___
Just know that if you hide, it doesn't go away
When you get out of bed, don't end up stranded
Horrified with each stone on the stage, my little dark age
___
The drive towards Fort Benning has been nearly silent.
Rosanna spends the trip thinking about her family. Her brother Bellamy. Her mom. Her dad.
It's been so long since she's seen them. She may never see them again. She doesn't even know if they're alive.
Her silent thinking is interrupted by Dale. "Oh jeez."
She looks at him and then to the road ahead of them. The street is littered with abandoned cars. There isn't much wiggle room for Daryl's bike, let alone the RV.
Andrea stands and walks closer to the front windshield. "Oh no."
"See a way through?" Dale asks.
Glenn stands behind Rose now. "Uh... maybe we should turn back."
She chimes in. "There's an interstate bypass—"
Archer cuts her off. "We can't spare the fuel."
She huffs.
Suddenly the engine sputters and the car stops. "I said it didn't I? A thousand times. Dead in the water." Dale says patting the wheel. They all get out of the RV and stand around. Rick and the others join them.
"We can probably find a radiator hose here." T-Dog says.
"We can find a whole bunch of stuff here." Shane says looking around.
Archer nods. "I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start."
"Maybe some water." Carol says.
Sophia clings to her doll. "Or food."
Lori rubs her arm. "This is a graveyard. I don't know how I feel about this."
Rick glances around. "Let's just get what we can and leave."
They separate.
Rosanna goes off on her own to search for cans or non-perishable foods. A few minutes pass and then she hears a faint growling.
She snaps her head up and sees a hoard of rotters headed toward her and the group. Everyone starts hiding under the cars. She panics.
"Psst." She looks up and sees Archer motioning her over. They duck and he pulls her down to the concrete. They slide under a small car. He wraps his arms around her, and she covers her mouth.
A few cars over she can see Glenn who is frantically searching the surroundings with his eyes. He finally spots her, and she can see him sigh of relief.
Minutes pass. Feet shuffle by. The scent is unbearable. She maintains eye contact with Glenn who mouths 'It's okay.'
She holds her breath as a walker nearly trips over a shoe in the road next to the car. It regains its balance and continues on. Another minute passes.
Suddenly, as quick as they arrived, they are gone. Archer slowly unwraps his arms from around Rosanna. She's too nervous to crawl out.
A little bit away, she hears Sophia scream. She immediately crawls out and looks to the area where the noise came from.
Sophia is being followed by two rotters. Rick is quick on their trail, leaving the remaining group on the now empty road.
Rosanna turns around to face Archer. "Thank you." She whispers. He smiles.
Her gaze drifts behind him and she spots T-Dog and Daryl. She notices that T is bleeding profusely from his arm. "Oh my god. T-Dog!"
She rushes up to him who looks like he's about to pass out. "I'm fine."
She looks at Daryl. "Cut himself real bad. He's lost a lot of blood." They help T to the others who surround Carol. She's crying. Rosana brings her in for a hug. "We will find her."
She nods and wipes a tear.
"Rose!"
She turns around and sees Glenn. He brings her into a hug. "When I didn't see you... I thought..."
She shushes him. "It's okay. I'm okay."
___
Later, some of the guys and Rosanna go into the woods where Sophia ran to.
"Sure this is the spot?" Daryl asks, pointing his crossbow at a little alcove near some water.
"I left her right there. I led the walkers in that direction over there. She was gone when I got back. Figured she'd just wandered back to the group. I told her to keep the sun on her left shoulder." Rick says, scratching his head.
"Assuming she knows her left from her right." Shane says.
Rick eyes him. "She understood me fine."
Shane shakes his head. "Kids tired and scared, man. She had a close call with two walkers. Got to wonder how much of it stuck."
Daryl starts following something. "Got some prints here. She did like you said. Headed back to the highway."
"Let's spread out. Make our way back." Archer says.
Rick sighs and rubs his eye. Rosanna touches his shoulder. "Hey, we're gonna find her." He gives her a small nod.
Daryl points at the dirt. "She was doin' fine til right here. All she had to do was keep goin' straight. She veered off that way."
"Why would she do that?" Glenn questions.
"Maybe she saw something that spooked her off." Shane says.
"A walker?" Asks Archer.
Daryl shakes his head. "Don't see any other footprints. Just hers."
___
Archer, Rick, and Daryl stay in the woods keeping on Sophia's trail. Shane, Glenn, and Rosanna go back to the highway to inform the others.
"Why aren't we all out there looking? Why are we moving cars?" Lori asks.
"We have to clear enough room so I can get the RV turned around as soon as it's running. Now that we have fuel, we can double back to a bypass that Rose flagged on the map." Dale replies.
"Going back's going to be easier than trying to get through this mess." Shane says.
"We're not going anywhere till my daughter gets back." Carol says, crossing her arms.
Rosanna agrees. "That goes without saying."
Glenn cracks his knuckles. "I'm still worried about whatever that was. The herd that passed by."
T-Dog stands under the shade of the RV. "Yeah, what was that? All of them marching along like that?"
"We've seen it before. Back at the camp. A wandering pack." Dale says.
Shane shakes his head. "Okay, people let's go. We have work to do."
___

YOU ARE READING
Destruction ||| Glenn Rhee (BEING REWRITTEN TO OC)
Fanfictionde·struc·tion: the action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired. When the apocalypse started, college-student Rosanna Blake was on vacation in Atlanta with her family. After a supply run go...