It's been a month and still none of us know what the hell happened.
Figures! The one time I travel somewhere by myself I get stuck in the fucking south. Atlanta was just supposed to be my layover stop but then a few wacky news reports turned into contagious illnesses. From there it turned into endless death and utter mayhem. Before long the airport was shut down and everyone was on their way to a taxi to get them away from the airport. The entire night was a blur. I vaguely remember finding a cab that got me onto the highway but once in unmoving traffic for over an hour, my cabbie took off in search of his family after listening the horrific radio reports. I got my luggage, that was one decent sized backpack, and went to talk to the others that were stuck in traffic with me. Not long after I left the cab, I stumbled upon a old Winnebago with an older gentleman inside.
Just by a brief glance I noted the man behind the wheel. Floppy tan fisher's hat, trimmed grey beard and a loose fitting tacky Hawaiian shirt. We shared a smile and he waved to me. Rolling down the window, he immediately greeted me warmly.
"Hello there!" He smiled leaning over to respectfully make eye contact.
"Hello!" I responded. "Any clue what's going here?"
He shook his head at me disappointedly, "none at all I'm afraid. The radios just cut out too."
"Damn," I exhaled.
I instinctively checked my phone. No signal and no notifications. I wondered if it was even worth it trying to call my dad. I was so caught up in my own thoughts that I almost jumped when the gentleman asked if I had any service. I made and face and shook my head in response with a stressful sigh.
"My name is Dale, by the way."
I smiled instinctively and responded, "my name is Sarah. Nice to meet you, Dale."
He shook his head modestly, "no, the pleasure is all mine."
I looked around and decided that I would rather wait this out with a stranger than by myself.
As if he read my thoughts, he immediately asked me, "would you like to come in? I promise that I don't bite."
I chuckled and opened the door of his Winnebago with a smile.
With lack of much else to do while we waited, we shared stories. He told me of how he lost his wife after a long battle with cancer and in turn I told him how in the past few years I reconnected with my father, and how my mother and her side of the family flew me down here to go visit him in Missouri. I had been down here for a year and I was finally going back to see my family in Ohio when I got stuck here in the layover catastrophe. Despite the unlikeliness of actually getting an answer from either my mother or father, I tried it anyways and of course I had no luck. Even when I thought that I had a signal all of the lines were busy. Even 911 was disconnected. As the night took another turn for the worse we happened upon two lost sisters, Amy and Andrea who joined Dale and me in his Winnebago.
Fear and survival had bonded us more than growing up in a house for years as a family could ever develop. But that was all only a month ago and It seemed even longer than that. That was the first night that I ever saw one of them and even though I hoped with every fibre of my being that it would be the last; I was wrong. The world went silent. The world had changed and so had we. Dale, Amy, Andrea and I ended up forming a camp of a few of us from the highway in a long abandoned quarry. We set up watches, old-fashioned tripwire alarms to warn us of the…things and went on runs to nearby Atlanta for provisions. Dale and I quickly befriended all of our neighbours: Jaqui, Andrea, Amy, Glen, Jim, Lori, Carol and the kids but some are harder to trust than others. Such as Carol's abusive husband and the self-appointed group leader: Shane. There was something about that man that made my stomach turn.
Soon we all had roles to play for our daily life and survival. Just as women have been convinced to do the house chores for centuries, we were doing it again. Luckily, Dale frequently asked for Glenn and me to assist him with keeping watch and keeping the Winnebago running in between laundry trips.
As time went on I didn't mind the repetitive task as much as I did in the beginning. I was starting to really get to know the women that I lived with. Amy was as innocent as a spring lily and as sweet as one too, fiercely loved by her hot-tempered older sister, Andrea. Andrea was a strong and stubborn fool. Her heart is always in the right place but her poor decisions rarely showed that. It was safe to say that Jaqui was the wisest of us all. An older black woman who had seen more than we dared ask. She was always sweet and kind, yet alert and knowing. Then there was Carol; some days she would join us with purple and blue bruises of a one way fist fight. It hurt and angered me that her life had come to that point but I kept my opinions to myself. She was stronger than she ever let herself believe. She had a closely sheared head with just enough salt and pepper hair to show. Her strength never shinned brighter than when she was with her beloved daughter, Sophia. I grew to love the time that I was spending with them. Talking to them about the past, our lives, our hopes, our dreams and what the future may hold.
