𝐆𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐒, the walking dead (rewrite)

06. before the silence

Genesis.

[Season 4—episode 8]
too far gone.

The sharp crack of a joint popping echoed softly through the cell as Ben stirred awake. He shifted against the cold floor, wincing as another bone gave a protesting pop from being curled up too long in a cramped position. The pillow he'd shoved between his head and the desk had barely helped. Sleep had come against his will and left him unrested, his limbs stiff and his neck aching.

For a disoriented moment, he forgot where he was—then his eyes snapped open, dread already creeping in before his mind had caught up.

He turned toward the bed.

Empty.

The blankets were still loosely folded at the edges, undisturbed. His heart stalled.

Gone.

Panic surged. He was on his feet in seconds, the ache in his body drowned by a spike of adrenaline. He bolted from the cell, bare feet slapping the concrete as he rushed through the dim corridor.

"Where's Melissa?"

Maggie looked up, the ghost of a smile on her face as she shrugged, she was about to say she'd seen Hershel come pick her up from the cell earlier but then Ben had already sprinted out of the room. She turned back to Glenn, eyes wide in happiness and slight confusion. Maggie didn't care much about the world when her own world was looking back at her with sleepy eyes.