Chapter 10 - Seeing Red...
I believe in miracles
Love's a miracle
And yes, baby
You're a dream come true
I believe in you and me – Kelly Clarkson
So Rick and the others had gone back to the City. A strange sort of silence had befallen the camp after they had watched four of their own drive back towards that nightmare. Everyone was well aware that there was a good chance they'd never see them again, though no one verbally voiced this. They had to believe they would see their friends again, no matter what doubts they had, they had to carry on like normal and for the women in this camp as Evelyn was finding out, that meant helping with the Laundry.
Shane had found the look on her face at the thought of doing laundry, extremely amusing and had promptly ducked out of the way when she made a swipe for him. To avoid any more physical abuse his wife had planned, he had quickly grabbed Carl and headed down the quarry. The both of them had been raving, about catching some frogs, why they wanted to do such a thing she didn't know. Evelyn was happy as long as they kept them away from her; frogs had always freaked her out a lot more than she cared to admit.
Another thing that had her slightly worried was the fact Lori was seemingly avoiding her. She hadn't missed how the other woman conveniently hurried away to help someone else whenever Evelyn got to close to her, or she pretended to be deep in conversation with someone else whenever she walked past. It was true the pair of them had never been to close, but in Evelyn's mind this was ridiculous. The world had gone to shit around them, now wasn't the time for petty differences. As soon as she could she was determined to corner Lori and find out what the hell was wrong with her.
Evelyn helped both Jacqui and Andrea carry down the second load of washing to the water, from the car, where Ed stood keeping an annoyingly close eye on them all. It took all her willpower to simply bite her tongue and follow the others, but Evelyn did so. As they stopped at the water's edge, she was amused to find they could hear both Carl and Shane from across the water, making quite a bit of ruckus in an attempt to catch the frogs Shane had promised. She laughed as she watched her husband trip and fall right into the water, and shaking her head she settled down on the other side of Carol and grabbed her portion of the washing.
"Can someone explain to me how the women ended up getting stuck with all the laundry work?" Jacqui asked, clearly growing annoyed with the fact they were stuck here, whilst Ed was sat on his backside up at the car and Shane was playing around with Carl. Instead of answering Evelyn merely laughed and shook her head,
"The world ended didn't you get the memo..." Amy chuckled back, making Evelyn smile and shake her head, though she didn't miss the look Carol shot at Ed before handing a t-shirt to Jacqui,
"It's just the way it is." She sighed, before looking down at her next load of washing. Evelyn frowned and both her and Andrea glanced over their shoulders at Ed who was sat watching them like a hawk, as if to make sure they were doing they're 'job'. Looking at Andrea, Evelyn watched the other woman shoot a look of disgust in his direction, shaking her head as she turned away her eyes briefly locking with Evelyn's who was wearing the exact same expression. "I do miss my Maytag." Carol grumbled.
"I miss my ipod, my music..." Evelyn said after a moment of thinking, there were so many things she missed about the world before the outbreak, but music had to be near the top.
"I miss my Benz, my sat nav..." Andrea chimed in, making Evelyn smile at the look of longing in the other woman's eyes, as Jacqui wrung one of the shirts she got the same look on her face,
"I miss my coffee maker with that dual drip filter and built in grinder honey..."
"My computer...texting..." Amy's was so completely obvious that it didn't surprise any of the others as they fell into a comfortable silence.
"I miss my vibrator." Andrea declared, making all of them crack up at the thought. Amy pulled a face instead as she looked at her sister who merely shrugged her shoulders, what came next though was unexpected to say the least,
"Me too." Chimed in Carol, and the other shocked but amused women cracked up laughing. Evelyn had her hand against her chest as she laughed. The sound carried across the quarry and she was sure they could be heard even up at the camp site. In all honesty it felt good to laugh like this again, she'd missed it, and it was as if for a moment they could all simply pretend the world was still the same. Jacqui leaned down on Evelyn's shoulder for support as she tried to reign in her own amusement but to no avail, she simply cracked up again when Evelyn continued laughing.
"What's so funny..."
