Big Yellow Taxi
Chapter 34
Daryl crouched on the ground, leaning over the engine. He tightened the hoses again. But a few of the clamps were shot. They didn't stop because the bus stopped. They pulled into a rest stop because the dogs needed to pee. But they would be lucky if they made it out of Georgia at this point, let alone all the way to South Dakota. Especially if they had to keep stopping. Daryl rubbed his hand through his hair. He forced himself to take a deep breath. They would make it because they had to make it.
A gentle tap on his shoulder brought Daryl out of his thoughts. He turned expecting to find Eric or Aaron there. Instead a strange girl was standing slightly behind him. She offered him a big smile that lit up her blue eyes. Her wavy blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that fell forward over her shoulder. She stuck her hand out towards him.
"Hi," the girl said, "I'm Beth." Daryl shook her hand, finding it small and soft against his calloused palm. He didn't offer his own name. Daryl just stared up at her from his vantage point on the ground, wondering what in the hell she wanted. Women didn't usually approach him. And this one wasn't even really a woman but more of a girl. High school aged at most. She glanced behind her and then looked at him again. Another woman, this one slightly older, nodded at the blonde girl encouragingly.
"I'm real sorry to bother you," Beth said, "...but our car is broke down too. And uh …you look like you might know more about cars than we do."
Daryl took another look behind the girl. The darker haired woman was standing near a mid 90's Mercury Sable. The hood was propped open and smoke was billowing out from under it. A young Asian man with a ball cap on was peering under the hood. He looked more interested in impressing the dark haired girl than he was in attempting to fix the engine. Daryl sighed. He really didn't have time for this. As he often did, Daryl heard Merle's words bumping around in his head. Fuck those sluts. We've got our own problems. Daryl banished the man's voice from his mind.
"It's no problem at all," he told the girl, "I'd be happy to take a look." The girl smiled even bigger than before, jumping up and down a little as Daryl shoved himself up off the sidewalk and followed her over to her car.
"This is my sister Maggie," Beth announced, pointing to the pretty brunette. "And this is her boyfriend Glenn." Beth indicated the man in the ball cap. He stuck his hand out for Daryl to shake. But his girlfriend only smiled at Daryl as she wrapped her arm around Beth.
Daryl waved away the smoke that was billowing out of the engine. It was clear that their first issue was the car had overheated. The radiator was bone dry. Daryl pulled his hanky out of his back pocket and wrapped it around his hand while he twisted the cap open. A fresh batch of smoke poured out. The girls were crowding in behind him but when that happened they quickly stepped back.
"Go get a bottle of water out of my van," Daryl instructed. Glenn hurried to follow his directions, happy to be able to help in some small way. Daryl tipped the water bottle, dumping its contents into the hot radiator. The water immediately came pouring back out the bottom, spilling out under the engine.
"That's not supposed to happen is it?," Glenn asked. Daryl bit back a grin and shook his head. That was definitely not supposed to happen.
"Ya got a cracked radiator," Daryl said, not sure which one of the small group he was supposed to be giving the bad news to. "It's not a bad fix but you can't drive it like this or it'll crack the head gasket and blow yer whole engine."
"We better call Daddy," Beth announced. She looked at Daryl again. "You don't have a phone do you? Maggie's is dead." Daryl shook his head. He never owned a phone before. Merle always had one. And Daryl had no one to call anyway.
Daryl glanced back down into the smoldering engine. A strange idea was bumping around inside his head. He needed a few hose clamps. And these people had no use for them. They were going to have to tow their car either way.
"How far away from 'ere do ya live?," Daryl asked.
"About a half hour," Maggie told him.
"Maybe we could make a trade," Daryl suggested. Beth smiled at him and Maggie looked hopeful. "I'll take a few hose clamps from yer engine to fix mine. And then I'll use my bus to tow ya home." Daryl looked at the girls to gauge their reaction. He was used to people being suspicious of him on sight. But either he looked more trustworthy than usual or these people were more trusting than most. Because Beth started jumping up and down again. And Maggie was quick to agree to Daryl's deal.
