I put another log on the fire as Damien stuck the freshy caught fish on a pointed stick, holding it over the embers. It'd been almost a week since we'd arrived at the quarry - and much like predicted, we weren't alone. Early in the week, the grumpy 'leader' of the band of misfits had arrived with a woman and her son. He'd pulled a gun on Damien as he rose to greet them, but was expertly disarmed. He'd told us more about Atlanta after that, describing how it looked further into the city and confirmed that all hell had broken loose.
Group after group of survivors joined us in camp and order had set in. We'd distanced us from the flock as soon as the second family dropped in, making it clear to Shane that we'd care for ourselves and not be any trouble. So far, he'd let us do our thing. But that was about to change.
This life was far from the comfort I was used to. If you ignored the whole Roger ordeal, I had electricity, running water and a market around the corner. Damien, on the other hand, was doing fine. I blame his surival training.
"Damien, you got a minute, buddy?" Shane asked as he walked up to our fire, hands stuck in his pockets. Damien grunted in response and handed me the stick, rose to his feet and walked over to Shane, clearly not in the mood for a conversation.
"We're runnin' low on, well, most things. With this many people, we could sure use some more campin' supplies." Shane started in a hushed voice. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the fish on the end of the stick. It was the second time today Shane had asked Dee to go on a supply run with him. I could hear how Damiens face fell, his irritation clear as he spoke. "Like I said earlier, buddy. Why would I risk my ass out there with noone to watch mine?"
I scowled and turned the stick in my hands, the fish dangerously close to the embers. I let out a small surprised squeek as it touched the embers and sizzled violently. Seconds later, the stick was back in Damiens hands. He looked down at me and shook his head, stifeling a laugh.
"Make me an offer I can't refuse." Dee continued, the fire reflecting in his gray eyes, giving them a mischievous twinkle. Shane folded his arms. "What kind'a offer?" He murmured and pursed his lips, staring down at the pair of us.
"Ya'll need ammo, right? Get me what I need and I'll share." He decided. Damien shrugged and looked at me. I grimaced at him, rubbing the back of my neck - dirt and sweat mixing together in a thin paste. "Throw in one of those fancy huntin' knives, and we got a deal." He responded and smiled towards Shane, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. Shane huffed and walked away in a hurry only to return moments later with the knife. "We leave at the crack of dawn, Glenn and me are comin' with'ya." Damien raised a brow. "You'll get your share if we come back alive." Shane added and smirked at him before returning to his people.
The following morning, Damien slipped out of our tent without waking me. It was, as Shane had put it, the crack of dawn. However, the movement outside made me jerk out of bed. Curious, I stuck my head out of the opening of the tent and glared at the back of Damiens head as he tiptoed around, obviously thinking he was being stealthy enough not to wake anyone up. I ducked back into the tent and pulled my boots on, quickly trotting up to the car, the sturdy knife Shane'd given us the night before tucked safely in my belt. "You leaving without me?" I asked and pouted at him.
"You're an accident waiting to happen." He calmly responded. I threw my hands up in the air and raised my voice somewhat. "Am not! I'm ready. I'll watch your six." Damien turned around and opened his mouth to reply, but I interrupted him. "I'm a grown woman, Dee. If I'm going to live in this fucked up world, I'll need to see some of it."
"The more people we bring, the worse, Jer'." He gestured to the camp a good distance away from us. "Hell, the only reason we're still here is because you're too chicken to go off with me alone." He had a point. As soon as people started flooding in, Damien had wanted to bail - take what we could with us and head back towards Tennessee, but I refused. "They make me feel normal just by being there." I responded. "Please, Dee. I'll feel better if I really know you're safe." I argued, opening the door of the truck and climbing into the passenger seat. I buckled the seatbelt and glared at him until he got in aswell.
"Shane'll have a hissyfit. We need to keep the women safe, they shouldn't go off doing dangerous things!" He whispered in a mocking tone. Shane had already made his opinion of who should be doing what in his little group very clear, something Damien had a hard time accepting. "I had several kick-ass women serving alongside me." He'd argue to deaf ears. Eventually, he shut Shane out completely, only tolerating him when he went out of his way to make conversation or ask for a favour.
"Speak of the devil." I hissed as moments later, Shane and Glenn joined us in the truck. "What's she doing here?" They asked in unison, Glenn sounding more happy than Shane, who sank back into the seat, weapon in hand, glaring at the back of my head. Neither of us answered and Damien quickly started the car, driving down the road towards the city.
We parked the car outside of a gated fence on the outskirts of the city. It was empty and quiet, the only thing making any noise being the four of us climbing to the other side with empty bags. Glenn quickly took lead, sneaking along buildings - safely bringing us towards a large store with all the assorted goods we were sent to find. As quietly and quickly as possibly, we made our way inside. "So far, so good." I breathed as I closed the backdoor behind us, dropping the empty gymbag on the floor with a light thud. Glenn's eyes widened and he looked at me in horror before letting out a low complaint. "Don't say that!" He groaned and followed Shane and Damien deeper into the building.
Two by two, we cleared the empty rooms leading towards the actual store. Glenn and I kept our distance, making sure we didn't miss anything important as we moved forward - thoroughly going over various cupboards and lockers. "You watchin' my back?" I hissed to Glenn who awkwardly took his place in the middle of the doorway Shane and Dee just passed through. "You bet'cha." He muttered, running a hand through his dirty black hair. "Uh, Jerrica, right?" He asked, making smalltalk as I went over the mostly empty containers on the sink.
