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🪽 finale. when you're lost in the darkness, . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.
Tala Miller woke up from her post-coital sleep in a confused daze. The first thing she realized was that she was naked and the only thing covering her body was an old blanket. She looked over, seeing how Tommy wasn't there, but that familiar sense of dread was dulled out. She was used to him randomly leaving without any explanations, so she merely shrugged it off. Tala was quiet as she got dressed in the lobby of the theater. She pulled up her jeans, but she left it unbuttoned for her protruding stomach and she pulled on her long sleeve then she grabbed Tommy's denim coat which was dried now.
She just wished that it smelled like him or the cheap cologne he sometimes sprayed on him before he left for work. Instead, it reeked of mildew.
The muffled chatter of voices reeled Tala from her blank gaze, reaching down to clip on her knife to her waistband, and she placed her half loaded gun into the pocket of her jacket. Her eyebrows were knitted into confusion as she was greeted with the empty, reddish seats in rows of the theater and she saw the group of survivors crowded around the edge of the wooden stage.
The sound of the doors slamming shut caused the group to whirl around to see the commotion and Tala felt embarrassed as she just stood there to meet their eyes. There was Ellie, Flora, Jesse, and Tommy standing around an annotated map of Seattle with pins stuck into different places. Their conversations stopped when she walked in and it left a sour taste in her mouth, something she didn't appreciate since it made her look like a bad guy.
"How'd you sleep?" asked Jesse, one of the first ones to talk, as she approached the end of the wooden rim of the stage.
"Could do better." answered Tala with a slight shrug of one shoulder and she reached up to tie her curly hair up. "What..what are you guys talking about?"
"Come take a look at this." said Jesse, gesturing Tala over with a wave of her hand and she awkwardly stood in between the two men. "Thought is to head home via Ellensburg. If we're in Fall City by tomorrow, we're gold. Now, for you and Dina—"
"I'm staying." Tala interrupted Jesse, her words suddenly stumbled from her mouth before she could even think about it and her suddenly alight eyes were rapidly switching from the group of faces. Their expressions were either shocked, neutral, or completely confused. Tala cleared her throat. "I wanna stay. Just in case if anyone else gets hurt."
The group looked at each other and some of them seemed to agree. Tala exhaled forcefully through her nose, her fingers curled up against the wood, and she walked side by side with Tommy after they were done discussing about the map. They were awkward, as they normally were nowadays, and Tala uncomfortably cleared her throat as she looked up at the flickering lights of the lobby. It was still night out.
Tala peered at Tommy with the side of her eye and she immediately looked away when they made eye contact. "Sorry for leaving you there." said Tommy, his Texan accent made her knees weak. "My coat looks better on you than me. I, uh, when I was going through Idaho, I saw something real pretty. Sorta looked like real gold. That sumbitch Jesse thinks I'm lying. I snagged it..just in case if you wanted to rip out my throat when I got home."
"You're lucky then because I'm not." said Tala, chuckling softly and she followed his lead to turn around. Goosebumps rose along her caramel skin as something cold wrapped around her neck, and she flinched lightly because she thought he was going to strangle her. Instead, something had landed on the base of her throat and she looked down to see that a golden necklace. A carnelian heart rested and glimmered underneath the dim theater lights. She was breathless even though she couldn't see it. "It's beautiful."
She couldn't remember a time when Tommy had gifted her jewelry besides the engagement ring then her wedding ring and a pair of jade earrings he bought when they had a fight. It still was beautiful even though she found it odd and she pressed a quick kiss to his lips before she reeled him into a grateful hug. "What made you give me this?" asked Tala, a soft grin on her face as she turned around to face him properly and her fingertips were gently playing with the orangey-red heart charm that rested on the hallow base of her throat. "Was it so that I wouldn't strangle you in your sleep or something?"
"What? I can't spoil—"
"Hands up. Back away from your shit."
The unexpected, authoritative voice caused the couple to tense up and whirl around in surprise. There, Tala's eyes widened at seeing Abby, her pistol was drawn, with a little bald boy who drew back his bow. Scars were littered across his mouth. When the muscled blonde barked out the same orders, Tala flinched and she slapped at Tommy's shoulder before she slowly walked forward with her hands up. The weight of her gun in her jacket pocket suddenly felt very heavy and she could feel the outline the switchblade pressed against her waistband.
"Get on the ground." ordered Abby. "Both of you."
"You gonna kill me like a coward?" asked Tommy.
Tala watched in silent horror as Abby kicked in his kneecaps and pistol whipped him twice before she was met with the end of the gun. She could see right down the chamber. The brunette immediately dropped to her knees, but her eyes were just on her husband. She felt like crying, not caring about the chaos that ensued as she watched Tommy for any impactful or fatal injuries. His forehead was cracked open though, blood was smeared into the carpet of the ground, and it leaked into his clothes. His pained groans haunted her, swirling around in her head as a taunt.
You can't save him, her mind screamed. He's gonna die. That big mouth of his.
Tala's body ran cold when she heard a gunshot, seeing Tommy's blood spray underneath his head and the arrow that stuck out of his calf. Her eyes welled up with tears, her heart was suddenly beating so fast that it vibrated against her ribcage, and echoed through her body. Her jaw fell agape to let out a horrified scream, the sudden reality of her husband possibly being dead had finally set in. Nobody could survive a bullet wound that close.
Tala immediately reached for whatever was close, her switchblade which the knife easily popped out with her thumb pressed against the button, and she charged at the blonde despite their differences in body sizes. Tala let out an angered shout, knocking the gun away from Abby's hands, and the two women wrestled which the brunette's sliced at the blonde's skin.
Tala tried to use all the strength she could muster up against Abby, her teeth gritted, but a sharp pain shot through her shoulder and she only registered the fact that an arrow was sticking through her clavicle. When she did notice though, it was already too late and Tala let out a pained grunt when she was thrown to the ground, her switchblade was knocked out of her hands. White, hot pain surged through her face in a repeated manner and she felt the cold crimson blood leaking down her face.
Did she care though?
No, not really.
As she laid there, gunshots rang ahead in a galore of noises, all Tala could do was stare at Tommy and pray that he wouldn't die. She didn't care if she died today or tomorrow, as long as her husband was alive and breathing. She started to notice how it began to hurt whenever she drew breath and she felt like her bones were made of jelly. Taking a big breath, Tala exhaled sharply and her swollen eyes fluttered shut.
