Eve's POV

I have no idea what prompted this, but I'm not complaining.

'Should I lean against him? Will that make him uncomfortable?'

I looked to the side and met teal blue eyes, so much darker without the lights, like the ocean at night on a full moon or the crest of a wave with the glowing warm orange of the afternoon sun shining down on it. Matte in the darkness but somehow still shining and washed with something that gives me a strange feeling. Warm but also like I need to say I'm ok.

I leaned into his side. The corners of my lips turning up in a soft smile.

We were silent, staring at each other's eyes and strangely it doesn't feel at all awkward. It's almost like we're having a conversation that neither of us are aware of, but still understand.

We stayed like that for a little while before somehow unanimously deciding it's time to read again—

"We should go to sleep."

…

Maybe, our Eve-speak is not as fluent as I thought.

Next morning, we had our meeting about where to head next (everyone else did most of the talking) and there's actually several towns around here and we know this area fairly well already.

There was a little bit of arguing but in the end, we managed to agree that it's too dangerous to get on the road and try to get very far when we don't have a way of telling when or how bad it's gonna snow.

The roads, visibility, and ice alone are already causing all kinds of problems, so it's best to stick close by and move slower/more carefully than we have after leaving other places.

This house made a great winter base and it's been effective. So the next town we hit, we're gonna look specifically for places like it and choose something to hole up in again while we drain the area of resources.

Feels kind of like being a pack of migratory animals. But I mean, can you even argue that we're not, at this point?

I for one feel much safer moving like this than just drifting along, hoping to catch some luck.

And it'll be easier on the kids and Lori. She can't run around like she used to. We can't risk it now that she's carrying.

I almost forgot she was pregnant before but she's showing now. Really showing.

I don't know anything about having kids or pregnancy other than how to not get pregnant and like the basic facts and stuff, and the things I've learned from various people in the group since Lori got pregnant. So I have no idea what trimester she's in or anything like that.

I know it's weird not knowing these things. Me being a healthy adult woman and all, and having gone through sex ed but to be honest I had greater concerns at the time and I only really retained the sciency side of it. How the baby grows in the uterus and everything, and like cleanliness and stuff.

If I'm being totally honest, pregnancy scares me and makes me weirdly uncomfortable. So I may or may not have actively avoided anything to do with it up to now.

Something about a living thing growing inside one of your organs and siphoning nutrients from your body just flips my stomach. I mean … it's better when I don't think about it being me, and that it's someone else. But it still kinda freaks me out.

Daryl's been teasing me about it since he noticed me eyeing Lori's tummy warily every so often.

I didn't even realize I was doing it until he started giving me shit for it.

I'm not proud to say unborn babies scare me (they're fine afterwards) but anyway, I was the first one out of the kitchen as soon as we were done talking and went to do my final sweep of the house to make sure we haven't forgotten anything.

By the time I was done, everyone was outside and had decided in seating arrangements.

Randall and T-Dog are coming in the truck with me and Daryl, the Grimes' + Carol are going in the lead car, and the Greene's + Glenn are in the middle.

I have first driving shift and wherever we end up stopping next, I'll switch with Daryl and hopefully take me a nap, leaving navigation to Randall and communication to T-Dog.

And that's exactly what happened.

A half hour later, Glenn flagged a gas station and a horn was briefly tapped. They became the lead car, followed by Rick and I brought up the rear, as usual.

There weren't many walkers but we got to test out our new quiet communication skills inspired by yours truly.

We filled several cans and found some batteries and other gas station snacks and stuff, which should hold us over long enough to find a place, and I switched with Daryl as soon as we were leaving again.

It was remarkably uneventful. Almost — scarily — routine. But I could really do with more routine. It would be a dream if getting supplies were this easy all the time.

Buuuut it won't be. Shhh, let me dream.

I yawned as I stared through the driver-side window. My sleeping bag tucked around me like a blanket and my night vision goggles on, keeping watch.

We couldn't find a place to stay before dark and we can't drive around in the dark like this. The risk of getting lost or something happening is too great.

The cars are all parked in the middle of the road, arranged to look like an accident where they've been abandoned, just in case.

The plan is to have me keep watch all night instead of shifts since I'm the only one who can see and I slept for like 5 hours today in the car.

What can I say, sleep is my second favorite pastime. The first being watching a walker try to walk through a tree for 2 hours and a raccoon run up and down its back out of nowhere, chasing something.

That was better than day time television.

Other than that, it's been quiet. Boring and quiet, just the way we like it. I can watch the stars instead and resist reaching for my books. I'm supposed to be on watch not just staying up.

A forceful gust of wind rustled the leaves, channeling down the street like a funnel and hitting both sides. Bringing flurries of cold white with it.

Looks like we'll be leading tomorrow. I knew the snow-plow hitch would come in handy.

If there wasn't 4 of us in here, all of us wrapped up in insulating covers it would freezing in here. It's still cold, but we took precautions. Every car has different stuff in it to handle the cold.

Daryl in the passenger seat though, the man has his bare arm against the freezing window and hasn't moved since he put it there the last time he shifted, and he shifted a lot before that. At least once an hour, even if it was minor.

His arm is gonna be so cold when he wakes up and I'm not gonna let him live it down, Frosty~

I smiled out the window at the snow gently drifting past my eyelashes on the other side of thin but strong blue glass.

The walkers… am I crazy?

They look like they're moving slower than usual.

I watched a walker 30-40 feet down the road meander along, dragging her arm behind her, moving from one side of the street to the other without paying any attention to the cars. Which is also weird, because normally they'd be able to smell us from this distance, even inside the cars.

My eyes narrowed, just watching it curiously for what must've been half an hour or longer, until it was gone from sight.

I think the snow is dampening their sense of smell.

Maybe not just that, tree boy didn't even attempt to go after that raccoon earlier, and can't seem to tell the difference between the tree and a person. He's just biting it.

Several more hours past exactly like this, a walker or two stumbling by here and there but never bothering us, and I almost fell asleep twice but then I stopped needing my goggles to see and soon after, the sky began to turn colors.

As soon as the drivers were all awake and convened outside the vehicles, we decided where to head, did some quick info and supply calculations about how long we can last like this (which isn't long) and climbed back into the cars, I crashed in the passenger seat; with the intention to be awoken when we find something or need more eyes, or something happens.

"What about that white one right there on the corner?" T-Dog pointed out the window at yet another house in this neighborhood.

I leaned forward in the backseat behind the driver's to get a better view.

"Good sight lines." Daryl glanced at me from the passenger seat and we shared agreeing nods.

"There's a lot a houses round here. We might find some good stuff." Randall interjected, glancing at me from his seat behind Daryl.

I nodded and reached over pointing out the window as we passed a house with a view into the background. Where there's a medium-sized foggy-glassed building.

Randall smiled like a giddy kid and a smirk crawled across my lips.

We're checkin' that house first.

"Alright, white one, it is. We can park the truck on the road and back the other two cars in to the driveway." T summed up and we nodded.

"Eve and I will go in first." Daryl said, getting ready to get out.

I nodded and got ready to get out of the car, knives ready and jackets zipped up. Boots secure and a little bag of road salt to melt the ice that could be clinging at the bottom of the sloped driveway.

"I'll tell the others." Randall volunteered and I gave him a quick thumbs up.

"I'll keep watch in 'ere in case we need to get out fast." T-Dog ended.

Daryl nodded. "Keep it runnin'."

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