CHAPTER EIGHT
NOWHERE TO GO

season two, episode one

JUST LIKE THAT, the group is back to square one. No more roof over their head or a safe place to go to sleep, they've been thrown back out into the real world a lot quicker than they thought. Charlotte should've known not to grow comfortable, it never brings anything good in today's current climate — being comfortable makes you vulnerable. It's an unfortunate lesson that many have learned the hard way, she still sees Jim's sickly face and Amy's lifeless eyes.

There is even times she'll look down at her hands and see smudges of red, blood coating her skin and reminding her of the walker she'd had a close call with not too long ago.

Charlotte had opted to go in the RV with some of the others, mostly so that she could hide away in the corner for a while and gather her own thoughts. Her eyes find the spot where both Jacqui and Jim had once been, the woman fretting over the bitten man because she cared for him — she was a lovely woman, she cared for them all, and now she's gone too. The only ounce of solace Charlotte gets from what happened to Jacqui is the fact she felt no pain and it was her own choice, it wasn't ripped from her by a cruel act of nature.

The teenager can hear the quiet chatter from across the RV, Shane seemingly taking it upon himself to teach Andrea how to properly load a gun. It's so odd to her that people just have weapons lying around, back home the only time she'd ever seen one was on an officer — which would explain Rick and Shane but not everybody else. There were occasions when she was on the way to practice and would odd looks for holding her bow, she can only imagine what it's like over there right now. Charlotte's parents had never been ones for violence, each a peacemaker in their own right, it's more likely they'd run then fight.

Leaning her head back against the window, Charlotte watches the adults as they disassemble and then promptly reassemble the weapons. Shane is an expert at it, shown by his quick time, whilst Andrea seems to have no real idea about how to use the thing. A loaded gun in the hands of an inexperienced user is dangerous, any weapon really. He'd poor instructor had ended up with an arrow in his foot one day, one of the new archers unable to aim with the precision of others. The last thing she wants is a bullet lodged in her because people are using things they shouldn't.

Charlotte frowns when she hears the RV make some sort of noise, not a good one, and they come to an abrupt halt. There are a few words coming from Dale who has been driving the vehicle, the older man pushing up from his seat and rushing out the door as soon as he opens it. Glenn follows after him, Andrea and Shane moving less urgently.

Begrudgingly, Charlotte makes her way down the steps, sheath of arrows over her shoulder and bow in hand.

"Can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," she just catches T-Dog's words as she joins the group.

Hundreds of cars are littered over the road, each of them once belonging to somebody who is mostly walking amongst the dead now. It feels almost like an intrusion, like they'll be disturbing the dead if they go through their things, but it's a necessary evil. They need food, water, clothes — anything that will help them survive.

"This is a graveyard. I don't know how I feel about this," Lori airs her thoughts, the same ones that linger within Charlotte's mind, and everybody goes silent just for a few moments.

Despite the woman's words, they do separate off into groups in order to search through the cars. Charlotte sticks with Lori, Carol, Carl and Sophia rather than go off on her own, it's definitely the safer alternative. Her eyes do catch a woman in one of the cars, her body slumped over the steering wheel. Hooking her arm over Sophia's shoulder, she guides the girl's attention elsewhere so she doesn't have to see it.

"Maybe we can find some more books or something to read," Charlotte comments, smiling down at the younger girl who nods her head. "Or a friend for your doll there,"

"Maybe some hair ties so you can braid my hair again," Sophia replies, eager to have her hair styled again.

"Of course. We can try a fishtail braid this time, my mum was teaching me that back home just before I left. One of my little cousins had it done for some school presentation,"

The two of them, along with Carl who lags behind just slightly, begin to search some of the cars. Charlotte opens a few bags and peers inside, finding some scrunched up clothing and empty water bottles. She does collect some of the clothes even though they might not be her size, somebody else here may benefit from them.

The girl jumps slightly when Sophia appears right beside her with a grin on her face. "Close your eyes,"

"That's not suspicious at all. Alright," Charlotte says in amusement, closing her eyes.

"Okay. Hold your arm out,"

Charlotte does as instructed, Sophia grabbing onto it and sliding something onto her wrist. She can already tell it's a bracelet of some kind, the metal of it cool against her skin. She pretends like she doesn't know though, the excitement that had been on Sophia's face being enough to deter her from saying anything about it.

"Open your eyes!" Sophia speaks again, her smiling face the first thing that Charlotte sees when her full range of vision returns. "I found it in one of the bags,"

Charlotte looks down at her wrist to see a beautiful silver bracelet, a few flower charms along it. It is certainly jewelry that would be of some value, the metal glistening underneath the light of the sun. Charlotte returns the girl's grin and hugs her tightly. "Thanks Soph, it's beautiful,"

Sophia goes to speak when Charlotte hears a hushed yet urgent whisper coming from behind them. Rick is gesturing for them all to get down, the teen's eyebrows furrowing in confusion until she looks past him to see a herd of walkers making their way to them. Charlotte grabs her bow and slides underneath one of the cars but not before making sure Sophia had gotten under first.

