WHIPLASH. ( DARYL DIXON )

two.

written in the perspective of third person. 

As Elena Marie and Amy sat, comfortable silence between the two friends, they both were hiding their own secrets, one held deep in the roots of their mind, and the other held in the occasional glances spared to the other.

As the stare on her face heated, Elena could have sworn she saw Amy open her mouth to speak before a familiar yet foreign sound caught the two younger girls attention. It was a sound of the world before, one someone would often curse at in annoyance. It was a car alarm.

Amy was the first to stand, the blonde's face holding deep concern, she was anxious to see her sister, to know any information of her whereabouts. Elena, the supportive friend, stood next, silently wrapping an arm around her friend.

Shane's voice rang out behind her from where Lori and Carl sat together, and Elena brushed it off with a sour taste in her mouth. "Talk to me, Dale!" He shouted, running over to them, resting his hand on Elena's back as he passed, the small act of affection almost foreign in their relationship.

The older man held the binoculars to his eyes as he spoke, searching for the source of the alarm. "I can't tell yet." From beside her, Elena's close friend spoke with rushed words, "Is it them? Are they back?"

Dale muttered too low for the rest of the group too hear, but Elena's questioning brought him to raise his voice, "A stolen car is my guess." All anyone could do is stand around as they waited helpless while the sound carried, getting louder as the seconds ticked past.

Finally, a red sports car raced into the camp, everyone moving to get a look. A goofy grin graced itself onto Elena's face as she watched her best friend's ever joyful self get out of the drivers seat.

Others weren't as pleased, and it was evident as Dale shouted at Glenn Rhee to 'turn that damn thing off.'

Glenn still wore the same grin as he dramatically shrugged, "I don't know how!" This was enough to rise a giggle out of Elena Marie, despite the circumstances.

Although, her grin was almost immediately wiped from her face as both her boyfriend and her friend surrounded Glenn, barking different orders at him. Amy frantically asked about her sister, while Shane shouted at him to pop the hood, tossing colorful language and aggressive pounding of the hood into the mix.

Elena still bit back a smile, practically bouncing in her spot at a chance to greet her best friend. If she could, she would do the exact same thing Glenn did. It's a zombie apocalypse, why not live a little?

As the alarm continued to blare from the hilltops, Glenn managed to pop open the hood, and Amy started bursting questions out at him. "Is she okay? Is she alright? Is she coming back?" Glenn frantically answered 'yes' to all of these questions, but they didn't stop there. "Why isn't she with you? Where is she? She's okay?"

"Yes," Glenn finally broke through. "Yeah, fine. Everybody is. Well, Merle not so much."

Shane's gruff voice spoke up, "Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here? Are you tryin' to draw every walker for miles?"

Elena's softer voice contrasted from the male voices speaking, "I think we're okay, Shane."

Shane's head turned towards his girlfriend, "You call being stupid okay?" Elena didn't miss the disapproving look sent to her from Glenn, and she also didn't miss the way Dale jumped to her defense.

"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills, hard to pinpoint the source." The older male spoke, looking around as he did so.

Shane's hands lightly slammed down on the car, standing up to place his hands on his hips. Dale continued, eyes flickering to the petite girl beside him, her eyes glazed over in a familiar look. "I'm not arguing, I'm just saying. It wouldn't hurt to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?" This time the last sentence was pointed towards Glenn, who had a sour look on his face as he apologized half-heartedly.

"Sorry." He motioned to the car, eyes finally meeting Elena Marie's. "Got a cool car."

As everyone broke into awkward silence, Elena took this as her opportunity to move forward, arms latching onto Glenn, muttering in his ear. "I'm really happy you're alive."

Glenn pulled back, sending her a grin back, this time with meaning. "I'll always find a way back."

Elena knew it was a silly concept, but speaking like they weren't on the edge of death every minute they breathe was like a rush of fresh air in a pollution site, Glenn was her rush of fresh air.

The deep, mechanical sound of a truck approaching makes Elena move back, allowing the others to reunite with their loved ones, finding a spot across from Lori, suddenly very interested with the silver chained necklace hanging delicately from her pale neck, her bony fingers toying with it.

She heard the noises of sobbing delight from one of her friends, thanking the world for giving someone so close to her her source of happiness back. Andrea was Amy's anchor, without her she was a mess, that much was clear from the past few days. She heard the shrieks of children as they scampered to their father and could practically feel the relief radiating off of a wife seeing their husband as if for the first time.

Elena's gaze drifted, blue eyes connecting to matching blue eyes, her nephew sending her a knowing look while his mother talks to open air, expecting him to listen. He understood without words though, that boy has been so damaged, being raised in this world will either strengthen or ruin him.

Carl's head turns, and the sudden screaming from his mouth caused Elena's head to snap to attention, thoroughly thinking she'd misunderstood the single, repeating word flowing from his mouth. But the moment the man in question finally comes into frame, hugging Lori Grimes with passion, tears spring to Elena Marie's eyes. The moment the family's hug ends, the brunette crashes full force into the older Grimes child.

A hand wrapping around her back, the other pressed firmly against the back of her head, the two siblings cry into each other, the reunion finally allowing the two of them shed tears, something they were known to only do in front of each other.

The eldest sibling pulled back with watery eyes, hands encasing his younger sister's face, soft blue eyes watching as tears streamed through the dirt caked on her pointed face.

"I thought you were really gone this time," Elena Marie all but sobbed, feeling like the same young girl who crawled into her brothers bed from such graphic memory infused nightmares.

"And leave you here to make all the bad decisions? Never." Rick Grimes joked, pulling Elena Marie Grimes' face into his chest when he saw the wobble of her bottom lip, the two halves of whats left of their family finally becoming a whole. 

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not edited; 6/28/18