Don't Close Your Eyes [TWD]

°•seventeen•°

"Are you okay?" Glenn asks, helping me up from where my new seat seemed to become the window.

"Yeah," I grunt, making it to my feet, gripping the upside down seat to sturdy myself better. I jump closer to him, startled as a walker suddenly bangs on the window next to me.

"Eugene, are you okay?" Rosita's voice calls, her own voice strained. Eugene mutters something about a preacher and Abraham gives him a supportive word to hang in there.

"Everyone else, you alright?" Abraham asks, receiving positive assurance from each of us.

I hardly remember Abraham losing control of the wheel and it flipping. It all happened so quickly it felt like a blur of events. One moment everyone was talking about Eugene's hair, the next we were helping each other stand again.

"The engine's on fire, we gotta get out of here," Rosita leads, already coughing from the smell.

Glenn turns to Abraham, his own plan coming into fruition at his call. The two of them go out first, quickly followed by Maggie and Rosita, then by Kate and I. Tara stands inside the bus, guarding Eugene.

The fight against the small herd didn't last long, but considering we'd just went through a whirlwind inside the bus, I didn't blame Rosita when she fell to her knees and attempted to catch her breath.

"Check Eugene. See if he's hurt," Abraham demands once catching his own breath.

"I'm fine," Eugene denies, "Just cuts and dings is all."

"Check him," Abraham disputes, refusing to take Eugene's refusal as an answer.

"Is that your blood?" Eugene asks, redirecting the blame.

Abraham looks to his knuckles before nodding, "Yeah. Damn thing opened again. I swear, the cuts are finer than frog's hair. They're just big bleeders."

"First aid kit is in the bus. I'll see what we have," Maggie announces, making moves to the bus that now laid on it's side.

As she walks past me, she freezes. When a 'whoosh' of sound is audible, everyone's attention draws to it. The inside of the bus brightened immensely as flames engulfed it. There's no time for anyone to make a comment as Abraham is the first to speak.

"We're not stopping. We're rolling on," he says, picking up his bag that he'd smartly dragged out with him, "We'll find another vehicle down the road. The mission hasn't changed."

"Devil's advocate, nothing more- we smashed to a stop hard. We spent a lot of time rolling things out of the road. The church is just fifteen miles back that way," Eugene offers, pointing back to the way we'd come from.

My eyes can't help but glance back in that direction as well. I longed not only for the safety and security of the rest of the groups, but also simply being back with more family.

"No," Abraham is quick to shut down, "We don't stop. We don't go back. We're at war and retreat means we lose. The road fights back, the plan gets jacked, you all know that."

I glance to Glenn who looks back with the same face I'm sure I had. Confusion, hesitance, and a bit of annoyance was evident.

Abraham looks to each of us momentarily before continuing his speech, "Now, we we'll get through this because we have to. Every direction is a question. We don't go back!"

As the angered man begins to walk on, Glenn jumps in front of him with hands on the broader man's chest, "Hey, hey, hey! You okay?"

"I am fit as a damn fiddle," Abraham exasperates, voice nearing a growl.