Rystelle

shadows.

Sophia pulled out one final book from the shelf and added to her stack of books she was carefully balancing in one hand. If she didn't work in a cafe she probably couldn't have pulled off balancing six books at once, especially since they were getting heavy. Satisfied with what she had found in the myth and lore section she switched to carrying the books with both hands to bring them over to the table. Tim was already waiting for her with his selection of books from the language section. Sophia smiled at him as she thought of how together they should be able to solve their own private little mystery.

"Let's get started," she said as she sat down in a chair and pulled it up to the table.

Looking at what she had collected, Sophia picked a book and started to leaf through it in hopes of finding some hint of recognition for what they were dealing with. For an hour or more she flipped through the books. Occasionally she would stop and make notes on her phone from what she and Tim found that they thought might be a clue or hint. Close to the two hour mark Sophia noticed that her phone had lit up to denote that she had received a text message. The phone number wasn't one she recognized, but Sophia opened it up and read it anyway.

Hey, bitch.

Sophia frowned in disapproval and text back, Who is this?

A moment later a reply came through.

You know who this is. It took me forever to get a hold of your number since you had it changed. I just wanted to remind you that even though you have a new boyfriend that doesn't make you worth anything. You're still the same dumb bitch I took advantage of in high school.

All the blood drained from Sophia's face. Quickly she blocked the number, deleted the conversation, and tried to immerse herself in her books. But her heart was no longer in it and she wondered, How did David get my number?

shadows.

A quiet, "Okay," was all Sophia managed to squeak out. Her cheeks were a bright red, and by now it was surely easy to tell it wasn't just from the cold. She had been so worried that Tim might pull away, but he was perfectly fine with it and even suggested they hold hands more often. Honestly, Sophia couldn't have been happier at that moment. In Tim's presence, their hands clasped tightly together, Sophia felt all her fears from the past slowly sliding away. She felt comforted. At ease.

"Geeze," Sophia remarked as they stared at the enormous library before them. "You're right, Tim. It's positively huge. I haven't been in a while so I've kind of forgotten." She shook her head for a moment at the thought of all the work they were going to have to do, then brightened up. It would be worth all the work if they could discover something about the cave and the tunnels and everything related.

"Alright!" She announced excitedly. "Let's get to work!" So they headed in and stopped by the front desk where the librarian sat doing her work. "Pardon me, ma'am," Sophia asked in her best library appropriate voice. "Where might we find some books on local lore and myths?"

"Third floor in the historical fiction section, upper left corner," the librarian replied.

"Thank you, ma'am," Sophia said with a bright smile. Turning to look at Tim she said, "To the third floor we go."

The third floor was quiet that day with few people lurking its aisles. Toward the center of the room there were tables and chairs with cushy arm chairs to sit at, and along the far wall there were computers for anyone to use. For now Sophia and Tim headed to the historical fiction section and began to look for books on Nottingham.

shadows.

Sophia recalled the Christmas Eves and Days spent with her family. Many were happy, but some were bitter-sweet such as the first Christmas without her Grandma Rose. Through all of them, however, Sophia recalled doing their many family traditions. Baking sweets together, family dinners, opening one gift one Christmas Eve, caroling, and going around town to see the lights. Seeing the lights was one of Sophia's favorite parts as it always made the town seem so much brighter and cheerier in that winter-dim, snow covered world.

"Yeah," Sophia agreed softly with a gentle look of fondness in her eyes. "I like them too."

She began to wonder what this Christmas might be like. Sophia intended to invite Tim to spend the holiday with her again, though this time she hoped he might come and see her family. She would just have to be sure that they didn't crowd him too much or press him about things she knew he wouldn't want to talk about.

Sparing a glance over to Tim while taking a sip of her coffee, Sophia wondered what it would be like if he had Christmas with her and her family and was able to laugh happily and talk cheerfully and freely with everyone. She thought of what it might have been like for him on Christmas with a mother like his. The thought made her heart throb painfully so she pushed it out of her mind. It was Christmas time now. A time for cheer. What mattered was making this Christmas--and all the holidays and regular days to come--a great one to remember.

As they drew nearer to the library Sophia continued to silently observe Tim out of the corner of her eye without being too conspicuous about it. She could see the snow flakes landing in his hair and recalled the other night when they walked back to his apartment hand-in-hand. She really wanted to do that now--walk hand-in-hand to the library--but was almost afraid to do so. What if Tim moved away? But he had been the one to take her hand the other night, so maybe it was alright.

Her heart pounding wildly, Sophia reached out and took Tim's hand in hers, lacing their fingers together before she put their hands in Tim's jacket pocket.

She couldn't quite bring herself to look at Tim as she shyly explained, "I wanted to hold your hand, but you don't have gloves and I don't want your hand to get cold. I hope it's alright." Sophia's face was red, but fortunately that could be passed off as due to the cold.

shadows.

"It means," Sophia said with an excited grin, "whoever wrote them in that cave was very intelligent if they knew fifty languages." She reflected for a moment as she sipped her coffee then added, "OR there were multiple people working on it. We can probably piece some of the things together using google translate or books on languages, but I can't be sure if we can get everything right. I think we should get a notebook or two and start writing down what we find, taking notes. Maybe that will help us connect things."

As they walked along, the snow on the sidewalk crunching nicely beneath their feet, snowflakes once more gently began to fall from the sky. On either side of the street there were city workers putting Christmas lights up on the telephone and light poles, and shop owners were beginning to take down fall decorations and put up Christmas ones in their place.

