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Praying To No One

Riding with Daryl wasn't too bad. It was silent most of the time, which apparently we both preferred over talking. Maybe it was because he didn't like me, but I didn't really care. The quiet was peaceful, a nice change of pace from the screaming and explosions we experienced recently. The drive to Fort Benning was a long one so I got used to it quickly, spending most of my time scratching at the dirty window or picking threads in the fabric of the seat.

"Why do you still have your bike?" I broke the silence, peering over at the driver curiously. I had been wondering this whole time why Daryl drove the van with the bike in the back instead of just riding the bike. It seemed so inconvenient to haul it along for the whole journey without making use of it.

Daryl rolled his eyes subtly, barely casting a glance in my direction. "It's my brothers. Figured he'd want it back." He shrugged, tapping a finger on the steering wheel.

"You think you'll find him?" I pestered, shuffling up in my seat. This was the most we spoke the whole trip.

They didn't find Merle in Atlanta like they originally planned, leaving instead with the gun bag and sheriff's hat alone. I assumed he was dead but Glenn told me they found his hand on the roof. Just his hand. He cut it off in a fit of desperation to escape, the skin ripped around the wrist and the saw discarded next to it. Maybe Daryl was nicer now because Merle wasn't here.

"Quit asking me questions and go to sleep." He grumbled, his eyes sticking to the cars in front.

I turned around in my seat to face the window, pulling the borrowed jacket up around my shoulders. "So that's a no?" I mumbled into the fabric, ignoring the slight glare from the man beside me.

My restless sleep was filled with thoughts of concern for the people in the group. I assumed everyone was okay for now, seeing as it had been hours since I saw them. Glenn got in the RV and I remembered Carl and Sophia were in the car in front of us- I could see the silhouette of their heads in the backseat.

The van shuddered to a stop, my head banging painfully on the window frame with every bump.

"Wake up, kid. We're getting out." Daryl shook me before opening his door. I rubbed my eyes and looked outside to see the circle of halted vehicles, the group wandering between them with expressions of concern.

"Our car's out of gas. I'm betting yours are low, too. We can siphon it out of these two here," Rick pointed to Daryl's and Shane's cars, "and save it for when the others run out. We got too many vehicles as it is."

They got to work on that, connecting tubes to fuel tanks, while I found Carl and Sophia. We would be riding in T-Dog's car together with their parents, which I didn't think would be too bad. It was just a shame that Daryl would have to ride alone now.

I saw Rick and Dale going over a map, a focused finger sweeping the length of a highway that would cut down the journey greatly. Hopefully Fort Benning would be safer than the CDC, but then again it wasn't hard.

I hopped into the van after Sophia, letting her take the middle seat while I squished against the window. Daryl started his bike up with a roar and we followed it down the road, a wistful smile on my lips. I guess he found a use for it after all.

It was only a few hours later that the RV slowed in front of a huge pile up of cars, no possible way of manoeuvring to the other side with the huge vehicle. We narrowly squeezed into the largest of gaps, the squealing of tires and creaking of pipes not doing anything to reassure me. Sophia held onto me in fear as we peered out the window, flipped over cars and dead bodies littering the highway. A shiver rippled down my spine at the sight, my nose scrunched in disgust at the burnt rubber smell in the air.