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The sun had risen but the survivors had yet to see it, the concreted walls that surrounded them taking that opportunity away. Adeline had already found comfort in waking up to the birds' chirping and morning fog floating over the quarry, so when she was greeted with chilly air coming from the air conditioner - it made a bit of a difference. Dreams were filled with nightmares, causing her to wake up multiple times throughout the night only for Shane to hold her until she fell back asleep. There was even a moment when she woke up to cold sweats, clawings three marks against the side of her neck but, he had been there to pull her out of the woods. Despite the information she knew, she let him because she needed him. At least, that's what she kept telling herself.
Making her way down the long carpeted corridor, Shane walked alongside her with a heavy heart and guilty mind. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get rid of the knowledge of what he had done. It felt like he was losing his grip on sanity - he needed her desperately because now that he had time to think, things for him finally sunk in. He blamed himself for the nightmares she was having.
Together, they entered the cafeteria. The smell of food being cooked wafted into Adelines' nostrils as she slid down into a seat next to Rick and tiredly laid her head against the table. If it wouldn't have been for the group wanting more answers, she would have slept in. She still could've, but she needed to be there in case Shane started to lose his grip if the wrong thing was said. "Feel as bad as I do?" The voice of her brother bounced off of the walls to Shane as he forced a pill down with orange juice. "Worse." Her husband answered in a tired voice.
Placing his hand on his sisters back, Rick rubbed it assuringly before handing her an aspirin out of the bottle Lori had given him. Adeline raised her head and reluctantly took the small tablet, grabbing her brother's cup and swallowing the pill with ease. When she had lifted her head, the turtle neck she wore to cover the self-inflicted claw marks on her neck had been pushed down - revealing the wounds to the open eye. That open eye happened to be a tired Daryl Dixon walking into the room, his squinted his eyes catching the marks. "Tha' hell happened to you?" His southern drawl caused Shane to turn from where he stood.
Raising her hand to her neck, she cupped the wounds and fixed the turtle neck to cover them. "Must've done it in my sleep," Adeline told the truth, leaving out the cracked screams and haunted dreams that caused it. Rick looked to her neck with furrowed eyebrows and shifted his stare to Shane who had a guilty look on his face, "Never seen you do that before." he was quick to retort. Hating himself for it, the thought that his best friend had done something to his sister undoubtedly crossed his mind.
Shrugging her shoulders, she stayed quiet and avoided the looks sent her way as Shane sat down next to her. The last thing Adeline wanted was for the people she now lived with to think she was weak. Nightmares were more common than she had thought, because little did she know a few unspoken voices around the table hid the fact that they had experienced the same thing as she last night. They never thought they would find a place that would genuinely make them feel safe enough to let their guard down, and even though Adeline had yet to do that, most of the survivors around her did. They truly believed they were going to be okay - they believed that they would never have to fight for another day again.
