Our Life (Sequel to "Remnants")

Relief

-Carl-

(2 minutes earlier)

THUD!... THUD!... THUD!...

One sickening hollow thud after another echoed in the vehicle as we surged our way through a field of death. I glanced briefly over at Riley to see that he was not paying any attention to the windshield, instead peering down to the ground with a grimace, avoiding the gory havoc that was ensuing outside.

Blood was trickling through the shattered remains of the windshield, and in the confines of the vehicle there was little I could do to stop it as it dribbled down onto me. It also seeped down the dashboard onto Riley's hands, but he too could do nothing to stop this; he was driving the car after all.

"We're gonna be fine," I muttered once again, to nobody in particular, but it didn't matter since my voice was drowned out by the combined ruckus of the rattling car engine and the chorus of rasp groaning outside.

Suddenly the car came to an abrupt halt, and I was thrown forward by the unexpected stop. We had not escaped; we weren't safe or free from the herd - we had stopped right in the center of it. In the eye of the storm.

My first thought - and most logical one - was that we had ran out of gas or that we had broken down; in a post-apocalyptic vehicle, such a scenario was common, but right now this was apparently not the case.

The engine was still running, so what was the problem?

I turned to face Riley, to discover his reaction to the situation.

Instead, I found that he was just... sat... motionlessly.

"Riley?" I asked, as undead hands began to claw greedily and menacingly against the windows of our now-stationary vehicle.

My boyfriend was simply staring outside at the walkers. His face looked almost... void, of any emotion. Had he given up? Had he simply decided that this is the end?

No. I know Riley Palmer and he is not the type to simply give up.

But if not that, then what?

"Riley?! What the hell are you doing?!" I screamed angrily over the chorus of groans that echoed terrifyingly outside. It sounded spiteful, and unsympathetic, but I could apologize for that after we escaped the field of the dead that we had stopped in the heart of.

Riley grimaced and shook his head, clearing whatever thoughts had caused him to simply stop like that, and then responded not in words, but in actions, obeying my urgent demands and slamming his foot on the pedal.

The car accelerated rapidly forwards once more, travelling at a faster, riskier speed than usual and apparently directed at one woman in particular.

The woman looked vaguely... familiar, somehow, as though I had seen her before. Not personally, but maybe in a photo or drawing?

Anyway, it didn't matter now, since she, like many other disgusting corpses, was bowled down and crushed beneath the Chrysler's wheels. I grimaced at the moment - it was the first time I had actually got a good look at the almost-human face of one of the many walkers we were brutalizing , and it unsettled me just how much this mirrored mercilessly killing innocent people.

Riley, too, looked fazed by this resemblance. His skin was whiter than usual, his hands - soaked in blood that still dribbled down the dashboard - trembling on the wheel.

I looked at my boyfriend for several seconds. This was the first time I had seen walker killing affect him in such a way as this.

Perhaps his PTSD is worsening?

I doubted it, since our romantic encounter earlier was primarily a reassurance over that exact topic, but he did look quite shaken.

I had been focusing on these thoughts for so long that I barely registered the gurgles of the undead dying away behind us, and it took me several seconds to realize, much to our relief, that we had at last escaped the herd...

"Oh God," I breathed deeply, "we did it."

Riley halted the car once more, releasing his grip on the wheel and looking down at the blood stained on his hands with remorseful eyes.

I was about to comfort him - to tell him that it was just walkers, not humans - but when I peered back to the field, which was almost literally paved with corpses, blood and gore, I didn't just feel Riley's remorse...

I felt physically sick...

--

(Twenty Minutes Later)

The Chrysler had held up surprisingly well - hell, it was rusty and derelict enough before we used it, let alone after we'd flooded the bonnet with blood and all but destroyed the radiator.

God knows what would have happened to us had we not found the car. With two herds merging together and closing in on the house, our deaths would have been certain, but unbearably and horrifyingly slow all the same.

I was grateful for the car, and chuckled to myself in relief as we passed a large wooden pole. This was one of many such indicators for anyone who was lost or seeking shelter, and would lead them to Alexandria.

Riley may have shared my relief, but he didn't show it. He looked grimly at the blood encrusted on the crumbled bonnet of the vehicle, in deep thought.

I couldn't say I blame him for the lack of optimism. It was only survival - that was a fact - and it was undeniably necessary, but that certainly didn't change the fact that we had mowed down and eviscerated dozens of corpses... Young and old, male and female...

"We're fine," I sighed to myself once again, hoping that at least voicing my relief would evoke some form of response from an almost shell-shocked Riley Palmer.

I succeeded, as Riley finally turned to face me, his pale face showing signs of trauma, but it was mild enough that he was able to smile and nod in agreement.

"We're fine," Riley repeated, as we leaned over to reassure one another with a firm kiss. Riley's lips were brimmed with sweat, giving the kiss a surprisingly welcome saltiness as my hands reached over and gently gripped his, ignoring the occasional drop of blood that still lingered on his skin.

It was only intended to be a short, loving gesture, but we had just been through hell today, and there was no telling if we would have to go through the same thing again before tomorrow. Relief, love, and all sorts of intense, unexplainable emotion kicked in, and our 'kiss' became much more than that.

The back of my mind was telling me that we had to prioritize getting back to Alexandria, but when Riley's hand slid under my shirt, with his intimately warm skin softly touching mine, the back of my mind became too far away to notice.

"Are you sure we should do this now?" Riley asked one final time, clearly mustering more self-discipline than I could, and I showed my lack of it with a firm nod.

I smirked madly as my boyfriend's hand gradually lowered toward my belt.

It was only two hours ago that Riley Palmer promised me he would 'return the favor' after our last intimate encounter.

And damn did he keep his promise...

---

Finally updated!!!

I thought I'd retell Riley's discovery of his mother through Carl's eyes, to show how Carl has no idea what Riley's actually going through right now. And I also figured that I should reward your patience toward the end;)

Sorry the story didn't really progress yet; I have ideas for two, equally interesting and surprising endings, and haven't quite decided which one to use yet. You'll find out soon enough when I make up my mind.

Thank you for still reading, in spite of the long wait :)