3rd Person POV
"Hey Carol, have you seen Carl?" Lori walked into the kitchen.
Carol thought for a second before shaking her head. "No I haven't. I haven't seen a lot of people actually."
"Where'd everybody go?" Lori didn't really expect an answer, but Hershel chuckled from the table.
"Don't worry, honey. Eve, Daryl, and Glenn took the kids out."
Lori blinked. "What do you mean took them out? Took them where?"
"No need to fret. It's just to the houses around us. Rick okayed it." he turned the page in his book. The one he borrowed from Eve last night. It's a damn fine read, she has good taste.
Lori is still uneasy but she trusts Eve and Daryl. They've also got the devil's luck duo (Eve & Glenn) with them, everything will be fine.
Everyone went about their business, doing laundry, cleaning things, looking at their stock of supplies, taking some time to just be by themselves for awhile because they don't get nearly as much of that as they'd like, and just generally trying not to think about how long it'll be until walkers blow through here and force them to move on again.
Nobody noticing the rag-tag group coming back from their excursion to the neighboring houses and heading straight for the backyard. Half of them already throwing the ball around and explaining to those who haven't played before, how to play baseball. And of course, arguing about who team captains are gonna be.
Ultimately it was decided that Eve & Daryl are not allowed to be on the same team because it would be an unfair advantage, and Eve & Glenn are not allowed to be on the same team because also unfair advantage. So Eve wound up team captain with Carl and Randall, against Glenn as team captain with Daryl & Beth.
Daryl by no means mentioned that he hasn't played baseball since high school mandatory PE class, and Beth kept it to herself that she played softball in middle school for 2 years.
Randall's leg isn't as good as it used to be, but he's got pretty good aim.
Eve & Glenn collaborated to make new rules for how to play since they don't have many players and everything was set to go.
Five minutes into the game: pure chaos.
All the rules scrambled faster than Randall's pitch and no one had any idea what anyone was doing anymore.
Everyone was following the rules they remembered but no one knew what anyone else was doing.
They were running, dodging, throwing, ducking, trying not to get hit with the ball, trying to hit the ball, trying to remember what plate was which as they ran between all the designated spots, trying not to run smack into each other. And the first two to fail at that, would be Carl & Glenn, colliding in the middle of the yard. Followed swiftly by Eve & Beth as the blonde was running for 1st(?) base and Eve was catching the ball. While Daryl and Randall laughed at all 4 from the out fields.
"We should'a played kickball instead." Randall swiped a tear from his eye, trying to catch his breath.
"Hell no." Glenn shouted from the ground, pointing at Randall. "You ever seen Eve with a soccer ball? It's like playing Mortal Kombat."
'Oh, you wanna see mortal kombat?' Eve helped Beth up and she lunged for Glenn.
Glenn took off like he sat in fire ants — sliding on the grass several times like a spider on roller skates — and played ring around the rosy with Carl, knowing Eve wouldn't risk hurting him. But it was inevitable she'd catch him. So he only has one card to play to get away with it.
He faked out going to one side and ran for Daryl.
He screamed as he felt Eve's fingers graze his back before he ran around Daryl and ran for the back door. Except he forgot ooooone little detail.
They're partners.
Daryl caught Glenn by the back of his shirt before he got even 2 feet and his heels slid on the grass, taking him down screaming like walkers got ahold of him.
Eve tried to put the brakes on but as soon as she dug her heels into the ground like she'd normally do, her gut soared and she slid.
Eve's feet came out from underneath her like a cartoon character and her shin cracked against her forehead right as her back hit the ground.
Daryl saw what was coming next as she kept sliding and let go of Glenn just in time to get his legs taken out from underneath him by a 100+ lbs living bowling ball. His arms shot out to catch him on the ground and of course one of them slid down and his cheek collided with the ice-cold slush.
Eve's head spun as she finally stopped and tried to figure out what the Hell just happened but honestly, she has no idea.