"Uhu?" I responded, lazily going over the cans left behind. Glenn fidgeted slightly, looking over his shoulder to make sure we were alone before continuing. "What's with you and Damien?" I shoved the cans into the bag and turned to peer at him. "Whaddya mean?" He looked awfully embarrassed, standing there. He blushed slightly and grimaced. "I mean, you sleep in the same tent.."
I snorted in response, shaking my head. Damien had refused to tell them anything about us, apparently leaving out the fact that we're siblings. I'd thought we looked too alike for anyone to think differantly, but apparently Glenn wasn't as observant as the rest. I hesitated slightly, not knowing how Damien would react if he heard I was being somewhat friendly with one of the others. "I love him." Glenns eyes widened and he nodded, opening his mouth to respond, but I cut him off, a small smile on my lips. "He's my brother." He let out a small 'oh' and laughed, rubbing the back of his head and apologizing.
"Jer'? Jer'!" Damien called, returning to the pair of us, glaring daggers at Glenn. "Christ, get a move on, we ain't got all day." I saluted him and rolled my eyes, quickly following suit. The store was huge, which worried me. The big and obvious places were the ones people must've flocked to when the end of the world happened. Families desperate to stock up on food to survive. The place could be littered with the undead. Damien seemed to share my train of thought and firmly grabbed my shoulder, pressing down in a comforting manner.
"Alright, spread out, keep low and quiet. We get what we need and we get out, no need to complicate things. Meet back here in five." He commanded, giving Shane a shove in one direction before guiding me the opposite way. "I'll be a couple of rows over Jer'." He whispered as we walked further away from the door leading out.
I didn't think much of it. It was quiet, no shuffeling of feet and no growling. Feeling safe enough with my brother close by, I started walking down the aisle to secure more supplies. I even managed to pick up a crowbar. I weighed it in my hands before hanging it by its neck in my belt. Seeing as I never learnt how to shoot, the only thing I'd come in with was the knife from the night before. "Never know when you need a crowbar." I muttered to myself.
A rustle was heard behind me and I squeeked as a pair of fleshy hands grabbed me, pulling me over the empty shelf and pushing me down to the floor. I forgot to scream as my eyes fell on, not a rotting corpse, but the smirking rugged face of a man. He placed a dirty finger on my lips and winked at me as I breathed heavily, one of his hands still clutching my arm.
"There we go, sugartits. Keep yer mouth shut and you'll get outta this alive." He pushed my head down to the ground and gestured to a monster of a corpse, bloated and fat, waddeling down the aisle where I'd previously been standing. I wondered how I'd missed it, as it's huge body made the floor whine with every step. It was male, that much I could tell, but it was not tall enough to see over the shelves. I kept still, trying to ignore the man above me. He reeked of alcohol, much like Roger did whenever he came home from a long hard day of work. Somehow, that scared me more than the fat beast walking infront of me. "Lemme go." I hissed, whincing as the crowbar pushed into my hip. "You're hurtin' me." I continued, attempting push the man away. "Shut your trap." He growled into my ear.
Further back, Damien was looking for me. Shane and Glenn had already gathered as much as they could and they were standing by the register, weapons at the ready, waiting for me to show up. My dear old brother frantically searched up and down the aisles, hissing my name. "Jer'! Hey, Jer'! Time's up."
The man pushing me to the ground flinched at the sound of my brother's voice. Growling, he got to his feet, his tall frame suddenly popping up infront of Damiens face. "Oi!" The man rumbled, gaining the attention from both the walking corpse and Damien. "Sergeant Shit-for-brains!" He continued, spitting on the ground next to me. "Yer the last fucker I reckoned I'd see out here. I suggest you git, or the damn walkers will be the least of yer problems!" He shouted, ignoring the moan and groan of the bloated corpse as it approached. It reached out for him, almost taking a hold of his sweaty white tanktop, before he turned around - surprisingly agile, and punched it. He repeated the action, bashing the already dead mans head in, until it collapsed next to me. I rolled away, slamming into the man next to me, before getting to my feet and stumbling over to my brother. The man gave the corpse a firm kick, dislodging it's double-dead head from its shoulders.
He wiped the sweat from his brow and took two long steps towards Damien and me, coming chest to chest with him, furious. Damien on the other hand, kept his cool. "Stand down." He said, glaring at the man, who finally cracked up in a laugh, slapping Damien's cheek lightly. "Cheer up, Sarge!" He slurred before promptly collapsing.
"Friend of yours?" Shane muttered as he and Glenn approached. Glenn was clearly amused by the scene. "Did he really just beat up a walker and then faint?" He asked in disbelief. Damien sighed and took a hold of my arm, inspecting the bruise that started to form from the man's rough touch. "I wouldn't call him that." He muttered. A voice rang out from the main entrance, where a dirty man with a crossbow at the ready stood. "Wha' would ya call 'im then?" He said calmly, his southern drawl far too similar to the man on the floor. "A son of a bitch." Damien responded and threw my bag over his shoulder. The man at the entrance lowered his weapon slightly and looked at us with furrowed brows. "That's Merle, alright."