March 28, 2011

3 PM
Fun Kingdom

Carol swung open the gate, and T-Dog drove the military truck inside. Patricia was in the passenger's seat and Dixon and Beth were sitting on the lowered tail of the wagon portion. Dixon had a rifle on one shoulder and an arm draped around Beth. Their feet dangled over the edge. They'd gone on a run to a mattress store. The new inhabitants of Fun Kingdom needed something better than sleeping bags to sleep on. The truck appeared to be stuffed to the gills with mattresses still wrapped in plastic.

"Looks like you did well," Carol said.

"Beth did great," Dixon said with a smile. "She killed three walkers! I think she's ready for a two-person supply run. Maybe even an overnight run. To check out that vocational center."

Beth smiled at him. "We'll see. I should probably practice my knife skills for another week before we do it without backup."

Carol walked up to the driver's side now. "We've got people ready to use them," she told T-Dog. "Hershel released Eugene, Milton, Andrea, and Father Gabriel from quarantine today. And Bob says Rick is now symptom-free. He's just waiting out his twenty-four hours in the infirmary."

T-Dog grinned. "That's good news. We'll get these mattresses to the Royal Banquet and then let people go shopping in the Kingdom of Sleep for sheets and pillows and blankets. There's not going to be much left in that store by the time we're done."

Carol waved him on, and the military truck jerked forward. Beth squealed at the sudden movement, and Dixon grabbed her around the waist to hold her steady on the tailgate. After Carol secured the gate, she left Max to guard it and returned to the House of the Future, where she found Daryl sitting in the living room, sharpening the arrows of his bolts, and the puppies napping with Daisy on the bearskin rug, except for Merle, who was wide awake and gnawing on a piece of elk's antlers.

"T-Dog and the others are back with the mattresses," she told Daryl. "They could use some help unloading them." He lay his bolts on the coffee table and stood. "You hear Rick's getting out tomorrow?"

"I heard."

"Might kick this thing's ass after all." As Daryl headed for the door, Merle dropped his bone and barked. "Stay!" Daryl ordered, but the puppy scurried across the floor after him.

Carol patted the couch next to herself. "Here, you!" she called. Merle looked at Daryl, looked at Carol, looked at Daryl, and then bounded over to the couch and put his paws up on the cushions. Carol scooped the puppy into her lap and scratched is head.

The Sanctuary
4 PM

"I can't wait until you come home, sugar," Frankie said over the CB. "Five days, right? Over."

Home. Was that how she saw the Kingdom now? Already. After just a few days? Gavin still hadn't told Frankie about the long-term leadership situation he'd gotten himself into, or that he wanted her to move back to the Sanctuary. It didn't seem right to say it all over the radio.

The citizens had voted to replace José yesterday with a former worker named Jerel, an African-American man in his late twenties who had talents as a gunsmith and a reloader and other technical skills as well. He was also "easy on the eyes" according to Gina. ("That's harassment," Gordon had told her when she said it.)

The new council had met for three hours after the election to review applications and re-assign (or confirm) the jobs. (Marissa got to be inventory manager after all.), Then they'd all gone back to their regular work.

"Yeah, in five days, I'll be there," Gavin promised, and he would keep that promise. What he didn't promise was that he would be able to stay for long. "Over."

"Listen, sugar, I've got to go. I've got to go work on Daniel. He says I'm doing wonders for that sprained ankle of his. I've got the magic hands, you know. I love you. Over and out."

March 29, 2011

7 PM
Fun Kingdom

By evening, the theater was completely emptied of patients. Everyone there had been fever-free for twenty-four hours. Mika ran to Luke and gave him a big hug when the cute, curly-haired boy came through the front door of the House of the Future. Hershel embraced Beth for the first time in days, and then Maggie hugged her sister again. Glenn said, "It's good to be out of that theater," and Eliza and Louis Morales hesitantly crept into the living room, where Sophia greeted them each with a hug. "You're in my room for good," she told Eliza. "Mika will share my bed. It's a queen. It's big enough. And you get the trundle."

