Life's a Challenge
"Chapter 1"
Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead, it belongs to AMC and Mr Robert Kirkman, no copyright infringement is intended in the writing of this fan fiction.
The one thing I love about the woods is that it gives you a place to hide out for a few hours and this what I did on occasion. The backwoods of northern Georgia was beautiful, filled with tall tree, plants, and animals and stream that ran for miles and if I could I would live out here in the trees forever. My name is Charlotte "Charlie" Dixon and I'm eleven years old, I have dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
My mother was a waitress at a bar my father often goes to, they dated for awhile and they married and nine months later I was born. I don't remember much about her, she left when I was a year old. I have two half brothers Daryl and Merle who I loved very much. I wouldn't call my father a good man, he was a drunk who abused us. Merle was the first to leave and I hated it and I know Daryl did to.
"Charlie" I could hear my brothers calling me to come out of hiding.
I was at home alone and I was hungry and our father often times spent all his money on beer and whiskey, I gone through the cupboards and found some bread and some peanut butter and I had made a bit of a mess and had not counted on him coming home before I finished cleaning up, he was drunk and got very angry. He had slapped me hard across the face and whipped me with his belt.
"Charlie!" I heard Merle call for me to come out of hiding"I know your up there" I looked down and saw the two staring up at me, I was in the tree house that they had built for me a year or so ago.
"Come down Little Squirrel" I heard my brother Daryl call me by the nickname he often gives me, he says it cause I run around climbing trees like a little squirrel. I can't tell you how many scratched up elbows and knees and sprained limbs these two had to deal with.
"I made daddy mad" I told them. "He hit me"
"We saw the mess you made, ya gonna come down and clean it up, I'll help ya" Daryl offered.
"I was hungry and daddy spent all the money on his drink" I said as I climbed down the rope ladder "I tried to clean it up before he got home"
A week later I was watching the news and it was talking about incidents of people biting and attempting to eat other people. At a funeral in Savannah a man had died and woke up during the funeral and attacked the priest. Officials told the news that it was just people on drugs or bath salts, nothing strange was going on. To weeks later there were more reports of the dead coming back to life. Officials were trying to keep people calm and to report anything to local police.
"Daddy" I asked my father, he was on his third beer and already yelling at the tv. "You don't think the dead will come and hurt us will they"
"No, besides why would they eat and ugly thing like you" my father laughed.
"I'm not ugly daddy" I told him hurt by his words.
"Brat! If I say ya ugly, you ugly!" My father told me, he sounded annoyed "Got me!"
"Yes" I told him trying not to cry, Dixon's didn't cry.
"Get me another beer" He ordered, I went to the refrigerator and grabbed one from the refrigerator, I was tempted to shake it but didn't do it.
In the coming weeks things were getting worse and worse and government officials were at a loss of what to. I turned on the radio and I heard an emergency broadcast telling people to remain calm and to head for Atlanta, there they would find food, shelter and medical attention if needed. I was scared, I went to the door to make sure it was secure outside I could see people packing their belongings.
"Charlie!" I heard the sound of my brother Daryl calling me.
"What is it?" I stepped out of the bedroom we both shared.
"Get packed, grab as much as you can" Daryl told me and saw my face "It's going to be ok, just stay calm and hurry"
"Where's daddy" I asked him. I saw the look on his face and I knew, he was dead.
We packed clothes, camping gear and food and headed to town, we could see other people doing the same leaving fleeing their homes. On the way I saw bodies laying in the street and this scared me, Daryl told me not to panic and to keep the door locked and the window closed. We were meeting Merle at the bike shop, he wasn't about to leave without his motorcycle.
"Hey Lil Squirrel" Daryl walked up to me as I was putting my shoes on outside our tent "I asked Mrs Grimes to watch out for you while I go hunting and Merle goes to Atlanta. We had joined up with another group of survivors at a quarry miles outside of Atlanta.
"I want to go with you" I told him.
"Nah I need you to stay here and be good, Mrs Grimes is making sure her son continues his education I asked her to give you some schoolwork also" Daryl told me grabbing his crossbow.
"School yuck" I told him, he gave me one of those do what I tell you looks.
"Go on, I'll be back tomorrow, I'll bring you a rabbit" Daryl told me and I watched as he stepped into the woods.
I was bored the entire afternoon, I hated math and I hated school. Carl and Sophia were nice and after lessons we ran around the camp, played cards and just hung out. It was nice having friends, I didn't have many back home. A car alarm had caught our attention and we watched as Glenn got out of the car and told everyone that they others were on there way. I watched as a white van drove up minutes later. I watched as Andrea, Morales, T-Dog, Jacqui greet the others, I heard Carl call someone dad and saw him run up to some guy in a police uniform.
"Where's my brother" I asked. That night around the campire I sat in silence, I couldn't eat, Mrs Grimes tried to give me some food but I simply refused to take any of it. Rick had explained what had happened and I know my brother Merle can be a pain but he didn't deserve to be left like that.
"Have you all given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale asked that night while we sat around the camp fire. "He's not gonna be happy his brother got left behind"
"I dropped the key." T-Dog said. "It's on me."
"I'm the one who cuffed him to the roof." Rick interjected. "That makes it mine"
"Guys, it's not a competition." Glenn said. "I don't mean to bring race into this, and" He looked over at me. "but I think it might sound better coming from a white guy."
"I did what I did." T-Dog said. "Hell if I'm gonna hide from it."
"We could lie." Amy said, her eyes on me.
"Or tell the truth." Andrea's eyes were also on me. "Merle was outta control. If someone hadn't done something, he would've gotten us all killed." Andrea's eyes went from mine to Lori's. "Your husband did what was necessary, and if Merle got left behind it was no one's fault but Merle's."
"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asked, shaking his head. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you?"
He looked around. "Word to the wise: we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."
"He's going to be pi...really mad" I told them.
"I'm really sorry Charlie" T-Dog gave me a smile. "I was scared and I ran"
"We were all scared." Andrea said. "We all ran. What's your point?"
"I stopped long enough to chain that door." T-Dog replied. "That staircase is narrow, only half dozen geeks could squeeze in there at one time, and that ain't enough to break through it. Not that chain, not that padlock. My point is, Dixon's alive. He's still up there handcuffed to that roof. And that's on all of us."
"Why don't you stay with us tonight" Mrs Grimes suggested. "I don't think you should be alone"
"I really am sorry" Rick told me. "I promise to back to get him in the morning"
I spent the early morning in the RV reading, I couldn't eat breakfast I felt sick was worry about my brother having to the spend the night handcuffed to a roof, anything could of happened to him during the night, I hoped he was still alive. Rick told me last night they he would go back and get him, I hoped he was telling the truth.
"Merle! Charlie!" I heard the voice of my brother Daryl shout. "Merle! Charlie! get your ugly asses out here! I got us some squirrels; let's stew 'em up!"
"Daryl!" I ran out of the RV and walked up to him, he saw the look on my face.
"What did you do?" Daryl put down his crossbow and looked at me like I had committed some huge crime.
"Nothing" I told him.
"Its...about Merle" I told him nervously.
"What happened?" Daryl asked.
TO BE CONTINUED