Sonder • TWD

° Officer Friendly °

It had been a few days since Rex and her mother had joined the group of survivors, and they were settling in quite nicely. Both of them had gotten better sleep than they had in weeks, Claire helped the women with chores and Rex spent her time pestering Dale. The old man never seemed to mind though, he rather enjoyed the company on top of the RV and was amazed at the girl's ability to rattle off never ending questions and have a seemingly unending thirst for knowledge. Rex had met everyone in the group at this point, but she had decided that her favourite people were Dale and Amy, and vowed not to bother with anyone else for the time being.

As dawn broke on their fourth day in the camp, Rex could once again be found on the roof of the RV. Both her and Dale were early risers, as a result they were awake hours before anyone else and could enjoy watching the sunrise in peace. As more members of the group rose from their slumber, the pair settled into a comfortable silence as the rare quiet of the camp was disrupted by the sound of chatter and crackling firewood. Rex was invited by her mother to come and join the group around the campfire to endulge in a breakfast of canned beans and fruit, but she had refused, the gnawing anxiety in her stomach growing by the second. Today was the day that a small group was heading into the city in search of more supplies, it was a dangerous task and Rex had been silently praying for most of the morning that her mother would opt to stay behind.

As the group of six packed up the small truck in preparation for their run, Rex tried desperately one last time to convince her to stay. "Please mom, please don't go!" she pleaded, tugging on Claire's sleeve. The woman simply sighed and took her daughter's hands in her own, turning to face her shaking frame. "I'll be fine peach, I promise. It's just like Glenn said, we'll be quiet and stealthy, in and out and then straight back here." her reassurance was lost on her daughter, who bit her lip and looked down at her feet, tears filling her eyes. "I'll be fine." she repeated, planting a kiss on her daughter's forehead before she hopped into the bed of the truck.

Rex couldn't bare to watch the group leaving, her gaze laser focused on her tattered grey converse. She stood in that position for what felt like forever, but was likely only a minute or two. Tears slipped from her eyes as she could no longer hear the rumble of the engine, her mother was really gone. A pair of hands gripped her shoulders gently and the scent of flowery perfume washed over the girl. "She'll be fine sweetheart." Lori reassured her, giving her shoulders a light squeeze. Rex shrugged her off, rubbing her eyes furiously and storming off to the edge of camp, planting herself down at the base of a tree.

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It had been hours and Rex had yet to move a muscle. The radio crackled to life out of her earshot and a wave of concern washed over the group as T-Dog's voice spoke from it, informing them that they were trapped in a department store with no way out. The remaining group stood in stunned silence, the news that they'd just lost a good chunk of their people hitting them like a brick. Dale was the first to speak, his voice barely audible. "How do we tell Rex?" he asked, everyone's gaze shifting over to the young girl still unmoving beneath the trees. "What if we didn't?" Sophia piped up, it was unhelpful and she knew that, but she didn't want to see her new friend hurt. "Oh yeah and what happens when she realises they ain't coming back, dipshit?" Carl shot back, his bad temper fuelled by the loss of Glenn, whom he was quite fond of. "Hey!" Lori snapped, slapping the back of her son's head, who winced in pain and muttered a small apology. "I'll talk to her." she sighed, making her way over to Rex.

"Hey honey." Lori greeted her warmly as she sat down beside her, her demeanour that of approaching a wounded animal, cautious and sympathetic. Rex didn't even look up at her words, she was firmly focused on ripping up every blade of grass within her reach. "Rex honey, I gotta talk to you about something." she continued, and this caught the girl's attention. She whipped her head up, terror striking her tear stained face, looking desperately to the woman for more information. "Sweetheart I'm sorry, the uh, the group that went on a run aren't coming back. T-Dog let us know that they're trapped in a store, they're not getting out, I'm so sorry." Lori explained, setting a gentle hand on her knee. Rex didn't know what to do, ringing filled her ears and her senses dulled. Her chest became heavy as she struggled to take a breath, her mouth opened and shut but no words came out.