Dixon put a hand on Louis's shoulder. "And you get a bunk in the space room, kid, with me and Luke."

Rick and Morgan also emerged from the infirmary and reported that everyone there – even Patrick - was now symptom-free. The boys, Tom, and Bob (who had tended them all through his own mild symptoms) would wait out their twenty-four hours, just to be safe, and then they would all be free of their sick prison by tomorrow afternoon.

That evening, Father Gabriel held a service of prayer and gratitude in the Medieval Kingdom stone chapel.

"Hell we got to be grateful for?" Daryl muttered as Carol was changing out of her sweaty work clothes to attend the service. He lay on their bed, half up against the headboard, an arm behind his neck. "That priest seen the cemetery?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm grateful that everyone who was in quarantine in that theater is out and that everyone left in the infirmary will be out tomorrow." She zipped and snapped her jeans. "And I want to pray for Terminus. We haven't heard a word from them yet. I tried three times today. No answer." She pulled a fresh shirt on over her bra and came over and sat on the bed beside him. She rested a hand on his knee. "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to go with me."

"Go if you want me to. Guess it can't hurt. But I ain't changin' m'clothes."

Carol smiled, leaned in, and kissed his cheek.

8 PM
The Sanctuary

"The fence is reinforced," Gavin told the assembled council. Two rows of emergency light glowed faintly above the table. That's what they had for lighting in the halls and factory floor and council room, because it used less power. "Tomorrow I'll have my crew start on subdividing the harem."

"Some people are grumbling about who will be getting those rooms and who won't," Jerel said. "They're suggesting there may be sexual favors involved, since women are getting all of them. And because of what happened with Jose."

"We removed Jose!" Gavin exclaimed. "And people with children are getting those rooms because it's more secure for the kids!" The two apartments that would be made from Negan's quarters would go to two families – a married couple with two children, and another married couple with one child. The harem would go to four single mothers, each with one or two children, some adopted.

"I know. I'm just telling you what people are saying. Rumors are flying that you were jealous of Jose because you wanted Marissa for yourself."

"For Christ's sake!" Gavin muttered. "I've got a woman!" Granted, she was long ways away right now.

"Who?" Gordon asked.

"Frankie," Laura told him. "She's in the Kingdom, but he'll bring her back when he goes."

"What is wrong with people?" Gavin muttered.

"They don't have much entertainment other than gossip," Gina told him. "We need to loot some instruments, get some music going at nights. Gordon can play guitar."

Gordon smiled at her.

"It's not a bad idea," Laura said. "DJ and I can go on a supply run tomorrow. We need to start training the newly appointed supply runners anyway."

"You need to train the guards," Gavin said.

"That, too, but the Hallowbrant guards are here for another four days," Laura said. "And we should see if we can loot some more goods for the marketplace. We aren't getting deliveries from the outposts anymore. We have a lot fewer people to feed with nearly all the Saviors killed in battle, but we aren't getting deliveries."

"Is that what you called all the shit you robbed?" Gordon asked. "Deliveries?"

Laura ignored him. "I motion DJ and I and the two new supply runners go on a supply run tomorrow morning, for instruments, medicines, canned food, whatever we can find."

"We need more work boots," Gordon said. "All sizes."

"All in favor?" Laura looked around the table. "Motion passes, 5-0."

"I motion we should charge rent," Jerel said. "For the apartments, so it looks like they aren't being paid for in other ways. Nothing exorbitant. Just one point a week. A token acknowledgment that these women are getting something other people aren't."

"Will that be enough to shut up the rumors?" Gavin asked.

Jerel shrugged. "Dampen them at least."

"All in favor?" Laura asked. She glanced around the table. "Motion passes, 5-0."

As they were exiting the council chambers and Gavin was heading to his room, Gordon followed him. "Hey, Gavin," he called and Gavin turned.

"What?"

"I think I owe you an apology. About everything I've said about Negan's wives. I didn't realize...you know. I didn't realize you were actually with her. Frankie. That you love her."

