like checking the office to see what it had. He took out his knife and was prepared to take it on but Mika stopped him.

"I got it."

"You sure?" He asked.

Mika nodded. The young man decided to trust her and moved to the door to open it.

"Remember what I said?" He asked her.

Mika nodded again. Y/N waited a couple of seconds before opening the door and stepping aside.

The walker immediately noticed Mika outside. It stumbled toward her, where she waited a bit before kicking in its knee and bringing it to the floor.

SULK!

She then stabbed it in the head and put it down. Y/N was content with her work.

"Good job."

Mika looked down at the corpse. "That was just one. If there are a lot of them...I can't keep...kicking and stabbing. That's when guns will help but I can't aim."

Y/N heard her complaints. As he looked at her, he suddenly saw his father appear in his peripheral vision.

"Are you fucking kidding me? She has to learn now. Pull her out there...give her the gun...and teach her until she can get a straight shot between the eyes."

Y/N ignored him and spoke to Mika.

"We'll get there." He motioned toward the office. "Let's see what's inside."

They entered the owner's office. All that was inside was a couch, a computer, cabinets, and a mini fridge. There was nothing in the fridge, sadly.

Mika sat down on the sofa. She then laid down and Y/N could tell she likely spent from the few-hour walk they just had to endure.

"Stay here, all right?" Y/N spoke. "I'm gonna double-check the aisles again and we'll get going."

"You don't want me to help?"

"Just rest a bit. I'm all right."

He slightly smiled. Mika nodded and continued laying down. Y/N left the office and shut the doors slightly before going back to the aisles.

Y/N did double-check. As he did, his father reappeared and spoke, though Y/N tried to pay him no mind.

"Look at you babying the fuck out of her. What are you doing?"

He didn't respond, still looking through the few items on the shelf. His father chuckled.

"Such a fucking disgrace. You can't care for her like her dad would before. Her legs hurt? So fucking what? You gotta show her that progress can't be met without pain."

"She's nine." Y/N finally replied.

"I had you sprint through the woods when you were fucking nine."

"And that's why I hated you, jackass."

"Little exercise get your panties in a twist?" He scoffed. "Paid off in the long run, didn't it? Your brother ran cross country. Your lap times were stellar preparing for the draft. And now? You don't get tired easily running from sons of bitches trying to kill you."

Y/N hated when he was right, which is why he didn't respond again. His father smirked as he knew he made a great point.

"That girl will die if you don't show her the important things. She will be ripped from you...just like your girlfriend and that boy."

Y/N turned to him and was about to retort, but his apparition disappeared and instead...he saw two men with weapons coming into the pharmacy.

He quickly dropped down and hid in the aisles. Y/N could hear them speaking as they walked deeper inside.

"What I tell you? Shit's been picked clean."

"Gotta be some good shit still, Brian. Maybe a porn mag. I gotta get my nut off."

"Gross ass Charlie. Don't say that in front of me again."

One of them walked into the aisle Y/N was in but he had slipped into another. He peeked out and saw Brian looking through some shelves. He turned around and Y/N quickly lowered his head.

"Find the porn?" Charlie called out.

"I ain't looking for your porn!"

"Bitch, check that office. Owner probably had something."

Brian groaned and made his way there. "If I find any I'm just gonna claim it myself."

Y/N's eyes widened as he saw the man go toward the office where Mika was at.

"Do something." He heard his father say. "Use that feeling deep inside you...you know it. Once you do, you're capable of damn near anything."

Charlie was still turned around and looking at shelves. Y/N quickly made his way toward the front counter. Brian opened the door and got a glimpse at Mika.

"What the—?"

Y/N lunged at him and placed his hand over his mouth, wrapping his other arm around his neck. A struggle ensued, and although tough to do, Y/N was still able to close the office door behind him.

Mika watched as the two men writhed around. Brian dropped the gun he had and Y/N used his weight to bring the man to the floor. He started to choke the man out while muffling his shouts.

Brian stared ahead at Mika, who was just staring back in shock at the predicament they were in. Soon, the man lost consciousness and Y/N let his body drop.

