AN: Thanks for the reviews, faves, and alerts. I know it's been a while since I updated, here you go. Chapter 4.1 will be out soon.
Raising Dead
Chapter Four: Same old same
I knew I was moping. I just couldn't help it. Here and there I got amused looks, but Lori and Carl looked at me like I was a zombie. I tried to make friends, I really did. But that bastard had sealed his fate the moment he went against someone he knew nothing about.
We had set our tents up for the night with the hope of getting some sleep. Ayla slept like a brick, but I just couldn't seem to fall asleep. I didn't like sleeping when surrounded by strangers. I've always been like that and guess I always will be.
I decided that now was as good a time as any to search Jake's truck for my Mp3 player. It would die eventually, but at the moment I really needed to hear some music. I know I was breaking yet another rule of the zombie apocalypse, but it was worth it.
…..Break…..
Days had gone by and I still didn't get along any better than I had days before. Glen ran a few more supply runs before Shane decided it would be better if more than one person went at a time. I thought it was the stupidest idea I had ever heard, but everyone looked to Shane for leadership. Who was I to contest that? I had been asked to go along, but I refused the offer.
I had other things to do. Like sit around with Ayla and attempt to make heads or tails of her math book and when that failed I decided we'd have a history lesson. I always did like history. The past things we had accomplished. The ideas we had once held. Things that didn't have much of a place in our world now.
"So you're telling me that D-Day was a huge massacre because the Germans knew the Allied Forces were going to land on that beach?" Ayla asked me.
"Well, there was more than one beach involved. It was the invasion of Normandy. Think about it though, it's really hard not to know you're being invaded when you're being bombed and what not. They also dropped paratroopers on the Germans—" I was cut off by the sound of Shane's voice. Ever the annoying reminder that I had embarrassed him in front of the whole group.
"History lessons over now. It's time to do some work. " He turned and addressed everyone in camp. "Here's how this is gonna work. Glen, take Andrea, Jacqui, Morales, T-dog, and Merle with you into the city. Daryl I want you to take Erin hunting with you." I almost choked on my own lungs.
"Wait, what?" We said, almost in unison.
"Stealth is not my forte. I'm short, pudgy, and very likely to run the game off before getting anywhere near close enough to kill anything. Besides that I've only got my Berettas. They're a bit loud even with the silencers on them and definitely overkill on squirrels." I finally stopped and took a breath.
"She said it, not me." Daryl quipped. "I doubt she could even keep up."
"As a smoker of three years I couldn't agree with that insult more." I sighed. I was better use in camp.
"Fine then. Erin I want you on watch with Dale and Jake." Shane went on to tell everyone else what he wanted them to do.
I couldn't help but laugh. I won and he lost. It was becoming a cycle and I can't say I wasn't pleased. I was indeed. I irritated him to no end because he couldn't claim leadership over me. I know it's pretty childish of me to think that way, but sometimes it's what needs to be done. For someone like me that likes to stand alone in the crowd it only makes sense that I'd make whoever was in charge's life miserable. Besides, I didn't think he deserved to hold that position. I had disliked the man from the moment I set eyes on him.
What was it my dad had told me once? First impressions don't mean shit in a firestorm. I think that was it. He was basically telling me that no matter how someone acts when you first meet them; their next action afterwards is how you should judge them. He had also said that what lies in someone's eyes can tell you everything. That it's important to look people directly in their eyes when you speak to them. He said to listen closely when you talk to someone. If you listen closely enough you can tell if they're lying because even they don't believe what they're saying. It was something about they're voice sounding kinda hollow or something like that.
I made my way over to the RV to hang out with the old guys. It was far better than trying to keep up with an ornery redneck. Ayla chose that moment to speak up.
"Hey! What about me?" Ayla threw her hands in the air and looked around at everyone.
Glenn, who had walked away, made his way back to Ayla and threw an arm around her shoulders. "You could come with me." He gave Ayla a half smile and winked at her. I stopped with one hand on the ladder. That just wouldn't do. Not at all.
"Taco says what? Not no but hell the fuck naw. That shit is not happening. My baby sister ain't going back into Atlanta so long as I'm alive." I snapped at Glenn as I stomped my way over to the pair. He looked at Ayla then back at me.
"But I'll take good care of her." Glenn pleaded with me. Ayla wrapped her arm around his waist before looking at me.
