Chapter 10: Who's Gonna Fight for the Weak

Kylie-Jane Creek

Abby took that a lot better than I expected. Okay, so the automatic beer-chugging wasn't so great, but she didn't freak out. I mean, not nearly as much as I was. I'd kind of given up on the whole kids thing. It's hard to be a mom and maintain the career that I have. Especially if I get shipped out. I couldn't leave Daryl at home for months at a time with a baby while I was out doing god knows what in the Middle East. It wasn't right for any of us. So I'd forgotten about the family thing. I had Daryl, Abby, Merle, and the three Grimes. I was perfectly fine with that.

I guess the universe had different ideas.

I was standing in an archway in the cabin's living room, the room full of our little 'group'. Shane had Lori and Carl protectively on the couch, Abby was curled up and drunk off her backside in a chair, and the Dixon brothers were leaning against the counter with matching crossed arms and angry faces. Abby kept shooting me drunken glances across the room that all read 'Kylie you're crazy'. I was trying to ignore her and focus on what was being said. It was hard enough without her being on my back the whole time. And maybe I was wrong. Maybe I wasn't pregnant. I'd only been pregnant once before, and I didn't even know until I miscarried. Maybe I had the flu, and I was just overreacting?

"Okay, so what we need," Shane was saying, "Is to pack up our things, and make our way to the city, to the refugee camps. We'll be safe there."

Merle shook his head and huffed, "You're wrong, man. Last place you wanna go is surrounded by loads'a sumbitches who could turn at any second and try t'eat ya."

Lori sighed, "They could have a cure there. For all we know they're handing out shots for this."

"No fuckin' way," Abby drawled, highly inebriated, "They ain't curin' shit. Kyle's squad was called in. You know what their squad did? Black ops, secret desert storm, shit like that. If they was called in, they ain't got no damn cure. And they ain't got no damn safe haven either. They're gettin' ready for a bloodbath is what they are."

"Abby-"

"Nah. I'm tellin' ya. Atlanta's a bad idea."

Shane shut his mouth and looked over at me. "That true?"

"What?"

"Black ops? Desert Storm?" He glared at Abby, "'Shit like that?'"

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Yeah. She has a point. If marines were called in, something big is going down in the city. Something not manageable by the National Guard."

Everyone let that sink in for a moment. So what if the city was a bad plan, like Abby said? Where would we go? What would happen to the people in the city? What would happen to us?

"Chick's right." Merle said. He narrowed his eyes at Shane. "Further away we are from the law, the better."

"What's that s'pposed to mean?" Shane asked.

"It means-"

"Stop." I cut in, "Both of you. We are in this crap together, alright? Family stays together. And Shane, if you're taking responsibility for Lori and Carl," I looked over to him and he nodded, "Then that makes you part of this group. Part of this family. Now if y'all can't get along we are not gonna survive for long. You've seen what's out there."

"Fine." Shane muttered. "But just so we're clear. Stay here or head out to the city. What's it gon' be?" We all hesitated and he added, "We need to decide tonight, 'cause we're runnin' out of supplies real quick."

"Atlanta." Lori said in a small voice, cuddling Carl closer to her.

"Stay." Merle said.

"Stay." Daryl agreed.

"Fuckin' stayyy." Beth slurred.

Shane looked to me and I sighed. "Fine." I muttered, looking over at Lori. "Atlanta."

I got matching evil looks from three angry rednecks.

"Like I said," I explained, speaking to everyone but keeping my eyes on Daryl the entire time, "Family is family. If Lori and Carl are going to the city, so am I."

"You sure?" Daryl asked. I looked to my step-sister, then back at him, and nodded.

"Positive." She said evenly. "Even if it turns out to be a dead end, we'll know before we even get to the city. Before we're in any danger. We'll be fine as long as we stick together."

"Kylie has a point." Lori said. "It's worth the shot to go to the city."

"So, the city then?" Shane said. Merle opened his mouth to speak so he kept going to interrupt him, "We turn back first sign of trouble. No exceptions, we keep the group safe, right?"

"Yeah." Kylie said. "I think it's worth it."

"I'm in." Daryl said.

I looked over to Merle with a question mark on my face and he rolled his eyes. "Fine. Fuckin' city then."

Shane looked over to Abby and she waved her hand in a non-committal gesture. "City. Whatever."

Shane took a breath. "Okay then. Let's get packed up."

"We could use a night's rest," I said. "We can leave tomorrow."

Everyone nodded in agreement, and then we all cleared off our separate ways. I headed back towards the room Daryl and I had crashed in, pulling boxes from under the bed and starting to pick out the things I wanted to take with us.

"You gon' tell me why you want to head into that death trap?"

Daryl burst into the room, shutting the door behind him and starting to pace back and forth across the carpet. I sighed and straightened up to look at him.

"Death trap?" I asked, "We don't even know what's going on, Daryl."

"Know enough to stay away from places with lots'a' people. What you think's gon' be in Atlanta? Shit load of people, and double the damn walkers."

"We don't know that till we check it out. Josh said something about the CDC. Maybe Lori's right, they have a cure. Maybe they're working on one, and I can help. I don't know. But don't you think it's worth a shot to at least find out?"

"Couldn't care less 'bout the CDC." He muttered, waving a hand out, "Like Abby said, there ain't no cure. If they had to call y'all in, I'm thinkin' chances are pretty slim."

I thought about that for a minute. They had a point. If the marines were called in, there was definitely some heavy stuff going down over at the city. But if they were throwing all their resources to protect the CDC? Maybe that was our best option, unless, like Shane said, the radios tell us otherwise.

"I think we should at least give them a chance." I said, closing up my box finally. He walked over to me.

"'M sure Josh 'n them are fine." He said.

I nodded, "I'm not worried."

"Bullshit."

"Don't you cuss at me, Dixon."

He smirked and I smacked at his arm, swinging but missing when he dodged and jumped back. I growled playfully and jumped after him. He grinned and ran around the other side of the bed.

"Betchya can't catch me." He chided.

"Betchya I can."

I hurled myself across the bed, landing on the wood-flooring on the other side with a loud 'clunk' of my combat boots. I reached out and got a handful of his shirt but he pulled away and I lost my grip. He laughed and I narrowed my eyes, running after him when he threw open the bedroom door and went running down the hallway.

"Dixon, get back here!" I shouted. He grinned over his shoulder and ran through the front door and onto the front porch. I smiled and followed him, jumping down the front steps, missing each one, and launching myself forwards as soon as my feet hit the dirt. I saw Abby and Merle by her car giving us weird looks but I ignored them and kept sprinting after Daryl. He led me all the way down to the lake, running just out of my reach the whole way. He got to the docks before me, and stopped a few feet before the end. I skidded to a halt and we stood there, panting and staring each other down with matching smiles.

"Told you ya couldn't catch me."

"Asshole. I so caught you." He put his palms up in a 'really?' kind of gesture and I narrowed my eyes. I took a step forward and I shot him a feral grin. His hands slowly went back down to his sides. He looked to me, then to the dock, and the lake. We both knew what I was planning to do.

It just went so much better in my head.

I ran for him, ready to shove him off the dock and into the water, but he redneck-ninja-ed me and dodged my attack, his strong arms wrapping around my waist and lifting me up easily. I screamed but he clamped a hand down over my mouth and smiled at me while I kicked and struggled blindly. I lightly bit his hand and he swiped it back, growling at me.

"Let me go!" I shouted. He grinned and I knew I shouldn't have spoken. Anticipating his move, I hooked my fingers into his shirt and pulled him thrashing into the water along with me.