Rick's Ruby

Chapter 17

Like a giant indicator of their anxiety, the sun never fully re-emerged as they left the house and started out toward parts unknown. Rick glanced at his watch as he slid behind the wheel of the large black truck they had gotten from the killers, and saw it was just after 7. The sky was a mixture of new dawn and the pale colors from a storm retreating. It had rained steady ever since the thunder had first woken him. If they had to off road it, it was going to be a bitch.

Paul sat beside him, Ruby and Beth in the backseat of the large cab, chatting quietly with Carl between them. The boy had won the right to go with his dad after not quite as much fighting as he expected. Maybe Lori was tired, but whatever it was, he didn't question it and now sat happily between the girls, peering out over the seats to the road below. It was a large truck, he felt very tall in it, and he enjoyed it. Rick caught his eye and winked once, earning a beaming grin from his son.

Daryl picked the way ahead for them, as usual. Carol was going to ride with him, she always liked to do it, but with the threat of the bonfire men still hanging in the air Daryl had told her to stay with Lori and Hershel in the SUV. T-Dog, Glenn, and Maggie headed up the rear in the Matrix, and every vehicle was loaded to brim with food and things gathered from their time at the house.

Rick stayed tense as they got away from the house, heading west, back the way they had come before they had found Ruby. Not the ideal situation, perhaps, but it was away from the prison and that was good enough for the moment. He didn't relax until they were a clear two miles away from the spot on the road the charred walker had fallen.

"The smell is gone at least." Beth had said as they'd passed the blackened and wet remains on the pavement, not sparing more than a tiny, disgusted glance down.

"Thank god." Ruby had grimaced and returned to casual chat with Carl. She liked the boy, his inquisitiveness holding a certain charm for her. They played rock, paper, scissors, anything to pass the time and hold off the anxious thoughts they all had.

Walkers were fewer and farther between as they drove, and by the time the sun had begun to set, Rick realized they hadn't seen one in the better part of an hour, and even that one was off in the distance past a field to their right. He made the signal to stop when he found a place along the road that looked passable for a impromptu camping spot, and pulled behind Daryl to the side of the road. Silence fell over the group as they quickly pulled tents and cots from the vehicles and set them up in a semi circle inside the safety of a larger semi circle formed by the cars.

"Ruby, will you get the plates out so we can eat?" Carol asked when Ruby had finished helping Maggie and Glen set up tents, and she went to search the Matrix trunk for the box Carol had put them in earlier.

Paul came up behind her as she searched, his fists on his hips, eyes scanning the surrounding trees. Ruby looked back at him curiously. "Got a bad feeling?" She asked.

"No, not really." He gave a subtle shake of his head. "Just wishing we had walls made of more than canvas right now."

"You and me both." She grunted as she found the box and lifted the heavy thing up onto the bumper.

"I got it, Starlet." Paul said, taking it from her and they walked back to the group now surrounding a small fire. "Feels cooler, doesn't it? Weather is changing."

"It's about time. But I can't say I'm looking forward to the snow. It's going to be hard getting by in that, you know." She looked up at him nervously.

"Got plenty of time before that happens." He assured her as he sat the box down by Carol and she and Maggie began dishing out the simple dinner of veggies and fruit to the group. Ruby took a place between Rick and Paul at the fire, and stared into the flames absently as she listened to the quiet chatter around her.