The Rest of your Life

Chapter 1

The camp was relatively quiet due to it being morning. Dale was on top of the caravan scouting, Carl was playing with toys in the dirt and Lori and Rory were sat by the small fire.

They both looked up to the sound of clanging. Amy stood before them holding a red bucket in her hands, Rory sitting straighter to try to peer inside.

"Any luck?" Lori asked quietly as she looked up at Amy, Rory looking to the blonde too for an answer.

"How do we tell if they're poison?" Amy quizzed while tipping what seemed to be mushrooms into a small dish that Lori was holding.

"Dad said you can't eat them if they're red." Rory told the two elders. They smiled and Ivory beamed.

"Ask Shane when he gets back?" Amy asked as Lori stood up, agreeing and ruffling Rory's brown curls.

"Dale?" Lori spoke while ushering Rory to Carls direction. "I'm heading out. Sweethearts, I want you both to stay where Dale can see you okay?" Both Carl and Rory nodded, while Rory began to play with Carl in the dirt.

"You too! Don't stray too far." Dale urged Lori. "Stay within shouting distance. And if you see anything, holler. I'll come running."

"Yes mom." Lori replied softly while walking away. Rory looked back to Dale on top of the caravan. She liked Dale, he was nice.

•••

Shane was finally back and he was sat with Carl and Rory, the latter leaning against him.

"Attaboy." Shane grinned.

"Yeah." Carl beamed while fiddling with the small piece of rope in his hand. Rory was watching him like a hawk, making sure he was doing it right.

"And three, two, one, pull it." Shane laughed. The three of them giggling softly when the rope unraveled. "Start it over." Shane told Carl.

"Make a 'P' the other way." Rory told the boy. "Around your finger." Carl did as she said and Shane looked at the two kids fondly. "Now just tie it around your finger." Rory instructed.

The three were pulled out of their little bubble with the crackle of the radio. Carl and Rory both looked to eachother as Shane lightly moved Rory off of his shoulder as he got up.

The radio crackled again. "Hello? Base camp? .. base camp, this is T-dog. Anybody hear me?" Everybody began to heard around the divice, Carl and Rory following. Dale began to talk back into the radio with urgency as everyone else watched.

"Is that them?" Lori asked. She got no answer as Dale fiddled around with the buttons a bit more.

"We're trapped in the department store." Rory's eyes widened, she hoped she didn't hear that right, but one glance at her dad told her otherwise.

"He say they're trapped?" Shane breathed out, looking at Rory for a second.

"There are geeks all around the place. We're surrounded."

"T-dog repeat that last. Repeat." Dale urged as he kept fiddling with the buttons as the static got more frequent. Thunder rumbled above as everyone was silent for a few seconds. Carl and Rory shared a wide eyed look.

"He said the department store." Lori stated.

"I heard it too." Dale chimed in.

"Shane-" Lori started.

"No." Shane cut her off. "No way. We do not go after them. We do not risk the rest of the group, y'all know that."

"So we're just gonna leave her there?" Amy breathed out while staring at Shane in disbelief. Rory moved a little closer to her dad and began to fiddle with his shirt sleeve. She didn't like arguments very much.