succumb - glenn rhee

[TEN] wasted hope

CHAPTER TEN // WASTED HOPE
"STOP TORTURING GLENN, ALRIGHT?
THAT KID IS HEAD OVER HEELS."

ִֶָ 𓂃⊹ ִֶָ

Within a few hours, the group had decided to make their way to the CDC. They had said goodbye to Morales and his family, who had chosen to take their own path with the hope of finding their family.

Not long after they had left the campsite, the RV's engine squeaked before it came to a stop. Dale and Jade were the first out of the vehicle, the older of the two immediately going to check what the problem was. There was smoke coming out of the vent in front of where the engine was located.

Rick soon rounded around the RV as Dale moved away from the engine as it hissed. "I told you we wouldn't get far on that hose." Dale commented as Rick took his hat off.

"We needed the one from the cube van." Jade spoke with a sigh as she ran a hand over her hair.

"Could you jury-rig it?" Rick questioned with his hands on his hips.

"That's all it's been so far." The Horvath man explained as other members of the group gathered around them, wondering what the problem was. "It's more duct tape than hose."

"And we're out of duct tape." Jade muttered.

"I see something up ahead. A gas station if we're lucky." Shane spoke as he looked away from his binoculars.

"Y'all, Jim-" Jacqui started as she ran out of he RV. " it's bad. I don't think he can take it anymore." The woman explained before going back into the vehicle to check on him.

"Hey, Rick, you want to hold down the fort? I'll drive ahead see what I can bring back." Shane proposed as Rick nodded.

"Yeah, I'll come along too and I'll back you up." T-Dog agreed.

"Y'all keep your eyes open now. We'll be right back." Shane reminded before heading back to his vehicle with T-Dog.

Jade leaned against the front of the RV as Dale moved back into the RV. The group had separated from where they had gathered, leaving Jade and Glenn at the front.

"God. I really thought we'd get Jim to the CDC." The Horvath girl muttered as she leaned her head on the RV. "I thought, maybe we'd be able to help him."

"Yeah, I did too. I hate seeing people in pain." Glenn agreed, moving to stand next to the girl. He glanced over at her, noting the slight discomfort in her features as she thought about the infected man.

Glenn wanted nothing more than to just hold her, take the pain away from the girl that he cared so much about. He wanted to take away all the pain that she held in her heart, he wanted to break down the walls she held up so tightly to keep herself safe. He wanted nothing more than tell her how much he cared about her, how much he wanted to hold her in his arms, how much he wanted to kiss her. But he was deathly terrified of scaring her away from him.

"I'm tired of losing people. We're only going to lose more." Jade mumbled after a few moments of the two simply standing beside one another.

Rick exited the RV soon after that, telling the group what Jim had asked of him. The infected man wanted to be left behind, signaling he was in too much pain to continue the journey.

"It's what he says he wants." Rick continued after letting the group think to themselves for a few moments.

"And he's lucid?" Carol questioned.

"He seems to be. I would say yes." Rick responded with a nod.

"Back in camp when I said Daryl might be right and you shut me down, you misunderstood." Dale spoke as he walked away from the belt of the engine he was repairing with that T-Dog and Shane had found. "I would never go along with callously killing a man. I was just gonna suggest that we ask Jim what he wants. And I think we have an answer."