"I may have saved her from the monsters that crawl through the dark, but she saved me from the worst monster of all. She rescued me from who I would have become without her, the monster that would have easily conquered my body."
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Reese Chambler...
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I HATE NOT being able to breathe. Having a cold is the worst, when sleeping with your mouth gaping open is the only way to prevent suffocation. I don't like having a tight throat when I am sad. I like being able to breathe.
That's why right now, sitting in the back seat of this car that is moving too fast, I am the most uncomfortable I have ever been in my whole life. I can't breathe.
"What is her name?" Aaron says from the driver's seat without taking his eyes off the endless road in front of us.
His voice cuts through the stuffy silence in this hot car. I shift uncomfortably in my seat, the sweat coating the back of my thighs causes them to stick to the inside of my pants.
I pinch the fabric of my cargo bottoms, rubbing it against my skin trying to relieve an itch. It only irritates my skin even more.
"Meghan," I say as I hug the baby closer to me.
Daryl turns his head slightly and narrows his eyes at Meghan through the mirror of the sun visor that is pulled down in front of him.
He has been staring at Meghan ever since he first laid eyes on her. He seems to be studying her face and it makes me very nervous.
I lift her up off my lap, turn her around to face me, and hug her chest to mine. As she wraps her arms around my neck, Daryl's eyes meet mine through the mirror before he looks out the window catatonically.
The air in the car gets tighter as the minutes crawl by. I try to remain calm, but my chest begins to stiffen and my breathing becomes silently labored as I start to imagine what is waiting for us at the end of this journey.
It had taken a lot of convincing to get me into this car because I almost didn't believe Aaron when he told me he and Daryl had come from a safe zone.
It seems to me that there were no safe places left on this Earth. I once thought the apartment was safe. I thought the prison would be safe, too.
Honestly, going with these men to an unknown location had not been my decision, it was Meghan. If there is any possibility that where we are going is truly secure, then I have to take her there. I know that I wouldn't've been unable to care for her for much longer with her small frame already being very thin and frail.
"You guys are lucky," Aaron continues, "We haven't been this welcoming in a long time."
I remain silent. Meghan sits up, pulling up her bandana. She rolls the pointed end of the green material between two fingers, then tugs on my black bandana.
Her eyes gleam. They seem to say, See? We are the same.
By the time we reach the promised settlement, the sun casts an orange light on those looming metal walls as it sets over the surrounding trees. My heart is racing with anticipation as the car is shut off. The two men get out of the car and head to the trunk to unload their cargo. I hesitate for a few seconds before looking down at the sleeping baby in my arms.
