𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐈𝐗
𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐎𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒

︶꒦꒷★꒷꒦︶

Claire could hear her heartbeat in her ears, pounding against her head like the drums she played in marching band her freshman year.

She couldn't see the walkers face, but she knew that she had somehow got it's attention. The only thing she could do now was hope that it didn't bend down or try to reach under. And by the luck of God, she watched as the walkers shoes turned away from the car, and began slowly trudging forward away from them.

They were under there for what felt like hours, but based on Romans watch that she could see in the corner of her eye, it had been but 20 minutes since the last walker passed by. "I think we're okay." Roman mumbled, pushing himself out from under the car, Marcus and Kira following suit. But Claire was stuck. It was like the pavement opened up and swallowed her whole. Mind racing with how close that was, and how she put not only herself in danger, but the others. If she died, there would be no one to look for Eli.

"Claire." The girls head snapped over, watching as Marcus gently reached his hand under the car, "Come on, we're losing light."

The girl scooted out from under it, slotting her hand in Marcus', allowing him to lift her to her feet.

"Jesus, who many do you think that herd was?" Kira spoke, brushing the dirt off her pants, "60, maybe more," Roman finally spoke up, eyes latched to Claire and she shakily looked around the highway, "Lets start moving before more decide to follow."

Claires head was on a swivel as Roman slotted himself back under the hood of the car they were working on, sounds of metal against metal echoing through the air as her eyes scattered around the highway.

"Hey, you okay?" Claire spun around, eyes locking with Kira's. "I'm fine. Just want to get going. We have to find somewhere to crash over night, it's not safe." The two girls jumped as the car roared to a start, Roman smirking as he looked over at Marcus, "Happy now?"

"Very." Marcus deadpanned, slinging his gun strap over his shoulder and placing it in the backseat of the car. "Can we go now?"

Roman rolled his eyes and glanced over at Claire, "Let's go, sunshine."

★

"This isn't necessarily ideal, but it'll do." Kira mumbled, looking up at the boarded up house, eyes squinting as the setting sun shone in their eyes.
"Oh, nothing to complain about, there's no walkers nearby, and I bet your ass there's at least three beds in there." Roman gestured towards the house with a grin.

"Well, I'm sold."

Claire glanced over at Marcus, watching as the boy happily slung his machete onto his shoulder, walking up to the house and slamming the handle down on the lock and chain, causing it to fall into his other hand. He looked back at the three and tossed the chain and lock into the grass, "Y'all comin'?"

Kira shrugged and followed after her friend, knife at the ready as Marcus slowly opened the door, shining his flashlight into the house. "Hey, could be worse, right?"

Claire avoided Romans gaze, nodding, "Could be worse."

★

"Cold baked beans on bread. My favorite." Kira sassed, eyeing Roman's backpack that stored their food supply. "Hey-" Roman pointed his fork in her direction, "It's best to eat the worst foods first and the better foods last."

Claire moved the beans around the glass plate they found in the house, eyes staring out towards the street through the slit in the curtains. Walkers roamed aimlessly, unaware of the four teens presence just yards away. She distanced herself from the others, who sat in the living room under candlelight, joking with each other like there wasn't a desolate world sitting outside their sanctuary.

She couldn't bring herself to joke, or laugh or even smile. Not with her brother somewhere out there, unprotected, unarmed and alone.

Across the street, where another house sat, there was a picnic table in the front lawn, with a knocked over barbeque and a swing not far from it.

"Get back here!" Claire watched as Lucas chased Eli around the backyard, a smile gracing her lips as Eli giggled, holding the football tightly against his chest, "Gotta catch me first!"

"Eli! Be careful!"

Claire looked back at her mother, who was slicing a watermelon into pieces. "He's too small to be running like that. He'll trip." Claire rolled her eyes at her paranoid mother.

"He'll be fine, Carly. He's almost 13, he needs to take a good fall sooner or later." Ryan Smith spoke, turning away from the barbeque with a large plate full of hamburgers and hotdogs. "Boys! Food!" He shouted, and Claire turned to watch as Eli threw the ball at Lucas' face, sprinting towards the picnic table and plopping down next to Claire.

Claire grabbed a plate and placed a burger on a bun, watching as Lucas appeared next to her out of breath, "Kid can run, that's for sure."

Claire giggled, "Just cheese please!" Eli shouted, and Claire nodded, "I know, bud." She slapped a piece of cheese on the patty and placed the bun on top, handing it to her brother.

"So, Lucas, hear anything from UGA yet?" Her father asked as he made two hamburgers for himself. Claire looked between the two men, "No, sir. Nothing yet, but were praying for a letter by the end of the month."

