The Third Dixon [The walking dead OC x OC]

Chapter fifteen

The RV felt heavier than usual.

Not because of the people inside it. They were the same people who had fought beside each other, slept beside each other, lost people together. They had spent years learning how to exist in the same small spaces without needing constant conversation.

This silence was different.

It was filled with names that weren't there.

Daryl.

Glenn.

Rosita.

Eugene.

Too many missing.

Measi sat with her rifle resting across her legs, her fingers occasionally brushing over the worn parts of it without realizing. She wasn't cleaning it, wasn't checking it. She was just keeping her hands busy.

Her eyes, however, were doing something else entirely.

Every few seconds they moved to the windows, scanning the road and the trees beyond it.

Nathan noticed after a while.

"You're going to wear yourself out before we even get there," he said quietly.

Measi didn't look away from the passing trees.

"I'm watching."

"You've been watching the same stretch of trees for the last five minutes."

She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Maybe they're suspicious."

Nathan looked at her.

"Trees?"

"Don't underestimate trees."

A small smile pulled at his face, but it disappeared almost immediately. There wasn't much room for jokes anymore.

Not when they were heading toward another unknown.

Not when every road lately seemed to lead to someone else wanting something from them.

The RV suddenly slowed.

The change was immediate.

Everyone felt it.

The quiet disappeared as people shifted, hands moved toward weapons, and attention turned toward the front.

Abraham's voice came from the driver's seat.

"What the bitch?"

Rick looked toward him.

"What?"

"Enemy close."

Measi's grip tightened around her rifle. The words weren't surprising. That was the worst part. They had reached a point where danger wasn't unexpected anymore. It was just another part of the journey.

Abraham looked back.

"We doing this?"

Rick watched the road ahead for a moment before answering.

"No."

The gearshift moved.

The RV came to a stop.

Measi exchanged a glance with Nathan.

Neither of them needed to say anything.

They both knew.

Rick wasn't choosing to avoid a fight.

He was choosing a different kind of risk.

When the doors opened, Rick stepped out first, hands raised. Measi followed with the others, staying close enough to react but far enough not to crowd him.