"Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it." - Robertson Davies


Chapter 5: Plans Change

Voices. And loud booming. That was what reached Riley's ears when she first awoke. Her brain that had just been fuzzy and fogged with sleep was now awake and frantic. Voices? That wasn't good... Sweeping her disheveled hair over her shoulder, she glanced down at Carl, realizing he hadn't awoken yet. She aimed a light kick at his back with her shoe before making her way toward the window and peering out between the cracks. Her stomach churned at the sight going on just outside the door.

The wind was blowing fiercely, causing the tall grass to sway back and forth. The sky swirled with different shades of grey and thick droplets of rain started to pound against the glass pane. A rather large group of people, maybe ten, attempted to defend themselves from something that was in the grass and all it took was a rotting hand emerging to reveal exactly what the threat was. Eaters. In the end, it was always eaters. At least they were more predictable than human beings, which was why she was so nervous about the group just outside the door, pounding furiously on the wood to try and knock it down. She and Carl had to get out now.

"Get up now!" she hissed, turning around to face the slumbering boy on the cushions and whacking him in the head with his hat that was resting beside him.
Without waiting for an answer, she hurried across the room, shoving things in her bag and going back and forth between different rooms to collect the few things they'd left hanging around. Another loud boom of thunder echoed, vibrating through her bones and making her cringe.

"Riley!"

She rounded the corned, ramming into Carl and quickly reaching out to the door frame to steady herself. "Shhh! We have to get out of here right now. I already got our stuff."

Her blue eyes widened when the window suddenly shattered and she grabbed his arm, roughly yanking him toward the kitchen as shouting voices filled her ears. Shoving her backpack on her back, she stopped at the window, hauling it open just enough to get out. She then shoved him forward.

"Go!" her voice came out in a hushed whisper as scuffling and the voices grew louder.

He didn't hesitate a second and as soon as he was outside, she slipped out, landing firmly on the ground. Wet drops slapped against her face and she was soaked within seconds, but there wasn't time to worry about the rain. The group was definitely not the one they ran into yesterday because there were women, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be hostile. She and Carl started to the woods at a quick pace, but he stopped suddenly.

A loud, piercing scream sounded out but was quickly drowned by the thunder and she grimaced, shooting a glance over at him as he looked back and then looked right into her eyes with his frantic, vivid blue gaze.

"Riley, we have to help them!" he shouted, grabbing onto her arm and tugging her back toward the house but she dug her heels firmly into the ground.

"No! We can't go back there, we don't know these people! They might hurt us!" She gave him a hard yank back in her direction.

And then he gave her a look. A look that made her feel like the bad guy. And for a moment, she felt bad, like she was corrupting him. He wanted to help and she was saying no. However, seeing a walker limp out of the brush made her snap out of it and she gave his arm a huge tug, causing him to stumble a few steps her way.

"We can't, Carl! We have to go!"

He looked at her for a good long moment, his expression hardening before he picked up a run, dragging her further into the woods. Letting go of his arm, she wiped her soaked hair from her face and picked up her speed, hands coming to rest on the straps of her backpack. They only ran until they couldn't see the house anymore and then they slowed their pace to a walk. The trees provided decent cover from the rain, but there was still plenty of it to keep them soaked. Now they were stuck wandering in the woods until they could find their way out. Who knew how long that would take?

Riley's gaze darted over to Carl and she pursed her lips, noting his impassive expression. There was a thick tension in the air that wasn't just a result of the raging storm around them. Bringing it up would be completely stupid. It wasn't a good idea right now, especially so soon after everything happened, but she found herself wanting to talk about it and explain herself. But what was there to explain? That she had trouble trusting people? He already knew that and she had a feeling that it wouldn't suffice. Delving further into her memories and reasoning wasn't something she exactly wanted to do.

After everything that happened to her and her family, talking about things wasn't something she liked to do. Carl was different. He seemed more open to talking. He was the opposite of her. Maybe a few similarities here and there, but he was still a lot different.

His gaze suddenly turned to her and he caught her eye, staring for a brief moment before she quickly broke eye contact. Come on, Riley. Just talk to him. Both of you need clear heads and this is just getting in the way. Deciding to stop being stubborn for once, she abruptly stopped, crossing her arms over her chest as the rain chilled her to the bone.

"Carl...," she said slowly, blinking droplets from her eyelids and looking at him as he stopped too. He didn't speak, just adjusted his hat with his hand and waited.

"We don't know what type of people they were. What if they hurt us after we helped them?" she tried.

"But what if they didn't? They could have helped us find my dad! You're not even trying to look for them!"

"There was still that chance that they wouldn't! You can't just trust everyone you come across!" Her voice rose slightly, frustration rising in her throat and forming a lump.

"And you can't dismiss everyone just because you have trust issues!"

Riley's eyes darkened and her muscles got tense. "I have a lot of good reasons not to trust everyone we come across."

"Then tell me! Tell me why you can't trust people. You trusted me. And my dad. Why us and not them?" He took a small step closer to her, eyes searching, wanting, desperate for something from her. "Riley I'm trying to trust you. I don't want to be alone, but I need to know you trust me too."

