Future Ghosts • TWD

13. Different.

After everyone was done with their food, Dr. Jenner started showing them around. No one said anything when they found Rosie sitting on the floor in the hallway. She just silently joined the rest of the group in following Dr. Jenner.

"Most of the facility is powered down," he said, leading them down a dimly lit hallway. "Including housing, so you'll have to make do here. The couches are comfortable, but there are cots in storage if you like. There's a rec room down the hall that you kids might enjoy. Just don't plug in the video games, ok? Or anything that draws power. The same applies. If you shower, go easy on the hot water." The doctor walked away without another word, leaving the group to do what they like.

They all looked at each other, smiles growing on their faces. "Hot water?" Glenn asked excitedly.

"That's what the man said," T-Dog replied with a chuckle.

Everyone began to split off, most of the adults going and picking a room. Rosie made sure to take note of which rooms they picked, just in case she needed to find someone for whatever reason.

Rosie stood still where she was in the hallway, unsure of where to go. She walked around for a bit, making sure she knew where everyone was. She tried to decide where she would sleep that night, but eventually decided it was pointless. She would just have to stay awake.

After wandering around for a bit, Rosie ended up back in the same place. She was standing in the hallway again when Shane tapped her arm. She jumped a little and turned around to look at him. His hair was wet, so Rosie assumed he had already showered.

"What?" Rosie asked when Shane took to long to say anything, looking around the hall to avoid his eyes.

"You can use the shower in the room I'm stayin' in. I'll show you where it is," Shane told her. She gave him a blank stare.

"Why do I gotta shower?" she eventually asked.

Shane laughed a little. "'Cause you're a mess. You got blood and dirt all over ya," he said. He didn't look angry or sound angry, but the words he was saying were angry words in Rosie's mind. She eyed the bottle of wine in his hands. God, she was sick of adults and their stupid alcohol.

After staring for a few seconds, Rosie shrugged and went off to get her bag. She found her bag in the kitchen area everyone was in before. With nowhere else to go, she decided she would have to shower. So after making sure Shane was gone, she took a fast shower. She didn't have any clean clothes, so she had to put the dirty ones back on. She didn't want to ask Carol to borrow any of Sophia's clothes because the neck would probably go too low. That's why Rosie stuck with boys' fit shirts; they covered her collarbones.

With a small sigh, Rosie ventured out into the hallway again. She thought maybe she could get comfortable on the couch in the rec room, even if she couldn't exactly sleep. When she got there, she stopped as the door, which was slightly cracked open, suddenly slammed shut. Weird.

Standing silently outside the door, Rosie listened intently. She heard Shane talking. He sounded different than before. He was probably really drunk, Rosie decided. He sounded a little irritated and his voice was low and scratchy. She couldn't tell who he was talking to or what exactly he was saying, so she pressed her ear up to the door to hear better.

Rosie could hear Shane as he was yelling something about machines and gunfire. His voice kept getting louder and he started talking quicker. It reminded Rosie of her dad when he got really worked up.

She could hear a woman's voice- she thought it might've been Lori. The woman's voice was high-pitched and panicked sounding. She was scared. So, Rosie quietly opened the door the tiniest bit. If Shane was like her dad, maybe she could help Lori. Fraser sometimes used to help Rosie when she got in trouble. Maybe Rosie could do the same for Lori.