Entry 4: Merger

One by one, steel instruments were lifted from the scanty tabletop, and gently confined to the protection of a polyester home. An informal proposal now fulfilled, olive green eyes rose to meet her patient, and though he bore a fatigued and visibly sore exterior, a weak smile of appreciation entertained the corner of his lips.

"Thank you, truly, I am grateful," said T-Dog.

"It was nothing, I'm happy to help," the former nurse chimed, a small smile soon blossomed to expose white teeth.

As both hands retrieved the medical bag lain across a tattered seat, Evelyn stood up from her fixed position, and in few steps, exited the oversized motor home. The refreshing twilight breeze was the first to greet her as she fled the stale holding that caged the presence of far too many bodies. Lungs deeply inhaled the pure air as her vision hurriedly sought an enlarged vehicle beyond the lifeless interstate, though a return to her familiar was suddenly hindered.

"We can't thank you enough, really. We are so grateful, and if there's anything we can do in return, we'll certainly do what we can," Lori offered as she approached.

"Oh, you're welcome. If you wouldn't mind helping me move some cars aside so I can be on my way, it would be much appreciated," Evelyn replied.

"Hold on, don't tell me you still plan on going to Atlanta? Not after what Shane told you!" Andrea quickly pursued the young female, disbelief governed her movement as her voice roused in protest.

"Well, what do you want? My family, my friends, everyone I know is dead, I'm all alone with no other place to go and no one to turn to but my brother and my sister-in-law in Atlanta," she stated, perhaps a plea of insanity, yet a lonely existence would adhere to a last hope.

"I'm sorry to say this, but your brother is probably dead, we barely made it out of there alive, to go in there now would be suicide," Dale argued as he stepped beyond the shelter of his RV, his volunteered opinion readily amplified a fast erupting dispute.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Evelyn confirmed.

"And yet you'll still go?" Dale questioned as a bewildered expression crossed his face.

"That's a bad idea, I mean a really bad idea," Glenn added, the modest tenor in his words barely exceeded those who surrounded.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," Rick calmly objected.

There was much on the man's mind, too much, and to immerse himself in a stranger's affairs was a path Rick preferred to abstain from, yet guilt ripened, and soon another burden beset his already stressed shoulders. He refused to repay compassion with certain death.

"I'm sorry but there's no safe zone in Atlanta. I can't say whether or not yer brother is alive, and I'm sorry 'bout that, but you are, you've survived this long, come this far, don't risk that," Rick stated, but his plea would only fall on deaf and stubborn ears.

"So, you're not going to help me then?" she assumed, her gaze averted as soft features strained, "Alright well, I can handle clearing the road on my own."

When conversation ceased to fill the unsettled air, Evelyn turned away from new acquaintances, and every step taken removed her presence from perplexed stares. A minor gap between bodies soon grew to an enlarged chasm until the many vehicles lain across the dead highway swallowed her petite figure whole. A rushed pace carried her towards a place she knew best as a sigh relieved from parted lips, anxiety of a seemingly inevitable loneliness danced bitterly on her tongue.

"Rick we have to do something," Lori urged her husband.

"Lori's right, we can't just let her go off like that, not by herself," Andrea agreed.

"We could point her in the direction of Fort Benning instead," Rick suggested.

"She's out lookin' for her brother, whether he's dead or not, blood is blood, she ain't gonna be stopped so easily. I've been there myself," Daryl claimed, his tone low and rasp.

"So uh, this might be crazy, but we just lost Jacqui a few days ago, and our group is a lot smaller now than it used to be, maybe it wouldn't hurt to let someone new in," Glenn proposed.

"We barely have enough food for ourselves as it is, we can't afford to feed someone we don't even know," Shane argued.

"How can you be so heartless?" Lori questioned as her words roused in anger.

"Hey, I'm just tryin' to keep an eye out for everyone else, the safety of our own comes first," Shane backfired.

"She can help us find more, and she has some things we are currently lacking," Glenn retorted.

"She's a nurse, she has professional medical training. She's already proved her worth!" Lori further contested.

Overwhelmed and fatigued, the former officer retreated to silence, a single hand strayed upward and dragged along the length of his brow as his weary mind attempted to gather jumbled thoughts. Evelyn had greeted him with a smile and a kind gesture, a blessing for himself and his group, yet had she encountered others who lacked any moral conduct, she would be taken advantage of with ease. Death would surely become her, or worse.

