Education: acquiring knowledge.
Daryl learns a lesson.
Glenn
The place is spotless, dinner is ready, and I'm waiting for my Dixon man.
"Hi, honey, I'm home," he singsongs as he opens the door and glances around. "Looks good and smells even better."
"Your dinner is in the oven and there's salad in the fridge. I'm taking off now."
"That's right, your class starts tonight. See you later."
On the drive to Atlanta I wonder how I ended up living in a trailer with Merle Dixon instead of with Daryl in the house up the road.
I know how it happened, of course, but I still can't quite believe it.
Daryl and I met 16 months ago in a dimly lit parking lot. I was TA for a professor at the University where I was almost qualified for my teaching certificate. I had worked late grading papers and when I reached my car the rear driver's side tire was flat. Normally this wouldn't be a problem but the day before I'd sprained my left arm and it was in a sling. It still hurt like a bitch.
I didn't have Triple A or roadside assistance on my car insurance. I tried to think who to call but my friends had plans and I hated to interrupt. The lot was deserted and there was little traffic. A truck pulled in. It looked like the same one that drove by a couple of minutes before. A man got out wearing work pants and a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He looked a little rough but for some reason I didn't feel like he was going to beat me up and steal my wallet.
"Need some help?" he asked gruffly.
"Oh, no, I don't want to impose. I'll call someone."
"I'm here now. Only take a few minutes. Keys?" He held out his hand.
He opened the trunk, removed the jack and spare and efficiently went to work.
"Thanks," I said sincerely. "This is really nice of you. A Good Samaritan. Did you drive by before?"
"Yeah, saw you looking down at something and you've got that sling."
I explained the sprained arm then introduced myself: "I'm Glenn Rhee."
"Daryl Dixon." He tossed the flat tire into the trunk and packed away the jack. I drive a Mini Cooper and Daryl Dixon looked capable of lifting the car itself. "You're good to go."
"Thanks again." I reached in my pocket. "Let me give you something for your time."
"No!" He sounded almost angry. He softened it by adding, "It was no trouble."
"Maybe I can buy you a drink. It doesn't have to be now. I've already interrupted your evening."
"I was on my way to Frosty's. Just gonna have a beer before heading home. Join me if you want to."
"I'm buying."
Frosty's was a bar a few blocks away. I'd been there a couple of times but it wasn't a regular hangout. The lighting wasn't much brighter than the parking lot but we both liked what it revealed.
I learned that Daryl and his brother had a small business offering guided fishing and hunting trips, anything from a few hours to 10 days. They lived together in the small house they grew up in near Benford. Their parents were both gone. I told Daryl mine were alive and well but living in Michigan where I grew up. There are ways to ask and answer some questions without using the usual words. Within an hour we knew we were both gay and interested.
We ended up closing Frosty's down.
Daryl and I liked each other right away. Things seemed to happen by threes: we kissed three days later, slept together three weeks later, said we loved each other three months after that.
I was about to sign a contract to teach history in Atlanta that fall when old lady Ruskin had a stroke. That's what Daryl called her; I never met her. She was 60 – not all that old – but she had taught history to three generations in Benford, including the Dixon boys. The next generation would be learning from me instead.
So I left Atlanta and moved in with Daryl. Merle bought a trailer and relocated up the road. I felt bad displacing him but it turned out Merle was going anyway. A queer brother in the house cramped his style when he had overnight company. I suggested Daryl and I get our own place and leave the house for Merle but he refused. He could afford a double wide but was getting only a single because he didn't want so much space that his companions might start feeling at home.
Merle is foul-mouthed and a good deal of what he says is despicable so I was surprised to find him congenial, although he never misses an opportunity to make a joke at our expense.
Both Dixons hunt and fish but Merle tends to take the lead on fishing trips and Daryl heads up the hunts. Daryl and I have gone fishing a few times but we don't catch much. As Merle puts it, "When Daryl goes fishin', the only one that don't get away is Glenn."
We lived happily together for a year. That ended two days ago when Merle and Daryl returned from fishing with four men. I'm not always around when they get back but Saturday night I was so I helped them unload.
