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The Hunter Within

No Sanctuary

Squinting against the midday sun, Sophie watched the second section of her group as they completed the cliché obstacle course. Her own muddy elbows were resting on the knees of her ridiculously uncomfortable issued uniform as she bit down into her sandwich. From where she sat, leant up against the sidewall of the mess hall, she could overlook the entirety of the training grounds and the field approved soldiers that were training on the other side. Curiously, she studied each of the small figures fighting techniques as they ran through bladed, close quarter fighting. Picture her own, currently stashed, weapon; Sophie knew that close quarter training didn’t mean anything when the person you were fighting didn’t have to get close.
Not that they’re training to hurt humans, she warned herself, forcing her gaze back to the other recruits, catching sight of Vincent from the corner of her eye. As he moved towards her, it was evident that he was much less sweaty than her, the male recruits having been subjected to medical and psychological testing, while she had been scheduled in for physical assessment. Though she had been subjected to more organized exercise than she had done in a long time, she couldn’t help but wonder if the questions they had in store for her later that afternoon would make her sweat even more.
“There you are!” He beamed as he came into earshot, only sparing the crowded cafeteria a quick glance. “How did you go?”
Sophie chewed at her lip as he lowered himself down next to her, shooting the much larger man daggers as he scooped up the second half of her lunch. Instead of contesting it, her stomach feeling heavy enough as it was, she just sighed. “They put a cross next to my name, ‘cause I couldn’t do all the pushups. They tried to be sneaky about it, but its pretty fucking hard to ignore the red pen.”
“Don’t you only have to do ten?” He raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing on his lips as he chewed her sandwich. Sophie didn’t say anything, only twisting to pull back the thick material of her issued shirt, showing him the less than pretty scar that adorned her shoulder. The torn apart muscle still ached on occasion, the weight of pushups being one of those instances. “You were shot? Like… With an actual bullet?”
“No, I was shot with a pretend bullet.” Sophie’s tone was thick with sarcasm as she threw the man a confused look before turning back to the field before her in search of something to keep her eyes busy. An expecting silence settled in over them, Vincent’s eyebrows raised and merciless. “It’s not a big deal, it was all just a misunderstanding and the guy and I are – were – on good terms.”
“Are you kidding me?” Vincent laughed, raised eyebrows furrowing together as he ran a hand through his thick hair. “Do you even hear yourself? Are you even real?”
“You’re telling me that after all that time on the road, nothing like that ever happened to you? You have never been shot at?”
“I was shot at plenty!” He exclaimed, evidence of disbelief playing at his features. “But it was never a misunderstanding, and I never ended up on great terms with them! People don’t shoot at you unless they want to kill you, Sophie, has anyone ever explained that to you?”
“He was Daryl’s brother.” She tried to defend herself, as if it would make everything fall into place. As if Vincent would or could understand what that meant, how it changed everything. “I didn’t really have a choice.”
Daryl? Daryl as in the guy your redhead friend was talking about? From your own group?” He went wide-eyed, a sense of confusion lacing his tone. “I’m sorry, but that doesn’t really make it okay.”
“Whatever,” Sophie mumbled, biting back the tears that pricked at her eyes at the thought of Merle. “He ended up saving my life just a few days before I met you, died for me actually, so I think that makes it okay. People change.”
“Still a little messed up,” Vincent spoke softer, an apologetic tone playing at his words, guilt seeping into his features as his eyes moved to where the other recruits were beginning to finish up. “Did you end up getting those new boots?”
“Yeah.”
Vincent glanced down at her feet, reaching out to squeeze at the toe, as if she didn’t know how to fit her own shoes. “How did they handle the course?’
“They were fine.” She nodded, tightening the laces. They were more than fine, the best shoes she had ever worn, the only plus side to the uniform she was forced to wear, as if it really mattered what they had on. “How did you go with Teddy? Find the daycare all right?”
“Yup.” He nodded, popping the p before taking a moment to finish off his claimed half of the sandwich, eyes still out on the field before them. “He really seemed to like the minder there. He started crying the second I tried to walk out the door, though, I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I thought you were going to cry when you left this morning,” Sophie teased, suppressing the smirk that threatened on her lips as she shot the man a playful glance, daring him to deny it.
