Chapter four: Flares
But did you see the flares in the sky?
Were you blinded by the light?
Did you feel the smoke in your eyes?
Did you, did you?
Did you see the sparks filled with hope?
You are not alone
'Cause someone's out there, sending out flares.
-Flares, The Script.
I smile at Alex and see that Andrea and Jacqui are doing the same. As we were driving back to the camp I had opened up my bag and taken out the French Dictionary that I got from the department store, along with a pen and a small pad of paper that I already had.
"Well done! You've got it." I tell him, Alex was writing down French to English phrases and saying them out loud, I was correcting him on pronunciation and helping him read through the dictionary. I myself wasn't all too good at French in school but I knew some of the basics. I watched as Alex wrote out another sentence and showed it to me.
I laugh, "I don't know you'll have to ask Andrea and Jacqui." I tell him and motion towards the two women who were both watching him intently.
He took in a deep breath before reading his question off of the paper, "Are there any… other children?" he asks slowly. I had gone over basic pronunciation and what sounds letters made, but the dictionary also gave the sounds of the words when spoken. I smile up at Andrea and Jacqui, he seems to be a very smart little boy.
"Well, Morales children are there, and a few others." Jacqui answers, I can see him processing the word before smiling back.
"Good!" he exclaims and we all laugh. I take the dictionary out of his hands and he looks up at me with his warm chocolatey eyes.
"My turn." I tell him, I flip through the pages before speaking, "Hmm. Comment vous sentez-vous?" I ask him, "How do you feel?"
He scrunches up his tiny nose, "J'ai faim." He says clearly.
"Don't tell me." I say as I figure out what he's saying, "'I am'….Hungry?" I ask, the little boy nods his head. I take the pen and paper and write down a few sentences on the page.
"I know you are, we'll have food soon." I tell him and hand back the pen and paper, "translate these and write them down." I hand back the dictionary and he goes back to work. I ruffle his hair before standing up and leaning over Morales' chair.
"How far out are we?" I ask, the sun is starting to set and the outside world looks peaceful once again, almost as if the apocalypse had never happened.
Morales turns back to face me, "just a couple of miles, we'll be there real soon." He tells me with a smile on his face, he must be relieved to be back with his kids, "how's the little one doing?" he asks he peers around my shoulder to look at Alex who's nose is stuffed in the dictionary.
"He's a very hungry little boy, I don't know how long it's been since he's had proper food so when we get back is there a chance he could have something to eat?" I ask.
"Of course! We have tinned food that he's welcome to tuck into." He says brightly, "we have water too, we go down to the lake and collect water from there then we boil it."
"Oh good," I say relieved. I turn to Rick who has been very quiet for most of the journey, "Hey, how are you holding up." Rick doesn't really give a reply other than glancing my way and back to the road, Morales and I look at each other before looking back at Rick.
"Best not to dwell on it that Merle got left behind. Nobody's gonna be sad that he didn't come back…except maybe Daryl." He tells Rick.
"Daryl?" Rick asks.
I remembered Merle comparing me to his brother who 'also had a stick up his ass.' Perhaps that was his brother, "Is that his brother?" I ask.
"Yeah, that's him." Morales explains, suddenly I hear the same car alarm from earlier, Alex drops his book and paper to the floor before rushing up to my side, I look into the side mirror to see none other than the red sports car speeding behind us, the car easily over takes us while Glenn's arm fist pumps the air out of the window and he's whooping like a loon. Alex think's it's extremely funny and starts to giggle uncontrollably, I also can't help but laugh a little at the quirky Korean man.
"At least somebody's having a good day." Morales comments. I place my hand on Alex's shoulder and turn us both around.
"C'mon then, we're almost there." I tell him and we both sit back down and simply enjoy the soothing ride to a place that is safe, it did help relax one's conscience.
It's not before long that the truck comes to a stop, Alex who sits beside me looks excited and can't wait to get out of the vehicle. I put everything back into my backpack including my two Sais and Alex's rain coat. The back door opens and everyone jumps out breathing in the fresh air that the mountains have to offer them. I will admit I'm a little nervous, I pat down my dirty clothes that are beyond saving and I wipe my face a few times on my top. I really want to make a good impression on these people who have decided to take us in.
"Are you nervous?" Alex ask me, I smile at him and brush his hair with my fingers.
"'course not," I reply, "wait here with me."
I look at Rick who hasn't moved from his seat, "I'm sorry Rick. I know you were out there looking for your family, but maybe they're still out there somewhere." I tell him, "You have to have hope right?" I ask him.
He takes his head out of his hands and looks at me with tired eye's, "yeah, I guess."
"I'm gonna let you in on something. When my Mum and Dad first split up things were crazy for a while, it was a rather messy divorce and my parents grew to hate each other. I didn't think anything would ever be okay again, I didn't have any hope of things being okay again. My Dad told me that if I had hope, then I was already halfway there." I tell him, he watches me as a smile lights up my face, "You have to have hope, Rick." I turn around and Alex follows me, I jump out of the back of the truck and hold out my arms for him then I lift him out and set him on the ground. I wrap my arm around his shoulders and his arm comes up to wrap around my waist as we walk towards the group who all had happy smiles on their faces.
I saw Andrea hugging a girl who seemed to be around my age with light blonde hair, which must have been Amy, her younger sister. Morales was currently smothered by his kids as they ran and jumped into his arms, followed by a short woman who must have been his wife. There were a few other people on camp that I had never seen before. I lead myself and Alex over to Glenn who's smiling at us, it was the same smile he gave us when he got us out of the tank.