"Please?" She asked with a smile. I knew right then that she had a crush on Glenn. I wasn't completely against the idea, nor was I really all that happy about it. I'd known the girl her whole life and I knew her history with boys. It wasn't fantastic and I wasn't adverse to her finding love, but this was the fucking Zombie Apocalypse for Taco Bell's sake. Oh how I missed Taco Bell.
"I said no and that's the end of it. We have rules to follow and I'm making damn sure you follow them." I growled in annoyance.
Glenn looked down at Ayla, her mood had dropped and I was pretty sure she wanted to yell at me. However, she simply stomped off to our tent. Ayla didn't like to make a scene in front of people she didn't know all that well.
"Maybe you could let her go with me next time?" Glenn asked me. I was starting feel like I was Ayla's mom.
"Look, I can tell you like her and she likes you, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let her go to that infested cesspool that is Atlanta. Both of you will one day understand that it's for the best. It's not because I'm being mean or anything, it's because she's all I've got left until I manage to get in contact with my brother and his family again. Got it?" While lecturing isn't my strong point, I suppose I got my point across. Glenn nodded and walked away to get ready to leave. I on the other hand, needed to crawl my way to the top of the RV and help Jake and Dale.
"Welcome to the top of the world, Erin." Dale laughed as I climbed up.
"If this is the top of the world, where the hell are my noodles?" I asked in mock annoyance. Dale acted as though he was going to say something and then stopped.
"Do you think I did the right thing by telling her what she could and couldn't do?" I figured if anyone knew what was right or wrong it was these two old geezers.
"I think your heart was in the right place, but your wording could have been better." Jake said slowly. "She'll come to understand that what you did was for the best, but she may not forgive you entirely for how you said it."
"I was thinking the same thing." I sighed. "I've never been very good with words. I can speak eloquently, but that doesn't mean I can put words together in a way that doesn't offend people."
"Just relax. We'll let you know when it's your turn to take over." Dale said as he patted the lawn chair between them.
"Ok, but just for a little while." I said as I sat down and laid back. Before I knew it I was out cold.
…..break…..
What had to have been hours later I was rudely awoken by the sound of a car alarm going off. I sat up quickly and instantly regretted it. My skin was fried and knew to some extent I looked like a lobster. I looked in the direction the awful noise was coming from and stood up while reaching for my pack of cigarettes. Everyone was coming out of hiding to find out what was going on.
A candy apple red Dodge Challenger pulled close to the RV and Glenn climbed out the window. He was all smiles until people started yelling at him to turn it off. "I don't know how!" He yelled back over the horrible din.
"Shoot it in the hood." I yelled as I came down the ladder to check things out. Several people glared at me. "Kidding! Sheesh. Unplug it from the battery." I shouted in my defense.
Of course, I got several looks that said I shouldn't have known that. I didn't have a criminal background. I thought it was common sense, but I guess it was if your dad was a Jack of all trades. Jim did what I had said and the alarm shut off, he looked at me with a knowing smile. It was almost as if he was saying he knew I had someone in my family that worked on cars to some extent.
"What's going on out here?" Ayla asked, rubbing her eyes as if she'd been taking a nap. I watch as she smiled at Glenn in that silly way all girls do when they have a crush. What in the hell was I going to do with her?
Amy, who I had hardly paid any attention to thus far, was trying hard to get Glenn to tell her if he knew where her sister was. "Yes, she's fine. Everyone is. Well… Merle not so much." He said as Shane started to snap at him.
I grimaced. This was going to get ugly fast. I noticed a moving van pulling around and heading our way. Now was the time to shut everyone up. "Hey! The rest of the crew is back." I yelled, then quieted down when I had their attention. The first person out was Morales followed by Andrea, Jacqui, and then T-Dog. The last three had come from the back of the van, which left me wondering who the driver was. Merle didn't seem to be present.
I watched as everyone that had family hugged them and reassured them they were ok. I felt heart sick at the sight. "How'd y'all get out of there?" I heard Shane say, if a bit distantly. My mind was on other things, namely my brother and his family.
"New guy." I heard Glenn say from beside Ayla. I knew she had to be feeling the same way I did, though maybe not quite as bad since she had Glenn to lean on.
"New guy?" Shane asked, almost as if he hadn't heard him right.
"Yeah," Morales added in. "Some crazy bato that just got into town. Hey helicopter boy! Come say hello."
