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It was near afternoon when she awoke to a powerful bang and the alarming joggling of the truck. It shook like a light earthquake, waking her from her deep slumber in the passengers seat of the vehicle. With groggy eyes, she turned in her seat to see what the source of the noise was. She watched in awe as Negan gave a forceful punch to the side of the truck, causing it to rumble fiercely. She wasn't sure whether to laugh or be frightened.
Exiting the truck, she turned to face the man. "You can hit it as much as you want, it's not gonna fill the gas tank."
He growled under his breath, mumbling what was probably curse words, before storming to the other side of the vehicle. He rubbed his forehead in delicate circles and shut his eyes. "We're leaving."
She raised her eyebrows, "How far are we?"
"An hour."
She sighed and trailed behind the truck, back beside Negan who was already making his way up the road. It seemed to stretch on for miles, never coming to an end, only pine trees surrounding along with the stray ones that had fallen onto the road. It smelt of dirt and pine.
"What're you gonna do about the car?" She asked. He scratched his beard and turned to her.
"I'll get Simon to fill it up and bring it back." He answered, turning towards the road. She nodded and stuffed her hands in her pockets. She let herself fall a couple feet behind Negan.
She loved the view. Although it seemed as if trees were all she'd been seeing for the past three years of her life, she took a pleasure in them. loved the way they smelt, divine, the feeling she got when sitting against one, reading a novel on a cool fall day. One of the only things that made her happy before the apocalypse was being in nature, plants, dirt, scenery. She loved to explore. She'd figured God had answered her prayers in some twisted way.
She laughed, remembering the time she was just fourteen years old, a few years before the outbreak. She had escaped from home one night while she was supposed to be studying. There was a pine tree running down the side of her home she used to climb from her window. She went for a walk in the forest near her house which was filled with oak and pine and various other plants. She sometimes brought a book, but other times she just enjoyed the scenery. In the day time, she'd go on the trail with her father or mother. There was a part in the woods where the trail branched off, but she never traveled in that direction because her father told her it was dangerous. She realized it was full of poisonous plants, but figured if she wore long pants and a sweater, she'd do just fine. However, she'd forgotten to wear gloves, took a tumble into the plants, and went running to her father the next day because her arms were itchy. She'd learned her lesson when she had to endure a whole week of poison oak.
