"The hell you will!"
An angry roar sounded from the second floor of the farmhouse, drawing the attention of everyone nearby toward the source.
It was Maggie, and she was not happy.
I had decided to just rip the band-aid off and directly inform her that I was going on a trip to other states nearby.
On second thought, that probably was not a wise idea, because as soon as the words came out of my mouth, she bristled and puffed up like an angry cat.
"What on God's green earth were ya thinkin'?!" She started pacing back and forth across the bedroom floorboards. "Why go court death as if it's not already too dangerous outside?!"
"Maggie—" I called out, but I was completely ignored as she continued ranting.
"Why risk yourself when we already have everything we need and more?!"
"Maggie," I called out again, taking a step toward her.
"What the hell made your brain spurn out that thought—"
"Maggie!" I shouted, finally snapping her out of her rage-induced rant.
She stopped in her tracks, her chest heaving as she looked at me with a hurt expression that made my guts twist in guilt.
I let out a heavy sigh, raising both hands to rub my face and pulling them up through my hair, leaving it a complete messy disaster.
I hated seeing her like this, but I couldn't lie to her or pretend I was going to stay put forever.
I stepped forward, closing the distance between us, and wrapped my arms firmly around her waist.
She stiffened instantly, her hands pushing against my chest as she struggled to pull away. I didn't let go; I just held her tight, grounding her against me until the tension in her arms slowly started to bleed out.
"It was already in my plans long before the two of us even met up," I said softly, looking down into her eyes that already started misting. "I'm going out so I can save as many people as I can, Maggie. The world isn't gonna save itself."
Maggie was understandably upset.
She feared for my life, and I couldn't blame her for it. She knew how dangerous the world had become out there, especially now that scavenged resources were starting to dry out fast and people were getting more desperate by the day.
"I'll keep in touch through the radio whenever I'm in range," I assured her, brushing a strand of dark hair behind her ear. "And I'll make visits back whenever I can. I'm not abandoning this place. I'm not leaving you behind. I'm just expanding what we built."
"Then I'm coming with you," she said firmly, her jaw set.
"Absolutely not," I said, my expression turning dead serious.
"Zephyr, that's not fair, you—"
"No, Maggie," I cut in, refusing to relent at all. "You said it yourself: the world is indeed too dangerous now. I'm confident that I can guarantee my own safety out there, but I can't guarantee both of ours if things go sideways."
Maggie fell silent for a long moment. She stared at me, her eyes searching my face for any sign of hesitation, but she found none.
Slowly, the fight drained out of her shoulders. She rested her forehead against my chest with a deep, shaky exhale.
"Do you really have to?" she said weakly.
I let out a wry smile. I really hated seeing her like this, but I had to toughen up my resolve.
I nodded silently.
Finally, the last bit of the fight drained completely. Her head hung limply on my chest, and she inhaled shakily.
Then, she looked back up at me with a sharp, vicious glare.
"If you dare to die out there, Zephyr Ward," she hissed, her voice deadly serious, "God help me, I will find a way to bring you back only to kill you again myself."
A bead of cold sweat broke out on the back of my neck as I nodded repeatedly. "I promise you, I will absolutely make sure I stay alive."
Maggie didn't answer with words. She grabbed the front of my shirt, pulled me down, and fiercely kissed me, her hands aggressively tearing through my clothes as all her fear and anger turned into pure, desperate passion.
By the time the morning sun began to bleed through the bedroom curtains, the room was quiet again. The storm had passed, leaving behind a heavy, comfortable silence.
Maggie was fast asleep beside me, her head resting against my chest and one arm wrapped tightly around my waist, as if holding onto me even in her sleep.
I lay there in the soft light for a while, listening to the steady rhythm of her breathing and staring up at the water-stained wooden ceiling.
Leaving wasn't going to be easy.
Part of me just wanted to say fuck it and stay right here—stay safe inside these thick walls with the people who cared about me.
It was tempting, real tempting. But staying comfortable wasn't how we survived this long, and it sure as hell wasn't how we were going to build an actual future.
Out there past our borders, people were dying every day because they didn't have a fence, a gun, or someone to show them a way forward.
I had the gear, the knowledge, and the firepower to make a real dent in this mess.
Sitting on my thumbs at the farm while the world rotted outside felt wrong.
Also, knowing the future doesn't make it any easier.
I knew what was waiting outside: enemy factions such as the Cannibals of Terminus, the feral group that was the Wolves, that cult-like group that was the Whisperers, the Saviors run by Negan, the Commonwealth that's run by Pamela Milton and Lance Hornsby, the assassins of the Reapers led by Pope, the Vultures (that scavenging group in Fear the Walking Dead), the Pioneers, or rather the Doomsday Cult—these nuclear-obsessed freaks—and the biggest threat of them all, the CRM.
These will definitely not stay idle by watching as we rebuild this world one step at a time.
They will absolutely attack us or at least attempt to put hurdles in our way, and I can't have that.
(To be continued...)