Marr

Slender digits ---- they fell away from Dina's shoulder as Maria watched the girl rush off to follow her spoken orders. If there was anything that truly concerned her during this disastrous time, it was the safety of the children in her community. Young ones whom already had to endure the tragedy of embracing a world turned cold due to the outbreak. A world that Inculated fear in them and enforced the act of fighting for survival at such a tender age. Jackson was the only peace that they knew, the only hope that they had. She'd be damned if she allowed anyone to pull that from underneath them for the sake of retribution.

Maria's train of thought began to dwindle, as well as the time that they had left to prepare themselves for an attack. She had no time to waste and she needed to arm herself and the people she cared about. Granted this would probably take most of the firepower they had, she was willing to  deplete it all for the sake of survival. Her feet began to move, trudging through the sleet beneath her feet. Ice crystals adorned her countenance like the feathers of a swan, desperately seeking warmth in the bitter cold.

*The Miller's Residence.*

The news of the attack seemed to spread quickly around Jackson. The community was in an uproar as gunmen rushed out to situate themselves at towers from all angles. Families rushed their children and elders into their homes to shield them from the violence that would come next. It was a nightmare.

Trudging up towards her home, Maria captured the sight of something out of the ordinary dangling from her bedroom window. Quirking a brow, the blonde took a few steps closer to get a better glimpse of the bizarre sight ahead of her. *"What the..."* She mumbled underneath her breath. Her eyes now absolutely certain of what was taking place. It was Abby, the girl who had come to warn them of the attack, dangling from the window. Battered and bruised, she still sought it fit to put herself in more danger by trying to leave the safe haven that Maria tried to create from her. However, this wasn't going to happen; at least not on her watch.

The heavy thud of the female's brawny physique resonated around Maria the moment she fell into the bushes. Frustration began to set within her core, eyes narrowing as she walked towards the bushes, spreading the stems of the shubs apart. *Fuck..." Abby whispered. Brown eyes soon met with those of a crystalline blue. She knew exactly what was going to come next.

*"You mind telling me what you were doing dangling from that there window?"* Maria interrogated her.

*"I was doing pull ups. I lost my grip."* Abby quipped.

Maria took a few steps closer to her, not a single blink in store as she stared the girl down like a mad bull. If looks could kill, Abby was certain that she'd be obliterated behind the walls of Jackson.

*"Don't bullshit me. Where are you trying to go?"*

*"That's none of your business. I came here, I did my part. I warned you and your people about the attack. Look where that got me. I  have to go."*

*"You're not going anywhere but back inside of that house to rest."*

Abby grimaced, expressing her disgust with what the woman standing before her said. The nerve of this woman. She didn't even know Abby, yet she was tossing out demands as if she govern what she chose to do.

"You don't get to tell me what to fucking do, lady. I'm not going to stay here so that your husband or anyone else can kill me after you survive this shit." She snapped. Her arm was still wrapped around her abdomen in order to shield her broken ribs from any further pain. Of course, her aggression towards Maria was not warranted. If anyone in Jackson didn't deserve the hostility that she spewed, it was her. The woman protected her when she could have easily put a bullet in her head and called it a day - but the pain that Abby was feeling only furthered the agitation.

"No one is going to hurt you, I give you my word."

"I'm not trusting the word of someone that I don't know." Abby countered."I'm leaving, I need to find my friend." Picking herself up from the ground, the girl released a loud grunt. She stubbled over her own feet as she moved out from the bushes, only to be blocked by the leader of the Jackson community. It was clear that Maria was not going to back down, but neither would Abby. The two of them like sharks

*"If you wanna leave, you'll have to get past me first and I can promise you that I'll do everything in my power to make sure that doesn't happen. You're not in shape to do much of anything right now let alone defend yourself if the infected caught a whiff of you."*

Abby tried not to make eye contact with the woman, her shoulder bumping against her smaller form in order to make her way past the blonde. No sooner than she did, Maria planted her hands against broad shoulders, shoving her onto a bed of snow. Although the sheet of ice had broken her fall, she still felt the twinge of sudden torment in her abdominal region.

**"AHHHH, SHIT!"** Abby slumped over, burying her face against the snow. Flushed cheeks were the only sensation of heat that she could feel in that moment, a numbness cosuming her physical structure. She felt hopeless. How was she going to rush past a bone in this state to make her getaway?

"Maria, please..."

This was the first time since she'd learned the woman's name that she'd actually put it to use. Pleading with her to let her leave the settlement and for good reason too.

"I have to find Lev. He's just a kid. He's out there alone waiting for me."

Maria's jaws tightened up, her eyes leveling to meet with the grounded girl whilst her boots kicked up an assemblage of slush. There was a kid beyond the settlement gates surrounded by the eruption of tainted beasts. She couldn't ----no, she **refused** to let a child suffer out there alone. She just hoped that Abby wasn't too late in mentioning this to her.

"I'll have my husband go out and look for the boy, but you're not leaving. If I have to bound you down to that bed myself in order for you to begin the healing process, believe me...I will."

"What!?" Abby exclaimed, but she knew that there was no use in trying to fight with the woman. It was already getting her nowhere. However, she didn't exactly *trust* having Tommy go out in search for Lev. He'd very well kill the boy for the part he played in the Seattle onslaught.

"You're shitting me. Can't you send anyone else? He's going to hurt him!"

"My husband might be a little rough around the edges, but he's a good man. He's not going to kill a kid, he's not a monster Abby. Now get on inside and relax. We'll get that boy back to you."

Maria's soft gaze gave Abby a bit of the reassurance that she coveted. Sturdy fingers dug into the snow as she once again pulled her broken form up from slosh.

**Tommy Miller.**

There was a moment where Maria stood back and allowed her husband to give orders to the men around him. She trusted his judgment, his sharpness. If there was anything that this man knew how to do, it was choose gunmen that honored their skills with precision. She could hear him assigning positions at each vantage point around the perimeter.

Walking over to him in a few swift strides, she tried to mimic the expression of a woman that wasn't in hysteria due to their current situation. She had to be formidable not only for the sake of her community, but for the sake of her family. Granted she was still hit under the collar with what Tommy had done to that girl, now was no time to hold that against him.

"Tommy -" Maria cleared her throat, dismissing the emotions --whether good or bad, that stirred up for her when she looked at him. "Abby left a kid behind out there. Said his name is Lev. I need you to go out there and find him, but be quick about it. Take someone with you for safety measures, but please...please be careful out there. " Maria's voice softened briefly. Her hands reached up to cup his cheeks unbeknownst to her. The pads of her thumbs tenderly caressing the scruff on his face that he liked to call a *beard.*  Her emotions got the best of her without her even being able to realize the slip of affection directed towards him. *"And try to bring your dumb ass back without any missing parts this time."