Chapter 31: The Herd
Daryl grunted when he placed two more buckets of water into the back of the pickup. He wiped the sweat from his brow and took a ladle full of water for his troubles. He'd arrived at the wells to be informed by Jerry that David had been sent to help take care of a small herd that had built up outside the walls overnight.
"You alright over there, man?" Jerry asked, dipping his hands into the water and splashing some onto his face.
"Yeah. Just fuckin' hot as shit out here," Daryl muttered, glancing up at the sky.
"Maybe it'll rain soon. You know what they say. The hotter it gets, the longer we go without rain, we're due for a big, nasty storm."
"Maybe," Daryl grunted, squinting into the sunlight. "Not today."
"Everything okay at home?" Jerry asked, leaning back against the side of the old truck. Daryl narrowed his eyes at him.
"Why'd you ask that?"
"Just saw Carol walking over from the infirmary today."
"Oh," Daryl offered with a nod. "Yeah. Lydia's come down with a bug. Probably the same thing Denise had."
"Yeah, my oldest was puking like…Exorcist style a couple nights ago. Everybody's good now though."
"Good. Shit. Never thought a fuckin' flu bug was gonna be on my list of worries again. Out there, it ain't nothin'. Ya might be shittin' your pants and pukin' your guts out, but the dead don't give a shit. They'll eat you just the same." Daryl wiped the sweat from his forehead again and groaned.
"Let's take a break," Jerry offered. "Fifteen minutes? I want to check on Nabila. She was having contractions this morning." His proud papa smile broke through, and Daryl chuckled.
"Got your hands full already."
"No more than you," Jerry laughed. "It's the best though. I swear, I gotta give Nabila credit. She's with 'em all day. Well, most of the day. Sometimes, I miss 'em. Sometimes I get home and just wanna hold my kids and tell 'em stories, and she goes and takes a nap. It works for us. You and Carol though? I don't know how you manage it. I guess having Merle around helps. You two do so much around here. I don't know where you find the time to make a family, let alone raise one."
"Always time," Daryl murmured. "Ain't never gonna go a day without seein' my family again. Not on purpose, anyway." He took another drink of water and ran his fingers through his sweat-soaked hair. "Fifteen minutes. Meet you back here?"
"Cool," Jerry agreed with a nod, clapping Daryl on the back before heading off toward home to see his wife.
Daryl got in the truck and drove it over toward the garden, where Tara, Merle and a couple others started unloading the buckets to use for watering. As Daryl was getting ready to get back in the truck, a shout from the front gates startled everyone.
"Hey! We got a breech!" It was David from the Decatur group. Daryl quickly got back into the truck, and Merle hopped in with him. A few of the survivors started scrambling toward their homes, while others hurried off toward the front to see if they could help.
Of course, Daryl and Merle arrived first, to find David desperately trying to close the gates, while a dozen or so hands in various states of decay twitched and scratched bloodied stubs of fingers against the rusting metal.
"The hell happened?" Daryl bit out. David managed to get the gate closed with help and then stumbled backward, panting while Daryl slid the lock into place.
"There were just a couple on this side. I thought I could take 'em out real quick."
"Let me guess. Ya made a racket and rang the dinner bell for all their friends," Merle growled. "The hell is wrong with you, Dusty?"
"David," David stammered.
"Whatever," Merle snapped, pushing the kid back. Daryl got between the two, and he grabbed David by the front of the shirt.
"You never open that gate unless you're told. You got that?"
"I was trying to help."
"Yeah, and look what good it did," Daryl spat. "I got a wife and kids behind these walls. You pull that shit again, your ass is haulin' water from the wells by yourself for the next month. Got it?"
"Sorry," David said quietly. He looked terrified in that moment, like one wrong move would get him kicked out of the community. Daryl sensed the young man's fears, and he took a deep breath. Despite his anger and frustration, he knew the kid was trying to prove himself. He wasn't very skilled at hunting, and he was a shitty shot, and he was even worse on supply runs, because he was clumsy. He was trying to prove himself. It was obvious. So, Daryl bit back a string of expletives and other angry words and took a deep breath to cool off.
"Just go help at the garden. They could use an extra set of hands." David swallowed hard but nodded and headed off for the gardens. The gate creaked and groaned and wobbled as the herd grew larger outside the gates.