How could he? How could he even bring that up? Why did he have to get into her head? He was so open with his emotions that it made her head swirl. She couldn't bring herself to even think about telling him that she might trust him and here he was spewing it out as if it was nothing. But he was right. Maybe she didn't want to admit it out loud. Maybe she was trying to deny it. He's just trying to get information out of you. Don't fall into that trap. Just let this go.

He stared at her for a moment longer, his lips slightly parted and eyebrows knitted together. The air grew heavier and more constricting with every passing second until he let out a noise of disbelief and turned away.

Damn it, Riley. You screwed up again.

"Wait." She quickly jumped in front of him, stopping him from going any further. How was she supposed to put this in words? Letting out a shaky exhale, she looked up at him, keeping her expression a little hard. "I knew you and your dad weren't like the others...because of you. A...while back my group...ran into some Hunters. They were monsters. They killed people who were too weak. If you did something wrong, they killed you. They...used women. And no kids allowed because they were too weak. A burden. I knew you and your dad were okay because of you."

His expression immediately softened and no words escaped his lips for a long while. She had seen enough murder and lying and broken trust to know what people were like. And yet she still found herself with a person by her side. She tried to stop it, to distance herself from the living, but it never seemed to be possible. Her eyes wandered around the trees for a moment before she forced herself to meet his gaze with a look. A look that clearly said: I'm trying.

"I didn't know-" he started, only to be cut off by herself.

"Let's just keep going."

She didn't want to hear him apologize for getting irritated with her. She had heard it too many times by now and it was always the same: no real meaning, just there because they felt bad and wanted to make themselves feel better.

Carl nodded slowly, holding her gaze for a moment before lowering it to the ground and beginning to walk. The rain was still coming down thick and hard and a glance up at the sky revealed that it wasn't going to stop anytime soon. It had to rain the day that a bunch of strangers decided to show up to the house they were staying in. She had to admit, that by the time the rain started to slow, she was shivering and her teeth chattered viciously.

Riley looked up at the sky, seeing that it was beginning to brighten slightly. Maybe only another twenty minutes before the storm passed. That was the great thing about Georgia. The storms come and go pretty quickly, even if they were wild. It was sure to heat up once it stopped raining, so she wouldn't have to wait very long before it was warm again.

Her eyes wandered over to Carl to see if he was suffering from the chilly rain as much as she was. It was hard to tell at first, but she could see the light trembling of his muscles as they tried to warm his body up. This whole thing must have been tough for him. She hadn't really thought of it till now, but watching him trying to hold back shivers with exhaustion layered on his face reminded her. He was used to being with his dad. Sure he was a lot tougher than a lot of the kids she met, but he still had people he cared about. He was probably worried about them and they had so many close calls that it was probably wearing him.

She had been away from her family and people she cared about long enough to adjust to the wear. The wear still affected her, but it took a little longer to get down to her core.

Sudden movement up ahead caused her to pause and her eyes narrowed. Didn't seem to be a walker or a person... Slowly, she got a little closer, gesturing for him to follow after her. The trees thinned out and a rushing river appeared. Her lips parted slightly and she glanced over at Carl, eyes wide. The current seemed quite strong, but as long as they avoided actually going in the water, they could use it to fill up their water bottles.

"We should stop here for a bit to eat," he suggested. "It looks safe around here and I'm pretty hungry."

Riley nodded, shrugging the backpack off her shoulders and bending down to open it up. It was pretty wet, but the food inside was sealed so it wouldn't get moldy. Unfortunately, the clothes she had inside were soaked, but they'd dry with time.

Pulling out two bags of chips and the water bottles, she handed one of each to him and settled down in the grass with her own. She tore open the chips, which were barbecue flavored, and began to munch on them. Thank goodness Carl was able to get them back at the little store. Otherwise, they would only have a can of carrots left. Now, they still had that can of carrots, a few more bags of chips and a couple of protein bars. It would last them a few more days at the very least, but they should still start thinking about food again. All she had left was four bullets and she was sure Carl was probably running low too, which meant hunting might not be the best idea.

After a long silence between the two, she decided it would be a good idea to bring this up. "So we have enough for a few more days, what are we going to do after that?"

He finished chewing up a chip and turned to her. "I don't know. We could try hunting. Don't know how good I'll be. I know a little bit. A few traps and such, but that takes time and we'll have to find a place to set up a camp or something until the traps catch something."

"Wait you know how to trap and you haven't said anything about it?" If he knew how to trap, then they could have gotten a lot more food the last few days they were at the farmhouse.

"We didn't really need it at the time and I guess I just...forgot." He shrugged, plopping another chip in his mouth.

Riley unscrewed the cap off her water and took a long gulp. "Guess we'll just have to find some place to stay, then. We might not find something today. We'll have to take turns watching while the other sleeps. We got lucky with that farmhouse. I don't know how lucky we'll be from here on out. Luck always runs out."
He sighed a little, biting down on his chapped lips and nodding. "So should we try and head back the way we came? I...just think the best chance we have of finding my dad would be to stick around that area."

