SIXTEEN. highway feast
[ SEASON TWO OF THE WALKING DEAD ]

Two days had passed in a prolonged silence. Unspoken moments, unspoken choices. The caravan of five cars had turned into one of three, that was if you counted the motorcycle driven by Daryl Dixon. The RV was where the Grimes sister found herself to be in alongside her husband, the vehicle also containing Andrea, Dale, Glenn, and T-Dog. When you look at the camper from the outside, the first thought is that it would fit as many as you wanted it to. But when you were confronted with it, when you had to squeeze six sweaty adults inside the small space, it quickly became cramped. The annoying thing was if you were to get up from your seat, when you returned, it was sure to be stolen.

That situation was one Adeline, thankfully, hadn't been confronted with seeing as she rarely walked around unless it was to use the bathroom or change clothes. Shane made sure she rested her ankle during the road trip to Fort Benning. To be able to finally take the pressure off of her injury, she already felt the muscles loose tension and slowly start to heal. When they made their most recent stop at a place that looked like it would hold supplies (it didn't) she already noticed the difference in when she walked. The limp wasn't as visible as it was before, and she could jog a little before it started to cause discomfort.

The wind that blew through the window caused brown strands to fall from their tucked space behind Adelines ears, whisking against the skin of her cheeks. She sat in the same spot she had been for two days, pushed up against the RV's wall next to Shane, his fingers brushing against the sleek metal of his gun while cleaning it. Their conversations had fallen short, not sure what to say to each other now that they had the time to say it. This came to Andreas attention, and due to her reckless mindset - she had even started flirting with Shane when his wife was asleep or wasn't paying attention. The blonde looked to feel anything other than grief. But Adeline being Adeline, took notice in her actions rather quickly.

"That looks complicated." Andrea spoke up, breaking the comfortable silence of the RV. She tucked her blonde strands of hair behind her ear, leaning forward to take a better look at the gun he cleaned.

Adeline pulled her eyes away from the window and furrowed her eyebrows, "It's not." she said abruptly, not giving her husband a chance to respond. At this, Shane tilted his head down and smirked out of habit. "He was the one who taught me how to clean them. I can clean yours if you want," She offered with a small sarcastic smile, leaning over Shanes lap and grabbing Andreas silver pistol from inside of the black duffel bag.

Retreating back to her spot, she found Andreas face in a flustered color - a crimson red blushing against her cheeks. Embarrassment was the main emotion she felt as Adeline examines her gun with ease and scrunched her face up at the uncleaned metal. "Yeah, this one needs a good clean." She informed.

Over the past two days, the change in Adelines personality and attitude had become clear to the whole group. She had become more snappy, more on edge ever since the CDC. They could say the same about theirselves, it made them realize that not everything is what it seemed to be. The building was supposed to be a safe haven, but instead it was a death sentence that all but one had been lucky enough to escape. That realization made Adeline become more defensive, it made her trust less and put her guard up even higher.

Shane eyed the gun his wife held, "That's a sweet piece." he complimented while looking back to Andrea who smiled softly at his words. Leaning against the palm of her arms, she rested against the table. "It was a gift from my father. He gave it to me just before Amy and I took off on our road trip. He said two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves."

"Smart man, your father." Adeline watched quietly, handing the gun over to her husband when he reached out for the weapon while talking. Sighing, she rested her head against the window and closed her eyes tiredly. Just as uncomfortable turned to comfortable, the breaks of the RV squeaked beneath her and rolled to a slow stop. "Oh jeez," The voice of Dale caused the woman to open her eyes, sliding out of the seat after her husband.

Eyeing the road block of cars before them, Adeline sent a hand through her tangled hair and leaned against the half wall next to the steps that led to the door. Daryl drove in front of them, turning his motorcycle around after examining. "See a way through?" Dale question, sticking his head out of the window. The redneck shrugged his shoulders, holding up a finger for them to follow as he turned back around and ventured into the path of cars.

"Uh, maybe we should just go back." Glenn stated from his spot in the passenger seat, eyeing the map he held in his hands. The RV shifted underneath him, following the motorcycle as far as the eye could see. Adeline stumbled back at the sudden movement, Shane keeping her steady with a hand on her lower back. "There's an interstate bypass-"

Dale shook his head, "We can't spare the fuel." he was cut to reject the idea. Adeline looked out of the wide windshield, "What about any of these cars? They might have fuel." She stated, resting her arms against the back of Glenns' seat as she moved to stand closer.

When Shane went to agree with her words, a sudden loud clank sounded from under the hood - white smoke following quickly after. The radiator hose, once again, had busted. The engine sputtered loudly, the caravan of three cars stopping as Dale pressed his foot against the break pedal. "Well... that's great." Adeline muttered, moving farther into the RV and retrieving her metal baseball bat from the bag before tucking it into her belt loop.

