FLASHBACK: VA - Snow Family Home (Day 1-2)

[DarkSideCookie]

Virginia - Snow Family Home

The home of the Snow family, located five blocks from the hospital in Virginia.

[Ariel]

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Flashback: DAY 1

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Surreal. 

The only way to describe the feeling that pulsed through ingrid's veins. Her journey from the hospital to her home by foot was no walk in the park. Yet she was smart and resourceful of the special skill set she possssed, so she made it. Just barely. Everything had appeared so hazy to Ingrid as she shot down oncoming walkers and dodged the nearby ones just to get home in once piece. Was this all a dream? There's no way this hell on earth was happening. No chance.

Things felt as if her family was about to barge through the front door at any given moment. Groceries for dinner in one hand, a comedic classic movie rental in the other. Mom, dad, Enid,  the twin, Ingrid. Lucille. Making small talk about each other's day over mom's famous home made pizza and rock paper scissor wars over who was entitled to the last slice. Cozying around the living room in blankets with snacks as laughter filled the room over the movie on TV. Any minute, they would be here.

And as if nothing had changed in the world, as if chaos wasn't burning society to the ground, Ingrid went on about her day as if time wasn't standing still. The shock of the situation was over bearing as Ingrid took a shower, got dressed and casually braided her hair like she did every other normal day. The only difference was that this was not any other normal day. And her family wasn't coming back. 

The reality of the situation didn't dawn on her until she mozied on downstairs to the kitchen. Standing at the island, in the middle of the room a strong stench of bleach hit her nostrils. She saw the blood stains her grieving mother had so desperately attempted to scrub out of the floor. Peering down , she was in the exact same spot her father had stood in when he made the most difficult decision of his life. Then her ears picked up the moans and scratches of the dead ones roaming about outside. The shock had worn off as Ingrid slid down to the floor and mourned the life she once had and for the people she loved. This kind of pain just couldn't be real. And yet, it was.

A while later, as the sun began to fall behind the trees, Ingrid sat up from the floor. Looking up and around, her stunned complexion gazed at the windows on the bottom level, and at that moment all she could think of was that if she didn't shield the windows somehow that she wouldn't last a night in this house. After several minutes passed, Ingrid mustered enough strengt to carry herself to the garage where the tools and wood that she needed were beckoning her. 

Shoving as many wooden planks under her arms as she possibly could, Ingrid carried them all over the living room and kitchen as she hammered them to the windows. The dead seemed more occupied with the wooded park across the street to be bothered by Ingrid's house, however she knew it was only a matter of time until they migrated to her front lawn. In that case, she had to be ready. Hammering the last plank, Ingrid was exhausted. Everything she had within her was drained and she was just done with the world for the night. Walking back into the garage she threw the toolbox back on a bench. As she began to walk out, a rectangular box caught the corner of her eye. A box she was once familiar with not long ago. Ingrid kneeled on the ground as she laid the box down and lifted the cover. There, resting inside the box did Ingrid uncover something that brought back so many fond memories. 

"Hello, old friend," Ingrid's voice was raspy and hoarse from emotionally exerting herself for a long period of time, but sparked an inkling of joy as she picked up her bow. It felt so good holding it in her hands again as the last time she had used it was the day before Lucille's diagnosis. Ingrid's sense of loss diminished slightly as her bow remembered Ingrid of who she was. Something she hadn't felt in a really long time. Spotting her case full of arrows, Ingrid plucked one away from the rest and standing up she drew it back in her bow. Deep breath in, deep breath out. Zooming past her face, the arrow speared right through the bag of acorns she had aimed for. Bullseye. Ingrid paused as she stared down at her bow in complete contempt. For a moment, Ingrid felt like everything made sense in the world once more. And for once, Ingrid did not feel completely alone.

