Hey! I forgot to let you guys know earlier, but in this story, The Governor found Merle on the rooftop before he cut off his own hand, so Merle has both hands. Sorry if that bothers anyone! Also, a huge thank you to Vertigo Venom for the review! I'm glad you liked the first couple of chapters(:
-Elizabeth
The caravan has been on the move, following Glenn, for a couple of hours. The town Joseph and I met Glenn and Daryl in was near a city called La Grange, which I find ironic, seeing as there's a city in my home state with the same name. We've just come to a stop to let whoever needs to go to the bathroom. Daryl and I both climb off the bike, and while he heads over to talk to Glenn, I walk up to James's truck and knock on his window. He rolls it down and grins at me.
"Well hello, little lady." He drawls in a bad imitation of a Texas accent. I scoff.
"James, you're killin' me with that accent, honey." I reply. He smirks and winks at me.
"Oh ah bet ah am." He says, trying to be coy. I howl with laugher at how ridiculous he sounds, and then I straighten up and lean against his door, grinning.
"You better watch it with that accent, darlin'. You sound like a redneck, and seein' as we have one here with us, I'd be more careful with who you're imitating." I warn him, nodding toward where Daryl is standing, speaking with Glenn. James pouts.
"I was trying to sound like you." He huffs. I chuckle.
"I know you were. But I think you should stick to that northern accent of yours. If you're lookin' to impress a girl, or many girls, because I know you are, it'll work better for ya." I reply. He raises an eyebrow.
"And how would that work better?" He asks skeptically. I roll my eyes.
"Because, you little man whore, just about every guy around here has a southern accent, since they're all from here. Your accent'll be new to 'em." I explain. James grins and nods.
"Alright sweetheart, I'll keep that in mind." He agrees. I chuckle.
"You do that." I reply, before walking back to my bike.
I flip open one of the saddlebags and pull out a flashlight, and then I crouch down next to the machine and start looking her over. I check the chassis, the wheels, the fasteners, the tires, the brakes, the belt, the shaft and the chain. Then I move over and check the engine; the fuel lines, the exhaust system, I make sure there are no leaks or missing pieces. I check the wiring and the switches, and then the controls. Everything important seems to be doing well enough. I'll need to find more coolant and brake fluid, and of course gas, and I'd love to find a couple of new tires, but I won't get my hopes up. Car and truck tires are easy enough to come by these days, but I'd be lucky to find a set of motorcycle tires, let alone the correct ones for my particular bike.
"Everything okay?" I hear Glenn behind me. I stand up.
"Yep. Just makin' sure she's doin' alright." I reply, putting the flashlight back in the saddlebag and grabbing a semi clean rag. I glance up as I start wiping the grease off my hands, and I see that Daryl is standing next to Glenn.
"There a problem?" I ask curiously, and a bit wearily. Glenn shakes his head.
"No, I just wanted to make sure you weren't having trouble with your bike. Not that I could hope to fix it, but still." Glenn explains. I give him a small smile.
"Well, thank you for checkin', but she's not giving me any trouble just yet. When she does, hopefully it'll be somethin' I can fix." I reply. Glenn looks curious.
"You're good with bikes?" He asks. I shrug, giving up on getting anymore grease off my hands, and replacing the rag in my saddlebag.
"I'm decent with most engines, but I know my bikes." I answer.
"O' course ya do, Izzy. We all know ya built the damn thing from the ground up." Liam says as he walks up to us. I smirk and lean against him.
"Aw, darlin'. You still upset that I didn' have time to build yours up?" I drawl. Liam huffs and shoves me off of him, and I chuckle.
"I'm not upset. Willy boy sure is t'ough." He replies. I roll my eyes.
"Will wrecked the piece of shit he rode, I wasn' about to build him one so he could do it again." I grumble. Liam laughs, and Glenn smiles.
"So you built the whole thing?" Glenn asks, looking the bike over.
"Mhm. Took me 6 months and almost $8,000, but it was worth it." I answer. I look at Daryl.
"You ride one, don' you?" I ask. He narrows his eyes and nods once.