He got up and looked down at the man's unconscious body. For what was a split second in reality but way longer for him...his father reappeared and spoke to him.

"What are you waiting for? Kill him."

He hesitated but had his hand over the knife on his belt. His father watched him.

"You hesitate...you die. You'll regret it if you don't do it."

Y/N shook his head and mumbled. "He's already down."

"Y/N?" Mika called out, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"We gotta go." He said. "Now."

She quickly obliged. Y/N looked at the man's M1 Carbine on the ground and picked it up.

He went to the window and slid it open. He ushered Mika through it and then followed her out, leaving the unconscious man in the office with his colleague within the pharmacy oblivious to what just happened.

• • •

BETH AND RAMON walked through the woods toward the young man's destination. The two conversed as they did.

"Mathematics?" She asked, guessing what he was majoring in college.

"Hell no."

"Mechanical engineering?"

"Double no."

"Ugh. I give up. What was it?"

Ramon chuckled, feeling embarrassed about telling her. Beth noticed his shyness.

"What was it?" She asked again.

Finally, he admitted it. "Animal sciences."

Beth arched a brow, feeling as if he was lying. His silence let her know it was the truth.

"Animal sciences?" She repeated.

"I...was studying to be a veterinarian."

"No way."

"What's so surprising about that?"

"It's just..." She chuckled. "I didn't peg you for an animal lover."

"Oh, I do. A couple of weeks ago, I was thinking of taking a break from runs and getting my hands dirty with the pigs and horses. Thought of maybe asking Maggie or Hershel for..."

He stopped after saying their names. Beth also didn't say anything. Their silence was broken when Ramon spotted the run-down building ahead.

"We're here."

They walked closer to it. Beth questioned what it was.

"I found this place on a run with Y/N and Michonne. Should have what we need."

"I thought you'd take me to a liquor store."

"Nah. Besides, this could be better."

Ramon entered a shed beside the building. There, he saw a crate filled with bottles and jars of clear liquid. He picked it up and went back outside.

"What is this?" Beth asked.

"Moonshine." He replied. "Y/N thought about bringing some back but we had nowhere to put it in our bags."

Ramon motioned to Beth to open the door of the building. She did and Ramon went inside with the crate, putting it down on the table. Beth looked through another door and made sure the place was empty.

"Well...viola." He opened his arms as he looked at the jars.

"Is it good?"

"Never had it." Ramon said again. "But...it should be fun to try."

He took out a jar and poured one into a cup, placing it in front of Beth who had sat down. She eyed it but was hesitant.

"What's the matter?" Ramon asked.

"Nothing. It's just...my dad said bad moonshine can make you go blind."

"For real?" He picked up the jar and looked at it too. "Well...what's worth seeing nowadays anyway?"

That was enough to convince Beth. She picked up the glass and took a sip from it, making a face of repugnance.

"That's the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted." She said.

Ramon chuckled and took a sip from the jar. His reaction was the same but quicker. Beth took another swig and ended up finishing it.

"Second round's better."

"I'll take your word for it." Ramon replied and drank it again, he put it down and shook his head. "Phew. Wow. Yeah."

Beth eyed him for a moment, taking in his reaction to the drink.

"Be honest with me now."

"Hmm?"

"Have you...really drank before?"

Ramon put his hands on his waist. "Ye—yeah, I told you."

Beth just looked back at him. Ramon ended up breaking the guise under her gaze and let out a sigh.

"No...no I haven't." He admitted.

"Why the cool guy act then?" She asked then tried imitating him. "Of course. College days, am I right?"

Ramon chuckled then looked down for a moment. He moved his hands off his waist and crossed his arms.

"Almost everyone I knew would drink. I was always out of place. Even at functions...I was either outside or just sitting there, picking up not one cup."

Beth nodded, though she wondered why he had never done so.

"Parents' example too?" She asked.

"More so...to avoid their example."

Ramon leaned on the wall nearby, fiddling with his hands as he started to explain.

"They were heavy drinkers. So bad to the point that my sister basically was the head of the house. Took care of me when they were too drunk to even know or care what the hell we were doing. I just saw that and thought...I'm never going to be like that. I'm never going to choose a bottle over...over my kid."