[Ariel]

*** The Next Day ***

Ingrid's eyelids slowly opened at the pooling light that danced on her face through the window of her bedroom upstairs. How long was I asleep for, Ingrid wondered mentally as she treated her arms and legs to a full body stretch. The air felt serene, almost peaceful. Exhaling, Ingrid closed her tired eyes to rest for a few moments more. That was, until the nightmare she thought that she had last night was indeed a reality. Heart thudding against her chest, she squeezed her eyes tighter as if it would help make it all go away. The pain, loss, and heartbreak. Though this crazy nightmare wasn't going anywhere, and it wasn't until a half hour later of contemplating did Ingrid force herself out of her bed and into her new, tragic life.

The promise she made to her father was the only thing that willed her to find the strength to go downstairs and try to satisfy her body with some sort of nutrition, as her shot nerves made her feel too much of a wreck to eat much. Eerie was what described the feeling of the empty house as Ingrid stopped at the middle of the stairs to peer around. The walkers hadn't broke through the wooden planks on the windows yet, thank god. Pulling her sweater up and over her shoulders, Ingrid scurried to the refrigerator.

"Ah, shit, " Ingrid hissed, "Just my damn lucky life, ain't it," Ingrid stared into the empty fridge as she remembered her parents had taken the last bit of salvageable food for the road. Ingrid didn't expect to come back here to live of course as she thought the government would have come in and taken control of the situation already. But they failed, and Ingrid was angry. Grabbing the last item in the fridge, Ingrid gazed upon the best before date of the milk carton. Expired. Frustrated, Ingrid let out an angry yell as she chucked the carton across the room. Without much more pondering, Ingrid grabbed her trusty bow and arrows and slung them over her shoulder. 

"Alright universe. You wanna play? Then let's go," Ingrid angrily spouted to herself as she stepped out into the zombie infected world, scavenging for any sort of morsel to simply survive. 

*** Ingrid exits the house ***

[Kristi Lynne]

*** Nora, Negan, and Grant enter from elsewhere ***

Nora had driven slowly through the neighborhood, following Negan's directions. It didn't seem like there was anyone around apart from walkers, and thankfully they were spread out enough at the moment not to be a huge concern. She pulled into the driveway of what he said was Ingrid's home and then turned off the engine. "Nice place," she observed, exiting the truck. "I'm guessing you were here every Sunday for family dinner."

Negan made it no secret that he did not want to be here. It had taken half the night and a good deal of arguing to get him to agree to go looking for Ingrid. Didn't hurt that she also held onto his precious bottle of Scotch for leverage. After all, Nora insisted, Ingrid was the only family that he had left when Lucille finally succumbed to the cancer. Negan guessed that if Ingrid had made it out of the hospital, she likely would have returned home since it was close. And if Ingrid was alive, then maybe Nora's father was, too. She was planning on the prison where he worked back in Spotsylvania County being their next stop.

She unholstered her gun and held it low and at the ready as she climbed the stairs of the front porch. She tried to look inside one of the large windows but found the view obstructed by planks of wood. "Looks like someone boarded the place up," she told Negan. 
 

[DarkSideCookie]

"Nice place,", Nora's sudden voice drowned out the just arisen silence, once the engine had been turned off. "I'm guessing you were here every Sunday for family dinner." Oh, just great, Negan thought with an inner joyless chuckle. Normally, he was the one spouting kind of a line to someone and actually even had no problem to get back one in return, but right now it was hacking him off.

"Let's get this done.", he uttered at last, giving the passenger door a noisy push. Once Negan was standing outside the car, he had a severe look at the house front. Memories were coming up. Or more precisely, one single memory. Negan tried to drive it away with concentrating on the purpose of their arrive instead. If there really was a chance Ingrid had made it out alive, he probably would have to explain himself. Another thing he wasn't looking for all too much. But after all, she was family.

Negan checked on the gun well-placed in the back of his belt before he stepped towards the front door. Man, he never thought he would ever come back here after that cheery conversation he had had with Lucille's parents. Hard to believe that had been already ages ago.

"Looks like someone boarded the place up,", Nora's voice next to him suddenly roused him from the past.