"How'd ya know tha'?" He asks. I smile.
"You were too at ease on it for it to have been your first or even your tenth time on a bike." I answer. He shrugs.
"What's the make and model of your bike?" I ask curiously. Daryl shrugs.
"'s a Triumph, but ah don' know th' year or model. Was my brothers." He answers, and now he and Glenn look uncomfortable. I wonder if it's because his brother is dead, or if it's something else. I nod.
"Triumph's a hell of a bike." I say, knowing the redneck wouldn't appreciate any condolences. He nods.
"Yeah." He agrees. As he, Liam and Glenn continue talking about my bike, I hear my name being called, and I turn around to see Tori hurrying our way.
"Somethin' wrong?" I ask, placing my hand on the hilt of my sword. Tori shakes her head.
"No. I'm just restless." She complains. I smirk.
"What can I do to help?" I drawl. She rolls her eyes, and then grins and glances around at our surroundings.
"Do you think we have time to spar?" She asks. I shrug and turn to Glenn.
"We gonna be halted for another 20 minutes?" I ask. He frowns and nods.
"Don't see why not." He replies. I nod and then turn to Tori.
"How do you want to do this, Tor?" I ask. She hesitates, and then turns around and heads for James's truck. She reaches into the bed to grab something, and when she turns around, I grin. She's holding two wooden staffs, both the average length of a sword. She walks back over and tosses me one of them, and when I catch it, I follow her off the road and into an empty field. I unbelt my sword and drop in on the ground nearby, so that it won't get in the way. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Liam leading Glenn and Daryl a little closer to us. Our group has seen us do this a hundred times, but Glenn and Daryl probably think we're crazy.
I turn my attention back to Tori, and grab my staff with both hands. Tori uses only one hand, as is her preference. We stand a few meters away from each other, and when Tori nods, I step forward. She does the same, and is the first to attack. She swings her staff towards my head, and I block it with my own staff, and then shove her backwards. I advance forward, thrusting my staff towards her shoulder. She swings downward to block it, but I pull my staff back and swing it at her ankles. I manage to hit one of them, and Tori huffs.
"Again." She demands. I nod, and we start again.
She attacks first again, swinging towards my chest. I slam my staff against hers, and then she shoves me back. I stumble but catch myself, and then I duck the staff coming towards my head. Right after that, she sweeps her staff towards my ankles, so I jump up to avoid it. I bring my staff down, towards her shoulder, and she sidesteps out of the way. We both swing upwards and our staffs meet between us with a dull thump. I drag my staff down hers and smack it against her hands where she's holding the wood, and she hisses and drops her staff.
"Again." She growls. I dip my head and wait for her to pick up her staff, and then again, we start.
I attack first this time, thrusting my staff down at her knees. She bats my staff away and then raises her staff to bring it downwards. I take advantage of that, and swing my staff at her exposed ribs. She manages to avoid it, and before I can step back, she tags me on the shoulder with her staff. I pout and hold up my staff.
"Again." I request.
Tori doesn't hesitate, she just darts forward and thrusts her staff at my abdomen. I block it, and we continue to spar for long minutes. This time, the match isn't over quickly. We're warmed up, and both determined not to lose again. Finally, long after the match began, I see Tori swing up and around. I meet her in the middle, and instead of sliding my staff down hers and hitting her hands, I slide my staff down hers and then flick my wrist, causing her staff to leave her hands. I catch it and dart forward, stepping behind her. I press my staff against her throat, and her staff against her abdomen. She growls, but before she can say anything, someone claps their hands together once.
"Quite a show, as always, you two. But we need to keep moving." James calls out to us. I turn towards the road and see that everyone was watching Tori and I. Some of the group are perched in the beds of the three trucks, some are sitting at the edge of the road, and some remain standing. I step away from Tori, and she turns around and narrows her eyes at me.
"This isn't over." She grumbles. I laugh and nod.