"Hey, little man you did good today." Glenn tells Alex who looks at Glenn with a shy smile.
"Hey, helicopter boy, Come say hello to everyone." Morales calls to Rick who is still to get out of the van. I laugh at the new nickname I'm definitely not gonna let that one slip. "The guy's a cop, like you." Morales tells someone behind us, Rick gets out of the truck and places his hands on his hips as he walks towards us I offer him a friendly smile but he just looks on tiredly when suddenly he just stops walking towards us and stares at something behind us with wide eyes.
"Rick?" I ask.
He points at someone then puts a hand to his mouth in shock, "Oh." He mutters and starts walking forward quicker than before.
"Dad! Dad!" I hear from behind me, I see a little boy with brown hair and blue eyes the same shade as Ricks running towards us with a slender woman who has long brown hair. I open my mouth in shock as Rick starts crying while running towards the little boy before catching him in his arms and falling to the floor with him. He found them, they were here all along! Everyone is stunned into silence as the family reunites. Rick picks up his son and kisses his hair while walking towards his wife who just stands there in shock before she wraps her arms tightly around the pair.
"Isn't that a sight for sore eyes?" A man says next to me causing me to jump, he laughs lightly with a friendly smile, "I'm Dale." He offers me his hand and I awkwardly shake it, I never really have been one of those people who shook other people's hands.
"Reia Faye, it's nice to meet you. This is Alex." I introduce myself and my young ward.
Dale smiles, "You're-
"British, yes. That's all I hear from anyone these days." I say with a small laugh and Dale joins me.
"I bet. Reia, Huh? That's an interesting name." He says curiously.
"It's a nickname, and that's all you get I'm afraid." I say sheepishly, "My full names a bit of a mouth full"
Dale carries on smiling, "That's fine by me, let's get you both settled in shall we?"
Thanks to Dale, Alex and I had a tent set up for ourselves within the hour, it was a small one man tent but we could both easily fit into it. We had both changed into new clothes which was a relief. I had been wearing my cargo pants and white top for days and to be quite honest it was starting to smell, Andrea had kindly taken my clothes to be washed which I was extremely thankful for. I was now wearing an old pair of black skinny jeans with a red shirt and a green camisole on underneath, on my feet were a clean pair of red socks that poked out of my trusty work boots. Alex was now wearing a new pair of blue Jeans, his converse and a grey t-shirt. The young boy looked more at ease surrounded by everyone while we sat around the campfire once the sun had gone down. Rick was in the middle of telling everyone about his journey from when he woke up in the hospital to now.
"Disoriented, I guess that comes closest." He says while everyone sits in silence as the listen intently, Carl was sitting on his lap while Lori was pressed up against his side, "fear, confusion, all those things, but disoriented comes closest."
Alex rests his head on my arm while gazing into the small fire, I wrap my arm around his back.
"Words can be meagre things," Dales says and places his cup down on the floor, "Sometimes they fall short." I like Dale, he reminds me of my favourite primary school teacher who had both wisdom and humour, he cared for everyone.
"I felt like I had been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else." Rick continues, "For a while, I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not ever wake up from, ever."
Carl looks up at his father, "Mom said you died." He tells him quietly.
Rick looks away from his son to Lori and back, "she had every reason to believe that, don't you ever doubt it." I noticed that Lori kept glancing up at someone across the fire, I followed her gaze to Rick's best friend whom I was introduced to earlier, his name was Shane? I'm terrible at names sometimes. I looked back at Lori to see that she was now staring at me! I quickly avert my eyes from her and look at Alex who's eyelids are starting to droop. Wonder what her problem is.
"When things started to get really bad they told me at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta…and it never happened." Lori explains.
Rick nods his head, "Well I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell. And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun."
"Yeah looks don't deceive," Shane pipes up and everyone's attention turns to him, he had been very quiet since I had met him earlier today, "I barely got them out…You know?" There was something weird about the way he said it, almost as if he was being defensive about the fact that he was the one to 'save' Lori and Carl. I shake my head a little, I'm probably over thinking things which I tend to do a lot.
"I can't tell you how grateful I am, Shane. Can't begin to express it." He tells his friend sincerely. Shane just stares back at Rick intensely, there's definitely something going on here.
"There goes those words falling short again." Dale comments, with a smile "Paltry things." We're all left in a peaceful silence until a large man noisily stands up and chuck a log into the fire causing sparks to fly. The wood quickly starts to burn and crackle in the flames. Wasn't the rule to keep the fires small to not draw attention?
"Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" Shane asks him, so that was a rule then. Everyone looked over at the man in question.
"It's cold, man." Came Ed's gruff reply, that guy seems like an idiot.
I look back at Shane who seems a tad bit annoyed at the older man's antics, "Cold doesn't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?" Shane's not really asking him, he's telling him.
Ed looks bored, "I said it's cold, you should mind your own business for once."
I squint my eyes and the man's attitude, is he stupid? Shane huffs and stands up, he stalks towards Ed's fire with a mitten in hand.
"Are you sure you want to have this conversation, Ed?" Shane asks, there's a tenseness in the once peaceful environment as the two men stare each other down. It's Ed who breaks eye contacts and scratches his head.
"Go on, pull that thing out." he gestures to a woman sitting across from him, she's a slender woman with extremely short hair who is currently sitting by a young girl with short blonde locks. "Go on!" he almost shouts at her, I watch the woman jump to her feet at Ed's command and quickly pulls the burning log out of the fire, Shane watches the exchange without saying anything before stamping on the log to put it out. He then turns back to the woman and the young girl.
