Author's note: Hey guys! Sorry this took so long to get out. I had/have so much stuff to do, and a lack of motivation to do it all. But, I finally got this out and I hope you like it. Not too much Daryl/Harley action, I kind of wanted to explore Harley and Riley's past a little more, and I actually really liked writing this chapter. So, I hope you dig it too! But, if not, never fear! Next chapter will be loaded with Daryl and Harley stuff. :)
The group drove all night, until finally they had to take a break in an old rest stop. The truck had run out of gas, and as much as it broke Daryl's heart to do, he had to leave it behind and instead take out his motorcycle from the truck's bed. Harley stood, leaning against the RV with her arms crossed over her chest. Even though she didn't like being out in the open, where a potential horde could sneak up on her, she was happy to be out of Daryl's musty old truck and get a little fresh air.
"We should get back on the road," Rick said after a few minutes.
"You coming with me?" Daryl asked Harley, as he sat a few feet in front of her on his hog.
"I'd fall off the damn thing," Harley replied in a little smile. Plus, she didn't like the idea of being so exposed. It freaked her out.
"Aw, c'mon,"
"No way," Harley said in a laugh as she stood up from the RV and walked over to him as everyone else was walking back into the van. "Be careful, okay?" She asked and gave him a quick peck on the lips when she was sure that no one was looking and then made her way into the Winnebago along with the rest of the group.
"Wow, you're actually coming with us instead of Daryl," Riley said in a snide tone, that made Harley's heart start to sink. Harley had made herself believe when they had left the cabin, and Riley had hugged her and told her she loved her, that everything was going to better. Harley admitted to herself that she should have known better when raging hormones were surviving a zombie apocalypse. Glenn, who sat on the bench beside Riley, elbowed her in the ribs gently. Riley then faked a broad smile, in an attempt to cover her faux pas as a joke.
"Yup, here for the long haul," Harley agreed as she sat down on the bench opposite Glenn, Carol, Sophia and Riley.
The whole drive Harley didn't speak, she just wanted to sleep. It felt like forever since she had actually had a goodnights rest. She hadn't really slept at all since the group left the cabin, and that was almost a full 24 hours ago. Everyone around her was talking, but none of their words seemed to seep in. In what felt like just a blink, Harley was woken up by the sputtering of the Winnebago. When she looked out the RV's window to her right, the whole scene was different from when she had last looked; maybe she really had slept.
"Come on, you gotta let me out," Shane said gently to Harley, and gave her a gentle nudge on the shoulder. Harley nodded in agreement and slid out from the bench and then followed the group outside, leaving Andrea inside to figure out the entire workings of her gun.
Harley got off the RV, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. Lori and Carol were looking in the cars, "shopping, and Shane had found some water, so for the time being everyone was happy.
"How can we get around this?" Rick asked himself as he looked down the seemingly endless line of vehicles. Behind him, Daryl was sitting on his bike. Both of his hands were on his legs and both feet were planted on the asphalt, his eyes on Rick.
"Hi," Harley said tiredly as she approached Daryl. Daryl opened his mouth and was about to say something when Dale caught both of their attention. He raised a finger to his lips to silence everyone, and pointed out, past some cars. What happened next was all a haze. She couldn't remember how, but she ended up lying on her belly underneath an old gray Volvo. She could see the dragging feet of geeks as they walked right past her. Even though they all seemed to walk right on by her, every time she saw a set of feet her heart would start to race and she was sure that this was the one that would find her, and she would be trapped.
Under the car next to her, Lori kept a hand clamped over Carol, who had tears streaming down her face's, mouth. Looking at Carol made Harley start to feel a bit of panic, too. Because, just like Carol, Harley had no idea where Riley was. Maybe she'd already been bitten, Harley didn't know. The idea made her stomach turn, and instead of looking at Carol, who made that type of thought multiple, she clamped her eyelids shut. This would all be over, at some point. It had to, things always had a way of ending; good and bad.
"C'mon," Daryl said after what felt like an eternity. He reached under the Volvo and grabbed Harley's wrist and helped her get back up to her feet.
