[b]Jessalyn - Haywood - waking up[/b]

Jess woke with no idea how long she had been asleep. She say up slowly, feeling dizzy and her limbs felt heavy. The door opened and she jumped.
"Woah, easy there mama," a young man said as he came in. "I just came to check on you."
Jess calmed down a little but didn't completely relax. She eyed the stranger warily. He chuckled. "I'm not a walker so you can stop looking at me like I'm about to eat you."
"Men are scarier then walkers," Jess replied.
The guy looked at her curiously, then shook his head. "Anyway, you feeling hungry at all?"
"No," Jess replied, rubbing her stomach soothingly.
"Well, even if you're not, you should still eat, for the kid I mean," he pointed out and held out his hand. "Come on, I'll take you to one of the mess halls."

Jess looked from his hand to him. She got up on her own, ignoring his help. He just laughed. "You're a stubborn one, that's for sure. Follow me."
She followed but stayed off to this side, out of his reach. "Where is Eli?" she asked as they went outside.
"Off somewhere doing something for Levi," was the reply.
"Levi?"
He looked over his shoulder at her. "That's right you haven't met Levi yet. He's the mayor here, which is just a nice way of saying he's the boss. Everything he says, goes."

Levi... she hadn't met him yet. The question was, did she want to?
She wanted to leave as soon as she could. She needed to go back for Lynn.
She needed to go back for Floyd.
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The mess hall only had a few people in it. Jess sat with the young man nearby but not right beside her. For that she was grateful. She wanted her space. Having strangers too close made her nervous. 
The food was rather bland, but filling. She felt a kick and smiled. "Yes I know," she told her baby. rubbing her stomach. "I know, but it's all we've got for right now."
What she didn't like was how people were looking at her. It made her uneasy. Like they knew something she didn't.
People whispered around her and she knew they were talking about her. She kept her gaze down and hunched her shoulders to make herself appear smaller.

Someone touched her back as they walked by. Jess stiffened but didn't look.
"You're pretty mama," a voice in her ear said. "Maybe you have my baby next."
Jess shook violently. "Go away," she whispered.
"Now is that any way to be friendly?" the voice asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.
Gripping her knife Jess turned and stabbed reflexively. It lodged into the man's shoulder. He howled in pain and jerked it out, rearing back to smack her. 
"Hey!" the young man who had brought her here said, grabbing her assailant's arm. "Back off, or else Levi will hear about this."
"The bitch stabbed me!" the wounded man snarled and glared at her.
"Well next time don't bother a lady," he replied and pushed him away before looking down at the shaking Jess. "Come on, let's go for a walk," he said and helped her up, walking out while people stared.