Chapter 12 "Nashville"
Day 24
The group had been on the road, bunking with the new people, and not having to find houses to stay in anymore. They could finally just blend in, look like abandoned vehicles, and get a good rest without burning precious calories and risking their lives clearing out houses. Of course, there were many drawbacks. With a group this large, things got awkward, and sometimes disgusting. There was very little room to share among themselves, and often they had other people's feet or butts in their face.
Thankfully, it has only been two nights that they have had to put up with this. On this day, things were looking up. All of this gross sleeping together in such close quarters was going to change. Everyone would get their own room, and finally be happy, and maybe even be reunited with friends and family. This would all be over.
They were now about five miles out from Nashville, just passing through a town no one bothered to look at the name for. Rain was pouring outside the windows of the RV, creating a beautiful sound that calmed and soothed certain members of the group. Water hitting against the metallic roof of the vehicle, a familiar sound to the Greenes, Otis, Patricia, and Robert. Reminded them of home; of cold nights in with the family; of the countryside during storms. It was almost magical. In the distance, smoke could faintly be seen through the wet windshield. "Must be nice and warm. Maybe havin' 'em a barbecue," Otis said, half-joking. "Must be a real big one," Patricia added.
At the couch, Shawn, Amanda, and Beth were in the middle of a conversation.
"Wait, you used weed?" Beth asked, amazed.
"Yup. Crack, too. Even heroin and meth. But it's nothing to brag about, girl. That shit fucks you up."
Shawn rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. But what made you stop?"
"Well, it was Erin. She and I were friends, long before all this started. She really helped me out. I was in a bad crowd. Lots of assholes and addicts," Amanda trailed off for a second, looking at her hands, looking at scars on her wrists from years ago. "What got me was this one night, I.. my boyfriend at the time, he was throwing a party. I was there, and so were all the cool people in my school. And all of the addicts. Was a great party. But, my boyfriend, he was really pushing me. He got me to take a cocktail of drugs and alcohol all mixed together. I don't know how he got me to do it, but he did. I passed out, and I guess one of the kids saw me and called Erin, 'cause they knew we were friends. She came over and helped me, when no one else would. Got me into rehab, got me all clean. God, I wish she was still here. She's the only reason I am."
Shawn looked on, feeling ashamed for asking. "I'm sorry for-"
"Don't be," she said. "I'm just glad I could finally get it off my chest."
Beth looked like she was about to cry, and reached over the table to give her a big hug. "No one should have to go through somethin' like that. I'm so sorry" Amanda returned the hug and smiled. These were good people.
In the other RV, Xavier decided to let Seth drive, as he had been quite nice to him, along with the fact that he was tired of always driving this hunk of junk. Now, Xavier and Sierra were lying in the bed with Robert and Lyrik talking about the world, while Jessie and Ron sat up front playing with the boy's toys.
"Yeah, I kinda used to be a model," Sierra said. "I didn't get a lot of work near the end, before this all started, but y'know. I was happy."
"I could totally see that," Lyrik said.
"Right?" Robert said. "She looks like a mix between Hayden Panettiere and Dakota Fanning."
Sierra laugh happily, blushing slightly. "Thanks, I guess."
Robert nodded to her, smiling. "Well, what did you do?" he asked Xavier.
"Uh, well. I was an actor. Not a great one, obviously, but I got as much work as I could."
"Oh, so is that how you two know each other?" Lyrik asked.
"Yeah," Xavier said, glancing to Sierra and awkwardly looking away when their eyes met. "Um," he paused. Robert and Lyrik smiled to each other, delighting in the two's mannerisms. "My manager was really pushing for professional shots - photos, I mean. And he set me up with one of Atlanta's most respected photographers, and apparently Sierra was there working with him that day. Originally, we were both going to have separate photoshoots, but the photographer thought we were a cute couple, so he made us pose together. One of the pictures we took together actually ended up on a magazine. From there, we just, you know. Started hanging out. Became really close."