"Where's Riley?" Harley asked as she turned around, trying to see her sister.
"I don't know," Daryl admitted as he slid his hand down from her wrist to her hand and gently pulled her forward. He didn't want to seem insensitive, he really didn't, but he also didn't have time to play Doctor Phil. Who knew how many more walkers were coming their way? Just because it was quiet right now didn't mean anything.
Daryl came to a halt after they walked through a maze of cars, and Harley leaned up against one, running her hands through her hair and trying not to let anymore anxiety build up.
"This is your baby sister, Riley," Mrs. Scott, the kids all around the neighborhood lovingly called Riley and Harley's mom. She was the elementary school's fourth grade teacher, and had always been a favorite because she frequently brought candy in as a prize. Harley, who was nine years old at the time, crossed her arms and turned away from her mother, and stuck her nose up in the air.
"I don't want a baby sister," She said flatly, making her Mother's face drop. Harley looked a lot like her mother; the same big blue-green eyes, same dark brown, almost black, and the same delicately beautiful features.
"Too bad, you got one," Her father, who had entered the room from the kitchen, said as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Bradley!" Her mother snapped and then turned back to Harley and gave her a loving smile. "Here, hold her just once. You'll love her, I promise," She said and walked Harley over to their big off-white couch, and sat down beside her on it. Harley wanted to put up a fight against holding the new brat, but despite herself, she was a bit curious. Mrs. Scott then slowly placed the mound of pink blankets into Harley's arms. Peeking out through the folds of quilts, was the newborns little pink face, her eyes closed and her thumb in her mouth.
"Hi Riley," Harley said quietly, a new feeling washing over her. Even though she wanted to hate Riley, this new baby that was going to take away her parents time, and "half of her Christmas presents", as her father had joked to get a rise out of the little girl. Her Mother was right, she did love Riley.
"She's not so bad, is she?" Her mother whispered and placed a kiss on the top of Harley's head. Her mother had loved her, and she had shot her in the face. She had done the same to her father, grandmother and grandfather. Her stomach started to turn and she felt weak at the knees. Could she really do that again to Riley, if she got bitten?
"Git down!" Daryl hissed and tugged Harley down onto the cement. Harley had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed another group of geeks heading their way. Daryl quickly grabbed a corpse from a car beside them and threw it over T-Dog, who had hit his arm off of a door and was still bleeding, and did the same to Harley. He didn't give her a warning, and seeing a dead man thrown on top of her almost merited a scream, luckily she somehow kept it in. The cement hadn't been in shadow, like when she was lying under the car. No, where she was laying now had been under the Southern sun all day, and scorched through her T-shirt and made her sweat, burn and ache, but she was too scared to move. Even her heart beat felt like too much; she knew the man on top of her was dead, but she felt like if she moved too much she wouldn't just alert some walkers, but also wake him up as well.
The corpse's face was right next to hers, the smell of his decay made her want to vomit and the feel of his hard, cold flesh on hers made her so uneasy. Daryl was next to her and made eye contact, he gave her a small smile and mouthed the words: "It's okay," It wasn't okay though.
She shouldn't have even been in Atlanta. She was supposed to stay in Boston that summer, and finish up some articles for work. But, Riley and her mother had convinced her to go to Atlanta, just one more summer. "It could be Grandma's last one," Her mother had said. That master manipulator.
At first, Harley had been glad she'd gone to Atlanta. It had been nice to sit on her grandparents porch, drink iced tea with Gram, and smoke some cigarettes with Gramp. But then, one Saturday morning Harley and Riley woke up to the sounds of screams. The girls jumped out of bed and ran down the stairs, Harley remembered to grab the pistol that her grandfather kept in the closet in the hallway. Harley took the lead from Riley as they descended the stairs. Their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Scott, were leaning over their grandparents, eating them as if they were turkey on Christmas. Riley threw up and fell down to a sitting position onto one of the steps from shock. Harley found herself paralyzed.
