Days passed by in a blur. Molly and Jacob had met most of the camp's residents within that time and had struck up friendships with people Molly would have never thought of befriending. New comers came daily and people continued to leave in search of their families or some place that they hoped was safer. A routine within the camp had begun to take place. Most of the jobs people had decided to do when they were bored were to wash clothes or cook food and even drive down to the near-by quarry and collect water in buckets that would later be boiled on the fire.
Rather than risk it, it was a common rule to boil the water that was collected. For one, no one knew exactly what could have been in the water. The camp also used the quarry as the designated are in which the clothes were washed before they were brought back to camp to be hanged on rope to dry. Though they tried not to, it began to be difficult after the first few days not to use the quarry as a somewhat cold shower. So, all in all, it was best for everyone if the water was boiled.
The day ahead was about to be a tense one for Molly and Jacob. Not only had she discovered that Glenn made most of the runs into the city, she had all but begged him to tag along. At first, he had disagreed, telling her that if she needed anything, she could write it down and he'd make sure to get it. However, as Molly pledged her case, informing him that she hated people doing things for her if she was more than capable of doing it herself and that she just wanted to provide for her own son. Glenn had reluctantly agreed. The tense part was being separated from her son, not knowing how he'd take it was a difficult feeling to deal with.
She had spent most of the morning with Jacob, trying to drill the information into him that she'd be back as soon as humanly possible and that it was vital he didn't wonder off alone. Once it seemed as though he understood what she was trying to say, Molly had the difficult decision of just who she was going to trust to look after him.
Carol had been her first option, having spoken with the older woman many times and knew Jacob enjoyed spending time with Sophia. However, she quickly remembered Ed and how much she detested the man who seemed to walk around as if he were a god. Molly knew she'd be worrying the whole time she was in the city if her son was anywhere near that man. Her second choice had been to leave him with Shane, who the small boy got along with fairly well. However, as soon as she tried to locate him, Andrea, a female who had been at the camp since the beginning told her he had gone to fetch water once more.
Looking as though her only option would have to be Lori, Molly sighed deeply and bent down in order to inform Jacob of who he had to stay near. Almost as soon as she opened her mouth, she shut it once more, her eyes falling on the R.V. Or more specifically, the man who sat in front of it reading a leather bond book.
"Jake, you remember Dale, right?" Molly asked, smiling brightly in order to make it seem as though he was about to have a great time. Jacob nodded, looking around and pointing at the old man. "Yeah, that's him... Well, if he agrees, you're going stay with him and have so much fun!" He grinned, bouncing on his feet and he nodded and began to pull on his mother's hand. Molly returned the grin, standing up and letting him lead her to the old man who smiled upon noticed the two.
"And just what can I do for the two of you?" Dale asked, placing a book mark in his book and closing it before he led it on his lap.
"Dale, hey." Molly greeted him, suddenly feeling as though she was about to burden him. "I was wondering if you could watch Jacob for me, it won't be for long I just need someone he's comfortable around to watch over him."
Dale looked between the two before a bright smile overtook his face. "I'd be very happy too!"
Molly nodded, squeezing Jacob's hand as she heard a car horn beep twice, indicating that Glenn was ready to go. She knelt beside her son and wrapped her arms around him, letting his own arms go around her shoulder as she squeezed him slightly. "Remember what I said, okay?"
"No wonderin'." He stated, releasing his mother and moving to sit in the spare chair beside Dale.
"I'll keep my eye on him." Dale said, waving her off as he turned to Jacob and began a conversation with the young tot.
Molly watched the two for a moment, a small smile on her face before she spun on her heal and made her way in the direction of the car Glenn had told her he'd wait in. She folded her arm across her chest as she walked, avoiding eye contact with Ed who sat beside the fire, his feet on the log as he drank from a can.
Just as she made it to the car, she heard her name being called. In an instant, Amy, Andrea's younger sister had come to a stop beside her, smiling kindly as she opened her mouth. "Hey, I was wondering if you could maybe pick up some feminine things." Amy had asked her quietly, trying to keep her voice at a minimum. "It's a bit weird asking Glenn to get them, if you know what I mean."
"Oh, uh, yeah... Sure." Molly nodded, waving slightly as she moved towards the passenger door and pulled it open.
"Bout time!" Glenn grinned as she entered the car, pulling the door shut behind her. Glenn was quick to put the car into drive and make his way out of camp and down a road that spiralled its wall down into the city.
