Out of the Woods (The Walking Dead)

Inmates:

Suzy found it weird to be driving inside the truck with everyone else. She still wasn't very talkative, especially if any of them were lost in conversation. She let herself fade into the background and only responded if spoken to specifically. Abraham drove with Rosita beside him in the passenger seat, leaving Suzy to sit next to Eugene in the backseat. Luckily enough, Eugene finally seemed to understand he should keep his mouth shut and leave her be. Since being in the truck, she continued to do what she did sitting out in the back; focusing her attention on whatever they passed on the road.

She wouldn't lie to herself. Most of her behavior stemmed from the thought of being back in Georgia. Should she tell them about who she used to be with before meeting them? Could she convince them to stop by the prison so she could see if everyone was okay or if she should go back living there? Would anyone allow that? Abraham fought tooth and nail to get her to stay and Rick and co. probably didn't want her back anyway. If she showed up now after all this time, they would be pissed and most likely tell her to never show her face there again. Perhaps it was for the best if she never didn't think about going back anymore. It was better for everyone that way. More likely than not, Daryl and everyone else forgot all about her.

"Mother dick!" That really is his favorite thing to say, isn't it, Suzy thought. Abraham hit the wheel in frustration at what he saw, "This is just fuckin' perfect."

Suzy glanced to see what had Abraham's pants in such a twist. Up ahead, there was a roadblock of tons and tons of cars. There was no way they could get through it. Abraham hit the brake right before the front of the truck could touch any of the cars in the pileup. He sat there in thought of what the best decision would be.

"We can detour," Rosita spoke up. She looked down at the map for a different road, but Abraham shut her down immediately.

"We don't detour," He said, "We don't stop. We don't go back. We keep movin'!"

"So what, you want us to get out and try moving all these cars out of the way?" Rosita snapped. She gestured to the pileup and scoffed, "It'll take us all day to clear this, at least."

"Then I suggest the quicker we get started, the quicker we'll finish," Abraham said sternly, "Let's move!"

Suzy rolled her eyes as she huffed and puffed on her way out of the truck. Eugene was even brought out to help with the task. Abraham stayed by his side while Suzy made to go partner up with Rosita. She let Rosita guide her in what she was supposed to do, whether it was getting the car in neutral or helping push it in a certain direction. It was painfully silent throughout the whole first hour. That didn't stop Rosita from giving Suzy curious looks every now and then, like she wanted to ask her a question and was stopping herself from doing so.

"Something else I can help you with?" Suzy said in the most condescending tone she could. Rosita fought a smirk and shook her head.

"No," Rosita replied, "I was just thinking it won't hurt if we got to know each other a little better now that you're with us and all. You are with us, right?"

Suzy only shrugged her shoulders in response. She agreed to give them a chance, not that she was with them ride or die. What else could they possibly want to know about her?

"I'm still working on figuring that out," Suzy eventually said. She didn't look Rosita in eye and instead focused on pushing the next car off to the side.

"Abraham told me about your running away incident. Call me crazy, but it looks like you got it figured out."

"I stayed. What else do you want from me? That doesn't make us friends," Suzy snapped. She got up in Rosita's face. Even Rosita couldn't deny when Suzy was anxious or angry, she was intimidating. Her silver-gray eyes would dilate to where they looked black. Her stare was always intense, cold, and on edge, only that old piece of who she used to be holding her back. Rosita didn't show her any fear. She didn't back up or recoil in any way. She held Suzy's gaze until Suzy realized she wouldn't win even if she tried. Suzy pressed her pale lips together and turned away from her. She went over to one of the cars they had moved already and leaned up against it, crossing her arms over her chest. She decided stepping away was the best course of action. She took a deep breath to calm herself, then another. Whenever any of them tried, she pushed them away. She needed to keep these people at a comfortable distance. She didn't want to, but it was a much harder task letting them in. Couldn't they just travel together and nothing more? That way if things went bad, as they always did, she could simply move on? She didn't want friends anymore.

"Look," Rosita approached from behind, "We don't have to be friends. Just not strangers. I don't think that's asking for too much. It can't be silence all the time. Remember, two-way street."

Suzy rolled her eyes so hard at that last part, they rolled to the back of her head. Rosita just had to bring that up, didn't she? All she could think to do was sigh and walk Rosita and not bother to answer. She went to the next car to get in the driver's seat and shift it into neutral gear. Rosita nodded and went to help continue the task. They worked together to push the car into the grass patch on the side of the road.

"Okay," Rosita said, "Those knives are a custom design. One of a kind. Where'd you get them?"

