Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN,
hey, brother.
━━━━
The only thing Nicole could think about was seeing her brother for the first time in a year. It seemed like something that she could only ever dream would happen. Why did so many people from her past keep showing up? She wasn't necessarily complaining because everything seemed to be bringing her back the people she'd lost - though she would've preferred Dylan to have stayed gone.
With arms wrapped around Daryl's torso, Nicole allowed herself to think back to the terrors of Atlanta. She remembered being woken up by a sudden pounding at her door at eleven p.m.. Obviously startled, Nicole grabbed the baseball bat that she always kept beside her bed before she tiptoed toward the door. Cheyanne had poked her head out of her room; Nicole quickly put her finger to her lips as the pounding continued.
She got to her front door, peeking out of the glass at the top of it. Nicole let out a sigh of relief when she saw her best friend and Carl standing there, waiting anxiously for her to answer, while Shane watched the street. Nicole opened the door. "You scared the hell out of me," she whispered as Cheyanne ran forward to be beside her mom. The little girl's Hello Kitty pajamas hung loosely on her tiny frame as she then stepped forward to hug Carl.
"You know that virus?" Lori suddenly asked. Nicole nodded. "It's getting worse, and they are evacuating everyone and telling them to get to Atlanta." Nicole's eyes went wide. Her brother was in Atlanta. "I want you to come with us, Nikki."
Nicole shook her head. "I have to go on my own, Lori. Nolan is in Atlanta," Nicole said frantically as she turned around and marched into her house. Lori called in Carl and Shane because she didn't want them to be subject to the possible horror outside while she tried to talk common sense into her best friend. When Lori found Nicole, the latter was rushing to shove clothing into a backpack. That backpack was the same one that Nicole bought when her brother took her and Cheyanne camping with him and his girlfriend.
"Nicole, you're not listening," Lori tried to call out to the woman. "They're only letting carloads in, and I need you to be in the car with us, so I know you're safe!" Nicole paused, turning around like she was thinking for a moment. Lori got a sudden hope that maybe she got her to listen - except that wasn't what happened.
"Cheyanne!" Nicole called out as she walked over to the pictures she had scattered across her dresser. "Get your camping backpack and fill it with clothes and whatever else you need!" Nicole didn't bother to make sure she did what she asked because Cheyanne did what she was told most of the time. Nicole grabbed a few photos from the frames, carefully folding them so they'd be safe inside of her bag.
