The Middle Of The End
Chapter Ten: We're Alright
"He ain't a puppy, Cal. We can't keep 'em." Daryl tossed his crossbow on the small table and wiped sweat from his face. "Where's his parents?"
"They're the ones who left him in that trunk! We aren't takin' him anywhere. I'm not leaving him."
"Hey, kid. C'mere for a minute." Alfie stood up slowly, looking at Daryl warily.
"It's ok. He won't hurt you." I reassured.
"You wanna stay here, or go back to yer Ma?"
"I don't like her. I wanna stay here, with Callie and Auntie Lori. They don't hit me. Please don't make me go back!" Alfie cried out, hiding behind my leg.
"He's staying. End of story." I said firmly, and changed the subject by asking how the search went.
"Well she ain't here, so what d'you think." Daryl snapped, coming towards us.
"Don't hit her!" Alfie jumped in front of me, his small hands balling up in little fists. Daryl ran out, hurt and anger etched into his face. I knelt down to explain that Daryl would never do such a thing, but Alfie ran past me and out the door. Carl and Lori brought Alfie back in, and he was put to bed with Carl. I told Lori I needed some air and stepped outside. I really wanted to find Daryl, to see what was going on with him.
"If you're looking for Daryl, you're not going to find him. He went for a walk in the woods." Dale called from the top of the RV. I climbed up the ladder and sat on a red and white cooler. There was something about Dale's presence that calmed me, and I found myself pouring my heart out to him. About everything going on with Shane, and Daryl. I'd never realized how much it bothered me until now.
"The moment I mentioned finding Daryl, things changed between Shane and I. That's when he began wanting control over me. Told Lori, and she said I was just being paranoid. But I just wanted to see him one more time, for closure. Now Shane can't even stand to look at me."
"You know, I've read somewhere that sometimes you need to distance yourself from certain people. If they care, they'll notice. And if they don't, well, you'll know where you stand. if you think about it... You have been distancing yourself from him. But with his attitude I don't blame you." Dale shook his head, and we watched as the sun set. "But as for Mr Dixon... It's pretty clear just how much he's willing to do for you."
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
We were up at dawn, preparing for a group search. Daryl had found a trail yesterday and lost it, but we were going to follow the river where Rick said he'd left her. It was humid, the air thick. It would be best if we started before the rain washed away any trace of Sophia. I'd already arranged for Dale to watch over Alfie, who was way too young to go with us. Carl was going to stay behind, until he convinced his parents to let him come along.
Alfie didn't want me to go. He didn't particularly like me, from what I could tell, but he did like Carl. After three tantrums though... I'd had enough.
"You can come. But you have to stay with me the entire time. Alright?" I held his hand and we waited for Rick to lead us into the woods. I wanted to give Daryl space, time to get used to the idea of me having a kid to look after.
"Are you sure bringing him along is a good idea?" Lori asked.
"I don't know. But I don't think I want him to be scared of walkers. Fear does terrible things to a person, makes them think and do terrible things they never would have done before." We stopped at a tent. Carol held onto Andrea, calling out Sophia's name. When no one answered Daryl took a step inside.
"I hope a monster isn't in there." Alfie tugged on my shirt, hiding his face in my leg.
"If there is, Daryl'll kill it!" Carl reassured, his grin disappearing when Lori shot him a 'stop-talking-right-now' look.
"My Daddy got sick and turned into a monster. And then Nikola - I mean Mommy - shot him with a big gun."
"She ain't been in there." Daryl walked out with a handgun. "Just some ol' man, offed himself. Stinks somethin' awful."
Rick took the gun, slipping it through his belt loop. "I guess we'll-"
"Hey, you hear that?' Glenn interrupted and we fell silent. And then the bells of a church chimed loud and clear. Sophia could be there, ringing them herself!
With Alfie on my back, I ran behind Rick and Shane. Daryl kept looking back at me, and as soon as we got back to the highway I'd have to talk to him. See what was going on in that mysterious mind of his. Lately, just being around him gave me a stranage fluttery feeling in the pit of my stomach. I guess that's what it means when people say they have butterflies in their stomach.
"Calliee!" Alfie wiggled around and I nearly dropped him. "I needa peee!"
"Can ya wait a couple more minutes? We're almost there." I slowed to a jog; my clothes were wet with sweat and clung to my skin awkwardly.
"I gotta go now!" he whined and I called fro Daryl.
"We'll catch up in a minute. He really needs to use the bathroom."
"Ain't no bathrooms 'round here!" Daryl laughed.
"You go on ahead." I nodded towards the clearing, which everyone was running through.
"Nope. Can't take the risk of you two gettin' lost, too." he tried to brush it of as a joke but I could see the pain he was trying to hide. "Callie, I..."
"I peed!" Alfie poked my arm. "Let's go. We're gonna be late!"
xoxoxoxox
Sophia wasn't at the church. The bells had been on a timer, and I guess that made today a Sunday. Carol and Lori were in the church praying. Rick and Shane were on watch for walkers, so I kept an eye on Carl. Not that I minded of course. I didn't go inside the church; not that I have anything against churches, I just stopped believing in God. I guess you could say Uncle Paul and Will beat it out of me like dirt in a rug.
