Twist of Fate

7

She didn't know how much time had passed, just that eventually, the caravan stopped. They all gathered by the side of the RV, everyone had a look of panic, uncertainty, and a bit of hopelessness on their face.

"What's next? We need to decide" Lori broke the silence, voicing the question that everyone was thinking.

"Fort Benning," Shane replied instantly, bringing up his original idea.

Rick sighed, and ran his hand over his face, "I shoulda listened to you Shane, would have saved us a lot of grief if I had."

Carol was hugging her daughter close and said timidly, "What about food? Where are we sleeping tonight?"

The anxiety Aurora felt when faced with the prospect of speaking to a group of people is what she felt as she raised her hand like a kid in school, "We could spend the night in storage units, or find a Menards, Dicks sporting goods, Bass Pro or something. You guys have those here right?"

Glenn's eyebrows drew together as he asked her, "What's a Menards?"

Her face dropped in surprise, "It's like home depot, where I lived if there was a zombie apocalypse everyone was supposed to go to Menards."

Daryl's face was screwed up in distaste, "Y'all planned for the end of the world? Fuck did ya live?"

Aurora shrugged, "Yeah well, my town's drug dealer told everyone that was where we should go if there was an apocalypse."

Rick and Shane gave her the most disapproving look she'd probably ever seen in her life.

She clasped her lips together trying not to laugh, "You guys have like a Scheels?" She looked between all their faces, none of them flashing recognition.

Aurora rolled her eyes, "Well we all knew I'm not from here, don't have to look at me like that." She threw her hands in the air, continuing "Cabelas? You know food, clothes, weapons. Everything we need."

Glenn nodded his head up and down rapidly, "Yeah! I know what you're talking about."

Shane had his hands on his hips, he nodded then shrugged, "Probably emptied out by now, that's where everyone would have gone, most likely flooded with walkers too."

Aurora held her hand up, "Okay, but everyone's probably panicking right, no one's thinking straight. So who would think, oh yeah, let me go to Bass Pro for some fishing rods, ya know"

Rick had his hands on his hips in his cop stance too, he looked at Shane and shrugged, "Could be right." then he looked at Glenn and nodded, "There one around here?"

Glenn paused, then bobbed his head, "On the outskirts of the city."

Shane leaned toward's Rick with that I don't approve of this look, "We don't have the fuel for this."

Rick bowed his head, then turned to everyone, "We're wasting fuel driving so many vehicles, we need to lose a few. We'll siphon the gas out of whatever cars we don't need. Should get us free of the city."

Everyone agreed. Fort Benning was the long-term plan and the Bass Pro shop was the plan for tonight. Shane's jeep, T-Dog's church van, and Daryl's truck didn't make the cut for the cars they were going to keep. Everyone had to fit in the RV or the station wagon, minus Daryl who was taking his brother's motorcycle.

Aurora managed to convince Carl to let her squeeze into his seat with him. She thought she was about to be sentenced to riding with Shane and Andrea until she figured out Carl would say yes to anything if it involved candy.

-

The parking lot was pretty bare all things considered. They pulled up about halfway to the entrance, everyone exiting their vehicles and holding their weapons. They took the gas first, taking anything they could from the vehicles that were abandoned.