Sophia let out a small laugh. "Look at that," she told Tim. "Pretty much the day after Thanksgiving and people are already getting ready for Christmas. Can't say I really blame them, though, what with the snow already beginning to settle in. It seems like we're going to have an early winter."

shadows.

"Sounds good to me," Sophia said as she grabbed her jacket and put it on, zipping it up. As she put on her hat and gloves she explained to him, "After I left last night the snow continued to fall. It's been falling all day actually, and there's a decent layer out there. The temperature's dropped too. Since we're going to be walking to the library how about we grab some coffee from the shop real quick before we go?"

"Yeah, sure, that sounds good," Tim replied as he finished getting his shoes on.

Finally the two made their way out of the apartment and into the chilly late November air. Everything was covered by a blanket of snow, leaving the world white and soft. They stopped by the Rose Cafe for some hot coffee, then began their trek to the library.

shadows.

When Tim had disappeared into his room Sophia quickly covered her face with her hands, which had turned a bright red. Oh my gods, he looks so good! She thought to herself with embarrassed excitement. She felt like one of those fan girls in anime, gushing over the guy they liked. By the time Tim had come out of the bedroom fully dressed she had managed to regain her composure.

Letting out a small laugh at his words as she stood up, Sophia replied, "There was no need to. You look good."

Fuck. Did I just say that aloud?

Ignoring her own previous comment Sophia asked, "Do you want to walk to the library or take my car?" The library was a few blocks away. It was within walking distance, but she thought she'd offer anyway.

shadows.

Sophia had been waiting patiently, if a little tensely as her peace of mind had been disrupted, as she waited for Tim to finish. Finally he came out of the bathroom, but he was not fully dressed. He had forgotten to bring a shirt, he explained.

This was the second time Sophia had seen Tim like this. The first time was only for a brief second. She had noted the scars that time, but hadn't mentioned them. Sophia had also notice how broad shouldered Tim was, and even though he was a bit lanky he had a good form. This time she could see him fully, scars and all.

Her eyes took in the scars without really appearing to stare at them. Once more Sophia said nothing about them. She knew without having to ask where they came from--there was no need to make a spectacle over them. They were apart of Tim and always would be, but scars were not the only part of him. He was cute, definitely, but as Sophia looked at him now she also found him really handsome and masculine. Although he might be antsy and nervous at times, Tim was still kind and caring. In Tim Sophia could see an enduring strength that even he might not have known was there. Being around Tim made Sophia feel calm. Safe, even. She liked him, and perhaps in her own way she loved him already, but those feelings were buried down a little further so they were still out of sight to her.

"It's alright," Sophia said with a gentle smile, her eyes focused on Tim's face rather than his scars. "I'll just keep waiting here." Then, a bit teasingly she added, "Try not to forget your shoes, though. I don't think they'll let us into the library if you don't have them on."

shadows.

Having finished washing her face Sophia put her long-sleeved shirt back on and took her hair out of the ponytail. She looked around the living room while running her hands through her hair to fix it, but Tim wasn't there. After a moment she heard running water and knew he must be in the shower. Left to her own devices, Sophia went back to straightening up the room. Once the living room seemed nice and neat she sat back down on the couch and amused herself with daydreams.

Sophia started to wonder what it would be like to date again with a certain someone as her boyfriend. She thought of all the things they could do, places they could go, situations that might arise in the future. Some were happy, some were sad as she imagined the two of them arguing. Given over to her overactive imagination and habit of running through what seemed like every scenario possible, Sophia was well and distracted.

Then, out of nowhere, a familiar face popped into her mind. Sophia suddenly sat straight up, pulled out of her relaxed state by the sudden rude appearance of an unwanted intruder into her daydreams. She banished the face to the back of her mind and tried to relax once more. But now she was a bit antsy. She needed to get out. To get to the library. To go anywhere really..

Is Tim done yet? Sophia wondered to herself as she fidgeted with her phone.

[Rystelle] Walking Dead [ChronoBovino]

Brandon pulled out his gun, flicking the safety off, and prepared to shoot. No Walkers stumbled out, much to everyone's relief. However, there was someone sitting in the driver's seat. The woman didn't move, even when Brandon called out. Cautiously he went to the driver's door and opened it. The woman was older, about in her fourties or fifties. Her head was lolled to one side, her eyes closed, her body limp and arms splayed at her side. She didn't seem to have any injuries, but when Brandon checked her pulse there was none."

"She's dead," Brandon declared. "She doesn't have any visible wounds, so maybe a heart attack or something."

Lydia came to stand beside Brandon and peered at the woman curiously. She thought for a moment, then made a decision, though it was a bit hard.

"We should make sure she stays dead," Lydia decided. "We don't know how this thing works--how people are turning into zombies. It's better to take precautions."

"You think we should destroy the brain?" Brandon asked.

Lydia nodded. "I think we should destroy the brain. But let's do it quietly. We don't know if noise draws those things, and we need to conserve ammo. A knife should do."

shadows.

"Thanks," Sophia said with a relieved sigh before walking over to the sink. With her back to Tim she pulled off the shirt she was wearing and set it on the counter. She had a tank top on so she was still fully clothed--she just didn't want to get her shirt wet. To make it easier to wash her face Sophia put her hair up in a ponytail.

She turned on the water, and as she bent forward a scar that had been hidden by her shirt and hair was now revealed.

It ran from the top right of her shoulder at a downward angle toward her spine for six inches. The scar was rather light, but it was there. It remained as a testament to some darker, scarier times in Sophia's past. It belonged to a memory she wished she could forget. But as the scar was on her back, it was out of sight and therefore out of mind. As Sophia washed her face she wasn't thinking of the scar, or if Tim saw it. She didn't even know if Tim was still in the room or not.