Collision

Chapter Thirty Nine

~ Chapter Thirty Nine ~

Ellie's P.O.V.

When we reached the intersection, Joel stopped the truck and parked. While we waited for the five to make their way, Joel and I decided to be productive of the time and start looking beyond the intersection to plan the route for the day ahead.

"What do you see there?" He asked from down below. I was standing on the truck, looking far out North with my binoculars.

"Nothing but train tracks going East and West," I informed, stepping down from the truck.

"Train tracks?" He was making sure he'd heard the right thing. "We've been travelling along the same path that we thought would be dangerous. At this rate, we're heading straight for Terminus."

"Terminus? Like on those papers plastered around the place?"

He nodded, sharpening his axe. "Wonder why they seem so desperate to find new people. Everyone else seems downright scared, but they're welcoming people with open arms."

"Maybe they're just friendly," I suggested, starting to sharpen my own knife.

"Maybe they're just stupid," he spat on the ground.

The five of them took around half an hour to get to the intersection, which gave Joel and I half an hour of absolutely nothing to do.

We arranged who would go where and who would stay by the truck. Joel, Melanie and I would go East, Michonne, Bob and Maggie going West, and Aaron would stay by the truck, keeping watch of the North road up ahead. I mentally sighed of relief when I heard that I wouldn't be near him. As much of a friend as he'd been to me, I felt guilty that I'd supposedly given him the wrong idea and now he was in a mess with Carl.

The six of us divided and started the hunt for Maggie's family. Although, I still had absolutely no idea what her husband or sister looked like. She'd told us he was Asian and that his hair was basically as long as hers, and that her sister was blonde, with hair reaching past her shoulder.

I sighed, breaking a couple branches under my feet whilst I walked ahead. The chances were slim, one in a million, maybe. But then again, you found Maria. One in a million?

Soon enough, the hours passed and the sun was already creating long shadows. "I think it's about time to wrap it up," Joel signalled us as he walked back our way.

"But there's still time," Maggie breathed, staring out at the light of the sky. "I'll go alone if y'all are so scared."

Joel shook his head, but just as he was about to disagree, Aaron yelled from the road. We made our way to him and asked what he was making a fuss about. "There's this car up ahead, I don't know if it's a car or a van or something, but it's been going around in circles. At first, I thought that I must've been seeing double, but it's the same car."

Maggie climbed on the truck and Aaron let her have a look ahead.

"I have to know," Maggie stated. My eyes grew as she climbed down the vehicle and started walking towards the far intersection.

"Maggie!" Joel demanded her attention, but her stubbornness showed as she kept walking. "Goddamnit. All of you start walking back and tell them it'll take a while. I'll take the truck and go with Maggie."

"I'll go with you," Michonne offered and Joel nodded in agreement. The two of them climbed in the truck and drove to catch up with Maggie. Meanwhile, Bob, Melanie, Aaron and I headed back towards our camp.

"I wonder how she's not exhausted," Aaron referred to Maggie as he questioned her actions.

"When you've got one thing in mind, and you want it bad enough, you seem to forget everything else. The pain, your circumstance, the people you're with," Melanie answered, surprising me with her voice. She hadn't spoken ever since she'd come back. Of course, Aaron didn't know anything about her since he wasn't with us at the maze.

"Still, she's gotta have a limit," Aaron muttered.

The rest of the way left us wondering about when they'd make it back. Joel only told us to inform Maria about it, not knowing if they'd take an hour or worse - a day - at the roads.

"He did what?" Maria was appalled, her face tensing from rage. "I told that Goddamn man not to do anything stupid."

"It's not his fault, he and Michonne were only trying to protect Maggie," Aaron defended, taking the words out of my mouth.

"Well, they do what they like. I'm not taking any risks and going after them. Gas'll run out any moment and I don't want to be stuck out there in the middle of the night when it does."

We sighed and I made my way to Carl, sitting around the fire that was yet to be made. We exchanged stories about what happened during out scavenge, but only managed to say a few sentences since nothing special happened. I could tell he was still wondering about Aaron and I, and I couldn't help but yelp out a few chuckles.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow in concern.

It took me a while to calm myself, "you're very quiet when you're jealous."

"It's not my fault you spent nearly five hours with the guy," he defended, not even bothering to cover up the fact that he was, in fact, jealous.

"Relax," I guaranteed him that it was nothing, "I wasn't even with him because I paired up with Joel." Carl sighed at my response and my heart seemed that much lighter.

When darkness enveloped the sky, Maria called us to sleep, as if we were toddlers who needed nap time. None of us complained, but some of us were worried about the others.

"I ain't leaving them out there," Daryl stated, grabbing his crossbow and got ready to leave.

"You wouldn't make it very far," challenged Maria. Her face wasn't wavering and suddenly, I didn't know who I'd fear for the most, had they gone into a fight.

"Like hell. You don't know me." And with that, Daryl had gone into the forest, his crossbow hanging from his hand.

Maria turned to us and shook her head, "I'll head after Daryl. Rick, you coming along or watching over here?"

Rick considered his options, but decided to stay behind. Maria nodded and went her way, grabbing a flashlight and her dagger in the process. The night was quiet, no one had a thing to talk about, and whenever someone tried a conversation, it would die. It seemed that people had other things on their mind. Melanie and Aaron had already turned in, while Bob and Sasha were wide awake together, anxiously waiting for Maggie's return.

Carl and I sat near each other, as always, and Rick was pacing around nervously. "Dad, I'm sure they'll be back soon," Carl tried reassuring his father.

Rick stopped pacing and sat down, finding solace in his beard. "Yeah, I'm sure they will."

We managed to wait for another hour or two, sitting near the fire until we had to put it out. I was the first to sleep and Carl followed. We slept soundly lying next to each other.

Until I heard squeamish voices and woke up to an addition of five more bodies in the dark. At first I was hesitant so I grabbed my knife, but Joel came around, saw the glimmer, and assured me that everything was fine. "It's just Maggie's folks, it's alright."

"She found them both?" I asked groggily, "then who are the rest?"

"Well, she didn't technically find both of them, just her husband. The rest are just tag alongs who came with him. They're safe, I promise."

I wanted to ask him how he knew they were safe. If anyone was safe at all. But the sleepiness in my eyes enveloped me, and soon, I was fast asleep once again.