“Jordan, the girl there, she asked about you.” He ignored the jab, standing up to offer Sophie a hand. Her already dampened mood soured a little more at the thought, knowing exactly why she would be asked after. “Maybe you should pick him up this afternoon, or take him tomorrow morning. Keep up appearances.”
“You want me to do the school run now?”
“Don’t be like that, please. Good luck in there.” He sighed, moving towards where the men were congesting around the obstacle course. Sophie waved him off, turning towards the medical building before a low whistle beckoned for attention. She turned to find Vincent moving towards her, eyeing off those passing by almost wearily, his voice low. “They might ask you about how we met, they asked me, I just told them that you were on holiday and we hooked up one night. No strings attached, until Teddy came along, that is. You met me in Jacksonville to fly back to my family, but we were grounded and after he was born, we were separated somewhere in Georgia.”
“Got it.” Sophie grimaced, rolling her eyes as she turned on her heels once more, trying to get the story down. More trouble than it’s worth, she sighed, glancing over her shoulder to find Vincent hovering in his place, eyes on her. A sense of guilt sat heavy on her shoulders, realizing that he was probably just as lonely as she was, the only difference being that he was truly alone, that with the exception of Teddy, he had been for a long time.
The others in her section were already crowding the same room that most of them had sat in together the night before. This time, they mingled with each other, laughing in the walkway instead of slumped in their seats. Unfamiliar faces filled the room even further, people who have been waiting for the next recruitment process a lot longer than Sophie had too. Some of them too injured to go through it when they arrived and others having failed before. Unsure of herself, Sophie sourced a seat in the back of the room, hugging her knees close enough to rest her chin on one of them.
Watching the different groups around the room, she suddenly found herself longing for Vincent’s unwavering determination to get to know her, as if to cement her guilt a little further. She found herself longing Daryl and the rest of her family even more, but they were states away, well out of her reach. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sophie thought back to the person she had been before the turn, back to how easily she would have dissolved into the room around her. Eyeing off the group closest to her, the women lost in stories from the road, she couldn’t help but feel like an outsider, having grown so accustomed to her own close-knit group turned family. While others had been forced to adapt to various groups, to various social situations out on the road, she had not had to face the challenge of starting over again, until now.
Dropping her legs, Sophie rubbed at her eyes, desperate to ignore the unfamiliar voices that swam around inside her head. With each shaky breath she took, it felt as if the walls were closing in on her, as if the people in the shrinking room were multiplying. Her skin felt too warm, her lungs too heavy as a sense of overwhelming panic threatened to consume any shred of rationality she had remaining. With trembling hands, she dug into the front pocket of her scratchy pants, fingers curling around the cool plastic of the tiny photo she had hidden there. Almost cautiously, she pulled it from its hiding place, brushing her thumb over Daryl’s crimson tinted face as she worked at taking in deep breaths, stale air filling her constricted lungs.
She might have felt alone within the crowded room, but looking at his face, she knew that she wasn’t alone in life. Biting down on her trembling lip, Sophie fought against the panic that welled in her joints, the same panic that worked to constrict her muscles and force the air from her lungs, assuring herself that she would find him. Sophie’s heart slammed against her chest as she glanced around the room once more, finding herself searching for Maggie, for Michonne, Beth or Sasha, for anyone among the feminine faces. Instead, she found that she was not as alone in being alone as she thought, other women looking just as out of place as she felt scattered among the larger groups. Taking in another deep breath, she began to watch them just as she had studied the soldier’s train earlier. You’ve got more important things to worry about than making friends, she decided, shoving the photo back into her pocket, you have a family to find.
“This seat taken?” A familiar, welcoming voice spoke as she settled back into her seat, abrupt enough to send her flinching away. Correcting herself, Sophie smiled up at the blonde as she slipped into the seat next to her. “How is your shoulder?”
“It’s fine.” Sophie lied, surprised that Chloe had remembered her injury, the only length of time they had spent together was on the fence before the prison became much more populated. “How did you go this morning?”
“Yeah, good, thanks.” She smiled genuinely, eyes going to Allison as she took the seat beside her, the redhead ignoring Sophie’s own gaze. I refuse to let you drag me down for their sake, her words still echoed through her mind, for a group that only cares about themselves. “Are you going to tell them? About everything that happened with the Governor back home?”
