Disclaimer: Don't anything associated with The Walking Dead. Just any and all OCs that you see.
AN: A big thanks to everyone who read last chapter. It means a lot to me.
We'll get to know the trio of OCs that found Daryl and Merle last chapter as they continue to make their way to Atlanta. Fun times are coming, but we need to take our time getting there.
And I decided to go and make this Caryl. Reason being that I always wanted to see this pairing done justice and - in my opinion - have rarely come across a fic that does so. I want to try my hand and slowly build that relationship up into one of acquaintances to friendship go lovers. Hopefully I succeed.
Enjoy
Chapter 2- Treading Waters
"What's the story?"
Merle let the question fall through his lips as he stared at the kid Cole. Daryl was taking watch, sitting on the roof of the Sedan while the two children Melody and Nate slept in the car. A fire separated Merle and Cole, both sitting on the road they stopped on to conserve gas. The two off-duty survivors were each snacking on some food they had; Merle on a granola bar and Cole on some candy.
They've been driving for a day now. They didn't run into any other roadblocks on their way to Atlanta, so they were able to drive for the rest of the day until it got dark. Daryl estimated it was eleven o'clock when they decided to stop. He volunteered for first watch, being stuck in habit due to all his times having to pull all nighters because of Merle's being undependable when he was high. Although maybe now he could get some rest.
Now that they had more accomplices, they were able to set up a better watch system. This way, they could have two well-bodied fighters and it wouldn't boggle down to an injured Daryl and a may-or-may-not-be-high Merle. Though there was still some unease between the two small groups, mostly because of Merle's comments and mannerisms.
Cole shot him a confused look. "What story?"
Merle scoffed, "You and them brats." He said as if it were the obvious thing in the world. "Where you come from? Your origin, boy." He motioned for him to speak. Cole was just looking at him like some painting hanging in a museum. "I'm bored and I want to know what's up with you."
Up on the Sedan, Daryl shook his head at his brother's persistence. To see Merle take such an interest in a guy they met not twelve hours ago was amusing in a way. Maybe Merle saw an opportunity to poke some fun with someone who didn't know him all that well and could get away with a little more. Oh well, at least it wasn't him this time that was on the receiving end of Merle's unwavering blabbering.
"There's nothing really all that interesting to know." He shrugged. "I told you before. Nate's my brother, Melody a friend, and I've been watching them since this whole mess of an apocalypse started."
Merle shook his head, "Uh-uh, no beating around the bush, amigo." He wagged his finger at him. "I've had my own fair share of lies to know when someone is hiding their skeletons. You ain't fooling me." He downed the rest of the granola bar before wiping his hands on his biker vest.
"You the first guy I met who actually wants to talk about other people's problems." Cole remarked. "Usually the kind of guys I meet like to know less about the people they meet. Keeps the tension thick and stops any funny ideas from being formed."
"Damn," Merle whined. "You must be a fun drunk." He shook his head. Daryl let his face smirk in the dark. He'd been thinking the same thing. "So depressing and melodramatic about the smallest things."
"I got drunk once and I don't remember jackshit about that night." Cole revealed. "Whatever kind of drunk I am is loss on me."
"I can find some strong tequila and we can go from there." Merle offered. He wasn't joking. He could really go for some tequila or alcohol or something right about now. His mouth was getting dry just thinking about it.
Cole chuckled, "Nah, man, I need to stay sober for the two kids in the Sedan there." He pointed a finger at the car where the two children slept. "Maybe some other time?"
"If I find any trace of alcohol, I'll be sure to toss a glass to you." Merle gave his signature laugh while Cole finished his candy, mimicking Merle from earlier and wiping his sticky hand on his shirt. "Well..." He waited, the two right back to where they started before with Merle aiming to pressure Cole into talking. "Your story. Let's hear it."
"It's not that interesting to know." Cole insisted. Merle gave him a disinterested raise of the eyebrows, showing that he wasn't finding what he said to be believable. "What? Why is this such a big thing to you?"
'Because now that you said no, Merle wants it more... And Merle always gets what he wants.' Daryl let his eyes roll upward before he resumed his staring match with the road ahead of them. He briefly checked the road behind them and the woods next to them before doing so, half-listening to Merle and Cole's conversation to make sure Merle didn't do something stupid.
