Chapter 4
Out he stepped, hands firm on his belt and a blank expression on his face, that is, until he saw us, me Shane, Lori, and most of all Carl. He stood for a second, taking it in, making sure it was real, and then burst into life. "Dad!" Carl cried, charging towards him. Lori however stuttered on her way to him, unsure of what she was seeing. All around us people watched, smiling away at the precious scene put before us.
Rick dropped to the ground, taking Carl with him, practically squeezing the life out of him, before moving on towards Lori. If there were two men I looked up to in life, it was Shane and Rick, so to see the happiness on his face enlightened me.
Lori hesitantly hugged him, clasping on to his brown curls as she did so. Out of nowhere, she shot a glance in our direction, making firm, and slightly concerning eye contact with Shane. Slowly, I turned towards Shane, who was clearly trying to avoid her line of sight by staring awkwardly at the ground. It confused me; they'd both just regained one of the most important people in their lives, so why were they exchanging these worrying glances?
Soon, Rick turned to face me and Shane, who gave him a less than convincing smile. I, on the other hand, gave him a gaping look of joy, which I simply could not help. I was ecstatic! I found my brother, my friends, and now there is hope.
Time passed, we all rejoiced in each other's presence, and eventually the night sky had consumed any spectacle of light. We all sat around a small man-made fire and talked, for hours and hours. We told each other our stories, shared memories, good or bad, we laughed and some cried, but by the end, I felt like I knew these people. It was good.
"Hey Shane, come on down I'll take over," I shouted towards the RV. He'd been on watch for the last hour and it was about time I started doing something useful rather than sitting on my ass all night. Just as I was about to pass him he halted me. I knew from his eyes that something was bugging him. "Look bro," he began, as he pulled me to the side, "I'm sorry for leaving you, I just had to keep them safe". It's true that he left me, but I couldn't hold it against him. I just gave him a quick nod and turned to walk to the RV. "Chris, what happened to dad?"
I came to a standstill, remembering the horrific events that took place. "He's… He's gone Shane. He got bit and I couldn't save him, I'm sorry". I started to pick up the pace once again, not once turning to face him. I couldn't. It hurt too much.