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CHAPTER SEVEN ━━INTO THE FRAY,
"Disoriented." The word hung loosely upon the survivor's shoulder, heat from the crackling campfire radiating onto their dirtied skin. Adeline was curled into her husband's chest, her body never leaving his grasp. He kept his hand tangled in between the thick locks of her hair, every so often trailing his fingers to her scalp and back down to remind the woman that he was there. But, he would be lying if he said he wasn't doing it to provide comfort to himself — the thought of losing her again causing anger to ignite a fire in his bones. But it was her touch that pulled him out of that state, keeping him close in her arms as he did the same for her. The man had only hoped that the heavy burden and guilt that weighed heavily upon his shoulders would never reach his wife's, for every single time his eyes met hers — the realization of the things he had done when she was gone punching a hole of blame into his stomach. And nothing could fix that, not even her touch.
The sound of crickets chirping blended with the burning flames of the logs in the mighty fire. "I guess that comes closest." Rick Grimes added onto his previous word, answering a question that a man named Dale has asked. "Disoriented. Fear, confusion — all of those things but... disoriented comes closest." He continued, his own arms wrapped around his wife's shoulders, his son laying in his lap. It was safe to say that the Grimes siblings had found their safe haven, the place they could forever call home. Family.
"Words can be meager things." Dale's old and worn voice cut through the air, laying a small metal cup down at his feet. "Sometimes they fall short." At his words, Adeline lifted her eyes and watched as Rick held his son closer to his chest — "I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while, I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever. Then- then I saw Adeline, and the fear in her eyes... the fear and the relief, it told me it was real." He informed the survivors, his hand constantly rubbing against Lori's shoulder.
Carl Grimes craned his chin up to his father's face, "Mom said you and Aunt Addy died." His small and fragile voice tore through Adeline's core, her eyes softening and grip on her husband's forearm tightening. "She had every right to believe that, Carl." She spoke up before her brother could, the boys trailing his glance down to his Aunts' face and nodding softly. "Don't ever doubt that." Her voice reminded the boy, eyes not failing to catch the curt stare from Lori Grimes directed to her husband.
The woman rubbed her fingers through Carl's hair, "When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened." Lori informed her husband, the information already known to Adeline which caused her to curl deeper into Shane's side — his hand falling down and resting against her hip.
"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell. And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun. Adeline cleaned up what she could muster through, she kept me alive." Rick's voice became rasped, eyes landing thankfully onto his sisters who only smiled softly at his words. He already knew how she felt, and she didn't see the need in sharing it with a bunch of others that had only just met her.