Occasionally, When some of them went on runs, they brought survivors back with them and we welcomed them warmly. One day while we were all at our chores, two men curiously snuck into camp. Dale spotted them first and I went to greet them with weary curiosity and a knife at my hip. The skinny one had light brown hair and a crossbow with beginner's arrows. The other one had a bigger build, blond hair buzz cut with two guns and a knife on display. I approached them cautiously and greeted them. The skinny one only stared at me and would occasionally look at the other one. Whereas the blond one gave me a look the raised hairs on my neck before he even opened his mouth.
"Why hello there, sweet cheeks." He gave me a perverted smile.
From atop the Winnebago, I heard Dale huff and go down the stairs in a hurry.
"First off, my name is Sarah and second off, who are you and why are you here?"
I saw his eyes light up. I instantly knew what kind of man he was. He thought of me a challenge and to make it worse he liked that I stood up to him. Yet while he was practically undressing me with his eyes the other looked at me in a way that I could not decipher. The other one however was still giving me looks that puzzled me. He quietly observed every person's every movement and calculated it all behind those mysterious blue eyes.
"Well, sweetheart. We Just saw your little camp and figured we'd pay ourselves a little visit." He looked around with a smile and made an indifferent gesture towards some of the tents.
Just as I was about to tell the rednecks to get lost, Shane came up behind me out of nowhere and dominated the conversation in a way that only he could. Not far behind him was Dale, in his tacky Hawaiian shirt and floppy hat stormed up behind me. Placing his hand protectively over my shoulder as he tried to convince me to leave Shane and the newcomers. I glared suspiciously at the two hicks, more so at the blond one than the quiet one as I turned to leave with Dale.
That night, Shane officially introduced the two men the the rest of the group, "this is Merle and Daryl Dixon, everyone." He looked at all of us eagerly looking for the authority and respect he so craved from us, "They're going to be staying with us from now on." He paused as if he lacked confidence in what he said. "They both claim to be experienced hunters and they both swear to do their part to contribute to the group." Shane awkwardly gestured to the brothers and then took his desired spot next to Lori and her son, Carl. Merle gave me the same perverted grin that he had given me earlier that day and winked at me as he moved to sit next to me. Daryl gave a shy nod as we tiredly welcomed the pair.
I could see how Dale instantly regretted his decision to sit across the fire from me as Merle took a seat next to me with lustful relish, whereas, his brother tentatively took a seat on the other side of me. Great, I'm now surrounded by the hick Dixon brothers. Throughout the meal I could feel Merle's eyes on me while Daryl ate his meal in silence. I liked him already by default even though he looked like he and his brother just came from the hills. Merle stopped at nothing to maintain a conversation with me. Despite his being a racist, sexist, piece of shit there was something about him that I liked. He liked to listen to me and talk to me; why, I had no idea but maybe he wanted to be a friend before he tried to con me into sleeping with him. I knew it was only a matter of time.
As the fire when began to die down I found myself not wanting to leave the two newcomers even though I hadn't gotten more than a few nods and brief eye contact from the younger brother. It was late and I knew that I needed rest. In this world, you never know which day will be your last and I at least want to be rested enough to put up a fight against them. When Merle saw me fidgeting to leave I saw the look in his eyes flicker again.
"Why do you bunk with that old man?" He looked at me with intrigue.
I gave him a sassy look, "that 'old man' took me in when this whole mess started. He's been more than kind and generous to me and I owe him more than I could possibly repay. I bunk with him because he worried about me and I have no one else to sleep with."
I immediately regretted ending my sentence that way and before I could correct myself, Merle went in for the kill, "well, that may have been the case pretty lady but now you have the Dixon brothers to…" he paused to smile cheekily, "sleep with."
