"Carol, you copy?"
"We're here."
"We made it...It's gone."
Angered sighs and heavy shuffling feet broke the calm around her, and she knew the group was dispersing about after hearing Rick's voice crackle over the radio.
They were all practically hovering over Carol's shoulder with bated breath when Rick checked in, informing them of their arrival. The recent tragedy of the hospital had left everyone on edge, and as a crippled group, they weren't foolish enough to indulge in the breath of hope that finding Noah's hometown unscathed would bring. Hopes were high, but not high enough to make them lose sight of reality.
But still...Hearing Rick's confirmation of the news no one wanted to hear had stung.
Carol let her arms drop to her sides after Rick radioed out. The dejected sigh passed heavily through her lips before she had time to stop it. There was also no stopping the heaviness in her heart of yet another crushing blow. Without that prospect of Noah's hometown giving them some kind of direction in life, where did that leave them? What were they to do now?
But this was already discussed. The answer would always be the same. They would just have to get back on the road. Venture into the unknown. Bounce from place to place.
It was exhausting.
Curses flew through the air among them, and Abraham angrily kicked over a box of supplies in their camp. Carol flinched at the sound as the contents flew out and scattered the ground in aimless direction. Everyone was angry and she couldn't blame a single one of them. The constant moving about was wearing down on all of them, and the only result of their struggles was another one of their members slowly being peeled off one by one by natural selection.
Fresh tears brewed behind Carol's eyes and she hung her head, closing her lids against its warmth. The worst part of it was that no matter how bad her body wanted to cry for them - for all of them - she had no tears left in her to shed. No more capacity for the pain once again inflicted upon their lives.
The camp bristled while everyone fussed, venting their anger in different ways. But then her senses became aware of one presence distanced off to the side, and her head lifted, eyes connecting with listless blues.
Daryl was locked into Carol's gaze, and she couldn't place the emotion etched into his face. His eyes were dull, and she realized he hadn't reacted at all to the news, as he was standing in the same exact position he had been twenty minutes ago.
Carol made a move, stepping in his direction, and that's when he finally did move.
Daryl took a step back, breaking eye contact, and walked away from the camp.