Chapter 43-Early Morning Preparations
Hershel's POV
It was early in the morning, and Hershel was tending to the horses that they had put on the back of the U-Haul. Luckily none of them had been shot during the shootout. Hershel was petting one of them when Daryl came over and looked at the older man. "How long till we can let them out?" Daryl asks him.
"We should get a fence around here or a stall at least a pen for them," Hershel tells him. Daryl nods as he looks at him.
"I'll be sending run groups out today with the U-Haul and Semi. They should be able to start getting what we need to make the wall. They'll need the support beans and the metal parts of the wall," Daryl tells him. "I'll have them get wood too,"
"This will take us quite a while," Hershel says as he looks at the field that looked like the field around his own house.
"It will be worth it," Daryl says. Hershel nods as he pets the horse.
"As long as it keeps my daughters safe, I will be okay," Hershel says.
"Are you worried about them?" Daryl asks him.
"Every second of every day," Hershel tells him. "Let's go get some food," Hershel tells Daryl, who nods as he follows him to the house.
Lizzie's POV
Lizzie wakes up when she hears voices. She gets out of bed slowly and goes to the door. She goes into the hall and goes down the stairs slowly. "How fair is this home depot?" Abraham asks.
"About 40 minutes from here. I'll send a group today, and I'll take a group into town with the bus. There might be a truck in the shed we can take," Daryl says.
"Do you know who is going?" Abraham asks.
"No, not yet," Daryl says. Lizzie slowly goes back into the room she shared with Mika, Charlie, and Carl. She goes over to her bag under the bed and goes to her dresser. She grabs her knife out of the dresser and puts it on her hip as well as her gun. Everybody told her that the walkers were bad that they weren't people anymore. If they wanted her to believe them, then she would have to see for herself. They were trying to protect her, but she knew that was because they didn't trust her and thought that she was crazy. Lizzie sits down in front of the bed and checks her ammo.
"Lizzie?" Charlie says from behind her. Lizzie turns around and looks at her.
"What?" Lizzie asks her.
"What are you doing? Where do you think you are going?" Charlie asks.
"Daryl is planning a run, and I want to go on it," Lizzie tells her. "You guys can't keep me here,"
"Lizzie, you shouldn't go out there," Charlie says. Lizzie turns and looks at her.
"Why? I should learn how to protect myself, right?" Lizzie asks Charlie.
"Yes," Charlie says.
"Then I should be able to go. You should go back to sleep?" Lizzie tells her. Lizzie stands up and walks out of the room. She walks down the stairs and into the kitchen. Daryl looks at her as he holds a cup of coffee. Abraham, Lori, Amy, Alicia, Hershel, and Daryl were in the kitchen. Lori looks at her.
"Good morning Lizzie," Lori says to the blond. Lizzie looks away from the pregnant woman and looks at Daryl.
"I want to go on the run," Lizzie tells him. Daryl looks at her.
"Nah, it's for the adults. You'll stay here," Daryl tells her as he sits down.
"I'm going," Lizzie says in a demanding tone. Daryl looks at her for a moment before he nods.
"Fine, you can go. But you have to listen to whoever's in charge," Daryl says. Lizzie nods. "Go upstairs and make sure you have everything you need. You'll be leaving after breakfast," Lizzie nods with a smile before she walks upstairs and back into her room. Charlie looks at her.
"What did Daryl say?" Charlie asks him.
"He said I could go on the run," Lizzie tells her as she grabs her bag.
"Good," Charlie says as she lays back down. Lizzie nods as she checks her bag.
Lori's POV
Lori was making breakfast for the group and had stayed silent while Lizzie talked to Daryl. After the blond left, Lori turned and looked at Daryl. "You're letting her go with them?" Lori asks Daryl, who nods.
"I don't like it either. But the kid wants to go out there, and she wouldn't let it go. This will be good for her. She hasn't been away from the group since her dad died. She'll be safe. She'll be on the run to LaFayette. They'll be gathering supplies," Daryl tells her. "I know you're worried, but she'll be okay,"
"I know," Lori says. Amy lays her hand on Lori's shoulder, and Lori covers her hand. Lori looks at the meat that was cooking and covers her mouth. She leaves the kitchen and goes outside. She sits down on the stairs. Hershel comes outside and sits down beside her.
"When my wife Annette was pregnant, she couldn't stand the smell of cooking meat. Which sucked because we cooked bacon a lot," Hershel tells Lori with a smile.
"Was she in the barn?" Lori asks. Hershel nods.
"Yes. She was Beth's mother," Hershel says. Lori looks at the older man.
"I feel useless, Hershel. I can't cook, and I can't go on runs or help build the wall. I'm happy about the baby, but it also sucks. It's making me feel like a burden," Lori says.
"Walk with me," Hershel says as he stands up. Lori stands up and follows him behind the house and back towards a small pathway in the woods. Lori follows Hershel through the woods until they see a shed and the beach not far from it. "Daryl told me that Lucas kept his boat in this shed. As well as his gear and his truck," Lori nods as she goes to the two big doors in the front. She grabs the chain. She looks at Hershel.