Merle shrugged his shoulders, "You never been to the scouts? You usually tell stories around the campfire." He prodded the fire with a stick to keep the flames alight. "If we had marshmallows, this be the perfect representation of a night out in the scouts."
Cole bit back a small laugh. He still had his worries about the Dixons, but he had to admit to himself that Merle was a funny son-of-a-bitch. Daryl seemed all right. A little quiet, but an okay guy otherwise. He was a little relieved though to have others to help him in this world, all his worries and doubts aside.
"You're not gonna stop until I say something, are you?" Merle's smirk was all the answer he needed, his arms folded across his chest as he waited for storytime to begin. Up on the Sedan, Daryl waited for storytime as well.
Cole reached into his pocket, pulling out a chocolate bar. He unwrapped it before he began. "I was in a clinic when I became aware of the surroundings. I needed to pick up my medication."
"What medication?" Merle asked, already very interested in the story that was being told. Maybe he could dabble in his medication to give some to good 'ol Merle.
Cole sighed, holding up the chocolate bar he was holding. "I have a blood sugar problem. If I don't have something to eat with sugar in it, I get very sick. I'll get light headed and I'll pass out after awhile." Daryl felt a sense of deja vu for some reason as he listened to the story. "Anyway, I was there picking it up when they rolled this guy in. I know now it was a Walker, but at the time I didn't know what the hell was going on. After they did, this guy, big son-of-a-bitch, came in with his daughter. Little five-year-old girl with a bruise on her face."
Merle nodded as he listened to the story with Daryl looking down at the Sedan he was sitting on.
"I was still waiting for my medication. I was just watching this guy pull his kid around by her arm, seeing that he was hurting her. I was already very angry before I went to the clinic. I had just received a letter from the University of Georgia in Athens saying that I was let go of my studies because of my low grades. I lost my job at the market earlier that week as well and was pissed about that too. Seeing this guy hurt his little girl was adding fuel to the fire I had burning in my gut."
Cole nibbled on the chocolate bar, barely making a dent. "A couple minutes later, there was this scream. That guy they brought in bit a worker there. Things were getting chaotic and everyone there was starting to run. I don't know why I stayed. Maybe it was because I needed my medicine." He shrugged. "That guy stayed with his kid as well. We were the only ones left there that were alive."
"The Walker came strolling out, heading for the man and his daughter. I was frozen, terrified at seeing this dirty rotten corpse of a man walk around growling at us. So, I expect this guy to protect his kid like all dads do." Cole laughed bitterly. "So imagine my surprise when he shoves his little girl to the Walker to save himself."
Merle and Daryl did well to keep their game faces on, but on the inside they were pissed. Daryl's grip on his crossbow tightened to the point his knuckles turned white while Merle balled his hands into fists.
"That's when I moved. I grabbed the girl after shoving the Walker away. It bounced off the front desk and fell off to the side. I saw it get back up and knew that it needed to be stopped. So... I shoved it back down and used a stapler to bash its head in. I was so caught up in my frenzy that I forgot I had a kid watching me."
He sighed as he glanced to Sedan. Merle followed his gaze. "I told Melody to stay behind the desk so I could give her asshole father a talking to. He ran away like the coward that he was towards the back. I grabbed some scalpels and followed. I got there and the punk was bit on the neck by a Walker. I left him there to die, not seeing him as worthy to be put down." He recounted his venture in the clinic and seeing Melody's father bleed out on the floor. "After that, I took Melody back with me to my place when we saw the local police station overrun. My dad was dead and had turned, so I did what needed to be done." He sighed. "I found my brother hiding in the closet in his room, asking me why did Daddy try to hurt him." He shook his head at the memory. "When we heard about Atlanta, we started making our way there. Then we found you..."
Merle accepted that as the end of the story. He got what wanted from Cole. He didn't need to know anything else about this kid. Still, Merle had to roll his eyes at the absurdity of the tale. A kid having to watch over two children in this world must've sucked. Merle's final verdict on the whole matter was to cite Cole as a poor bastard.
Daryl shook his head at the story. It sounded like Cole and his crew didn't have the best start in this world. Having to scoop a little girl from a overrun clinic and then having to put your dad down wasn't ideal as happy beginnings. He watched his dad die, but he wasn't the one to end the suffering. Watching it was bad. Actually having to do the deed yourself didn't sound that pleasant.
