Daughter of the Fallen

The Distance Part 2

A few hours later, the group came back and we went back inside the barn.

They managed to bring back tons of canned food from the cars now.

Rick held up a can to Aaron. "This is ours now."

Aaron nodded. "There's more than enough."

"It's ours whether or not we go to your camp."

"What do you mean?" Carl asked from next to me. "Why wouldn't we go?" I looked from him to Rick, agreeing.

"If he were lying," Michonne explained. "Or if he wanted to hurt us. But he isn't. And he doesn't. We need this. So we're going, all of us. Somebody say something if they feel differently."

No one said anything and Carl and I exchanged a little smile.

"I don't know, man," Daryl told Rick. "This barn smells like horse crap." I chuckled softly.

"Yeah," Rick agreed. "We're going."

I started to pack my things as our leader turned to Aaron. "So where are we going? Where's your camp?"

Aaron looked up at him. "Well, every time I've done this, I've been the one behind the wheel, driving recruits back. I believe you're good people. I've bet my life on it. I'm just not ready to bet my friends' lives yet."

Michonne walked up to him. "You're not driving. So if you wanna get home, you'll have to tell us how."

Aaron sighed and slowly looked to Rick, who was ready to write down directions. "Go north on route 16."

"And then?" Michonne asked as Rick wrote it down.

"I'll tell you when we get there."

"We'll take 23 north," Rick decided. "You'll give us directions from there."

"That's-" Aaron quickly said. "I don't know how else to say it, that's a bad idea. We've cleared 16, it'll be faster."

"Rick, come on," I urged.

"We'll take 23," Rick repeated, ignoring me.

I rolled my eyes and Carl gave me a look that said I know, right?

"We leave at sundown."

"We're doing this at night?" my mom asked.

"Look, I know it's dangerous. But it's better than riding up to the gates in the day. If it isn't safe, we need to get gone before they know we're there."

"No one is going to hurt you," Aaron insisted. "You're trying to protect your group, but you're putting them in danger."

Rick turned to him. "Tell me where the camp is, we'll leave right now."

Aaron said nothing and Rick nodded, carrying on. "It's gonna be a long night. Eat. Get some rest if you can." With that, he walked outside.

I sighed and turned to Carl. "You ready for this?"

"No," he admitted. "You?"

I shrugged. "As I'll ever be." I put my hand on his shoulder before walking over to my parents to have some food with them.

•••

That night, Glenn, Rick, Aaron, and Michonne drove down the road in the car while everyone else followed in the RV.

I paced back and forth, trying not to fall over from the RV's constant jostling.

Carl was watching me. "Bree, you should sit down. You'll need every bit of energy you can get."