Suzy didn't answer. She didn't want to talk about herself. She didn't want to talk about her dad, her mother, her friends. That didn't stop Rosita from trying though.

"Was he hunter?"

She still didn't answer.

"Was it before? Or after?" Rosita asked, trying to tread carefully. Suzy knew what she meant by that question with no issue. That didn't mean she wanted to answer. Suzy shifted uncomfortably where she stood. Rosita could see that familiar thousand-yard stare in Suzy's eyes. She then had a thought. She did she this was a two-way street. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to practice what she preached.

"I never had a relationship with my dad," Rosita said, perking up Suzy's interest. She didn't expect Rosita to say anything about herself, "My mom died when I was pretty young. I get that it's not exactly the same, but I know what it's like to be alone."

Suzy let that sit for a minute so she could take it all in. She sighed as she focused her gaze down at her feet. Her one hand that had gripped the steering wheel so tightly loosened. She felt her fingers on her other hand picking at themselves again like muscle memory, ridding of any callouses that formed there already. She stopped so she could scratch that familiar itch on the back of her neck as her breathing quickened. Rosita noticed and decided it would be best to stop prying. Suzy never did well when it came to that.

"Don't worry," Rosita said, "You're still here because you can handle your shit. Abraham saw that. That's why you're with us."

"I don't know anything," Suzy replied but didn't break her stare, "I was just someone who was giving up. I can't handle shit. Never could."

"Yeah, you can." Rosita scoffed, "To be alive now, you have to. And if you don't, you learn so you can continue living. Giving up doesn't mean shit. Sure as hell doesn't make you weak. You're here because we need you, and you need us. Shit works out that way."

Rosita rolled her eyes at her own words. She realized she was repeating almost exactly what Abraham told her back when they first rescued Suzy. She understood what he meant now, and it was time for Suzy to hear it too.

"I'm here because people helped me," Suzy said, "Not just you guys. People before you, since the start. That's the way it's always been."

"Who were you with before?" Rosita asked. Suzy went stiff at that question. Daryl...Rick...Glenn...Maggie...The ones she left. If it weren't for them, she would've died in Woodbury. Woodbury...She hated to even think it, but the Governor had saved her too once. The only reason she was standing where she was, was because of others saving her ass. She should've died ten times over since everything started. Tobias could've shot her back in West Virginia. The Governor could've left her in the street. Merle definitely had plenty of opportunities to leave her to fend for herself. Then there was the incident before all this when her mom stopped her from ending it all when her dad died. Daryl was right. No one ever could make it alone. People needed people more than ever now.

Rosita carefully put her hand on Suzy's shoulder. She flinched, of course, but she didn't slap or shove her away this time.

"You don't have to answer," Rosita sighed. She took her hand off Suzy's shoulder and laughed it off awkwardly, making Suzy give the slightest hint of a smile, "Besides, we got plenty of time left on the road until we get to Washington. Sound good?"

Suzy shrugged and said quietly, finally looking Rosita in the eye, "I got nothing better to do anyway."

Suzy then left to go get a drink of water at the truck. When she did, Rosita snickered to herself, knowing Suzy was fighting with all her might to keep her distance with them. They would get somewhere with Suzy at some point.

It was only a matter of time.

As expected, it took the entire day to clear the cars blocking the road, even when they used the truck to plow some out of the way. To make up for lost time, Abraham took it upon himself to drive the entire night. Eugene was the first to fall asleep in the backseat next to Suzy. Rosita talked to Abraham as long as she could until she fell asleep herself at some point in the night. At that point, it was nothing but dead silence in the truck. Suzy was awake-of course. She could barely see a thing outside the window at this time of night. Not like it mattered, she wasn't focusing on it anyway. Abraham glanced at her occasionally through the rearview mirror, thinking if he should say anything or not.

"You should sleep too, you know. It's been a long day. We need you strong," Abraham said. He spoke in a quieter voice as to not wake the others. Suzy broke her stare and looked back at Abraham through the rearview mirror.

"Sleep is a hard thing to do nowadays," Suzy replied. She should've been more surprised when she heard him laugh, but she wasn't. He tried to laugh quietly to himself as to not wake the others, which only made him go red in the face.

"That must be why you're always such a cranky little one," He snickered. She knew he was right, which was why he found it so funny. She obviously didn't laugh with him. That didn't seem to bother him, though.

"I get it," He said as he calmed himself, "It's hard for me too sometimes. It's easier to just keep on goin'."

"Yeah," Suzy sighed. She looked down at her dirty hands in her lap. She didn't know what else to say.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't try," Abraham smiled into the mirror, "You're a survivor. You need your strength."

