(Creeps out from behind a corner.) Please, don't hurt me! I know I haven't updated in so long! I'm sorry!
This chapter is mostly a freakishly long filler chapter, I think. Inspiration struck me in a different direction than what I had originally planned so I had to kind of pull myself out of a hole... The next chapter is gonna be killer though so just you wait!
Thank you for reading! Reviews are always loved so if you have a moment please do! (:
Much love!
-kimmy
Chapter 8: People Are Strange When You're a Stranger
She didn't lower her weapon; that would be the stupid thing to do. Instead she stood a little straighter and aimed it at the man's chest. It was nothing personal, just survival. He seemed to understand this and raised his left hand and right stump in assent. They both eyed the other for a moment, assessing any possible threats. Despite looking like a frequent visitor of the prison system, he seemed harmless enough. Kailey lowered her weapon and he threw her a half-assed grin. She didn't return the gesture as she slipped her pack off of her shoulders.
God Almighty, she needed a cigarette.
"Ya got any snacks in there, honeybuns?" the man asked casually, tucking his machete in his belt. "Ain't had nothin' to eat in a while now."
She glared at him over the degrading pet name but tossed him a granola bar over her shoulder. She wasn't about to let the man starve to death just because he was a pig.
"Thanks," he replied, catching the treat with his left hand. "What else ya got in that magic bag of yours?"
She threw a water bottle in his direction. "I want that back when you're done with it."
She fished her cigarettes out and counted what she had left for rations. She would want to make a run into town and stock up again. She hated going into town by herself; she had done it several times already. The one handed wonder was struggling with the water bottle and the snack wrapper. She sighed before snatching them from his hand and the crook of his arm. With a light scowl she opened the bottle and shoved it back into his open hand. She opened the granola bar and, when he had finished drinking, gave it to him. He smiled quite appreciatively.
"Thanks, suga'tits," he murmured as he devoured half of the bar in one bite.
"Could you not call me that?" she sniffed rather snobbishly. "I have a name you know."
He swallowed. "Ya never told me what it was."
"Well, what's yours?" she asked, offering him a smoke.
He grinned devilishly and accepted her gift. "I asked first."
"Kailey."
He pulled a lighter from his pocket and lit her cigarette for her. "Nice meetin' ya, Kay. Name's Merle."
She studied him for a second time. This Merle fellow must be one tough son of a bitch to have survived all of this with only one hand… Okay, he was pretty crass and smelled like a dirty bum but Kailey didn't exactly smell like roses either. Maybe hanging out with one person would be better than a whole group. She had done that with Charlie and she really enjoyed it. They both puffed on their cigarettes for a few moments in silence.
"Where ya headed?" Merle finally asked conversationally.
"Not really sure… just looking for some place that's safe. You?"
"Same."
"You're alone?" They didn't look at the other, just stared off into the trees and smoked.
"Been alone fer some time now," he replied coolly. "'ve been moochin' off of other folks shit fer months now."
"You've found others?" she questioned.
"Nah, not really. Just their shit. Know there's more though, all scattered an' such."
"Have you ever seen them?"
"Nope."
She eyed him dubiously. "Then how do you know?"
"Fresh tracks, killed walkers, leftover food and tents. There's more of us."
"Why haven't you tried to find them? Don't you think it would be easier for you to get around if you were with a group?"
Merle chuckled darkly as he squashed his smoke under his boot. "I don' really play well with others, cutie pie. 'Sides, I don' see you totin' the bandwagon behind ya."
She shrugged her shoulders moodily. "Guess I'm not one to talk then."
"That stupid fuckin' bitch!" Daryl snarled as he began an angry pace around the room Kailey was last seen in.
First he had Carol to deal with and now Kailey decided to play stupid and vanish again. She had obviously knocked things over during her departure. What wasn't certain was whether or not she had intentionally destroyed the room or if she was just clumsy.
"Daryl, relax," Rick insisted, pressing his palms against his face and rubbing his eyes. This week had certainly put him through the ringer and the scene by the barn hadn't helped in the least. Now he had to deal with burying the loved and burning the dead as well.
"Fuck off, I'm gonna go find 'er," the hunter snarled and tried to shove him aside. Rick returned the favor and had to duck away from Daryl's fist.
"Daryl, stop!" Lori shouted, throwing her hands on her hips and closing her eyes. "Give her a little space please! She was probably frightened when she heard the guns going off. I bet she's somewhere in the house."
When she opened them again Daryl was squatting outside of the window. The couple peered at him dubiously.
"No she ain't," Daryl grumbled as he studied the ground.
Suddenly he stood up and started walking as if he were tracking their next meal. Lori and Rick followed him cautiously, afraid that he would start throwing punches if he noticed them. He followed the invisible path to horse stable and frowned as he stood in front of it for a moment.