"So you're playing the daddy to those kids now?" Merle asked, reaching out and taking Cole's chocolate bar. The younger man gave a small glare, but otherwise didn't do anything about it.
"Not 'daddy'," he corrected. "More like a guardian." He said. "Not only is Nate my brother, but I can't just leave Melody alone to fend for herself. She's a little girl. It's the right thing to do." He shrugged. What he didn't say was that he felt a sense of obligation to watch Melody.
Merle returned the shrug as he ate Cole's chocolate bar. He guessed that was true. While Merle himself didn't know what he would've done in that situation, he did have to give applause to Cole for taking care of the kids.
"Satisfied?" Cole asked.
"For now," Merle nodded. "But I'll give you some more time to keep it secret. You've satisfied me for now." He answered. He nodded at the chocolate bar he was eating. "Wish I had low blood sugar so I can eat as much of this as I want."
"Trust me, you don't." He warned.
"Hey," Daryl's whispers broke into their conversation. "Two Walkers coming down the road in front of us."
Merle and Cole glanced down to see that Daryl was right. Two Walkers, man and a woman, were making their way slowly down the road and over towards them.
"I was just needing the exercise anyway." Merle tossed the wrapper of the chocolate bar into the flames and stood up. "Mind handing me a weapon?" Cole sighed as he stood up as well to head for the trunk of the car. He grabbed a black handled hatchet and threw it to Merle. "Thank you." The elder Dixon nodded before he started walking to meet the Walkers halfway.
Daryl grumbled something about how he needed to keep this idiot alive and carefully jumped down to the road. Cole just brandished his gun towards the Walkers, waiting to see if Daryl and Merle could handle it without the need to draw more.
Merle grinned as he matched the female Walker's pace. He admired her low cut blood stained blue blouse with her cute white denim shorts. She looked to be in her late-thirties with her dark brown hair disheveled over her growling face.
"Bet you was a looker before you was bit." Merle nodded, waving the hatchet around to get a good feel for it. "Oh well. Guess it needs to be done." He crossed his arm over his face so the hatchet was ready to take a swipe to the Walker's head. When the Walker made it to him and took a lunge towards him, Merle sidestepped to the right and swung the hatchet around; taking the top part of the Walker's head off with a clean swipe.
The male Walker was about to make a move to bite Merle's neck, but instead bit into Daryl's crossbow as the younger Dixon finally made it to the action. Daryl shoved the Walker to the ground, his crossbow tipping over; the strap falling in line with the Walker's forearm and encircling around it on the way down.
"Damn!" Daryl grunted.
"You didn't take the shot why?" Merle asked, in amazement at his usually level headed brother making a irrational mistake like that.
"Because your dumb ass was in the way!" He defended. "You wanted me to shoot you!?"
"No need to get all pissy, bro." Merle shrugged. He glanced down to the male Walker wearing a pair of blue overalls with a name-tag that read 'Steve' and brought the hatchet down to his head. He pulled it out, grabbing Daryl's crossbow on the way up. He realized that the strap was stuck around the arm of the Walker he put down. "Okay then..." He lined up the hatchet with the forearm of the Walker and proceeded to hack away at it, squirting black blood on the pavement and his arms during the process. "There we go..." He was satisfied when the arm was loosened. He pulled the strap down through the stump he created, holding it out to his brother.
"Sick bastard," Daryl grumbled as he retook his crossbow. Merle shrugged at him, following him back to the Sedan where Cole was waiting for them. "Enjoying your day off over there?"
"Someone had to watch the kids." Cole reminded. "Plus, you two had it covered." Daryl shot him a dirty look before he shrugged. Whatever. Things worked out well enough anyway. "I'll take watch then if you feel drained." Again, Daryl shrugged at him.
Merle rejoined them. "Ending the night with a fight is always a good way to do so." He grinned. "I'm beat. I'll take a nap and wake up in about three or four hours to take my shift." He patted Cole on the back before handing him the hatchet. He opened the door to the driver's side and took a seat inside. Daryl shared a nod with Cole as he sat where he did before earlier that day inside the Sedan.
Cole held his position for a few seconds before he sat where Daryl was sitting before on the top of the Sedan. He un-holstered his Beretta from his waistline, reaching into his pocket to pull out a pair of black rimmed glasses. If he was gonna be on watch, he needed them to see better. He sighed. He didn't think he would've told that much to his two travelling companions. He hadn't said much of anything to the last group he was with, which made their forced separation by a large group of Walkers much easier for him to stomach. He only really told Merle anything because the man kinda scared him and didn't wanna get on his bad side.