"She'll come with us," Rick announced, his decision to grant her an honest chance awarded him several nods of consent.

Weathered boots echoed rhythmically along the desolate road as the shrill melodies of nocturnal summer insects eagerly welcomed the ever darkening skies. As Rick drew near, curious blue eyes noticed the trunk of Evelyn's vehicle ajar, and the young female he sought had preoccupied herself with a meager task of organizing what little possessions she had left. Arms then stretched far above her head to tug at a fabric tongue, and as the trunk came downward, a third hand touched the pitch black hide, palm flat and fingers spread to help the metal frame come together with a subtle slam. Eyes widened at the unexpected sight as a gasp filled her lungs with more oxygen than needed. She wasn't alone. Her chin instantly tilted skyward, and her vision encompassed a figure she recognized.

"Oh, Mr. Grimes, I wasn't expecting you," she breathed, startled by his sudden reappearance, "I apologize for what I said, and what I did too. I didn't mean to be so rude, I guess I've just been on edge lately."

"It's alright, I know the feelin'. Oh and, don't worry 'bout the formalities, just call me Rick," he said.

"Ok Rick. So uh, did you need something?" Evelyn questioned as intuition suggested an unresolved matter had brought him to her.

"Yeah actually, I'm here with a proposition for you," he informed.

"Oh? Well do tell," she expressed eagerly.

"I know you're set on findin' yer family, and I get it, I went through that myself not too long ago. It ain't easy to give that up, but if you'd be willin' to, then maybe you could consider joinin' us instead?" Rick offered, a gentle tone alight in his speech.

"A-are you serious?" dumbstruck, her mouth fired off before any thought was allowed in, "Yes, yes I will! Thank you, thank you so much! I promise not to cause any trouble, and I will do anything I can to help," Evelyn stated, as if to further secure her position in the group.

"Well I'm glad to hear it. Welcome to our group Evelyn," Rick replied with a small grin.

Evelyn's vow was automatic, and fled her lips without a second thought, and though the desire to reunite with her elder brother burned bright, her will to survive shined even brighter. Surely she would deem herself a fool to decline his lifesaving offer. Evelyn knew she would always wonder about Ben and his wife Alice, but she was confident she chose the right path. No longer would she be isolated in a world she failed to recognize. Eager to return, Evelyn and the man she now called "leader" roamed the highway side by side, their movement in sync with one another.

"Mind if I ask ya somethin'? You see a lil' girl round here? Twelve years old, short brown hair, carryin' a doll with her," Rick wondered.

"No, sorry I haven't. You're the first person I've seen since I left California. Why, is there someone missing?" Evelyn replied as a question of her own surfaced.

"Yeah, name's Sophia, she went missin' in the woods earlier today," Rick told her.

"That's awful. I'll help you look for her," Evelyn offered.

"We'd appreciate that. I planned on settin' up a search party tomorrow," Rick said, a fleeting moment of silence succeeded before Rick's southern vocals stirred again to encourage small talk, "You been by yourself since this all happened?" he wondered.

"No, I was with my father before I came here. He uh, he didn't make it," Evelyn replied, a hushed tone exited her tightened throat as she spoke of her father, a pieced together heart continued to grieve over his loss.

"I'm sorry," Rick said lowly in remorse.

"It's fine, I'm slowly coming to terms with it," she assured with a faint smile pressed against her tightly bound lips, if only to disrupt the sorrow that clouded the air between them.

As Evelyn rejoined the others, she no longer bore the title of an outsider, but a member. With words of a formal introduction mutually aired, relief befell the blonde to finally have names put to faces. As the dusk permitted only a short lapse of time before the heavens overflowed with serene silver stars, Rick instructed the removal of cars to clear a route along the abandoned interstate. With the given task swiftly completed, Evelyn relocated her SUV alongside their own, a symbol of two separate worlds merging into one. As darkness triumphed, a controlled flame was set ablaze by the rugged man she learned to be Daryl, and the hot headed male known as Shane. A small meal was shared between all, and Evelyn contributed with her own supplies as much as she could, her new purpose in life, and one she aimed to uphold. Though a hardened leather seat served as a mattress within her own vehicle, an internal smile graced the surface of a slowly mending heart. Evelyn slept soundly that night, a peaceful slumber gone uninterrupted for the first time in weeks.