All Molly wanted to do was buy a chocolate bar and eat it before it had time to melt in the searing Georgian heat but, clearly, nothing was ever easy.
First and foremost, the obvious current circumstances made that impossible. She would not be able to stand in a line and pull out some money from her pocket in order to pay for said chocolate bar. Nor we she be able to indulge in the flavour. Sure, she could go to a looted shop and hope that someone had been kind enough to leave a chocolate bar behind. However, the small fact that they had been travelling along the same road for days on end with nothing to see but the vast variety of trees to either side of them made that unofficial plan evaporate into thin air.
The trees grew so thickly that Molly could see no undergrowth at all; only the browned remnants of branches and needles that have fallen in the recent nightly winds. If there was any sort of path lingering within the trees, Molly couldn't see it. Her head was rested against the window, her eyes watching the tree's with a blank stare. She sighed, sitting up properly and unwinding the window. The air hit her almost instantly. The smell of the woodland she was all to familiar with was so strong that it acted as though it was calling her home.
Molly huffed, wishing for a time when such things as buying a chocolate bar and eating it on her porch was possible.
"Mama?" Jacob's small voice filled her ears. Molly looked away from the trees and down to Jacob who sat beside her in his car seat, the stuffed lion he had rescued from the CDC clasped within his arms. She hummed in acknowledgment, a tired smile growing on her face as she reached out to brush some of his hair from his forehead. "Are we goin' home now?"
Molly sighed, letting her head fall back slightly in order to take a few deep breathes.
Since the CDC, Jacob had asked his mother if they were going home at least once a day and at least once a day, she had told him why they were not going home. However, Jacob seemed to forget by the time the day was out and the following day, he would ask if they were going home once more.
To say Molly was fed up with telling him was an understatement. She grew more and more annoyed as the days went by and he continued to ask.
Of course, she always checked herself before answering his question.
She would take a moment to rid herself of the annoyance and anger and level that Jacob was still young. The youngest in the group and he had no real concept of anything that was made important in how the world worked now.
Before the dead started walking and using the living as their source of protein, Jacob was only just beginning to learn the things he needed to learn in order to get through life. Numbers, letters and words was his five day a week education and the woods surrounding his house were where he learned about the outside the other two days.
To go from that to where they were now was hard for Molly, a fully grown adult. She understood how much harder and frustrating it had to be for Jacob who was barely a child.
"Remember what I told you yesterday?" Molly finally asked him, leaning down in order to make it as though it was just the two of them and not Daryl who was driving and side eyeing them as he did so. "We won't be going home for a long time and even then... I'm not sure if we will be going back."
"But... But..." Jacob seemed slightly distraught as he looked up at Molly with furrowed brows. "Our stuff." He finally settled for.
"We took the things we needed with us, Jake." Jacob nodded ever so slowly, remembering when the two of them had spent a good amount of time packing a few of their belonging's into some bags.
"You are home." Molly jumped at the voice. She had forgotten that the two of them were riding in Daryl's truck and was slightly shocked that the man had spoken up when Jacob was talking about going home. When Jacob had asked the prior days, Daryl had kept his nose out of it and let Molly deal with the situation.
Jacob looked up at Daryl from his car seat, tilting his head. "Home?"
"Yeah... Yer' home." Daryl nodded firmly, looking as though he full believed what he was saying. "Yer' Ma's home. As long as yer' with her, yer' home."
"Daryl's right baby." Molly smiled, noticing the way that Jacob seemed to eat up his words. "And your my home."
"Daddy too?" He murmured, causing Molly's eyes to flicker up to Daryl who paid extra attention to the road in front of him.
"Sure, baby." Molly muttered, leaning down to press her lips to his head.
It couldn't have been longer than five seconds later when the line they were traveling along the road in came to a slow and steady stop. Though she hated thinking about it, Molly knew that the only reason things were coming to a steady stop was that another car had run out of gas. She sighed, waiting until Daryl had stopped the truck before she reached for the handle and climbed out.
Molly eyed the tree's that were on either side of the road, trying to figure out if it was safe enough for them to be stopping. Before she had a chance to ponder on the thought, Jacob called her name and tore her from her thought. She smiled and reached back into the car, pressing the button that released the straps that were holding him safely in his car seat before she backed away and let him climb out himself.
Once Jacob was on solid ground, Molly held her hand out for him to take. Jacob grasped her hand and together, the two of them walked to where the rest of the group were bundled together, talking.
"What are we going to do?" Lori's voice seemed to be the loudest voice Molly could hear. "We haven't passed anything for miles!"
"Is there even anything we can do?" Glenn followed her question with one of his own.
