succumb - glenn rhee

[FORTY-EIGHT] orange van

CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT// ORANGE VAN
"JUST A LITTLE SCARED
SHITLESS."

ִֶָ 𓂃⊹ ִֶָ

Liz sat on the edge of the bed, her fingers wrapping and unwrapping themselves around the scrap of her fathers shirt. She missed him more than she thought she could ever miss someone. A constant ache in the back of her heart that felt like it would never go away, no matter how much she distracted herself. 

People are told that grief fades. That the mourning process eventually stops hurting. That you would stop blaming yourself. That the pain would fade. 

Her pain wasn't fading. 

Every second of everyday she thought of him. what he would do and say in the situations she was put in. How he would've been there for her and comforted her through them. She wondered what he would say. He almost always knew what she needed. Whether she needed comforting words, time alone, a hug, a distraction. He always knew what she needed to feel better. 

And now, she couldn't even figure out what she needed. 

She always knew what to do. How to solve the problems of people around her. How to fix things. How to ignore things. How to save people. How to ignore major conflict. 

Liz's heart is heavy with pain. Her chest tight with worry and anxiety. The continuous feeling of the Governor's hands all over her. The thought that she had lost her niece. The heavy feeling of her and Glenn's argument weighing over her. 

It was too much. 

And she didn't know what to do.

She was failing those around her. She knew she was. It seemed like she just couldn't get herself together to do what she was best at. 

So many thoughts were running through her head, she couldn't focus on one decision. She didn't know what to about the Governor. She didn't know how to deal with her fight with Glenn.

Her head shot up at the sound of a sharp gunshot. She flung herself off the bed, standing still and quieting her previously heavy breathing as she listened, her ears searching for another shot. The worry in her mind grew as more shots fired, her body moving on its own towards the sounds. 

She ran out of the cell, quickly moving down the stairs as she moved towards where the guns were kept. Maggie came running out of one of the main floor cells, having previously been taking care of Judith while the others were outside. 

The girls shared a silent nod as they raided their makeshift armory, practically grabbing everything they could carry before quickly running out the prison. Liz was the first out the door, spotting Beth, Carl, and Theodora hiding along one of the walls. 

Carol was strewn out on the concrete, her body covered by Axel's corpse. Rick was crouched down outside the fence, Hershel and Nick ducked down in the tall grass of the field within the fence trying to cover themselves from the shots. 

Liz handed Beth two machine guns before she ran to duck behind a set of filling cabinets beside Maggie. Her heart was beating out of her chest as she leaned her head against the cool metal of the filing cabinet, before she looked to the brunette beside her. "Cover me!" Maggie shouted over the constant firing.

Maggie moved to where Liz had been, ready to spring out from their cover to grab Carol. The Horvath nodded, placing her gun onto one of the open drawers as she began to fire at the man in the watch tower. "Go!"

Carol began shuffling Axel's body off her own, shoving the grief of her somewhat-friend aside as Maggie ran forward, grabbing hold of the older woman's arm as she lead her to the wall where Beth, Theodora, and Carl were.

Liz leaned back, shielding herself once more as the firing from the governor's men stopped. Her eyebrows furrowed, listening closely to the sounds around her. It seemed like her heart dropped to her feet as she looked past the cabinet, watching a van drive through the gates of the prison.

The engine of the van roared as it came to a stop in the middle of the field before them. Confusion and panic were etched on Elizabeth's face as she studied the vehicle. 

What was inside?

More men?

A bomb? 

Her heart stopped as the back of the van fell open with a loud clang, followed by the shuffle of footsteps accompanied by soft growls. Walkers flooded the grassy field as a man stepped out the drivers side of the van, firing shots to wear Michonne was hiding.

Elizabeth's hands were clammy as she gripped her gun, her knuckles turning white from the tight hold, before firing at the man in the watch tower. The man fell back, nearly falling off the balcony of the tower as a bullet nailed him in the head. 

"Clear! Let's go." She shouted as she moved away from the cabinet, rushing towards the gate. 

Her hands trembled around the chain as she pulled it through the holes of the fence, she watched as Michonne rushed through the field, slicing at the walkers around her as she desperately tried to make it to where Glenn and Nick were assisting Hershel off the ground and into the truck Glenn was driving. 

The four of them piled into the truck, quickly driving away from the walkers and through the gate before Liz pulled it close, weaving the chain back through to keep the walkers from getting through. She ran around the truck, pulling her brother into a hug as soon as he opened the door. 

Her hands moved along his arms looking over his exposed skin, as Theodora moved towards them, latching onto her father. "I'm okay. No bites, no scratches. Promise." Nick spoke, running a hand over his daughters hair. "Are you okay?" 

She nodded, "Just a little scared shitless."Liz spoke as she closed the truck door, moving towards where the others were by the gate, her hand still intertwined with her brothers as she tried to console her own breathing. She stood just in front of the gate her brother at her side with his daughter in his arms.

Glenn watched as her shoulders and chest shook as the rose with her breaths, an obvious sign of her panic and worry. He stepped forward, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder, just beside the bruise the Governor's hand left on her. Liz flinched into his hold before glancing back, watching as he just slightly smiled. Her free hand moved up, clasping itself over his before squeezing. 

None of them were perfectly healed. 

None of them were truly okay. 

But, they still all had one another.

xx
1137

short ass chapter oops
i'm back!! again lmao

theres been a lot happening 
in my life lately but thank you
for reading and commenting
and voting love yall!

xo
-el