Still, just because he told him something didn't mean he told the man everything - and he preferred to keep to keep it that way. Some secrets were better left buried, he thought as he rubbed his covered right shoulder.
...
"I spy with my little eye something beginning with a 'C'."
Merle leaned his head out the window, holding a pair of binoculars over his eyes as he let his body dangle. Cole looked ahead amongst the wreckage that they had stumbled across. Rows upon rows of cars were all lined up, sealing off any chance of making it down the road unless they found an alternate route. They were just a few miles from Atlanta now. They could get there by the end of the day if they could get pass this wreckage.
Daryl opened his door to step out and try and catch glimpse of what Merle was talking about. He first circled around the Sedan to get his crossbow.
"Is it a car?" Melody asked, playing Merle's game of 'I Spy' he unintentionally started up. She was leaning forward out of her seat in the back, her eyes trying to see as far as they can go.
Merle laughed, "Nice guess, Sugarplum, but nope. Try again." Melody frowned at being wrong, but quickly went to scanning the area around her for anything else that was within her small vocabulary that began with the letter 'C'.
"Is it a crow?" Nathan joined in, looking out the window as best he could since Cole refused to let the windows down.
"Nope."
"Oh!" Melody beamed. "Is it Cole?"
Merle laughed loudly at that one, reaching back inside to ruffle the young girl's hair. Daryl, who'd pass them at that moment, smirked at the young girl's guess. Cole himself found himself laughing too.
"You are now my favorite of your Child Squad." Merle told her, making Melody grin up at the elder man. While she was scared of Merle and Daryl at first, she'd quickly fallen for Merle's funny jokes and sense of humor; earning an offhanded comment from Daryl about Merle seemingly having a way with all women. That in turn earned him a smack to the head by Merle for "making it sound all creepy and disgusting since he was talking about a five year old".
"He's looking outside, Mel. I'm inside the car." Cole reminded her.
Melody pouted, "I know that!"
Daryl shook his head as he looked down the scope of his crossbow. "Is it that Chinese kid changing a flat tire a little ways down the road?"
"Chinese kid?" Cole put his glasses back on to get a better view down the road. Indeed, there was an Asian man down the road changing a tire on a Station Wagon with a sign on top that read "Bucky's Pizza" with the 'Y' in Bucky in the shape of a pizza slice.
"Please let there be some pizza in there." Merle hummed. "I could go for the double pepperoni and pineapple. Darylena over there likes the lettuce and squirrel meat on his." Cole's constricted face at that revelation made Merle smack his shoulder.
"Don't knock the shit until you try it..." Daryl added as he kept glancing down the road through the scope of his crossbow, looking to see if this guy was a problem or not. He didn't even have to look at Cole to know the reaction. He got that from everyone Merle told that little tidbit.
"I like olives." Nate added.
"I liked extra cheese on mine. I was never one to mix my foods together." Cole shrugged.
"Jesus, boy, where's your sense of adventure?" Merle shook his head in disappointment. "You go to restaurants before this and ask them for a Cheeseburger without the cheese?"
Cole's face turned red before he looked away.
"Oh shit! I was right?!" Merle laughed.
"Wow..." Daryl mumbled to himself, cracking a small smirk.
"Dad always said he was boring with his food." Nate grinned when his brother shot him a dirty look. "We were at Macon a few months ago with family and he was the only one to order french fries and chicken nuggets when everyone else got the fancy and cool stuff."
Merle let loose that hyena-like grin of his as he high-fived the ten year old.
"At least I like pizza..." Cole grumbled.
"Pizza?" Melody asked. "What's pizza?"
"You telling me you never had pizza?" Merle's face turned into small genuine surprise along with Cole's.
"Really Mel?" The little girl shook her head. "Wow, that's a definite shocker. I thought pizza was the universally loved food by everyone."
"I know I could go for some right now." Merle licked his lips rather creepily.
"Yeah, and looks like those six or seven Walkers coming could go for a slice with Chinese sauce sprinkled on top." Daryl relayed, getting Merle and Cole to focus down the road again. Like Daryl said, there was a small group of seven coming from where the Asian guy presumably just drove from. Poor bastard had his head down and was too busy readjusting the screws on the tire to notice.