"You'll get in, sweetie, they'd be dumb to not accept you." Carly smiled over at him, taking a bite from her side salad.

"Thank you, Mrs. Smith."

"Claire, can I go with you to Lucas' tonight! I wanna play his new PS3!"

"Not tonight, Eli. It's a school night." The boy groaned at his mother, "School shmool! I don't even need school anyway. I don't need Social Studies to be a professional skater."

The group laughed at the young boy, the warmth of the sun and the blue skies making everything seem so okay. None of them aware in the slightest of the looming chaos just a month away.

"Claire?"

The blonde girl snapped her head back at the soft whisper, eyes softening at the sight of Marcus. "Hey. You okay? You look a little lost."

Claire swallowed her approaching tears, nodding back at him before turning back towards the window. "We'll find him, Claire." Marcus mumbled, and Claire nodded, sending him a weak smile, "We have to."

"Why don't you go get some rest? We've got a long day ahead of us." Marcus mumbled, placing his hand softly on her bicep, "Take the master. The mattress is the comfiest."

Claire shook her head, "Well what about you guys?" Marcus shrugged, "Kira and I are gonna share the spare bed, and Roman is gonna take the couch to keep watch. Just in case." Claire swallowed thickly, before nodding, "Thanks, Marcus. Do you want the rest of this? I'm not hungry."

She moved the plate towards him, and he nodded happily, "Yeah, I mean, are you sure?" Claire smiled weakly with a nod, "Yeah. Eat your heart out."

Marcus smiled widely, "Get some sleep. See you in the morning." He walked back over to the others, sitting down on the ground next to Kira.

★

She could not sleep. She was so exhausted, her eyes hurt. Yet, sleep would not overcome her. Her best option? Sit on the front porch steps silently and stab any walker that crossed her path.

The difficult part was making it past Roman without waking the man, who was gripping his gun against his chest awfully tight.

She closed the wooden door slowly and quietly, yanking the knife from its place on her belt loop and dropping down onto the wooden stairs of the front porch.

She wasn't sure exactly how long she sat there, but it was long enough for the sun to start peeking out over the horizon. As tired as she felt, she wasn't sure she'd even be able to sleep. She could think of several things that would probably coax her to sleep, though. Her mothers singing, a hot fire, a cup of tea, knowing her brother was okay.

"Late night, or early morning?"

Claire's head whipped up, heart skipping a beat as Roman smiled down at her, leaning against the pillar of the staircase. Claire inhaled deeply, peeling her eyes from the man to stare back out at the street. "Uh, late night, I suppose." Roman frowned, sticking his pistol in his belt and bending down to sit next to her, "You haven't slept at all? Claire, how do you expect to thoroughly look for you brother if you can't keep your eyes open? Sleep is an essential part of keeping our bodies alive, almost as necessary as water-"

Roman stopped at the sounds of Claire's sleep deprived giggles, looking over at her as she dropped her head, "Sorry, no, don't stop. You just sound like my mother."

Roman's slack jaw closed, his lips slowly upturning, a small chuckle coming from him, "Sorry. Older sibling habits." Claire nodded, looking up at him, "I get it."

Roman's eyes staying on her, slowly taking in her tired eyes, flushed cheeks and smooth skin. "So, what was your life like? Before? School, friends, boyfriends that you might possibly still be with?"

He whispered the last part, turning his attention to the rising sun. Claire raised an eyebrow at him, before shaking her head, "I did, have a boyfriend. But we were about to go off to college, so I broke up with him."

Roman nodded, sucking in air through his teeth, "Nice. I mean, not nice. Where were you going to college?" He attempted to change the subject by clearing his throat, Claire turning her head from him to cover the blush rising to her cheeks, "University of Virginia."

"Hey guys?"

Claire and Roman turned their heads back to the front door, a nervous, guilty looking Marcus standing in the doorway. "I may have made, an oopsy."

"A fucking massive oopsie!" Kira grunted from inside, appearing behind Marcus, giving him a slap on the back of the head. Marcus winced, while Kira stepped in front of him, "Dipshit forgot his extra ammo. Either we go back and grab it, or we send genius here out there to protect our backs without bullets."

The smile on Romans face fell, and he was quick on his feet, "You're fucking kidding me, Perez. Now we gotta go back to the farm and set us back the 3 days we've already been looking. Do you think Claire's brother will mind those 3 days, hm?"

