Future Ghosts • TWD

35. Together.

TW: in this chapter there is a flashback
with depictions of suicide.

Rosie was leaning her head against the window in the backseat of the green Hyundai as she watched the colorful autumn trees fly by. She had taken a bit of a nap, but kept waking up every time they'd hit a pothole. Her eyes were still droopy but her headache had started to hurt a little less, even if it wasn't all the way gone yet.

Maggie and Hershel were in the front seat together while Beth, Glenn, and Rosie were crammed into the back. They tried to make Rosie take the middle seat, seeing as she was the smallest, but she refused, saying she'd rather ride on the roof than be squished between the two. They were annoyed at first, but soon became grateful for it because Rosie ended up throwing up again, just barely able to make it out of the car in time.

The ride was pretty quiet, aside from little conversations the others would have, but Rosie excluded herself from them, not really feeling much like talking. The quiet was interrupted by the car behind them beeping, signaling Maggie to pull over.

Once the car was parked, Rosie quickly scrambled out. The car ride was starting to make her stomach hurt- unless that was just hunger- and she felt the need to stretch her legs. She leaned up against the guardrail on the side of the road, purposely crushing leaves beneath her boots and listening to the nice crunch sound they each made.

"You out?" Daryl asked, looking back at Rick from his spot on his motorcycle.

"Running on fumes," Rick replied, walking closer to Daryl. The others from his car quickly followed after until everyone was gathered around Daryl.

"We can't stay here," Maggie said.

"We can't all fit in one car," Glenn said, sounding a bit defeated.

"We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning," Rick decided.

"Spend the night here?" Carol asked, wrapping her sweater tightly around herself.

"I'm freezing," Carl complained. Lori rubbed her hand on him as if it would warm him up. Truth be told, Rosie was quite cold too. She had on a black long sleeve shirt underneath her flannel, but that wasn't particularly warm. The flannel was pretty thin, but she didn't see any point in complaining, considering she was still incredibly grateful to have the long-sleeved shirt and jeans now, instead of being stuck with a t-shirt and shorts.

"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori suggested. Rick took off his jacket and gave it to Carl, layering it on top of his dark red hoody.

"You go out lookin' for firewood, stay close. Only got so many arrows," Daryl said. He turned to Rick. "How you doin' on ammo?"

"Not enough," was all Rick said.

"We can't just sit here with our asses hanging out," Maggie said.

"Watch your mouth," Hershel scolded her. Rosie resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She just didn't understand why Hershel cared so much about words. Why did words matter anymore? The fact that each of them were still alive and breathing was all Rosie cared about. "Everyone, stop panicking. Listen to Rick," Hershel said.

"Alright, we set up a perimeter. In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushing on," Rick said, looking around at their surroundings.

"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas," Maggie offered, holding a shotgun in her hands.

Rick shook his head, holding his hand out in front of himself. "No, we stay together. God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car," he said.