𝑟𝑢𝑛٫ 𝑟𝑎𝑏𝑏𝑖𝑡٫ 𝑟𝑢𝑛; 𝑡𝑤𝑑

Chapter Five ￫ -ˋˏ The Siege ˎˊ-

ʚїɞ

Luella sat on the roof of the ruby red sports car, kicking her legs back and forth as her feet swung in and out of the open passenger side window like a pendulum.

The bonnet lay propped up, its interior stripped for spare parts— much to the dismay of Glenn, who had watched the day prior as Dale and Shane mercilessly tore his favoured find to bits. 

The group had ventured out into the city once more, after Daryl's outburst that morning, Rick had organised a small group to go on a rescue mission for Merle. Mark had gone with, much to the girl's relief, as once again a giant weight had been lifted from her shoulders. 

"Hey Mae!" a voice called from behind, and Luella turned away from watching the barren road that led out of camp. She spotted Lori standing a short distance away, accompanied by Amy, who clutched a bucket and fishing rod in her hands. 

She hopped down off the car and jogged over, a smile tugging at her lips as she anticipated what was to come.

"You wanna go fishing with Amy and Andrea today? You could catch us some dinner," Lori asked, to which Luella furiously nodded her head in agreement. 

"C'mon then," Amy laughed, shifting the bucket over to her other hand in order to free one for Luella to take as they trudged down to the lake.

Luella sighed with contentment as they reached the shore. The duo approached Andrea, who was busy readying the sister's boat for their trip out onto the water. She was just finishing up untangling a rope which had coiled itself around one of the oars when Luella and Amy caught her attention. 

"Hey Luella, ya joinin' us today?" Andrea squinted in the mid-morning sun, raising a hand to shield her eyes as she straightened up to greet them. Luella smiled and nodded, letting go of Amy's hand to slip hers into the back pockets of her shorts.

"Atta' girl, c'mon and give me a hand pushing the boat out into the water a little bit," Andrea bent over, shoving the boat through the coarse sand. 

ʚїɞ

The trio had been silent for around twenty minutes as they sat in the boat, the only sound being the gentle waves— caused by the light wind blowing across the reservoir's surface— lapping against the side of the boat, swaying it side to side in a way that rather reminded Luella of a baby's cradle. 

Andrea had made light conversation with the girl as they rowed out, asking her about school and such. Though they had fallen silent once they all cast their lines, so as not to scare off the fish.

Luella's thoughts wandered as she waited patiently, dreaming of the unseen world beneath the water's surface.

The young girl couldn't help but picture the small fish underneath them perhaps already being aware of their presence, talking in their own little language and warding their neighbours away from the wooden contraption suddenly invading their home. 

Suddenly, a gentle tug on the line brought her back to the present. Her heart quickened as she felt the slight resistance, the promise of a catch.

She tightened her grip on the rod, her heart thumping wildly with anticipation. With trembling hands, she began to reel in, just as Mark had once taught her, attempting to keep her movements careful and deliberate.