And once more we near the staging for a bit of conflict. Hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you for the reviews!
Chapter Fifty
Carol and Milton stood together in the large dining room with their backs pressed against the wall. They watched as Daryl and Rick discussed these new developments with Hershel.
"Do you think this is going to do any good?" She whispered.
Milton nodded. "It seems to be going okay."
Just then Rick looked over and winked at her. It seemed to be going just fine. She didn't know if she was relieved or not though. Rick wanted to stay longer because he wanted to send out a hunting party for Duane's dad. She understood but she still didn't think it was smart considering that potentially armed men weren't the only things to worry about out there.
Hershel shook their hands, Carol noticed that Daryl only hesitated for a second, and then Hershel left the room. Milton and Carol waited as the other two men talked for a few more seconds and then Rick walked towards them with a grin on his face.
"How did it go?" Carol asked.
"Seems like Hershel is more afraid of the livin' than he is the dead. He see's this other group as a threat and feels like maybe we can be of use. He wants us to move into the house so none of us are exposed." He sounded excited.
Carol, on the other hand, felt a knot of dread form in her stomach. It was good that they didn't have to leave right away but the reason they were going to stay was still a bit frightening. There were men in the woods that could hurt them. And Rick was going to lead some of their people right into the woods to face them down.
But instead of voicing any of this she just smiled and nodded. Daryl was next to her then and he knew there was something wrong. He gave her a questioning look but she just smiled at him too. No need in stressing anyone else out. She had done enough of that over the last few days.
Rick put a hand on Daryl's shoulder. "You and Merle can start stashing our guns. If something happens I would feel a lot better knowing that everyone had access to weapons no matter where they were. Barns, outbuildings, places like that. No one should be caught anywhere without a weapon." He looked down at Carol, "You have yours?"
She nodded and then looked up at Daryl. "I'll help you and Merle and then we can get everyone inside. Are you sure Hershel is okay with all of this?"
Daryl nodded. "That group has him pretty scared. He's the one that insisted we come inside. I wasn't gonna argue with the man."
"Where's Merle?" She asked, unable to stop the blush that crawled up her cheeks.
It didn't go unnoticed either because Daryl smirked at her. "In his room with Sophia and the boys I last I saw."
"Oh God." She groaned. "Why is it that the only ones that want to hang out with Merle are the ones that are the most impressionable?"
"He ain't too bad when they're around." He said as they made their way down the hall.
Carol opened the door and then stopped and gaped. There was Merle sitting in the middle of the floor, cross legged while all three of the kids were on their knees watching him intently. He had an assault rifle disassembled on the floor in front of them. None of them looked up. Merle was studying the kids and the kids were staring at the pieces in front of them.
"Your turn, girl." Merle grumbled. "You gotta know a weapon. Everything about it. Show these boys how it's done again." He grinned as Sophia went to work.
Carol was still staring wide eyed as Sophia reassembled the gun quicker than she thought possible and then sat it back down on the floor in front of Merle.
"That's my girl." He nodded in approval. "Take it apart."
With those deft motions she did as he told her to do and the pride in the mans eyes lit up his whole face. The boys stared on, trying to keep up with how quickly she worked. When it was in pieces once more Merle nodded to Carl.
"Your turn." He said gruffly.
Carl went to work, messing up a few times but otherwise did okay. He wasn't as quick as Sophia had been but Carol was actually impressed.
"Not bad, Friendly Junior. Better'n the last time." Merle said with much less enthusiasm than when he had praised the girl.
"Havin' fun, Merle? What'cha plannin'? Gonna create your own army or somethin'?" Daryl asked.
Merle's head shot up and his eyes narrowed. "I'm bored little brother. Unlike you I ain't got nothin' to do all the time." He stood up and picked up the rifle. He slid it under the bed and then put his hand on his hip. "The hell ya'll want anyway?" He grumbled.
"Rick wants us to stash guns around just in case." Daryl explained. He glanced down at the kids who were still sitting there on the floor. "You actually did a good thing here, brother. The more they know about these things the less we gotta worry about'em tryin' to play cops and robbers and killin' each other on accident."
All three of the children shared annoyed looks. Duane stood up and the other two followed. He looked at Daryl. "Would it be okay if they showed me around? It's been a long time since I've been able to hang around people my own age." He glanced down, "And we're too old for cops and robbers sir."
Daryl studied on it for a few seconds and then nodded. The kids all bolted but he spun and caught Sophia around the waist, lifting her so she was dangling there. "No huggin'." He growled into her ear.
She laughed and then swung a sharp elbow into his chest so he dropped her. She landed lightly on her feet and turned around with a mock glare before taking off once more.
Carol tried to hide her own smile at their antics. But soon he was all business again. Merle agreed to help after trying to convince them that the only reason he showed the kids the big guns was so their parents would get pissed off about it. Not because he gave a shit if they were safe.
They made their way out to the biggest barn at the very back of the property, carrying two guns each. That would be plenty out there. Milton had told them that Jenner had gotten the guns off of the dead soldiers that had been scattered around in front of the building.
Carol wasn't happy that those men had died and she wasn't happy that Jenner had thought he needed to store away an arsenal in the CDC but she had to admit that she was more than happy that they were the ones that had ended up with them. They had desperately needed them. Especially when they hadn't known where they would end up.
They were walking out of the barn, Carol wasn't paying much attention to anything in particular when she suddenly felt someone jerk her backwards and then she found herself shoved behind Merle's back. She had been walking between the two.