Looking over her shoulder, Evelyn felt her laughter die out immediately. Ed stood just behind them, smoking the last of his cigarette as he waited for their reply. It wasn't hard to miss the tension which had suddenly returned to Carol's body, her smile had slid away and the fear was back in her eyes. Evelyn shook her head as Andrea responded to him, obviously expecting him to move on but to their annoyance and Evelyn's frustration he remained rooted to the spot, observing them up close now. The mood had completely taken a nose dive now.
Biting down on her tongue Evelyn looked across the water, only just realising things had gone quiet and she frowned. Not due to the fact Lori and Shane were talking, but that things looked so tense and as the other woman went to walk away from Shane, she quickly stopped and rushed back to him, looking absolutely furious over something.
"You girls better just do your job, this ain't no comedy club." Ed said, and Evelyn felt her anger increase tenfold as she glanced back at him. One look at Carol was all it took for her not to get up and confront Ed, she knew how these situations ended. The more they wound Ed up, the more Carol would suffer for it and she'd made a promise not to get involved, no matter how much it killed her not to.
"Ed I'll tell you what, you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself," Andrea said, she stood and walked over to Ed smiling before tossing a shirt at him. Evelyn paused in what she was doing to stand up, her hand on Carol's shoulder. Ed launched it back in Andrea's face,
"Ain't my job missy." Evelyn was by Andrea's side now, her hand on her arm urging the other woman away as she glanced back down at Carol. Andrea though shrugged her off, positively seething with anger as she stepped closer to Ed,
"Then what is your job Ed? Sitting on your ass all day smoking cigarettes?" Andrea asked
"Andrea just leave it come on..." Evelyn urged her, only to be shrugged off once more.
"It sure as hell ain't listenin to some uppidy smart mouth bitch...Carol come on!" Ed barked at his wife, who looked terrified as she stood up. Evelyn shook her head and looked at Ed,
"Carol no, I don't think she needs to go with you Ed. Now how about you back the hell off!" Evelyn said, she'd held her tongue, tried to hold back Andrea but enough was enough now. She moved to stand in front of Carol as the woman got up and stared down Ed, whose eyes flared up dangerously.
"You need to mind your own business bitch..." Evelyn gaped at him in shock, and felt Andrea bristle beside her, but they still blocked Carol's way, feeling Jacqui and Amy now behind them, "Don't you both think I won't smack ya's down just cos ya's are some college educated coos's. You move..."
Carol made a move forward again as Ed grabbed her arm, but being directly in front of the other woman Evelyn pushed against his chest as Jacqui and Amy pulled Carol back. "Don't you touch her..." Andrea yelled, pushing against Ed, only to be shrugged off. As he made a grab for Carol once more and Evelyn deflected his grip, Ed growled and hit out, striking Evelyn across the face harshly and knocking her to the ground before doing the same to Carol.
"Get off her!" Amy screamed standing behind Carol so Ed couldn't get the woman. As Evelyn stood ready to help Jacqui and Andrea, Shane had rushed over pure, unadulterated hatred on his face as he grabbed Ed's collar and dragged him away, pushing the bigger man to the floor before climbing atop of him and bringing his fist down into Ed's face, not just once or twice but over and over.
The women held a horrified Carol back, not wanting her to get caught up or hurt. "Shane that's enough!" yelled Evelyn, willing her husband to stop. Of course she was thankful he had shown up when he had but enough was enough; Ed would be dead if he carried on anymore. "Shane!" she yelled his name loudly, barely noticing as it echoed around the entire quarry. She hurried forward,
"If I ever see you lay a hand on your wife, daughter, my wife or anyone else in this quarry I will beat you to death Ed...that's a promise..." he growled as he threw another punch in the man's face before he stood. As he went to kick Ed, Evelyn pushed him roughly away; putting her own body between Shane and Ed, why she was protecting the other man was beyond her. "What the hell are you doin?"
"I said that's enough Shane...look at him..." she exclaimed pointing at the bloody mess Shane had made, Shane barely flinched, didn't even look sorry. Evelyn gaped at her husband and the blood staining his knuckles not believing he had exploded that way but when Carol rushed past them and dropped down beside a barely moving Ed, Evelyn had to look away from her Husband and she joined Carol, crouching on Ed's other side, her hands gently resting on either side of his head.