Someone did, yes, but wouldn't he be able to tell how this place had looked like for at least the last ten years. "Want me to ring the doorbell, officer?", Negan turned to her with a sarcastic grin.

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[Kristi Lynne]

"Want me to ring the doorbell, officer?"

She gave him a scolding look and walked back over to the front door. Everything about him from his stance to his voice was saying very loudly how much he didn't want to be here. But this was about more than just him. "Look, nobody likes visiting their in-laws, zombie apocalypse or no," she stated. 

She cast a glance at Grant who was left waiting in the locked truck. Since they didn't know what they would find in the house, it was safer for him to stay there and give the two of them one less person to worry about. Nora opened the storm door and tried the door behind it, finding it locked. So she backed away, holding the storm door open for Negan. "Go ahead and kick it open. Some minor property damage might make you feel better," she offered.

[DarkSideCookie]

Negan answered her scolding look with a sign of amusement flashing over his face, before he, figuratively speaking, got thrown back at the front door of the Snow family house.

"Look, nobody likes visiting their in-laws, zombie apocalypse or no," The in-laws, alive or dead, weren't the problem. The memory coming up was. He had felt that with every mile, they had left this place behind on the day before, it had gotten easier to blank it out. Maybe though that just had been what he talked himself into believing. Or maybe the booze had been. Well, screw it!

And just as if on command, Nora was serving him a chance to let off some of his steam. "Go ahead and kick it open. Some minor property damage might make you feel better," Despite the commanding tone in her voice, Negan did as he was told without the least delay, and he did it with vehemence.

The door frame was yielding at a single kick. Everything else would have meant an embarrassment for him, especially in front of a cop, a female at that. With a grin on his face, Negan turned around. "So that's how it feels to be a cop. Could start getting used to it." With a gesture towards the open door, he added: "Go ahead, officer."

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[Kristi Lynne]

Nora stood by as the door gave way beneath Negan's kick and swung open, her muscles tensing in case there were any surprises on the other side of it. She then glanced at the walkers across the street to make sure their actions hadn't attracted any unwanted attention.

"So that's how it feels to be a cop. Could start getting used to it ... Go ahead, officer."


"There's a little more to it than that," she asserted defensively, walking in front of him. Give a bully a badge and a gun and he was still a bully, just with the law on his side. And despite the gentlemanly gesture, Negan definitely had that 'bully' vibe.

At the moment, the house seemed quiet and still. She clicked on a flashlight and began the routine procedure of clearing it. With her gun outstretched in one hand and the flashlight in the other, she surveyed the rooms to the right and left of the entryway. A silent nod of her head suggested he go to the right while she searched in the other direction.

[DarkSideCookie]

"There's a little more to it than that,"

Negan watched her with slight amusement, as she passed him on her way towards the inside of the house. One little moment of amusement that was, before he followed her steps, taking care of the right part of the inner, while Nora went to the left.

It felt like damn shit to be here again. Not because of the house itself, not even because of the upcoming memories from his first visit, but because he wasn't here with Lucille. He never would be able to be anywhere with her again. Negan tried to resist the sudden wish to break something, as that would not only make him have to explain, but also attract attention without a solid cause. And so he walked around the seemingly abandoned rooms.

Just as he had thought. Ingrid wasn't here. And yet again was there this upcoming wish of letting off some more steam.

Negan didn't take the job of clearing the house as serious as Nora did. Once he found himself inside the kitchen, for his taste a little bit too philistine looking, he went straight for the fridge. "Ah, dammit.", he hissed, as nothing but emptiness was staring back at him. Not even one item inside. But didn't that mean someone had taken all supplies with it? Probably not one of these critters, he presumed with a quiet sarcastic chuckle.

"Seems we're alone.", he suddenly called out for his female companion, pretty sure there was no dead inside to hear him, just as there was no other living being either. "Wanna use the chance to get a little intimate?" Negan let a short chuckle following his joke. Might not have been a joke though, if he hadn't just lost his wife to cancer and the fucking apocalypse. But seriously, how else handling all this shit than with a sense of humor.