The blonde felt for the young man. Beth remembered how her father said he was once an alcoholic but gave it up the day Maggie was born. Unlike Ramon's parents, Hershel didn't let booze stop him from raising his children right.

She nodded, looking up from her glass and then back at him.

"I love that. You were already thinking of your family." Beth said. "That makes you way cooler than the fake college partyer act."

Ramon laughed at her statement. He looked at the crate of moonshine.

"But it was nice having my first drink, with you at least. Good to live a little, like I said. Especially now."

Beth chuckled, looking at the crate as she did. An idea popped into her head.

The two sat across each other on the floor with a coffee table in between them. They had their jar of moonshine with them as it was a crucial part of the game Beth had conjured up.

"So first I say something I've never done and if you have done it, you drink, and if you haven't, I drink. Then we switch."

"So...never have I ever?" Ramon asked.

"Yes. You know it?"

"Don't need booze to play this. How do you know this game?"

"My friends played. I watched." She replied. "Okay, I'll start."

Ramon nodded, sitting back against the bottom of the couch.

"I've never...been to college. So now you drink."

The young man chuckled. He already knew Beth knew that he was in college so that was basically a gimme.

"That's unfair." He drank from the jar. "The world ending stopped you from going too."

"More of a warm-up. Now you go."

Ramon thought for a moment. "I've never lived on a farm."

Beth chuckled. "Come on."

"Last one was obvious. This one is too. We're even now."

The girl took a swig. She was up next.

"I've never...missed out on my homework."

"You're bullshitting." Ramon shot back.

"Never. Always on time."

He shook his head and took a drink. "I was a habitual late-work submitter."

"Your turn." Beth told him.

Ramon rubbed his chin and looked at her.

"I've never not lied to my parents."

"What?" Beth was confused about the wording.

Ramon didn't respond, hoping it could confuse her and make her take a sip.

"So, basically...have I ever lied to my parents?"

He shrugged.

"Well, I have." She said.

"All right."

"So that means you have to drink."

Ramon let out an exhale at his failed big-brain play. Well, it wasn't big brain. Ramon was just goofy like that. He did as told and drank from the jar.

"Okay." She looked at her jar. "My turn."

"Shoot." Ramon said.

Beth took a breath in. She tapped her fingers against the glass. Ramon stared at her waiting for what she had to say.

"I've never had sex."

That statement would've been spit-take worthy if Ramon had a drink in his mouth. But all he did was sit there, nibbling on one of his nails.

He looked calm but his mind was racing, trying to decide if he should take a swig and act like he has definitely gotten laid before...or not, and be totally honest.

"You—you gotta be lying. A cute girl like you?" Ramon stammered, then trailed off. "You've really never...?"

Beth shrugged, laughing a little bit and was unable to look at him anymore.

"I mean...I fooled around with Zach. Kissing...other stuff. But we never did it, you know? He was always trying to...but I don't know. I never felt ready."

Ramon just sat still, not shaking his head or giving a nod.

"That's good. Shouldn't do it if you don't want to."

Beth noticed that he still hadn't drank the moonshine. Ramon glanced at it too.

"You're not gonna drink?" She asked.

He looked at the jar again, rubbing his chin. He ultimately decided not to. The act surprised the blonde and little by little she started to realize.

"You haven't either?"

The young man finally shook his head. He inhaled and propped his arm on the knee by his chest.

"Never....um—" He cleared his throat. "Never found the right person. As cliche as it sounds."

The room was quiet. Tension seemed to grow as the silence continued. For a moment the two forgot they were even playing a drinking game. Abruptly, the blonde spoke again.

"Should we...?"

Beth trailed off and Ramon, with a closed mouth, quietly laughed. He was taken aback by the implied request.

"Beth..."

"I don't know if I'm the right person. But is there even a right person out there now? I've always thought of waiting until marriage but..."

She trailed off again. Ramon looked at her, covering his mouth with his hand as he tried to think of a way to respond.