Looking back, Harley remember her mother and father had gone out for a walk before sunset and when they came back her other had been in a panic; some psychopath had bitten her and scratched at Harley's father. It was getting late by then though, and Gram had simply put some hydrogen peroxide on their cuts and promised to drive them to the hospital the next day to get it all checked out.
"Oh god," Riley had said as she started to bawl. Harley was still frozen; she didn't want to look. She didn't want to see her Grandmother's viscera be torn out by her own daughter and son in law. Her grandmother was wearing a silk shawl that morning, Harley remembered. Something about it seemed so symbolic to her, the blood and guts on her dainty and beautiful shawl.
Once Gram and Grampa weren't much besides mush, their parents started to walk over towards the stairs where Harley and Riley still stood. They looked different. They were still them, but their skin was a more purplish, sickly color and their eyes were a toxic green.
"Mom?" Harley called out, hoping her mom would respond and tell her that somehow, everything they had just witnessed was some kind of joke. Her mother let out a moan, her bony, dead looking fingers reaching out towards her daughters greedily, with their father at her heels doing the same thing. They got closer and closer and Harley's mind just seemed empty. She couldn't think. She wanted her parents to just snap out of it and tell her lunch would be ready in an hour. But they didn't. They got up two stairs and, just when her mother opened her mouth to reach out and take a bite out of Harley's right arm, that she picked the gun up, slid the safety lever and shot her own mother right in between the eyes, and repeated the action to her father. Their brains, blood and skull debris hit the wall behind them. Harley dropped onto one of the stairs, and just sat there, her eyes wide, helplessly looking down at the corpses of her own mother and father.
Oh god, oh my good fucking god, I killed my parents. I killed my parents. The people that loved and raised me, I killed them.
"Mommy?" Harley rasped out as she slowly got back to her feet, her legs felt wobbly and tears were forming in her eyes, though she felt no sadness yet. She was too stunned to really feel anything at all.
"Harl?" Riley squeaked from behind her. Harley looked over her shoulder at Riley, and the look in Harley's eyes was something that would always haunt Riley. Her sister's eyes were huge and bloodshot, and the look of panic, confusion, and sadness made her appear to be a child; for the first time ever, Harley wasn't calm, cool and collected, and it terrified Riley even more than she already was.
"What did I do?" Harley howled sorrowfully as she looked up at the wall, and watched a skull fragment slowly slid down the wall through thick, maroon blood.
"Harl, they killed grandma and grandpa. . . I know it sounds weird, but I don't think they were. . . Themselves, you know?" Riley said, her voice was shaking and was so quiet she could hardly even hear herself. But, Harley nodded as if she understood. Harley sat back down on the stairs beside her sister, just staring at the bodies in awe, until finally their grandparents seemed to wake up and the whole ordeal was replayed again.
Daryl threw the body that was on top of him off and got to his feet. He strode over to Harley, and with his foot he kicked the body that laid on top of her off and gave her a hand up. Harley didn't say anything, but continued to hold his hand as she looked around again to see Riley.
"Don't worry, Harl," Daryl said in a soft whisper, which surprisingly actually did comfort her some. "She was with Andrea in the RV, I'm sure she's fine,"
"Sophia's gone!" Carol cried in the distance. Daryl dropped Harley's hand and the two of them made their way over to the group. Andrea and Riley were there; both were covered and blood and looked scared, but were okay. As mean as it was, Harley ignored Carol's sobs and tears and walked across the circle and pulled Riley into a huge. It didn't even matter she was covered in blood, she was so happy Riley was in one piece.
"You okay?" Harley asked in a quiet voice, as Rick and Daryl bounded into the woods to look for Sophia.
"Yeah. . . I'm fine," Riley stammered and continued to hold Harley close. From beside them, Andrea couldn't help but look on in jealousy. "Andrea saved me,"
"Thank you," Harley said to Andrea who nodded. With the relief of finding Riley, Harley could finally focus and turn back to the problem at hand; a little twelve year old girl was missing. She tried to comfort Carol, in vain, until Daryl and Rick came back. Much to Carol's dismay, the girl wasn't found and the group decided to go into the woods the next day to find her. Harley felt all the more grateful that Riley was alright.