It took longer than expected for the group to reach their destination; Abe cursed under his breath after having to take a detour because walkers were blocking the road, going around in circles a few times, having to drive through the woods, and refilling the tank with gas before they finally reached the town. They settled in a house, and once everything was in order, Abe decided to take a small group to get more supplies.
"Eugene and Rosita with me." he replied. "Anyone else want to come along?"
"Yeah, I think Chloe needs to do more than shoot walkers all day." Milton answered.
"Dad!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Chloe, I'm giving you two choices," Milton started. "Go with them, or else."
Chloe hesitated for a minute, before finally giving in.
"Oh, all right." she replied. "But I'm driving."
"I won't argue with that." Abe responded with a smile.
"We better get going, then." Rosita said, observing the cloudy dark gray sky. "I don't like the way those clouds look. And Eugene is waiting for us in the van."
Andrea gave Rosita a list, whispering so Chloe couldn't hear anything. Chloe had tried to talk to Andrea that morning, but was promptly told to leave her alone, with Chloe being taken back by the irritation in Andrea's voice.
Chloe got into the driver's seat, and waited until everyone else was in the van before setting to go on their run. Everyone was telling Chloe which way to go, and to take short cuts before Chloe slammed her foot on the brake.
"I'm the one in the driver's seat, so I decide which way we go!" she responded with annoyance. "There was a Family Dollar not too far from here, and a grocery store next to it. That's where we're going. You all best not be trying to drive me crazy, or that's exactly where we'll go."
The passengers were quiet after that; Rosita was busy looking at the sky. A clap of thunder told them that they needed to hurry. Chloe turned into a grocery store parking lot, parking close to the entrance.
"We'll scan through the grocery store first." Abe decided. "Let's not waste any time. Chloe, you go with Rosita; Eugene and I will grab what we can."
Rosita was looking at the list Andrea gave her; Chloe tried to look at it, but Rosita wouldn't let her see it.
"She doesn't want you to know." Was all Rosita said, as they headed towards the pharmacy.
"Just as well." Chloe said. "She hasn't said a word to me since this morning. All I did was say 'Good Morning' and she's suddenly in a bad mood; wait, she must be... yeah, that's it. Well, I can't really blame her, can I?"
"Why don't you go over and see what you can find in health and beauty?" Rosita suggested.
Chloe headed over to the health and beauty department, which looked like it had been partially raided
"Not much here." she replied, grabbing what she could. "This whole damn place look like it was ransacked by-"
Chloe's words were drowned by a loud thunder clap, followed by a sound in another part of the store. Chloe ran back to the pharmacy.
"What was that?" she asked.
"Eugene probably dropped something," Rosita guessed. "Let's get going, I got what was needed."
Chloe kept her rifle ready, and was ready to grab her knife at any point. One sound of a growl and she grabbed her knife and swung it right into that walker's brain. That didn't stop more of them from stumbling towards the front of the store.
"Oh, fu-" Chloe started saying, before her words were drowned out again.
Rosita looked at her with shock, and was ready to scold her, but changed her mind before the two of them went to go look for Abe and Eugene, who they found gathering food.
"We need to hurry." Chloe stated. "There's walkers in this store."
"Rosita, with me." Abe instructed. "Eugene, Chloe, keep watch up front."
Chloe and Eugene got to the front of the store, where they could see rain pouring heavily outside. By the looks of it, it was awfully windy, too. Chloe counted the gun shots that were fired in the store, until...
BOOM!
Chloe nearly jumped; that was the loudest clap of thunder she ever heard. There was no way she was going to drive in that weather. She was having a hard time staying calm, and was dreading having to walk outside. Abe and Rosita headed up front, both of them splattered with blood.
"We'll go next door and wait it out." Abe stated. "We're not staying in here, it reeks of death. Let's stay together."
The four of them walked out, into the windy and wet. By the time they got next door, they were all soaked to the skin.
"I'm going to find something else to wear." Chloe proclaimed once they stepped inside. "Let's go next door and wait! Honestly!"
Chloe found a pair of jeans and a green button-up shirt to wear. After changing out of her wet clothes and into the dry, she stopped by the infants section and found a few adorable outfits for Judith, even grabbing some toys and other essentials for her as well, and found the cutest blanket with butterflies and flowers on it.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" Rosita asked, making Chloe jump. "You were supposed to be finding clothes to wear, not going shopping."
"I wouldn't exactly call it shopping." Chloe responded. "Besides, I was getting some things for Judith."
"Okay, that's understandable." Rosita conceded. "But why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?"
"I've never been a big fan of severe thunderstorms," Chloe admitted.
"I can't blame you." Rosita said. "Come on, we're waiting for you.
Rosita and Chloe walked back to the front. Chloe sat down on the floor, trying not to think about what could happen; looking out the windows made things worse, so Abe and Eugene cleared out an area in the back where they could stay until the weather cleared up.