A deputy sheriff stepped out of the van. He looked uncomfortable to be looked at by so many people. I heard Morales say something else, but I saw the look on Shane's face and a light bulb went on. Shane knew the new guy. Moments past and I heard Carl scream for his dad. So that's who this guy was. He was Rick Grimes. I had heard Lori talk about him, but not very much and not often. Another family reunion and several dirty looks shot at Shane. Something was going on here and I wanted no part in it.
…..break…..
That night I found myself finally doing my job. It was my turn to watch while everyone else sat around their fires and chatted. Jake and Ayla sat around the fire that Rick was at, telling him our story no doubt. I had too much time to think about the very things I didn't want to. I wondered where my brother was. What had he encountered? Had he made it to Birmingham? Were my nieces alright? Was his wife alright? So many questions and not an answer to spare.
"Here kid." Jake said as he climbed up the latter. He handed me a plate of food and sat down next to me. "What's on your mind?" He asked me. He had learned when I was deep in thought, the look on my face when I was troubled.
"Nothing that hasn't been wrong with me before." I sighed. "I just can't help but wonder where my brother and his family are and what they're up to. If they're even alive anymore."
"It won't do you any good to get yourself depressed thinking like that. What ever happened to having morality issues?" Jake nudged me with his elbow.
"When it's my family it's different. I can't help but wonder how they are and what they're up to. It was like that when I moved out of state a few years ago. I ran my phone bill up bad and for some reason I saw that as a sign it was time to go home. Now here I am, years later, stuck in Georgia of all places. To add to it, I have to look after Ayla." I figured he'd get tired of my whining, but this old man didn't give in that easy.
"I didn't think I'd be looking after two girls I'm not related to, but here I am and I can't say I'm too upset about. The two of you are giving me a reason to keep on living. I'd say that's pretty good in my books." Jake smiled and headed off to bed. Unfortunately, it started to rain.
For the rest of the night Jake and Dale would come out and check on me. I know they were checking to see if I'd fallen asleep on the job, but I managed to stay awake until Dale woke up. He told me to head to bed and get some sleep.
…..break…..
I didn't wake up until what looked to me to be around one in the afternoon. I wasn't too pleased about it, but I guess it just meant I'd be taking the graveyard shift again tonight. Jake informed me that I'd missed the chance to show off my skills in Atlanta and when I looked confused he told me that Rick had taken a couple of people back into the city. Apparently they'd gone back after Merle and I couldn't help but laugh at Jake. There was no way in hell I'd have helped find the bastard. He'd made a few passes at me and I hadn't been too pleased about it.
I had also apparently missed the appearance of a zombie. I'd missed a lot that morning. I'd also managed to fuck up another rule. Don't sleep if think you won't hear the zombies coming. Ayla still wasn't talking to me and she wasn't happy that Glenn had gone back into the city. I felt at a loss as to what to do with her.
An hour later I found myself heading down to the quarry. When I arrived the other women of the camp were washing clothes and complaining about the division of labor. All the while Ed watched over everything. I didn't like the way he was looking at everyone, but it wasn't really my place to make him stop.
"Need any help?" I asked, knowing they wouldn't let me.
"That's ok honey; you'll be the one watching over us like a fried angel while we sleep tonight." Jacqui laughed.
I grinned widely at her. "I almost swear those aren't horns holding my halo up. You can blame those two old farts for letting me sleep in the sun. I look like those old cartoon devils." I could laugh at myself all day long. They went back to their complaining, with a bit of mine thrown in here and there.
When they started talking about what they missed, several things went through my mind. I had a lot to miss. There was one thing, after you removed the fact that I missed my family, that I missed the most.
"I miss Taco Bell." I groused. The conversation seemed to go way downhill from there. I had moved off to another part of the bank to skip rocks. I watched as Ed made some snide comment at everyone, but at the same time I noticed Lori having it out with Shane farther away. This group had drama and I wanted nothing to do with it. I went back to skipping rocks. A few moments later the violence started. There was a commotion with Ed in the middle of it all. I quickly made my way over to stop things from getting worst.
"Ed, back off!" I shoved at his shoulder and a few breaths later I found myself on the ground. Shane had come over to see what was going on, but he ended up dragging Ed away and beating the shit out of him. I dragged myself up off the ground, but I was in no hurry to stop Shane. I hated both men and I'd just as soon see them both dead. I wiped at my busted lip and was thankful Ed hadn't ripped one of my lip rings out when he hit me. There would have been hell to pay. The rest of the day was uneventful and I soon found myself back on top of the RV watching over everyone.