"Of course not, Tor. We'll pick this back up later." I agree. I lean down and pick up my sword from the ground, and then we walk back over to the road. I return the staffs to James's truck, and then strip off my sweatshirt, which is now soaked in sweat. The Georgia heat is in full effect at this time of day, so I drop my sweatshirt in the trunk of my Mustang, and then quickly switch my sweat soaked t shirt for a cleaner long sleeve. After pulling it on, I walk back over to my bike, where Glenn and Daryl are still standing with Liam.
"Didya get out all t'at energy, Izzy?" Liam asks with a grin. I grin back.
"Not all of it, darlin'. But I'll figure somethin' out." I reply. Liam chuckles.
"Course ya will." Liam mutters. I roll my eyes.
"We headin' out?" I ask, and Glenn nods.
"Yeah. We're pretty close, shouldn't be too long." He answers. I nod, and when he and Liam head to their vehicles, I turn to Daryl.
"Feel like drivin'?" I ask. He looks surprised.
"Serious?" He asks. I could make a Harry Potter reference, but he probably wouldn't get it, and now's not the time for jokes anyways. I dip my head.
"If you want, and if you don't mind me ridin' with you." He shakes his head.
"Ah don' mind." He replies, before climbing onto the bike. I climb on behind him and grab onto the bottom of his leather vest.
"This alright?" I ask. He grunts.
"'s fine." He replies. The caravan gets going, and again, Daryl and I take the rear. It only takes 20 or so minutes for Glenn to lead us to the place he was talking about, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't surprised to see a prison.
There's an outer perimeter fence, and an inner one, and in between the two is a path between two of the watchtowers. There's a small group of people in between the fences, and it looks like they're stabbing the closest corpses, or walkers as Glenn and Daryl called them, through the outer fence. That's pretty smart. There's a person standing on the balcony of each of the watchtowers, and they both seem to be watching the caravan through the scopes of rifles. Daryl raises his hand above his head, and up ahead, Glenn lowers his window and does the same. Glenn leads us up to a short pair of red, metal doors, and just past the fence, I can see a short boy in a funny hat pulling on a rope. The doors swing open and a thin, dark skinned women slides open the fence. Daryl follows the rest of the vehicles through, and while he does so, I continue to look around.
Now that we're closer, I can see that the two people in the towers are a man and a woman. They stay up there until all of the vehicles are parked, and then they head into the tower and come out through the bottom. The women jogs towards us and throws herself into Glenn's arms, and he catches her and gives her a kiss.
"Where did you find all of these people?" She asks. Glenn smiles.
"Daryl and I were checking out one of the smaller towns off the highway. When we went back to the truck, we found one of them trying to hotwire it, and another one keeping watch. They answered the questions, we went to their group, the rest of the group answered the questions, so here we are." He explains. I climb off the back of the bike and Daryl follows suit. I walk over to the Mustang just as Eric, Jen and Chris are climbing out. Jen looks excited, and she grins widely when she sees me.
"This is amazing! A prison, that's so smart!" She exclaims. I have my doubts, but I just smile and nod.
"Are we going to stay?" Eric asks. I shrug.
"We oughta stay for a while, meet the rest of the people here, see what it's like. We'll make our decision eventually." I reply. He nods, and then I leave them to go talk to the others. I walk up to James, Liam, William, Deucalion and Ian.
"Havin' a party, boys?" I drawl. Ian grins at me.
"It's never a party without you, sweetheart." He replies. I laugh.
"Always the smooth talker, Ian. Someone oughta put a leash on you." I tell him. He wraps an arm around my waist.
"You offering?" He murmurs. I lean against him and shake my head.
"Hell no." I reply. Ian snickers, and William grins at me.
"As if. Everyone here knows Bella isn't interested in the responsibility or baggage of a relationship." William states. I smirk at him.
"Well, that makes the six of us one and the same, doesn't it, Willy?" I ask. He rolls his eyes.
"I suppose it does. But exceptions can be made." William says distractedly, looking over at a group of women walking through the courtyard. I laugh.
"Falling int' bed wit' someone and ent'rin' int' a relationship are not tha same t'ing, Willy boy." Liam informs him. William scoffs.