"Hey, Carol, Sophia, how are y'all this evening?" He asks in a softer voice.
The woman, Carol, nods her head quickly "Fine, we're just fine." She informs him. Her eyes flicker over to Ed who for some unknown reason looks pissed at her, "I'm sorry about the fire." She apologises.
"No, no, no. There's no apology needed. Y'all have a good night, ok?" He says with a smile.
"Ok." Comes carols small reply.
Ok so maybe Shane isn't too bad after all, I mean Rick did speak quite highly of him. He doesn't even look at Ed when he leaves, "I appreciate the cooperation." He says. Shane then returns to our fire and sits back down.
Dale leans forward, "Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" He asks, I can't help but roll my eyes at the other Dixons name, I hope he isn't as insufferable as his older brother. "He won't be happy to hear that his brother was left behind."
"I'll tell him. I dropped the key. It's on me." T-Dog says feeling extremely guilty.
"I cuffed him. That makes him mine." Rick replies.
Glenn laughs sheepishly, "Guys it's not a competition. I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy."
I nod my head, "I agree with Glenn, I mean you saw how Merle reacted to T earlier. I don't know Daryl Dixon but if his brother is anything to show for their family I can just imagine what he's like too." I look back at T who's still wearing a solemn look on his face.
He shakes his head, "I did what I did. Hell, if I'm gonna hide from him."
I look back down at Alex, I think he's definitely gone to sleep by now. I should take him back to the tent pretty soon so he can get some proper rest, Just as I'm about to tell the group that I'll be heading to bed Amy speaks.
"We could lie." She says innocently.
I immediately shake my head at the idea, "Uh-uh, he'd find out and probably be even more pissed." I tell her.
"We tell the truth," Andrea tells her sister, "Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he would have gotten us all killed. Your husband did what was necessary." She nods to Lori, "And if Merle got left behind it is nobody's fault but Merles." She says with clear conviction.
"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asks incredulously, "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you?" He asks not only Andrea but everyone. "A word to the wise, we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."
So that's where the infamous Daryl Dixon was, hunting for baby rabbits in all his redneck glory. Either that or his legs are getting chewed on by a deadhead. From what I had to go on Daryl was no better than Merle, who had the human decency to spit on my face. I just can't wait to meet his brother.
"I was scared and I ran. I'm not ashamed of it." T confesses. I nod my head in understanding, everything was crazy when we were running down that stairwell. Everyone was shouting, we were all bounding down the stairs so fast that I was sure we would fall, Alex was in my arms clinging to me I was so focused on getting us to safety that I had failed to notice that neither T-dog or Merle were on their way down the stairs.
"We were all scared, we all ran. What's your point?" Andrea asks him.
"I stopped long enough to chain that door. The staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through it- not that chain, not that padlock. My point is that Dixon's still alive and he's up there, handcuffed on that roof." T-dog explains, "That's on us."
I look at the glowing embers in the fire and think about Merle Dixon. Sure he was a piece of shit but it's not right that he should be changed like an animal. On the one hand, he really was a liability, he was unpredictable and could get us all killed. On the other hand, it would be inhumane of us to leave him there, after all, isn't the idea that we are human? By leaving him there we were no better than the deadheads. I scrub my hand down my face a scrunch my eyes shut, thinking like this wasn't going to help anyone right now. I'll talk to Rick about it tomorrow.
"Well, I better get Alex to bed, Goodnight guys." I tell everyone, many good nights are sent back to me. I nudge Alex awake and he looks up with tired eyes, a few people laugh at the young boy's face.
I take in a breath, here goes, "Heure du coucher." I tell him, he looks confused for a second and all I can think is that I said it wrong, but he nods.
"Okay." He whispers back and I smile, He looks at the group "Bonne Nuit." He says tiredly.
I take his hand and we both stand and walk over to our small tent, I unzip the entrance and let Alex walk in first. I pull his shoes off of his feet and set them down on the floor. He quickly climbs into his sleeping bag which is huge compared to him. I sit down on my bag and take my shoes off when I feel him pat my arm.
"What?" I ask.
"Thank you, Reia." He says tiredly.
I smile sweetly at him then I bend over and kiss his forehead, "Goodnight." I whisper before climbing into my own sleeping bag, My sword however was unsheathed and laying on the floor by my side. It's the first night since the apocalypse hit that I fell asleep quickly and easily.
I feel something nudging my side when I come to, I roll over and open my eyes to slits. The mystery object is Alex's foot I quietly laugh when I take in his appearance. He's spread out like a starfish with half of his body in the sleeping bag and the other half outside of it, we're also now laying top to tail. That boy must wriggle around a lot in his sleep. While he's asleep I quietly rummage through my bag to pull out my tooth brush and tooth paste. I also take the opportunity to change into my navy blue t-shirt on. Once I've done that I lace up my boots before stepping out of the tent with my belt in hand and my sword in the other. Many people look at me as I put the belt on and put my sword back in its sheath, honestly, I've gone past the point of caring. I pick up the toothbrush and tooth paste before zipping the tent shut again, it's best to let Alex get all the sleep he can.
I walk up the small hill to Dales RV, the man himself is sitting in a beach chair atop the vehicle on the lookout. He watches me as I approach and offers the same smile as when he introduced himself.
"Good morning, Dale." I greet, "do you mind if I use your bathroom to brush my teeth?" I ask him and hold up the brush.
"Go ahead, just make sure you don't go wasting any water." He tells me, "and good morning to you too."