She continued. "Can you even get married now? And can you even know for sure if you'll make it then? We could die tomorrow. We could die in the next ten minutes. Why should we deny ourselves this?"

"That must be the moonshine talking." Ramon remarked.

"I'm not drunk. My dad always warned me about drinking and the possibility of being taken advantage of. I know what I'm saying. I know what I want."

Ramon stood quiet. He let out a quiet sigh as he looked to his right in thought. Beth got up from the floor and stood over the still-sitting man.

"I'm sorry if I've been too forward. If you don't wanna...then that's fine. Just...like I said, we don't know how long we'll last past this day. It's best to live in the now."

Ramon finally looked up at the blonde girl. He took in her words and he realized she had a point. Just a couple of days ago, everything was fine and they had a home...friends...a future, and now it was gone. To them, it seemed like they were all that was left.

The young man stood up from the floor, taking the jar and drinking from it. Beth questioned what that was for as he put it back down.

He swallowed the liquid. "For your turn, because technically...I'm about to."

(A/N: *Blasts Careless Whisper once again*)

Beth chuckled quietly. They stood there for a moment until she leaned in for a kiss. Ramon went in and captured her lips, the embrace started tenderly.

He slowly moved his hands to her sides and then down to her waist. Beth had placed her hands on his shoulders and kept them there as they continued to kiss.

She then lightly moved themselves toward the couch behind the man, pushing him a bit to where he sat back on it. Beth tore away from him for a moment but quickly straddled him and started kissing him again.

Ramon moved his hands from her waist and up her back. He placed a palm on the back of her head and deepened their kiss, causing Beth to start using her tongue. She was granted access as he opened his mouth more.

He moved his other hand underneath her yellow shirt and up to her chest. Ramon splayed his hand over her small breast and rubbed his thumb over her nipple. She moaned amidst their kiss and it produced a new thrill for the young man.

It went even further, with Ramon squeezing and pinching them. Beth was loving all of it, as her breath hitched and began to grind herself on his lap.

"Keep doing that." Beth whimpered as she stopped kissing for a moment.

The separation from his mouth was short-lived as Ramon captured her lips again. Instincts dictated his upcoming actions as he ran his tongue over her bottom lip, then to her jaw, then to her collarbone. Beth couldn't believe what the young man was doing to her and for a moment she thought he had been lying about his inexperience.

"Oh, my God." She whined.

Beth moved her hips faster against him and a groan left Ramon's mouth. His erection was trying to break free from his jeans and she could feel it. The heat coming from her center was making things uncomfortable and they needed to proceed to the next phase.

Ramon shifted and laid Beth on her back on the couch. He leaned over her and continued to kiss the blonde. He then moved his hands to her jeans and started to pull them down by the waist.

To his surprise, Beth had no underwear on. The sight of her wetness made his erection ache even more. He fumbled with his own jeans and ended up taking them off too.

He actually had boxers on but took them off immediately afterward. Beth watched as his member sprung free, and a part of her was kind of worried.

"Uh..." Ramon began. "Friends of mine said it might hurt at first."

"Mine too." She admitted.

"I'll—I'll go slowly. You let me know how slow...when to stop. Okay?"

She nodded, appreciating his reassurance and grateful that he didn't just go in immediately. He cared for how she felt and put her first and foremost.

Ramon lubricated his penis with his saliva then ran it along her most folds, adding some more wetness. He slowly inserted it into her vagina, watching Beth's face as he did.

Her face contorted a bit as she let out of breath. He pulled back out and went back into her tight canal slowly again.

"Are you all right?" Ramon asked quietly.

She nodded her head. "Keep going."

Ramon obliged and tried going deeper. This time Beth reacted with a sharp gasp which startled him.

"Did I do something—?"

"No. No." She interjected. "It—it's good. It's very good."

He nodded and kept going, having passed the barrier earlier and now able to thrust deeper without much discomfort for either of them.

The small room was filled with their moans, gasps, and other sounds of sex. Ramon continued to thrust into Beth, leaning in and planting a kiss on her lips.

"Everything going well?" He breathed out.

Beth just smiled, pulling him back in for another kiss as they continued their lovemaking.