Gavin nodded. "Apology accepted." And then he disappeared into his room.

March 30, 2011
Fun Kingdom

Sophia was waiting for the boys when they got released from the infirmary. She gave them all big hugs - first Patrick, then Duane, then Carl.

Carl pulled himself away from Sophia and smiled at her weakly. "Thanks for looking out for my baby sister," he said quietly. "I just wish…." He inhaled through his nose, bit his bottom lip, and dropped his head.

"I know," Sophia told him. "I know you're going to miss him."

Carl shook his head and looked up. "Not him. Not that man you stabbed, whoever he was. But I'm going to miss the man he once was. I'm going to miss my Uncle Shane."

As Carl sniffed in hard through his nose in effort to hold back the tears that were pooling in his blue eyes, Sophia hugged him again.

There was music and laughter and drinking that evening as the smell of charcoal scented the air and elk steaks were grilled alongside fresh onions and tomatoes from Fun Kingdom's gardens. Mustard, ketchup, bags of nacho chips, cans of jalapenos, jars of pickles, and candy lay buffet style on a long picnic table. The puppies nipped on the heels of anyone who ventured to the table with a plate and were occasionally reward with a treat. People ate and talked and sat at various tables or strolled between them, while Beth and Linda, a woman from Woodbury, played guitars and sang happy duets. Father Gabriel soon joined them on a tambourine from one of the gift shops.

Eugene Porter asked a fifty-six-year-old widow, known to everyone as only Mrs. Matthews, to dance. That inspired Tom to take Charlotte for a spin. Oscar titled his head at Rosita and held out his hand, and she said, "Not a snowball's chance in hell. Besides, that gunshot wound has a long way to heal."

"It's just a scratch."

Rosita laughed, kissed his cheek, whispered something, and they disappeared from the crowd.

On a park bench, Bob tapped his foot to the music while Sasha sat on his lap with her arms slung around his shoulders. "I guess people are going to have to start calling you Dr. Stookey now," Sasha told him.

"I didn't go to medical school. I was a paramedic."

"I think you went to the Medical School of Hard Knocks."

At a glass-top table near the ice cream shop, Andrea fed Milton a bite of her elk from a plastic fork. Woodbury's Kristen walked by their table, holding both of the Wolf Cub Darius's hands upward as, babbling happily, the eight-month-old took a few assisted steps. Meanwhile, kids with full stomachs played on the park walkways on skateboards and roller skates and pogo sticks from the gift shops, with Glenn showing them tricks on a skateboard of his own.

Andre, under the loose supervision of the older kids, ferociously pedaled a tricycle. Eliza ran after him and caught him when the tricycle tilted to the side and pushed Andre and trike back up in an upright position. Sophia, who stood on a Segway, shouted, "Race you!" and Carl took off after her on a bicycle. Patrick, on another Segway, tried desperately to keep up, only to slip off for lack of balance.

Inside the House of the Future was a smaller crowd. As Rick fed Judith from a bottle, Michonne sat down next to him on the living room couch. He thanked her for looking after his daughter while he was sick.

"We all helped," Michonne insisted. "Even Daryl changed a poopy diaper once."

"Seriously?" Rick asked, looking up from the suckling Judith at Daryl, who sat on a bar stool by the kitchen counter, throwing back the last Dos Equis in the park.

"Didn't know girls could projectile piss like that," Daryl muttered.

Rick laughed. "I can't believe you volunteered to do that."

"Didn't volunteer. Just had to be done is all. 'Sides. Babies like me."

"Babes do too," Carol told him and playfully leaned over from her own stool to bump his shoulder.

Daryl smiled, a little glassy eyed, at her. "How much did you have to drink, Miss Murphy?"

"Less than you."

"I ain't had that much. Don't worry. Still be able to get it up later." Daryl winked at her.

"Pookie!" Carol waved her hand toward Rick. "We have company."

Michonne chuckled. "Somebody's getting laid tonight. If she can stay awake."