Sophie’s snapped back to Chloe at the question, frowning when she realized that she hadn’t thought about it, she hadn’t even thought to think about it. Leaning forward onto her knees, she watched as the first few people were called in, once against nervous as to what they would actually ask. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t even know what to tell them, to be honest.”
“I think I’m going to tell them.” The blonde nodded, her eyes following Sophie’s. “You guys took in people that had lived in Woodbury, and Rick tried to take the high road in the end. I don’t think it will be a problem.”
Sophie just nodded, gaze dropping to her booted feet, the Governor’s screams sending goosebumps up the back of her neck as she thought back to when she had last seen the man that had single-handedly ruined her life. “Maybe just tell them about the things that happened while you were there. I don’t know what you’ve heard about before, and I don’t want rumors floating around before the others even get here.”
“Not rumors if they’re true,” Allison spoke in a somewhat sing-song tone, her eyebrows raised as she leant forward to peer around Chloe. “I heard that Rick was going to trade Michonne to save the rest of you, to the Governor, knowing that he would probably kill her. Horribly.”
Sophie frowned, her eyes boring in on the redhead across from her as she tried to make sense of it. “Who did you hear that from?”
“Nobody in particular.” Allison shrugged, settling back down into her seat. “I’m sure it’s just one of those rumors anyway. Rick is totally sound of mind and would never do something like that to anyone.”
“I thought he and Michonne had a thing going on?” Chloe frowned, missing the other girls somewhat sarcastic, passive aggressive tone. Sophie shifted in her seat uneasily, there weren’t many people who knew about that and all of them were people that resided in C block alongside of her. People she trusted.
“As I said.” She bit her tongue, her eyes darting to the hallway as the large group of selected women filtered out of the room. “Just don’t talk about anything you weren’t actually there for.”
“Adam said that they are a whole heap of really personal questions, but they didn’t ask anything that made him feel like he had to talk about the prison in detail.” Chloe continued, leaving Sophie to wonder why the other girl had even bought it up in the first place, if she already knew that it didn’t really matter. “He just mentioned that he spent some time there.”
She just nodded in response, pulling her knees up to her chest as the trio slipped into a somewhat awkward silence. It wasn’t awkward enough for Sophie to want to do anything about it, but it was enough to make her realize how little she actually knew about two people that she had essentially been living under the same roof with. Closing her eyes, she remembered back to the conversations she would have with the occupants of D block, always taken about by the things that they knew about her, about Daryl, Rick and the others, while they in return, barely knew anything about those same people. Maybe Allison is right, something nagged at her, guilt seeping in through the cracks in her resolve, maybe we really did only care about ourselves.
Maybe that’s okay, the stubborn part of her resolve fought back, digging its feet in, maybe it’s okay to look out for your own. Reopening her eyes, Sophie watched as time dragged by around them, different groups being called away, disappearing down the hallway and taking their body heat with them. He joints had begun to ache, her fingers tapping on the arm of the bolted down chair as impatience began to settle under her skin. Chloe occasionally broke the silence with polite conversation, offering comment on the people in the room, or wondering aloud about the questions that they might be asked.
It felt like hours had passed when Sophie’s name was called, her head snapping to the sound, her stomach dropping as she realized what was coming. Standing on shaky legs, she moved towards the same hallway she had the night before, suddenly missing how Vincent’s large frame had seemed to consume the space around her. The groups of strangers were lead passed where they had been interviewed the night before, up the corridor where they were asked to take another seat, to wait until someone came to collect them. Swallowing the lump in her throat, Sophie moved towards a seat by a girl who couldn't have been much younger than herself and wondered if she looked as scared as the other girl did.
“Sophie Lewis.” A friendly voice beckoned, her stomach twisting – as if it were being rung out – at the sound of her name. She looked up at the man, much younger than the one from the night before and changed her course, shuffling towards the door as her heart slammed against her chest. The room was much the same as the other was, the chair she was offered still too close to the desk for her liking. “My name is James, I was a psychologist before all this and I’m just going to ask you a few questions, but first, do you have any for me before we get started?”
