The next morning, after packing everything the group had and piling it up into the six vehicles that they owned, everyone was ready to move on. No one knew where they were heading, or what their destiny was, but they knew that they had to stick together for as long as possible.
"Everyone ready to head out?" Rick asked while tossing the final bag in the back of the red 2011 Ram truck. The survivors all stood around and simultaneously nodded their heads in silence. Since the previous night's encounter with the walking dead, everyone had been even more on edge than usual and had barely spoken any words to one another. Carol and Sophia were taking their loss in an expected way; they sulked around the camp and were often caught with tears streaming down their cheeks. Andrea however, had taken the loss of her sister more severely: she hadn't moved from Amy's side for nearly six hours until Dale had finally been able to convince her that it was time to bury her sister. She had no emotion on her face while the survivors had held a small funeral for Amy, and what had been left of Ed's body. It was a sad day for everyone, but as crazy as it sounded, they were becoming immune to the feeling of losing their loved ones.
It had been days since the horde had come through their camp; they had moved further away from Atlanta, and had been stopped on the highway when Dale's RV broke down, leaving them stranded there until Dale and Glenn could repair the problem. Luckily enough, there was a forest next to the road, giving them some coverage from any type of bad weather and for possible hunting. There were also dozens of cars along the highway that had been abandoned and were full of supplies.
Lori, Carl, Carol, Sophia and T-Dog all decided to search together through the dozens of vehicles for food or anything else that could be useful while Dale and Glenn had begun repairing the engine. Andrea had still been moping around and decided to continue relaxing inside of the RV with the company of Lacy. Together, they shared good memories they'd had with their siblings before all hell broke loose. They bonded nicely and had practiced loading and reloading their guns—competing to see who could do it more quickly. Daryl and Merle were keeping watch on top of the RV again—still not trusting many people besides themselves.
Susan stood away from everyone and looked off into the distance of the city they'd just come from—coming back to another flashback of how she'd lost her family: Susan had panicked once her father had given her his .22 Caliber. She'd never held a gun in her own hands before, heck; she'd never even seen a real gun until then. She had no idea how to use it, but she prayed about never having to. Seconds later, she and her father had been disrupted after they heard her mother screaming from the kitchen as loudly as she could have imagined possible. She and her father winced at the loud noise and rushed to see what the commotion was. Mr. Norris, who was such a sweet old man and had been Susan's next door neighbour for 16 years, was on top of her mother—taking a piece of flesh from her right forearm.
"Hey Susan, you wanna come give Rick and I a hand out in the woods? We're gonna go and kill some nearby walkers before they get the chance to harm any of our people." Shane asked walking up behind her while startling her and making her come back to reality. Susan nodded her head and sighed. Shane smiled and signaled for her to follow him. Susan figured it would be best to get her mind off of things and it sounded like a good idea. Besides, there weren't many other options for her to choose from.
Susan felt a little awkward having to go into the forest with just Rick—whom she hadn't really spoken to since the night he had broken up with her, and Shane—the man who continued to try to get her attention and whom she barely knew. Rick and Shane walked a little behind Susan, allowing her to lead the way. They quietly conversed with each other about hoping to find a safe place soon. Shane then spoke a little louder, and casually asked Rick how things were going with him and Lori—knowing that Susan would be listening and would get a little discouraged in having to listen to what Rick would have to say. He had no idea what Rick had said to Susan the other night that made her so upset, but he was eager to try and find out.
"Everything's back to how it used to be. We're doing well." Rick answered. He was careful about not giving too much detail because he too knew that Susan would be listening and he didn't want to upset her more than he already had a couple of nights ago. Shane looked over at Susan, hoping she'd turn around to say anything to him. Realizing that she most likely wouldn't be in the mood to talk, he decided to start up the first conversation.
"Hey Sus, ya did well the other day when we fought those walkers back at the camp." he spoke loudly, anxiously awaiting her response. Susan continued to walk and said no more than a 'thank you'. Shane looked over at Rick with a confused glance and all Rick did was shrug.
