𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑻𝒊𝒎𝒆 | 𝘋𝘢𝘳𝘺𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘹𝘰𝘯 ¹

𝑻𝒉𝒓𝒆𝒆

Chapter Three,
New World

IT HAS BEEN an hour since they had arrived at the camp. Everyone seemed friendly as they all sat chatting. They seemed like good people to Chloe.

The broadcasting on the radio nearby attracted everyone's attention and Amy was the first one to stand up walking towards it as Chloe hoped the voice was that of someone she knew.

Voice: Hello? Hello? Can anybody hear me?

But it wasn't.

"Hey? Hello?" Amy spoke over the radio.

Voice: Can you hear me?

"Yes, I can hear you. You're coming through. Over."

Voice: Anybody who reads, please respond. Broadcasting on the emergency channel. We'll be approaching Atlanta on Highway 85. Anybody reads, please respond.

"We're just outside the city," Amy told the guy. "Damn it. Hello? Hello?"

To the guy's poor luck, it seemed like he wasn't receiving Amy. "He couldn't hear me. I couldn't warn him," she told the group.

"Try to raise him again," Dale the old man with the fisherman's hat said as he approached her. "Come on, son. You know best how to work this thing," he told Shane who tried to fix the problem but to no avail.

"Hello, hello, is the person who calls still on the air? This is Officer Shane Walsh, unknown person, please respond," Shane was waiting for a response, but nothing came through. "He's gone."

Lori and Carl her son joined the group around the radio. "There are others. It's not just us," she said.

"Yeah, we knew there would be, right, that's why we let the CB on," Shane said. It seemed to Chloe that Shane and Lori were Carl's parents, but she wasn't sure yet. Carl looked nothing like him.

"Lots of good it's been doing. And I've been saying for a week, we ought to put signs up on 85 to warn people away from the city," Lori said.

"Folks got no idea what they're getting into," Amy said worriedly.

"We don't have enough time," Shane said.

"I think we need to make time," Lori said.

"We can't afford that luxury. Our survival hinges on living day by day," Shane said.

He was acting selfish for sure but he was trying to protect this group, Chloe gets it, Adam would've done the same but he's not here, and neither is her family. Chloe felt like it was her responsibility to find them. Bring them back to this safe camp.

"So, who would you propose to send?" Dale asked.

"I'll go," Chloe instantly said earning herself stares from everyone.

"I'll join too. Provide us with a vehicle," Lori said.

"Nobody goes anywhere alone, you know that," Shane said.

"Yes, I understand that. But I'm not alone. Chloe wants to come as well, right?" Lori said eyeing Chloe who nodded.

"Yeah, my family might still be down there. I have to find them," she said.

"We can't risk sending anyone," Shane told her.

Lori obviously beyond irritated now walked away. Her son tried to follow her but Shane held him back.

"Hey, hey, hey, come on, take a seat, buddy. You're alright, go on, you're alright," Shane told the boy. He was using the same tone he had used with Chloe earlier which made her wonder if it was his way of dealing with people he assumed were terrified.