Amanda pressed her forehead against the screen door for so long she felt the pattern engrave on her forehead and cheek. Soft, warm tears flowed down her face and were greeted by the harsh winter wind. She pulled her forehead off the screen door, glancing over her shoulder at Shane, who was lying down on a sleeping bag, asleep.
It had been three months since Shane had been brutally impaled by the rebar.
Due to the lack of medical care, Shane's recovery was devastatingly slow. So, they made camp in a small town, living into an abandoned home - in an abandoned gated community.
Amanda walked over to Shane, kneeling down beside him, "Shane?" She whispered, tapping his chest
"Still alive." Shane mumbled, which was what he said quite often nowadays - as a subtle reminder to himself and Amanda
"I know." Amanda said softly, "I'm gonna go scavenge." She whispered
"Take the pistol." Shane said softly, keeping his eyes closed
"No, I'm gonna take the bow. You need the pistol in case anything happens. You're weak, you need the firepower more than I do." Amanda said quietly
Shane finally opened his eyes, staring at Amanda with his dark brown eyes, "Take the pistol." He ordered, rather than asked
"No." Amanda said, "I'll be back within an hour." She promised, standing up. She walked over to the corner of the room, where she kept her items. After spending several years with Daryl, she learned how to create makeshift arrows. Finding a bow just happened to be a gift from God. Or Gods Pity. Either way, Amanda was grateful nonetheless.
Amanda laced up her boots before she slid on her parka, walking outside of the home. She locked the front door, placing the key on a necklace. She covered the door with fallen tree branches before she made her way down the driveway.
She listened to the snow crunch beneath her feet, her mind wandering over to Rick. She recalled when they walked around Rick's neighborhood, in search of Lori and Carl. She recalled how her heart yearned for his affection. For his love.
Amanda walked down the sidewalk, making her way to the woods. She exhaled softly, looking at the way her breath turned white. Amanda crouched down, lifting up some leaves, smiling when she saw some rabbits caught in her makeshift trap.
She grabbed them, strapping them to her belt before she continued down the path. She touched the trees, looking at her red and dried knuckles. She inhaled softly as she continued down the path, making her way to a small gas station. She made her way to the auto hobby section, crouching down and fumbling for the latch to the massive metal gate. She grabbed the cold steel before she pulled the gate open, revealing a beat up old blue truck. She walked to a red tool box, opening it and pulling out a set of keys that were buried underneath a set of tools.
Amanda climbed into the car, closing the door quickly. She put the key in the ignition before she pulled down the visor, looking at herself in the small mirror. She could hardly tell who was staring back at her.
Her once full and plump cheeks were now hollowed out, the tip of her nose and the apples of her cheeks rosy from the harsh winter air.
Her eyebrows had grown out nicely and were a bit thicker since she wasn't able to do small mindless self care tasks like shave and tweeze.
Amanda stared at herself in the mirror, her once bright green eyes now dark, her face sunken and riddled with depression.
"My name is Amanda Grimes. I'm married to Rick Grimes. I'm 30. I lived in a small community named Alexandria. I have a son named Carl and a daughter named Judith." She said, staring at her reflection, almost as if she was trying to convince herself that was the truth. As the days went on, she found it extremely hard to find a reason to keep living. She had been away from Rick for about three months. She tried to soothe herself by reminding herself that Rick's survived years in the apocalypse before - what are the chances that he would die in the three months they've been separated?
The thought often calmed Amanda. But not all the time.
She recalled how God was cruel and how unfortunate things happen more often than not. With shaky hands, she shifted the gear and drove out of the garage. She exhaled softly as she drove down the roads, her eyes flickering around, keeping a watchful eye since there was a lot of wildlife in the area. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a young man, maybe around the age 14. He was limping, his clothes tattered and his knuckles battered.
Against her better judgement, Amanda stopped the truck. She couldn't help it. His dark hair thick hair covered in snow, her heart sunk, this young boy almost a spitting image of Duane, "Get in." She said
The young boy didn't hesitate to climb into the truck, "Thank you so much." He said, "I'm sorry." He said, pulling a knife from his pocket, holding it up towards Amanda, awkwardly
Amanda looked at the young boy, laughing softly, "What are you doing?"
"Robbing you." The boy said
"What's your name?" Amanda asked him
"Shut up! Give me your rabbits." The boy said angrily
"Okay." Amanda said, unhooking the rabbits from her belt. She gave the boy one, "My names Amanda." She said
"I don't care." The boy said, taking the rabbit, "What else have you got?!"
"Hey, relax." Amanda said calmly, "It's just you and I." She said soothingly, "I have water, too. Are you thirsty?" She asked, "Can I take a look at your leg? I noticed you were limping. It's too cold for you to be moving slow." She said
The boy lowered his knife, looking at Amanda, "Why're you being nice to me?"
