Familiarity

Chapter Two

  Mabel was walking once more, only this time she wasn't alone, but with a decent sized group. Other than Rick and his son, Carl, nobody had yet to talk to her. Carl was nice enough, and he looked no older than sixteen, yet he was almost the same height as her.
  He told Mabel about a prison, and how it had been destroyed by someone he called the Governor. Then he went on to talk about a place called Terminus, and of the horrors that took place there. She looked back at the woman he pointed at, Carol, as he told her about how the woman saved them; that she blew the whole place up and filled it with walkers. Mabel was impressed by that, smiling at Carl as he spoke.
  "We just got out of Atlanta, after saving Carol and...." he cut his sentence short looking down at the pavement. Mabel frowned but didn't push the issue, and eventually he looked back up. "We lost someone there...she was special." Her stomach lurched with sadness, and even though she hadn't known him for long she reached out to the boy, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder giving it a squeeze.
  "I'm sorry, Carl. Judging by the way you spoke of her just now, I have no doubt she was someone worth meeting." She smiled as his gaze turned to her, and he returned gesture, a strange look in his eye. This girl had the same light blonde waves and pale, almost porcelain-like skin as Beth. Even her face was the same, the only difference being Mabel's brown eyes. "I think the two of you'd be surprised by how much you're alike." he stated, and there was something strange in the way he said it, but Mabel shrugged it off and smiled, "I'm sure."
  Everyone came to a stop, and Mabel looked to where Rick stood, holding his hand out which signaled to the rest of them that he was thinking. He turned to the group, rubbing his beard. "We should stop here, we've been on the move for a while now." Relieved sighs could be heard by a few. And the man Carl had called Daryl stepped forward, leaning over slightly as he spoke to Rick. "M'gonna go hunt...maybe I can find a couple squirrels or somethin'." he stated, and Rick nodded as the group separated to rest. Daryl met Mabel's stare, and he scowled before turning to head into the woods.
  Rick stepped closer to the new girl, still trying to wrap his mind around her. She looked at him and smiled warmly, and he smiled back before coming to a halt at her side. She pulled a large bag off her shoulder, shuffling through it before pulling out a couple protein bars, holding them out to him. "For anyone who needs them. I have a few more as well if that's not enough." He took them gratefully, a little surprised as she continued. "I only have one water bottle left though, but I'm willing to share."
  She pulled a full, unopened bottle from her bag, holding it out. "I was saving it for when I really needed it. Didn't know when I'd find another house or store." she explained, and Rick nodded in understanding. He looked back at his group, and then shifted his gaze back to the girl. "That's very kind of you, but I suggest you save it." Rick responded, gently pushing the bottle closer to her, and she hesitantly nodded. "Well, if you change your mind."
  Rick smiled with a small 'thank you', but he knew that bottle wouldn't last, and there wouldn't be enough for everyone. "Hey Rick! You'll want to come see this." Glenn called over to him, and with a short nod towards Mabel, Rick turned and headed towards the young Asian boy. "What is it?" he asked, and Glenn pointed to the ground, where a couple of large jugs filled with water sat suspiciously. "There's this too," Glenn continued, handing Rick a piece of paper. He looked down, and found the words 'from a friend' scribbled in messy handwriting.
  He looked at Glenn as the others surrounded the jugs. "What if it's poisoned?" Someone asked, and Rick didn't have an answer to give. Eugene stepped forward, picking up a jug before unscrewing the cap, "Guess we'll find out." he stated, bringing it to his lips. Abraham moved over to him quickly, knocking it from his hands, and the jug landed with a splash. "We can't risk it." he stated when Eugene gave him a look.
  "So what do we do?" Mabel asked Rick, who dropped the note. He looked to the group, eyeing everyone as they waited for answers. "Someone's been watching us. Like Abraham said, we can't risk it, not after everything we've been through." And that was that, no one spoke another word about the matter.