"Maybe I want a relationship nowadays, you Irish mongrel. Maybe I've changed." He argues. Liam lets out a bark of laughter, and Ian mutters 'as if'. I elbow him in the ribs, and he squeezes me tighter.
"Here's hoping, Will. But seeing you in a long term relationship, that'll be the day." I say. Will grins at me.
"Likewise." He concedes.
"Alright, back to business, you fucking idiots." Deucalion tells us. Ian opens his mouth, probably to insult his brother, but I nudge him and nod to James.
"Let's see how this goes." James mutters. We all nod, and together, the six of us walk over to Glenn and the women who greeted him, as well as Daryl and another man, who also looks like a redneck.
"Everything alright?" Glenn asks. James nods.
"Fine. Just not used to seeing so many people." He answers, nodding at the courtyard, where people are coming and going. Glenn nods.
"You'll get used to it. This is my wife, Maggie, and Daryl's brother, Merle." Glenn introduces. We all exchange various greetings. I nod at the redneck, Merle, and give a small smile to the women, Maggie.
"Are you plannin' on stayin with us?" Maggie asks, and her accent makes it obvious that she grew up here in the South.
"We are, if t'at's still alright." Liam answers. Maggie and Glenn nod.
"Of course. Would you mind moving your cars over to where the rest of them are parked?" She asks, gesturing to a clearing dotted with different cars and trucks. I see a lone motorcycle, and figure that must be the one Daryl was talking about. And if this is his brother, obviously not dead, I wonder what the problem with him is. We all agree to moving our cars, and I look at Daryl.
"You have my keys, or did you leave 'em in the bike?" I ask. He pulls them out of his pocket and hands them to me.
"Thanks." I tell him. He nods. James tosses me the keys to his truck, and Ian tosses the keys to his car to Deucalion. The two of us head back over to our group, while James, Ian, Liam and William stay. I toss James's keys to Theo.
"We're moving all the vehicles to that clearing." I inform the group. Chris gets into my Mustang, Joshua climbs into his truck, Duke heads for his brothers car, and Theo heads for James's truck. I swing myself onto my bike and start her up, and them I lead the others over to the clearing. I park my bike close to the Triumph, and Chris parks the Mustang next to me. I climb off my bike and walk over to my car, running a hand over the hood of it.
"You take care of my baby?" I ask Chris. He laughs and nods.
"Of course I did." He answers, handing me the keys.
"Good. Thank you." I tell him. He nods.
"You can go back to Jen and Eric. I'm just gonna look her over." I say. Chris nods again and heads off with the others. I turn back to my Mustang and pop the hood. I start looking over the engine, and I hear footsteps in the gravel behind me, but I ignore them.
"Did ya build this one too?" Daryl asks, stopping beside me. I shake my head without looking at him.
"Nah, just the bike. I found this beauty near New Orleans, and I refused to leave her behind." I answer.
"Shit, sugar, ya made the right call." I hear someone rasp. I tilt my head for a second, and see the other redneck, Merle.
"Glad you approve." I drawl dryly. Merle laughs, and it's just as raspy as his voice. I imagine he smoked a lot, probably more than just cigarettes.
"So ya built this here beauty?" He asks, walking over to my bike and looking it over.
"I did. Heard that Triumph there was yours." I reply, reaching down and checking the belt of my Mustang.
"Oh, it still is, but Darylena and ah don't see eye ta eye about that." Merle answers.
I glance over to Daryl and see that he's glaring at his brother. I chuckle and straighten up, and I catch Merle staring at my ass. I roll my eyes, but don't call him out. I walk over to my bike and pull out the same rag I used earlier, and I scrub my hands to get at least some of the grease off. When I'm done, I replace the rag, and then start walking toward my group. I hear the Dixon brothers follow.
"So, ya th' leader of yer group, sugar?" Merle asks. I laugh and shake my head.
"Not exactly. There's more than one person in charge." I answer. He nods and then studies me.
"Yer boyfriend one of th' leaders?" He asks. I chuckle.
"Who exactly do you think is my boyfriend, Dixon?" I ask. He scoffs.
