DEATH followed Jake Green like a shadow, a constant but unwanted presence he just couldn’t shake. ever since Chris Sullivan’s untimely passing, he’d become acquainted with the Grim Reaper – because from that night on, a string of bodies would follow; but never Jake himself, only everyone else around him. The Girl in Iraq, Freddy, Maggie, his Father, Bonnie, Beck… maybe it was his curse, to survive everyone he’d ever cared about, those he’d sworn to protect. maybe he deserved it.
it was his burden to bear, direct consequence of his choices - ever getting involved with Jonah, then the mercenaries… antagonizing Phil Constantino, then Goetz, starting a war after another. it would’ve been easy to blame the circumstances; John Smith, the bombs, Valente and the new Government, J&R and Ravenwood, but no matter which side he looked at it, the outcome remained the same. those people were dead.
his best friend of a lifetime, Jake’s first partner in crime and confidant, a brother from another mother. they’d been through their best and worst years, together, and even though Green had travelled the world, he’d never known a man as good as Stanley —– a farmer, not a soldier. although he was never supposed to find himself on the frontline, they hadn’t been left a choice. with the Major out of the picture, they’d lost more alliances than they could afford, and now civilians were fighting alongside the military in what had soon turned into a senseless bloodbath. but they wouldn’t give up, for too much was at stake: their freedom and their future.
future. Stanley had one, waiting for him in Jericho. his wife and his unborn child, the reason he’d gone out there to help defend their lines. – rough palm pressed to his lids in an attempt to stop tears from falling, as he dragged himself up the Richmonds’ doorsteps. a bad case of deja vu, except this time he wasn’t sure he’d be able to find the words - break the news to the only person in this world who wouldn’t want to hear them more than Jake himself.
a sharp intake of breath stuck in his throat the moment Mimi’s voice graced his ear, panic rising in his chest from the depth of his stomach. he stopped in his tracks, as if frozen in place, puffy, bloodshot eyes now wide like a deer’s caught in the headlights. how was he going to do this? tell a pregnant woman that her husband wasn’t coming back? that it was his fault, that he hadn’t been able to save him?
❛ Mimi— ❜ voice hoarse, he cleared his throat, barely holding himself together as he watched the door open to a crack, ❛ it’s me, it’s —- ❜ just ❛ Jake. ❜
Life had changed for Mimi Clark. Considerably adaptable and well trained in many resources throughout her life, this finality of change had been the one to catch her off guard. An apocalypse born in the mind of some nameless psychopath had caused Mimi her family. Her security. Everything the brunette had worked towards her entire life. It’d thrown her in the middle of nowhere Kansas and flipped the woman’s view on the world. The bombs had brought an abrupt end to a world that had closed Mimi’s eyes. Where determination and a hard exterior were the only ways Mimi would have ever advanced. Where the hustle and bustle of every day life made you feel like time was constantly running out.
And maybe that’s because it always was.
Ever since the bombings, it’d been easier than ever for Mimi to enjoy her life. To slow down and not take things for granted. Stanley and her had become a whirlwind of emotions swept up in the aftermath of the end of the world. But they had been their own devising. A decision of slow burning build up and a newfound appreciation for the world’s changes. With Mimi’s limited view on the world and Stanley’s vast experience at patience and compassion, they’d made an unlikely duo. Strong and solid. Not even the death of Bonnie Richmond had torn them apart. Two souls intertwined in the whispers of vows and the steel of wedding rings.
Yet, as Jake’s appearance on her doorstep, Mimi could already feel her world about to crash around her. Fingers shook with a delicate trace of knowing as those espresso laden hues fell upon his features. She took in the ragged lines of his face, memorizing those moments before he’d speak. Breaking the silence with every heart pounding syllable. Baited breath awaiting a string of words that the brunette couldn’t wouldn’t hear.
Her voice held its firm grasp around his name. An inflation of diplomacy that was only ever reserved for the former IRS Agent she’d been once upon a time ago. Yet she found it now, in the lines of his face and the tiredness of his eyes. She found it in his defensive stance, awkward and drained all at the same time. Mimi read his features and every muscle outlined in his frame and she knew he was here for more than just a check up. Alone and resolute, a FEAR gripped to the brunette’s chest, refusing to let go but her own stubborn rebuttal lining her jaw as she stepped out onto the porch proper.