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FRIEND OR FOE
Chapter 3
Daryl approached the small building. It was some sort of old neighborhood lodge. There was a perimeter fence around the property attached to the building. The front side of the building was completely boarded up. It didn't look like a great place to set up camp for a group but he had seen worse. The fence at least seemed helpful although it didn't keep Caleb from running off on his own. The driveway led up to a gate on the wooden fence along the perimeter. Daryl could see where someone had roughly attached barbed wire to the top of the fence all the way around, reminding him more of a prison but he assumed it was their crude attempt to keep anyone from crawling over the fence. Was it to keep the walkers out or keep the people in, he wondered. Daryl's focus quickly left the building and was back on the boy. He couldn't help but worry about Caleb, wondering what else he would suffer for punishment for straying too far. You better start worrying about yourself Daryl…. he thought.
Daryl stopped his bike about twenty feet from the gate when he saw it slowly open. The truck pulled up close behind him. He wondered how many people were there and what was in store for him. What was supposed to be a relaxing day had turned into anything but. Daryl could feel the adrenaline begin to surge through his body waiting for the unknown, not knowing if he should focus his attention on the men behind him or the gate in front of him.
"Get off the bike…" The driver demanded, as he slammed the truck door and approached Daryl. Daryl stepped off his bike and turned his attention towards the man and kept his eye on the passenger's side as he watch the other man lead Caleb out of the truck by his arm, almost dragging him as Caleb struggled to keep up the pace to him. Daryl was fuming at the way the man was treating the boy but he knew there was nothing he could do at that point with a shotgun in his face. But one thing was for sure, Daryl was not about to forget it either. At the first opportunity, Daryl had the mind to give the man a dose of his own medicine.
"Come on you little brat…you've been enough of a headache for one day…" The man told Caleb as they started to walk towards the gate.
"CALEB!" Daryl heard a woman's voice shout. As he turned his attention back around he saw a small framed woman wearing blue jeans and a gray tank top. Her long dark hair was pulled back in a single braid that was pulled over one shoulder and hung down almost to her waist in the front. She pushed passed the man that was opening the gate before he could even stop her. She ran towards Caleb.
"MOM!" Caleb yelled in response back to her and Daryl watched as they ran towards one another, the woman dropped to her knees and wrapped both arms around him.
Daryl could see the fear, worry and relief all rolled into one written all over her face. He felt a sense of relief when he saw the care and concern from the boy's mother.
"Don't ever go off again by yourself!" She pushed him away from her just enough to look at him and noticed the red mark on his face. She gently stroked his cheek as she asked "What happened? Are you ok?".
"I'm ok mom, it's nothin " Caleb told her. The woman looked at him more sternly but before she spoke she glanced over at Daryl then back to Caleb.
"Did he do this?" She asked him. Daryl was disgusted at the thought of her automatically assuming he had something to do with it. Typical bitch… Daryl thought to himself. Before Caleb could respond the man who struck him spoke up.
"I popped him one…..maybe if he had someone jerk a knot in his tail more often you wouldn't have him running off on his own…" The man remarked.
Daryl watched as the woman rose to her feet, marched over to the man and slugged him so hard in the jaw it even caused Daryl to flinch. Daryl couldn't help but laugh a little at how "matter of fact" she was about it. Like she didn't have a fear in the world of a man twice her size, let alone holding a shotgun. Daryl could tell she caught the man completely off guard.
"Don't ever raise a hand to my child again!" She scolded him.
"You fuckin bitch…why I….." The man clenched his fist but the woman didn't stand down one bit in front of him but the driver of the truck cut him off.
"Don't even think about it Jason…..you raise one hand to her and we'll have a serious problem." The man told him.
"But Alex, she…." Jason barked back.
"But she nothing….we have more important things to deal with right now." He stated as he gestured towards Daryl. "Naomi, get inside with Caleb…." Alex ordered.
Alex….Daryl remembered Caleb mentioning him before….
Daryl watched Naomi back up towards Caleb still eyeing Jason with a stern look as if daring him to raise a hand again to either one of them. Slowly her eyes cut over to Alex and then to Daryl. Daryl could see a coldness in her eyes but it seemed to melt away when she directed her attention back towards Caleb.
"Come on, honey, let's get you cleaned up." She told Caleb as she gently placed her hand on the back of his head and led him towards the gate. Daryl could hear Caleb begin to talk a mile a minute about the walkers chasing him and Daryl riding up on his motorcycle as they headed inside. Naomi cut Caleb off before he could finish "That's enough….we'll talk it about later…"
Naomi glanced back at Daryl one last time before she was out of sight behind the fence. Daryl quickly turned his attention back towards Alex just at the same moment he heard a crack. Daryl felt a sharp pain against the side of his head as he was struck with the butt of the shotgun. He dropped to his knees and everything started to spin. Daryl fought with all of his might to stay conscious but as the ground came hurling towards him, he knew it was useless. Everything quickly went black…..