"Oh Ed...I'm so sorry..." sobbed Carol, her tears falling like raindrops onto her husband's shirt. Evelyn shook her head, ignoring the throbbing in the side of her face she looked up at Andrea,
"We should get him back to camp, will you help?" she asked, still not looking at Shane. Andrea although looked reluctant, but glancing down at Carol she relented and walked over to them. Jacqui followed, gently prising Carol back away from her husband as the other two attempted to get him up.
"You should leave him there; son of a bitch deserves it..." Shane spat surprising Evelyn once more. His temper was out of control, and as much as he wanted to blame it all on Ed, most of it was to do with Lori as well; his pleas had fallen on deaf ears. Shane wanted to come clean to Evelyn and Rick about what had happened between them but Lori refused telling him Rick wouldn't believe him and he'd likely end up losing Evelyn if he did so. He hated lying to her, the guilt was eating him up inside, but he was scared. What if Lori was right? He couldn't lose Evelyn, not now; she was his only reason now for hanging on in this God forsaken world.
"Shane's right. Why are you helping him?" Andrea asked as she closed the car door, they'd just helped Ed inside to be driven back up to camp. Looking at down to where Shane stood then to Andrea, Evelyn shrugged her shoulders, using her fingers to wipe the blood seeping from her lip away,
"I'm a Doctor...it's what I do..." she said simply, rounding her way around the car to the front, watching as Carol jumped into the back with Ed, still sobbing and apologising to her husband. "Just because the worlds ended doesn't mean that's changed." With one last lingering look at Shane, Evelyn shook her head and climbed into the driver's seat of the car, starting up the engine and not looking back as she drove back up to camp.
"I think this will be the best meal I've had in a long time." Evelyn smiled at Andrea as she helped grab some plates from the RV. Andrea chuckled proudly and nodded her head,
"Me too, it's defiantly not going to be like my Dad's fish fry but after eating beans for the last few months it's still going to be so good." She said, watching carefully as Evelyn's eyes focused on something outside. Following the other woman's gaze, she saw Shane approaching a currently tied up Jim, crouching down beside him with Carl stood not too far away.
In truth Evelyn and Shane hadn't spoken since he'd lost his temper with Ed, they hadn't really had chance because not long after the incident Jim had lost it when Shane had tried to talk him out of digging all the holes. Jim couldn't seem to remember why he was doing it, he simply said it had to do with a dream he'd had and he couldn't remember the details. After Shane had wrestled him to the ground, just for precaution they'd agreed to bound him just until Jim had calmed down somewhat.
Shaking her head, Evelyn looked away from Shane as he stood and turned back to Andrea, "I think this will be nice...certainly a nice way to celebrate Amy's birthday as well," she smiled, over at Andrea who simply nodded her head, happy she had at least thought to get her sister something the last time she'd been in the city, in a way it had made the trip worth it. Sure it wouldn't make up for all the birthdays of Amy's that she'd missed but it was certainly a start.
"I'll take these; it looks like somebody is wanting to talk to you." Andrea said as she took the plates from Evelyn when they stepped out of the RV. Frowning, Evelyn looked around her eyes immediately landing on Shane as he walked towards her; the anger she had felt towards him had all but disappeared as she watched him get closer. The sky was darkening now, the fires had been lit and the smell of the cooked fish wafted across the camp, and for the first time ever Evelyn found the smell appetizing.
"Hey." Shane said quietly as he stopped in front of her, his eyes flashing dangerously as they landed on the bruise forming across her cheek. Evelyn smiled softly,
"Hey there...Jim okay?" she asked, biting down on her bottom lip, and tucking a loose lock of her hair behind her ear. She watched his eyes finally flicker away from her cheek and lock with her own eyes once more as he smiled slightly and nodded, rubbing the back of his neck,
"Yeah he's joining us...look Evie...I know I got out of hand earlier but I can't give you that apology your looking for. I'm not sorry for what I did, Ed's had it coming for a while...I couldn't ignore it anymore..." he said, and for the first time Evelyn got a glance at his knuckles. Sighing softly she reached out taking his hand in hers, his knuckles were steadily bruising from the repeated impact they'd endured with Ed's face. Lifting his hand to her lips she pressed a gentle kiss on them before looking back up at Shane,
"I'm not looking for an apology Shane, I just...honestly, I got scared you weren't going to stop..." she admitted shaking her head, "For a moment today I didn't even recognise you...I've never seen you lose it like that before and if I'm quite honest it scared me." She told him. Shane stayed quiet now a feeling of shame filling him up, he hated that he'd made her scared of him, he hadn't meant to. Just as soon as Ed had raised his hand against her he'd seen red, add on top of that the overwhelming guilt he was feeling and you can't truly blame him for exploding in such a violent manner.