Molly leaned back in her seat and admired the scenery, taking it all in for what it had to offer. She participated in small talk with Glenn as the two went over what the plan was, preferring to stay away from the dead. She was slightly anxious due to only dead one she had seen was the woman on her porch back home.
It was also a shock, though unsurprising that the road had been void of any other moving vehicles. The only sound that could be heard was the steady hum of the car she was in as it moved along the road smoothly and undisturbed. To her, everything looked slightly peaceful when no one was causing traffic on the roads or busy groups of people crossing the halfway from the actual crossing. Though she couldn't shake the feeling that the city just looked abandoned. As though it had been forgotten and left to fall away into an unreadable history.
"Is there anything specific you'll be looking out for?" Glenn asked as he turnt the wheel, turning down a side road as the car came into the city. "You know, so I can keep an eye open."
"Well, Jacob needs another pair of shoes." Molly muttered, remembering her annoyance at finding out he had not packed any shoes apart from the ones on his feet. "And Amy's asked me to pick her up some stuff... Feminine." She added at the curious look Glenn gave her. She chuckled at his reddened cheeks before she continued on. "I might need to look for a seat buckle. Jacob's strap on his car seat broke. I mean, it's not like I need it right now, I'm not exactly going anywhere but it's just better to have it." Glenn nodded, agreeing with her as he continued through the back roads. "Why aren't we taking the main roads?"
"Over crowded." Glenn told her, pushing his foot down on the break slightly as he drove past and opening in the back roads and pointed down it. "Packed with geeks." Molly nodded slowly as she saw what he was showing her. "I think there's a shop beside the one we need to go in that's got baby stuff in... He's not a baby though, is he?"
"He's not a baby no more." Molly chuckled, shaking her head slightly. "He's a toddler... In a few months I think he'll be classed as a child, I'm not to sure." She frowned, trying to remember anything from the books she had read on time before throwing them away. "I think baby shops usually sell toddler and early childhood things anyway... If they don't, he's got small feet so he should be alright."
"Any particular size?" Glenn asked.
"Four." Molly muttered, turning to face him as she held her fingers a little bit apart. "Around that size. It's a four in toddler not child shoes so it's best you just go off of the size really."
"Got you." Glenn nodded, pulling the car to a stop around the back of a set of stores.
Molly pushed her car door open and got out as quietly as she could. She made her way around the car and towards Glenn before she took the backpack he was holding out for her. With a quick nod at each other, the two of them entered the pharmacy first.
Meanwhile, back at Camp, Jacob was beginning to grow bored. Much to his disappointment, the R.V had a mass amount of smoke coming from the front that needed Dale's undivided attention. He sighed drastically as he rested his chin on his hand and swung his legs back and forth on the chair he had been told not to move from.
He could vividly hear Dale trying and failing to curse under his breath as he rummaged through his tool box that sat on the ground beside his feet. However, Jacob suddenly grinned at the sight of Carol and Sophia. Though the girl was much older than he was, he liked to play games with her when Molly and Carol sat together. He twisted his body and began to climb off the chair slowly. Jacob waited until his feet were placed firmly on the ground before he let go of the arms and began to make his way towards the two females, forgetting the fact that he wasn't meant to leave the chair.
He stumbled on a few rocks as he came to a stop and held his hands out to stop himself from falling over. He giggled slightly before he began to make his way towards the two girls once more. However, he came to a stop once again, this time by his own accord as his eyes widened at Ed who had just stopped beside Carol and Sophia. If there was one thing his mother had tried to drill into him it was that Ed was a bad man and that he shouldn't be around him.
Jacob turned around and began to make his way back to the R.V. He narrowed his eyes at the patch of rocks that had made him stumble and walked around them instead. Halfway towards the R.V, something caught his attention once more. He turned to the right and began to survey the tent, or rather, the two men that had pitched their selves far from the camp.
Having such a short attention span, Jacob had forgotten about the R.V all together and set of in the direction of the two men. His speed was rather slow, due to the shortness of his legs. However, after a few minutes, he looked behind him, noticing just how far he had gone from the camp. Though he could still see it clearly, he thought better than to go any further. He looked back towards the two men who were a good ten feet away and dropped himself to the ground carefully. He folded his hands in his lap and watched the two men bicker quietly.