“No.” Sophie breathed, eyes refusing to rest on the man before her as he studied her with a curious glance, his clipboard propped up on his bent knee.
“Okay, we’ll start with an easy one. Or not easy, depends on how you look at it.” He smiled, trying to be charming, trying to be inviting, calming, friendly, whatever. It didn’t matter to Sophie. “Do you have any family left?”
“Immediate, no.” She sighed, knowing that she had already answered all this, it was her reaction that he was studying. “Distant, perhaps. It’s hard to say.”
“I know the feeling. To be honest with you, I haven’t really thought about what my cousins, and aunties, and uncles have been doing much.” James smiled and Sophie bit back the urge to tell him that she didn’t care. Instead, she worked at keeping her face deadpan, at keeping him out. “Tell me a little bit about what you’ve been doing. You look healthy, one of the most healthy I have seen in a long time.”
“My group and I found this prison, the fences were still intact and after we cleared it out, we spent quite some time there.”
“What happened to it?”
Sophie froze at the question, her breath catching as she worked at composing herself, unsure what exactly had happened herself. One day, everything was fine, perfect even, and then the next, everything had fallen to pieces around them. Zack, the flu, the Governor… “People are greedy.”
James paused to scribble something down on his clipboard, instantly peaking Sophie’s curiousity. “In total, how long would you say you have spent by yourself since the beginning?”
Ummm…” She frowned, looking down into her lap as she tried to put together how long she had spent alone in Atlanta. Opening her mouth, Sophie remembered what Vincent had told them, about how instead of spending those first two months alone, she would have spent them with him. “None.”
“At all?” James raised his eyebrows, seemingly impressed. “You’re one of the lucky ones then. It’s listed here that you have a husband and baby with you?”
“He isn’t my husband.”
“My mistake.” The dark haired man smiled politely, turning back to his clipboard, silence falling over them for a moment. “You spent a lot of time separated from them? During the key months in your baby – Teddy’s – development, what was it like, believing that your only remaining family was dead?”
“It was hard, but you have to keep going.” She almost shrugged, pausing as James kept writing, his eyebrows furrowed together. “I’m sure you understand, that you’ve lost family. It tears you apart, but I’ve never been one for taking the easy way out.”
“How would you describe your relationship with your partner since finding each other once again?”
Sophie paused for a moment, her hands growing sweaty as she fought against the urge to drop her gaze. “It’s been rough. We’re both different people, but we’re also kind of the same, I suppose. That’s the problem.”
“So you would say that you’ve changed since the beginning?”
“Of course I have.” She snorted before she could stop herself, the room growing silent as James waited for her to elaborate. “Anyone that has managed to stay the same throughout this, must have been pretty messed up to begin with.”
“So you’re saying that you are messed up now?” He frowned, pen scratching against the paper. “I have a lot of people come in and say that they feel like they lost themselves for a little bit, that they lost sight of who they were, so, how would you say that you’ve changed since the beginning?”
“I used to worry about that, about losing myself to the brutality of the world around me, to the things that I had to do.” Sophie chewed at her lip, eyes dropping to her lap. “I used to ask myself what would have you done in all these situations, instead of asking myself what I should be doing. Who I was, wasn’t equipped for this world, the person I was would probably be terrified of who I am today, the things that I’ve done, hell the person I am today is scared of who I am, of the things that I’ve done… But I’ve come to realize over the last year, that it’s okay, because who I have become, has kept me and the people I love alive.”
“What are some of those things?” James pressed, his eyes regarding her with a sense of curiousity. “Some of those things that you’ve done, that scare you, even now?”
Sophie froze in her spot, cursing herself internally as the man waited with expecting eyes. “How many rotters have you killed?”
“Excuse me?”
“How many rotters have you killed?”
“I don’t know…” He searched, frown deepening as he regarded her with a sense of confusion. “A dozen, maybe two.”
“How many people?”
Silence engulfed the room, the tip of his pen barely touching the paper as he considered the question. “None.”
“Why?”
Why?” He frowned even further, dropping his crossed legs to lean forward over his desk, elbows propped up on the wooden surface. “Because I’m here to help them, I’m here to help us restart.”