Daryl was instantly alert as he followed Merle's gaze. She wasn't sure what they were looking at but suddenly she found herself peaking around the bigger Dixon with the material of his shirt balled up in her fists. She cursed under her breath.
She spotted three men walking out of the woods towards them. From what she could make out, there were two regular looking guys and one fat man. All three waved at them as they continued to approach.
"The fuck you think about this, brother?" Daryl asked in a hushed voice.
"I ain't likin' it at all." Merle growled and then to Carols surprise he slipped his arm behind his back and gave her pat on the waist. He must have felt how hard she was squeezing his shirt in his hands. "You keep yer ass right there, Carol. Don't you fuckin' move."
Daryl brought his crossbow around but he kept it lowered while the men approached. Merle didn't have a gun on him so she let go of his shirt and reached for her own. She slipped it into his hand and then felt him relax. The men finally stopped when they were about fifteen feet away and Daryl raised the crossbow.
They all stopped and put their hands up. One looked pretty young and Carol had been right, the one next to the young one was a big guy with a beard. Not big like Merle, but fat.
"Hey, we weren't looking for any trouble." The man didn't look to be looking for trouble but she couldn't help but notice how the boy and big man kept glancing at him. He was obviously the leader out of the three of them. The younger guy looked nervous.
"That's a shame cause that's exactly what you found." Merle said in that cocky raspy voice of his. He rolled his shoulders and she could feel the tension rolling off of him again. This was the kind of thing men like Merle thrived on. Confrontation and violence. He was in his comfort zone here and Daryl seemed to slip right back into what must have been their old roles. He kept the crossbow aimed at the man doing the talking but otherwise left the rest up to Merle. She watched as the muscles of Merle's back flexed. If someone had told her a month ago that she would feel this safe being this close to the Dixon brothers she would have told them they were crazy.
"Hey, we were just out looking for food. You don't have to point that thing at me. We just saw some live people and decided to come see who it was, that's all." His accent sounded strange. Like a New England accent.
Daryl didn't lower the crossbow.
"Man, this is some place you guys got here." The kid said.
The fat man scratch his stomach. "Sure is."
The other man glared at his companions for a second and then flashed a smile at Merle. "I'm Dave. This fat bastard right here is Tony and the kid is Randal. We really aren't here for any trouble. Just thought it would be nice to see some friendly faces, that's all."
"Do I look like a friendly person to you?" Merle asked in a threatening tone.
The man who called himself Dave put his hands up once more. "My mistake."
"Yeah, sure was." Merle said in that low voice of his.
Tony moved his head to the side a little. "What are you hidin' back there?"
Merle glanced at her over his shoulder and gave her a dangerous smile. He nodded. "It's alright. Might as well come out from behind me. No sense in lookin' like a chicken shit when I know that you ain't. " He whispered. There was an unmistakable gleam in his eye. She didn't like it at all.
Carol stepped around him and stood at his other side. He reached over and pushed Daryl's crossbow down so it was pointed to the ground.
"The fuck you doin', Merle?" Daryl hissed.
"I know their kind, little brother. Just wait." He said quietly.
Dave nodded at her. "Ma'am."
Carol lifted her chin a little, for some reason not wanting to look weak in front of these men. Merle was right. She was not a chicken shit.
Dave shot Tony a hard look that the man ignored and that was when she noticed that the man was staring at her. His eyes were narrowed and there was a small smile on his face. The boy was glancing around nervously, not looking at anyone at all.
"Pretty, ain't she?" Merle grinned but when Carol shot him a look his eyes were cold, no humor there.
"Merle." Daryl growled.
Merle ignored him. "Ya'll from a larger group?" He asked as he draped his arm over Carol's shoulder. "Or is it just the three of ya out there?"
"We have more. Mostly men. We have some resources too. Maybe we could pull together, better chance of survival if people band together, ya know." Randal said with that nervous way of his.
"Mostly men, huh?" Merle asked, keeping that strange smile on his face. "No women to share?" He laughed.
Tony laughed with him. "None that's worth much anymore."
"Is that right?" Merle still kept his tone pleasant enough.
"Yeah." Tony said as he scratched the massive expanse of gut hanging over his dirty khaki's. "Ain't been laid in weeks. Found us a couple real cute ones in the woods a few weeks ago. Real young too. But that was a few weeks ago, you know what I'm sayin'?"
Carol grimaced when she heard Merle chuckle low in his throat.
"So ya'll want us to share, huh?" Merle asked with that creepy smile on his face.
Tony dragged his eyes back over to Carol and scraped his gaze over her body.
"Easy, little brother. Just hold on a few." He whispered, his lips barely moving.
Tony actually licked his lips and she instantly wanted to gag. "That'd be real nice." He laughed.
"Now, what if she ain't all that interested in ya, big man? What'cha plan on doin' bout that?" Merle's smile was probably quite soothing to anyone that couldn't make out the hardness of his eyes.
Tony laughed. "Never stopped me before."
Merle laughed. "So you're a man that likes to take what he wants huh? I admire that in a man, Tony."
"That's right." Tony smiled.
Carol was gaping at Merle and she couldn't believe Daryl hadn't said anything to him yet. She watched that smile melt off his face then and she glanced back over to the three men.
Merle removed his arm from her shoulders and then shot Tony right between the eyes.
