Tell it to the Frogs
Felicia's head snapped up at the shrill sound that was growing louder from somewhere in the distance. It sounded like a siren, bouncing around the hills and niches of the valley where they were camped, becoming increasingly louder as it got closer.
Teeth's eyes were narrowed, and the mangy dog had already sat up, prepared to investigate. Felicia watched the dog get up and trot in the direction of the sound, and then lowered her eyes once again to return to the clothes she had been folding. Others were perking up at the noise, those meandering around the camp pausing to listen and touch their weapons warily. Seeing as Felicia's only form of protection was deaf in one ear and had just walked off, however, she didn't really have much in the way of that department.
Eventually the sound of engines began to accompany the wailing alarm, a bright red sports car came zooming into the middle of the camp. People were already flocking to its location, and as a smug-looking Glenn stepped out, Felicia covered her ears and followed suit.
As Dale chastised Glenn and several others approached to address the alarm, another vehicle pulled up, this one a van with several more survivors inside. Morales and Andrea eagerly exited, and Amy stopped probing Glenn for information long enough to see them, before rushing to greet her sister, whom she embraced.
T-Dog and Jackie were who Felicia thought would be the last ones out of the van, but to her surprise, there was another man in the vehicle. Felicia eyed this last one nervously for a moment, the sounds of celebration dimming as she assessed the newcomer. Teeth trotted back in her direction, satisfied that there were no Walkers around, and resumed his stance by the clothes line she was addressing. Felicia, tucking her blonde hair behind her ears, set down the clothes she'd been cleaning and slowly approached the rest of the mob. Morales was explaining the party's encounter with the new guy when the man in question got out of the van, responding to Morales's teasing "Helicopter Boy" remark. He was dressed like a police officer, lanky and somewhat out-of-place looking, and he squinted against the sun as he took in the rest of the survivors. Recognition suddenly appeared on his face, and, turning to see what he was staring at, Felicia noticed Carl and Lori gaping back at the cop.
It was only a moment before the trio was embracing, and Felicia, confused but unsurprised, kept her distance, thinking, small world.
Her eyes drifted to Shane for a moment, whose expression was difficult to read, a mix of shock, relief, and… something else. That was brief, however, as he grinned when Rick turned to him, the two friends reunited and problems temporarily forgotten. Felicia watched him for a few seconds longer, thinking unwittingly how much better he looked when he was smiling.
"A picture lasts longer," came a voice from behind her. Felicia turned to see Dale, who had managed to navigate the group and locate the background where she was most comfortable.
"Yeah, well," she replied, smiling and crossing her arms, "I don't see any cameras around here."
Dale chuckled. "Good point."
"So, looks like they made it back all right," remarked Felicia. "And we've got another one- that's good, right?"
Dale shook his head. "Merle."
"Oh," Felicia said, brow furrowing as she realized that they were indeed one short. "Shit."
"No huge loss," Dale said plainly.
"Try telling that to Daryl," Felicia countered, a frown already forming on her face.
Dale sighed. "It's always something, right?"
"I try not to think about it." She shielded her eyes from the sun and watched the group ahead slowly disperse.
Ingrid was in a bad mood. That wasn't saying much, considering she was almost always in a foul mood of late. But being excluded from the main campfire wasn't making her feel great about herself. Her mother and sister were huddled across from her, and Ed was slouched in a folding chair nearby.
She was watching the flames dance in the firepit and listening to Rick Grimes recount his prior adventures to the rest of the group. Her crowbar was on the ground beside her, but she was done looking at it- it was ugly. She was no model, either, but at least she had more purpose than just beating brains out (at least, she hoped).
It wasn't long before a miffed-looking Shane approached the family and asked curtly whether Ed would tone down the fire. A brief debate ensued, but her father soon gave in and told Carol to get to it.
"Mom, no. Let me," Ingrid said, hauling herself to her feet and yanking a log out of the flames. Shane stamped out the runaway embers and Ingrid picked up her crowbar, putting it back into the strap at her waist and moving a bit farther away. Now it was cold, however, and she pulled the sleeves of her sweatshirt over her hands in an attempt to stave it off. Running her fingers through her red curls, she pulled her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on them, allowing her eyes to grow narrow again.
So there was a new guy. Fun. But hey, she didn't have a problem with it. Every man for himself, wasn't that how the saying went? Every damn man for himself.
"Merle!" Daryl Dixon was back, and already looking for his brother. Wouldn't be long now until the blow-up. Felicia was just hoping she could find cover before the volatile, crossbow-wielding goon found out what had really happened to Merle. Daryl yelled for Merle again, flaunting the bunch of squirrels he'd killed, the rest of the group nervously following.
Teeth growled quietly, but Felicia restrained him. "Not now," she muttered to the hound, placing a hand on his head, to which his eyes crossed as he tried to look at it. She was parked some distance from the scene that was unfolding, continuing with her feminine chores along with Carol, Jackie, and Lori. Ingrid was supposed to be helping, but had sat down and was pulling out chunks of grass.
She had just become absorbed in her activity once again when she looked up to see Daryl in a chokehold and Rick trying to start up a rational conversation about the fate of his brother.
"Oh, god," said Ingrid, standing up and brushing the dirt off her hands. She started in the direction of the escalating incident.
"Where're you going?" demanded Felicia. Ingrid ignored her, picking up her pace and making a b-line for this new excuse to shirk her chores.
The women, namely Andrea, Carol, Jacqui, Ingrid, and Amy, were washing clothes by the river. Ed was sitting some distance away, and Felicia was by the water, giving Teeth some attention. Shane and Lori were having some sort of heated conversation on the other end of the quarry, and the girls were discussing creature comforts they missed from the old world.
"I miss my flatiron," moaned Ingrid, her hair seemingly growing even frizzier as if to spite her.
"I miss my vibrator," Andrea said. There followed a brief pause, before all the girls burst out laughing.
This was compounded when Carol added, "Me too." Ingrid turned red but laughed all the same, making a teasing remark to her mom as the group enjoyed the brief levity.
This was broken, however, when Ed walked over, inquiring as to why they were all laughing. Tension mounted quickly then, and as Andrea prodded the red-faced man about why he wasn't pitching in, the air seemed to crackle with nervous energy. Felicia looked up from petting Teeth, but kept her distance. She was no fan of domestic issues such as this, but she enjoyed having all four limbs attached to her body.
Things escalated quickly, with Ed grabbing at first Ingrid, and then Carol when his daughter pulled away. The women clumped around Carol as the situation got even more out of hand, with Andrea's temper flaring up and Ingrid and Ed fighting over Carol.
Then Shane was there, out of nowhere, and Ed was on the ground, and there was blood flying onto the sand as the former laid into the latter in a fit of rage. Carol was sobbing, and Ingrid was yelling, also on the verge of tears.
It went on and on. Shane had nearly pulverized Ed's face when he finally let up, warning him and letting go, stepping away. Carol and Ingrid rushed to him, Carol in hysterics and Ingrid looking like she was about to throw up.
Felicia stood and, paying no heed to Teeth at the moment, tore off after Shane. "Shane, wait!" she yelled. The cop didn't even respond, just continuing to wipe blood off his hands and storm off in the direction of the camp. Something big had just gone down, and she wasn't sure what.