"I gotta say I am tempted to not do anything..." Merle shrugged.
"That's not cool, man. What if that was you?" Cole asked, eyes widened at the thought of leaving someone to get eaten intentionally.
"Whoa! A) I said tempted; B) I would kill all of them if I was in that position; and C) Pussyleg over here will never, and I mean never, let me hear the end of it." He shook off Daryl's glare directed at him, laughing when he heard the mutter of 'asshole' coming from him. He motioned Daryl out of the way as he exited the vehicle. "And don't think you're just sitting there this time, Sugar Daddy; you're coming." Merle childishly berated Cole with a wag of the finger.
"Fuck you," Cole said. "Who's gonna watch the kids?" He briefly glanced back at the two young children in concern and worry before turning back go Merle.
"Lock the doors and roll up the windows - they'll be fine." Merle attempted to ease his seemingly growing worry. "How'd you even make it before us?"
"I didn't have much of a choice before..." Cole sighed. "Shit." He turned around to the kids. "Stay quiet and stay hidden. We'll come back after we help this guy, okay?" They nodded. "Say it."
"We'll stay quiet and hide until you come." They spoke in unison, showcasing the fact they had this conversation before.
"Good..." He pulled his Beretta out from his waistband as he locked the door before getting out and shutting it. "Let's go save the Pizza Boy." He followed behind Daryl, who was on point, and Merle, who was in the middle with the hatchet; which left Cole to take the rear.
Daryl lined up the scope of his crossbow with the head of the Walker closest to the Asian kid. Daryl's about to shoot a warning to the guy before Merle beat him to it.
"In case you don't wanna get your ass chomped - move out of the way!" His loud and dare-he-say excited voice boomed out across the abandoned road they were all clamped on. The Asian guy was alerted to their presence for the first time, his head jerking back and forth and up and down like a bobble head as he gained his bearings.
"Shit!" Was the first thing out of his mouth as he scrambled for the discarded tire iron by his knees. Before he was able to get bit by a second Walker, a loud ringing temporarily deafened him as its brains were splattered out from the back of its skull, the body falling to the ground. "Thanks."
"Thanks aren't worth jack if you're dead right after." Merle's voice radiated over them again as he picked up pace and implanted the hatchet into the skull of the third Walker. Halfway there. "Come on, Chinese Kid! Move it!"
The guy muttered a response under his breath before he took the tire iron firmly into his tense hands. Daryl had reloaded his crossbow and was following one of the Walkers with the scope of his crossbow to get a clean shot. Merle had regained his hatchet with Cole lining his sights down one of the remaining two Walkers.
Daryl saw his chance arise when the Walker stumbled over his dead buddy, falling face first to the ground and burying it in the dirty clothes of his fellow Walker. He launched the arrow to the base of the Walker's skull, taking his second kill against this mini group.
"Just like that boys," Merle nodded. "Keep on fighting. Make these assholes work for their meal." He grinned lusciously at the lady Walker he had coming towards him. "I'm on a roll with these dead bitches." He snickered at his own joke before he swung and swiftly took the top of her head off, sending it flying to the Asian guy's window; spraying blood and brain on the glass.
"That's not cool..." The Asian guy muttered as he swung the tire iron, knocking his Walker to the side, watching it stumble before he swung again to bring it down permanently when the tire iron dug into the eye socket. "And neither is this." He shook his head at the sight of blood leaking around his trusty iron.
"Two more, ladies!" Merle grunted like a Drill Sargent. "Don't get bitten now!"
"I'm gonna shoot you if you don't cut it out with that shit." Daryl glared at him quickly before he got his head back in the game, watching the last two Walkers lag towards them. Merle held his hands up in defense, blood from the hatchet dripping down to the road.
Cole shook his head at their antics, lining the sight of his weapon up with one of the Walkers. He fired and missed, cursing slightly before he relined the direction and fired again, hitting the target this time; the lone Walker left shuffling towards them towards a now losing battle on his end. Daryl ended the little scuffle with one last arrow to the head.
Merle surveyed the area around for any signs of more Walkers. A little grin came to his face as he saw the coast is clear. "All right Baby Brother and Sugar Daddy; I'd say we earned ourselves some pizza."
The Asian guy turned in surprise at hearing that, noticing for the first time that he was alone against three people now that the mutual enemy was gone. "P-Pizza?"