"They ain't getting' in, baby brother," Merle promised. "They're bound to get bored and wander off eventually."
"You ever know a walker to get bored?" Daryl asked. Merle thought for a second. "So long as they hear us in here, they ain't goin' nowhere."
"Gonna have to use the West gate for supply runs 'til the herd thins out," Merle said with a little shrug. "They don't gather up so many at a time over there." Daryl nodded.
"Still, they stay out there too long, it's gonna be a problem. We got this drought, and folks have been getting' sick." He shook his head. "Don't like it." He rubbed the back of his neck and looked off toward the house. "I want someone walking the perimeter at all hours. We'll set up shifts. Someone stays at the gate."
"We always have someone at the gate," Merle reminded him.
"I want 'em armed, and I want 'em payin' attention. No more playin' cards or readin' 'til the threat's gone. Tomorrow, I'm takin' the truck out the West gate and around, lure some of 'em away."
"Good thinkin'. Loud music, lead 'em off toward Peachtree City or Senoia. Then cut the music and hightail it back home."
"You with me on this?" Daryl asked.
"Hell yeah. Been a while since I cheated death," he grinned. "It'll be good for the 'ole ticker to get the blood rushin' again."
...
"Daddy, can we see Lydia tomorrow?" Henry asked, yawning as his father knelt next to his bed.
"She's been sick, kiddo," Negan said quietly, tousling the boy's hair. "Maybe in a few days, ok?"
"I miss her," he sighed. Negan grinned.
"I'm sure she misses you too, buddy. But we've gotta let her rest so she can get better faster. You understand?" Henry nodded and yawned again. "Alright, you get some sleep." He got up and moved to turn out the lantern on Henry's bedside table.
They'd gotten the electricity working for the most part, but it was still a work in progress and cutting in and out. Tonight, it was out, so they were improvising.
When he reached the door with his own lantern, Henry sat up in his bed.
"Daddy?"
"Yeah?"
"Are the monsters going to get us?"
"What?" Negan asked.
"I heard Merle say there was a bunch of 'em out there."
"Hey," Negan murmured. "Who am I?"
"You're my Dad."
"That's right. And what does your Dad do?"
"He keeps me safe. And he keeps Mommy safe. But Mommy keeps me safe, too."
"That's exactly right. See, if those monsters got through the walls, they'd have to get through me and through your mama to get to you. And are we gonna let that happen?" Henry shook his head. "No. That's not gonna happen. So you close your eyes and dream good stuff, 'cause the monsters aren't gonna touch you."
"Ok," Henry said softly.
"You don't sound convinced, son. Those monsters. Are they gonna touch you?"
"No?" Henry offered with a little shrug. Negan chuckled.
"What was that? One more time. Are those monsters gonna touch you, Henry?"
"No!" Henry growled, getting a laugh out of his dad.
"That's my boy. Dream good dreams, alright?" Henry snuggled back up under his blanket. "Love you, boy." Negan shut the door and headed across the hall to find Lucy reading by candle light. She put down her book on the bedside table when he stepped into the room and shut the door.
"Is he asleep?"
"He's on his way," Negan promised. "You look gorgeous." She smiled, her hair flowing down her shoulders and down her back. "What's the special occasion?" She glared at him, and he smirked. "I'm just jokin' baby. You always look gorgeous." He sat down on the bed and leaned in to kiss her.
"I was thinking," she said softly.
"Here we go," Negan teased.
"Shut your mouth," she laughed. She put her hands on either side of his face and offered him a smile. "I love you."
"Me too."
"And I love Henry."
"Again. Me, too."
"I know we talked about it a couple of years ago, but I thought maybe we could revisit the conversation." Negan narrowed his eyes at her. "Maybe it's because Nabila's pregnant. Or with all the little ones running around. Negan, I want to give Henry a brother or sister." Negan's expression quickly darkened, and he brought his hands away from her shoulders, placing them on the mattress on either side of her hips. "Don't look so sad."
"I don't wanna talk about this, Luce," he said quietly.
"Well, I do. Babe, I know how you felt about it then, but, you're so good with Henry. And I see you with Lydia and Luke. You're an amazing dad, and I just want to give Henry a sibling. I don't want him to be all alone in the world if something happens…"
"Stop." He got up off the bed, running his fingers through his dark hair. He began to pace, and Lucy sighed.