"Told ya' not ta' waste no more of them bags, boy!" The older man exclaimed, his hand coming to hit the younger one across the back of the head. "Now wha' we gone use ta' close this shit up?"
"Fuck if I know, Merle!" The younger man said, pushing Merle's hand away from his head as he scowled up at him. "Ya' shoulda' packed more if ya' love 'em so bad!"
"Don't be a fuckin' idiot, Daryl or I'll kick them damn teeth in!" Merle growled, rummaging through a bag beside him as he continued to curse under his breath.
Jacob showed no sign he understood the curse words the two men were throwing at each other. He merely sat quietly and watched them while they continued to bicker back and forth. He had all but forgotten about the people back at camp as he had found something that had his undivided attention.
Daryl and Merle were as rugged as two men could get. Though it looked as if they hadn't been at the camp to long, going by the things that were still packed in the truck behind them. Jacob couldn't help but stare in wonder at the motorcycle that was also on the back of the truck.
He looked back to the two men, taking in the older one first who had stopped rummaging through his bag and opted for cleaning a set of knifes. He held a cloth in his hand that looked as though it was once on the white spectrum. However, the cloth now looked dark and dirty. Jacob shifted his eyes to the younger man as his nose twitched slightly.
He was bent over a stomp of wood, a knife in his hand and a rabbit beneath the knife. Jacob wasn't to sure what he was doing but wondered why he let his pet rabbit sleep on some wood. It was almost as if Daryl could feel eyes on himself. His own eyes narrowed as he looked up, surveying the area. He missed Jacob's small form on first glance, however, something clicked inside his head and he brought his eyes on Jacob's form.
The two watched each other for a few moments as Daryl's eyes began to widen ever so slightly. He leaned over towards Merle slowly, as if he thought the boy would pounce on him, and nudged Merle in the shoulder harshly.
"Boy, if yeh' don't qui-" He cut himself of as he raised a brow at his brother who nodded in front of him. Merle followed his gaze, his own eyes squinting at the boy who sat feet away, watching the two of them curiously.
Jacob knew he had been spotted. However, he wasn't to bothered on speaking to the two men. His eyes had shifted back to the rabbit who had not awoken yet. He raised his eyes back to Daryl and grinned brightly. "Looks like Bugs!" He exclaimed as the two brothers looked from Jacob to the rabbit.
Merle snorted, shaking his head in disbelief that a child had managed to get the sneak on them. He leaned towards the rabbit and tilted his head slightly. "Tha' fuck is Bugs?" He asked Daryl who forced his eyes away from the rabbit as well.
"Fuck if I know." He muttered, looking back up at Jacob. "Er, where's ya' Mama?"
Jacob looked away from the rabbit and back to Daryl. "Mumma's gone." He told him, pushing his short legs out in front of him as he grabbed some dirt with his hands and threw it in the air. "She tell me she'll be back soon as she can."
"Yer' old man then?" Daryl asked, not wanting to deal with accusations of kidnap at that moment in time.
Jacob stopped throwing dirt and furrowed his brows at Daryl. He wasn't to sure on what he was being asked, having never heard of the phrase old man being used to describe something to do with him. "Dale fix the car." He told him, pointing towards the old man who was still fixing the R.V.
Daryl looked towards the direction he was pointing as he heard Merle laugh loudly beside him while he thought a grimace.
"He's mean's ya' Daddy, boy." Merle chuckled, resting his chin on his hand while his elbow rested on his knee. "Where's ya' Daddy at?"
Jacob shrugged, rubbing his hands in the dirt once more as he looked back towards the rabbit. "Can I see Bugs?"
"Na'." Daryl was quick to reply, shaking his head as he made a face at Merle. "Not a good idea."
"He sleep?" Jacob asked, his voice lowering slightly as he mimicked a sleeping position with his hands beside his head. Daryl listen to Merle snort for a few moments before he nodded, opting for keeping conversation at a minimum.
"Do ya' think we should get tha' cop?" Daryl muttered to Merle as he watched the young boy rub the dirt once more.
"Ain't talkin' ta' no pigs." Merle stated, glaring at Daryl as he pointed towards Jacob. "Kids fine, ain't ya'?" He hollered, bringing Jacob out of his thoughts.
Jacob didn't hear what he had said but nodded anyway as he folded his legs once more. He looked back to the rabbit fondly as he tilted his head, wondering when it was going to wake up and just how Daryl was going to stop it from hopping away.