"This is Glenn, a friend of ours," Daryl said.
The men left. Merle could tell a fight was brewing but he couldn't resist adding to the tension.
"Well, Brother, Friend," he said, nodding to each of us, "I'm heading home to clean up. Y'all have a nice evening."
"Have a good day?" Daryl asked, hoping to defuse the situation.
"Until 10 minutes ago," I said coldly.
"Don't make this a big deal."
"Why not? Why shouldn't I call you on your bullshit? What are 'friends' for?"
"I didn't mean anything by that."
"Because I don't mean anything to you. You can't even acknowledge our relationship."
"Everyone around here knows our relationship. It's nobody else's business."
"I introduce you to people as my partner but you've never introduced me to anyone as your partner."
"C'mon, I'm hot and tired and dirty. I need a shower. You could join me."
I did. I thought Daryl would apologize after he'd had time to think. I know it's hard for him to be open and I don't expect him to explain he's gay to all his customers but he's had other opportunities with casual acquaintances and he's never said the words.
Daryl fucked me raw the way he knows I like it sometimes but he never said anything about introductions. The next morning I brought it up again and Daryl, who thought he fixed everything with great sex, got defensive and wouldn't back down. I went to Merle's trailer.
"Can I stay here?"
"You know where the spare room is but I don't think there's clean sheets."
"I'll do laundry and clean the place for you."
"You were right to leave my brother," Merle said. "Daryl don't appreciate you. I'll be proud to introduce you properly. As my houseboy."
That's how I ended up with Merle. He thinks it's hilarious that he's living with his brother's significant other while Daryl fumes alone. And now I'm on my way to a small community center on the outskirts of Atlanta to guide four people through a study course for their GED examinations. We'll meet three nights a week for 10 weeks. It's my first time teaching for GED so they gave me a small class to start.
Beth and Jimmy are both 18 and would have graduated a month ago but just before senior year they took off together. Not eloping, they just wanted to have an adventure. Crazy kids. Now they want to catch up so they can go to college this fall.
Carol got pregnant and left school to marry Ed. Daughter Sophia is 12. Ed got laid off and Carol wants to work but needs a GED to get anything decent.
Randall dropped out because he had better things to do with his time but four years later he has nothing to do. His uncle will give him a job if he gets his GED.
Time drags between classes. Merle and I get along but I can't stay here forever. I don't even want to stay here much longer. I thought it would be over by now. Daryl and I have had a few arguments but not like this. It's been two weeks and I should go back but something won't let me give in.
Tonight Randall arrives 10 minutes late, looking sick and feverish. I tell him to go home or better still, see a doctor. He refuses, saying he's just tired although he admits he might be coming down with something. When I suggest that no one else wants to get it, he moves to the far side of the room away from everyone, muttering that he isn't even coughing. I continue the class. It's commendable that he wants to stay but students are allowed to miss a few sessions as long as they make up the work.
Randall tried to pay attention but his concentration was skipping. It was that weirdo this morning that grabbed his arm and scratched him. Randall hadn't thought much about it but the scratch must be infected. He didn't have insurance but he'd stop at the ER after class. They had to treat him even if he couldn't pay. He'd get an antibiotic and maybe score something for pain. Meanwhile, he was serious about sticking out this class. He needed that job from his uncle. But his eyes were tired. Maybe if he closed them for a minute ...
After Glenn left for Atlanta, Merle went to the house.
"Daryl, you got to make this right. It was your doing and you know it and it's gone on too long. I'm eatin' salad and fruit for fuck's sake."
Daryl nodded. "I'm gonna meet him after class tonight."
Daryl was antsy and got to Atlanta early but he didn't mind waiting an hour. On the drive in his music station kept getting interrupted with news about some outbreak. He hadn't paid much attention at first but now a special report had taken over the programming so he listened.
It was Carol who called Glenn's attention when Randall's head dropped to his arms folded on the tabletop.
Glenn said, "Let's let him sleep. He probably needs the rest. If he's not better when class is over, I'll drive him to the emergency room."