“Until you kill someone, not even out of anger, but maybe just to keep yourself alive, to keep your loved ones alive, I’m not sure you will ever know what it’s like to be scared of yourself,” Sophie whispered, meeting the man’s eyes for a moment. “But I still feel that’s better than not being scared of yourself. If you can take someone’s life, if you have that kind of blood on your hands and you aren’t scared, then you’ve haven't just lost who you are on the surface, you’ve lost yourself. I might have lost sight of the person I was, but my values, are still the same. The person I am at my core, what I stand for, that’s still the same, it’s just a little harder to do.”
“You’re saying that it’s okay that you’ve killed people, because you’re afraid of yourself for doing it?”
“No, it’s okay because I still feel something.”
“I’m not sure if killing is ever okay.” James leant back in his seat again, crossing his legs and picking up his pen to scribble down the notes that he had missed.
“That’s because you haven’t met the people I have.” Sophie eyed off the neat, cursive writing curiously, her palms sweaty, the thought of Georgia seemingly slipping out of her reach. “I shot someone just the other day, I don’t know if I killed him, I don’t think I did. He and his friends had been hunting me down for two nights, they had killed my friend for trying to save me, because they thought I was something they could claim. As I said, I don’t think I killed him, but I hope I did. Humanity is lost, whether we want to admit it or not, and it can never be found with men like that roaming the forest, taking whatever and whoever they want.”
“So it’s up to people like you to cull them?”
“Would you rather be sitting across from me right now, or someone like him?” Sophie cocked her head, well aware of the hole she was digging herself, but too proud to care, too unwilling to second-guess herself because of some man who didn’t know any better and his scratchy pen. “Some man who has killed, who has raped and tormented, just for fun? Who isn’t scared of himself, who isn’t scared of anyone.”
The room fell silent as James and his pen danced across the page frantically, scribbling it all down before he forgot it, as if he would. Sophie leant back in her chair a little more, a feeling of numbing anger washing over her as she watched the pen move into two, overlapping lines, another cross. Taking in a deep breath, she fought against the urge to storm out of the room, knowing that she really had no one to blame but herself. Too stubborn for your own good, Daryl had laughed time and time again, but there was no laughing now. There was nothing endearing or amusing about her stubborn nature, it only ever got them into trouble, and, this time would be no exception.
“That will be all, you’ve just got your medical left and then you’ll be all done for the day.” James dismissed her with a fleeting glance and an uneasy smile. Sophie lingered in the chair for a moment, tears pricking at her eyes as she fought against the urge to beg, to plead. She needed to find her family, and she wasn’t going to be able to do it without that pass mark. “Up the hall, to your right.”
Realizing herself, she left the room without another world, heart sinking in her chest as she headed towards the exit. As she considered making a run for it and skipping out on the medical all together, one of the other girls stopped to direct her towards the right door, having just come from her own examination. Sophie paused by the door, taking in a deep, shaky breath as she knocked, eyes darting to the exit before she could stop them. Once again, she thought about blowing it off, not sure if it really mattered after no doubt failing both her physical and psychological testing. She wasn’t given a chance to do so, however, the door before her swinging open.
“Come in, come in.” The woman smiled warmly, ushering Sophie in through the door and into the pristine room. It looked like the past and feature had collided, sleek machines littering the floor, while old rugs and antiques accented the room. “We’ll make this quick, you’ve probably had a big couple of days.”
Sophie followed the small, middle-aged woman to the couch pressed up against the back wall, lowering herself down next to her. If she had thought all the other interviews were much to intimate for her liking, she couldn’t help but realize the shock she would be in for. “I’m Sophie.”
“Sophie, Sophie…” The woman mused, scanning down what appeared to be a list of names. “Ah yes, Sophie Lewis. I’m Amanda and I’m just going to be running through some tests, starting with your average physical examination.”
The examination proved to be exactly that, average, the tests being those that she would have expected from a doctor before the outbreak. There were no prying questions, no disapproving looks, just yet anyway. Sophie moved silently, doing as she was told as Amanda worked at checking her eyes, her ears, her teeth and mouth, her heart rate and blood pressure, her reflexes, weight, everything and anything that could be tested, was tested and Sophie couldn’t help but find comfort in that. Upon conclusion of the test, she was caught up on flu needles and even recommended exercises for the weak, unrepaired muscle in her shoulder.
