Chapter Three
Shane lets out another frustrated sigh as he stares through the windshield of the Cherokee at the long line of brake lights in front of them. He glances at the rearview mirror, shifting slightly to look at Carl. He can almost see the salty tear tracks lining the boys pale cheeks as he sleeps with his head cushioned on a balled up sweatshirt against the backseat window. Poor kid. He's still reeling from his father lying in a coma after being shot less than two weeks ago. Telling him that his mom is gone too was the hardest thing Shane's ever had to do. So he promised Rick's son that he would take care of him no matter what, which meant packing up all the camping gear and taking him and his Aunt Kelly down to her grandfather's cabin.
Thinking of all the times that he and Rick had spent at that cabin over the years makes his heart twist, knowing that his partner won't have a chance to make new memories with his son, as he was so looking forward to doing.
Kelly's voice breaks into his thoughts, edgy and stricken. "Maybe Lori's really okay. Maybe she'll come back and see the note we left."
"If she's okay she'll meet us at the cabin," he replies soberly.
"But you don't think she's alright, do you?"
Shaking his head he answers quietly, "She's been gone all night and I couldn't find her anywhere. She'd never leave Carl." He looks across the center console at Rick's sister, her shoulder length curly brunette hair framing her worried face. "Something bad must have happened to her, Kel."
"The virus?"
"Maybe. I know it's here. I didn't want to say anything in front of Carl but there were soldiers at the hospital." He glances again at the rearview mirror before continuing in a hushed tone. "They shot everyone, Kelly. Everyone. I swear I'd never seen anything like it," he adds in a distant voice as horrific images fill his mind, branding his soul and numbing his heart.
"Oh, God. Rick?" she asks quickly of her older brother lying helpless in the hospital, unable to defend himself.
"I don't know. I couldn't get to his room." He shakes his head and fights the guilt that tries to creep into his bones. "It was a fucking warzone. I had to get you and Carl away from there. That's what Rick would have wanted. I have to keep you two safe," he finishes adamantly, refusing to let the guilt slither into his soul as her tears force him to keep his focus on the frustrating line of brake lights in front of him.
Two hours later they have only moved about a half mile further up the road and the highway is a literal parking lot. Engines are turned off while travelers mill about between the vehicles and along the wide shoulder. With tensions running high and no answers in sight, several small fistfights break out among the refugees but for the most part people are friendly, happily helping each other when needed.
Erin passes the time with Kelly, the aunt of the boy she saw crying by Tim's house early that morning. Hearing that the boy just lost both of his parents broke her heart. He'd been withdrawn all day, understandably, but seems to be perking up a little bit as he plays checkers with a young girl named Sophia in the back of her family's car. Her mom, Carol, is very nice but Erin isn't crazy about her father. Ed is one of those diehard survivalist types with an 'I told you so' attitude and a permanent scowl.
There is quite an eclectic group of people in the cluster of vehicles closest to hers with whom she tries to make the best of a very bad situation. Between attempts of trying to reach her aunt, her parents, her sister and her boyfriend, she spends the day talking, worrying, analyzing, guessing, complaining and planning with Kelly and Shane - who she originally thought was the boy's uncle, and Glenn, Dale, T-Dog, Jacqui, sisters Amy and Andrea and brothers Merle and Daryl. The younger Daryl seems like a nice enough guy - a little rough around the edges but at least he isn't shooting dirty looks at the dark skinned T-Dog and Jacqui like his brother is doing throughout the day. As opinions spew, waver and rebound amongst the group, Erin gives Merle and Ed a wide berth.
She's not entirely comfortable with Shane either, though she's not exactly sure why. She feels like she knows him from somewhere but is frustratingly unable to place him. Perhaps she had seen him at Kelly's house another time when she was at Tim's. Regardless, she doesn't have the energy or will to waste too much time on the thought and lets it drift back to the recesses of her mind to wait until she's ready to fiddle with it on another day.
Shortly before sundown, tempers flare and fights become bolder and bloodier as the direness of the whole situation becomes unbearably clear. Erin looks over Kelly's shoulder to see Shane walk toward their little group gathered in front of Dale's RV. They've got a roadmap spread open on the trunk of Glenn's car as T-Dog runs his dark finger along the thin lines of the Georgia highway system.
Erin hears Carl and Sophia laughing at Nikki inside the camper as Shane steps in next to Kelly. The smile he gives her is friendly enough but she just can't shake the unsettling feeling she gets from the man who has been nothing but nice to her all day.
"Hey, Glenn and T-Dog say there's an old quarry not far from here that we could camp out at tonight," Kelly informs Shane, voice hopeful with any kind of plan that will get them off of the hindered highway.
"Yeah, I know the one. Just on the other side of those woods." He lifts his chin over his left shoulder. "I was thinking the same thing."
"Glenn says we can cut across that field to an access road."
"Yup. Let's get the fuck outta here. It's gonna get real ugly real quick come nightfall."
"Did you hear anything new on the radio, Shane?" Andrea asks before he walks away.
"Nah. Same old shit telling us not to panic because the government is taking care of everything," he answers bitterly.
"Yeah, that's what worries me," Dale adds dryly as he looks up and down the long line of vehicles knotted on the Georgia highway.
By the time they reach the quarry with the sky painted a deep rust as the sun balances on the horizon, Erin counts a caravan of nine cars and one motorcycle carrying a total of fifteen people.