"You really don't want another one?"
"I don't want you to put yourself through that again. Christ, Lucille, you almost died having Henry."
"But I didn't," she argued, getting up and standing in front of him. She put her hand on the stump where her arm used to be. "I'd lost a lot of blood. I'd been bitten. I was lucky, and Carol was there. But now? Now we have a real doctor. Babe, I feel good about this. I want to try…"
"No!" Negan snapped. "I'm not talking about this."
"We have to talk about this," Lucy insisted. "I want another baby, Negan. I can't help it. I do. I thought when Henry got older, I wouldn't want to do it all over again, but I do." She smiled. "I really do."
"I sat by your bed for days with a newborn in my arms. And all I could think about was if you died, he wasn't gonna have anybody. Because if you died, I would've died right along with you. I looked at that boy, and all I knew was that he deserved to have you, because without you, I'd fuck everything up."
"You wouldn't," Lucy sighed. "You're a great father."
"Maybe now," Negan offered, shaking his head. "I got here because of you. I got us here. I love Henry. Don't get me wrong. But you…you've been my world since the day I saw you. If you died, I…" He swallowed hard and turned around. "I'm never going through that again. I'm never putting you through that again."
"Negan…"
"No. You wanted to talk about it. We talked about it. It's done." He turned then, and he heard a soft cry leave Lucy's lips. He turned his head, but he didn't look her in the eye. "I'm sorry. I love you, but I'm sorry. I can't." He started for the hall, grabbing his bat from the corner before he reached the door.
"Where are you going?" Lucy asked, voice shaking as tears pooled in her eyes.
"I'm taking first perimeter patrol tonight. I'm protecting our family." With that, he turned and left, Lucy's cries echoing down the stairs with each step he took. He paused at the front door, looking back up to where her soft cries shook with ragged breaths in the darkness, and then he headed outside into the night, letting the cool, fresh breeze fill his lungs and ease the anxiety that had coiled up inside of him in the last few minutes.
Lucy and Henry were his life, and he quite liked that life. He loved waking with her every morning and making breakfast and listening to Henry yammer on and on about his plans for the day. He loved every minute of it, but he couldn't risk his wife's life again. He knew what she wanted, but he just couldn't give it to her. He couldn't let her take the chance of dying and leaving him and Henry all alone. He knew it was selfish, but he also knew that if he lost Lucy, he'd lose himself. And that wasn't an option.
With a shaking breath, he propped his barbed wire-covered bat up against his shoulder and took off toward the front gate to start his patrol.
...
Daryl groaned and stretched out on the bed, hair still wet and skin still warm from the bath. He folded his arms behind his head and stared up at the ceiling, thinking about tomorrow and how exactly he and Merle were going to lure the herd away. It was a daunting task to say the least, but he knew if they drove slow enough and played the music loud enough, they could get most, if not all of the walkers directed elsewhere and get back home safely before lunchtime. Still, things could always go wrong. This, he knew from experience.
Carol sighed softly when she slipped under the covers, joining Daryl on the bed.
"How's she feelin'?" Daryl asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly with his knuckles.
"She's sleeping. She kept a little soup down. She's feeling better, I think." She gently ran her fingers through Daryl's hair, smiling softly and kissing the corner of his mouth. "You'll be careful tomorrow?"
"Promise," he nodded. "We've lured walkers off before."
"This many, though? Merle said there were a lot."
"Might not be half of 'em there come morning. We gotta protect this place."
"Mmm," Carol murmured, yawning and rolling to lay on her back. "I know. Won't stop me from worrying."
"Always come back to you, don't I?" he asked. She smiled, nodding a little, and he rolled onto his side to look at her. He put his hand against her stomach, and she smiled, curling her fingers around his.
"We should get some sleep," Carol whispered. "Big day tomorrow."
"Hmm," Daryl murmured, pressing his lips against hers. She smiled against his lips, and he chuckled, kissing down her jaw and neck.
"Daryl?"
"Hmm?"
"What are you doing?"
"We'll sleep real good after…"
"Oh yeah?" Carol giggled, as Daryl crawled over her.
"Mmmhmm," he murmured between kisses. A little laugh escaped her lips, which soon faded into a soft, satisfied moan.
Author's Note: Thanks for reading, guys! Please let me know what you think. Feedback is greatly appreciated!