One by one, the survivors slipped out of their vehicles and out into the open area. The heat from the sun greeted them as cool air from the air conditioning faded away. "I said it. Didn't I say it?" Dale retorted, placing his hands on his hips while eyeing the white smoke that escaped from underneath the hood. "A thousand times. Dead in the water." He continued, throwing his arms up.

Shane looked back to Adeline who greeted Carl with a small smile, the short boy hugging her tightly. "Problem, Dale?" He questioned, turning back to the elder with his shotgun in hand.

Dale glanced to him, "Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of -" He took a look around, noticing all of the cars slammed pack with possible supplies, fuel, and even a chance of a new radiator hose. "Okay... that was dumb."

"If you can't find a radiator hose here..."

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl spoke up, digging through the trunk of an abandoned car.

T-Dog stepped towards the endless amount of cars, "Like Adeline said, we can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start." He informed - carrying a red fuel tank in his hands. Carol held Sophia to her side, "Maybe some water or food." She hoped.

"This is a graveyard." Lori spoke up from the back, "I don't know how I feel about this." she said in a reluctant tone, crossing her arms over her chest. Involuntarily, a scoff slipped past Adelines lips as she looked to the woman.

"The world is a graveyard." She reminded, pushing past the group while Shane instructed them to scavenge for as much supplies as they could.

Walking through the endless line of abandoned vehicles, Adeline peeked through the dirt marked windows in search of things the survivors would call useful. Staying close to her friends, every so often she looked over the untouched roofs to make sure everyone was okay. It was quiet - the only sound being hushed conversations and the ruffling of others searching through cars. She made sure not to stray too far away, stopping once she got to the point where Dale whistled loudly and told her that she was starting to blend in with the metal. Adeline sent a quick thumbs up to the man who stood on top of the RV before a car by the railings caught her attention.

Squeezing past the vehicles, her fingerprints left marks atop the dusted areas. The car she approached was sleek, one that stood out from the others around them. Making sure her actions wouldn't have consequences, Adeline forced the hood open and detached the battery from its place so the car alarm wouldn't start blaring and attract any nearby stalkers. The bat on hanging from her side brought more weight onto her leg, so she pulled it out and laid it against the tires before popping the drivers door open and climbing into the front seat.

Deciding against taking her precious time and examining every inch of the car, Adeline opened the glove box. Finding nothing but a few packs of gum, some napkins, and a few energy bars (which she gratefully stuck in her pocket), she shut it back and allowed her hand to fall underneath the passenger seat. Patting around, Adeline was close to pulling back until her fingers came into contact with a nylon strap. Scrunching her nose up, she leaned over the arm rest and pulled the item out.

"Woah...." Her voice trailed off, eyes widening at the weaponry before her. It was a sheath - six sharp throwing knifes stuck in each small holder surrounding the material. Carefully pulling one out, Adeline traced the tip of her finger around the sharp knife. Looking into the rear view mirror, she found Lori and Carol searching through suitcases full of clothes and picking out the ones they liked.

Reluctantly, she pulled her eyes away from the mirror and back down to the set of knives. Adeline breathed deeply and stepped out of the car, taking the sheath with her. Standing up straight - she strapped the weaponry around her right thigh, keeping it in reach of her dominant hand. Of course, it would probably take her forever to get her aim right in able to take out a walker, but having them on hand would allow some practice to seep through. Shutting the car door, Adeline went to grab her bat - but before she could, a small and panicked hand wrapped around her wrist, pulling her down to the ground.

Sophias panicked stare met her caramel ones, bony fingers pointing towards the direction of the RV. Adeline followed her arm, eyes landing upon a herd of walkers slowly making their way through the caravan of vehicles. "Oh my god..." The words left her mouth in a hushed whisper, hurriedly ushering Sophia under the car alongside herself.

A harsh heartbeat pounded through Adelines chest, feeling the erratic pump in her fingertips and hearing it in her ears. Due to the scared whimpers leaving Sophias mouth, she slung her arm over the girls back - elbows digging harshly into the concreted ground beneath the car. Skin ripped but received no reaction as she curled the bandaged palm of her hand over the child's mouth to suppress the sounds of fear. Adeline kept the girl close, pulling her into her side as her eyes searched underneath the cars for her family. She was quick to find a scared Carl by himself, guilt running deeply through her veins but was replaced with calamity when she realized Rick was beneath the car next to his son.

It wasn't long before she found her husbands worried stare, his eyes full of fear as the walkers growls grew louder by the second. Adeline breathed a deep breath to calm her nerves, shaking her head quickly when Shane started to crawl out from underneath the car he sat under with Glenn. Motioning her hand for him to stay, she pointed towards the walkers feet that passed by the car she and Sophia were underneath. Tearing her eyes away from him, she caught Carol staring helplessly at her, the emotion of fear yet gratefulness flowing through her veins at the sight of Sophia being with the woman.