"Yeah. This is a pizza delivery car, right?" Merle shook his hatchet towards the sign on top.
"It is... Was... I don't have any pizza." The guy confessed, shrugging apologetically.
"Such a shame..." Merle pressed his face against the glass to get a better look inside. "I was actually looking forward to seeing Baby-Mel take her first bite of pizza. It's like a first drink. Essential to the human life and unleashes the best reactions to those watching."
"Baby?" The guy whispered to himself.
"Merle, get away from the China kid's car." Daryl tried calling the untameable animal known as Merle back while he retrieved his arrows.
"Why? I'd figure we earned at least something for saving his life."
"Come on, Merle, stop," Cole tried his luck at the impossible task of getting the eldest Dixon to listen to someone else's orders. "Leave the guy alone. He's already almost died."
"So did we trying to save his ass," Merle reminded. "I'm not saying to take everything..." He acted like that made what he wanted to do justifiable.
"We're less than a day from Atlanta," Cole said. "We get there, we can have all the supplies we can carry."
"You're going to Atlanta?" The guy asked. He received a nod from Cole, a shrug from Daryl, and more of Merle grinding his car window. "Don't go there! Place is overrun with the dead! You go there, you're asking to die."
Merle temporarily stopped his grinding to turn to the Asian guy. He glanced at him up and down before turning back to Daryl, who only gave a tiny sigh to Merle before he resumed checking out the stash that was in the Station Wagon. It looks like their original idea to go in and get supplies and possibly leave was gone - leaving them with only the leaving part. Whatever. It wasn't a big damper to their spirits.
Cole on the other hand...
"Are you fuckin' serious?" Cole groaned. The Asian guy's nod had him growling. "Goddamn it." He kicked one of the corpses they dispatched. "Now where am I going to bring those kids?" He asked himself.
"Kids?" He looked to Daryl for confirmation, who gave a uninterested shrug of the shoulders.
"Oh yeah." Merle nodded, having finished his eyeballing of the supplies after picking out some nice looking bathroom utensils he'll be 'debating' with the Asian guy to collect. "Two little ones are in that Sedan back there." He pointed out to the vehicle they traveled here in.
Cole kept looking at the corpses, on his knees now as he repeatedly mumbled 'What am I going to do' over and over again. His head was spinning, not sure if that was from his sugar depletion or from the stress he easily felt take him over. He didn't have any other ideas on where to go and he wasn't sure if he was gonna stay with the Dixons to venture off into the unknown. They agreed to Atlanta - not some road trip to another mythological safe haven located in the middle of humanity's greatest catastrophe. He was D-O-N-E fucked.
The Asian guy looked back and forth between the three men that saved his ass and the Sedan - catching sight of two tiny figures looking at them. He bowed his head in thought, nodded, and looked back at the knelt down Cole.
"There's a camp..." He began, seeing Cole look up at him. "There's a camp a mile away from here. Good distance from the city. No dead have made it up there yet. If you want," he looked to the Sedan. "You can bring your kids there and join up." He looked to Daryl and Merle. "It's safe. You won't have to worry."
Merle grinned. "Well now, that's certainly an offer too good to pass up." He looked at Daryl. "What you say, Baby Brother? Up for joining the Pizza-Man's camp?" Merle was a little excited to hear that. He was much more comfortable in the wilderness than the big city - so a camp that was supposedly safe with others Merle can use to have fun with other than Daryl and Cole? Sign him up.
"Better than the supposedly infested streets of Atlanta, I guess." Daryl shrugged. While the idea of a larger group other than his brother and the 'Child Squad' unsettled him a tiny bit - a opportunity to take it easy as much as he could in this world could do good for him... plus he could rest his knee properly and hope for a smoother recovery.
Cole's face exploded into an excited smile that looked like it belonged to the little girl he was caring for. "Thank you!" He stood back up. "Thank you!" He could give the man a hug.
The man smiled, "It wouldn't be right to leave people who saved my ass when they have kids with them - especially when I know somewhere they can go for safety."
"How big is your group?" Cole asked. Daryl and Merle tuned back in.
"Last I counted, somewhere close to twenty." The guy confirmed. "There's also other kids there, so yours won't feel left out." He said.
Cole smiled. "I'm forever indebted to you for this." He held his hand out. "Name's Cole. The guy that grinded against your car is Merle and the crossbow dude is Daryl."