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[Kristi Lynne]

"Seems we're alone. Wanna use the chance to get a little intimate?"

Nora was being so careful to make sure her footsteps were quiet and her ears were alert for any sound of movement. So she clenched her eyes in frustration as she heard Negan hollering throughout the house. She could hear him from the laundry at the back, so anyone or anything else would have heard him, too. When only silence followed, she let out the breath she'd been holding.

"Not if you were the last man on earth," Nora stated, as she holstered her weapon and joined him in the kitchen. She leaned on the kitchen island, noticing the room still smelled strongly of bleach.  "I...I don't get you. Your wife is dead, your sister-in-law is missing, and you spent the night curled up with a bottle of scotch. Does anything matter to you?" she asked. "Or should I have left you at that hospital?"

[DarkSideCookie]

"Not if you were the last man on earth,"

Now, that was a lie, Negan thought with a smirk to himself, before he turned around to her with one casual look, watching her for a moment, as she leaned on the kitchen island. He knew this kind of women. They were all the same. They wanted to hate him, maybe even were in the believes they would. But they couldn't. Because deep inside they were drawn to assholes just like him. And that was what let them act even more prickly to his kind.

"I...I don't get you. Your wife is dead, your sister-in-law is missing, and you spent the night curled up with a bottle of scotch. Does anything matter to you?"

"Shit.", Negan suddenly uttered quiet, not in the aggressive, but in a regretful way. Regretful to have made a joke, as now he was getting a fucking preaching. This woman seriously had no sense of humor.

Walking towards the kitchen island and with one joyless chuckle prefacing, he was ready to give the officer a statement. "Okay, I get the message. Yes, I'm an asshole. But I will tell you something." And by then he was already standing real close to her, finally stopping his steps. "It is us who do survive. And it is us who people follow." This way it had happened all throughout history and this way it will happen in the future, if they would have one, that was. "Also", he added with his hands spread. "I am here, or am I not? So don't you ask me if anything matters to me."

And with the end of his statement, Negan stopped staring her down and instead passed her on his way to outside. He had enough for today. Ingrid wasn't here anyway. Most probably wasn't she even alive, at that.

"You coming?", he eventually asked, the door handle already in his hands and with no look back at her.

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[Kristi Lynne]

"Also, I am here, or am I not? So don't you ask me if anything matters to me."


Nora stared back at him in silence. He had a point. She was the one that had pushed him to go looking for Ingrid in a place that he would have been happy to avoid for the rest of his life, however long that might be now. He had to be feeling the same disappointment that she wasn't there, that there were no clues she had been there. That there was no next stop with the promise of finding her alive and well. Which brought her back to his other valid point of being the ones who survive.

"You coming?"

Nora took one last look around before pushing herself away from the island and walking towards the front door. "Well, I'm certainly not letting you drive my truck," she declared, moving past him out to the porch. "And I am sorry," she added in a softer tone, holding his gaze for a minute before turning and heading for the truck.

[DarkSideCookie]

"Well, I'm certainly not letting you drive my truck,"

Despite his sudden change of mind during their little encounter, these words from her were able to educe a quiet chuckle from him, when Nora passed him on the porch.

"And I am sorry,"

Well, he wasn't expecting that to be honest. But instead of any reaction to her apology, he went for a reaction to her former declaration. "Well, I prefer to be on two wheels anyway. No offense, man.", Negan said with one soft knock at Rusty's fairing before he walked around the truck to enter from the passenger side.

And so, with no clue about Ingrid's whereabouts and none of them bringing up the subject again for at least a while, the three of them left the driveway. This time hopefully till doomsday, Negan thought without looking back. There was no place for him to go, for now, so he left the decision for where to head next to his female companion.


***Negan, Nora and Grant exit the Snow Family Home***

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