“I can’t believe you’ve had a baby.” Amanda somewhat gushed as Sophie slipped her top back on after the more intrusive tests concluded, her disbelieving tone enough to make Sophie squirm. “I suppose that’s the benefits of being pregnant so young, I was much older when I had my first and I don’t think I’ll ever recover.”
“For a while there, neither did I.” She joked, forcing a smile on her face as the woman towards the large, wooden desk and the laptop perched upon it. It took Sophie by surprise, still taken aback by the power throughout the medical wing and mess, powered by large generators and solar power.
“Are you and your partner considering another?”
“Another… Child?”
“Yes.”
“No, no way.” Sophie grimaced, her thoughts going straight to Judith, to how hard it would have been if they had never found the prison. She froze at the thought, wondering for the first time, how Rick was handling life on the road with a baby, hoping that Beth was there to help him at the very least. It takes a village, Rick, Sophie had laughed one night while they shared guard duty, you don’t need to feel guilty.
“Probably a good idea.” Amanda agreed, pulling Sophie from her thoughts as she lowered herself back down onto the couch. Without question, the older lady worked at Sophie’s once wounded shoulder, moving it around to check for mobility. “So in that vein, have you been sexually assaulted or, have you been sexually active in the last couple of months?”
“No.” Sophie blushed, her thoughts instantly going to a pair of rough, calloused hands and knowing blue eyes before she could stop herself. The idea was enough to increase the supply of blood rushing to her cheeks, as if she were back in high school, being asked the same thing by her doctor for the first time.
Amanda stayed quite for a moment, concentrating on Sophie’s shoulder, frowning as it seemed to lock into place ever so briefly while pulling her arm back and forth. “Do you plan on it?”
Sophie paused, for the first time considering what might actually happen when she did find Daryl, considering what might happen between them. She was sure that she loved him back, sure that she wasn’t alone in this, but she also knew Daryl’s reluctance to simply kiss her, how long it had taken to just be able to touch his hand without him flinching away from her. “No.”
“Do you have any underlying issues from before the outbreak?” Amanda thankfully moved on, dropping Sophie’s arm. “Any history of family illnesses, cancers, abnormalities that we should do further testing on?”
“I don’t think so…”
“Then you’re all done for the day, sweetie!” The woman smiled, standing to lead Sophie towards the door. She paused for a moment, glancing to where her name was penned on the top of one of the sheets there, the bottom box void of either a cross or a tick. “Don’t worry, you passed with flying colours. The first one I’ve seen with no signs of poor diet or malnutrition, so that’s always a bonus, you’ve been looking after yourself. You might need to be more adamant about brushing your teeth, but that’s normal. Do your shoulder exercises, and take these for any pain. Other than that, you’re one hundred percent healthy. You should be proud.”
That’s one out of three, she sighed, managing a quick thank you, pocketing the medication as she turned to leave the room. Sophie's heart sunk in her chest as she headed towards the back door in search of somewhere quiet, the reality of it all coming crashing down around her. You’re never going to be allowed out there with that, she realized, voices bounding off the walls around her, the lights blinding and air stale as she pushed through the heavy, double doors. It was only then that Sophie realized just how long she had been in there, the sun beginning to set, the world around her growing grey. The smell of cooked meat and garlic wafted through the air, surprisingly going unappreciated by her empty, still upturned stomach.
Rather than heading back to her tent, Sophie moved away from the neat rows, not sure if she was ready to face Vincent and his questions just yet. Instead, she turned to move along the sidewall of the medical wing, towards the far end of the base. Keeping to the shadows, she searched for somewhere to wallow in her own self-inflicted, self-pity for a while, her hands feeling too empty as she moved passed the groups of strangers that seemed to be heading towards the mess hall. She wondered, for a moment, if Vincent would be looking for her, she wondered if she cared.
You’ve got to care, an old voice stirred deep down, taking her back to a time when she wasn’t sure if she could care about the same people that had become her family, her entire life, the reason she kept going after everything. Moving along the wall, she came to realize that she wasn’t going to be allowed to go anywhere in a long time, not until she could pass her physical at least, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t going to go anywhere and if she was going, she would need help. No matter how reluctant she was to admit it, she would need Vincent.