"Th' one tha had his arm 'round ya while ya'll were flirtin an' shit." He says, like it's obvious. I assume he's talking about Ian. I laugh and lean a little closer to Merle.
"I'm not datin' Ian, or any of the other guys I was 'flirtin' with. But tell me this, darlin'. If I flirt with you, does that mean we're datin'?" I drawl, and before he can answer, we arrive at the rest of the group, and James beckons me over. I turn and wink at the Dixon brothers, and then I make my way over to James.
"Having fun already, Bella?" He asks knowingly. I grin at him.
"They make it so easy." I reply. He chuckles, and then nods at Glenn.
"Okay, follow me and I'll show you where you'll be staying. I assume you want to be grouped together?" Glenn asks. We answer affirmatively, and he nods and starts walking.
We follow him into the large concrete building, and we pass by a few handfuls of people, most of whom smile at us. Eventually, we reach a part of the prison, and Glenn stops and turns to face us.
"This is cell block E. Only a couple of the cells are taken, but apart from those, you all can take your pick. There are two bunks in each cell, and we'd appreciate if you'd share cells with each other, just so there's room for others." Glenn informs us.
We agree, and after Glenn tells us that the plumbing works, and that there's extra sheets to hang in the doorways of the cells, he leave us to get settled. Everyone finds their cell mates, and the way it works out is Samantha and Deucalion in one cell, Theo and Shay in one cell, Eric and Chris in one cell, Jennifer and Natalie in one cell, William and Joshua in one cell, Ben and Joseph in one cell, and Liam and Ian in one cell. There's only myself, James, and Tori left, and before James or I can say anything, Tori walks over to stand in the doorway of one of the cells.
"I'm taking this one for myself. You two have seen each other in various states of undress for 7 years, you'll live." She states. James and I just laugh and head into our new cell.
When everyone's picked their bunks, we all head out to our cars to grab our things. When we get back inside, I drop my bags on my bunk, and then go from cell to cell, telling everyone to keep their stuff packed up for now, just in case we have to make a quick getaway. We already left some of our weapons and things that we don't use everyday in the cars, just in case. When that's done, I head back to my cell and sit down on the bottom bunk. James leans over the side of the top bunk, and grins at me.
"Been a long time since we had beds to call our own, hmm?" He asks. I grin and nod in agreement.
I might not be so sure about this place just yet, but it's definitely nice to be able to stretch out and lay down properly. And when Maggie leans her head into the cell block and tells us about the showers, it gets even better. The whole group scrambles to grab clothes and then hightail it to the showers. Some of us haven't showered since the beginning of the outbreak. We usually just wash up in rivers and lakes.
"You feel like showering together, Bella? Gotta conserve water, after all." Ian offers, walking beside me. I chuckle and grin at him.
"I don' think so. People are already under the impression that we're datin'." I inform him. He looks surprised.
"The fuck?" He asks. I shrug.
"We were bein' awfully friendly when we got here." I explain. He laughs, and Liam walks over to us with a towel slung over his shoulder.
"Sure, t'at's it. Or maybe Izzy wants to go find one a t'ose rednecks t' shower wit'." He suggests. I pout at him.
"Damn it, Liam. You've figured me out." I reply, and he chuckles.
"What is it wit' you and t'ose redneck anyways?" He snarks with a grin. I roll my eyes as we walk towards the showers.
"It must be the accent, it just does somethin' to me." I snark back. Liam and Ian laugh, and Ian nudges me.
"So they get your engine started, but I don't?" He asks. I groan at the terrible joke.
"Yeah, that's it." I reply sarcastically. I flip both of them off, and then I walk into the showers designated for women. Jennifer, Natalie and Tori are already inside, and they all greet me. I greet them back, and quickly strip off my travel worn clothes. I toss them onto the sink counter, next to my cleaner clothes, and then I step up to a showerhead and turn it on. It takes a moment, but the water starts beating down on me, and when it heats up, I sigh at the feeling.
"We haven't had accommodations as nice as this since we stayed in that base." Natalie notes. I hum in agreement as I start washing the grime and dirt out of my hair.