"Kid's like two." Daryl said, shaking his head at the thought of being blamed for something that could possibly happen to the boy.
Jacob never once took his eyes of the rabbit as he spoke up. "Three!" He exclaimed, holding up four fingers. That was all the proof Daryl needed as he pointed towards the boy and glared at Merle who shrugged.
"He ain't our problem."
Back in the city, Glenn and Molly had just finished clearing out the pharmacy of anything that they needed to get. Molly had stuffed her bag full of feminine products, feeling it better for her to grab more than was needed. She had also grabbed some other things that she thought could be of use.
The pair said nothing as they made their ways next door to the baby store. Molly let Glenn lead the way as the two of them searched the store for the two things they needed. She had left Glenn with the task of getting shoes while she searched the shelf for the buckle she needed. It was easier for her to explain the shoe size than it was a buckle type.
She spent the next ten minutes searching through the boxes, finding buckles that were too big and buckles that were too small. Her frustration was beginning to show by the time Glenn came back, holding up two different types of shoe as Molly nodded, letting him put them in her bag that was on her back.
"Find it?" Glenn asked as he zipped her bag up and came to stand beside her.
"No, I just can't see-" She cut herself off as she noticed a shelf cleared out. One lone box sat on the shelf with the exact buckle she needed. "Well, this is our lucky day."
As soon as her hand had grasped the box, growls and bangs erupted on the double front doors. Molly jumped as Glenn began to usher her towards the back door, the pair making it out just as the sound of glass shattering filled their ears. As quickly as the two could, they ran back to the car and hopped in. In seconds, Glenn had the car running and accelerated towards and opening where he could spin the car around and make the short journey back to the camp.
Back at camp, Shane had just arrived after filling the buckets the camp had with water from the quarry. He made his way towards the R.V with the intent of asking Dale if he had a spare hose he could borrow. "Dale." He greeted, coming to a stop as the old man smiled fondly and wiped his hands on a cloth. "Was wondering if you had a spare hose anywhere?"
"Depends on what you need it for." Dale said with a frown. "I've got a small one, it's one that big of an opening."
"I need to transfer water from bucket to bucket." Shane told him, holding his hand above his eyes to block out the sun.
Dale nodded, rummaging through the other side of his tool box as he pulled the small hose out and gave it to Shane with a smile. "Oh, if it's not too much bother, could you bring some water back for Jacob, I don't think he's had a drink since he's been with me."
"Uhh, sure..." Shane trailed off, looking around the R.V as he tried to locate the little boy. "He inside, yeah?"
"No, he's just round her-" Dale cut himself off mid-sentence as he stared wide-eyed at the empty chairs. "I left him there. I specifically told him not to move."
Shane swore under his breath, shaking his head a little as he looked towards Dale in disbelief. "He's three years old, did you really thing he has that much of an attention span?"
In an instant, Shane had brushed Dale off and spun around. He stood in the middle of the camp and tried to locate the little boy by eye before he alerted anyone else to the problem. He could vividly see the woman hanging clothes up with no three-year-old around them. Though he tried not to let any alarm take over, he seemed to be failing.
He looked towards Molly's camp, hoping the boy had retreated there to play but saw no sign of him. Just as he was about to make his way to the woman and ask if anyone had seen him, he noticed a camp a little way away from the actual camp. Dixons.
"Yer' Mama hot?" Merle asked the boy with a raised brow.
"Merle!" Daryl hissed, shaking his head at his brother's words.
"Wha'?" Merle demanded. "Gotta ask."
"Ya' ain't gotta ask nothin'." Daryl muttered as he looked up, hearing gravel crunch in the distance. "Cops comin'."
Merle looked up, raising a brow at Shane as he held his arms open and grinned. "Welcome officer." He watched as Shane's jaw clenched and he bent down, scooping Jacob of the ground as soon as he was near. "Boy's jus' been hangin' with Ol' Merle."
"You were meant to stay by the R.V, mate." Shane said, glaring at the Dixons as he spoke to Jacob who pointed towards the rabbit.
"Bugs is sleepin'." He told him, holding a finger to his mouth. "Gotta be quiet."
"Come on." Shane muttered, turning on his heel and walking back towards the camp. "Your mum will be back soon and we can't just have you wondering off like that."
"Yer welcome!" Merle hollered.