Episode 15

Bella put her earbuds in, jogged down the trail, and smiled at the empty playground. When she came before the world changed, the spring and playground would be crawling with people, and it was hard to find a private spot. Now, the place was empty and had an eerie dead feeling in the air. Bella realized the people had made the park beautiful, and now it was wasting away in the apocalypse.

She set her towel and water bottle on a rock, stretched her arms and legs, and planned her route through the playground. Bella ran across the moving bridge, jumped from loop to loop, used the zip line, and slid down the slide. She laughed and ran through the recreational structure backward.

An upbeat song started playing in the earbuds, and Bella smiled, beginning to dance to the happy beat. She spun in a slow circle, singing softly, and spread her arms. Her worries and fear slipped away, and Bella started moving her body to the beat, feeling the song lift her soul. She danced her way to the jungle gym and climbed to the highest point. Bella grabbed the monkey bars and lifted her body straight in the air, bending her legs and holding the difficult yoga position.

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Dale and Terry walked down the trail, carrying their crossbows, and saw Bella on the monkey bars. They were about to go hunting, but seeing her made them stop.

"Where did this girl come from?" chuckled Terry, and Dale laughed, shaking his head.

"I don't know, but I like her."

Terry looked at his brother and sighed. Dale wasn't a kid anymore, and Terry could see his brother was falling for the girl.

"You better hang on to that one," he said, and Dale scoffed.

"We ain't a couple, dumbass. Just friends. I want it to be more, but we just met," he said, watching Bella, and Terry gave him a thoughtful look.

"Well, then, little brother, what's stopping you from getting what you want?"

Dale watched Bella drop from the monkey bars, grab her towel and water bottle, and jog to the spring.

"Nothing."

"Then go get her," said Terry.

Dale slung his bow over his shoulder, gave his brother a thoughtful look, and headed toward the pool.

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Bella pulled her shorts, shirt, and sneakers off and pulled her hair out of its messy bun. She dove into the deep end of the pool and swam through the clean, fresh water. She saw small fish swimming around the bottom and smiled, pushing to the surface. Bella wiped the water from her face and watched the small animals swim below.

They swam around, oblivious that the world above was dying, and lived like nothing ever happened. Bella giggled, watching the tiny fish bounce against her toes, and one of the animals nibbled on her big toe. She yearned for that kind of peace.

"That's so awesome," she breathed and dived below.

Bella swam around as the fish scattered, and she surfaced, laughing. She swam to where she had left her clothes and pulled herself out of the pool.

"This your favorite spot again?" asked Dale, walking toward her, and Bella smiled, drying her hair.

"Yeah, I think so," she sighed, dropping the towel and sliding on her shorts.

Dale swallowed hard, watching drops of water slide down her chest, and Bella laughed.

"Dale," she said, slipping on her shirt, and Dale shook his head.

"Sorry. I didn't mean. I was," he stuttered uncomfortably.

Bella laughed, slipped on her sandals, and walked over to him. She kissed him gently on the cheek, raised her eyebrows, and Dale searched her eyes.

"See you at dinner. I'm feeling extra squirrely tonight," she giggled and headed toward camp.

Dale huffed a laugh and went to find his brother.

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The group had been at High Point for over a month, and the only mutant sightings were on supply runs. Life seemed to go smoothly, and everyone felt safe at their new campsite. Edmond and his family decided to go out on their own and find their family, and Terry set off on his own. Dale didn't want him to go, and his brother offered for him to come with him, but Dale didn't want to leave Bella. Terry told his brother they would see each other again and left. Steve, Liam, Andy, Bonnie, Teresa, and Mike stayed and helped keep camp running.

Bella and Dale became close over the past month but were afraid to tell each other how they felt because they were afraid to lose each other. Everything seemed to fall into place and run smoothly.

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"Are you going hunting with me today?" asked Dale, and Bella looked at him thoughtfully.

"Does a bear shit in the woods?"

Dale chuckled and made a face.

"Actually, not in these woods," he teased, and she shook her head.

"I think I'll go too," said Abraham, walking up with Steve.

"Count me in," said Steve, and Bella rolled her eyes.

"Sure. Hope you don't mind, but there will be reefer on this trip," she said, holding up a small bag of weed, and Abraham laughed.

"How much of that stuff do you have? I thought you'd run out by now," he said, and Bella grinned.

"Actually, we hit a convenience store not too long ago and stocked up. Lucky find, I guess."

Abraham laughed and shook his head.

"Well, just so you know, little bird. I'm not going out there to babysit you two. I want to know how long it's been since you spent time with your old fashion man?"

Bella chuckled, pulling on the laces of her boots, and straightened.

"Fine," she said, and her father smiled as they piled into the truck.

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"So, Bella and Dale seem real close now," said Teresa, and Megan laughed, nodding.

"Yeah, they seem to go everywhere together, but I don't think they've even had their first kiss yet," she said, hanging a pair of pants, and Teresa looked at her oddly.

"Really? How can you tell?"

Megan shook out a t-shirt and gave Teresa a knowing look.

"Next time you see them together, watch how Dale looks at Bell. It's that hunger stare. Kind of like looking at a menu but can't decide what you want," she explained, and Teresa laughed.

"I think I know what you're talking about. Like how your husband stared at you the day he came to camp," she said.

Megan nodded and laughed.

"That's the one. Bell's a good kid with a great head on her shoulders, but I can tell my daughter is falling for the bad biker boy. I just wonder if she knows it."

"Mom!" yelled Charlie, running up in his swim trunks.

"Hey, kiddo."

"Can we go to the swimming hole now?" he asked, and Megan looked at her son oddly.

"Who's we?"

Charlie looked around and made a face.

"Where's Dad and Bella?"

"They went out hunting with Steve and Dale. I'm sure they will be back soon," said Megan, and he scowled.

Teresa looked at the boy with care and gave Megan a thoughtful look.

"Hey, bud. How about after your mom and me finish the laundry, we'll head down there?" she offered, and Charlie grinned, nodding.