So this is quite a short chapter, Essie's journey was taking way too long and Google maps were beginning to confuse me. Still (still!) not sure where this is going and I'm STILL waiting for Monday. Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think if you can.
Walking the Wasteland to the Lighthouse
She'd been driving for a good 40 minutes when she saw, to her left, a warehouse surrounded by a fence. The name was still visible and she recognised it as a canned food company; there were trucks still parked in the forecourt. She drove off the road and grabbed her rifle and binoculars; she climbed the nearest tree and scoped the place out. A lot of walkers moving around the trucks and building but not too many if she could lure them to the fence and pick them off that way. She scanned the surrounding area, trying to figure out why this place was relatively untouched. She was quite a way from any main route and there weren't any large towns nearby, perhaps that was it.
Essie tapped the fence with her machete and the walkers began to make their way towards her. She braced herself and took them out through the wire; they had company uniforms on, it didn't look like these guys had even made it away from work before they turned. She waited 5 minutes to see if any more appeared and, when she was satisfied, broke the lock on the gate and walked through.
Tara dumped the rabbits onto the table and joined Glen and Noah in the armoury where Olivia was checking their weapons back in.
"Okey dokey." she said as she marked off the last pistol, "that seems about it. We're a little low on tuna and chicken, it seems to be the main thing Essie took when she left…apart from the car, so these will bulk up our meat supplies some." and she bustled off to the back of the pantry.
"I don't like tuna or chicken anyway." Tara called out after her and Noah smiled. They began to walk back home.
"You know what pisses me off?" Tara said suddenly, "she went without even waiting to see what happened. I mean I get the whole 'lone wolf, gotta work it out on her own, doesn't need anyone' thing but she was with us. She must've known we'd stand by her?"
"It takes a lot to trust someone." said Noah.
"Bullshit." replied Tara, "We trusted you. Glen trusted me. After everything that happened to her and to us I…just…I think she could've stuck around."
"I agree." Glen turned away, "but it's too late now."
Essie checked behind the line of trucks; they seemed to be locked up tight still. She tried to lift the roll door on the first one but it was locked and even her machete couldn't break it. Going along the line, they all seemed to be the same until she came to the penultimate truck. The lock was there but no one had clipped it into place. She took a deep breath and heaved the door.
"How'd it go today?" Maggie kissed Glen, relieved to see him.
"Fine. Brought back some rabbits."
"Mmmmh, my hunter gatherer." she smiled and Glen laughed.
"Have Daryl and Aaron gone?" he asked. Maggie nodded.
"How many people do you think are left out there?" he asked, watching her; she turned to look at him.
"Enough. There are enough good people left." it was Glen's turn to nod.
In the church, Gabriel stared at the cross. They didn't deserve to be here; they didn't deserve to be safe after what they did. They were killers, every one of them.
Sasha, in the clock tower, breathed out slowly and took out the walker clawing at the walls. She checked the ammunition and went back to watching.
Reg took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. He leant back in his chair and knocked the desk. The small print of The Woman after the Rapture fell onto the floor. He reached to pick it up and stared; he missed her. He and Deanna had never had a daughter but if they had he hoped she would've turned out like Essie; smart, brave, strong but without that streak of pig headed stubbornness that would end up getting her killed. He was angry with her, so angry; Deanna and the others would've accepted her in the end, all she needed to do was compromise, soften around the edges just a little bit. But then would she have been the same person? All Reg knew was that he wished she was still in Alexandria, tearing through the town and people like a hurricane with her spiky arrogance and the utter certainty that she was always right. He put the print back on his desk.
They were piled up, on top of each other; so many of them. Essie took a step back.
Boxes of cans, almost too many to count. She couldn't tell what was in them but it didn't matter. She couldn't help it, she whooped and shouted. She jumped up and down; she may have even done a small victory dance. She pulled the roll door back down and walked round to the cab. Pulling herself in, she couldn't believe her luck, the keys were in the ignition. If the truck started then today was a good day. She turned the key and the engine coughed into life, fuck yeah!
Essie drove out of the yard and pulled up to where she had left her truck. She grabbed everything and did her best to hide it, pulling over branches and covering it with leaves. She could come back and collect it when they came to get the rest of the trucks. She had about an hour until she was at Alexandria and although her stomach twisted at the thought of seeing everyone again, she smiled. A walker came out of the bushes but she ignored it, jumping back into the cab. Opening the glove box, she found a CD of Stevie Wonder's Greatest Hits. She began to sing along to Once in My Life and her anticipation grew into excitement. The walker was joined by a few more and they began to shuffle down the road but were distracted noises off in the woods and changed direction.
When she was about 7 miles away from the town she had to stop. She was scared, actually scared. She lit a cigarette and thought about the enormity of what she was about to do. What if they didn't accept her back? What if she arrived at the gate and they turned her away? Could she bear that; to be rejected by her…her family? What if the town wasn't there anymore? What if she'd read the map wrong and she was in an entirely different state? Well, she had a truck full of food, a whole apology speech planned and if that failed then she'd just camp outside of the gate until they had to let her back in. Yes, that's what she'd do.
Spencer was on gate duty. He enjoyed it, the solitude to just stare at the sky and think. He heard a rough engine coming down the road and pulled the screen to the side. A truck was coming towards the town and he didn't recognise it. He pulled the screen back and went to find someone, anyone.
He saw Rick and Abraham and called out to them.
"There's a truck coming down the road! I don't recognise it!"
"Get the others!" Rick shouted to Abraham who was already running back the way they had just come, "Spencer, go get Deanna." and he took Spencer's gun and ran towards the gate.
So it was still there and she was in the right state. The clock tower was like a lighthouse, a beacon to her. The wall was a solid as ever. Nothing had changed. She stopped the truck and just sat in the cab. Her heart felt like it would beat out of her chest. She didn't know what to do. Should she knock?
Rick listened to sound of the idling engine. This was it. This was the beginning. Whoever was in that truck was gonna try and take the town. Well, they didn't know who they were fucking with. He heard Abraham arrive with Michonne, Maggie, Glen and some of the others from the town. Spencer and Deanna joined them.
"Do we know who it is?" asked Deanna quietly and he shook his head. He turned to the others.
"Get ready." he said and pulled the screen over.
Essie got out of the cab, leaving the engine running. She would just call out to whoever was on gate duty. Hopefully it was someone she knew and just…explain. She heard the screen rattle and it revealed Rick with a gun trained on her. Behind him, Michonne, Glen, Maggie and others had their knives out, literally. Deanna was standing behind Rick.
There was a beat of silence.
"Hey." said Essie, raising her hand at the assembled group, "I brought food."