His mind replayed the scene between him and Carol. Kailey knew better than to be jealous, right?
The hunter suddenly turned on his heel to follow Kailey's footsteps. From the stable she went into the woods. The Sherriff and his wife followed Daryl the whole time in silence. From the ground Daryl learned quite a bit about the crew he was with. Dale and Shane were in the woods at some point today, he could see their tracks. Kailey must have had a conversation with Shane because by the base of a tree were both sets of prints. Shane had walked past Kailey, leaving her in the woods alone.
Daryl scowled. "Shane was here with 'er at one point."
"What do you mean?" Lori asked softly, afraid to set him off.
"Their tracks are right 'ere," he said as he pointed at the ground. "He walked past her. Must've been before the shooting…"
They continued their trek through the woods. Rick was beginning to feel an ounce of fear. Kailey was an adult, she knew better than to go off into the woods on her own. This was how people got lost and ultimately killed. They stopped briefly by the base of the tree and you didn't have to be a master tracker to know Kailey had stopped there. The ground was littered with cigarette butts.
"Like a fuckin' chimney," Daryl huffed as he knelt beside the mess. His eyes never left the ground as he suddenly rose and began a half jog through the rest of the forest.
"Slow down," Lori hissed angrily, trying to keep up.
The hunter stopped and stared at her. "She ran back… I think she must've heard the guns goin' off. Might've worried her."
They ran through the forest and paused for a moment at the barn. Glenn and T-Dog were working on the cleanup. Andrea and Dale were sitting with Carl, Hershel and his children, trying their best to comfort them. Shane stood by idly watching Carol who was nowhere to be found.
There was a blanket covering Sophia.
They all exchanged a mournful glance as Daryl left the scene and made his way back to the house. He stopped for a moment. There was another set of tracks leading to the RV. Maybe she was hiding in there this whole time?
He burst into the trailer, calling out her name a little harsher than he planned on. It didn't matter, she was gone and the place was trashed. He frowned again and rubbed the back of his head, trying to think of alternative actions to deal with the fury that was building up slowly but surely. When he couldn't find any, he punched the wall of the RV.
"We'll find her, Daryl," Rick promised emptily but Daryl shook his head.
"Nah, leave 'er. If she wants tah be off on 'er own let 'er."
Kailey wasn't laughing, she was snorting. She was sitting in a cube truck with a dirty biker man and she was laughing so hard that it was making her snort. God, this guy was really freaking funny! She loved it! He roared with great humor as she snorted again.
"Choo makin' weird sounds, Kay!" He might be high but at least he was having fun.
"Oh my God, Merle, you're so fucking high!" she spat out through chuckles, leaning against the seat. "Where are we going?"
"There's a farm a little ways away. There's one back the other way but this'uns okay."
She frowned. There were more farms? Where was she, the home of the jolly Green Giant?
"I dunno if we should go there, Merle…" she said haughtily.
"Yeh dun haff ta," he replied. "I'm goin' though."
She stared at him and couldn't help but smile. Maybe having an easy going, tell it like it is, drug addict around was just what she needed. He didn't look like the type to judge her for what she had done. She let out a weird sniffle before agreeing with him.
"Fine, I'll go with you… but what makes you think this place is empty?"
"It ain't no more. A group of guys settled there las' week. It's jus' outside of town."
"I thought you didn't mix well?" Kailey asked, the idea of more people making her very wary.
"Can't avoid it sometimes."
He started the truck and they were off.
Merle and his truck were greeted by a small posse of men. Kailey grimaced. Weren't there any girls in this place? She froze in her seat nervously, preferring the quiet of the car over the din of testosterone in front of her. All of them turned to stare at her or, more precisely, her tits. Great, horny men who all smelled and hadn't seen a girl since the dawn of the apocalypse. Brilliant plan, Merle! She watched uncomfortably as he got out and approached his group.
"Who's da chick?" a round fellow who reminded Kailey a little of the Pillsbury doughboy asked, jerking his thumb in her direction.
She scowled and crossed her arms. Another man, a rather handsome one to boot, took notice of this and narrowed his eyes at Mr. Stay Puft before slapping the back of his head. "Some respect, Little Tony, we have a lady in our midst!"
The good looking guy approached her side of the vehicle and opened the door, holding his hand out to help her down. "Enchante, Madamoiselle."
She narrowed her eyes at him; he seemed to take note of her unease and offered her an award winning smile. "The name's Dave."
She frowned. This Dave guy had a weird accent, one that she couldn't quite put her finger on. He wasn't a local. She frowned some more but this time in deep thought. If these guys weren't from around here there was no telling what they knew. Maybe they knew a way out of this mess? After a moments deliberation she accepted his help and hopped out of the van.
"Can't she talk? Merle, I think you found a broken one," Fatso jibed, nudging Kailey's rescuer in the side. Merle didn't like that one bit.