She wiped the barbecue flavoring from the chips onto her pants and crumpled up the empty bag. "I guess we should probably do that. If we're going to have any chance of finding them, it would be there. But we should probably stick to the woods for now. We don't know anything about those two groups. We need to stay away from the farmhouse and staying in the woods is the best way to keep away from the other group that tried to bring us with them."

"Alright... Do you think that one group...has my dad?" He stopped eating for a moment, locking his gaze with hers.

Her eyes lingered on his for a few moments before they wandered over to the river. "I don't know. But we have to be careful. We don't know if they were lying or not."

"Yeah I know. I just...was thinking about it..."

"It's...possible," she said slowly after a moment. "But we should be trying to stay away unless there's evidence to prove they're with them."

He nodded slowly, gaze dropping down to the ground for a moment before he finished up his chips. She slid the backpack on her shoulders and took a long sip of her water, emptying the bottle and then heading to the edge of the river so she could fill it up. Droplets sprayed up into her face and she squinted as she leaned down to let the water run into the bottle. She kept a firm grip on it because if she even loosened her grip a little, it was sure to go flying down the river. There had to be some sort of water fall nearby, or it wouldn't be rushing as fast as it was. Once the bottle was full, she slipped it into her backpack and waited for Carl to come over and fill his up.

He appeared next to her a moment later, downing the rest of his water to make enough room for more. Crouching down, he leaned over the water to fill the bottle up. She noticed just a second too late that his shoe was slipping.

"Carl!" she shouted as he tumbled into the whooshing water.

What do I do? What do I do? I have to go in there after him! Shit. Her hands fumbled with the zipper on her backpack as she zipped it up and then she quickly tied the ends of the straps together so it would stay on her back. Frantic blue eyes jumped over to where she last saw him in the river, but he was gone.
She started sprinting along the edge, her thudding heart beats getting faster with every step she took. A flash of brown caught her eye and without hesitation, she jumped right into the water.

As soon as she hit the surface, she realized how much she underestimated the current. Her body was jostled roughly around the rocks and her head went completely under the water. She thrashed around in and attempt to surface and was able to for a brief second. That second was long enough to spot something being dragged down with her. Carl's hat. Her hand shot out and her fingers latched onto it just as she was pulled under again. She opened her eyes as best as she could, but every time she rammed into another rock or spun around in the water, she was forced to close her eyes and struggle to bring her head above the surface. Her lungs felt like they were tearing apart inside of her the longer she stayed under and the one word that continually screamed in her mind was oxygen.

The river got shallow enough at one point for her to kick herself up to the surface and she took in a gasping breath of air. She had to get to Carl, wherever he was. She was not going to let him drown on her. Not today.

And that's when she started free falling.

Her body slammed into the water again like she was falling on concrete and her determination faltered as her skin stung from slapping against the water. It was only when she saw Carl's body floating next to her that the determination came rushing back in waves.

Reaching out, she grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him toward her and forcing her head above the surface. Her body wracked with violent coughs that excreted the water residing in her lungs as soon as she tried to take a breath. The current was now practically nonexistent so she was able to pull him toward the edge of the river despite her coughing fit. Droplets of water clouded her vision, but she was able to make out the blurred green grass and she heaved his limp body onto the shore before pulling herself out fully. Every muscle ached and her chest throbbed painfully every time she took in a breath. So this was what almost drowning felt like...

Riley curled up in a ball for a brief second, shaky breaths entering and leaving her lungs at a rapid rate. She nudged Carl with her foot, but when he didn't respond, she scrambled closer to him, shoving him on his back. His eyes were closed and his mouth partially open, but his chest wasn't rising and falling. Dammit he's not breathing!

What was she supposed to do? She had no experience with any of this and the only thing she could think of doing was chest compressions, but she didn't even know how to do that. Everything was jumbling in her mind and she couldn't think straight, but she wasn't going to sit around until he died.

"Screw it," she muttered through gritted teeth, shoving his hat out of the way, balling her fists, and positioning them right below his ribcage on his stomach. "You're not dying today, Sheriff's Deputy."

She began to push down on with her fists rapidly in attempt to try something, anything to help keep him alive, but she knew the instant she decided to do something that it wasn't going to work. There had to be something she could do. She didn't want to just sit around and wait for him to die. He wasn't going to die. She just...she had to do something. The time was ticking away fast and if she waited too much longer, she was sure he would never breathe again.

"You look like you could use some help."


A/N: okay I know cliffhanger sorry! I just felt like it was a good place to cut off and it'll leave me more room to expand on what's going to happen in the next chapter. Yes, this chapter was a bit shorter than usual, but I didn't want to throw in a bunch of filler stuff. From here on out, I'd say buckle your seat belts because the ride has just begun. Anyway, thanks a ton to you readers out there for reading and reviewing and following and everything. It means a lot and I'm glad you guys seem to be liking it so far. Hope you liked this chapter! :)