The guy outstretched his own hand and shook back. "Glenn. Get in your car and you can follow me back."
...
The tension between the two groups was never more clear the moment Merle made his presence known. Glenn had exited first to explain the new recruits he had picked up, hoping to keep any and all uncertainty to the absolute minimum. Daryl and Cole agreed that was smart - even Merle seemed to agree as well, but that didn't last long, the elder Dixon waiting a good thirty seconds before he exited the car.
"Boys and girls! Children of all ages! Your boy Merle has arrived!" He had shouted as he exited the Sedan. Daryl had to follow him to try and hold his ass back. "No need to be afraid anymore! I'll help keep you all safe! Especially the ladies!" He grinned at two blonde woman, who were now looking at him in disgust.
Daryl cursed himself for not double checking to make sure he took everything away from Merle that could make him high. He didn't believe his brother when he stopped his boisterous yelling to quickly tell him that he was fine. No sane asshole was dumb enough to yell at a new group you were trying to befriend at the end of world.
Actually, scratch that - it was Merle Dixon after all.
A man with a shirt bearing the golden badge insignia of the police force was looking at Merle like if the devil himself had waltzed into his domain. He looked to Glenn, who had his head buried in his hand in embarrassment that his newest recruit for the group was yelling like a jackass. Every other person Glenn had brought up to the camp at least waited to be spoken to to try and let tensions die. Merle seemed to be watching the bar and pushing it back up when he felt it got too low.
"Glenn..." The man spoke in a warning tone that had the poor Asian stiff in his spot.
"They saved my life, Shane - what was I supposed to do? Be ungrateful and leave them to go to Atlanta?" Glenn dreaded that this would happen - with Shane getting annoyed at more mouths to feed when they barely had enough to go around for the people already here - but he hoped that wouldn't be the case. It might not have if Merle would've stayed quiet for a few minutes instead of a few seconds; and where the hell was Cole? Maybe seeing the kids would help sway Shane's decision.
"No, but we barely have enough to go around as it is," he took off his police ball cap to wipe off the sweat that poured down his head. "You know that. Most of the stuff we have comes from your little raids into the city - and that barely holds us together."
"I already called dibs on the toilet paper, so don't get any funny ideas, officer." Again, Merle made the situation even more awkward by opening his mouth. Shane was narrowing his eyes at him and Glenn was looking at him like a deer in the headlights begging for him to shut up.
"Merle, shut the fuck up!" Daryl growled at him. Merle shrugged, letting the eyes of the group watch and listen to him whistle the theme to Batman. Daryl resisted the ever growing urge to smack him upside the head - he was probably doing this on purpose to probably get them kicked out. Where the fuck was Cole? He could use the tag out and let him try and speak to Merle, however pointless it'll be.
Shane shook his head, "People like that? I don't think folks here will feel comfortable." Though this guy Merle was just acting like an immature and loud asshole, he's seen enough criminals in his time to read between the lines in behavior. He wasn't giving that friendly vibe that would keep the peace here.
"'People like that?' Wow, you sure ain't one for subtlety and discretion - we're still standing right here, Police Man."
Daryl gave up. They were done. He just leaned against the Sedan, waiting for the excruciating painful conversation to end. He peeked his head over to see why Cole hadn't come out yet, seeing him try and convince Melody that it was okay.
"Come on, Mel - it's okay. No one's gonna hurt you here." He heard Cole whisper to her. Nate was looking confused on what to do while Melody was shaking her head, too shy to even give these people the benefit of the doubt, which amused Daryl. Melody was fine around Merle, but was wary of a police officer.
"I ain't got nothing to hide," Shane was continuing the conversation with Merle. "Hiding stuff isn't gonna do anything but make the situation more difficult. Best to just cut the middle part and avoid the bullshit."
Merle gave his signature whooping laugh. "Remove that stick up your ass and we could be friends." Glenn had mimicked Daryl's position, hiding his face in the trunk of his station wagon to do 'inventory check' to avoid the looks he was getting from the group behind Shane for bringing someone like Merle up here. "I like that about a person. Having fun is good a large portion of the time, but sometimes dancing around the broken glass isn't the smartest option."
Daryl checked on Cole's progress with Melody, now seeing that she was nodding her head. He had an inkling that maybe, just maybe, seeing these kids would bury any growing animosity between the two factions. Hell, they stopped Merle from robbing Cole when they met yesterday. He silently awaited the outcome.