Marcus nodded weakly, "I-I'm sorry, Claire." Claire stood up, brushing the dirt from her pants with a stoic look, "It's fine. We leave now, and switch off on driving without stopping, we can probably be back on track by early Tuesday morning."

She moved past the others into the house, stomping to the master bedroom and yanking her hoodie from her backpack. She slung it over her shoulders, huddling into the warm fabric before throwing her backpack on her back and walking back into the living room, where the others were packing up all of their belongings. "Ready?"

They nodded, each throwing their own bags over their shoulders and exiting the house quickly. The sun was just sitting above the horizon now, engulfing the sky in a pretty blue and shades of orange. Claire tossed her bag into the front seat of the parked car, hopping in as Kira and Marcus slid into the backseat, Roman in the drivers.

"I'm sorry, Claire, really-"

"It's okay, Marcus," She held a hand up at him, not wanting to start a fight or make the boy feel bad. She was angry, yes, she was irritated, yes. But everyone makes mistakes, and the others definitely didn't take their time preparing for a rescue mission.

"And when we get back to the farm, if anyone wants to stay behind, make that decision now."

★

Claire inhaled heavily, squeezing her eyes together tightly before opening them again to focus back on the road. She was exhausted. Roman had switched off with her about 3 hours earlier to sleep, and Kira and Marcus had fallen asleep in the back as well. It would've been easier if there had been some form of music or cd in the car, but it seemed whoever owned the vehicle previously despised happiness and had nothing but a pouch of tissues in the car.

A yawn pushed its way from her, louder than she had wanted, waking Roman up. She watched in the corner of her eye as he attempted to stretch his long legs out, wiping his eyes of sleep before turning his head to her. "Hey, we should switch." He muttered, peering up at the darkened sky.

"I'll be okay. You get some more sleep." Claire smiled over at him, turning back towards the road, lit only by the headlights of the car. "Claire, pull over." Roman rolled his eyes as she begrudgingly pulled over to the side of the road. "We switchin'?" Kira asked from the back, waking up Marcus in the process.

"Yeah." Claire nodded back at her, both Roman and Claire exiting their seats. "I'll drive." Kira smiled, sliding out of the car and rounding to the drivers side. "Thanks, Kira."

Marcus grunted, "Shotgun." He sleepily spoke, pulling himself from the backseat as well and going over to where Roman was standing, "Be easier to take next shift." Roman nodded at the boy, sliding into the backseat next to Claire.

Another yawn came from Claire, and girl using the hood of her sweatshirt as a makeshift pillow to lean against the glass. Roman glanced over at her, the blonde girl quickly falling asleep as Kira pulled back onto the highway.

The man pulled his lips to the side, before leaning his own head back against the headrest and closing his eyes for more sleep.

When Claire awoke, the sun was up and Marcus was in the drivers seat , the early morning sun peaking from the horizon. She sucked in a deep breath, removing her head from the glass and leaning forward so her head was between the seats. "How close are we?"

"Just passed the Alvaton Town Limits sign, so we'll be there in about 15 minutes." Marcus nodded back at her as she leaned back in her seat. Sending a nudge against Romans side, she sent the waking man a tight-lipped smile, "We're about 15 minutes out."

★

Kira jumped from the car as they pulled into the farm, a sob escaping her as she stared at the front of the burnt barn. "Glenn!" She shouted, turning on her heel and running into the house. "Walkers." Roman muttered as the others quickly stepped out of the car. Claire frowned as she yanked her knife out, the three of them stabbing the few stray walkers wandering around.

"They're gone!" Kira sobbed as she ran from the house, "They're gone! All of their stuff is here, but there's no bodies." Kira began hyperventilating, Marcus rushing towards her and placing a hand on her back. Claire swallowed thickly as her and Roman approached the other two, "Okay, Kira. They could still be alive. There was too many of us for them to all be gone. Look-" He pointed to where the RV and Daryl's bikes were once parked, "They're gone. They're fine. We just have to find them. Marcus, get her in the car, we're gonna go grab supplies."

Marcus nodded, guiding the inconsolable Kira to the car. "Keep your knife on your hip and your gun in your hand, Claire." The blonde nodded up at him, following him slowly towards the house. When they entered, it was completely deserted, spare the obviously freshly killed walker that Kira had probably killed when she went inside. "What do you think happened?" Claire mumbled, looking around the living room. "I'm not sure, but I have a fair inkling it was Shane's fault." Roman grunted as he bent over to grab the backpack that belonged to Carl, throwing the small bag over his large shoulder.

"Let's just be quick. Barns still steaming, so it happened recently, but we can't be sure how far they've gone."