"Like you're one to talk," Carol told her. "How do you know about Rick's strawberry birthmark anyway? That's what I want to know."

"What?" Rick asked Michonne.

Michonne shook her head. "I made that up," she told Carol.

Rick looked from Carol to Michonne in confusion.

"I'll explain it all later," Michonne told him. "Another day. Not today. Today…today is a day for celebration."

"Then take that nipple off that glass of wine," Rick told her with a grin, and Michonne smiled back.

The party wore on, with Carol and Daryl eventually whispering and half stumbling to their bedroom and slamming the door shut behind themselves before tumbling onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and tongues.

It was a night of laughing and playing and feasting and lovemaking throughout the entire park. In Fun Kingdom, the plague had passed.

March 31, 2011
Fun Kingdom

GOVERNING BOARD MEETING MINUTES

Meeting commenced 11 AM March 31, 2011.

All 12 newly elected board members here present:

Hershel Greene
Glenn Rhee
Carol Dixon
Daryl Dixon
Milton Mamet
Andrea Mamet

"Wait, what? Mamet? When did that happen?" Glen asked.

"In quarantine," Andrea replied. "Milton and I decided life was short. And apparently Hershel's already performed two marriage ceremonies, so, we figured, what the hell. Not much else to do trapped in this theater. Let's get hitched."

Sasha Williams
Bob Stookey
Rosita Espinosa
Rick Grimes
Tara Chandler
Tom Wilson

"So your last name ain't Head Electrician?" Daryl asked.

1. Andrea Mamet appointed Board Secretary (Resolved, 12-0)

2. All motions must pass by a minimum vote of 8 board members. (Resolved, 12-0)

3. Carol Dixon appointed Inventory Manager. (Resolved, 12-0)

4. Rosita Espinosa appointed Head of Security. (Resolved, 12-0)

5. Rick Grimes appointed Head Firearms Instructor and given a ration of 50 rounds per week for instruction of the currently non-trained. (Resolved, 10-2)

6. Michonne Hawthorne appointed Head Swordsmanship Instructor and will offer twice weekly lessons to interested parties. (Resolved 12-0)

7. Tara Chambler appointed constable. (Resolved, 8-4)

8. Hershel Greene appointed Manager of Farming. Farm team to include Maggie, Beth, Patricia and two other members to be selected and trained by the farm team. (Resolved, 12-0)

9. Wildlife Management team appointed to consist of Daryl Dixon, Dixon Hayes, and Andrea Mamet. Team will discuss and set limits on hunting and fishing to prevent overharvesting and identify and train 2-3 new hunters and/or fishermen. (Resolved, 10-2)

10. Engineering team appointed to consist of Tom Wilson, Eugene Porter, and Milton Mamet. Team will look into securing additional sources of power and water. (Resolved, 12-0)

11. Bob Stookey appointed Head of Medicine. (Resolved 12-0)

12. Board elections will be held twice yearly on March 31 and September 30. (Resolved, 10-2)

13. Tom will wire the Royal Banquet to be powered by the two solar-gas hybrid generators recently discovered in park storage. These generators will be used to power: (i.) The well water pump that feeds the kitchen sinks and two double-stall restrooms. (ii.) The septic pump for the four toilets. (iii.) The ceiling fans in summer. (iv.) One refrigerator and one freezer. (v.) One oven and one stovetop range. (vi.) Two kitchen outlets for small appliances. (vii.) Four dining room outlets for occasional use as needed – lamps, space heaters, etc. Note: The main fireplace and two private dinning room fireplaces should provide sufficient heat most of the winter. (Resolved, 12-0)

14. Eight gallons of gas per day will be rationed for generator use from gas tanker one. (Resolved, 10-2.)

15. Private dining rooms 1 and 2 in the Royal Banquet to be subdivided into two and three bedrooms each. (Resolved, 12-0.)