The dreadful sounds of the dead echo throughout her ears, her heart beating erratically in her chest. Charlotte can just see their feet as they pass by the car she lays beneath, a slow drag of limbs as the walkers move by. Sophia is trembling to her right, hands practically squeezing the life out of her doll as she tries to keep her composure.

It feels like hours as they lay there, Charlotte watching as the number slowly begins to dwindle away until it's only a few stragglers. She'll still wait until Rick signals for them to roll out before she does, better safe than sorry.

Charlotte looks to give Sophia some sort of encouragement, turning her head but freezing up in shock. A walker is leaning down beside the car, hand reaching underneath towards them. The younger girl acts out of instinct, kicking out at the threat before crawling out despite Charlotte's best efforts to stop her. The brunette watches Sophia make a break for the woods and makes a split second decision that she probably wouldn't have made if she had more time — she grabs her bow and rolls out, following the direction that Sophia had just gone.

Navigation has never been her strong suit, it's not a skill she's ever had to use, so finding Sophia will be like finding a needle in a haystack. She simply darts off in a forward direction, hoping that she'll run into the girl and they'll be able to go from there.

Sticks crunch beneath her feet as she runs, the sound of heavy footsteps likely something that'll draw in the walker that had chased after Sophia. It's better if they come after Charlotte, at least she has a weapon to defend herself with. She stops after a few minutes, sucking in big breaths to try and satisfy her lungs which are burning for air, sweat dripping down the side of her face.

To her left there is a slow bit of movement, one that she's heard many times. Hiding behind a tree, she strings up the bow and looks around zeroing in on the walker as trudges closer. It's not the one she'd seen follow Sophia which is worrying, there are more of them than originally thought. Following its movements for a few moments, she steadies her aim and fires straight into its skull. A shaky breath leaves her lips as it falls to the ground in a heap.

She has absolutely no time to relish in her accomplishment because she hears more coming — more than one person can handle on her own. Turning on her heel, Charlotte makes a run for it, dodging through the bushes and trees rather clumsily. Her shoes get caught in the foliage a few times but she pushes through regardless, ignoring the stinging that begins to appear in her toes.

A string of curse words fall from her lips as she the girl tumbles this time, landing awkwardly on her ankle. A pained screech follows, tears welling up in her eyes as she sits there. Thankfully, the walkers were nowhere near as fast and have seemingly lost her amongst the trees, because the pain radiating is definitely a hindrance on her ability to fight back right now.

"Bloody hell," Charlotte whimpers, holding onto her sore ankle as it throbs. At worst it's likely just a twisted ankle but that doesn't make it any better, the girl pushing herself up with the help of a tree and hobbling in the same direction.

She continues for what feels like days but is only really hours, determined to find Sophia even as her body begins to give up on her. Not only is it still painful to walk on her foot, which has meant a few extra stops on her journey, but Charlotte can feel dehydration settling in. The sun is yet to completely fade away, finishing its way through the leaves and branches to hit the English girl's skin harshly.

"Probably should've left this to Rick," Charlotte grumbles to herself after a while, the man never would have just let Sophia leave without trying to find her. It's not just him, Carol, Lori, Glenn and probably even Shane would try their hardest to track her down. "Idiot,"

Perhaps it a little dramatic but Charlotte feels as if she's going to die right here, in the middle of nowhere, all alone. Looking down at her wrist, at the bracelet she'd been given by Sophia, she bites her lip in sorrow. She hopes they've found her. If there is one observation Charlotte has made about Sophia it's that she's much too kind, too innocent, for such a horrible fate.

The teenager continues to stumble forward until she just can't anymore, collapsing onto the ground and looking up at the sky. The ground beneath her is no longer harsh, instead a more lush feeling like fresh grass, although that may just be something made up by her mind. The sun is so beautiful as it gleams, Charlotte smiling softly even through the exhaustion.

That's where she stays, unable to find the motivation to move. There's noise around her, almost like voices, but Charlotte is simply much too out of it to even decipher the sounds. Instead, she lets the noise guide her into some sort of sleep, her eyes finally closing because all the girl wants is to rest.

"It's a girl!" A voice yells, a thicker accent than she's heard in the time she's been in America. "I think she's passed out,"

Not yet.

The last thing Charlotte remembers is being lifted up off the soft grass, pulled away from the little bit of comfort she'd managed to find. Then she's out, fainting in the arms of a stranger.