I heard Daryl let out a loud sigh next to me. "oh, come on, Merle. Leave her alone." I couldn't help but gape at the younger brother. So he finally speaks. Thanking Daryl and denying Merle what he so badly desired, I bid the Dixon brothers goodnight. Daryl gave me another quiet nod while Merle put on a faux sad look and said goodnight as I made my way to my safe haven, Dale's Winnebago.
The next morning at daybreak Dale, Amy, Andrea and I ate together in the Winnebago. I could see him itching to ask me about the Dixon brothers and their interest in me. I brushed off his hinting, not that it wasn't true but that I didn't need him to worry about me any more than he already does. After I got Dale to calm down I went to Shane to receive my daily list of chores.
"All of the other chores have people assigned to them…" I sighed out of relief for my weary muscles but he wasn't finished talking, "I normally would have assigned you on watch but Merle has requested to have you join him and his brother while they hunt for game." I gave him a questioning and slightly dumbfounded look. Shane read my face and elaborated, "Merle said that he and Daryl would teach you to hunt and track like they do. They are an asset." He came closer to me and whispered, "please. Just do this for all of us." I sighed and nodded, "Fine. Sheriff." You gave him a sweet and trustworthy look and went to the tent of the Dixon brothers.
"Well, hello there good-lookin'," Merle greeted me with his usual perverted-charm. I shook my head with an exhausted chuckle. "Good morning, boys!" I specifically accentuate the end of my sentence as I hit the ever silent Daryl as he cleaned his beloved crossbow. After we were all armed with knives, guns and water we the three of us set out to hunt.
I must admit that I learned more and had more fun than I ever thought that I could. I gave Merle's brash humour right back to him and even got Daryl to smile and blush a few times. We bagged a few squirrels, a rabbit and then finally we found the tracks of a young buck. With an abundant feast for the camp we were all welcomed with open arms and happy faces. I let Merle think that I was there for him and not for the valuable information that Daryl was silently teaching me. He taught me how to skin, cut, and prepare the meat for different uses.
That night was the best night that I ever had at our camp; full bellies, laughter and friendship. Although I loved and cherished my friendship with Dale, Amy and Andrea I knew deep down that I belonged with the Dixon brothers. Even though I knew that we would disagree when it came to virtually every issue besides survival, I knew that we could make it better together. If the shit hit the fan again and it was just the three of us that we would make it. We had a bond, a connection an understanding.
The coming days proved it and it began to eat up Dale. After a few minor arguments we finally sat down and had a serious discussion about the future. After an extremely difficult discussion, we decided that I would move out of Dale's Winnebago into the Dixon brother's tent to let things cool off for a bit. I thought that Merle was going to combust when I asked him to live in their tent. As I brought my belongings into the tent, Daryl gave me a perplexing look. Once Merle left the tent Daryl grabbed my arm roughly and whispered in my ear, "you shouldn't stay here. He'll try something…" He trailed off and looked me straight in the eye, inches from my face as if he wanted to say something or do something…but he didn't.
That night just as I got up from the fire to the Dixon brothers tent, Daryl gave me a warning look and all I could respond with was a defeated sigh. It was too late to change it now. I headed toward the tent exhausted and hoping that Merle would behave tonight. Merle stood up and set to follow me when Daryl jumped up and grabbed his brother aggressively, "Just leave it Merle."
I saw Merle's temper flair up faster than I ever had before. He was red with rage and looked as if he were about to explode in Daryl's face but he was wise enough to look around before he acted and saw all of the staring and fearful faces. He reconsidered his instinct and sat down, grumbling under his breath.
It wasn't long until I was fast asleep in between the sleeping spots of the brothers. At some point in the night I woke up to the sound of hushed voices.
"I just wanna get a closer look at her.
"Goddamnit, Merle. Leave her the fuck alone."
"Why? You want her? Ya think that she'd actually like an ugly sum'bitch like you, brother?"
There was s shuffle and then silence.
"You know what brother, I'll let you have her but if you don't get some ass soon I'm gonna take it for myself!"
He went to grab me and Daryl came in-between us. He picked me up and carried me to his side of the tent and laid between the two of us. As they both settled in to sleep again I felt Daryl brush hair out of my face and drew me close to his figure and leaned in to smell my hair as I drifted off again.