salvation → g. rhee

cherokee rose

"Aubrey, did you ever - and let me tell you, it was legendary - did you ever hear about the time Shane stole Kainsley's car?" Rick asked suddenly, breaking the tense silence that surrounded Carl's bed.

Lori and Aubrey sat on his bed, Lori near Rick, and Aubrey on the right side. The girl took her gaze away from Carl and settled it on his father's icy blue one.

"Yeah," she breathed. It didn't matter. She loved the story.

"He stole the principal's car right out of the teacher's lot. In the middle of the school day, Shane steps out at lunch, makes a beeline to Kainsley's Hyundai, wires the ignition and peels out, drives down Dylan Drive to that chicken farm out there... you've heard this before, right?" he paused, continuing when she gave him a nod to keep going.

"So, he pulls into one of the big holdin' pens - Kainsley, he waxed that thing every month, had the auto shop vacuum it out every week - and Shane, he parks it in this huge pen with a coupla' hundred Rhode Island Reds, he busts open bags of seed in the back seat, rolls down all the windows, and then starts sprinting back to school. It's three miles away, easy, but he's back in time to finish his sandwich before the bell. Then the bell rings, Shane gets up, and when he runs into Kainsley in the hallway, he looks out the window and says, 'Principal Kainsley, your coop's gone," Rick paused again to let out a snicker.

"Coop... like chicken coop."

"I get it," Aubrey whispered.

"Of course you do," Rick agreed, "You've heard this story a thousand times."

"Rick, you've gotta keep your strength up," Lori reminded him, looking at him with eyes wet with tears. Rick nodded and reached for the sandwich on a plate on the bed side table.

〄

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Aubs?"

"What... what happened on that supply run?" Aubrey asked quietly, her arms loosely crossed.

Shane had returned solo, and with a limp. Two days had already passed, and he still wouldn't talk about it. Aubrey hoped asking him head-on would do some good. She thought wrong.

"It's not the place, baby," he replied simply, not looking at her.

Aubrey narrowed her eyes at his back but didn't push the subject. She remained silent still as he walked away.

〄

Aubrey watched as T-Dog, Glenn, and Shane, still limping, aided Beth Greene and her boyfriend, Jimmy, with collecting rocks and throwing them in a wheel barrow. The constant sound of rocks clanking against the metal wheel barrow was starting to give the girl a headache, but she didn't say anything that would draw their attention to her; she simply didn't want to help.

When Glenn looked up, Aubrey followed his gaze, her eyebrow raised. It took a few seconds before her ears picked up the faraway rumbling of Daryl's motorcycle. It came into view shortly, followed by the green SUV Shane had been fixing up on the highway, as it rumbled up the long driveway.

"Guys."

Aubrey jumped at Rick's voice. She hadn't heard him step onto the porch. She turned to him, and he nodded his head to where they were now piling the rocks up. Aubrey made her way over with Rick, Lori, Dale, Carol, and Andrea in tow.

Hershel and Patrcia came a few moments later, with a bible held in the old man's hand. As they approached, the intent of the rocks became clear to Aubrey: a grave marker of sorts for Otis. First, each member of his family placed an extra rock on top, followed by each member of the group.