Half an hour later Glenn thought he'd better check on Randall. What if he was unconscious instead of sleeping? Glenn approached quietly, whispering Randall's name. There was no response. Glenn shook his shoulder but Randall didn't wake up. Feeling frantic, Glenn put a finger to Randall's neck and couldn't find a pulse.
"Oh shit, I think he's dead."
Glenn was appalled by his negligence. He lowered Randall to the floor and yelled for someone to call 911. Glenn pumped Randall's chest. Carol knelt to help him. Beth punched at her cell phone and reported she couldn't get service. Jimmy tried his phone and said all circuits were busy.
Suddenly Randall moaned and moved.
"Thank, God," Glenn said. "Randall, we're going to the ER right now."
He was about to ask the others to help him carry when Randall growled and lunged for Glenn who jumped back instinctively. Randall's eyes looked opaque, unseeing. He turned toward Carol who scrambled out of the way.
"Randall, lay quiet," Glenn said but Randall didn't seem to hear. His arms were flailing and he was starting to get up.
"What's wrong with him?" Carol asked. "Is it drugs? PCP?"
"It might be rabies," Jimmy said. "Don't let him get hold of you."
Glenn and Carol were on their feet but so was Randall and he was between them and the door. They tried to run past him but he cut them off. Jimmy and Beth were on the other side of the room near the door. They went into the hall.
"Get help," Glenn ordered.
"Keep trying to call," Jimmy told Beth. He ran out of the building.
Beth was still having no luck with her cell phone. Randall had cornered Carol and Glenn so she shouted and Randall turned toward her. When he got close to the door she shut it. He didn't seem able to open it and soon lost interest in favor of his cornered prey. When he got close to them Beth tried shouting again but Randall wasn't fooled a second time. At least Glenn and Carol had been able to turn tables on their sides to form a barricade while he was distracted.
Daryl was beginning to be disturbed by the news report when a young man came running out of the building. He opened the back of an SUV, grabbed a shotgun and shells and loaded as he ran back in.
Jimmy had hunted all his life. He had put down a dog and a horse that had been childhood companions, but he'd never aimed at a human even in jest. He would wing Randall and they'd get him to a hospital.
Beth was in the hall, looking through the window in the door to the other side of the room where Glenn and Carol were trapped. Jimmy opened the door and yelled. Randall turned in search of more accessible prey. As he crossed the room, Jimmy aimed carefully and hit Randall's right shoulder. Randall jerked but didn't stop. Jimmy's second shot took Randall in the left thigh. Randall stumbled but kept coming, dragging his leg, and then he was on Jimmy. Jimmy went down and Randall fell on top of him, snapping at his face.
There was a whistling sound and an arrow quivered from Randall's belly. Beth was huddled in terror. She looked up to see a stranger with a crossbow looking with disbelief at the scene before him.
"Son of a bitch!" Daryl said as Randall ignored the arrow.
He was loading again as Randall found the soft meat where neck joins shoulder. He bit and pulled away chunks of flesh. Blood spurted and Jimmy's scream was cut off. Daryl put an arrow into Randall's head and this time Randall collapsed across Jimmy as if he was a puppet with the strings cut. Daryl went to check Jimmy.
"Is he …" Beth started to ask.
"Sorry, but he's gone," Daryl said gruffly.
"Daryl!" Glenn and an older woman were in the doorway.
"You okay?" Daryl asked. "He didn't hurt you?"
"We're fine. Well, not fine but not hurt. Randall was sick. We thought he was sleeping but he was dead. And then he wasn't. What's going on?"
"It's on the news. Some new virus. I don't know much more. I think everybody better get the hell home and stay inside."
Daryl picked up the shotgun and they all moved to the entrance. A yellow car was idling at the curb. Ed Peletier got out. Carol ran to him. He held her away from him and looked to the men. "What's wrong?"
They explained. Ed had heard something about it but not paid much attention. He wanted to see for himself. He started inside. Carol had no desire to take a second look but Sophia opened her door. Ed whipped around and pointed at her. "You stay in the car." He pointed at his wife. "You get in the car." They obeyed.
