Sonder • TWD

° A Bright Light °

Rex sat on a camping chair the next morning, her eyes puffy as she watched the group pile the walkers into a mass grave. Ed had been bludgeoned by Carol so there wasn't much left to bury, and Andrea still refused to let go of Amy's body, remaining in the same hunched position on the ground from the previous night. Rex picked at her fingers absentmindedly, her oath to quit that bad habit seemingly flying out the window due to her stress. She didn't seem to notice the pain in her hands however, her senses seemed dull as her brain attempted to handle the trauma she had experienced.

A figure sat down next to Rex and let out a small sigh, though she ignored them and kept her gaze firmly fixed on Amy's deceased body, straining her eyes for any signs of her potential reanimation. "Hi." the person spoke, it sounded like a boy, one she had never met before at that. She took a deep breath and swivelled her head to face him. She was met by a boy not much older than her, with brown eyes and sandy blonde hair twisted into curls. "Who the fuck are you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself, her emotional state coming across as anger. "Language!" Shane called from across the camp, pausing his grave digging to shoot her a stern look. "How the hell did you even hear that?" she shouted back and he let out an exasperated sigh, accepting defeat.

"Um, I'm Hunter. Hunter Monroe." the boy greeted warmly, extending a hand which she reluctantly accepted. "Rex." she replied bluntly, turning back to face Amy once again. An awkward silence fell over the pair and he followed her gaze, realisation washing over him as he noticed the two women not far from them. "I'm really sorry about your friend." Hunter attempted to sympathise with her, despite not knowing the deceased, but this was enough to set the girl off and she quickly shut him down. "Stop talking." Rex said sharply. "Sorry I was just-" he stuttered before she cut him off. "I don't care who you are or where you came from, but you're annoying as shit. So just leave me alone!" she hissed, pushing herself to her feet and storming off, making sure to kick a pile of dust back at the boy with her heel as she departed. Hunter couldn't help but smile despite his embarrassment, this new girl's attitude reminded him of his older sister Abigail, and he had a new found admiration for this stranger.

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Claire leaned against the side of the RV, her hand wrapped around her daughter's shoulder. The sun was now just above them in the sky and beating down mercilessly on their necks. Andrea had finally put Amy down with a bullet to the brain once she'd turned and it was discovered that Jim had been bit. The man was now resting in the RV as the group discussed their next steps. After a long and heated debate between Shane and Rick, it was decided that the group would make the journey to the CDC, in hopes of finding a cure for Jim.

Rex hopped into the back of Glenn's car with her bag as her mother and everyone else said goodbye to the Morales family. They had opted not to stay with the group, choosing instead to take their chances and track down their remaining family. Rex wasn't close to them, and didn't see why her mother insisted on saying goodbye, people died and left all the time so why should she care. She dug the headphones out of her bag and turned on the Walkman she was so preciously saving, batteries were a luxury these days and she was adamant to keep it going as long as possible. She closed her eyes as the blaring music filled her ears, dozing off as she rested her head on her hand.

The girl was jolted out of her sleep by the back door slamming shut next to her. She opened her eyes with an irritated sigh and looked to her right to see Hunter buckling his seat belt beside her. Claire and Glenn followed suit, hopping into the front seats and filling the car to capacity. Rex pushed her headphones onto her shoulders and groaned as Hunter gave her a wary smile. "Seriously?" she scoffed. "Sorry, there was no more room in the RV." Hunter shrugged, concealing his smile as he relished in the fact he was annoying her so much. "Fine, but don't try to talk to me!" she snapped, to which Claire shot her a warning look from the front passenger seat. Rex didn't care about her mother's attempt at discipline, simply sticking her tongue out and putting her headphones back on as the engine rumbled to life.

Hunter sighed in defeat as Rex turned away from him to stare out the window, it was going to be a very long journey if she had firmly decided to hate him for no justifiable reason. "So Hunter, you got any hobbies?" Claire piped up from the front seat, internally cringing at her pathetic attempt to make small talk with him, teenage boys weren't exactly her expertise. "Uh yeah, I used to skateboard before well, all of this happened." Hunter responded, perking up slightly at the fact that someone finally took an interest in him. Claire, Glenn and Hunter made conversation for the next couple hours until the RV in front of them came to a halt, causing Glenn to slam on the brakes.

The trio stepped out of the car to try and gauge the situation, leaving Rex sound asleep in the back seat. It turned out Jim wasn't doing so well, terrible in fact, and had requested to be left at the side of the road as the journey was too painful, every bump in the road was agony for him as the virus took over. Claire and Glenn both said their goodbyes, Hunter chose to stand awkwardly by the vehicles. The teenager didn't know the man, and neither really had anything to say to the other, all Hunter could offer was a weak smile, which the man returned, before sliding back into the car.

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Darkness had fallen by the time the group pulled up outside the CDC, making the scene that awaited them all the more terrifying. Dead bodies littered the street as they stepped out into the cold night air, wind whipping around them like and pricking their face like needles. Rex pulled her jacket closer to her body and shivered in the icy cold, suddenly wishing she was back inside the warm rumbling car.

The group grabbed what bags they could and carefully made their way
through the eerily quiet parking lot towards the CDC building. Rex shuddered as they walked past dozens of bodies covered with white sheets as flies buzzed around them, this was a graveyard. As they approached the building the air seemed to drop in temperature further, like a higher power warning them of an unseen danger and ushering them back towards their vehicles. Rex wanted to open her mouth and say something, but she didn't want them to judge her for being scared, so she sealed her lips shut and relucantly pressed on with the rest of the group.

Once the doors were in sight, her heart dropped. The shutters were down with no evident signs of life whatsoever. Her mother was the first to break the silence, causing everyone to jump. "What now?" Claire asked as the faint sound of walkers groaning filled their ears. The smell around them was overpowering, the scent of rotting flesh clinging to their skin. Rex tuned out the sound of the group arguing, focusing more on the bodies rising from the pavement not far from them, which had gone unnoticed by anyone else. Her heart pounded faster as she realised they were trapped, their path back to the vehicles was now blocked by the undead and the group's yelling only grew louder.

Rex started praying to every higher being she could think of to get them out of this situation as she gripped the knife hanging from her belt, others seemed to have noticed the danger now based off the sound of weapons being drawn behind her. Her prayers were suddenly answered by a loud whirring sound behind them, everyone spun round and they were met with the shutter doors opening and a blindingly bright light shining from inside. They were safe.

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A/N - OK this turned out way shorter than I'd hoped but I kinda just needed a filler chapter to introduce Hunter. and omg Rex's attitude is finally showing in this chapter I love her sm. Sorry if this chapter was disappointing but I promise the next one will be better <3