Chapter 6

Mists hung around the trees that I ran through. The small child in my arms cooed as I ran. I was out of breath soon but I could hear the growls behind me. They were close and I was slowing down. It felt like I'd been running for hours and there was nothing that told me I hadn't.

"Hold on," someone grabbed my arm tightly, stopping me.

"Daryl, we have to keep moving. They're getting too close."

"Shh, you got your gun?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Get up that tree." He told me.

"I can't."

"Yes you can. I'll hold her, you get up that first branch." I gave her to him and hauled up to the first branch. He then handed her to me. "I love you."

"Where are you going, get up here."

"No, I'm going to lead them away. When they've all past, come down, but not till then, okay?"

"No, Daryl. We can take our chances up here."

"You'll never get away. I love you." He said up to me then turned and made a lot of noise so they'd follow him...

I got up early and dressed myself. Outside Merle was waiting for me.

"Got yer gun?" he asked as I yawned.

"Yes,"

"Good, then let's get moving." I assumed there was no room for Lucic again today so I kept him with mom again. I didn't know the situation I was going to be in today and for his safety it was best this way.

"Hop in the back, girly." Merle directed when we got to a truck with a crane on the back. I jumped in the back with Tim. Martinez and Merle got in the cab and we took off. No words were spoken in the back as we drove out into the fields of Georgia. It was so quiet, and rather quite beautiful. The early sunlight hit the grasses, making them glow a warm golden brown. The birds sang softly in the cool winds of spring.

When we turned down a path into a field I could hear something strange. It was like a howling wind sound. We pulled up to a spinning mettle contraption will holes in it to create sound. The solar panels under it told me it ran off of sunlight, whatever it was.

"We got some today!" Merle howled with joy as he sprang out of the truck and over to the contraption. I jumped off the back with Tim and was immediately warned, "Hold up there girly," by Merle. "Watch yer step." I looked just ahead of me and saw a pit dug out of the grass full of four walkers growling and groaning.

"Tim, get them hooked." Martinez ordered and Tim ran to the corners of the pit where a net was being hooked up.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked Merle.

"Just hold on. When we get them out, yer gonna take these here pliers and help me yank out their teeth." Gregory was right, this was weird.

The crane hoisted the walkers up and onto the ground beside us. They were smelly like they'd been in the pit for years. They loosened the net and poked at them. "Here we go." Merle took one of the fustier ones and held it down on it back with the blade of his knife in its mouth. "Got them pliers?"

"Yes,"

"Good, now come here and pluck out the teeth." I did as told and quickly pulled out every tooth from its rotting mouth. When it was empty he directed me to the fingernails. I pulled those out too, little more grossed out.

"Get him up in the truck." Merle helped Tim get this one tied down in the truck back where we'd stood.

He pulled out another and we did the same thing and loaded it up too. We did three of the four of them and killed the last one. It was too decayed to use for anything I assumed, whatever they did with them anyway.

"Blondie, not gonna ask what these are for?" Merle asked when we stood up.

"Nope, just gonna do what I'm told."

"Well, ain't that a pleasant surprise." Martinez smirked when they were all loaded up. "Come on, we gotta deliver these." He told me.

We got back into the truck and headed to Woodbury but towards the back where no one lived. We backed the truck into a pretty closed in bit of the town. We got the walkers on catch polls and dragged them to a cage that was locked up to hold them. Whatever they were used for, it looked like they used them a lot. The cage was full of fresh meat to feed them.

I looked around the dirt filled opening between a few glass front buildings. "This is the arena. We use them for fighting." I looked at Martinez. "Well, show fighting anyway. Without their teeth they're not much of a threat." He explained. "We do it a few times a month to blow off steam and entertain people."

"Where do they come in?" I pointed at the feeding walkers.

"They get hooked up to these." He pulled up a chain that was connected to posts in a circle around the fighting area. "Just a little extra thrill, I guess." I nodded. Martinez almost looked happy at me.

"You did good, girl. We'll make sure to let the Governor know."

"Anything else?" I asked, simply.

"You're free to go. Right through that door takes you back to town." Merle pointed. I took that and wandered back into the slowly waking up town where I saw mom heading to the gardens in a hat and apron. Lucic was right behind her.

"Hey, ma?" I called out to her.

"Lucy, how'd it go?"

"Good, it's done and they were happy with my work."

"Good. I'm heading to the gardens to work for a few hours. You wanna help?" she offered.

"No, thanks. I'm gonna eat then work around."

"Alright, see you tonight." I nodded and called Lucic. He was at my side when I went to get food and a bag then headed to the empty building. I moved the wood and made a run for it. I was free of their odd work. I didn't think it was much of a threat but I was safe in their minds. I listened and did what I was told. I didn't ask questions and may have proved my worth. I may have sealed my deal here, safely.

I did my wandering and killing for a little while before stopping into a home and raiding a kitchen. The house was empty of the living but I found a small boy wandering around the upstairs. I took him out and headed into the bedrooms. I dug through drawers and nightstands until I found what I was looking for. I moved on to the next house where three more were still hiding in. They snapped and growled at me, but again, they weren't too much to handle. I went to the bedrooms and did the same, digging through drawers and nightstands.

I went through a good ten houses or so before the sun was starting to set. I felt better doing this in the light where I could see best. The houses were pretty empty but I found what I was looking for. The walkers ranged in the smaller numbers, easy.

When I got back I feed Lucic and myself before finding Gregory. "Hey," he looked around then we pulled into an alley. "How'd it go?"

"Fine, they have pits with walkers in them. Like catching pits. We collected a few and took their teeth and nails out. We brought them back here and took them to the arena. That was it."

"Did they say anything?"

"Just that I did a good job and they'd let the Governor know."

"Sounds like you did great." He hugged me happily.

"I've got something for you." I said pulled my bag out. "I heard you and another guy last night. Said you needed these." I opened the bag and pulled out five or six pairs of glasses. "I don't know if they are the kind you need but, I thought it'd be a start."

"No this is great. We can pass them around, see if they are of any use." He took them and put them in his bag. "Where did you find them?"

"Just around. Went through a few old drawers and desks." I lied. He looked at me but he seemed to be buying it.

"Thanks for going through with that today. It means a lot to have an inside ear."

"What are we suspecting? I'm not sure what to look for."

"Do you see how much food we have all the time?" I nodded. "We have more than enough guns and ammo. Fuel to run the generators for months."

"I don't see where you're going with this."

"Well, where would we get them from. We don't go on runs that often. And when we do, it is for very specific things. Like yesterday,"

"We went for medical supplies."

"No, that's only what they told you. We were really looking for chemical lab for acids."

"What would they need that for?"

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. That isn't the only thing they've lied about."

"I'll keep my eyes and ears out." I promised. "I've gotta go." I said and turned.

"Wait, Luce." He came up to me. "We don't have watch tomorrow. Do you want to do something?"

"Sorry, I've got something I gotta do." I said and rushed out the door. I needed to go back out and scavenge. I needed to map out the area and unfortunately, I still wanted to go searching. "I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you." I left him in the ally and ran home. I wanted jump right into bed and get up early tomorrow and go on my run.