16. The main dining room in the Royal Banquet to be subdivided into 3 rooms – (i.) common living / dining room (ii.) Boys'/Men's room (iii.) Girls'/Women's room. (Resolved 11-1)

17. The Frontier Kingdom Model Village will be used for additional housing. Each model dwelling (log cabin, wigwam, adobe, sod house, thatch hut, and teepee) is 320-390 square feet and can house 1-2 people. All contain fireplaces or firepits and are vented for smoke. There is also a fully functional wooden outhouse and a small stone well with manual water pump in the village. (Resolved 12-0)

18. Royal Banquet Private Dining Room 1A assigned to Tom and Charlotte. Private Dining Room 1B to Andrea and Milton. Private Dining Room 2A to Sasha and Bob. Private Room 2B to Kristen, her niece Eryn, and her adopted son Darius. Private Room 2C to Lilly and her niece Meghan. (Resolved 9-3.)

"Did you ask Charlotte if she wanted to shack up with you?" Tara asked Tom.

"Of course I asked! And we talked to her son Owen, too. He's okay with it if he gets to stay with the other kids."

19. Royal Banquet Main Boys' room to house Morgan (adult) and the boys: Duane, Joshua, Evan, Owen, Ethan, Michael, and Grayson. Girls' room to house Mrs. Matthews and Linda (adults) and the girls: Ella, Destiny, Kendra, Molly, Eva, and Savannah. (Resolved, 9-3.)

"Poor Morgan," Carol said. "Left to himself in a room full of rowdy boys. Has anyone asked him if he's okay with that?"

"He'll survive," Rick replied. "He's survived worse."

20. Oscar & Rosita assigned to the log cabin; Father Gabriel to the adobe; Eugene in the sod hut; Tara in the wigwam. Thatch hut and tepee still available. Anyone who wishes to move out of the Royal Banquet or House of the Future may apply to the Board for their use. (Resolved 10-2.)

21. T-Dog appointed Head of Construction for subdivision of the Royal Banquet and renovation of housing in Frontier Kingdom. (Resolved 11-1.)

22. Room shuffle in the House of the Future: Space room will now house Luke, Carl, Louis, Dixon and Andre (with the addition of a cot for Andre). Sophia's room will now house Sophia, Mika, and Eliza. Hershel and Beth will now share the room with two beds. Rick and Judith will move into Hershel's old room (with crib moved down from Glenn and Maggie's room). Michonne will now sleep on the living room couch. (Resolved, 11-1.)

"Although Michonne's welcome to sleep in my bed any night she wants if she wants to do the night feedings," Rick said.

Tom looked shocked. "Geez, man, Lori just died."

"I meant she could have my bed and I'd sleep on the couch, of course! I just feel badly that she's giving up her bed. I should be on the couch, not her. But then she'd be woken up by Judith. Not me. Unless we put the crib in the living room."

"Michonne volunteered to do it that way," Glenn said. "So, let's just do it. The baby shouldn't be in the living room."

23. Residents of the Frontier Kingdom Village and of the House of the Future are allowed two, seven-minute showers per week in the House of the Future. Residents of the Royal Banquet may use the deep kitchen sinks (equipped with spray hoses) for "spot baths" as needed and to wash hair twice per week. The lake and creek may also be used for bathing by anyone. (Resolved, 10-2)

24. Residents of Frontier Kingdom Village may use kitchens in either the Royal Banquet or the House of the Future by appointment. (Resolved, 12-0.)

25. Weekly grill-out on Saturday evenings for entire community, weather permitting. Otherwise, each section (Royal Banquet, House of the Future, Frontier Kingdom) organizes its own meals and must check-out food supplies from inventory. (Resolved 10-2)

26. If it is still not possible to contact Terminus by noon tomorrow, April 1, a team consisting of Daryl, Rick, Rosita, and Sasha will be sent to investigate their fate. Eighteen-wheeler approved for use in case supplies need to be collected from Terminus. Motorcycle approved for use. Ten gallons of gas approved for trip. (Resolved 9-3.)

"You know, I ain't got to get approval to use my own damn motorcycle," Daryl muttered.

Meeting adjourned 12:12 p.m.