Waking up was no longer the pleasure it had been before the outbreak. There was a brief moment of laziness but it always evaporated faster than rain on a hot engine. Then my eyelids, that were drooping and heavy with the lack of undisturbed sleep, would snap open as violently as if I'd been awoken by the crunching of bones beneath teeth. My back suddenly straightened, every thought in high definition. My eyes took in any ray of light that they could in the dull room, the chatter from outside assuring me that I had slept for too long. I swung my legs over the edge of the mattress, tapping my leg to make sure my knife was still there before exiting the RV without a word to Andrea, who was handling the guns. An instant wave of heat washed over me, the sun burning so harshly that the sky appeared to be on fire. In this intense humidity even the soil looked dry and powdery to the touch. A lone drop of sweat slid down my back, leaving a trail of temporary coolness in its wake. Within seconds my skin was glistening and the nape of my neck was much too damp. I craved a shower to wash the stickiness off but knew that it was unlikely that I'd be able to have one for a while, unless I found a lake nearby. My arm reached up to rest across my forehead, blocking the sun from my eyes as I scanned the area. It looked like everyone was already up. They were searching the nearby cars for supplies, probably fuel as well. From behind me I could hear faint speaking, and after kicking a stone in my path, I wandered to the front of the vehicle.
"Glad to see you're finally up." Dale said when he finally came into view.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked bluntly, eyes darting over to Glenn who had his head inside the steaming hood. I could just barely see the tufts of black hair sticking to his neck from beneath his hat.
"It looked like you needed the rest." Dale answered, tapping Glenn on the shoulder. "You know how to fix a radiator hose?"
His words were almost foreign to me, brain unable to process what he had just said. It seemed obvious by the look I gave him that I didn't even know the parts of a car, let alone how to fix them, but I still shook my head to confirm the suspicion. "Never needed to."
"Well, now's your chance." Dale now motioned Glenn back out of the hood, and when his face was finally visible it blazed bright red from the hot steam. "Chris is going to help you, try and show her what to do."
I could tell by the look on Glenn's face that he himself barely knew how to fix it, but he still gave a nod of agreement.
"I'm sorry, but I really must be off." I tried to argue, but Dale raised his hand to stop me.
"If you're going to be out there on your own, this is something you should know how to do." He turned to make his leave and I had the sneaking impression that he had done it just to make sure that I didn't have time to refuse. "You never know what might save your life."
I didn't bother opening my mouth to disagree because he was gone long before I could have gotten a word out. A long, irritated sigh escaped my lips, only accentuated by my bodies need to cool down. Glenn shifted on the spot and when my eyes were drawn to the movement he refused to match my gaze. I thought that perhaps he was still embarrassed about last night, but I had no way to prove that. He could have just disliked me.
As if reading my mind, Glenn finally stuttered out a few word. "S-Sorry about last night… I would have slept on the floor if there was any room…"
"That's what you're worried about?" I felt my mouth twitch into a smile, unable to hide my amusement at his undoubtable innocence. "What's the matter? Never slept with a girl before?"
At last, Glenn's stare met mine at the teasing tone I gave. His expression was panicked, twisting the tool in his hands so tensely that I thought it might break. "O-Of course I have!"
"Oh really?" I raised a thin eyebrow at him, crossing my arms. "Who?"
"My… My sisters when I was younger… and my mom."
Any attempts to suppress my laughter failed. It came out like ripples in the ocean after a smooth stone had been thrown in. It radiated outwards through the silent traffic, a few of the group spinning around to see where the noise was coming from. I gave an awkward wave, doubling over to try and cease my loud chortles. Once I had caught my breath back, I straightened up to be met by a pair of annoyed brown eyes.
"Sorry, that was uncalled for." My tone wavered at the effort it took to stop my giggles, form shaking as if it were reacting in place of my voice.
"You don't look sorry…" Glenn replied in annoyance, ducking back under the hood. "Dale told me to teach you, right?"
"Yeah, but you don't have to-" Before I could finish, Glenn had appeared again and thrown the tool at me. At the sudden object flying in my direction I quickly tried to catch it, but only barely managed to after it slipped out of my hands a few times. As it slid out of one, I'd try to catch it with the other and vice versa. Glenn watched my fumbling with a furrowed brow, lips and cheeks tightening as this time he tried not to laugh at me.
Once I had finally steadied it in my hands, Glenn pointed towards a rusty piece of metal. "We have to undo the clamps to the radiator hose with the flathead. You do that while I go look for a replacement."
This group seemed to have a habit of leaving at the exact moment I had something to say, because as soon as I turned to ask if the thing in my hand was the flathead Glenn was already walking away. He had a method of walking that made him seem like he was in a constant hurry. His steps weren't long but they were rapid, and his calm demeanour only proved that this was a normal pace to him. I shrugged, beginning to swiftly fiddle with the clamp in the hopes that I could finally leave soon.
"Hey, Glenn!" Shane's voice pierced the air, irritating my ears so much that I felt compelled to look his way as well. "Did you say we were out of water?"
A burning sensation grew in my dry throat at the sight of water. Shane had undone the lid of a huge container of the liquid and it poured over his body. I licked my cracked lips, feeling more allure from the waves of water gulping out of the tank than I had for any man or woman in my whole life. It was a sad thought, but a true one nonetheless. I had forgotten just how thirsty I had become over the last few days.
