NOVEL WEB S2E49 – The Way Home
[Narrator POV]
The way out was rather uneventful for the group. The walkers were more interested in the large group of people actively shooting at them than the small group quietly slinking away. On the way back, Penny takes her spot in the back of the truck, cradling her rifle and lying down. Her hair, uneven and ragged, flutters in the wind caused by the movement of the truck.
She says nothing, and neither does Gerard, as he knows he can’t say anything that wouldn’t just make it worse. Tears begin to form in her eyes, while her quiet sobs are carried away by the wind.
As the group arrives at the farmhouse, Penny wipes away her tears and sits up. As the truck comes to a stop, she hops out and immediately notices the concerned look on everyone’s faces. Unknowingly, Penny had wiped the dried blood across her face, causing her to look like she had been through hell and back. The cuts from near misses and scars from previous fights add to this as well, giving her the image of a hardened survivor.
She stands in front of the group as the three that came with her walk up behind her. She speaks with purpose, not revealing any of the underlying mess of emotions she’s feeling,
“There was a-uh… A pretty big group in the town. We’d found a family that’d been lined up and executed, so we assumed they were hostile. After taking a few of them out, we headed inside the pharmacy where the bastards used another family as human shields…”
Penny pauses for a second to keep her voice from breaking,
“I shot through a wall and… Uhm… I killed them.”
She pauses for another second and fights back the urge to tear up,
“After that, we were stuck in the building for a while being shot at before I got up on the roof and cleared out the alleyway. We were able to slink away after the walkers of the town started rounding up after the gunshots.”
Penny takes a deep breath before continuing on,
“So… Uh… We didn’t get any food. We’ll have to break out the MRE’s. Sorry guys…”
After speaking, Penny begins to walk away, returning to her truck where she opens up the back door and lies on the back seats. Amy goes to talk to her, but Andrea grabs her arm, shaking her head no. The group talk to each other, with Shane giving a more detailed version of the encounter.
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Clem didn’t really understand what had happened. She saw the truck come back, but was too busy eating in the kitchen to hear the entire conversation. By the time she had gotten outside, all she saw was Penny covered in blood and heading to the truck.
Her little heart sank. Images of Lee’s death sparked back to her mind as without thinking, she ran as fast as her legs could carry her. After Penny closed the door, Clem climbed up the truck, just barely reaching the handle to the door. As she pulls it open, she falls down to the ground onto her butt before getting back up and crawling inside.
She looks down at Penny, finding her facing away and covering her face. Clem speaks out softly,
“P-Penny?”
Penny, who at this moment was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t even noticed the door opening, was shocked back to reality by the girl's voice. She quickly turns around, startling Clem. Looking up, she finds the girl in tears with worry. All Clem can say through sobs is,
“P-please don’t die… Please…”
Penny’s heart melts as the little girl pours her heart out, the weight of Lee’s death still clear for her to see. She hadn’t noticed, but any time that Penny leaves the group, Clem sort of shuts herself away. She finds herself unable to relate to the rather positive and naive natures of both Carl and Sophia, and the adults tend to treat her as they do the other two.
While yes, Penny treats her like a child, she doesn’t overly baby her like the group tries to. Penny is the one true friend Clem has.
Penny, seeing the girl crying her eyes out, takes the girl into her arms while speaking in a soft voice,
“Don’t worry, Clem… I won’t leave you alone… I promise you.”
She brings her into a warm hug, holding the girl there for a few seconds and letting her cry into her shoulder. Clem mutters something under her breath, quiet enough to where Penny can’t hear it,
“Not you too…”
Penny lays back with the girl, rubbing her back as she slowly cries herself asleep. Penny herself is soon overcome with the exhaustion the day has piled onto her, feeling her entire body being weighed down from both the fights as well as the emotions. Her slow running of Clem’s back eventually slows down as she mutters something, her mind speaking out loud,
“I’ll protect you…”
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AN: big sick
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