2
The group hesitantly allowed the woman near their motorhome. She gave it a quick inspection, outwardly, before she looked at the man in the sheriff hat.
"Y'all need a radiator hose, first off," Aibileen informed.
The man who had the crossbow in her face started rummaging through the back of a car, digging through the belongings that were left behind.
"Can't find a radiator hose here," he said. "There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find."
"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," the African American man said, stepping forward.
"Maybe some water?"
"This is a graveyard." Aibileen looked at a black-haired woman, standing behind her boy. She looked at the group warily. Aibileen felt her stomach twist a little at what the other woman had said. Everyone else looked at her. "I don't know how I feel about this," the woman murmured.
"C'mon, y'all." The African American man hurried off, doing what he was supposed to do. Everyone had their respective jobs.
Opening the front of the motorhome, where the engine was kept, Aibileen looked around quickly, seeing everyone hurrying to do their tasks. The man in the sheriff's hat had placed a big bag of firearms on the trunk of a nearby vehicle.
"Never got your name," sheriff's hat man said.
Aibileen's eyes went to the man before she noticed that the Asian kid went and stood next to her, holding two screwdrivers in his hands. Taking the flathead, Aibileen started to do what she could.
"Don't go too far," she told him. "I'll be needin' your help."
"Your name?"
Aibileen looked back at the sheriff's hat man. He held a shotgun in his arms, looking at the woman expectantly.
She sighed. "My name's Aibileen."
The man nodded. "Thank you, Aibileen."
Shrugging, the woman kept inspecting the motorhome's engine.
"What's your name?" she asked, trying to sound casual.
"Rick."
"That's a nice name—Aibileen."
Looking at the Asian kid, she gave him a small, nervous smile and nodded her thanks.
"Named after my Granny." Aibileen waved some of the smoke out of her face, giving a cough.
"I'm Glenn, by the way," he said.
"'S a pleasure meetin' you," she muttered.
Aibileen tried to work on it the best she could, but she needed more supplies. The owner of the motorhome, a man she learned was named Dale, was informed of the situation.
Glenn offered to help get some spare parts from the cars in the area, the man who had his rifle aimed at Aibileen followed behind the pair just in case.
"We'll need this part right here." Aibileen nodded at Glenn. She stood at one side of him, watching the area closely in case any of the reanimated decided to pop up unexpectedly. Rifle man stood at the other side, occasionally glancing at the woman.
When Glenn finished what he was supposed to do, the trio walked up to the next vehicle, the hood already popped.
"This one," Aibileen murmured, pointing to the part. She had her machete in her hand, firm. It had gotten quiet amongst Rick's group, which made the woman feel on edge. Normally, if it was quiet, especially for long periods of time, that was a sign something big was going to happen. And Aibileen had a feeling that big thing was going to happen soon.
Aibileen looked behind her. Dale was perched on top of his motorhome, binoculars in hand. Rick stood in front of the motorhome, shotgun ready.
They all seemed like genuinely nice people.
"Aibileen?"
The woman in question looked at Glenn. "Hm?" she said.
"You OK?" Glenn asked.
Aibileen shook her head. "Yeah," she said softly. "Just...lost my thoughts for a minute."
During their little scavenger hunt for necessary materials, Aibileen didn't once glance at the man with the rifle. She sensed something about him that made her uncomfortable. He seemed like the kind of man who was...unstable, in a sense. Like he was a hop and a skip away from doing something he might just regret.
Aibileen watched as Glenn unscrewed a piece from a car they were at. From the corner of her eye, Aibileen saw the rifle man place his weapon down and approach a large truck parked in front of the vehicle.
She heard something open.
What in the Hell...? she thought.
Walking up next to rifle man, Aibileen's brown eyes widened at what she saw.
"Glenn," the man said, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing. "Were we short on water?"
Glenn turned from what he was working on and froze for a minute.
Rifle man opened one of the containers of water, the cool liquid splashing all over him, a few droplets getting on Aibileen. Rifle man's eyes went to the woman beside him and he moved away some, giving the woman some access to the cold liquid.
Dunking her head under the water, Aibileen felt as if all of the world's problems were washing off her. She gave laugh, wiping her hair back, trying to get as much filth and blood off of her as she could.
An excited laugh came from Glenn as he continued to work on the engine.
"Save me some!" Glenn exclaimed excitedly.
Aibileen stifled a giggle, pushing some of her black hair out of her face. She hadn't felt so nice in such a long time. A feeling washed over her, though; dampening her good mood.