"Now Susan, hold up a minute." Rick said. Once Susan stopped and turned around to face him he continued, "I thought we had come to an understanding the other night once I got my wife and son back." He continued to stare at her while waiting for her to respond. Susan looked from Rick to Shane and back to Rick again while she answered him.
"Yes we did. I already told you that I understood. You wanna hear me say it again?" Susan said sternly while holding his gaze. She knew she was acting like a bitch but frankly, she didn't give a shit.
"Okay, all right… just making sure we're still on good terms." Rick said defensively. Susan quickly looked over at Shane's confused look once more before turning around again—knowing that Shane was totally oblivious as to what they were talking about.
"Whoa, what? You two had a thing?" Shane asked suspiciously, looking back and forth between Susan and Rick. Rick sighed and looked at Susan once she turned to look at the two of them again. Susan was excited to hear what Rick had to say.
"That doesn't matter right now Shane." Rick said while starting to walk ahead of him and walking past Susan, just wanting the conversation to end. Susan instantly spoke once Rick finished talking.
"Yes Shane. We were a thing up until we managed to find his wife and kid. I mean, I totally understand… I just wasn't expecting it to happen." Susan explained to Shane. Rick stopped in his tracks and gave Susan an angry look. "What? Are you embarrassed about it?" she said while staring deeply into Rick's eyes, showing no emotion.
"Now I didn't say that, I just don't need Lori and Carl finding out right now. That's all." He answered calmly. Susan shot him a disbelieving expression before responding.
"Whatever." Susan said while rolling her eyes. "I've had enough of the forest. I'm heading back to the others." She said while brushing past the two men and walking back toward the highway.
"Hold up!" Shane called after her while he jogged up beside her, leaving Rick behind. "What's your deal?" he tried to ask her politely. Susan stopped in her tracks and starred at him before saying anything.
"I'm sorry if I can't keep a fake smile on my face all of the time, Shane." She paused while trying to find the right words. "Don't know if you've noticed, but we're in the middle of a zombie apocalypse right now! I lost everyone that ever mattered to me besides Lacy, to those fucking freaks surrounding the Earth. You expect me to stay calm and happy 24/7? I'm having a hard time coping with everything I've lost, and I'm constantly wondering when my time to go is up. I know we're all in the same position right now, but just let me withdrawal from everything in my own way please. Oh, and please just stop trying to squeeze your ass into everyone's business!" She snapped at Shane.
She then sighed and shook her head after realizing she'd been a little harsh after noticing the shocked expressions planted on both Shane and Rick's faces. She looked back up at him and apologized. He gave her a reassuring smile, and pulled her into a large embrace. Rick stood awkwardly behind them while Shane comforted Susan. Susan let a couple of tears roll down her face, embarrassed about crying in front of the two officers. After letting go of Shane's embrace, she wiped the tears off of her face and gave him a crooked smile. She looked back at Rick who still stood there scoping out their surroundings. Shane patted Susan's back and gave her a reassuring grimace. The journey back to the highway was quiet, but Susan had caught herself smiling a couple of times after thinking about Shane's comforting ways. Maybe she'd been wrong about Shane…maybe he was a way better person than she had thought he was.
Back on the highway, Andrea and Lacy had continued to converse with one another and were actually having a grand time. They had just finished giggling about a past story Lacy had told her about her childhood and the pranks she and her brother used to pull on her parents—before they had left the world. Their laughs had eventually faded and there was a moment of complete silence, hearing the faint whistling of the wind and distinct murmurs from the other humans talking amongst themselves outside of the RV. Andrea then glanced at Lacy and broke the silence between the two of them.
"Thanks Lacy. Thank you for helping me get my mind off of things. It actually helped, and was exactly what I needed." She said with an honest tone in her voice and a small smile showing on her face. Lacy breathed in heavily and released a sigh.
"No problem Andrea. It's exactly what I needed too." She replied while smiling at the beautiful blonde woman in front of her.
