succumb - glenn rhee

[NINE] lives taken

CHAPTER NINE // LIVES TAKEN
"WE DON'T KILL THE LIVING."

ִֶָ 𓂃⊹ ִֶָ

The six of them ran together at a steady pace. Heavy breaths could be heard throughout the small group as they made their way up the path to their camp. They were no more than a half mile away when a scream was heard from the location of where the rest of the group was.

The group stopped momentarily, listening to the quiet air. No more than seconds later, more screams erupted from ahead. Without a word being spoken, they all broke into a fast sprint towards the camp, Jade making her way to the front due to her experience with long distance running.

Gunshots fired as the screams grew louder as they entered the outskirts of their camps. There was full chaos, people were firing and swinging weapons, screaming, people being attacked by the walkers.

Jade glanced back at Glenn, who gave her a subtle nod, before she broke out into sprint following behind her brother. "Dad!" The brunette exclaimed as Nick shouted for his daughter. The Horvath girl had shot numerous walkers, deeming it easier to help others with the weapon slung over her shoulder rather than her wrench.

Her throat hurt as she yelled for her family members, finally spotting Dale stood in front the RV, Theodora stationed directly in front of him, her back pressed against his chest, as he shot at walkers.

There was a small grouping of walkers stood between her and her family, swinging the gun back, she grasped her wrench, slamming it into dead surrounding her as she cleared a path for herself and her brother. The only thing on her mind was her father and her niece, she didn't care about herself, in that moment she didn't think of Glenn. She only thought of getting to them safely, and keeping them out of harms way. As she and Nick made it to Dale and Theodora, Nick picked his daughter up, giving her a tight hug as he kissed the side of her head. The youngest Horvath sobbed into her father's shoulder as Jade continued fighting off the dead.

The group was exhausted as the studied the area they had previously been safe in. There was corpses scattered along the grass. The bodies of their dead companions. The children sobbed into their loved ones arms, the surviving members mourned the loss of their friends and family.

There were cries heard throughout camp, their safe haven was gone.

" I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes." Jim muttered.

The night had gone by slowly painfully. They were all covered in blood, sweat, tears of their own and their loved ones. Jade had roamed through the camp, assisting those who lost people.

She had lost count of the times she had driven her knife into the skulls of people she knew. Jade could barely handle looking down at them, knowing what their fate had been. They had been feasted upon, their final moments being filled with terror and pain.

Her heart ached.

Jade watched from a few feet away as T-Dog and Glenn threw another walker onto the bonfire they had created. The odor that was released from the flames was unimaginable. Her knees wavered and her lip quivered as she leaned against the back of the RV. She felt guilty.

She had agreed to leave the camp and risk it's safety. The safety of her family. So many had died, there were so many that she could have saved, that she could have helped. A pit in her stomach had formed as she watched Andrea aim her gun towards Rick in an attempt to get him away from her and Amy's lifeless body.

"You okay?" Glenn's kind voice spoke as he neared where she was. Jade shrugged her shoulders as she moved her gaze back to the ground. "What happened wasn't your fault, alright?" He reminded as though he could read the brunette's mind.