Claire nodded, rushing into the kitchen and grabbing a few cans of food, along with a couple mason jars of fresh water. "Okay, let's go." Roman said, allowing Claire to exit first before closing the door behind them. "My theory, Shane lost his goddamn mind, set the barn on fire, which led walkers here, and they had to evacuate. Hoard probably followed 'em. Explains why there's so few left."

Claire huffed, "Try not to tell Kira your theory until after we find everybody." Roman chuckled, opening the passenger door for her, as her hands were full of the jars and cans.

He handed her Carl's backpack, before rounding to the driver's side and sliding in. "Here's the plan," He spoke, catching Marcus and Kira's attention from the backseat as he drove off the grass and onto the gravel road, being incredibly careful not to make contact with the broken cars on the side, "We're gonna get out on the highway and see if we can find them. I doubt they've gone far but we should keep our eyes peeled for movement in the trees and smoke in the air. Marcus, eyes in the sky, Kira, eyes in the trees, Claire, eyes on the other side of the road."

Each of them nodded, turning their eyes in their respective spots as they exited onto the highway.

There wasn't much for about 10 minutes, Claire's heart turning at Kira's quiet sobs and hiccups in the backseat. She turned her head to the road, ready to look back at Kira with reassuring words, when she had to do a double take. "You see that?" Claire asked, squinting so she could get a better look at the road in front of them. "Walkers?" Roman whispered, but she shook her head, a smile forming on her face, "I'm pretty sure walkers don't hug each other."

Kira chuckled, "Faster, Roman."

When he had managed to get the car in front of the group of hugging friends and family, Kira had swung the door open before he even put it in park. "Glenn!"

The boy turned to his sister with a wide smile, holding his gun to the side and engulfing her in a hug. Claire smiled at the reunion, sending Roman a nod before exiting the car.

"Where the hell were you? What do you think you were doing running off like that! You could have died! I was worried sick about you!" Glenn cried out, placing his hands on his little sisters cheeks before pulling her back into him.

"Well I sure am glad you're okay, Roman. You gave us quite the fright." Hershel smiled, giving the man a pat on the back. "Claire." Rick sighed, throwing his arms around her shoulders, "Scared the hell outta us, girl. You should've waited for Glenn, waited to tell us where you were goin'." Claire nodded, "I apologize. With everything going on, I wanted to inconvenience the least amount of people, but the others decided to hitch a ride with."

"Marcus Perez, you do that again and I will slap you upside the head." Carol sighed, removing her hands from her hips to place them on his cheeks. The boy nodded with a smile, "Yes, ma'am."

"What happened?" Claire mumbled, running a hand through her hair and looking up at Rick, "You missed a bit. Randall went missing and we went out to find him, a hoard followed us back and Carl and I got trapped in the barn. Had to set it on fire to get out."

Claire frowned, looking around at the group, "Where's Shane?"

Rick sucked in a heavy breath, placing a hand on his hip and shaking his head, "You're lying. He had to escape, it's Shane." Claire took a weak step back, placing her fingers on her mouth, "That's so fucked."

She had experienced so much loss in the past couple months. So much pain and death, and finding her second family alive felt like a light in the darkness. And just when she felt the hope for the future, it comes crashing down. The memories of Shane and her dad teaching her how to ride a bike when she was 6, him playing video games with Eli and Carl at barbecues. The kind and funny man she used to call Uncle Shane.

Tears began to fall from her eyes, and Marcus was quick to her side. "Don't touch me." She put her hands up, stepping off to the side to pull herself together. Now, she was even more determined to find her brother. She couldn't lose someone else.

Roman appeared by her side, bending his neck down so his lips were ear level, "Lori's pregnant." He whispered, standing back to his full height and stepping in front of her. Claire's face fell, and she wiped the tears from her cheeks, "What?" Roman nodded, squinting out at the highway.

"We gotta get moving outta here. There's walkers everywhere." Rick spoke, Claire turning her head towards the man. "I say head East." T-Dog spoke up, leaning against the door of a car. "Stay off the main roads." Darly said, gathering an arrow for his crossbow, "The bigger the road, the more walkers, more assholes like this one." He aimed his arrow at Claire and Roman, the two of them stepping back out of the way, not realizing there was a walker behind them. "I got him." Daryl shot the walker, through the eye, its lifeless body falling to the floor.

"I need to find my brother-"

"No." Rick shook his head, turning to her, "No more splitting up. We've already lost enough people, I'm not letting you get yourself killed. We stay together, and we find Eli together. Got it?" Claire swallowed thickly, holding her tears back and nodding at the man.

"Got it."