"The people here seem pretty friendly too. Nat and I were walking around while everyone was unloading the cars, we talked to a few different people." Jen says. I smile at her.
"Already makin' friends? I'm not surprised." I reply to her. She grins and nods, and then she looks at me strangely.
"You don't mind that I'm bunking with Nat, right?" She asks. I'm quick to shake my head.
"I don' mind at all. I expected it, anyways. You two are inseparable sometimes." I answer. Nat smirks at me.
"There's that, and the fact that she gets to bunk with James." She says, and Jen giggles. I raise an eyebrow at her.
"You two are still on about James and I? It never happened. There's nothin' there." I groan. Jen pouts.
"We don't believe you." She replies. I turn to Tori and gesture wildly at the two girls. Tori chuckles.
"She's serious, girls. I can promise you, her and James never dated, or fucked regularly. I do think they fucked, at least once, but apparently there's no proof." Tori tells them. I roll my eyes, and see Shay and Samantha stepping up to the shower heads. Sam laughs loudly.
"I don't think it's James she's hung up on." She says.
"Jesus Christ, now who?" I grumble. Nat looks over at her.
"What do you mean?" She asks curiously. Sam smirks at me and then looks back at Natalie.
"Ian told Duke and I that Bella was flirting with the Dixon brothers earlier, and she admitted it." Sam divulges. I groan again and rub my hands across my face.
"I was jokin'!" I exclaim, but it's too late. The four teenagers start talking about Daryl and I on my bike together earlier, and then about Merle staring at me. Then they go on a tangent about how cute so and so is, and did you see what so and so did with so and so. Tori just laughs and listens. I roll my eyes and quickly finish my shower. When I'm done, I towel off and pull on a bra and panties, and then a pair of cutoff shorts, a dark red tank top, and a pair of grey Vans sneakers. As I'm walking past the showerheads, Nat whistles at me, and Jen catcalls.
"I haven't seen you show off your tattoos in a long time. Trying to impress a certain someone, Izzy?" Jen calls out. I scoff.
"I have bigger things to deal with than impressing strangers into my bed." I reply. Jen pouts, but before she can reply, I walk out of the showers. I head back to our cell block and drop my stuff off in my cell, and then I stand in front of the mirror in there. I towel dry and then braid my damp hair so it's out of my way. I hear a knock on the wall outside of my cell, and I turn and see Maggie. I smile at her.
"Hi. What's up?" I ask. She smiles back.
"I was just wonderin' if you could grab the other members of yer group that are in charge and bring them to the library to meet the council. It's just down the hall from the showers." She requests. I nod.
"Of course. But a few of 'em are still showerin'." I reply. She nods.
"Oh, there's no rush." She reassures me. I smile and nod.
"We'll be there as soon as everyone's done." I tell her. She nods and then walks off. I walk over to the cell next to mine and find Deucalion.
"Did you hear Maggie?" I ask. He sits up on his bunk and shakes his head.
"Gotta meet with the council. Go grab Ian, Will, Liam and James, will you?" I ask. Duke groans, but nods and stands up.
He heads to the showers to hurry the boys up, and I follow him out of the cell block, but head down a different hallway. I end up at a door, and when I pull it open, I find myself on a catwalk that looks over the courtyard and field. I step up to the fence and grab on to it, and then I just observe. I see the outdoor kitchen and all of the people eating there, and I spy Jen and Nat sitting at a table, talking to a thin, blonde girl and a gangly brunet boy with glasses. I see Sam sitting and talking to a short dark skinned woman and a tall, bulky dark skinned man. Those three never could sate their curiosity. I glance out past the fence, and see that the mob of corpses is much less than it was when we arrived. I hear the door on the other side of the catwalk open, and I turn to see Merle step onto the catwalk. He grins at me.
"Hey, sugar." He greets me. I chuckle and grin back.
"Merle." I greet him back.
"What are ya doin' out here all by yerself?" He asks.
"Just lookin'." I reply. Merle hums skeptically, and I laugh.
"What, you don' trust me?" I ask. He scoffs.
"Should ah?" He asks. I grin at him.