"Okay, so, are you two a thing or what?" Robert asked, feeling almost thrilled to finally be able to gossip again. It made things seem almost normal. God, did he miss this.
Sierra laughed to herself and looked to Xavier, inaudibly telling him to tell the story.
"Well, not anymore," he said coyly.
Lyrik playfully gasped. "I told you so! You owe me five bullets, Robert," she said, making them all laughed.
"No," Sierra said. "We're not a thing. But we used to be. We broke up just a little while before this all started. It's just a sick twist of fate that we were both given kid-watching duty in Atlanta when the shit hit the fan at our refuge."
"I'll say," Xavier nodded.
"So, is that how you guys wound up with Ron?" Lyrik asked.
"Yeah," Xavier said and grew quiet, more serious. "There were others, too. Some we had, some we didn't. There was six kids we were watching at the time, but there were many more throughout the place, but most of them were with their parents, so I can only hope they made it," Xavier paused, looking out the wet window at the passing scenery of cars crashed in ditches, walkers eating things on the sides of the road, and what looked to be another group of survivors at one point, but they all went into the woods before Xavier could register it. He looked back to everyone and caught his train of thought. "We lost this pair of siblings. Names were Eliza and Louis, but we're pretty sure they made it to their parents. There were two other little girls and a boy, though. Nellie, Ethan, and Lila. Ethan and Lila died to the herd that attacked, and Nellie was bitten during it. She, uh. She turned the next morning and we had to put her down in front of Ron. God, that was hard to explain. Hard enough to explain that we didn't know where his mom was." Xavier seemed to be on the verge of tears, and Sierra put a hand on his shoulder.
After a few moments of slightly awkward silence, Sierra looked to Robert and Lyrik, and said with playfulness returning to her voice, "So what about you two? Are you guys a thing?"
Lyrik and Robert looked to each other and laughed loudly. "Yeah, girl," Lyrik said, still laughing. "Me and this boy are in love, makin' babies an' shit."
Robert laughed even harder. After a few moments, he finally stopped laughing and was able to speak. "No," he said. "For one, I'm gay. For two, her? Really? She's unbearable!"
Lyrik scoffed playfully and smiled to Sierra. "Doesn't mean I'm not a good catch, though. And neither's Robert over here, huh Xavier? Huh?" Lyrik said, vocally nudging Xavier's shoulder.
Xavier chuckled lowly and awkwardly. "Nah," he said. "I don't swing that way. Not that there's anything wrong with it, though! It's just, you know, not for me."
Robert was smiling at Xavier, but when he said that, Robert was hit with the thought that he may never see another gay guy again. The people here could be the only people he ever sees again. Realizing he was being watched stare off into the distance, he quickly thought of a retort. "We'll see about that. Change your mind, you call me first, baby."
Xavier laughed, attempting to think of something to say back, but the RV suddenly stopped, flinging everyone forward. "What the hell, Hershel?!" Seth yelled from the driver's seat.
In the front RV, Hershel was forced to put a sudden halt to the trip, interrupting everything going on in both of the vehicles and nearly causing Seth to crash right into the back of the leading RV. In front of them, a large mass of walkers was visible. The smoke was now clarified to be the city of Nashville, aflame and destroyed, in cinders and ruin, painting a devastating background behind the herd as rain poured down heavily onto it all. Many gasps were heard, and Hershel looked horrified. For him, this cemented that there was no safety. There was no sanctuary. Maggie put a hand on his shoulder, sadly looking at the destruction.
Hershel kissed his daughter's hand and composed himself. "I'm sorry, everyone," he said to those in his RV. "I thought we would finally be safe. I guess I was wrong."
Patricia, Amanda, Otis, and Beth looked coldly at the remains of the city as Hershel made a u-turn, taking the group away from the awful scene. The rain seemed the intensify, the sound growing louder. It looked as if they may never catch a break.