The joy on Glenn's face almost matched my own, his voice drenched in that same rapture. "Hey, save me some!"
"It's like being baptised, man!" Shane yelled back. He really didn't act like the man I had met yesterday, but I was too dehydrated to concentrate on why that was.
I began jogging over to the truck, not even bothered that I'd have to be in Shane's presence to get to it. I was almost there, I could even feel the droplets bouncing off of Shane's broad shoulders and raining onto my face, but when he turned around I felt my legs freeze. His dark eyes were an endless depth of ink that made you feel as if you were drowning. The permanent scowl on his face dropped, a cold sweat starting to replace the clean water that saturated him. I peered over my shoulder, blue eyes turning to slits as they tried to see further into the distance. Now I could see it. A herd of Decayers stumbling in our direction, too many to take on all at once. My feet pounded against the road, it still sizzled under the sun's rays and I was starting to feel the heat seep into the soles of my worn out shoes. Still, I ran, rushing over to Glenn and dragging him beneath the car he had been taking a radiator hose from. Shane ducked under the car next to us, pressing a finger to his lips when Glenn gave a loud whisper of "What's going on?!"
The fear sat on me at an almost suffocating weight. Enough air got by it, allowing my mind to stay awake and functioning, but it was crippling all the same. Every breath felt too loud, every movement too visible. Dirty, bloodied feet were my only view as the corpses shuffled passed us. Glenn's back pressed against mine, both looking in a different direction. I could feel every tremble that ran up his spine and it only succeeded in making me shake as well. It was one thing to experience fear yourself, but to feel someone else's only made it worse. I had never seen so many Decayers in one place, never felt so helpless. An instant regret was all I could feel through my terror for helping the group. They may have been good people but it wasn't worth this. Despite my certainty that I was doomed, the herd begun to thin out until only a few more undead were dragging themselves down the highway. Something close to relief started to well within me, but it was quickly snatched away when the sight of a Crawler came into view. It was missing a leg, the other snapped back in a way that made it impossible to walk on. It was so severe that its foot kept dangling over its back as the Decayer squirmed. I felt my breath hitch in my throat and the ripped, dead face turned to me.
The adrenaline coursing through my veins was only shutting down my ability to think logically. All I knew was that I wanted to run, but I was trapped. It pulled itself over to me, rotted teeth snapping hungrily. I tried to keep it away, pushing on its forehead with all the strength I could master but physical power was a great weakness of mine. A quiet cry left my throat, and I felt Glenn shift from beside me. I could barely feel his hand on my leg through the wheezing generating from my lungs and the horror when my arms begun to quiver under the pressure. My elbows buckled, the Decayer jolting forward before a splatter of blood hit my face. In my delayed mind I thought it had bitten me. The blood on my nose and across my chin being processed as my own and creating a fake pain to go along with it. Only after I gave a whimper did I see the knife stuck in the corpse's skull. My knife. In the confusion all I could do was let out incomprehensible noises while my brain and body tried to catch up with what had happened. Without warning, a pair of arms wrapped around me, a hand covering my mouth firmly and sending me into an initial panic. I began to struggle, but though I could tell they weren't the strongest person I had encountered, they were still sturdier than I was. 'Shh' Glenn hushed, and this my brain could decipher. I stopped. Not even trying to loosen his grip over my mouth that was refusing any air to enter, and making it much harder to breathe through my nose. Thankfully, the Decayers appeared to have stopped walking around soon after and he let go of me before I could pass out. A large gulp of oxygen filled my lungs, head dizzy but at least calming down.
Glenn heaved himself from beneath the car, looking around before motioning for me to do the same. I crawled out on shivering legs, giving a begrudged "Thank you" to Glenn once I was fully out. The fresh air entered my body, and though I was still extremely thirsty, my mind cleared. It was like I had been starved of an open area for days. We had been under that car getting more carbon dioxide from each other's breath than actual oxygen. I didn't even mind how hot it was anymore, I was just grateful to be out of that closed up space. I was beginning to wobble over to the truck full of water when a scream sounded. Glenn and I looked at one another for a second before hurrying in the direction it had come from.
"Those monsters are after my baby!" Carol wailed, held back by Lori who tried desperately to not only stop her from following but to keep her quiet.
A lump became lodged in my throat, worry draining all color from my face. My main priority was keeping myself safe but knowing that there was a child out there ate away at me. I thought that maybe it was worth the risk to go after her, at least I knew the area well enough to not get lost, but when I moved toward the railing Lori shook her head.
"She's going to be fine… Rick went after her." She tried to sound convinced, but I could hear every falter in her tone. We wouldn't know until they came back. Still, those passing minutes were a torture that kept cycling from one to the other. It was so relentless that we could hear every breath, every snap of a twig. Even when T-Dog made loud groans of pain behind us it seemed to increase in volume as soon as it hit our ears. I could tell that he was badly hurt, but the sounds of Daryl assisting him prevented me from turning around. My attention was captured by the forest Sophia had disappeared into, every rustling leaf giving me hope that they had returned then a sinking defeat when it was wasn't them.