"Everybody calm down." Rick finally said, clearly having some sort of breakthrough with whatever he was thinking about. "Now we knew this was going to happen at some point. We can't continue on with this many cars to fuel."
"Then what's next?" Dale asked, his hands on his hips.
Rick took a moment to soak in what everyone was saying before he spoke up once more. "We siphon the gas from all the cars but one and use it on the R.V." He could see that some opened their mouth to argue. "I know, I know, It's not a good idea us all being so cooped up but we have no choice in the matter. As of now, we need to preserve what we have and not waste it. The more cars we have, the more fuel we use."
"And the bike." Daryl said, his voice showing that he was not up for any sort of discussion on the matter. "Not leavin' it behind."
"That's fair." Rick nodded, turning towards the R.V. "Let's get moving. We need everything in the R.V and the fuel siphoned into the canisters." The group disbanded, abiding his words. "Canisters are in the back of Shane's jeep."
Molly, not knowing what to do in that moment, gripped Jacob's hand a little tighter. She turned around and lead him back to Daryl's truck in order to pick up her bags that were on the bed of the truck. She released Jacobs hand for a moment and grabbed his backpack, pulling it onto her shoulder before grabbing the rucksack that had sat beside it.
Once she had both bags situated comfortably, She reached down and gripped Jacob's hand once more.
Molly made the short walk to the R.V, letting Jacob climb up into it before she did. Once she was inside, she took a look around, not wanting to bother anyone else's designated spot within.
"Make your selves' comfortable." Dale shot out from where he was packing up some of his things in order to make space for everyone.
Molly smiled and lead Jacob to the table, helping him to climb up and sit at the small booth while she slid the bags in next to him. "You stay here okay? I'm going to go and see if anyone else needs help."
"Okay." Jacob nodded, fiddling with the stuffed lion.
Molly spun on her heel and left the R.V in record speed. She sighed once she was on the road once more, breathing in the fresh air for a few moments before she set off for the nearest car.
Lori and Carl were pushing things into two separate bags, not bothering with trying to be neat. Molly could see that the pair had that car covered and so moved onto the next one. T-Dog and Glenn were siphoning the gas from it, looking as though they had become naturals. She moved forward, taking a look in the car to see that it was already cleared.
Molly frowned, feeling quite un-useful in that moment. She sighed before turning back around and making her way to the R.V once more. She climbed in, noticing that Jacob was sat with Sophia who was reading a picture book to him. Molly smiled, turning to her right and climbing into the passenger seat beside Dale who was looking through the R.V manual.
"Feeling useless?" The old man asked, licking his finger and turning the page of the manual. Molly didn't reply. She let out a deep breath and slouched in her seat. "Hmm?" Dale turned to look at her over the top of his glasses.
"You... Could say that." Molly finally said, nodding against the head rest. "I've just realised that everyone had their place in this group."
"You and Jacob too."
"Do we?" Molly couldn't stop herself from asking. "I mean, sure we're here but we have nothing to offer."
"You think any of us do?" Dale looked slightly amused as he spoke.
"You have the R.V." Molly was quick to tell him, smiling slightly as though she didn't mean to offend. "Glenn's good at scavenging. Shane and T-Dog too. Rick seems to lead the group so obviously his family are part of that. Daryl has many, many qualities that I'm sure you lot still take for granted and he hunts."
"Not that it means anything to your worth but you and Jacob are Daryl's fami-"
"Jacob is." Molly told him. "Jacob is his family. Daryl and I... I guess we're friends."
"This group isn't made up of who's worthy enough to stay, Molly." Dale sighed, closing his manual and turning to face her fully. "This group is made up of people who survived and people who want to keep on surviving. We survive together because that's how we make it. No one's worth is determined by what they have to offer. Remember that."
Molly merely had the time to fully take in his words before Sophia left the R.V to enter the car with her mother and Rick's family while everyone else climbed onto the R.V in a single file. In no time at all, the R.V was packed to near capacity and it was quick to realise that some peace and quite was going to be hard to come by while they all shared a small space.
Once everyone was situated, Rick had the car ready and Daryl was on his bike behind the R.V, Dale started the engine.
The R.V began to follow the car along the road swiftly while Daryl's bike could be heard following behind. The sun beat down, making the tree's to either side of them seem that much more greener.
Molly was torn from her sightseeing when a small hand gripped her arm and tugged slightly. She turned to raise a brow at Jacob who looked up at her with his blue eyes. "Water?"
"You want some water?" She asked, watching him nod. "Alright." She smiled, standing up and ducking in order to slid from the front to the open part of the R.V.
Molly leaned over the table, gripping the duffle bag and sliding it towards her before she unzipped it and began to push things aside in it. Once she found the water bottle, she pulled it free and untwisted the cap. She held it out to Jacob who thanked her and drunk from the bottle happily.