You're not staying with them. You're just helping them out, and, hopefully, they'll do something nice for you. They've got plenty of weapons to spare—maybe they'll be generous enough to spare a shotgun or two. Just get the job done!
Aibileen swallowed the happiness she felt, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
She couldn't afford to get too close to them. Aibileen Martin's job was to help them fix their engine, and they'd do something nice in return (so she hoped).
"How ya doin', Glenn?" Aibileen asked, her mood deflated.
He seemed to have noticed her sudden mood switch and glanced at her almost worriedly.
"Good," he answered.
Rifle man seemed almost blissfully unaware of the woman's current mood switch, still enjoying the cool water before him.
Glancing over to where Rick and Dale were, Aibileen was quick to notice how Rick had his shotgun aimed. He looked like he was about ready to shoot something down. Dale had his binoculars up, his focus seemed to be on something in particular.
Looking over, Aibileen briefly saw a reanimated shuffling by.
No. A horde of reanimated.
A spew of curses came from Aibileen's mouth, causing the two men to look at her in somewhat surprise.
"There's a goddamn horde comin' up," she snapped, getting her machete ready.
The two men shared a look before rifle man picked up his weapon, ready to fire.
"Get under the cars," rifle man ordered.
"I'm sorry, what?" Aibileen looked at the man as if he'd grown a second head.
Rifle man sharply looked at Aibileen. "Get under the damn cars," he repeated, harsher the second time. "That's a big horde. No way in Hell can we take 'em down."
"Aibileen..."
She looked at Glenn who was already starting to do what he was told, but shooting pleading looks the woman's way. Muttering under her breath, Aibileen went and hid under the nearest car.
Glenn and rifle man hid under the same vehicle. No one moved a single inch. The groans and shuffles of the reanimated was the only background noises; the tension was so thick it could've been cut with a knife.
Aibileen swallowed thickly, hoping and praying they couldn't hear her breathing. It felt as though her breathing was louder than she would've liked. But the reanimated just kept shuffling and groaning past. Occasionally they'd bump into the cars, but no one tried to let that bother them.
The stench of rotting flesh mingled with the heat and hung in the air, making it almost difficult to breathe without wanting to throw up.
The reanimated seemed to have gone by forever, and it made Aibileen more frightened than nervous.
It's OK; deep breath! They'll be gone in no time... Remember to breathe, Aibileen. Just breathe...
And, after taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, the shuffling and groaning of the reanimated became more and more distant, causing the woman to let out a silent sigh of relief.
They were gone.
Aibileen's brown eyes went over and looked at where Glenn and the rifle man were, still hiding under their vehicle, looking around anxiously.
Don't go until they go. OK?
Aibileen watched the two men closely.
The silence hung in the air and it put everyone on edge.
Once Glenn, Aibileen, and rifle man got out, the trio ran over to where the motorhome was. They arrived just in time to see Rick chase after two reanimated, two of the women standing nearby, the short haired one crying.
"There are two walkers after my baby!" the short haired woman exclaimed. The black-haired woman held the other back, trying to comfort her the best she could.
Her daughter? Two reanimated went after her daughter?
Aibileen's jaw tensed.
She was about to go after Rick when she felt a hand on her forearm.
"The Hell are you going?"
She turned and saw rifle man giving her a disbelieving look.
"That woman's daughter is bein' hunted down," Aibileen snapped, trying to get her arm out of his grasp. "I ain't about to sit back and let that happen."
"Rick's out there."
Aibileen tried her best to pull out of the man's grip. She felt panic bubbling in her stomach. She remembered vividly when the outbreak first started spreading, when it reached her hometown of New Orleans.
"Now, ya listen to me," she exclaimed, feeling tears stinging her eyes. "That poor woman's baby girl is out there scared shitless!"
"We need someone to fix that damned car!" rifle man exclaimed.
Aibileen finally managed to rip her forearm from rifle man's grip. She rubbed her hands over her face. He had a point. She was supposed to fix the motorhome! But that poor woman's daughter...
Aibileen desperately wanted to help her. She knew what it was like to have the walking dead after a loved one—especially a child. It was because of those damned reanimated monsters that her son...
Damn it! she thought bitterly.
Author's Note:
So, here's another update. I hope you like it.
I don't own 'Walking Dead'. I only own Aibileen, any other characters I add, and any fillers I put in. Thank you guys for reading!
Thank you.
Susan Strong