"Hey little brother. Why don't you come down here and take a little walk with me?" Merle shouted from the ground and staring up on top of the RV where Daryl had been for the last few hours. The windows of the RV were open and Daryl had been listening to the conversations between Andrea and Lacy and had actually found himself smiling at some of the stories the girls had shared with each other. He was never one to eavesdrop but he couldn't seem to drag himself away and enjoyed hearing what the girls were saying to one another. He found out many interesting things about both of the girls that not many people seemed to know. He knew that Lacy's parents had been dead for many years and was technically adopted by her four older brothers who taught her everything she knew. He knew that she had an overly protective boyfriend before the plague began and had been sent to prison months before with the charges of theft and arson. She had no intent on staying with him once her boyfriend was released from jail but was thankful for never having to go through with the break up—assuming that he had become a member of the countless amounts of walking dead and would never see him again. He learned a few detailed facts about Andrea's life, but found himself being more interested in hearing what the young girl Lacy's life was like. He looked down at his older brother and shrugged.
"Yeah sure, why not? I'll be down in second." Daryl replied as he stood up and stretched his tired limbs. He gathered his crossbow and a water bottle and then climbed down a few steps and jumped off the rest of the way, landing smoothly on the pavement. With his crossbow never leaving his side, he and Merle began walking along the highway, catching up with each other.
"How've you been little brother? We ain't had much time to chat with each other." Merle stated while analysing the large variety of vehicles gathered together on the highway.
"Yeah. And I've been fine I guess. Much better than Carol, Sophia and Andrea…" Daryl answered while fiddling around with his crossbow. Merle nodded his head and took a sip from his water bottle. A moment later he stopped in his tracks and smiled widely.
"Well looky here! Ain't she beautiful?" Merle asked while jogging over and knocking his hand on a 2012 Mustang. "Rich bastards musta been pissed havin' to leave this beauty behind. Jesus Christ this thing's sweet!" Merle said excitedly. The man had a huge passion for vehicles and had always dreamt of owning such a car. "Man… couldn't ya just see me speeding down roads, crankin' some good tunes and drivin' this beast?" Merle asked while glancing at his brother with that huge grin still planted on his face. Daryl chuckled and shot a smile back at his brother.
"Yeah, yeah. I see it." Daryl replied coolly and continuing to walk again back toward the others. Merle caught up with his brother and glanced back at the Mustang one last time. He sighed heavily and stared at Daryl.
"So buddy, have ya got your eye on any of them fine ladies in the group?" Merle asked while smirking and continuing to stare. Daryl gave him a quick glance and looked ahead of himself before speaking, not wanting to hold his brothers gaze.
"Nah. No point." Daryl lied. He never bothered to waste his time on relationships before the apocalypse but figured he wouldn't mind having something similar before his time to go came up. "How 'bout you?" he asked his brother, not wanting Merle to question anything further.
"Of course. We've got quite a few fine ones, don't you agree?" before Daryl could answer, Merle kept talking. "Actually, between you and me, I wouldn't mind havin' a little fun with one of em' newcomers. They're both young, and they're both hot. And now you tell me this: what man hasn't fantasized about doing things with a much younger woman?" he continued to smirk while picturing it and staring off into the forest beside them. Daryl swallowed the rest of his water and didn't reply. His brother had a point about the fantasizing, but he wasn't about to agree with it. And he surely didn't want his brother harming either Lacy or Susan or anyone for that matter.
When arriving back at the RV they'd noticed that Shane, Rick and Susan had returned from the forest and had even been able to trap a wild turkey on their way back to the highway that they were all going to share with everyone for dinner. With the sun beginning to set, Shane, Rick, Daryl and Merle all began preparing the turkey while Susan joined Lacy and Andrea inside of the camper. The others all sat around close to one another and anxiously awaited their meal. Glenn and Dale had accomplished a lot that day and figured they could start moving again before noon the next day. The survivors had felt relieved for not having to deal with any walkers for a couple of days but had no idea that the movement of humans had drawn a huge amount of them and were getting closer and closer by each ticking minute.