I smile once again before going into the RV, I take in the inside interior of the RV before my eyes land on Andrea who's sitting at the table with what smells like a cup of coffee.
"You have Coffee here!?" I exclaim, "Do you have any tea?" I ask excitedly.
Andrea laughs and takes another sip, "Good morning to you to. I didn't quite realise just how English you are." I cringe a little and she notices, "Sorry, Welsh!" she corrects herself and I smile at her, "I think Dale may have some stashed away here somewhere, I'll take a look for you."
"Andrea, you are a literal Angel." I tell her before walking into the extremely small bathroom. I look into the little cabinet mirror at my reflection. The dark circles that currently resided under my eyes had almost faded after a decent night's sleep and my face was no longer grimy after I washed it yesterday. I smiled at myself in the mirror, I almost looked like I did before the world went to the shitter. Almost.
I turn the small tap on and put the toothpaste on the brush and then under the tap before I start to brush my teeth, then I turn the tap off so that I don't waste any water. Once I finish brushing my teeth I look at my hair- which surprise, surprise looks like a birds nest again. I huff to myself and yank the bobble out of my hair, I run my fingers through my curls carefully so as not to make oneself look like a lion. I then take the bobble again and pick up two sections of hair on either side of my head and tie it at the back so that I'm left with a half up and half down hairstyle. That's about as good as it's gonna get.
I walk back out of the bathroom and see Andrea standing by the stove and boiling some water, "Did you want any sugar?" she asks me she has a box of tea bags in hand and I gasp.
"You have tea!" I exclaim with a huge smile on my face, "just a teaspoon of sugar please."
"No problem, now there's a small carton of milk in the refrigerator but it's gonna go bad soon so you may as well have it." She tells me.
"Uh actually I like it without, but could I have the milk for Alex?" I ask.
"Sure thing. I was wondering about that boy of yours." She tells me.
"Oh! He's not mine, I mean I just found him-
"But he's yours now." She interrupts, "he needs help with his languages and Amy was asking if she could help him out. She was adamant that I ask you." She says.
I smile nervously, "Of course she can."
She looks at me for a few seconds and studies me, I can't quite meet her gaze, "What is it?" she asks me.
I shrug my shoulders sheepishly, "I don't know. It's just… You said he's…mine now. I haven't really thought about it. It's not like I'm his mother." I tell her.
"Of course you're not, but, you're the one who is going to have to take responsibility for that little boy. It's as clear as day that he has an attachment to you. So far you've been great with him, just remember that it's your job to care for him now." She says.
I smile a little, "He reminds me of my baby brother, and whenever I look at him I just see Ryan smiling back. It…It hurts Andrea." I tell her, I can feel my lip tremble and look at the ground. I hear her walk over to me and she hugs me to her. My arms wrap around her on their own accord. "It's just so hard. I'm out here by myself. A-and my Dad's dead, I don't know what happened to my family back in Wales. I just don't know." I cry even harder until I know that I'm ugly crying, my face feels hot as tears roll down my cheeks. I can feel Andrea running her hand across my head and smoothing down my curls. After a few minutes, I calm down and step out of her embrace.
"I-I'm sorry, you shouldn't have to deal with me like this…" I trail off and sniffle.
"Hey, you're my friend. I want to have to deal with you." She tells me.
I stare at her for a second, "You're my friend?" I ask quietly.
She smiles at, "I would like to be. I mean I let you cry all over my favourite shirt." She jokes and I laugh shakily.
"I'd like that." I tell her and laugh again, "yesterday I held my sword to your throat and now you're hugging me while I cry. It all seems so peculiar." I comment which causes her to laugh.
"And yesterday I was holding a gun to Ricks head and now I'm extremely grateful that he brought my sister and me back together. It's funny the way things work out isn't it?" she asks.
"You've got that right." I reply, "Anyway I should get back before Alex wakes up and wonders where I am. Thanks for the cwtch." I tell her.
"The what?" she asks.
"cwtch." I reply and then I realise, "oh right sorry I forgot. Cwtch in welsh means hug."
Realisation light her eyes, "Oh I see, cwtch." She says, "I like it, sounds good."
I laugh as she pours the water into a cup with the tea bag inside. I take a hold of the string and dunk it a few time's, Andrea walks around me to the fridge and pulls out a small carton of milk and hands it to me along with a pot of sugar. I grab a spoon off of the counter top and spoon out some sugar and put it in my cup and stir it. Then I pull the tea bag out and put it in the bin.
I take a sip and smile, "Thank you so much."
"It's no problem. I better go check on Amy, leave the cup in the sink when you're done." She tells me.
"Will do!" I say as she steps out of the RV. I sit in silence as I drink my tea, it tastes so good. So much better than rain water. Once I finish I place the cup in the sink like Andrea said and pick up the carton of milk, I walk out of the door and look up at the sky. It was cloudy today and a lot cooler than the past few days, which I was thankful for. Me and heat do not mix. I take a few steps before looking up at Dale, "Thanks, Dale, see you soon."
"Say Hi to Alex for me." He requests as I walk back down the hill.
I pass Ed's wife, Carol who looks at the sword at my hip, I offer a friendly smile so as to look less intimidating she quickly looks back down at the ironing board that has Ricks uniform on it. Okay, different approach is needed next time Reia, I think to myself.
Finally, I'm back at the tent and I unzip the opening, I peep my head inside and see that Alex is awake and sitting up he smiles when he sees me.
