Bruised Not Broken

Chapter 4

The sound of people woke Mia up the next morning. People talking, people laughing, people working, people moving. People living. It was nice, given the circumstances they were in. It was nice, still she felt a bit withdrawn. These were all the people who had followed Shane from the highway and she had no idea who they were. She barely knew who Shane and Lori were, although they seemed kind enough. She changed into her jeans and put her boots on, leaving on the shirt Lori had let her borrow. Her shirt was far too filthy and, according to Shane, she looked nice in yellow. 

She took her knife before exiting the tent and sheathed it on her hip. Now that she had it back, she never wanted it to be far from reach. Scanning the campsite, it seemed as though Shane had picked a good spot, whether it was intentional or not. They were up in the mountains and it seemed clear enough to her. She wondered if he knew where he took them or if he just drove blindly until he found somewhere he felt was safe. Neither option would have surprised her. There were a good amount of people there who she didn't know, which was off putting to say the least. She looked for either of the people who took her in through the survivors. Carl and Sophia were nearby playing with two other children she didn't recognize. Shane was by his truck, talking to a few men she didn't recognize either. Mia thought to herself that you never feel more alone than when you're surrounded by people. 

"Hey!" 

"Fucking Christ." She swore under her breath as she jumped, startled by the cheerful man in front of her. He had to be around her age, possibly younger, in a baseball cap. 

"Whoa, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I'm Glenn." He extended his hand out to her, waiting for reciprocation. 

"I'm Mia. Sorry for cussin'." Her heartbeat slowed back to a normal pace and she shook his hand. He seemed harmless enough, but he had taken her by surprise. "You probably shouldn't sneak up on people like that, you know, with all the..." 

"Oh, good point. Yeah, I should probably be more careful there... So, what's your story? Are you here with someone?" What probably seemed to him like an innocent enough question, hit Mia right in the gut. She didn't consider herself with anyone. She didn't really know Shane or Lori, but would she be considered with them? It was confusing. Lori seemed like she wanted her there, like she wanted to help. Shane had reservations though, or at least it seemed like he did. But last night he seemed almost grateful that she looked after Carl and he gave her knife back, so maybe he was starting to get comfortable with her. Maybe he was starting to want her around...

"Yeah, I'm..." She looked back to where Shane had been standing before. Carl had just ran up to him, showing him something he had in his hands. Shane cut his conversation short to focus on what Carl was holding and Mia heard him laugh. That's when she knew she wasn't with anyone. What would have been a heartwarming exchange to anyone else, sent her heart into the pit of her stomach. No one loved her like that, not anymore. Carl wasn't his, but there was love there. There was no one to love her now. She looked back at Glenn and swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. "No, I'm not with anyone." 

"Sorry, that really sucks." He must've heard the pain in her voice and looked to where her focus just was. He changed the subject pretty quickly. "That's the guy that found this place. That caravan last night was kind of crazy.  Tdog and I saw it going in the other direction on the highway and we just followed. Figured it was better than sitting around doing nothing at that point, especially with all the bombs being dropped on the city."

Mia's skin crawled at the mention of the explosions and what they really were. She knew, of course, but she didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think about what Shane and Lori had probably seen from where they were. 

"...but he seems okay to me." Glenn had been talking and she felt bad she hadn't been paying attention. She'd kind of been out of it lately, she hadn't meant to be rude. Thankfully, Glenn didn't seem to notice and he just kept going. "He must've just wanted to get his wife and kid out of there. That was crazy stuff last night, all those people... But he found a good place at least. We're high up so the geeks can't get us and there's water nearby."

"They're not married. They're just close. Did you say water?" She perked up at the mention of anything that could make her not feel like she hadn't showered in... Well she didn't really remember how long it had been, but it was long. A few days at least. 

"Yeah, Shane found it this morning. There's a quarry lake down over there." He gestured vaguely to the left of him. "Anyway, I'm gonna go make my rounds, see who else I can bother." When he smiled at her, she couldn't help but smile back. He was sweet, she could tell. There was nothing to be afraid of with Glenn. "It was good to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Glenn." With a slight wave and a lingering smile, he was gone from her presence as quickly as he had entered it. 

Water. Bathing. Cleanliness. It was almost too good to be true, so she had to see it for herself. She started in the direction Glenn had motioned towards. She wasn't quite sure of where she was going, but she figured if she kept walking down far enough she'd hit water eventually. For the first time she wasn't worried about anything, even given the fact she was alone. She wasn't terribly skilled with it, but she had her knife if anything happened. At that moment it didn't concern her, though. Her only concern was getting to the water.

Once she found it, she had to touch it to make sure it was real. It looked like a painting; the blue of the water stark against the contrast of the greenery and the mountains, almost mimicking the cloudless sky overhead. It was perfect. This was the best thing to happen to her in days, maybe even longer than that. It was a simple pleasure, but the joy she felt was immense. She let the water wash over her arms and wrists. It was warmed slightly by the hot Georgia sun beating down upon it, and in that moment she almost forgot about her current situation. 

She checked and checked again to make sure the coast was clear before undressing and slipping into the water. Her "bath" turned into a swim and soon she waded in the water for so long that the skin on her fingers began to prune. Time was of no significance anymore, she figured, since it was the end of the world and all. As long as they knew when the sun would rise and set, that's all anyone seemed to pay attention to nowadays. It was nowhere near sunset, still early afternoon she guessed, but she didn't want anyone to worry about where she was... if anyone would worry at all.

Mia wrang out her hair the best she could, mentally adding towels to a list of luxury items she had taken for granted before. There was still no one around, she had noticed as she got dressed. The silence was part comforting, part unnerving in a way. However long she had been out there, it was time to get back. The group had seemed busy when she left, and surely there was something she could help them out with. The camp was far enough so that she could enjoy her time of solitude at the quarry, but not so far that she felt she would get lost. On her way down to the water, she made sure to make a straight shot of it so that she would be able to find her way back. Her sister, Vera, would've been proud of that and that made her smile.

As she trekked on through the woods, she noticed a bush to her left ripe with dark berries. Her stomach rumbled a little, the sight of the berries reminding her that she hadn't eaten that day before going off on her own. She was sure that there was food at the camp, but the fruit in front of her was there. What was the harm in having some? If she could find a basket or something at camp, maybe she would ask Lori if she could take Carl to pick some and bring them back for everyone. It would take his mind off of things for a little while, and maybe they could have some bonding time. No sooner had she reached for one of the berries, did she hear a rustle immediately followed by a man's voice. 

"I wouldn't eat that."