calamity → the walking dead ¹

[ 015 ] redneck and a cop.

CALAMITY.

chapter fifteen, redneck and a cop.
[ season two, episode five ]

AIDEN TRUDGES THROUGH THE GEORGIA WOODS. The forest floor crunches beneath her boots as she navigates around fallen branches and overgrown roots. Her side throbs with a dull, persistent ache. a constant reminder of the bullet that tore through her flesh just days ago. The wound is healing, but the memory remains raw.

She pauses, leaning against a weathered oak to catch her breath. Her hand instinctively moves to her side, fingers ghosting over the bandage beneath her thin t-shirt. The forest is unnervingly quiet today, no birdsong, no rustling of wildlife. Just the occasional groan of tree limbs swaying in the breeze and the distant, haunting moan that has become the soundtrack of their new existence.

Her eyes scan the undergrowth methodically, searching for any sign of the little girl. Sophia's been missing for days now, and with each passing hour, hope dwindles. But they keep searching. They have to.

"Sophia?" She calls out, her voice barely above a whisper. She knows better than to yell. Sound travels. Sound attracts.

She pushes off the tree, wincing at the pull in her side, and continues her search. The filtered sunlight creates dappled patterns on the forest floor, playing tricks on her eyes. Every shadow becomes a small body; every fluttering leaf, a child's movement.

After nearly forty-five minutes of fruitless searching, Aiden reluctantly turns back toward the farm. Her empty water bottle knocks against her hip as she walks, and her machete hangs heavy from her belt loop. She hasn't needed to use it today, small mercies.

The farm comes into view, a pastoral haven in the midst of hell. Sometimes it feels like a dream, the white farmhouse standing pristine against the backdrop of apocalypse, chickens clucking in their coops, cattle grazing in the pasture. A snapshot of before.

Aiden makes her way to the RV, climbing the metal steps with careful movements to avoid aggravating her injury. Inside, the air is stale and warm. Glenn sits at the small table, absently flipping through a tattered paperback. He glances up as she enters, offering a weak smile.

"Find anything?" He asks, though the answer is written all over her face.

Aiden shakes her head and drops into the seat across from him. She reaches for another book lying on the table, a worn copy of To Kill a Mockingbird. The spine creaks as she opens it, the pages yellowed with age. She loses herself in the familiar words, a temporary escape from their grim reality.

The door to the RV swings open, flooding the small space with sunlight. Dale steps inside, his fishing hat shading his weathered face. Glenn looks up from his book.

"Sorry. Just returning your book," Glenn tells the older man, holding up the paperback.

"Oh no, I'm sorry." Dale takes the book, examining its cover with a rueful smile. "If I had known the world was ending, I'd have brought better books."

Aiden lifts her own book, the pages dog-eared and well-loved. "To Kill a Mockingbird. It's a. . . book."

Dale chuckles, a grandfatherly warmth in his eyes. "Most young folks don't like it," he confirms, setting the returned book aside on a cluttered shelf.

Glenn suddenly stands, his chair scraping against the RV floor. "Dale, you think Andrea's on her period?"

Aiden's head snaps up, her eyes widening in disbelief at Glenn's question. She glances at him with a disgusted grimace, her finger losing her place in the book.