"Hey, drink up!" I thrust the carton of milk at him and he quickly takes it from my hand and drinks it down greedily, "Woah, slow down there." I laugh. He quickly finishes the drink and hands the empty carton back to me, I place it on the floor and pull his clothes out of my bag. "It's colder today so wear this." I tell him and hand him his black jeans, with a long sleeved green shirt. I step out of the tent and close it so he has some privacy. I watch as everyone bustles around the camp, all busy doings something or other. It's not long until Alex steps out of the tent with his converse in hand and passes them up to me.
"Let's do this." I tell him with a smile and he gives one back. Alex watches intently as I tie up his shoe laces, "Build a tepee, come inside. Close it tight so that we can hide. Over the mountain and around we go. Here's my arrow and here's my bow." I finish and pull the laces tightly. Then I repeat for the next shoe. He might not properly understand but it was what my Mum always said while tying my shoelaces when I was little.
"What now?" he asks me, he looks a lot more well rested now and he jumps a little as he talks. Yesterday he was exhausted and today he's full of energy, let's see how well I can look after a bubbly seven-year-old.
"Let's take a look around camp and then we'll get breakfast. We'll come back for the CD's." I smile, he places his hand in mine and I walk back up the hill and we pass Carol again only this time she offers a small smile to Alex and meets my eyes before looking behind me. I turn around and see Rick approaching us wearing a white tee and jeans which was unusual considering I had only ever seen him in uniform.
"Well good morning, sleeping Beauty." I joke, Alex giggles at my jest while Rick smirks at me before nodding to Carol. Suddenly clanging metal draws my attention away from Rick and Carol to the men bustling around Glenn's sports car. The Korean man stands to the side with a forlorn look upon his face.
"Let's go and see Glenn." I say to Alex and tug him along.
"What's happening?" He asks as we approach the car, Glenn turns around once he hears us and points at his car.
"Look at 'em." He grunts, "Vultures." The wheels have been taken off and the car has been jacked up, Jim has his head in the engine pulling various parts out. "Yeah, go on strip it clean." Glenn almost hisses. I grimace and pat his shoulder awkwardly, he leans into my touch and murmurs "Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days."
"Who knows maybe we'll stumble across another one someday." I say optimistically, "Do you know where Andrea is?" I ask him when I remember what she said about Amy wanting to help Alex out with his English, without taking his eyes off of his beloved car Glenn gestured over to the right of us. Surely enough there was Andrea hanging up clothes to dry with Amy. Lori was also there talking to Rick which caused me to roll my eyes, I wasn't quite sure what to make of Lori yet she hadn't really spoken to me and then there was that whole business last night around the fire. The whole thing was just a bit odd.
"You're not serious." She huffs at Rick and bends down to pick up more clothes, I frown slightly, Trouble in paradise? Amy walks forward and introduces herself to Alex and the two of them start chatting while Andrea and I watch, however, I get distracted when a loud car speeds into camp. The driver, Shane, stops the car and calls out for everyone to hear "Waters here y'all. Just remember to boil before use." He steps out of the vehicle and nods at Rick before carrying on unloading the water.
"Are you asking me or telling me?" Lori asks Rick quietly.
"Okay, uh, how about we give you two some privacy?" I ask but I'm not really looking for an answer as I take Alex's hand once again, Andrea and Amy quickly nod in agreement. Nobody wanted to stay for the couple to have a bickering match so we all started towards the RV when the sound of children screaming interrupted us. Alex frantically grabbed my arm as I was about to grab my sword, Lori, Rick and a few others were already running towards the screams. I look back and spot Jacqui heading my way.
"Jacqui take Alex!" I yell, I push him towards the woman who has her arms out ready, "Stay with Jacqui!" I order him. He tries to keep his grip on my arm but I pull out of it and run as fast as I can through the trees and draw my sword. Carl and Sofia are both wrapped in their mother's tight embrace while they shake and cry, I carry on running until I see the men in a circle beating a deadhead into the ground with their make shift weapons. The sight is sickening and is enough to stop me in my tracks, it's Dale who delivers the final blow with his axe and cuts the head off of it causing me to gag and turn away I lean against a tree and lower my sword arm. The men take a few steps back and breathe in heavily, a thick silence hangs in the air as everyone stares at the unmoving corpse.
"They never come this far up the mountains." Dale mutters and tries to regain his breath.
Morales steps in, "They been running out of food in the city that's what." He explains.
Our attention is drawn towards the bushes where we can hear rustling, a hush falls over everyone as we stand alert and on guard. I quickly take up the front with Rick, my hands grip my sword tightly in front of me ready for a deadhead to rush out of the bushes at any moment. The rustling gets loud as whatever it is approaching us, everyone becomes tense. I raise my brows as a man with a crossbow appears. He looks at us as if we're all stupid with are weapons drawn and pointing at him. I lower my sword once again and take in the man before me. He has short brown hair and some facial hair, he's covered in a thin layer of sweat most likely caused by the humidity, my eyes wander down to his sleeveless arms and see that they are quite muscular which leads me to the conclusion that he must use that crossbow an awful lot. If it weren't for the scowl on his face and the glare he threw our way I would consider him attractive.
"Oh, Jesus." Shane whispers as the man stops in his tracks to look at all of us, his eyes land on me for a moment and I can't help but shiver as he looks me up and down so I quickly avert my eyes and sheath my sword.