"Do we have a wrench?" Lori asks him.
"They are with Dale's tools in the bus," Hershel says. "We need that, don't we?"
"Unless you want me to shoot this lock," Lori says.
"You stay here. I'll go and get it," Hershel tells Lori, who nods. Hershel leaves, and Lori sits down and holds her gun in her hand. She looks at the water. She looks around the beach and sees a boat not that far from her tipped over. She stands up and walks over to the boat. She walks over to the other side of the boat, and a walker grabs her leg. She falls to the ground and turns around. She kicks the walker and backs up. The walker had a metal bar impaled in its stomach. The walker grabs at her. Lori stands up quickly and looks at the walker. She pulls out her knife and walks over to the walker, and stabs it in the head. Lori looks around and sees a walker a little bit further down the beach crawling. She walks down the beach and sees the walker.
"Hey," Lori says. The walker stops and starts to turn towards her. Lori walks up to the walker and stabs it in the head. She grabs the walker by its arm and drags it back to the boat. She hears footsteps behind her and turns around, and sees Hershel.
"What are you doing?" Hershel asks.
"Two walkers. Both weren't really a threat. But best to get rid of them," Lori tells him. Hershel looks at the walkers and nods. He hands her the wrench.
"Should this work?" Hershel asks. Lori nods as she walks back towards the shed. She raises the wrench and slams it down on the lock. She hits it again, breaking the padlock. Lori puts the wrench down and opens the door. Inside the shed was a boat and a truck. "Let's take the truck back," Hershel says. Lori nods as she goes to the driver's side door. She gets in the truck and looks for the keys.
"No keys," Lori says. "I can hotwire it,"
"How do you know how to do that?" Hershel asks.
"One Rick was a cop, and two I wasn't the greatest kid in high school," Lori tells Hershel with a smirk. Hershel nods as he sits back. It takes Lori a few minutes, but she gets the truck started. She drives the car out of the shed and heads towards the house.
Daryl's POV
Daryl was sitting at the table as the group ate their food. Lori and Hershel had told him about the truck when they came back inside. Daryl sat with his back against the wall as everybody ate. "What's the plan, today boss?" Jake asks him. Daryl sets his plate down and looks at the group.
"There is a home depot in New Town, which is about 40 minutes from here. I will send a group there to start to get the support beans and metal that we need to build the walls. This will take multiple runs to get everything we need and most likely more than one building. Keep an eye out for a construction site. That will be very helpful. Another group will head to LaFayette, a town about ten minutes from here," Daryl tells them.
"Who goes where and with what cars?" Rick asks.
"The group heading towards New Town will take the semi and the U-Haul. Try to find a van or truck on the way there so some of you can come back in that," Daryl says. "Abraham will lead that group. T-dog, Rick, Jim, Dean, Ofelia, Jake, Shumpert, Victor, and Gideon will go on that run. I will lead another group to LaFayette. Lizzie will be in that group because she wants to go on a run. Other than Lizzie and I, Martinez, Alicia, Rosita, Reid, JJ, Connie, Kelly, and Haley will head there. Also, grab chainsaws. The rest of you should worry about checking the property. I don't want any walkers coming out of the woods. See if you can make some traps. We'll take the bus so you can use the truck. Does everybody understand?" Daryl asks. Everybody nods as they slowly leave. Daryl gets up and looks at Charlie. "Are you going to hold down the fort, kid?"
"I should be going on runs," Charlie says.
"You will. Not this one, though. The next one, you can come," Alicia tells Charlie, who nods.
"I think Lori and Hershel have something planned. Enjoy yourself, today kid. We're safe," Daryl tells Charlie, who nods. Daryl walks past her and up the stairs. Daryl walks into their room and grabs his bag and crossbow. He grabs Alicia's bag and walks towards the stair. He goes down the stairs and hands the bag to her. Daryl looks at Lizzie, who was sitting down. Daryl walks over to her and bends down eye to eye. "You listen to me no matter what happens. Understand?" Lizzie nods. "Is your gun loaded?" Lizzie nods. "Go wait on the bus,"
"I'm going to go say bye to Mika," Lizzie says. Daryl nods as the blond walks upstairs. Daryl looks at Alicia.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Alicia asks.
"No, but it needs to happen," Daryl tells her as he walks over to her. Alicia nods as they head outside and sees Abraham climbing into the U-Haul. "Good luck,"
"Good luck to you too," Abraham says before he turns on the U-Haul and leaves. T-dog follows in the semi behind him. Daryl gets on the bus and starts it.
"Can you drive this?" Alicia asks him.
"I've been watching Jim. So let's find out," Daryl says.
"I want to talk when we get back," Alicia tells Daryl, who nods as the others start to get on the bus. Daryl looks at Lori, Amy, and Hershel.
"Stay safe," Daryl says.
"You too," Amy says before Daryl starts the bus and leaves.
Thanks for reading. The next chapter will be the runs and bring in some characters I wanted to bring in. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.