Just as the little girl let out another whimper, Adeline moved her eyes to a walker who slowed its steps at the base of her car. "Shh, babygirl." She whispered, raising her body slightly and digging her knees farther into the concrete.

It went silent for a second, no footsteps passing by the car. At this, Sophia stuck her hand out that held her doll and began to crawl out. But just as she did, a loud growl ripped through the tense air - a walker falling to the ground and clawing for the kids arm which was followed by a loud shriek. Acting out of instinct, Adeline was quick to pull Sophia back and out of the other side of the car. Confronted with the railing, she carefully crawled over it and lifted the girl over before the two of them hurriedly made their way down the steep hill.

Keeping her hand curled around Sophias wrist, Adeline glanced back and found three walkers on their heels. Just as she did that - the child stumbled over a root sticking out of the ground and fell to the ground. Adrenaline took pursuit, fueling every decision Adeline made from there on out. "Come on, come on!" She yelled - hoisting the girl to her chest. Sophia wrapped her legs around the women's waist and secured her arms against the back of her neck.

The sudden pull of weight resulted in her limp returning, which no doubt slowed them down. There was no pain that resulted in the fast pace run, but Adeline guessed that was from the rush of adrenaline coursing through her. Taking a sharp turn, she lost the walkers on their tail just as her body slammed into another. Sending the two of them to the ground, Adeline looked over Sophias shoulder and found Rick looking at them with panicked eyes.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt?" He questioned hurriedly, pulling the girl off of his sister and checking her for injuries. "I... I made Shane stay." He informed, pants of breath leaving his mouth as he looked to Adeline who swallowed her remarks and nodded.

"Shoot them!" Sophia squealed, reaching over Rick and for his gun on his side. Wrapping her hands around the kids arm, Adeline pulled her back - "Sophia, we can't. That'll only attract more, alright?" She questioned, brushing the blonde hair back on the kid.

Looking back to Rick, the sudden noise of branches and twigs snapping alerted the siblings. "You get her." Adeline instructed, digging her fingers into the soft dirt beneath her and pulling herself up from the ground. Her brother swooped Sophia up in his arms, motioning for Adeline to follow him which she did after grabbing one of the throwing knives and keeping it curled in her grasp.

They reached a small cliff, a creek greeting them with open arms as water coated her jeans when she jumped into the substance after Rick, watching while he made Sophia stay hidden underneath an overgrown root that covered a gap. Reluctantly, the girl did so with her doll gripped tightly in her hands. Leaving the two siblings to deal with three lone walkers, Sophia stayed in the shadows as they led the stalkers away from her.

One fell into the creek bed, which gave Adeline the opportunity to slam the small blade of the knife into its head that laid in front of her feet. It's dark blood splattered across her hand, tugging the knife out and retreating it back to her side as Rick pulled her along with him to deal with the other two. It wasn't long before they found themselves hidden behind two trees in a small clearing, her brother holding a large rock in his hand while she held the small knife in hers.

They waited for the twigs to snap and growls to flow through the infected air. And when the stalkers entered the trap they had set up, Adeline sprung out from the tree and tackled the walker to the wet ground as Rick dealt with his own. Mud marked her pale skin, her nails digging into the rotted flesh of the walkers neck as she tightened her grip on her knife and slammed it into its mushy brain. Unfortunately enough, the blade was small, which meant it didn't kill it on her first try. A grunt left her lips as she ripped it back out of its head - the blood splattering against her face as she roared it back down into the middle of its forehead.

Underneath her, the walkers growls ceased and it fell limp. Adrenaline faded away, causing the small pain from her ankle to greet her while she rolled off of the walker and onto the wet grass. Adelines chest heaved up and down, uneven breaths leaving her lips and spreading her arms out while connecting her eyes with the evening sky. Ricks head was quick to block out the orange color blending with blue, reaching his hand out for his sister to grab.

"Still think it's a matter of time before I die?" The question slipped past her lips as she pulled herself up with the help of her brother. Rick chuckled lightly at her words, throwing his arms around her shoulders and trapping her into a hug. "Shut up," He muttered while her arms tightened around his back.

The siblings trekked the path back to the highway, keeping the fading sun on their left shoulders. The once clean throwing knife Adeline held was stained with blood, her skin and clothes marked with mud and the crimson red as well. Exhaustion etched onto their faces as Rick helped her up the hill, a sudden wave of worried voices greeting them. As she crawled over the railing, before she could even look up, a pair of buff arms slung around her waist and held her close.

"You ever pull a stunt like that again..." The familiar voice of Shane Walsh greeted her in a warmth of welcome, his voice whisking into her ears as she breathed deeply. Slowly, Adeline wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled herself further into his hold. Tucking her head into his chest, his fingers tangled up in her hair. But it wasn't until the soft voice of Carol pulled her away,

"WHERE'S SOPHIA?"