"Son of a bitch." The man exclaims before walking around us the Deer that lays half devoured on the ground. "That's my deer! Look at it all gnawed on by this filthy. Disease-bearing. Motherless. Poxy Bastard!" he punctuates each word with a swift kick to the deadheads body on the earthy floor, each kick is followed by a sickening crunch and squelch. Then suddenly I realise that this guy sounds familiar. He talks an awful lot like Merle Dixon which causes me to sigh, so this is the Daryl Dixon that everyone has been talking about; if he's pissed about the deer now he's going to be hell when he finds out about his brother.
"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale says trying to be the voice of reason.
"What do you know about it old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to On Golden Pond?" he sneers and strides over to Dale and back to the deer releasing a mighty sigh. He sure is one for dramatics, I think to myself. "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp. Cook us up some venison." He explains a bit quieter than before but he rips the arrows out of the deer ferociously, "Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He asks no one in particular.
I roll my eyes, "I wouldn't."
"That's a damn shame." Daryl replies without taking his eyes off of his once prized deer, "Well I got some squirrel, about a dozen or so. That'll have to do." He glances at me again before his eyes land on Rick.
A squelch from the ground draws my eyes to the deadheads…head. Its jaw starts mechanically snapping opening and closing and I wince.
"Oh, God." Amy cries and turns away walking back to camp with Andrea at her side.
"Come on people, what the hell?" Daryl says aiming his crossbow at the head and firing hitting it right between the eyes. Once the deadhead is officially dead he walks towards it and places his foot on the side of its face before pulling the arrow out, "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" He walks away from everyone and back towards camp, I catch Rick's eye and raise one brow at him before following after the redneck.
When we reach camp Daryl immediately calls for his brother, "Oh boy." I whisper to myself, this is not going to go down well.
"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel, let's cook 'em up." He shouts through the camp in search for his missing brother.
"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane tells him.
Daryl turns around impatiently with a confused look on his face, "About what?" he asks.
I come to a stop a few paces behind the two with Glenn and Rick, "About Merle. There was a… There was a problem in Atlanta." Shane starts.
"Is he dead?" he asks quietly, not really showing much emotion but I thought I almost heard his voice crack a bit.
Shane shakes his head, "We're not sure."
"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl shouts and looks at Shane as if he were stalking his prey.
"No easy way to say this, so, I'll just say it." Rick interrupts the angry Redneck and walks towards him. Daryl turns around with an even deeper scowl set on his face as he watches Rick approach.
"Who are you?" He asks gruffly, his eyes flicker past Rick towards me and then back.
"Rick Grimes." He says, introducing himself.
Daryl almost snickers, "Rick Grimes. You got something you want to tell me?" his voice becomes more dangerous by the second.
Rick doesn't even flinch at the man's tone, "Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked to a piece of metal. He's still there." Rick says matter of factly. That's when I notice T-Dog come into view with a few logs in his arms. His eye's become wide when he sees Daryl and Rick talking, the guilt must be getting to him. I walk past the two men and up to T.
"It's going to be okay. Don't panic." I tell him.
"Hold on, Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you left him there!?" he shouts. I look down at the floor also feeling guilty for not doing more in the city, I should have checked that everyone got off of that roof, instead of leaving someone behind chained like a dog.
"Yeah." Rick replies simply.
I watch as the two men stand still watching each other for a second before Daryl lets out an angry yell and throws the tied up squirrels at Rick and is about to charge at him until Shane tackles him to the floor. Daryl rolls away and pulls a knife out of his belt.
"Hey!" I shout and run forward T-Dog who is beside me drops the logs to the floor and follows.
"Watch the knife!" Shane tells Rick as Daryl swings for him with it.
I'm behind Daryl and push him as hard as I can but he only seems to stumble a little, he turns around and swings the knife at me but I already see it coming from a mile away. I block with my arm and duck under his while pulling his arm back behind him, I apply my thumb to the inside of his arm by his elbow and apply pressure while my other hand pulls his wrist up. He cries out as I get the wrist lock and pressure point just right, he tries to get away so I kick my foot down on the back of his knee making him drop to the floor and the knife also falls out of his hand.
"You best let me go!" He shouts.
"Not until you calm down!" I shout back in his ear. Daryl still struggles and I know that he's strong enough to escape so I keep twisting his wrist up and dig my thumb in again.
Rick approaches us and crouches down so that he's eye level with Daryl, "I'd like to have a calm discussion about this topic. Do you think we can manage that?" He asks. Daryl stops moving and I look at Rick who nods at me so I let go of Daryl and shove him away from me in case he decides to turn around and go for me. "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." He explains.
"It's not Ricks fault." T interrupts, we all look up at him, "I had the key. I dropped it."
Daryl shakes his head in disbelief, "You couldn't pick it up!?"
"I dropped it in a drain." T explains.
Daryl nods his head at the ground and pulls himself back up, "If it's supposed to make me feel better it don't." he says, coming towards T-Dog, I take a step forward warding him off and he stops while throwing me a dirty look.
"Well, maybe this will. I chained the door so the geeks couldn't get at him, with a padlock." T tells him.
"It's gotta count for something." Rick adds in.
Suddenly Daryl takes in a quick breath and wipes at his eyes making me feel bad considering I just threw him into the floor a few seconds ago, "Hell with all y'all!" He cries, "Just tell me where he is so's I can go get him."
"He'll show you." Lori says, walking towards us. Amy and Andrea stared at her while she looked at her husband, "Isn't that right?"
Rick looks at his wife as if he's trying to figure out some sort of hidden meaning to her words, finally, he makes up his mind and nods, "I'm going back." I look at Lori who decides to disappear into the RV.
"Reia!" I hear someone call me. I turn around and see Alex running towards me. Jacqui stands behind him as he leaves her side I walk towards him until his arms wrap around my middle and his face presses against my stomach.