Cole exited the vehicle, all eyes now on him watching his movements - even Glenn, who was silently thanking Cole for about to show the main reason why he took them here. He helped Melody out of the car, holding the little girl's hand to ensure she didn't fall.
"Jesus," a brown-haired woman whispered as she held the hand of a ten-year old boy. "She's just a baby."
Melody was hiding her face in Cole's leg with her arms wrapped around it, remembering his promise about not having to see or talk to anyone she didn't want to. Cole was caressing her hair gently to let her know it was fine. Nate followed after, seeing all eyes watching them. Feeling self-conscious, he slowly retreated behind Cole.
Shane was staring in awe. He turned to share a look with the brown-haired woman. Obviously no one was expecting two little kids to be in the same group with someone like Merle. Suddenly, Glenn was looking less and less dumber for his decision.
"About time, Sugar Daddy - what kept ya?" Merle asked. He figured that there was no way a 'nice and kind' police officer like Shane would kick them away when they had two kids with them under the age of thirteen - so he broke out one of his many jokes to irritate the people. It was probably risky, but he shrugged off the small worries. He saw an opportunity for some fun and simply took it.
"Melody was feeling shy. I had to convince her it was okay." He explained. Cole noticed that he was being watched. His eyes darted around from person to person to try and figure out what to say. He looked to Daryl for some help, only getting the sight of the man cleaning his arrows with his red rag.
"She don't need to be shy when 'ol Merle is here to help protect her from the big bad police man." He looked at the little girl who was poking half her face out to see what was going on. "Hear that Baby-Mel? These clowns ain't gonna hurt you." Melody nodded slowly, but she still kept half her tiny form hidden in Cole. "Same with you, Nate 'ol buddy. No need to hide behind Sugar Daddy." Nate breathed easier - taking a position on Cole's other side.
Shane let the comment go since he was seemingly trying to make a little girl comfortable with the situation at hand. Sharing a nod with the woman, he turned back to the group of five.
"It would be really terrible of me to send you all away when you have two little kids with you." He said.
"What'd ya know - I was thinking the same thing, Officer." Merle grinned. "And about the supply issue - don't worry your little head about it. Me and my brother here can hunt with the best of them and Sugar Daddy here has a good heaping of food he's willing to share. Most of it is candy too." The attention of every kid in the camp was earned that comment.
"That true?" Shane asked with a smile.
Cole nodded. Although he thought about saying he needed that candy or lie and say no, he didn't want to erase the progress that was made here. Plus, he couldn't think about saying no with the hopeful and excited looks the kids were giving him.
"Then I guess the verdict is in," Shane nodded. "Welcome. The name's Shane Walsh."
"Cole Jackson." Cole felt it'd be best if he did introductions. Merle already made things awkward enough and Daryl didn't look eager to join in the talk. Cole just realized Daryl hadn't given these people the courtesy of hearing him speak. "You already know Merle, obviously; that's his brother Daryl," said man gave a raise of the head and a small nod. "Little guy here is my brother Nate and the little cutie pie here is Melody." Melody smiled shyly while Nate gave a small wave.
"She your daughter or sister or something?" Shane asked.
"No. Found her amongst this whole ordeal. Decided it was only right to watch over her." Cole explained, his voice dropping just a tad bit as he spoke.
"Noble man," Shane nodded. "I can respect that." He briefly glanced at the woman and her son before he turned back to Cole and the others. "Well, let's get you settled in."
Cole and the Dixons each nodded as they began to unpack their stuff.
End of Chapter 2 of End of Days
We're now at the camp and we'll get busy with the building of relationships between the cast. Not romantic just yet, but friendships and such that'll be essential for the future of the story.
And don't think I revealed all of Cole's backstory. The surface has barely been scraped and we'll get to know more as the story goes on. I will say that by Season 1's end, you'll know all there is to know about his past.
For those who love to go in depth, there's some heavy foreshadowing in here. It doesn't make sense now, but you'll be able to come back to this chapter and go 'Shit, it's so obvious!'
Hopefully you enjoyed and remember to drop a dime if you liked it. Or hated it. I'm always looking for improvement. Hey, maybe if I get enough reviews I'll put Batman Arkham Knight on the back burner to continue this quicker ;)
Next Time: Sugar Shock