"Eugene, stay with Chloe." Abe commanded. "Rosita and I are going to check in the receiving area for walkers."
Chloe was too busy trying to think about something else to notice anything. She was too old to be afraid of storms, but then again, it was a common fear.
"Eugene, you've been awfully quiet." Chloe mentioned with a tremble in her voice. "That's not like you."
"I'm just thinking about what I'm going to do after I save the world." Eugene stated.
"You mean after we save the world." Chloe corrected him. "We're in this together. And if any of those government dweebs try anything funny, they'll have their asses handed back to them. You must think I'm nuts, being afraid of a storm. I'm nearly nineteen and I still have this damn fear."
"Everyone's afraid of something," Eugene implied.
"I used to be afraid of the walkers, but now they don't seem to bother me," Chloe confided. "I know I have to kill them, but I know I don't have a choice. I'm not ready to give up yet; maybe we'll be able to settle down someday. We won't have to keep moving around. We can build a nice little town, and not have anything to worry about. Maybe my father and Andrea will-"
Chloe jumped when another loud clap of thunder sounded. She let out a yelp, when someone grabbed her from behind.
"It's okay." Abe whispered. "You're safe; it's just thunder. Take a deep breath. That's it."
Chloe took a deep breath, and took a few minutes to calm down. Abe let go and Chloe turned around, ready to apologize, but Abe stopped her.
"You don't have to," he spoke gently. "Let's have something to eat. How about some canned oysters? No?"
"I'll eat oysters the day we have nothing else to eat." Chloe implied. "Just give me one of those cans of deviled ham and a packet of crackers. Give me one of those bottles of water, too."
"There you go." Abe said with a smile. "You all set?"
Chloe nodded and got started on her meal, while the others found something to eat. Abe sat next to Chloe, watching her closely. The thundering was now a far distance away, but when Abe went to check up front, it was still pouring rain outside. He returned and sat back down.
"My daughter was afraid of storms." he implied.
Chloe looked at him in shock.
"You had a daughter?"
"And a son." Abe replied. "At the first sound of thunder, my little girl would come to me and my wife. If it was the middle of the night, she'd climb into bed with us."
Chloe wanted to ask Abe about his family, but figured it wasn't a good time.
"I'm being ridiculous." Chloe admitted. "Being afraid of storms at my age, but I know I'm not the only one. Small storms don't bother me, though. When I was a kid, my mom would stay with me until I fell asleep."
"It must be tough having Andrea take that place." Abe guessed.
"Actually, I wanted her and my father to be together since the beginning." Chloe confessed. "Before Andrea and Michonne showed up, I shut myself away from the rest of the world, only talking to a few people. Two years ago, I would have avoided you, but now I'm happy to make new friends, even welcome them into our family."
"What were you going to say earlier?" Eugene asked. "Before you were interrupted by nature?"
"I was going to say that I'd like for my father and Andrea to start a family," Chloe answered. "It would give my father a reason to keep living if anything were to happen to me. And we'll see where my future with Garth takes me. Mind you, I never really wanted children; and I don't know if he wants any, but we'll make that decision together later on down the road."
"So, you want to live a normal life, but you don't want things to change," Rosita implied
"There's no point in trying to go back to the way things used to be," Chloe admitted. "The house I grew up in is probably gone now. It's not like I'd want to go back there. And even if I could, I wouldn't."
"I'm going to go check again." Abe said, getting to his feet.
Abe walked to the front, then came right back.
"It's still raining, but we can make it." he declared. "Let's get everything into the van. I'll drive this time."
Chloe helped gather the supplies, and put them into a container to make it easier to carry, and put it into a shopping cart, which Abe took to the van and loaded in the back. Chloe checked through the store one more time, before finally walking out, and joining the others in the van.
"The others must be worried," Rosita assumed.
"They'll understand," Abe implied.
The group made it back to the house, without taking any short cuts this time. Milton was relieved when they returned, but didn't expect Chloe to run past him, and embrace Garth. Milton only smiled. Rosita handed Andrea a brown paper bag, while the others got the supplies inside. Chloe was showing Carol the items she brought for Judith; Carol thought Judith would look adorable in the pink onesie with purple flowers.
"You need to talk to Chloe." Rosita demanded.
"I will." Andrea said. "Just not yet."
"Does Milton know?" Rosita asked.
"I told him yesterday," Andrea replied.
"Then, you should tell Chloe." Rosita replied. "She's your daughter; all she said to you was 'Good morning' and you were suddenly in a bad mood."
"I wasn't feeling well, that's all." Andrea confessed. "I'll have a talk with Milton first."
"All right, but you have to talk to Chloe after." Rosita instructed.
"I will." Andrea promised.
Chloe stepped outside, as Rosita was walking inside, both exchanging friendly smiles. Andrea smiled at Chloe, then went to talk to Milton. Chloe decided she'd wait, so she could talk to both of them later.