She didn't reply when he said that. She went back to looking out the window to stare at the nothingness outside while running her fingers over her bandaged wound on her arm. Survivor...Now there was a word she never thought to associate herself with. Sure, she survived a lot, but did that make her a survivor? Did that make any sense? Survivors were supposed to be strong and she didn't feel very strong. Maybe she used to be at some point. What did it matter now?

As Abraham drove, Suzy could've sworn there was a big sign up ahead leading to the train track across the road. It was written in huge red letters so she could see it clearly even in the dead of night. There was a railroad map underneath with a destination circled in the center. Before she knew it, they drove past it, making her question if it was really there at all.

"Did you see that?" Suzy asked. Abraham hummed in response nonchalantly.

"Nothing we need to concern ourselves with," Abraham replied.

It was true. They wouldn't be in Georgia for long anyway, which meant time was of the essence. Should she have hope Daryl was still out here somewhere? She wouldn't lie to herself, she missed him terribly. She missed everyone. Even if they didn't want her to come back, she wanted the peace of mind that they were alive. Her chest fluttered down to her stomach at the thought. Despite this, she knew she should listen to Abraham and try to get some sleep. Perhaps she would sleep this off, wake up, and change her mind.

Before she knew it, she was out like a light with the rest of them.

Suzy didn't wake until later that next afternoon. Abraham didn't stop driving the entire night. Once Suzy was up, everyone wanted to stop for a bathroom break and maybe look for some more food. Abraham pulled over on the side of the road by some woods and everyone jumped out of the truck. Suzy took it upon herself to check up on some of the other supplies in the bag, just to make sure there wasn't anything else they needed. Water seemed fine for now. Canned food was all right, but not enough to make it out of state.

"Hey," Rosita came up from behind, "You're coming with me."

"Why?" Suzy asked once she turned around.

"Abraham is taking Eugene to have a look around the woods. We can't exactly go wandering by ourselves," Rosita replied, "Besides, I don't think you want to be around a bunch of guys while having to pee."

"I'd rather be by myself for that," Suzy said, rolling her eyes. She didn't say it to be funny, but Rosita laughed anyway.

"Whatever. Let's go," Rosita gestured for her to follow.

They walked down the street in silence. Rosita decided she wasn't going to talk if Suzy didn't want to. Suzy would talk when she was ready. She just wanted her to know it was okay to do so. They took turns going into the trees to do their business then coming back out to look for any homes nearby. So far, it only seemed like it was trees, trees, and even more trees. Nothing else. She didn't know why, but there was something achingly familiar about this area. It triggered her anxiety the further down the road they went. Why should it? How was it any different compared to the countless wooded areas they've passed through before? Was it just because she was back in Georgia? Where in Georgia? As she looked around, she couldn't help but feel like she's walked down this street before. She probably did. When she left the prison she wandered around everywhere until she was captured by the Raiders.

"You good?" Rosita's voice sounded in her ears, bringing her back to reality. Suzy hesitated before answering.

"Yeah," She nodded.

"You sure?"

Suzy ran down the road, stopping for a moment to pull out her flashlight. She looked all around her to see if anyone was coming for her yet...The sound of a car made her freeze where she stood. When she listened closer, it was indeed a car coming up from the road behind her, straight from Woodbury. They were coming for her...

"Suzy?" Rosita said her name but she didn't answer. Suzy realized exactly where she was. She immediately took off sprinting down the street as fast as she could.

"Suzy! Wait!" Rosita chased after her. She kept calling for her, trying to tell her to stop or at least slow down. Suzy wouldn't listen. She had to see it. She remembered when she told Danielle how she came across it once before. She sobbed at the sight of it then. It was a terrible place. So why did she want to see it again? She ran so fast, Rosita nearly lost her. Once Rosita caught up, she panted with her hands on her knees to catch her breath.

"You can't-just go running off like that," Rosita panted as she stood upright. It took her a second to notice how still Suzy was now. Where were they? "Suzy?"

Rosita looked up at the caved in walls in front of them. Past them were burnt buildings and a crap ton of walkers who didn't notice the two of them standing there yet.

"What is this place?" Rosita asked. She glanced Suzy's way, trying to read the expression on her face. She didn't seem afraid, sad, or angry. She didn't feel anything for it anymore. "Suzy. What is this place?"

Suzy didn't reply. Rosita knew she shouldn't have expected an actual answer. Rosita pursed her lips and nodded.

"Fine," She said, "Whatever. Clearly it doesn't matter. Let's just go."

Rosita turned, half expecting Suzy to follow her. She only made it a few feet before Suzy stopped her.