"Hey, It's okay now. It's okay." I tell him and stroke his hair. He pulls away from me and I hear his tummy rumble. "Right, Breakfast."
About an hour later Rick emerged from his tent with his officer's uniform back on, it was decided that himself, Glenn, T-Dog, and Daryl would go back to the city. Rick had asked me to join him but after hearing Shane talking about how they would be leaving the group defenceless I had decided to stay to try and ease some of the unrest. That and when Rick asked Alex had stomped up to him and told him no. I personally didn't want to be in an enclosed space with Daryl Dixon, he wasn't as bad as his brother who came up with crude comments every five seconds. He was different but still had some issues. I doubt he would want me there anyway. Not only would they be going back for Merle but for the bag of guns Rick had dropped and a walkie talkie that he was going to use to communicate with a man called Morgan.
I left Alex to play with Carl and Sofia after officially introducing them to one another. This gave me time to talk to Rick before they left. I found him and the others by the van asking Dale if they could borrow a pair of bolt clippers for the chain and handcuffs. Dale was reluctant to give them considering that they left his tools behind on the roof with Merle. In exchange for the cutters, Dale was allowed the first pick of the guns that were brought back and the radiator hose from the cube van.
"Come on let's go!" Daryl shouts impatiently from the back of the van.
"Be careful out there." I tell Rick and T, "Don't let Daryl do anything stupid either."
"Sure thing." T agrees.
Both of them walk to the van, "Hey, Rick!" I call and he turns around, "No more chasing helicopters, okay?" I say with a reassuring smile on my face.
He smiles back, "Look after the others." He orders me to which I give a mock salute. I step back and stand beside Shane as the van drives away and out of sight.
"All right let's do this the old fashioned way." Shane tells the boys. Shane asked if Alex would like to catch some frogs with him and Carl and I had quickly agreed, deciding that Alex needed to spend some time just being a kid and doing kid stuff. I had taken some of my clothes down to the lake to wash so I could keep an eye on Alex. Washing the dirt off of the clothes had proven to be quite therapeutic and helped to keep my mind off of Rick, Glenn, T-Dog and more importantly Daryl Dixon.
"All I'm gonna do is go after one of them, all right, scare the rest of them. They'll scatter and I'll drive them your way." Shane says to which Carl gives a definite nod whereas Alex stands there a little bit dumbfounded. Luckily Shane seems to notice, "Catch them if you see them, okay Alex?"
"Okay." Alex says shyly.
"You boys with me?" Shane asks with a smile growing on his face.
By now I had already stopped washing to study the trio in the water with their buckets at the ready both boys replied with a very enthusiastic and excited yes, Alex being a few years younger than Carl started bouncing up and down in the water and started laughing when Shane gave his 'mean face.'
"Hells yeah. Gimme your mean face." He demands.
Both boys try and look mean but honestly their too excited and their smiles show through which causes me to laugh, Shane looks back at me and smiles then faces the boys again. He carries on asking them if their ready until their almost shouting that they are.
"Here we go boys." Shane says and stands very still in the water, both boys mimic his action and watch him intensely and then Shane pounces into the water completely soaked when he resurfaces, "Go on catch them! Cath them frogs!"
Alex and Carl laugh while they swoop their nets and buckets around in the water in a hurry to catch the frogs, Shane keeps yelling his encouragement to the two and splashing about in the water. I place my clothes down on the floor in their basket and jog over to the boys.
"Come on boys keep going!" I yell. Alex laughs and quickens his motions.
"Come one lets's see what you got!" Shane yells over the splashing.
Carl lifts his net out of the water first to see that he's caught nothing and his smile dwindles, Alex lifts his bucket out of the water and gasps, "I got a frog! Reia look!" He exclaims and turns around with the biggest smile on his face that I've ever seen, I slip off my boots and sock and walk into the water to peer into the bucket and sure enough at the bottom is a very small frog. "I got it, I got it!" He tells me.
I laugh and smile, "Yes you did! Well done sweetie."
Carl drops his net in the water and looks over Alex's shoulder, "It's so slimy! Shane come see!"
Shane waded through the water and looked down at the frog in the bucket, "well that there is the smallest frog I have ever seen. May as well put it back." He says.
"Can we keep it?" Carl asks Shane.
"Yeah! We can have it, yes Reia?" Alex says hopefully and looks up at me with those puppy dog eyes.
I look at Shane who has a small smirk on his face, "Uh, I guess we could keep it for a little while. Only if you boys promise to put it back." I say sheepishly.
"Yes!" both boys yell and start talking about naming the frog.
"This one's on you." I tell Shane who simply laughs. I hear laughter ring out from across the lake and see Jacqui, Andrea, Amy and Carol laughing while doing the washing. I smile at them and wave, "Todays a good day."
"Yeah, haven't had one of those in a while." Shane says a bit seriously.
I smile sympathetically at him, "Thank you for asking Alex to join you. He needed this."
"I figured as much." Shane says and watches the boys reach into the bucket run their hands over their frog. "It's good what you're doing for him. Taking him in, like all boys he needs someone to look up to. When Rick was gone Carl was devastated and it was my job to guide him." He says quietly.
"And now?" I ask, he speaks almost sorrowfully at the fact that Rick is back to be there for his son. Shane looks thoughtful before opening and closing his mouth-
"Carl! What did I tell you about staying in Dale's sight?" Lori calls, Carl and Alex look up from their new pet and walk out of the water. Carl hands the bucket back to Alex and sits on a rock beside Shane while Alex comes over to me with a smile still on his face.
