Changing To Adapt ➵ TWD

➵ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ꜰɪᴠᴇ

Lucas stares at the top of his tent, arms folded under his head. He hadn't gotten a blink of sleep since he'd laid down.

He can hear the group gathering for breakfast, stomach growling at the thought of food. But Lucas remains still.

He wishes he could get more than a few hours of sleep. Anything other than tonight, twisting and turning with no luck.

"Lucas?"

He flinches, levering himself up onto his elbows. "Yo?"

The zipper drags down the tent until sunshine burns his eyes, and when he blinks to readjust, he can see Rick crouching at the entrance.

"Breakfast." The older man simply says.

"Yeah," Lucas sighs, "Okay." He crawls out of his blanket and onto his knees, reaching for his beanie to tame the curls he doesn't feel like showing to the world. 

Rick hasn't left yet, glancing out the tent before looking back in. "About yesterday . . ."

"Nah, it's alright."

"No. I wanted to apologize." Rick shakes his head, fidgeting with a cup of water in his hands. "I threw my anger at you when I shouldn't have." He pauses to glance outside again, "Me and Lori . . .  We're good."

Lucas twists his beanie between his fingers and nods. "We have to convince Hershel to let us stay."

"Yes. Yes, we do." Rick tilts his head, staring at the floor like it'll give him a solution to his problems. He looks up and meets Lucas's eyes.

Lucas nods. Rick does the same.

He follows the older man to breakfast, twisting through the trees until he can see the group circled around a pot above the fire.

"You should move your tent closer. Safer that way." Rick says to him, nodding at Lori when she glances their way.

Lucas lifts his eyes, staring at the back of Rick's head. The approval to rejoin the others in their close-knit camp makes it easier to agree. Sleep will likely come easier.

Rick sits in the empty chair beside Lori, and Lucas watches her lean over to kiss her husband on the cheek. His shoulders slowly relax. If they'd separated, or anything like that, he can't imagine how much it'd impact Carl. 

Lucas accepts the offered plate from Carol and does a double-take when he notices Daryl in the circle, no longer stuck in his tent.

He steps over the man's outstretched legs and takes the seat beside him, shoveling the scrambled eggs into his mouth.

Daryl glances at him, fork hanging halfway to his mouth, and nods. Lucas responds with the same move.

The food is good. They haven't had eggs since the C.D.C. Salted to perfection and gone all too soon. The weather is nice, too, not yet as hot in the morning as it is in the afternoon and the air smells fresh, with wildflowers on the breeze.

Glenn gets up and stands in front of the group.

"Um, guys? So. . ."

It catches all eyes, and Lucas sits up straighter to listen.

"The barn is full of walkers."

He almost drops his plate.

What?

The barn is, in fact, full of walkers.

Shane jerks back when a set of dead eyes peek through a gap in the wood to look at him, turning around to glare at the rest of the group. Specifically, Glenn.