fallen lands || the walking dead

chapter 2

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Everyone was around a low fire, Rick and Lori were curled up against each other and Carl laid with his head in his dad's lap. Shane and Xavier were sat next to them, Xavier sat with his knees up slightly, resting his elbows on them. Amy was on the right side of him, her head on Andrea's shoulder. "Disoriented. Guess that comes closet." Rick was talking about after he woke up, trying to explain it to everyone. "Disoriented, fear, confusion all those things but.. Disoriented comes closest."

"Well, words can mean meager things. Sometimes they fall short." Dale said softly, Xavier glanced at his father. He still found it hard to believe that he was alive, back with them. It was a miracle. "I felt like I'd been ripped out my life. Put somewhere else. For a while.. I thought I was trapped in some coma dream." Thunder rumbled from the sky, it was somehow soothing to Xavier's ears and mind. There weren't a lot of things that calmed him anymore.

"Somethin' I might not wake up from, ever." Xavier listened to his father speaking. Rick thought he wouldn't wake up from it, neither did they. But now he was here. Sitting before him. Amy's hand was entangled with Xavier's, and he watched as Carl looked up at their dad. "Mom said you died.."

Xavier inhaled sharply, his eyes moving to Shane. Rick looked down at Carl, "And she had every right reason to believe that.. Don't you ever doubt it."

Lori's voice brought his attention back to his family, "When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital.. they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta and it never happened." Her fingers ran through Carl's hair. "Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." A few of the group nodded, "From the looks of that hospital, it got over run." He continued and Shane looked at him.

"Yeah, looks don't deceive. I barely got 'em out."

Rick sent a slight smile to Shane, "I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. Can't begin to express it." Xavier looked down at his shoes, knowing how close him and Shane were and how Shane and Lori had been fooling around. It ached him to think about how his dad didn't know. Plus, when his father was supposedly dead, Shane sort of became Xavier's best friend like his dad had been. Taught him how to fight, how to train, everything Rick hadn't already taught him.

"There goes those words falling short again." Dale tried to lighten the mood as if he could sense the tension, looking around the group. "Paltry things."

There was another fire next to them, Ed, Carol and Sophia were around it, and Ed putting another log into his fire caught the attention of Xavier and Shane. It made the fire spark and grow a bit, "Hey Ed, you wanna rethink that log?" Xavier called out to him and the rest all looked over. "It's cold, man." Was all Ed said in return.

"Cold don't change the rules, does it?" Shane backed up Xavier, still staring at Ed. "Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?" Ed was irritated, and was not bothered to listen to anyone. "I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once." Shane had enough, quickly standing up and walking over to Ed. Xavier didn't try to stop him, there was no need. When Shane reached him, he stood sternly in front of him. "Hey Ed, you sure you want to have this conversation man?" Ed scratched his ear, giving up and looking over at Carol. "Go on. Pull the damn thing out." The frail woman stood from her chair and pulled the log from the fire and returned to her seat right after. "Christ.." Xavier muttered, how could someone be such an asshole to his wife?