Chapter 17: What Lies Ahead PT1

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"I guess I'm losing hope that you can hear me

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"I guess I'm losing hope that you can hear me. But there's always that chance, isn't there? That slim chance. It's all about slim chances now, I try to do everything right, keep people safe. I tried Morgan. I tried. Our group's smaller now, we lost another, day before last. It was her choice. I won't say I blame her, she lost faith. The CDC was a dead end. I met a man there, a scientist, he told me something, he told me. It doesn't matter. What matters is we're moving on. Atlanta's done. We're going to try Fort Bennet. We're facing a long, hard journey. Maybe harder than I can ever imagine, but it can't be harder than our journey so far. Can it? 125 miles, that's what lies ahead and I'm trying hard to not lose faith. I can't, if I do the others, my family, my wife, my son, and my daughter there's just a few of us now. So we gotta stick together, fight for each other, we gotta be willing to lay down our lives for each other if it comes to that" Delilah overhears Rick say to the walkie.

"Son, let's saddle up!" Dale calls out snapping both Rick and Delilah out of their trance "It's the only chance we got" Rick mutters unheard by anyone but Delilah. The engines start up and the RV and the car drives behind it "Be careful out there Morgan. I hope you and Duane are okay. Stay off the road, keep moving, keep your eyes open. I don't know, just- just be safe. Maybe we'll see you in Fort Benning some day. Rick, signing off" Rick bids Morgan farewell and heads towards the vehicles.

"We were just thinking about our trip to the Grand Canyon with Carl" Lori says as Rick approaches making Rick laugh "I don't remember that" Carl pipes up "No, you wouldn't. You were just a baby. And besides, we never made it past Fort Worth" Lori states watching as Carl eagerly sits next to Delilah who's in the back of Daryl's truck behind the motorcycle "No, you got sick. I never knew a baby could throw up so much" Rick teases.

"Ick" Carl says while scrunching up his face "Yeah, ick. The doctor in Texas said you'd live. Then we turned and drove home" Lori states glaring at Delilah slightly "That sucks" Carl says " No, it was a good trip" Lori says "The best" Rick agrees "Can we go see it? The Grand Canyon? I'd like to" Carl says "I would too. Can we go?" Sophie chimes in innocently "We'd never go without you or your mom. That's a promise" Rick says "Or Lily!" Carl adds hugging his sister who hugs Carl back with a giggle. Rick smiled at the scene and agrees "Or Delilah."

Everyone then climbs into their designated vehicle. Rick driving a car with Lori and Carol and the kids. Shane in the RV with Dale, Andrea and Amy, T-Dog, and Glenn. The Daryl drove his truck with Delilah.

With the RV everyone is chatting as Glenn and Amy talk about light hearted things and Shane teaches Andrea about her gun "Looks complicated" Andrea comments "The trick is getting all these pieces back together the same way. I could clean yours. Show you how" Shane tells her "Oh yeah?" Andrea hums "It's a sweet piece" Shane compliments "It was a gift from my father" Andrea states as she stares at the gun in a state of reverie "He gave it to her just before we took off on our road trip. He said two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves" Amy chimes in with a sad smile on her face.

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