"He put his hands on you..." Shane said, shaking his head when she went to talk, "No...he put his hands on you, I guess I saw red...I'm not proud of it but I'm not apoligising...look can we just forget about Ed, I'd rather not waste any more time thinking on that scum bag or what he did to you..." he said, his fingers ghosting over the light bruise forming on her cheek. Evelyn smiled softly and nodded her head; she didn't want to fight not this soon after finding him.
Glancing down she chuckled, her fingers reaching up to touch a small bit of his exposed chest, before they tugged lightly at his 21 pendant. "I have to say I love this shirt on you..." she teased, shooting him a flirty smile. Shane laughed lightly his hand snaking its way around her waist as he pulled her body flush against his own
"Is that right darlin?" he asked, his voice low, husky, sending chills through Evelyn's entire body. As she opened her mouth to answer though someone else voiced up,
"Hey lovebirds save that for the tent, come on dinner's up!" Amy called over to them, smirking and sticking out her tongue when Evelyn shot a glare her way. Laughing Shane pressed a kiss to Evelyn's forehead, his arm still around her waist as he reluctantly guided her over to the camp fire, keeping her close as they took their place around the fire both awaiting their dinner eagerly.
The entire camp had fallen into a relaxed state. Their laughter and chatter blurred into the most beautiful sound Evelyn had heard since before the outbreak. Finishing off her dinner she'd leaned into Shane's side, seeking his warmth, a smile lighting up her face. Once more it was as if the world was still spinning like normal, they were hidden away from the horror's around them and all living in this small bubble, were seemingly nothing could touch them. They were friends sharing dinner, sharing stories, laughing, teasing and joking.
Shane placed his plate on the floor before wrapping his arm around Evelyn's shoulders, drawing her that extra bit closer into his body. There was a smile on his face he couldn't shake off, and when the group broke into laughter over Amy's comment about Dale being weird, he'd joined in, feeling normal for the first time since the outbreak; he was enjoying the chance to forget his problems that was until an ear piercing scream echoed around the camp. Shane stood his eyes unable to pull away from the scene unfolding at the RV, horror and terror filled his face, as more screams of agony erupted around the camp.
"Walkers!"
Sorry for the late update guys, I jus struggled with the next chapter. I've mixed it up in such a way that it left me a little upset but I had to put my own spin on the camp attack, and explored some new things. I hope ya's enjoy it in the next few chapters anyhow.
Oh guys we're over 100 reviews already! Thank you all so much!
Nelle07 - So glad you liked the chapter, hope you enjoy this one to!
Caleb's babe - Shane thought he'd lost Evelyn once I think the thought of her going back to the city, and him maybe losing her for real this time would kill him. Thanks for the review.
oOFlam3sOo - YAY thanks for you review hun thanks for stick with the story!
RoweenaJAugustine - Sorry for the lat e update hun next one will be quicker, maybe I could get a cookie for the next chapter?
Saturian Sorceress – I hated the fact that people knew but it was only when Shane beat him up something got said about it! Thanks for the review hun hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Leyshla Gisel – Thanks for such a positive review hun. I will be mixing up the events of the attack, making it my own in a way. I found it shocking when writing it so I hope you guys feel the same when I post.
Liz-04 – I was surprised at how well she blended in with the other campers she's so easy to write, one of the many reasons I love Evelyn. I really hope you like this chapter and what's coming up.
Cotton strings - Shane is anything but a saint, something we can both agree on. Evelyn isn't a pushover in anyway but I'm not ruling anything out in regards to whether she'll forgive Shane.
Dirty-icing – That zombie was scary, though I do know what you mean I felt sorry for him when they all started beating up on him! Thanks for the review hun!
KagHieiLuver – Hope you enjoy this chapter two hun, really excited for you guys to read what's coming up. I think a lot of you will be shocked to be honest.