"Wait-" Suzy said. She faced her once Rosita turned back around to listen. If answers was what she wanted, then it was answered she would get. Suzy took a deep breath before speaking again.

"This is where I'm from," She said, "I lived here since the start when I came down here with my family. It was my home and my prison. I just-I had to know how I would feel if I saw it again. I don't want it to cause me pain anymore. And I don't. I don't feel anything for Woodbury anymore. So there it is."

The two stood in silence for a while. Was Rosita thinking? What was she thinking about? It wasn't an overwhelming amount of information to take in. Suzy saw Rosita's lips lift into a small smile, confusing her a little.

"Why didn't you say so?" Rosita said as she approached her again. She took one of Suzy's knives from her belt and went past her to the busted down entrance. "Come on, let's go."

Suzy was about to ask what for until it clicked in her mind. A knowing smirk appeared on her own face as she took another knife from her belt. Rosita understood that Woodbury held a lot of memories, good and bad. Suzy couldn't allow it to hold onto her anymore. It was all in the past now. Suzy followed Rosita into Woodbury. Together they took out as many of the walkers as they could and even snagged some supplies from the apartments along the way. She could never work with Rosita as smoothly as she would with Daryl, but it was good enough. She felt almost guilty whenever she would think of him more than anyone else. Should she tell Rosita about that too? No, not now. This was more than enough for now.

They killed so many they lost count. It had to be at least forty bodies later when they finally left Woodbury, both covered in blood. Rosita suggested they change clothes so the blood wouldn't get on the inside of the truck (since Abraham wouldn't like that). They did so then began heading back to said truck.

"We're not friends yet, right?" Rosita said jokingly. Suzy stopped herself from laughing and shook her head.

"I'm not very good at friends," Suzy replied.

"That's fine," Rosita said, "At least we're not strangers anymore."

"I don't know about that," Suzy commented. That was enough to get a giggle out of Rosita surprisingly.

"Don't worry," Rosita nudged Suzy's shoulder. They could see Abraham and Eugene in the distance, already back at the truck. "We got plenty of time until Washington."

In no time, the group hauled themselves back into the truck and set out on the road. Rosita was always in the passenger seat, so she was lost in conversation with Abraham. Suzy saw the way they locked hands with their fingers entwined. She missed knowing what that felt like. Not hand-holding, no. Merle was never into hand-holding as much as he was with ass-grabbing. It was more of simply the idea of having someone in this shit-hole of a world. Merle was imperfect in almost every sense of the word, but she still loved him despite it all. She hated that. She wished she could turn her feelings off for good. Maybe then she would get over losing him. Just like with Woodbury, she didn't want that cloud lingering over her anymore. But that couldn't happen right now. She was capable of letting go of Woodbury now. She didn't think she would ever be capable of letting go of Merle.

"What in the fuckin' hell-" Abraham grunted, snapping Suzy back to reality. Up ahead, there was a girl on the side of the road, beating a walker's head in with the back of a gun. She didn't have any other gear or supplies. Just herself and one other person with her, only that other person didn't seem conscious, or alive. Abraham pulled up in front of her with a big grin on his face.

"Better make some room, little one-" Abraham chuckled into the rearview mirror at Suzy, "Looks like we're making some more friends."

Suzy rolled her eyes. She wasn't planning on getting out of the truck to meet some stranger; especially one that just shouted at them for simply pulling up and calling them assholes.

"Suit yourself," Abraham let Suzy stay in the truck while the rest of them got out to inspect the situation and possibly recruit this person. She was obviously capable if she was able to bash a dead one's head in like she just did.

"You got a mouth on ya, you know that?" Abraham said to her, lifting his gun upwards to show he was greeting and not trying to be threatening, "What else ya got?"

Suzy scooted into Eugene's seat so she could look out the window. The girl didn't look like anything special. Abraham was just desperate to get his numbers up. Her eyes wandered to the person on the ground. Her breath caught in her throat, almost making her choke. Her pulse quickened when she realized who it was. Before she could fathom what she was doing, she grabbed a handgun from the seat and flew out of the truck and stood before this new girl, in between her and the rest of the group behind her. Her stare was feral when she looked at this girl. She didn't hesitate to point the gun at her, drowning out Rosita's protests and making the girl shake in fear.

"Start talking," Suzy said sternly, clicking the hammer back on the gun, "Or I will kill you."

If she, this girl, had anything to do with this-if he, the man on the ground, was dead-Suzy knew she wouldn't hesitate to kill her.

Because the one still and lifeless on the ground, was none other than an old friend from the prison. Glenn.