salvation → g. rhee

what lies ahead

Daryl, on his motorcycle, swerved in and out of the lanes lazily ahead of the RV. Shane and Aubrey had ditched the jeep when it broke down, and now they rode in the RV as well.

Aubrey sat at the table, cleaning her pistol. Andrea watched as she put a long, thin wire brush down the barrel.

"Looks complicated."

"Nah. The real trick is just learning how to put all the pieces back together," she replied without looking up from her work.

"That's my girl," Shane said in a proud, quiet voice.

"Hey -" Shane nudged her. "Show 'er how you can do it."

Aubrey nodded and took the gun apart, laying all the pieces on the table. She looked up at Andrea.

"You ready?"

"Sure," Andrea nodded. Like she was being timed, Aubrey put the gun back together in a matter of seconds.

"Impressive," she said, as Shane clapped his daughter on the shoulder.

"I taught her that," he said, the proud note in his voice once again.

"I could clean yours. Show you how," Aubrey offered.

When Andrea said nothing, she reached down and pulled Andrea's handgun from the duffle bag. She checked the safety and held it up like she was going to take a shot.

"Oh, yeah," Aubrey muttered, lowering it to the table. "Sweet piece."

"It was a gift," Andrea told her, holding her chin in her hands, "From my father."

Both Aubrey and Shane looked up to her as she spoke.

"He gave it to me before Amy and I took off on a road trip. Said two girls on their own should be able to defend themselves..."

"Smart man, your father," Shane said, his eyebrows raised.

"Look, it's a limited capacity, you see?" Aubrey said, holding the gun aloft. "Only holds seven rounds -"

"Oh, geez," Dale groaned from the driver's seat.

Aubrey turned around in her seat to see what was happening. They had come across a major traffic jam of abandoned cars, most with their doors left open and some somehow tipped on their sides. Glenn let out a breath as Daryl drove up to Dale's window on his bike.

"See a way through?" Dale asked.

Daryl glanced over his shoulder and looked up at Dale before jerking his head over his shoulder. Dale nodded as Daryl drove around the back of the RV. Dale drove forward carefully.

"Uh, maybe we should just go back," Glenn suggested, looking up from the map in his lap. "There's an interstate bypass-"

"Can't spare the fuel," Dale interrupted.

Aubrey got up and squatted between the two front seats, her keen eyes traveling over every car they passed.

"Jesus," T-Dog breathed.

"Can we even get through here?" Glenn asked.

Aubrey cried out and fell back on her ass as a burst of steam suddenly exploded from the front of the van. Dale groaned, while Glenn looked over his shoulder at Aubrey sprawled on the floor, and laughed. She gave him a death glare and batted the bill of his hat down over his eyes as she sat up again.

Dale got out of the RV, followed by Shane and a shotgun, Glenn, Aubrey with her pistol, and T-Dog.

"I said it. Didn't I say it," he grumbled, making his way to the front of the RV. "A thousand times," he carried on, looking at the steam that continued to pour through the grill. "Dead in the water."