She left him at the table with his books and turned around to take her seat once more.
Molly lowered herself into it with a sigh and slouched so that her head was resting against the headrest. She closed her eyes, and let her breathing even out.
The lazy wind wisped against her face as though it was moving through unmown grass from the window that was half open. Molly's eyes flickered behind her closed lids and as she forced them open, she frowned.
The trees were still on either side of the road but they had grown much more sparse and the road itself seemed to have grown much wider than it had been and it was now looking like two way highway.
Molly frowned slightly, wondering just how long she had closed her eyes for. With a long exhale, she could detect the tell tale signs that her brain was still waking from a short nap and then, from nowhere, comes the memory of where she was and before any dream's can assert itself, her feet are holding all her weight and she's moving to where Jacob was sat at the table.
"Are you alright?" She asked, smiling as she crouched down and held onto the table in order to steady herself against the moving R.V.
Jacob nodded, his eyes stuck on where Shane and Andrea was taking apart a gun.
"He's been a champ." Shane told her, a weak smile being sent her way before he looked back at Andrea where she was trying to put the gun back together again. "Smart boy you got th-"
"Aw, no..." Dale's voice tore the four of them away from their little bubble. Molly frowned, standing to full height and back tracking to where she had been sat beside Dale.
Both side's of the road ahead was littered with unused cars. The doors on many of them were left wide open while some of them were even unturned. Molly frowned, looking from car to car as though determined to work out what exactly happened to the owners of the cars.
"Jesus..." Molly trailed off. "Is there another way?" She found herself calling out to Glenn who sat further back in the R.V with the map.
"Not unless we go back to where we started." He said, wincing at the prospect of wasting so much fuel.
"Well, shit." Molly muttered, chewing on her lip. "Wait here." She added, ignoring the rest of the group telling her not to leave the R.V and instead, she pulled the door open and exited the R.V.
Molly shut the door quietly and moved so that she could see around the R.V. Her hand came up and she motioned for Daryl to come to her which he was quick to do. He stopped his bike just in front of her and looked as though he really wanted to strangle her.
"What tha' fuck are yeh' doin'?" He demanded, eyeing the trees as though a group of walkers were going to tackle her any moment. "Not safe."
"There's nothing here." She rolled her eyes. "Can you check ahead? See if there's a way for us to get through?"
Daryl nodded before he spoke. "Only if you get yer' ass back inside."
Molly sighed and turned back to the R.V, making a big show of climbing back inside it and shutting the door before she motioned to the litter of cars ahead to Daryl. The latter of whom rolled his eyes and lifted his leg, setting off for the cluster of cars.
Molly wanted until he disappeared from view and continued watching until he reappeared. It took a good few minutes before he came back into sight, driving his bike until he came to the window that she rolled fully down. "Any luck?"
"Tight but could work." Daryl told her over the volume of the bike engine.
"Do you think it's worth it?"
Daryl seemed to contemplate Molly's words for a moment, chewing on his lip as he looked over his shoulder to where he cad come from before, finally, he nodded. He spun the bike around and motioned for them to follow which Dale was quick to do.
Dale turned to wheel and took the R.V in front of Rick's car and after Daryl who was leading the way through the grouping of cars while Rick followed behind.
It would be easier for the car to back out, should they get stuck rather than having the R.V behind them with no sure was of them getting out.
"Uh, guys." Glenn spoke up, trying to keep himself upright as he made his way to lean between Dale and Molly with the map. "Maybe we should just go back. I've found an interstate bypass not to f-"
"You said it yourself, we can't spare the fuel." Dale told him.
"It... It looks deserted." Molly spoke up, eyeing the lone cars as though she wasn't fully on board with her own words. "I'm sure it's going to be just fi-" A yelp was heard as smoke filled the vision from the R.V. The noise was almost deafening and though she tried not to, Molly couldn't help but wince at the sight of the engine smocking as though someone had just put out a fire underneath the hood. "Well... Shit?"
Molly couldn't help but snort when she heard Dale mutter something that suspiciously sounded like shit indeed under his breath as he stood up and marched his way
The door was slammed open and Dale left the R.V looking as though he was thoroughly pissed and Molly really couldn't blame him. She sighed and stood up, letting the others exit the R.V before she did. She climbed down and turned around, holding her hands out for Jacob who was quick to run into her arms.
Molly turned back around, Jacob on her hip as she twisted and turned her way to the group, making Jacob laugh despite the current circumstances.
"I said it." Dale exclaimed, his hands on his hips and shaking his head at the smoke. "Didn't I say it? A thousand times. Dead in the water."
"Problem, Dale?" Shane looked as though he was done with the da as he swung his shotgun around while looking to make sure there were no walkers around.
"Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-" Dale cut himself off, frowning for a moment as he looked over his shoulder at the vast variety of vehicles. His eyes landed on Daryl who was quick to begin searching one of the cars that had all it's doors open. "Okay... That was dumb."
"If you can't find a radiator hose here..."
"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Said Daryl.
"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." T-Dog added.
"Maybe some water or food?" Carol seemed to be picking up on what everyone else was getting at.
"This is a graveyard." Lori, every the voice of annoying, said. Everyone turned to look at her as she eyed each person before sighing. "I don't know how I feel about this."
"Get used to it." Molly muttered out, ignoring the look Lori was sending her way upon being challenged. "Sorry we wont be shopping in some five story store." She snorted, shaking her head. "There's worse things than this. You could be dead." With that, she turned around and walked back to the R.V.
"I think you're right, for what it's worth." Andrea made Molly jump a bit as she moved around her and climbed back onto the R.V. "She need's to be taken down a peg or two sometimes."
"Are you staying in the R.V?" Molly asked when she noticed the blonde inside.
Andrea nodded, smiling at Jacob who was grinning at her. "You need me to watch him?"
"Would you?"
"Of course." She said, moving back to where she stood and holding her hands out.
Molly passed Jacob over and smiled at the pair. "Hey, Jake? You listen to Andrea for me, alright? You stay with her."
"Okay." He muttered, waving his goodbye.
Molly waved back before she turned around and sighed. She eyed the many cars, trying to figure out where to start. She spotted Carol looking through the back of one and made her way to the one that was beside that car.
She began searching the back of the car, pulling the purple blanket that was covering everything off and folding it to place it on the ground beside her. Molly eyes the contents, pulling a basket towards her and looking through it. She found nothing of use and pushed it back. She grabbed a box next and pulled it towards her, eyeing the canned goods in slight interest.
Molly grabbed the basket and upturned it, turning it back over when it was empty and took the canned goods from the broken cardboard box and stacked them in the basket. Once she had stacked them all, she grabbed the basket and moved it to the floor by her feet.
She reached in once more and pulled a black rucksack towards her, unzipping it and looking through the vast variety of clothes. Most of it looked to be around Carl and Sophia's size and with that thought in mind, she zipped it back up and dropped it beside the basket.
"Ed never let me wear nice things like this." Molly turned her eyes away from the other bag she had pulled towards her and up at Carol who held a pretty red dress to her form.
"Yeah? Ed was a dick." Molly couldn't help herself. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't hav-"
"It's fine, Molly." Carol smiled, looking as though she fully agreed with what she had said. "We're going to need clothes."
"I found a bag that look's like it'll fit Sophia and Carl." Molly admitted, motioning to the bag at her feet. "Might be able to fit Jacob in some."
"Molly!" She heard a quite voice hiss out to her. She frowned, turning to look over her shoulder at Rick who looked ever so serious. "Get under the cars!" His voice was urgent but still quiet.
It took her no longer than three seconds to work out that something was wrong and her guess was walkers. She was quick to move over to Carol, dragging her around the car. "Sophia, I have to g-"
"I'll get her, get under." Molly demanded, passing Carol off to Lori who had all but skirted to them. "Now!"
Molly wasted no time, she ducked slightly and set off for where she had last seen the little girl. She frowned, looking around one of the cars to see a group of walkers shuffling towards where they were in the distance.
She muttered a few choice words under her breath before she ducked behind the car and moved around it. Her eyes landed on Carl who she was quick to move up behind and grab his arm. "Under the car, now!" She hissed, eyeing Sophia who was looking through one of the cars in front of the one Carl was looking through. "Sophia!" The girl looked over her shoulder and her eyes widened. "Get under the car!"
Thankfully, Sophia listened to her and slid herself under the car. Carl followed suit, lowering himself to the ground and shuffling under the car. Once both kids were out of sight, Molly took a quick look around to make sure she couldn't see anyone before she knelt down and slid herself beside Carl.
"What's wr-"
"Shh!" Molly held a finger to her lip and Carl fell silent.
Time seemed to stand still and after what seemed like the longest wait time known to man kind, the sound of shuffling and groans filled the air.
Molly felt Carl stiffen when the fist of the many sets of feet shuffled past them a mere foot away.
Her heart was beating so hard that for a second, she wondered if the walkers could hear it. The shuffling was something that made her wince evetime she heard one of the walkers walk into the end of the car. She hoped and prayed that none would be knocked to their knees. One glance and they would be seen.
Surprising, the walkers continued on without a care for anything. Slowly, very slowly, her heart rate began to steady as the last of the stragglers shuffled past them. Her heart was almost back to normal until it sky rocketed again when the sound of panicked screams filled her ears.