"That sounds great," she said, "..thank you so much!"
By this time, the dogs were done doing their business. Tank was quick to return to the bus. But Lily dragged Eric over towards Daryl so she could jump and slobber all over the man. Glenn kept back from the large brown beast of a dog. But Beth and Maggie moved in. They pet Lily and didn't even seem to mind when she slobbered all over them. Daryl was grateful when Aaron appeared. He made the introduction between them while Daryl pulled the hose clamps he needed off the Mercury.
Between the small group of people, they were able to push the Mercury over behind the ancient VW minibus. Daryl used Lily's chain to hook the two vehicles together. Then he started handing out instructions.
"Sit in the back here and hold onto that dog," he told Beth. "No, not that dog, the other dog." Beth wrapped her arms around Lily's neck and held her tight. She giggled when the giant black dog crowded in, jealous that Lily was getting all the girl's attention. Eric climbed into the driver's seat and pressed down on the clutch and the brake. He put the van in first gear. Eric and Daryl got behind the bus. Glenn and Maggie pushed from the sides, gripping the frame with the side doors hanging open.
"Push," Daryl hollered. It took a little more effort to get the bus rolling with another car dragging along behind it. But they also had more people to help push. As soon as they got it rolling, Daryl yelled again, telling Eric to gas it. The bus lurched into first gear as the engine engaged. "GET IN!" Glenn hopped in, moving quickly to the other side to make sure Maggie got in safe and pulling her towards the back of the bus so Daryl and Aaron would be able to leap in without jumping on top of them. Once everyone was inside and the doors were closed, Beth cheered and clapped her hands. Maggie climbed into the passenger seat so she could give Eric directions to her house.
A short half hour later, Eric was steering the bus down a gravel drive and pulling it up in front of a large farmhouse. Daryl leaned up to look out the window. A man with white hair and an older blonde woman were standing on the front steps. Both of them were having a good laugh at the rather comical looking caravan that just came putting down their driveway. The dogs bolted out when Beth slid the door open, nearly trampling the young woman in their hurry to escape the confines of the bus. Tank chased Lily around the vehicles in a circle, both of them barking and yapping like crazy.
"Looks like there must be a good story here," the older man joked as Beth wrapped her arms around him in a big hug.
"Maggie's car was smoking," Beth told him, "So they gave us a tow back here." She pointed at the men that had climbed out of the yellow VW bus and were attempting to get their two large dogs under some form of control.
Hershel felt a small pang of concern. Mostly because his girls had accepted a ride from three strange men. And climbed into a van with them. And Glenn had clearly gone along with this reckless behavior as well. Hershel quickly decided he would leave those worries for another day. His daughters had obviously not been molested or hurt by these men in any way. And though they were an odd looking bunch, the three of them saved him an expensive tow bill at the very least. And possibly the bill for a new car since Maggie might have driven the car home with it smoking all the way and blown the engine if they hadn't stepped in and helped her.
"Thank you for helping my girls out," Hershel said, extending his hand to the man in the leather jacket. "I'm Hershel Greene." The red haired man was busy trying to wrestle their large tan puppy into submission. And the taller man was busy laughing at that man while the giant dog drug him around like a rag doll. Daryl grabbed the old man's hand and gave it a firm shake.
"Daryl," he said, trying not to laugh when Lily broke free from Eric's grasp and darted over to insert her nose directly into Glenn's ass. The man jumped at the unexpected contact. And Daryl could tell that Hershel was also trying hard to control his own laughter.
"Well I suppose you'll be staying for dinner then?," Hershel asked. Daryl glanced at the bus. He wanted to get back on the road as soon as possible. But the dried fruit and jerky inside didn't hold the same appeal as a home cooked meal. His stomach made his decision for him, letting out a loud grumble.
"I'd like that," Daryl answered.