𝘐𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 // 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯

𝖥𝗋𝗈𝗆 𝖺 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖾𝗇𝖽

"Scar?" He yelled out, his voice cracking as he came into view. His shirt was bloody and his forehead was lined in sweat.

His cowboy boots stopped clicking as his steps did, dead in his tracks, right in front of me.

I watched from below as his knees caved in, crashing to the wooden floor, finally eye level with me.

Sobs racked his body as he shook, familiar grief striking the sheriff. Another set of footsteps followed and it wasn't until Rick heard Glenn's voice that the shaking stopped.

The look on Glenn's face was enough to freeze Rick, all emotions suddenly turning off.

I laid on the wooden floor, a thick pool of blood surrounded me, filling my lungs, mouth, nails. My face wasn't mine anymore, instead a pile of mush, my eyes completely bulged.

I wake up with a gasp, my teeth chattering even in the heat as I sit up, shaking my head. The grass is empty beside me, the grass is empty all around me, I'm alone.

My first instinct is to yell for him but I hold my breath, getting to my feet on wobbly legs. The sun shines down just as bright as it did the day before and the week before that. We are far into summer now and it doesn't seem to want to rain.

We slept next to the road again, on dead dry grass. We haven't had water in days and I clutch onto my empty stomach as I take slow steps onto the middle of the road.

For a second I picture cars driving along, people laughing in passenger seats, the music blasting. For a second I picture Daryl and I in a truck, a dog in the back and a car seat strapped in. The baby laughs as if they understand the joke their dad just made and it makes me smile.

But the road is empty when I come back to reality, a feeling I've never felt brewing away deep within me.

Seconds pass and I continue to stand in the empty road, not worried that they left but wondering where they could have gone.

My question is answered as Glenn and Maggie walk out of the trees, across from where we had slept. The second I spot Glenn I'm suddenly sprinting towards him, my legs working for my brain as I shove myself into a hug, engulfing him.

He groans at the impact and Maggie giggles beside him. Confused, he starts to rub my back in small circles just like his mother always had.

"Where were you?" I shakily ask, out of breath and my mind racing. Glenn moves away from me, his face scrunches up in worry as he tells me they were just trying to find water.

Nodding my head, Maggie sends me a sympathetic smile. "Rick told us to split up and we didn't want to wake you." She adds.

"Where is Rick?" My sudden question confuses them both but Glenn's quick to tell me he's just where they were, that he should be heading back soon too.

Following his instructions, I walk into the dead forest. My boots cause the yellow grass to create a rubbing sound, the branches scraping my exposed skin.

When I get to Rick he's standing in front of a pond that's now dried up, completely dirt. I suddenly feel like an intruder, intruding on him and I don't belong. Just when leaving crosses my mind, Rick quickly turns his body to the side, his way of a hello.

Taking his invitation, I walk two steps until I'm somewhat beside Rick. Silently standing next to him, the sun beams down on us, the trees motionless, and the sky clear. It's like the world is laughing at us, like we're test rats in an experiment and we're one wrong turn away from failing.

I go to speak but he sighs, a loud and breathy sigh, one that he's been holding onto. Muttering a sorry, he makes eye contact with me only to break it, his eyes instantly falling back to the empty pond.