TROUBLE [twd]

flying squirrels

Sakiko cringes in disgust at the sight of a caved in deer body- something clearly having gone to town with a full meal out of it. Shaking off the gross feeling, she continues walking, using a larger stick she'd found to knock away tree branches that were in her eyeline and weeds she didn't trust from her ankles.

She wasn't sure how long it had been since she'd run out of camp, but it was nearing nighttime as the weather got chillier and the sky took to vibrant orange that she would've thought looked pretty at any other time in her life. She'd ran for awhile just to make sure Nanami couldn't catch up to her before she coursed into a slower walk. She snacked on a bag of chips and found some berries that Daryl had taught the twins about- though the deer seemed to be the climax of her walk thus far.

As the sun set further, she began to worry as she had no light source. Then, she stumbled into an open clearing where an old camper and few tents were laid out, one of the tents on the ground with mud covering it. She figures shelter is shelter and heads for the camper, the door already wide open as if greeting her.

"Anyone here?" she questions, peering into the camper.

When there's no sound among the crickets' loud chirping, she pulls the door closed and sets her bag on the floor. She shuffles through the drawers and cabinets, soon finding a small lantern that takes her a few minutes to turn on. Once it's turned on, the inside of the camper illuminates, looking like a scene straight out of a horror movie. 

Sakiko carefully steps over the large, red stain on the floor, fearing she knew what it was but didn't want to get close enough to find out.

There was more blotches on the walls, one of the cabinet doors that she'd just had her hand on- the thought making her look to her hand just to make sure she hadn't touched it. But, even though her skin was clean, she wipes her palm on her jeans.

She finds the bed soon enough, setting the lantern on the chair beside it and collapsing on the mattress.

The silence was almost comforting to her- no one telling her what to do or how to behave. Just her, for the first time in her life.

"Not too bad," she whispers, patting the mattress under her, "Not bad at all."

--

Nanami didn't sleep that night. Glenn brought some food to his tent, but the young boy only stared at the plate that lay in the spot his sister once did.

The group searched all day for Sakiko.. Most of them, anyway.

Glenn, T-Dog, Dale, Jim, Amy, Andrea, and Morales helped look for her, that is.

When nighttime arrived, T-Dog thought he heard a 'geek' nearby and ushered everyone back to camp where they promised Nanami to continue the search at first light. Maybe then Daryl would be back as well and their tracker could find his girl.

But, Nanami knew that the moment Daryl got back things would only get worse.

Who was going to be the one to tell him that the group left Merle Dixon behind in Atlanta? Who was going to be the one to tell him that Sakiko ran off?

Nanami dreaded Daryl's return while also being desperate for the man to come back. If he dwelled to long on it, he would become more terrified.

Why hadn't Daryl made it back yet? The four of them were supposed to leave and now Merle was handcuffed to a roof in Atlanta, Sakiko was missing, and Daryl (at best) was running late.

Nanami could only listen to the sounds of the group's chatter out by the fire and cry himself through the sleepless night.

--