"But Shane said we could catch frogs-
"It doesn't matter what Shane says. It matters what I say. Get back to camp. I'll be right behind you." Carl sighs but follows his mother's orders.
"Bye Alex." Carl mumbles and walks past his friend and Lori follows.
I look between Lori and Shane and feel the tension in the air, "I gotta say, I do not think you should be taking this out on him." He states.
Yeah, definitely awkward. I swiftly turn Alex around and walk him away from the pair and pick up my boots, "So what are you going to call it?" I ask Alex and gesture to the frog, Alex proceeds to list off a bunch of names but I can still hear Shane and Lori talking so I walk faster. Lori seems to be dropping her shit at Shane's door today, I wonder what that's all about. I look up to the small group of women and decide to stroll over to help them out. Ed stands behind them and watches them all as they work. Pfft he's such a twat, I could tell he was someone that I wouldn't get on with when he threw that log on the campfire.
"Reia, can I play with my frog?" Alex asks me when he notices me heading towards the women washing clothes, looks like he doesn't want to do chores today.
I smirk back at him, "Okay, but you stay where I can see you."
Alex nods his head and sits down with the bucket in between his legs and I continue on to the women, "Hey." I greet them all, they respond with a quiet hello and I see Andreas eyes flicker to Ed in irritation. "Ed." I say and nod my head out of politeness, however, he doesn't respond and just carries on taking a drag from his cigarette while staring intensely at Carols back.
Andrea huffs and stands up, "I tell you what Ed, you don't like the way your laundries done you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself." She says flatly, "Here!" she chucks a wet piece of clothing at him which he immediately throws back in her face.
"Ain't my job, missy." He says in an intimidating voice.
Carol quickly steps forward and places her hand on Andreas back, "Andrea don't."
Andrea just shrugs her off, "What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass smoking cigarettes?" she fires back.
Ed takes another drag from said cigarette, "Well it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch. Come on, let's go." He barks at Andrea and Carol.
"You can't talk to her like that!" I yell at him, Ed stares me down- quite literally I was only 5'2 and the shortest out of the women here, Ed towered over me.
"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you Ed." Andrea points out and stands by my side as we both face him off.
"It's none of your business. Now come on, you heard me." He snaps his patience is clearly growing thin.
I place my hand on the hilt of my sword and Ed's eyes follow my action, "She's not a dog who comes at your every beck and call." I spit at him.
"Girls, please. It doesn't matter." I hear Carol sniffle from behind us, in my peripheral I see Andrea turn around and place a hand on Carol's shoulder but I remain staring up at Ed's worthless face.
"Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause your some tea-sipping, lady muck cooze alright? Now you come on now, or you're gonna regret it later." My jaw drops at Ed's words.
"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed?" Jacqui says shaking her head, then the bastard thinks it's okay for him to laugh about it, "Yeah, we've seen them."
"Stay out of this. Now come on! This ain't none of y'alls business. You don't want keep prodding the bull here, now I am done talking." Ed says dangerously.
"Bull, huh? Does it make you feel like a man when you beat your wife? Does it make you feel big and strong when you beat someone that can't fight back? That doesn't make you a man, Ed. It makes you a no good piece of shit." I snarl at him
"Come on!" he shouts and snatches Carol by the arm and starts pulling her away we all start grabbing Carol to stop him from taking her away, "You don't tell me what, I tell you what!" he screams and backhands Carol across the face Amy starts pulling Carol behind us and Ed gets attacked by a series of slaps and clawing nails to the face. Suddenly Shane steps in and drags Ed away from us and Ed stumbles to the ground as Shane drags him along in the dirt. He drops the older man and starts punching him repeatedly and Carol can't hold back her cries, Shane keeps punching him as if he were possessed.
"Shane, Shane! Stop!" I scream, he's going to kill him if he carries on the others also start shouting at him.
"You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, or anybody else in this camp and I will not stop next time. Do you hear me, do you hear me?" he shouts into Ed's face.
Ed sputters out a yes and spits out blood.
"I'll beat you to death, Ed." He punches him again for good measure, Ed's barely conscious now and lays limply on the floor. Carols cries and screams at the sight of her husband while she's wrapped tightly in Andreas arms, Shane starts to back away and sees our shocked expressions on our faces. We're all silent as we watch him regain his breathing and leaves. Carol Runs over to Ed and repeatedly apologises. I look up to find Alex, he must have seen all of that. I freeze in place the banking is empty and he's nowhere in sight.
"Alex!" I shout and sprint away from the lakes edge, "Alex where are you!?"
Andrea runs up beside me, "He didn't run off did he?" she asks worriedly, "Alex!" she calls.
My heart started hammering out of my chest, "Alex!"
Oh God, where is he?
Hey, Guys! I know it's been a while but finally, the update is here! I wanted to update sooner but I have school, Rehearsals, Rugby and Work getting in the way. But I am adamant on one chapter a month at least. But I'm basically going to do one episode per chapter. So this was the longest chapter so far! (10,473 words) I'm a little bit proud of the word count.
Gilyflower- sorry the update took so long, I hope you enjoy this lengthy chapter.
Galwidanatitud- I know Alex was so scared in the last chapter! I can't wait for his character to really start to develop! it's going to be a bumpy ride for him.
Thanks for fav and following this story! Also, I was thinking about changing the title because there are a load of WD stories with similar titles. As soon as I figure out how to do a poll your welcome to help me choose a new title! That all from me.
Love and Light,
Larissa xxx