"Shove it, Tubo," the man snarled, shoving the obtuse guy out of his way to walk closer to Kailey. "She wus talkin' fine with me. C'mon, Kay, say hello to the guys."
She gulped. In order to believe that she hadn't just made the worst mistake of her life she had to trust Merle. "Hey guys?"
"It speaks!" Dave cried out playfully. "Your name is Kay? That short for something?"
She took in a breath. Just trust Merle. "Yeah, it's short for Kailey."
"Well it's nice to meet you, Kailey," Dave noted, placing a hand over his chest and wrapping his free arm over her shoulders to turn her towards the small crowd. "I'm David. You already know Merle." He pointed to Flubber. "That's Little Tony. The younger kid there is Randy. Shawn. Josh. Travis. There's more of us but they aren't here to say hi."
She felt the guys arm around her and her stomach curled. He obviously meant nothing by it but it felt wrong. Men weren't supposed to touch her. She was damaged goods. Men don't touch damaged goods…
The younger guy, Randy, waved his hand at her. "'Sup?"
Kailey raised an eyebrow. In such trying times it seemed strange that he could use such a common phrase. She nodded her head in his direction but didn't say anything. Instead she pulled away from Dave's side and turned to face him.
"You don't sound like you're from here."
He chuckled. "I'm not. Me and Little Tone are from Philly."
She cast Merle a glance out of the corner of her eye. "Look, I was under the impression that Merle worked alone. So, no offense, I'm just gonna head my own way."
"By yourself?" Dave asked, eyebrows raised and a cocky grin on his face. "No offense, doll, but I don't think a pretty lady such as yourself should be going it alone."
Pretty? I'm still pretty? It had been such a long time since she had thought something so ludicrous. She certainly didn't feel pretty.
"I'll be fine," she grumbled. "I can handle myself just fine."
Merle let out a huff as he leaned against the truck. "I think ya'd be better off with us. Dave, don't you guys have work to do?"
Dave nodded. "Yeah, looks like we had better get going. C'mon, gents. Kailey," he turned to face her, "I'll be seeing you later."
With a final wink and a pat on Merle's shoulder he hopped into a van and his caravan took off. Kailey eyed Merle with a bit of disdain. "You lied to me."
"Nah," he argued, unloading the contents of the cube truck. "I jus' didn't tell ya I had a few friends, is all."
"That's lying."
Merle let out a laugh. "No, it's not. C'mon, there's an extra room in the house up 'ere. Ya look like ya need a nap."
Kailey woke to the sound of thundering footsteps echoing throughout the house. At first she was startled, forgetting how she found the comforts of a bed to sleep in. Then it all came back to her; Carol and Daryl, Merle, Dave, Little Tony, Randy. She timidly rose from the creaky mattress to investigate the commotion.
"They killed them! Those bastards killed Tony and Dave!"
She stopped at her door. Maybe leaving the room wouldn't be such a smart idea?
"What happened to Randall?" Merle asked coolly. Kailey began to feel really bad for making fun of Tony seeing how he was dead now.
"We had to leave him… Walkers everywhere… We opened fire on the guys that shot Dave…"
Shot? Why would someone shoot them? Sure Tony was just plain old gross but there was no need to shoot the poor guy. More importantly, who had shot at them? There couldn't be that many people in such a small area. There simply couldn't be.
"Who did this?" Merle asked, just as calm and lethargic as before.
"Fucked if I know… three guys… An old guy and an Asian… I'm willing to bet they are gone by now…"
Kailey gasped. Glenn? What were they doing in town? Suddenly her heart wanted to stop. What if Daryl had been with them? With speed unbeknownst to her, she checked her provisions and grabbed her bags. She had to make sure he was alright. She had to see with her own eyes that her people were okay. Then she could come back here and forget until she died of hunger or became something's meal.
She tore through the hallway like she was on jetpack-fueled roller skates; her feet hardly touching the ground as she fled the safe confines of her hallway. Suddenly, she slowed down. For some odd reason she felt unsafe, like Merle wasn't about to give up the first sign of tail he had seen in God only knows how long. Now she began to shake. There was a door at the end of the stairway. She just had to creep down the rickety steps, slip through the screeching door and then tear through the night… That can't be too hard, right? She chose her moment patiently; once the discussion in the main room had elevated to a point that it could mask her escape, she darted. No one seemed to notice as she sped away from the farm and its occupants like a cheetah on crack.
She reached the woods with record timing. She could hear Merle calling out for her now, begging for his piece of ass to return unscathed. Her feet were steady as she traced the drive of the land through the outskirts of the trees. She had made sure to pay attention to the route Merle had taken to get here, just in case she had needed to get back.
She didn't care how she did it; Kailey was going to find her way back.