She doesn't know how she ended up half sprawled over Glenn — whose face looks like he's been elbowed in the nuts — and Daryl's legs on her stomach, knees first.
"Aggggghhhh" Glenn groaned like he's gonna puke and Eve curled over, trying to minimize the depth of Daryl's knees digging into her stomach; not her boot is missing until she made an effort to get off of Glenn and stuck her toes straight into the snow.
A sharp gasp and two shouts of pain later, Daryl pulled her shoe out from underneath his chest as he pushed up onto all fours, trying not to hurt anyone.
He shoved the boot onto her foot before shooting a scowl at the hysterical children losing their minds, crying from laughing so hard.
The back door to the house flew open, slamming against the wall and Daryl jumped, everyone except Glenn & Eve fully aware of the several alarmed and armed adults on the back patio.
"What happened!?" Maggie shouted in a frenzy of panic, her wide brown eyes on Glenn and Eve struggling in the slushie snow-grass, with Daryl pulling Eve off of him.
Eve shivered as soon as Daryl's ice-cold slush covered hands grabbed hers but smiled in thanks and helped Glenn up too.
"We're ok." Glenn called, waving his girlfriend off.
"You should play with us, Maggie. It'll be fun." Beth smiled and Maggie's eyebrows furrowed.
"That is a foul!" Eve shouted as Maggie & Carl booked it for the fence.
Somehow they evolved into playing tag and baseball at the same time. And yes, 2 people have already been hit in the eye and someone slip & slides every 10 seconds.
Good thing they've all got their winter gear on, and didn't put on their new shoes and stuff before playing.
Hershel chuckled from the open upstairs window, watching them all run around like rabbits.
He never thought Daryl would be the type to get wrapped up in a game like this but he and Eve make a great tag-team going after everyone else, and great opposition for each other.
He watched Daryl chase Eve in circles around the yard, everyone else pausing in their running to cheer either on. Eve isn't nearly as graceful in the slush as on dry land but Daryl is remarkably clumsy as well.
Eve can at least scramble her way out and manages to remain standing 6 times out of 10, but Daryl either has it or doesn't. When he has it, she doesn't stand a chance and ends up getting grabbed every time. But when he doesn't, Eve can run like the wind and uses the sliding to her full advantage, skating away like an ice rink, or slipping into an accidental dodge.
Everyone somehow started using each other as shields. Randall pushing Maggie in to Glenn, Beth zooming past Randall cause he's slower, Glenn "capturing" Eve to use as cannon fodder for both Daryl and Carl. And Carl out here just making everyone look bad because he's only slipped 4 times whilst everyone else has been face or butt down in the snow countless times.
Hershel was going to tell them to come on in before they get sick a while ago, but this is the sort of laughter and fun they could use right now.
So instead, he just prepared a few preventatives for when they do. It's getting dark now, so they'll be coming in soon anyway. Besides, Eve & Daryl look like they're just about to give up.
He watched Eve slide again, almost doing the side splits and her hands saving her, just barely getting going again right as Daryl caught her around the waist and lifted her feet off the ground so she can't get away like she did the last time he caught her.
Daryl let her down and they talked for a second, eyeing Carl across the well trodden and very slippery grass before they fist bumped and Daryl let her go.
He stayed put, taking a breather (she is damn fast even in slush) and just watched the carnage as Eve bolted for Carl and refused to go after anyone else. Pretty soon Glenn, Maggie, and Randall caught on and it was all against 1, everyone trying to help her catch the one person who always gets away.
Carl's never run so fast in his life. Not even from walkers.
"What in Sam Hell..." T-Dog watched a trail of red faced, soaking wet, shivering kids come inside, followed by Glenn, Maggie, Eve, and Daryl who weren't in any better state. All panting hard with the biggest smiles he's seen since the CDC plastered on their cold-flushed faces.
"What on Earth were you guys doin' out there?"
Eve grinned at him. "Baseball."
Unedted, srry. I had a bad day.
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