Clearing the sidewall, Sophie scanned the area before her, eyes brushing over the tall wire fences that closed off the rest of the base. Camouflage sheets were draped and secured along the chain link barrier, as if they could hide it, she joked, curiousity driving her forward. The world around her felt still, as if she were the only person left as she studied the fence from up close, following it towards the opening. Voices filtered in over the barricade as she paused by the only entry point, peering around the fence to find a line of familiar trucks, an intact building and open shelter centering the blocked off area while the other held lines of campervans, accommodations much better than her own were, most likely reserved for the officers and staff.
“Hey!” A deep voice called from back towards the trucks, Sophie flinched away as she stepped through the opening for a better look, curiousity getting the better of her. She stayed anchored where she was as the dressed soldier moved towards her, his eyes darting around the compound almost anxiously. “This is restricted access only, you’re not supposed to be in here, recruit.”
“I’m so sorry.” She stammered, following his pointed finger to the bright red sign beside her, forcing an apologetic smile onto her face. The man’s gaze bore down on her as she backed away, eyes brushing over the area once more as she fished for some kind of excuse. Trouble was the last thing she needed to get herself into. “I was just looking for the daycare.”
His anger faltered for a moment, eyes narrowing in on Sophie before leading her back out the way she had come, hand resting on her shoulder blade. “You were almost there, just took a wrong turn, it’s back towards the mess from here, wedged between it, the line up of trucks and this fence.”
She just nodded, mumbling a barely audible thank you before moving away from his hand and the fence behind her in the given direction, feeling careful eyes watching her retreating figure. The more distance she put in between her and the forbidden gate, the more suspicious it all began to seem, a sense of uneasiness settling in her bones as she glanced back over her shoulder at the now guarded opening. Frowning to herself, Sophie shook her head and crossed her arms limply, working to shove the thought from her mind. It nagged at her conscious, however, demanding to be let in, demanding to be acknowledged.
It didn’t take her long to clear the back wall of the makeshift hospital building, eyes going to the darkened, half-standing building standing in the shadows of the open mess hall. The area was lit up, the bodies packed into the too small area as the other soldiers, recruits and everything in between mixed, laughter filling the night. She kept to the shadows for a moment, watching the abnormally, normal scene before her with a sense of longing. Longing for her family. Still not feeling well enough to stomach a meal, Sophie opted to turning back towards the safety and isolation of her tent, her thoughts still back at the restricted area as she navigated through the crowds.
“Look who it is!” Vincent cooed as Sophie pushed through the loose hanging flap of the tent, surprised to find the unlikely pair sitting on the floor before her. Teddy abandoned the spoon full of mince squeal up at her, a toothy smile plastered on his face, along with what looked like a whole can of pasta sauce. “We couldn’t find you at dinner, thought you must have been back here.”
“Not hungry.” She sighed, stepping over the limbs that decorated the floor to lower herself down onto her bed.
“Rough day?”
“Yeah.” Sophie groaned, knowing that there was really no point lying. “I’m ninety-nine percent sure that I failed. How did you go?”
Vincent frowned, scooping up another spoonful for Teddy, hovering it by his mouth patiently. “Why do you think that?”
“I failed the psychological testing as well.” She laughed, knowing that if she didn’t she would probably cry. “Apparently I’m not mentally or physically fit enough to be out there. As if that wasn’t where they found me in the first place.”
“If it makes you feel any better, I failed my medical.” Vincent shrugged after a moment, his gaze on where she lay, fighting back the tears that threatened, fighting against the realization that her family was slipping away. “Apparently I’m too lean and a diet of canned fruit isn’t enough to sustain a man of my size.”
“That’s only one of three, though.”
“So it didn’t make you feel better?”
“Not quite.”
The room fell silent, the weight of the day sitting heavy on Sophie’s weary shoulders as she worked at kicking her boots off with little grace. Sleeping without them was something she had grown used to during her time at the prison, and while she noticed that Vincent had woken up with his still on that morning, she couldn’t bring herself to do so anymore. “What are we going to do then?”
We?”
“Yeah.” He laughed, pulling himself upright to sit against the frame of his single bed, his voice soft and genuine, grey eyes resting on her as the previous silence threatened to engulf them once again. “We’re with you now, you really can trust us. Well, you can trust me… I’m still not so sure about Teddy, he’s a bit of a shady character, if you were to ask me.”
Sophie couldn’t help but smile, glancing across the small living area to the little boy for a brief moment, eyes resting on the small head of red hair before flickering back to Vincent ever so briefly. “Yeah, I know…”