"Callie, I'm hungry." Carl whispered. He and Alfie had been playing tag.
"Me too. I want pizza an' bacon!" Alfie pouted. Bacon would be sooo good right now. And an actual pizza? A dream come true.
"Glenn might have something in his bag." I said. Glenn stood on the front steps of the church so I told them to run over and ask him. He gave them a bottle of red Gatorade and a bag of chips. They sat with him and ate, so I hauled myself up off the ground to walk with Daryl.
"That boy changes things."
"Can we not fight about this?" I sighed. Fighting with Daryl was the last thing I wanted to do today.
"Yeah, if ya let me finish." we stopped at a picnic table and sat across from one another. "He changes things. If you wanna take care of him, fine. I accept that and I'll help out, but only 'cause it's you."
"Really? Thanks, Daryl!" I smiled and automatically hugged him, noticing Andrea and Shane talking about something. Shane looked annoyed; Andrea had been getting on everyone's nerves because before we left the highway, she'd thrown a little hissy fit at Dale because he'd refused to give her her gun back. She'd said some pretty hurtful things and I was quickly losing respect for her.
"Mhm. C'mon, looks like they're gettin' ready to leave." We gathered around Rick and Shane. Alfie asked if I would carry him, and I picked him up.
"Daryl, I want you and Glenn to lead the group back to the highway. Shane an' I are gonna follow the creek and double back." Rick instructed, and Carl said he wanted to go with them.
"Well I guess if he'll be with you it'll be alright." Lori shrugged, and gave Carl a hug. Then we left.
We hadn't been walking for ten minutes when Carol asked to stop and rest. I doubt she'd slept at all last night, judging from the dark circles under her eyes, and Glenn handed her a bottle of water. She drank half before giving it to me. "For the little boy."
"Thanks, Carol." I nodded, and Andrea started on Lori for being allowed to carry a gun. I mean, I had one too, but Lori and I had been trained. She had not. Lori was fed up with the nasty looks Andrea had been sending her way all morning. Carol was blaming Rick for not bringing Sophia back, that was obvious. It was written on her face everytime she looked at him. I led Alfie over to Daryl, who was leaning against a tree. Raised voices, especially angry ones, still freak me o ut.
And that's when the sound of a lone gunshot silenced the search party. Alfie hid his face in my hair as Daryl argued with Lori and Andrea.
"We're goin' back to the highway. Now." Daryl told me, and we started to walk a little faster. We stopped for five minutes to catch our breath after passing the tent when Glenn saw a walker.
"I'll get it." Andrea pulled out her knife, tried to stab it in the head, when it grabbed her and pushed her to the ground.
"I can't get a clear shot. Fuck!" Daryl tossed his crossbow to the ground and was about to stab it himself when a brunette on a horse rode up and knocked the walker off Andrea with a baseball bat, giving Daryl the clear shot he needed.
"Lori?" The rider asked, "Lori Grimes?"
"That's me." Lori moved closer to the horse.
"Carl's been shot. Rick sent me. You need to come with me, now." the girl said and helped Lori onto the horse, giving us directions to her family's farm. They raced off, and we hurried back to the highway as fast as we could. I helped Carol into the RV, got her something to eat and drink, and grabbed a box of crackers for Alfie and I to eat.
"Glenn's taking T-Dog to the farm. His arm is in pretty bad shape and I know for a fact he's got an infection." Dale said, and I asked if they'd left yet. I couldn't stay here, not with Carl shot and possibly dying in a strange place. "No, Glenn and Daryl are getting a car ready."
"Ok, good. I'm going with them, Alfie too." I saw Alfie talking to Andrea and called him over.
"You stay safe." he gave me a hug and I took Alfie's hand, leading him to the car Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog stood around.
"Hey. Glenn, we're going with you." I told Alfie to get in and buckle up. He listened to me, which was great.
"Oh, cool." Glenn shrugged. Daryl didn't look too impressed with my decision, and Glenn left to give us some privacy.
"I have to know, Daryl. If he'll make it or not." I forced a smile. "I have my gun, and a knife from the bag Carl found. You don't have to worry about me."
"Yea, that's close to impossible. I'm always worryin' 'bout ya." he rolled his eyes. "I don't want you to go, especially since Shane'll be there."
"He won't try anything, not in front of new people. I have Alfie, I'll be alright."
"Ok. But stay close to Glenn in case anything does happen."
"I will. Oh, you wouldn't mind grabbing the small blue and green suitcase in the RV? I forgot to get it on my way out. It's got clothes for Alfie in it. And my bag, under the table." I asked, opening the back door. Glenn was driving and T-Dog would need to sit in the front so he wouldn't scare Alfie. His arm was slightly discoloured, and pus had begun oozing out. It was a good thing Daryl gave him meds from Merle's drug stash.
"'Kay. Be right back." I watched as he walked off.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Alfie asked through a mouthful of stale crackers.
"No, why?"
"He looks at you the way my Daddy used to look at my real Mommy."
|And there's chapter ten. Hope you liked it; I've started chapter eleven today and plan on working on it more tomorrow, so it just might be up sometime this week, depending on how busy I am. Hope you've all had a good holiday and new years!
Review, Favourite, Enjoy! :)
Random Song: Art Of War - We The Kings