"You remind me of a boy I know." Amanda said
"He dead?" The boy inquired
"Yeah." Amanda said softly, "His name was Duane."
"Stupid name." The boy retorted
Amanda laughed softly, "Yeah? Is your name better?"
"Yeah. Names Dylan." He muttered
"Are you alone?" Amanda asked
"Yeah. It's just me." Dylan said softly
"Why don't you stay with me?" Amanda asked softly, "It's me and my friend, Shane. We're camped up a few miles down the road." She said
"I'll kill you if you try any weird shit." Dylan warned
Amanda laughed again, holding up her pinky, "No weird stuff." She promised
Dylan linked their pinkies, "Okay." He said, a weight lifting from his shoulders, feeling relieved that he found someone who seemed normal
Amanda drove back to the house, "Come on." She said, climbing out of the car. She led the boy up the stairs, giving the door three knocks, spacing them all out evenly by 3 seconds.
Shane unlocked the door, looking at Amanda with soft eyes, "Whose kid?"
"This is my friend Dylan." Amanda said, walking inside the small home, "Dylan, this is Shane."
Dylan gave Shane a curt nod, standing in Amanda's shadow
Amanda handed Shane the rabbits to skin and cook, "I'm gonna help Dylan get settled." She said, leading Dylan to one of the rooms on the first floor, "Shane and I typically sleep in the living room. You can have this bedroom. We have extra blankets and stuff." Amanda said
Dylan sat on the edge of the bed, taking off his orange backpack, "What happened to that guy?"
"Shane?" Amanda asked, "He fell and landed on a pole. He's been recovering."
"He looks like an ass." Dylan said
Amanda laughed, "He can be." She admitted
"He your boyfriend?" Dylan asked
"No. I have a husband." Amanda said
"A real husband or a dead husband?" Dylan questioned
"Real. We got separated a few months ago. We ran into some trouble and got separated." Amanda said
"How do you know he's alive?" Dylan asked
"Hope." Amanda admitted
"How did you guys get separated?" Dylan asked
"We ran into trouble." Amanda said, "We were in a little community. Alexandria."
"I've never heard of a community around." Dylan said curiously, "Where?"
"Culpepper." Amanda said
"In Virginia? Dylan asked, "How'd you end up all the way across Washington?"
"Huh?" Amanda asked
"Yeah. Culpepper is like.. Four hours away." Dylan said, "If you've got a map, I can show you."
Amanda scrambled to her bag, reaching inside and grabbing a map. She sat on the bed besides Dylan, her hands trembling
"This is where we are." Dylan explained, "This is Culpepper." He said, "Are you geographically challenged?" He joked
Amanda felt nauseous, "Dylan. You're sure?"
"Yeah. I'm not stupid. Are you?" Dylan asked
"I think so." Amanda said, "Listen, we do not tell Shane. If you can keep quiet, I'll take you to Alexandria. We have walls, gardens, animals - heat, AC, electricity."
Dylan stared at Amanda unsure, but nodded, "You swear?" He asked, holding out his pinky
"Swear." Amanda said sincerely, linking their pinkies
Shane knocked on the doorframe moments later, "I got dinner cooked." He said, his eyes darting between the two
Amanda let go of Dylan's hand, nodding as she stood up, leading Dylan to the kitchen table.
Dinner was eaten in silence for a plethora of reasons. Reason one being that Amanda was trying to come up with a plan on how to leave. Reason two being that Dylan was demolishing his food, too occupied to speak.
Once everything had been cleaned up and taken care of, Amanda volunteered to take first watch. Of course, Dylan stayed awake with her.
Shane sat at the table, watching as Amanda braided Dylan's curly hair, giving him cornrows to keep them out of his face. Shane had taken his regular dosage of pain medication, which left him feeling drowsy.
Dylan was on the ground, between Amanda's legs, staring at Shane as he let Amanda do his hair, his body limp, feeling safe in Amanda's embrace
"I think I'm gonna call it a night." Shane said, standing up
"Okay." Amanda smiled, "Goodnight, Shane."
"Goodnight, darlin'." Shane said, walking to the room, giving Dylan and Amanda privacy
Amanda inhaled deeply as she focused her attention back on Dylan, "One hour. We collect our stuff and we go."
Dylan nodded, not really paying attention due to being distracted by how good it felt to be touched by someone - to be held, to have his hair being done. The littlest thing making him feel revived.
After about an hour, Amanda and Dylan collected whatever they could, leaving Shane with enough to get by.
"You're the navigator." Amanda said
"Obviously." Dylan said, getting in the passengers seat, "You were with this dude for months and had no idea where you were?" He asked
"Shut up." Amanda grunted as she started the car, speeding off down the road. Her hands trembled in anticipation as she imagined her sweet reunion with her husband