I didn't stay in the watch tower. I couldn't. My pent up emotions got the best of me and I was kind of ashamed at how I blew up at Daryl.
I walked out of my cell and toward the window to see what all the commotion was that had disturbed my slumber. More walkers than I had seen since Atlanta were gathering on the other side, moaning and shuffling in unison.
Daryl and Carol were standing just below the window, standing in the inner gate, watching the chaos unfold beyond the prison walls. They seemed to be conversing as Daryl ate breakfast. I couldn't help but feel jealous that they could hold a civil conversation.
I checked on the children, they were all asleep. The sun had barely risen yet. I decided to let them sleep. There were chores elsewhere to tend to. I went to the kitchen and began pumping water into the giant sink. I pulled a washboard out and some detergent and began scrubbing at the pile of children's clothing by the door.
It was hard work, washing clothing by hand. I thought it would be easier to beat the clothes on a rock in the river. The water ran almost black in no time. The dirt, rancid sweat, and walker blood was hard to get out. I did my best until the water ran clear and then piled them into a basket and carried them outside to the line we had tied up.
"Shouldn't be out here by yerself." I spun to face him. He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot.
"You're talking to me?" He glanced down to his feet tilted his chin up, ever so slightly, staring up at me with sparkling light blues from between chunks of dark brown hair. "Look… about last night. What I said? It was out of line. I'm sorry."
"S'all right."
"It's not, though. I get it. Shits changed. We're not the same people we were in high school. Silly of me to think any different." I went back to hanging out little shirts, toddler size shorts.
"We had a past." He mumbled.
"Yeah, well maybe it should just stay in the past."
He sighed, brushing his hair back and gripping his neck. "Need some help?"
"Don't tell me badass Daryl Dixon is gonna do women's work." I laughed.
"Why ye gotta be such a damn pain in the ass all the time? I'm just tryin' ta be nice ta ye."
"Sorry." I muttered. "I don't know how else to act towards you." I admitted sheepishly. "You're different, you know?"
"Yeah, and you ain't?"
All of a sudden, we heard a terrible noise, like metal bending and snapping. Our eyes shot to the fence. A group of walkers had applied too much pressure to this one spot and the fence was starting to buckle beneath their weight. Daryl didn't hesitate, flipping his crossbow over his arm and shooting a bolt straight through a male walker's eye. "Go get Rick!" He yelled back at me.
"And leave you here? There's too many!" I screamed back, grabbing my bayonet from my pocket. Daryl didn't have time to load another arrow and draw back the string. He dropped the crossbow nearby and pulled out a tomahawk and his Bowie knife and started hacking away at the walkers while trying to right the fence at the same time.
I ran to the fence and applied all my weight, trying to push it back upright from the right side while Daryl cleared his path on the right side. I managed to stab a few walkers in the head through the fence. Wayne and Rick came running from the prison after Daryl had managed to push the fence back together. Unfortunately, we had to stay put until we figured out a way to mend the fence.
"The fuck happened?" Wayne asked.
"Decided to invite a couple walkers in for a tea party. Rest got jealous." Daryl scoffed. "The fuck does it look like?"
Soon Glenn, John, and Tyreese ran out, followed closely by a few others.
"Little help would be nice. I'm not exactly a body builder here." I strained against the fence, trying to keep my fingers out of the way of the biters while holding the chain link in place. Wayne quickly took my place.
"Can we sew this up?" Glenn asked.
"We could try, but it would be a temporary fix." Rick shook his head.
John and Tyreese helped me hack up a few more walkers as Maggie ran up with some 14 gauge wire. She and Glenn worked quickly, trying to bind the fence back together.
"What about the bus?" I thought. "We could park it on the fence here until we could think of something?"
"Good idea, princess. Just line up all the cars along the fence so we can't get in or out." John laughed. "Why don't you go back to the kitchen and cook daddy up some food while us men make a real plan?" He smacked my ass with a laugh and I turned around swinging.
"Ye best be glad I'm holdin' up this fence." Daryl growled. "You don't talk to a lady that way."
"Looks like you moved on from the Mexican to the redneck. When you gonna grow a pair and fuck with a real man, sweet cheeks?" He laughed.
My fist made contact with his nose and began gushing blood.
Daryl let go of the fence and rushed in front of me, his chest now flush with John's.
"Enough!" Rick yelled, pushing John backwards and standing between us. "She has a point. We just need something for a few hours at most until we can find something more substantial. Tyreese?" He muttered.
"I'm on it." He nodded, running to the bus.
Tyreese pulled the bus up to the fence as close as he could.
I shrugged my jacket back in place and ran towards the prison.
"That should hold for a while. Now, what else can we do?" Rick asked.
It took a few hours for the men to tear the door off of the back of the bus and reinforce it to the fence.
After dinner, I went outside to find Daryl. I had been meaning to talk to him after the little spat with John earlier. I found him outside with Rick talking by the newly renovated fence. They heard me coming. Rick turned to look at me over his shoulder.
"You boys plannin' on eatin' tonight?"
"It's not squirrel again, is it?" Rick laughed. "You know what we have to do." He muttered to Daryl before he turned and stopped before me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "I hope you know we appreciate you. Whatever John said earlier? Well, he doesn't speak for all of us."
I nodded and he broke away, walking to the prison.
"I wanted to talk to you." I said. "To thank you."
"What for?"
"Earlier, with John."
"Guy's an asshole. Ye don't deserve ta be talked to like that."
"Well, I appreciate it." I walked over to him and he shifted a little the closer
I got. I placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned up, kissing him on the cheek, just near his beauty mark. He pulled back quickly, shifting the strap on his crossbow and muttering about going on watch before he ran in the other direction, leaving me there all alone.