"I wouldn'." I answer honestly. He lets out a raspy laugh. It's a condescending, cruel sound.
"Ya think yer tough, sugar? Think ya scare anyone here? Maybe the China-man, maybe a couple of the other weasels. But the rest of us? We've seen it all, girlie. We ain't scared of ya and yer liddol group." He rasps. I roll my eyes, but don't turn away from Merle. Anyone else, I'd probably have turned back to the fields and spoken to them like that. But this man is dangerous. I knew that the second I saw him up close, standing next to his brother.
"You think you're the only people who've 'seen it all'? You think that just because you've had to deal with some terrible things, that no one else has? Get over yourself, darlin'. My group isn' a threat to you or yours, because you aren' a threat to us. But if you become one? Well, I bet you're a man who sleeps with one eye open. But you don' scare us. And supposedly, we're tryin' to live together in peace." I reply. Merle smirks at me.
"Ah don't scare any of ya liddol teenagers? Maybe ah'll try ta, bet that would be buckets of fun." He drawls. I smile at the man.
"You go right ahead and try. Please, I'd love to see it. And while you're busy doin' that, I do believe Daryl's already begun to trust me. I'm sure your council will want to see what my group's capable of. I'll be the first to volunteer to go huntin'. Bet your baby brother'll tag along, see if I'm any good. Now that sounds like buckets of fun to me. Don' you think?" I ask. Before Merle can answer, I make a show of glancing at the watch on my wrist. "Well, would you look at that. I have a meeting to get to. With your baby brother. You'll have to excuse me." I tell him, before brushing past him and walking back into the prison. I don't relax until I'm well away from the man.
I find Duke and the other boys in our cell block, and James looks relieved.
"There you are. Let's go." He says, leading the way into the hallway. William links his arm with mine and pulls me so there's a bit of distance between us and the rest of the group.
"Everything alright?" He asks. I nod.
"Fine. Why?" I ask. Will raises an eyebrow at me.
"I served with you for 7 years, Bella. I've gotten pretty good at knowing when you want to shoot someone." He explains. I laugh and shrug, and Will nudges me.
"Something we should be worried about?" He asks. I roll my eyes.
"I'm not going to shoot a member of the group that just took us in, Will." I scoff. Will nods.
"I know you wouldn't shoot anyone unless they deserved it, or they were a threat. My question is, does Dixon deserve it? Is he a threat?" He asks. I tense up and turn my head to look at Will, shocked.
"Dixon?" I ask, wondering how he knows. Will smiles coldly.
"I saw the way he was looking at you outside. Figured it was only a matter of time before he pushed his luck." Will answers. I nod.
"What did he do?" Will questions heatedly. I tighten my grip on his arm.
"Nothin', Will. We just had a nice little chat, that's all. You know I can take care of myself." I remind him. He chuckles.
"Bella, you take care of this entire group. I know you can handle anything thrown at you. But Dixon is different. He seems ruthless, and more than a little dangerous. With or without meaning to, I'm sure you provoked him. Just, keep your eyes open, Bella." Will advises me. I roll my eyes, but realize that he's right. I've never dealt with the likes of Merle Dixon.
I clear my head as I follow William into the library. We come to a stop in front of a table, and on the other side of it, there are 5 people seated. I recognize Glenn and Daryl, but the other three are a mystery. The oldest member at the table, a man with white hair and a white beard, gestures to the chairs on our side of the table with a friendly smile.
"Please, sit." He requests. We all do, and from left to right, it's William on one end, Ian, myself, James, Liam and then Deucalion on the other end.
"My name is Hershel Greene. I'm the head of this council. I think we should say a bit about ourselves, just to warm up to each other." He suggests. We all agree, and he nods. "Well, before all this, I was a farmer and a veterinarian. My two daughters are here at the prison with me, I believe you've met Maggie." He begins. He gestures to the woman with short hair next to him, and she gives a short smile.
"My name is Carol Marcus. Before this, I had a daughter, and I was just a housewife." She states. I assume she lost her daughter, but the women seems hardened, so I swallow my sympathy. Next to her, Daryl grunts.
