In which Rick Grimes comes back
from the dead, only to find that he's
living amongst them too.
OR
In which Emerson Scott falls for the
widowed cop in the midst of their
world crashing down around them.
BOOK ONE
part i. - when the dead come knocking
...
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02 | august, 67 days after the end
BEING GLUED TO HER SIDE MEANT THAT Carl wanted to go with her into the city. Of course, that was something Emerson would never allow. It was clear Carl was suffering from some sort of trauma. Losing both his parents all in the same day had to be hard. It was something Emerson understood, which was why the decision was simple after Carl begged and pleaded with her to stay back with him at the quarry. She wouldn't be going into Atlanta anymore after that first run.
Silas offered to go into the city after the first couple weeks of barely surviving on canned goods. They could only make canned corn and green beans last for so long. Not to mention, the Dixon brothers could only find so much venison every few days.
Glenn Rhee, another stranger they picked up, offered to go with him. Claiming he knew the city better than any of them that littered the campground.
Of course, Emerson had to argue. She was an Atlanta cop. She knew the city like the back of her hand and she wasn't going to let a pizza delivery boy tell her otherwise.
Glenn just laughed at this while Silas called her an argumentative brat.
Thus, Emerson went with Glenn and Silas the first time. But the guilt of leaving the twelve year old back at camp was too great. She wouldn't be going into Atlanta anymore. Not for anything. It wasn't worth it when her place was at the quarry with Carl.
Even from the very beginning, she treated Carl like her own.
That first night, as Carl fell asleep on Emerson's lap, a group of them sat quietly around a small fire. Some small conversations were had, but nothing serious. They went around and introduced themselves, but even that didn't give them the sense of normalcy they craved.
Instead, Dale, who quickly became their elderly grandfather figure, told stories. So did the youngest Dixon brother, something about a chupacabra? Emerson wasn't sure where to begin when it came to unpacking that, but she knew to leave well enough alone.
Soon enough, all of them began telling different stories of their life. There were about two dozen of them, much to Emerson's dismay. She wished Silas and Shane would have listened to her, but instead, they kept inviting more and more people to come back with them.