Notes

Welcome to season five, it's not as action-packed as the mid-season premiere today/yesterday (which this update is in honour of), but welcome none the less. I would ask you all what you are most looking forward too, but I think I know the answer to that already, so instead, tell me your thoughts about this restricted area? Why is it restricted?

Big, big, big thanks to Thanya, cally, Anxious_Geek, Sazzles and forgotten (I also thought the dance scene was adorable, I can imagine him trying not to look like he is enjoying it and his feet dragging along the ground). I look forward to sharing season five and onwards with you all x

Comments

Who's here on 2020 for a re-read? :D

Tee- Tee-
4/17/20

@QueenUchi

New readers make my heart sing, especially when they start this journey ten months after I ended it (abit abruptly but we won’t get into that because it’ll make me sad again).

Thank you you so much for leaving a comment. Nothing is more motivating for the unmotivated than a little bit of love. Whenever I get a comment from someone new all I find myself wanting to sit down and grill them with a million different questions.

If youre chasing updates about any eventual stories I write, please follow me on instagram @ sophyl_

Thanks a million again!! xx

aryaaa aryaaa
11/28/18

thank you @sanders151 for recomending me this fanfic

Your fanfic has been in the center of my life for the whole month November. Let me just tell you that im in love with everything about this story. Im even at loss of words about how amazing this journey has been.

There have been moments when i actually had to get up and calm down from all the feelings may they be joy sadness or just extreme suffering. Ive been cheering, i've been crying to the point of ugly sobbing, ive been screaming while reading this all.

I dont even know how to tell you how i feel about this fanfic there arent any words for it so ima just AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH about it cause thats the closets that i can think off "insert all the feelings i cant express here"

I am just so thank full for all your time and effort and everything youve put into this story. Cause WOW youre an amazing writer and when you do make your original story please do know that I WOULD LOVE TO READ THAT TOO.

This journey has ended but it will forever be in my heart.

QueenUchi QueenUchi
11/27/18

@Sanders151

I was so surprised to see a new notification on this story after all these months. Thank you so much for taking the time
to comment, I hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve read since. Please feel free to leave me updated on your thoughts xx

aryaaa aryaaa
11/25/18

Hello,

It's been a looong time since i've read this story. Life got busy and i totally forgot to finish it.

SO i decided to reread everything and lemme tell you...I STILL LOVE IT AS MUCH AS THE FIRST TIME.
Im currently at chapter 62 (right after fort hill) and i can't wait for what is to come.


Sanders151 Sanders151
11/15/18