South Tree * TWD

3. Helicopter boy

When Lillian worked up the courage to walk up to Carl, she was unsure how she should apologize.

"I like your shirt." Carl complimented. Lillian put on a Surf Trip shirt which said 'Save Our Sharks' with a woman on a surfboard above a shark. She thought the shirt was really cool too. She loved sharks. One time, her mama took her to the beach while they were on vacation in florida and she saw lots of people on surf boards. She always wanted to go surfing, even though she had no idea how. Both her parents said she wasn't allowed to cause it was too expensive, so instead they bought her the shirt.

"Thanks... I am real sorry for pushing you." Lillian pulled at the end of her shirt, looking at her shoes.

"It's okay." Carl smiled at the girl. Lillian looked up and smiled back at Carl.

"Did you know that sharks are real life dinosaurs? They have lives for 420 million years! Isn't that a ton?" Lillian spoke, now confidently, as she looked down at her shirt.

"No way! So they are the only dinosaurs that exist?"

"Kind of, birds are kinda dinosaurs too."

"What!?" Carl looked at the girl with wide eyes. From behind Carl, Lillian watched as Shane walked over to the two kids.

"You kids getting along?" He asked, putting his hands on his hips.

"Yeah... Shane! Did you know that birds and sharks are dinosaurs!?" Carl was basically yelling with excitement. Lillian had a small smile on her face as she watched Shane smile at both her and Carl.

"I had no idea."

"Lilli just told me that they are! Isn't that so cool?" Carl jumped up and down a couple of times. "Next time I see a bird, i'm gonna call it a dinosaur." Carl giggled mischievously at himself. Lillian tucker her hair behind her ear and stood silently as Shane ruffled Carl's hair.

"Alright, bud. How about you two come sit near the RV with me and learn how to tie knots?" Shane proposed, using a tone that made the action sound fun. Lillian had no interest in tying knots. Her daddy tried to teach her once, but she got real confused and did not understand so he got frustrated and gave up. Even then, Lillian began following behind Shane and Carl as they walked over to a couple rocks by the fire pit. As the two boys sat down, Lillian saw Lori and walked right past the rocks to stand by her.

"Hey honey, whatcha doing over here? You don't want to tie knots with the boys?" Lori asked as she continued to hang clothes on the clothes lines. Lillian shook her head in response. "I get it, boring stuff." Lori joked, smiling down at the small girl and nudging her softly with her elbow. Lillian put on a fake smile as she looked back up at Lori before looking over at the RV.

She watched as Dale was digging inside the front of the vehicle, Jim stood behind him, and Amy anxiously paced in front of the two guys. Lillian had noticed that Amy was usually with her sister, Andrea, but she wasn't. She connected it that maybe Andrea had gone with the group, just like her mom.

"Hello, base camp!" A staticky voice came through the radio, drawing everyone's attention. Lillian looked over at Lori, who quickly moved to jog towards the RV. Lillian quickly followed behind her, as Carl did.

"Hello, Hello. Receptions bad on this end." Dale spoke into the radio, on top of the RV. "Repeat. Repeat."

"Is that them?" Lori asked Dale, with her hands on his hips. Lillian looked up at Dale, with a worried look. She wasn't really worried, but everyone else seemed to be, so she played the part.

"We're in some deep shit." The voice spoke through the radio again. "We are trapped in the department store."

"He say they're trapped?" Shane asked with a stressed tone.