That night many of the evacuee's sleep in their cars while the ones who had tents pitch them on the side of the gravel path above the manmade lake. Erin would have been okay in her car, but is thankful to accept Shane's offer of his place in the tent with Kelly and Carl while he sleeps in the Cherokee. She knows the main reason for his generosity is so Nikki would sleep in the tent too and she is happy to let the dog curl up with Carl. She knows the lovable beast will go a long way in helping the boy get through his first night without either of his parents.
Erin snuggles deeper into the sleeping bag as the air inside the tent cools dramatically with the chilly midnight hour. She sleeps fitfully after the long stressful day, tossing and turning sporadically between dreams of congested tunnels and leaking submarines. As frightening and frustrating as those are, the one dream that shakes her to the core is the one she has just before waking in a cold sweat minutes before dawn.
Erin rushes into room number 450 as the blare of the fire engines grows louder and louder. The patient lies motionless, oblivious to the echoing sirens and her repeated screams of his name. He is the only patient in her hospital and it is imperative that she save him. The fire hasn't reached this floor yet but she knows it will soon; she has got to wake him before it's too late for both of them. Grabbing his shoulders she shakes him roughly, begging him to open his eyes. He moans, stirring slightly but does not awaken. Drawing her hand back in desperation she slaps him as hard as she can across his whiskered cheek.
She still feels the sting of it on her palm when she looks up to see a beautiful lake spread out in front of her – in front of them. The sirens are replaced by a constant birdsong and occasional quack from a family of nearby ducks. The heat she feels through her scrubs is coming from the large flat rock they are sitting upon, not the red hot flames of fire. She stares at a huge weeping willow overlooking an interesting rock formation on the bank of the serene lake. Feeling somewhat disjointed, she looks over at Rick Grimes sitting next to her. He's wearing a white tee shirt tucked into brown uniform pants with a stripe down the legs over well-worn cowboy boots. He returns her gaze and she is amazed at how incredibly blue his eyes are in the sunlight.
"Where are we?" she asks quietly, not wanting to disturb the perfect peace of nature and risk getting thrown back into a burning building in another blink of a confused eye.
"This is my favorite place in the world," he responds, smiling at her as if he's letting her in on a special secret.
"Why?" she asks.
"So we could talk. Isn't that what you wanted?"
"Yes. Rick, you have to wake up. You have to come with me, you're not safe!" she implores.
"I don't want to. Why can't we just stay here? I like it here." He takes her hand in his as he looks out over the lake.
"I know but we don't belong here. Not now, not yet. You've got to wake up, honey! You're in terrible dange…"
She opens her eyes in the gloomy tent, heart pounding and palm stinging as she looks up toward the nylon ceiling, the handsome face of wounded police officer Rick Grimes smiling back at her. She blinks once, twice, and the image is gone. She closes her eyes again to bring him back and feels a band of warmth settle over her left hand while the burning in her right palm begins to fade. It's nearly an hour before she is breathing easy again.
As the camp comes to life at the first rays of sunlight, Erin sits with Kelly and Carl as he rummages through one of the grocery bags she told him to retrieve from her car. He pulls out a box of Honey Comb cereal and looks at Erin for approval. "Go for it," she tells him, happy to put a smile on his face.
"For lunch we could try to catch some fish down there." Daryl waves his arm toward the lake at the bottom of the quarry as he comes up behind the boy. "They won't be big but we shouldn't have any problem catching a bunch."
"Me and my dad caught the biggest fish ever," Carl informs him as he lifts his chin to look up at the redneck hunter.
"Oh yeah? What kind was it little man?" Daryl glances at Erin and Kelly and then looks back at the boy, clearly more comfortable with the child than with the women.
"It was a catfish and it was huuuge!" Carl spreads his arms wide before reaching into the pocket of his jeans. He pulls out a small faux leather wallet, flips it open and hands it to Daryl. "Look at that!"
Erin watches Carl smile proudly as Daryl whistles through his teeth, clearly impressed.
"Very nice, little man." He hands the wallet back to the boy who suddenly has a look of pure misery on his young face.
Seeing the sadness take over his features, Erin quickly stands up as Kelly turns her head to hide her own tears. "Hey can I see that too, Carl? How big did you say that fish was?"
With his head down, he holds his arms to the sides but without the enthusiasm and joy he had displayed earlier. She takes his wrists and stretches them further. "You mean it was this big, right? Isn't that what you told Daryl?" He nods his head and she pulls his arms even farther, eliciting a small chuckle around a cheerful groan before she quickly lets go of his wrists to stick her fingers into his open armpits. He screeches as she tickles him mercilessly for a moment before she pulls him into a tight embrace, leaning down to speak quietly into his ear, "Don't short-change your father. Keep those arms wide and he'll always be inside them."
She bends down to pick up the wallet he had dropped during the tickle torture. Flipping it open, her breath catches as the fine hairs on the nape of her neck stand at attention. "My God," she whispers, mesmerized by the photo of a younger Carl holding a catfish nearly as long as himself, standing next to the officer who was shot two weeks ago; the cop who smiled at her on a stressful Easter morning - and the man who spoke to her in a very vivid dream last night as they sat in front of a pretty lake with a big willow tree… overlooking the same interesting rock formation behind the two fishermen in the photo.