Glenn remained outside as well, holding a sobbing Beth. Daryl and Ed returned, Ed looking shaken. He got in the car and drove off.
"Beth can't drive like this," Glenn said. "I'm going to take her home."
"I'll follow you. We can come back for your car tomorrow."
Beth was almost catatonic but she managed to direct Glenn to a big farmhouse on a handsome spread of land about 10 miles from Atlanta. An older man and a girl a few years older than Beth were waiting.
"My father and sister," Beth choked out.
"Hershel Greene," the man said. "And this is Maggie." Maggie took Beth from Glenn as he told briefly what had happened.
Hershel sighed heavily. "We'll let Jimmy's family know. They live nearby. You should get home now. Be safe."
After they left the Greene farm, Daryl reached over and tugged Glenn along the seat next to him.
"I'm sorry," he said simply. "That's why I was waiting for you. To say that and ask you to come home. Will you?"
"Yes," Glenn replied. "And I'm sorry, too."
"What for? You were right."
"But if I hadn't left we would have worked it out a lot sooner. I love you."
Daryl's arm tightened. "Love you, too, kid. This has been the longest month of my life."
"It's been two weeks."
"See what I mean?"
Glenn nuzzled Daryl's neck. When he turned his head, Glenn touched the tip of his tongue to the mole above Daryl's lip. Daryl let the truck coast to a stop in the middle of the road.
"If you don't stop that shit I'm not gonna make it home. But I'm pretty sure you won't stop."
"It's been two weeks, Daryl, and something very bad just happened. Do you want to wait?"
Daryl pulled into a lane leading to a field. He fumbled in the glove compartment for a bottle of slick then opened his door and got out, pulling Glenn over until his legs dangled out the door. They each opened their own pants, fingers clumsy with the need for speed. Daryl jerked Glenn's jeans down his legs, flipped him over and lubed his fingers. Glenn hadn't said a word but his breathing quickened. He moaned with relief when Daryl inserted a finger. A second finger followed and Glenn started to wiggle.
"Hold still," Daryl growled. His fingers stretched Glenn and he upended the bottle to let the lube dribble directly in. He wiped his fingers on his raging hard-on and eased in quick but careful. He backed up a step, moving Glenn's hips with him so Glenn was bent over the seat at the waist instead of lying on it. It was a perfect position for penetration and the angle was just right to reach the sweet spot. Daryl found a rhythm that let him push in hard and pull out with a slow drag across the gland that left Glenn gasping.
A minute later Daryl collapsed. Glenn could feel Daryl's heart pounding against his back; Daryl felt Glenn's pulse against his neck.
"You come?" Daryl asked.
"No, but that prostate thing was fantastic. It's always feels good but I've never had a prostate orgasm before."
"Thought you might be epileptic the way you were shaking. Your dick need any attention?"
"It's mashed flat. I'll probably be able to see the seat design on it."
Daryl stood up so Glenn could turn over.
"Looks fat and sassy to me." Daryl swiped his tongue around the tip. "Tasty, too." He lowered his mouth down the shaft and weighed the soft sac of Glenn's balls in the palm of one hand. Glenn's hands went to Daryl's head to hold him to Glenn's other head.
When they got home they found Merle on the sofa reading 'Soldier of Fortune' magazine. Merle fantasized about being a mercenary. It was an occupation where his dishonorable discharge from the Army was a plus not a minus, but he had never pursued it and never would.
"You're back late. Stop at the hourly rate motel?"
"We did it in the truck," Daryl said.
Merle nodded. "Cheaper." He looked at Glenn. "Guess you're back where you belong. This place ain't been cleaned decent since you left. What's for supper?"
Glenn grinned and then remembered. "Don't you know what's going on? Have you listened to the news?"
"That virus thing? Another scam hatched by Big Pharmaceutical. In a few days they'll have everybody lining up for a vaccination. Look what happened with them flu shots."