"Y'already know ma name's Daryl Dixon. Here with my brother Merle. 'Fore this I was a hunter." He says gruffly. No surprise there, not with that crossbow of his. Next to him is the short, dark skinned women that I saw Sam talking to earlier.
"I'm Sasha Williams. My brother is here too. Before this, I was a firefighter." She tells us. Hmm. Interesting. Beside her, Glenn smiles at us.
"Well, you already know I'm Glenn, Glenn Rhee. I'm not here with any family by blood, but I'm married to Maggie, Hershel's daughter. Before this, I delivered pizzas." He says with a smile. We smile back, and then James straightens up.
"The six of us share the responsibility of our group, but generally, Bella and I are in charge. My name is James Courtney. I don't have any family left. Before this, I was a Staff Sergeant in the US Army." James begins. When he's finished, I smile quickly.
"My name's Isabella Stark. My brother and two cousins are here with me. Before this, I was a Staff Sergeant in the US Army." I recite. Next, Ian grins.
"I'm Ian Hale. I'm here with my brother Duke. Before this, I was a writer." Ian rattles off.
"Name's William Moore. No family. Used to be a Sergeant in the Army." William says.
"My name's Liam Kearney. I don't have any family, and before t'is, I was a Sergeant in the Army as well." Liam drawls.
"My name is Deucalion Hale, My family is Ian and my girlfriend, Samantha. Before this, I was a professor." Deucalion finishes. Hershel smiles and nods.
"Thank you. Now, might I ask how many people are in your group?" He asks.
"17 people. 6 women and 11 men." James answers. Hershel nods.
"Any children?" Carol asks.
"Six teenagers. The rest of the majority of us are in our 20's, with the exception of Ian and Deucalion." I answer, gritting my teeth as I remember Merle threatening them. Duke laughs
"Way to make us feel old, Bella." He jokes. I grin.
"You are old, honey." I inform him. He narrows his eyes at me. Hershel chuckles, and Glenn and Sasha smile.
"Your weapons are your own, but we'd like to know what you carry, and who's good with what." Carol requests.
"That's fair. Our whole group is decent with pistols and rifles, and they each carry at least one firearm and one knife. I'm good with a stake. Ian prefers a machete. You oughta see Isabella with a sword. James is the best at hand to hand, and against corpses he usually uses his knives. Liam is a brawler, and he's a damn good shot with any gun you give him. Deucalion likes his staff with blades on either end. We have a couple of other soldiers in our group, one of them is good with throwing knives, and the other is good with a bow. We also have a pair of twins who're good fighters, and decent shots." William answers. Carol leans back in her seat and nods.
"Are any of you injured?" Glenn asks.
"Or bit?" Daryl adds, leaning forward.
"William has a knife wound on 'is side, Isabella has an old bullet wound on 'er collarbone, and one of our group, Ben, has a cut from a fall on 'is leg. T'at's it. None of us are bit. 'f anyone was, t'ey'd've been dealt with." Liam answers.
"Dealt with?" Carol echoes. Liam shrugs.
"Our whole group knows t'at if t'ey get bit, t'ey'll die anyways. We've all agreed t' take care of each ot'er, should t'at happen." He explains. Carol nods.
"Alright. Well, here at the prison, we have a couple of gardens, a kitchen outside, a pig pen and horse stable, and lots of work to be done." Hershel says. I nod.
"We're more than willin' to pull our own weight around here. Just tell us what needs doin'." I reply. He nods.
"We have teams that work down at the fences, taking down walkers. We could use help in the gardens, in the electric shed, in keeping all of our vehicles up and running, and so on." Glenn explains. James nods.
"Our whole group can take shifts on the fence, and in the gardens. We have a handful of members who are good with engines and the like, so they'll help in the shed and with the cars. Some of us are willing to go on runs for the prison, and when you feel we've earned your trust, you can assign us to the watch if you like." James tells the council. Hershel leans back and smiles.
"Well now, welcome to the prison." He tells us. We smile and thank him, and then we're dismissed.