Fracking Apocalypse - a ZNation 10K/Tommy Fanfiction

S7E07

S7E07:

Warren POV

Warren, Cooper and George were just passing the border and heading into the United States when they noticed their radio started to pick up that odd numbers channel Citizen Z had been talking about. It confirmed they were on the right path but it would still take them a while before they were far enough south that they could start looking for Addy and 10K. However, losing two of their closest friends didn't seem to be the only thing on George's mind. Warren had been catching her spacing out, chewing on her nails and just displaying some generally distracted behavior. She knew this was unlike George, last time they'd been on a mission together – when they'd been looking to help Dante – George had been focused and full of determination. Now she seemed to be the opposite and being out in the open in a territory known for having more zombies had Warren worried about her friend's safety.

"Hey." She said, gently nudging her shoulder while Cooper walked ahead. "You alright? You've seemed kind of. . . off, since we left Altura."

George nodded but brought her finger back to her mouth and started chewing on her nail again. Warren sighed and grabbed her wrist pulling her hand away from her face.

"Hey." She repeated, this time a bit sterner, "What's bothering you?"

George sighed and dropped her hand to her side, "I'm just. . . not sure where I fit in anymore."

Her admission threw Warren off for a second and she knew she looked surprised by what George had said, "Your place is in Altura. I thought you loved it, the community, the people –

"I do." George cut her off quickly, "Don't get me wrong, I love being at the heart of Altura, overseeing all the projects that help us expand, signing off on what's best and denying things that we're maybe not ready for. And the success of Newmerica is something that just feels so rewarding, that what I'm contributing is working, that the calls I've made have been the right ones. It's just. . . I've always been a fighter, when someone has needed me I'm the first one up volunteering to help. I don't care how far I have to go or how long it will take, not if I'm helping someone. But this time, when Estes got out and I knew I had to stay in Altura in case he tried to come back and take it out from under me. . . it just felt, hard. Hard to fight off that urge to go and help, hard to stay put."

Warren nodded now understanding, "I know what you mean. When I was taking my team across the country I had to make some tough choices." She remembered the kind people on that Mennonite farm that she had to steal medicine from so Addy and 10K could live. To condemn those kind people to die slow and painful deaths had been one of the hardest things she'd ever done and a guilt she had to live with each day. Fighting to keep her team going so a cure could become reality was the only ease she got from that experience. "Being a good leader means sometimes making sacrifices and choices you wish you wouldn't have to make."

George nodded slowly, looking at the ground as they walked, "It's going to be hard putting that fighter behind me. I've been fighting for so long, we all have. I think it's going to be hard to transition out of that."

"I'm not sure if people will ever be able to let go of the violence the apocalypse taught them. But so long as that drive to fight for what's yours, your freedom, your safety, comes from the right place and we can show everyone that fighting together is the best way to make progress then this world you pulled together will only continue to grow."

"And it will need a leader, not someone who keeps running into fights." George said kicking a rock in the road.

Warren smirked, "There will still be fights, just different then how you've been fighting before, less with your fists and more with your mind."