"Not this time," Daryl said. "I wouldn't be surprised if drug companies started it but they lost control. If there's a shot to stop it, I'd like a dose and be glad to pay. I've seen it, Merle. A dead kid trying to eat a live one. He got shot in the arm and leg and it didn't stop him. I put an arrow in his gut and he kept going. Finally went down with a bolt to the brain."
Merle frowned. He would dismiss such talk from anyone else but he believed his brother. "Is this somethin' biblical like Judgment Day? The Apocalypse finally arrived?"
"Zombie apocalypse maybe," Glenn replied.
The men watched the news as they ate. In just a few hours panic had spread to the extent that the National Guard was being called out. They figured the situation would be under control in a few days, although Merle felt his former brethren in the Army might have to be mobilized to get a handle on it.
Merle tramped back to his trailer, pleased to be on his own again. He liked Glenn but two weeks of evenings spent with him mooning over Daryl and days with Daryl moping about Glenn was God's aplenty. And what was it about a homo in the house to make a red-blooded American man feel guilty about admiring young ladies in artful poses? Merle mostly downloaded porn now but he had a choice collection of magazines that he stashed out of sight for the duration of Glenn's visit. Yep, everybody would be happier now that the course of true love was running smooth again.
Everyone had expected Merle to go postal when his brother crawled out of the closet but blood was blood and Daryl was the only family Merle had. Besides, there were advantages. Merle loved his brother and his ego was healthy enough to consider himself the better man in most respects but women always went for Daryl. He was finer featured than Merle and better behaved. But the fact that he wanted to stick his dick in men instead of them was a show-stopper. Nope, Merle wasn't sorry Daryl was out of the running.
The redneck population had taken to a gay Asian teacher better than expected. Glenn wasn't big enough to be seen as a predator so their sons were safe and most parents trusted Glenn with their daughters more than they would with the girls' hormonal male classmates. He was safe from gay bashing as well. No one wanted to face the Dixons if harm came to him. Everybody liked Glenn anyway. He was a favorite teacher with students and popular with the rest of the faculty.
Women were curious about the homosexual thing but they didn't like to bring it up with the objects of interest so why not ask the brother? Merle knew quite a bit and what he didn't know he was happy to invent. The town in general gave the boys no grief. They might be Godless gays but they were Benford's Godless gays. In some perverse way folks were even proud to be seen as tolerant enough to accept queers in the community.
Daryl had never been easy around women or any people really. He didn't learn to flirt until Glenn came along. He only flirted with Glenn but at least he could talk to everybody else without stuttering or thinking he was saying something stupid. Merle had thought his job was making a man out of Daryl. Hell of a thing when another man made your brother a better man.
The next day things were worse instead of better and the trend continued. After a few days Merle moved back to the house so he wouldn't get trapped in the trailer. Best to keep everybody together at a time like this. Cell phones were useless. Land lines lasted longer. The power failed, both electricity and gas. The Dixons had a generator but it required diesel to run and a week later they were out and there was no more locally. No gasoline either and the small town had been looted. It was high summer in Georgia and their well was drying up. Without the pump to bring water from deep below, they couldn't stay. The rivers they fished from were farther away. They decided to head for the quarry near Atlanta where there would be water and probably other survivors.
They packed the truck bed with Merle's motorcycle, two tents and other camping equipment. They had gone back to Atlanta for Glenn's car before things got really bad so they were taking the Mini Cooper, too. They each had a duffel with clothes and they took all weapons and ammunition. Glenn stuffed a backpack with food and water and brought along his baseball bat.
A big RV was parked at the quarry along with several other vehicles including a familiar yellow car. Carol was delighted to see them and called everyone to come and be introduced.
"I'm Merle Dixon," Merle said.
"Glenn Rhee," Glenn said. "And this is …" He turned to Daryl.
"His partner, Daryl Dixon," Daryl said for the first time in public. "Merle is my brother and Glenn and I are together," he added, to make the relationships clear.
The awkward silence lasted only a second or two. An older man stepped forward. "Dale Horvath," he said with a smile. "Glad to have you with us. We've got a good group here. I think we'll all be fine."
Dale always was an optimist.