Safe haven | Rick Grimes

003. THE LOOMING PRESENCE

Chapter three

"The looming presence."

Morales leaned forward from the cargo hold, looking through the cab window at Scarlett and Rick. "Best not to dwell on it. Merle getting left behind. Nobody's gonna be sad he didn't come back..except maybe Daryl."

"Daryl?" Rick asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"His brother," Morales replied.

"And is he just as crazy, or.." Scarlett asked.

Before Morales could answer, the shrill, distant wail of a car alarm echoed down the highway. A moment later, Glenn came speeding up behind them in the bright red sports car. He roared past the box truck, leaning out the window and cheering at the top of his lungs.

Morales smiled, watching the car disappear around a bend. "At least somebody's having a good day." His expression turned serious again as he looked back at Scarlett. "But Daryl is..well, you'll see."

Scarlett turned her attention back to the windshield as they continued their long drive out of the city.

They wound through the mountains and descended a hill toward what looked like an old quarry camp. Rick parked the truck behind an abandoned car, and Morales patted them both on the shoulders. "Come meet everybody," he said, hopping out of the back with the rest of the scavengers.

Scarlett turned to Rick, noticing the sudden wave of anxiety on his face. "We'll find them," she promised softly. "They could be right here, we don't know. But if they're not, then we'll just go somewhere else."

Rick looked at her, a faint, tired smile breaking through. "You have so much hope."

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have spent weeks sleeping in that chair waiting for you to wake up," Scarlett replied, Rick chuckled, the tension finally leaving his shoulders.

The two opened their doors to step out. "Hey, helicopter chasers! Come say hello." Morales shouted across the clearing.

Scarlett walked around the hood of the truck, pointing a playful finger at Rick. "That nickname is entirely your fault," she told him.

They both laughed, but the sound died in their throats the moment they looked ahead. Standing near the center of the camp were Lori, Carl, and Shane.

Shane's jaw dropped, his rifle slipping from his hands and clattering into the dirt. "Oh my god," he breathed, stepping forward.

"Dad! Dad!" Carl screamed, bursting into a frantic run toward Rick.

As Rick sprinted forward to meet his crying son and wife, Scarlett walked toward Shane. He closed the distance instantly, throwing his arms around her waist, lifting her clean off the ground, and spinning her around in the dirt. He had spent weeks buried in guilt, fully believing she had died alongside Rick when he had left her behind at that hospital. When he finally set her back down, his hands stayed locked firmly on her shoulders, refusing to let her go.

That night, they all gathered around the central fire pit. Carl lay with his head in Rick's lap while Lori sat close at his side. Across from them, Scarlett sat next to Shane, the heat of the fire casting long shadows across the camp.

"Disoriented," Rick murmured, staring into the flames. "I guess that comes closest. Disoriented. Fear, confusion..all those things but..disoriented comes closest."

"Try being the one who had to explain the end of the world to you," Scarlett said dryly.

Dale nodded from his lawn chair. "Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short."