AN: I know that some of you that have been following my other stories may be wondering why I've posted another one rather than a new chapter to my current stories. The new chapters are on their way, I promise! This is one story though that just kept prodding away at me and wouldn't let me rest until I put it down on paper, so to speak. Anyway, here it is - a little different, but I hope you enjoy it just the same.
Carol Peletier trudged wearily through the sparse woodland searching for fallen twigs and sticks that they could use to make a fire with wherever they decided to make camp with later that night. Although the days had been pleasantly warm of late; the Georgia nights had a way of sometime turning very cool when you were camped out on the road with no shelter other than a few parked cars.
Carol had been surprised when Andrea had asked her to accompany her – Andrea had never been one to actively seek out Carol's company before so Carol was naturally curious as to why she had asked her now.
"So, Andrea…." She started to ask the other woman and laughed a little when Andrea turned around with a look of surprise on her face. "Yes, she speaks; so why'd you want to drag me away from the others? What's going on that you couldn't say in front of the rest?"
"Well; I was wondering whether you wanted to tell me what's going on between you and Merle. I've seen the dirty looks and heard the snide comments that he's been shooting you for the past couple of months. Do the two of you have a history that I don't know about? Was there a pass made that the other turned down? They've gotten a lot worse since Ed and Sophia – before them he just used to stare at you as if you weren't even there – now it seems as if you're his worst enemy." Andrea dropped all pretence of bringing Carol out to collect firewood and revealed the real reason behind her invitation. Andrea was no dumb blonde, far from it; in her life before she had been a successful attorney specialising in civil rights cases. She had received training during her college years on how to detect small nuances in a person's facial expressions to be able to detect when they were lying or trying to hide the truth. She could see those small nuances now as Carol shifted uncomfortably on her feet and tried to fob her off.
"No, no history with Merle as such. I mean – I knew his brother for a little while whilst I was living in Northern Georgia just after college. I must have been twenty two, coming up to twenty three at the time."
"Merle has a brother? I wonder why he's never mentioned him to me..." Andrea let the fact that there was more to the story than Carol had let on slip her by as she focused on the fact that Merle had a brother. They had been sleeping together for months now and not once had he ever spoken of having any family at all. It was strange to believe that the two of them had ever ended up together in the first place. If this had been her old life she would have never given the tough looking redneck a passing glance; but this wasn't her old life and it hadn't been for nearly ten months now.
It had been nine months, sixteen days and thirteen hours to be exact. That was how long it had been since Andrea had opened the hotel room door to see the manager trying to eat the sweet old lady from the next room; who had just popped out to get some ice. Andrea had screamed and ran back into the room to wake her sister Amy. They had grabbed what they could and hit the road running; and they were running still. They had joined a group that were headed up to Atlanta to the CDC; hoping to find someone with some answers. They had found the CDC alright but no answers and suffered heavy losses along the way; Jim, Jacqui, Ed, Amy, Sophia, Dale and finally Shane.
Shane – big, brash, loud mouth Shane, former deputy sheriff and best friend to their groups' leader, Rick. Shane, who had left Rick for dead back in an Atlanta hospital where Rick was lying in a coma after getting shot in the line of duty. Shane, who had then told Rick's wife, Lori that Rick was dead and then proceeded to sleep with her, possibly leaving her pregnant to boot. Shane – who had then tried to kill Rick when he showed up looking for his wife and son; and then was killed by Rick trying his best to protect the group. Shane – who had promised to take Andrea away on the road with him and then broken that promise by dying on her.
"God, this is like some shitty soap opera being played out and you can't change the channel." Andrea muttered under her breath as she kicked at the dirt beneath her feet. Carol looked over and raised an eyebrow questioningly.
"What was that?" Carol was puzzled at the sudden change of subject. Andrea bent to pick up a stick and used it to gesture broadly at the scenery around them.
"You, me all of this. Rick, Shane and Lori – the baby. Me hooking up with the biggest badass this side of the Mississippi and then finding out that the two of you have a history. One big, shitty soap opera."
"I told you already. I don't have a history with Merle; I hardly knew the guy. I dated his brother for about eight months nearly twenty years ago – I think I met Merle twice in all that time; it was when he was in the Army and he was home on leave for one of the times."
"See – I didn't even know that he was in the Army!" Andrea paced around in a tight circle and then whirled around, pointing her finger at Carol. "Hah! You've already changed your story from simply 'knew him' to 'dated him'. Any other little tidbits that you'd like to share? Come on, Carol be a girl for once and let me have all the juicy details." Andrea plopped herself on a fallen log and propped her head in her hand waiting expectantly, when Carol didn't respond she added – "Okay, I'll give you a hint; this is where you tell me whether he was older or younger, whether he was a dreamboat or a douchebag…." Andrea's voice trailed off as she saw Carol's face getting tightly pinched and lips pursed together with anger. Carol seemed to be trying to hold herself together and then must have decided to let it all out in one fell swoop.
"Look Andrea I don't know what kind of sick, twisted game you and Merle have going on here, but I want no part of it. Yes, I knew Merle before all of this shit happened but it was a part of my life that I didn't particularly want aired before the rest of the group – it was way before I met Ed and I was a completely different person back then. Come to think of it, why should I want to tell you anything about my past anyway? We're hardly friends are we? You've always thought of me as a snivelling weak widow woman unable to defend herself or those around her. You've never even noticed that I hit more targets than you do during our practise sessions and anything I tell you would probably make its way directly back to Merle; so excuse me if I don't want to play Oprah with you right now; frankly, I've got better things to do with my time." Carol was practically spitting out the words as she reached the end of her angry tirade. Her whole body was vibrating with the force of her fury as she flicked Andrea the finger as she stomped her way back to where their vehicles were parked along the Highway.
"Well – it looks as though the little kitten can roar after all. Hmmm…where's the little Mousey now, Merle?" Andrea shook her head in amazement as she recalled Carol's anger; it had been the first time that Carol had even shown that she was capable of expressing anything apart from the calm, almost tepid temperament that she had been presenting ever since she had come to terms with losing her only daughter. She had always seemed so subservient whenever her husband, Ed had been around and Andrea knew all too well what a vicious temper he'd had; having witnessed Ed backhanding Carol when they were all camped out at the quarry earlier in the year. Andrea rose to her feet and knelt down to gather a few fallen sticks in an attempt to make it seem like that was her purpose for coming into the woods and made her way back to the Highway.
"Note to self – don't make Carol angry; and also keep an eye on her pistol skills to see whether she really is better than me with her target practise." Andrea made a mental note to keep an eye on Carol over the next couple of days just to see if what she had said was really true.
