the deceased ❀ glenn rhee

two

THE DECEASED
two | ❝Don't worry yourself, Officer Friendly❞

❀

"THEY'RE ALIVE, MY WIFE AND SON," Rick muttered, walking around the hallway of his house they had just arrived in. He had insisted that they go there to see if Lori and Carl were there, much to the protests of Aurora. After all, Rick was still recovering, and his life with in the hands of her and Morgan

"How can you know?" Aurora asked, glaring at the house. It looked ransacked, as if anyone came in and stole their belongings. Drawers were sprawled open, their contents laid either on the floor, or nowhere in sight. Had this been Aurora's house, she'd be furious. Then again, she had stolen things from the houses of other people, so she'd be contradicting herself.

"I found empty drawers in the bedroom. Not a lot, but enough to travel," Rick explained, pacing up and down the hallway still, his eyes darting for a sign of his family.

"You know, anyone could have broken in and stolen those clothes, right?" Morgan added, half glancing at Aurora as if Rick were crazy. She shrugged in response, still watching Rick with concern.

"You see the framed photos on the walls? Neither do I. Some random thief took those too, you think? My photo albums, family pictures, all gone," Rick insisted. Morgan chocked back a small sob, but masked it with a chuckle.

"Photo albums... My wife... Here I am, packing survival gear, she's grabbing photo albums," Morgan smiled, thinking back on the memory, a distant glimmer of his past shadowing over his face. Aurora bit down on her lip, hard, trying not to think of her own past. She hadn't thought of it for so long; she had forced herself to try and forget.

"They're in Atlanta, I bet," Duane chirped up, distracting her.

"Oh yeah. The refugee camp, I heard about that," Aurora nodded. She glanced back over at Rick, however caught sight of a small photo laying on the ground. She bent down and picked it up, careful not to rip the fragile paper. Rick was standing next to a tall, thin woman with brown hair, who Aurora assumed to be Lori. In front of them, was a young boy with shaggy brown hair, who was Carl. Aurora stared at the picture for a few moments, studying the faces of Rick's family. Lori was so young and beautiful, her face full of life. Rick, too, was in his prime years, not a wrinkle on his face. Even Carl was glowing, stressfree. Despite not knowing them, Aurora hopes for their safety.

She stood up, slowly, before turning around to face Rick. She handed him the photo, and his eyes widened, as if he hadn't seen his family in years. His finger lingered over the face of his wife, and he looked up, smiling at Aurora.

❀

Rick inisited that he take Aurora, Morgan, and Duane down to the station, in order to get weapons. There was also a locker room with working showers; an added bonus. Rick flicked on a switch, flooding the room with light.

"Gas and light have been down for nearly a month," Morgan noted, glaring around at the showers with anticipation.

"I haven't had a shower in forever," Aurora smiled, running to the end shower, excitement running through her veins. Though there was a slight mold growing in the corner, she couldn't of cared less.

Aurora stood in the shower stall before talking off her clothes, closing the curtain behind her. Her legs and underarms had more hair than she thought, having not really paid attention. Taking a razor, she quickly shaved all the necessary areas, thankful that razors were still a thing. Switching on the hot water caused goosebumps on her skin, a sensation that was only caused by fear nowadays. She ran her fingers through her hair, trying to get rid of the knots and tangles, eager to see how her hair would look after being cleaned finally. Aurora stared at the drain as the blood and dirt flowed down, swirling down the pipes.