Red River Blue

Chapter 6

Her body moved across the small space like it had a will of it's own. Not slowly or stopping until she had her arms around Merle's waist and her head resting against the center of his back. It felt so good to hold him. Like having a cold drink after working hard out in the hot sun all day. She could hear the strong steady thrum of his heart. His body felt so solid. Finally something real to hold onto in the constant swirling chaos of this new world.

She had been so strong for so long. Putting on a brave face for her girls when she really didn't have a single drop of hope left in her. River could feel it washing over her. Everything she had been holding inside her since she watched the first dead person rise up and attack that paramedic on tv. Her breathing started coming and going in short sporadic wheezing gasps. It was dark inside the prison, but suddenly she could see little white spots dancing in front of her eyes.

"Breathe, River. Yer havin' a panic attack honey. Just breathe."

River sucked in a long ragged breath, feeling the burn in her chest. Her sleeping bag was under her and she was lying on the bunk across from her girls with no idea how she got there. Merle's hand was on her wrist, two fingers pressing against the pulse point.

"That's it, slow it down. Just breathe," he told her. She closed her eyes. In through the nose and out through the mouth. Slow and deliberate. Now that she was slowing her breathing down, she could feel her heart pounding wildly in her chest. This was not her first panic attack. But it had been a long time since she had one this bad. All the stress and emotions of the day had just been too much for her body to handle on top of everything else that was going on. The end of the world. That's what was happening.

Her pulse must have slowed down a little, because she felt Merle let go of her wrist. He laid her hand down on the bed next to her body. "Y'alright?," he asked. River nodded, then remembered it might be too dark in the cell for him to see her.

"Yeah," she said. She took another long deep breath. "That was a bad one. Haven't had one that bad in years." She brought her hands up, rubbing at her eyes. Smoothing the little pieces of hair back out of her face. Merle was kneeling on the floor next to her. Which couldn't be very comfortable for him. Yet he stayed there. Still as a statue like he was waiting for her to tell him what to do next.

Her hand crept out, finding his chest in the dark and then ghosting up to rest in the crook of his neck, her thumb brushing across the line of his jaw. He turned into her touch, pressing a kiss into the center of her palm. His face was rough with stubble.

"I jus' want to lie with you," he said, "won't try anythin' funny I swear." River didn't answer, not trusting herself to speak. Instead she moved, shifting her body to make room for him on the narrow mattress. The bed dipped under his weight and then his knees were tucking in behind hers and his arm was wrapping around, pulling her back snug against his chest.

"Just for a few minutes," she whispered, "You can't be in here when the girls wake up." River felt his body tense. He wanted to argue with her. Or maybe what she said had just hurt his feelings. Either way he only tensed up for a moment. Then he relaxed and pulled her close again.

"I'll only stay until ya fall asleep," he assured her. River mumbled something else. Her voice was thick with exhaustion. She clasped his one good hand between her two smaller ones and brought it up to hold it under her chin. Her hips shifted, then her shoulders, tucking in closer to him so that his body was practically engulfing hers. His head was behind hers, his bad arm stretched out at an awkward angle above his head to keep from banging into her with his metal sleeve. If River let him sleep with her again, he was going to need to remember to take that thing off first.

He listened to the sound of her breathing. It only took a few minutes before it became slow and even. Merle thought about staying. Even though he promised he would leave once she was asleep. It felt good to have her in his arms again. The last time had been years before the outbreak. She let him come over while the girls were away at some sort of sleepover.

But he had a throbbing boner that needed his attention before his balls turned blue. And his arm was about to fall alseep from the uncomfortable angle he was lying in. Merle got up slowly and tucked River's sleeping bag in around her. When he stepped outside the cell he startled, backing up and banging his arm piece against the bars with a loud metal clang.

"What the fuck?," he cursed. Carol was standing against the opposite wall. Shrouded by the shadows, he could only see the outline of her body and the glint of her eyes. Like cat's eyes. Standing there watching him like some kind of stalker. Once she knew that he saw her she stepped away from the wall, getting closer to him.

"If you even think about laying your hands on any of them," she hissed, "I'll cut your throat while you sleep."

"That so?," Merle asked her. He didn't back away, instead he moved into her personal space a little. Seeing how serious she was about her threat. He could tell she was afraid, but she held her ground. A soft chuckle, almost silent, issued from him. At that Carol turned and stalked off down the corridor. He watched her go, thinking about how much she had changed since he had known her back at the Atlanta camp. He watched and wondered if his brother had anything to do with that change.

TWD

River woke up actually feeling refreshed for once. She usually sat up most of the night while the girls slept, listening for any possible threat. But here in the prison, she had been able to sleep without being afraid that something or someone was going to creep up on them. River had about five seconds of peace and quiet before Wren's screams rousted her from her bed.

The girl was sitting up on the bottom bunk. Just screaming in absolute terror. The noise was blood curdling. Like she was being ripped limp from limp by some horrible boogeyman. There was blood on the tips of her fingers and River went flying across the small cell to see what was wrong with her. There was blood on the girl's sleeping bag. But not a lot. And most of it was between her legs.

Harley had also been woken by her sister's loud shrieks and she came flying down from the top bunk with a knife in her hand, ready for battle. She stared at her sister for a moment before she figured out what the hell was going on. Then she started laughing. Wren was scared of her own damn period.

"Harley!," her mother hissed at her. That meant stop fucking laughing. Right the fuck now. Harley tried. But it was just so funny. Her mom was sitting in the bed with Wren now, trying to calm the girl down. And she was just carrying on like it was the end of her life. Harley turned and poked around in the small bag she had brought in from the camper. She found what she was looking for. A tampon.

"Stop screaming over your rag Wren," she told her sister, "you've seen me get mine a hundred times. Just plug it up." With that she flung the tampon at her younger sister. It bounced off her head and landed in her lap. Wren looked down at it and started screaming even louder.

By now the horrible screams had woken every single person in the entire prison. And probably anyone else that had the misfortune to be within a mile of the place. Harley's uncle Daryl and her dad both came rushing into the cell like they were ready to kill someone. Uncle Daryl even had his crossbow up. All loaded up with an arrow like he was ready to kill the puberty fairy.

"It's alright," her mom told them, "she's just upset because she started her period." Wren stopped screaming long enough to look over at the two men. She looked at them and then back down at her bloody crotch. Then started up screaming again. Except this time she was screaming for them to GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT! Harley had never seen her Uncle move that fast in her whole life. Him and her dad. They ran out of that cell and scattered like rats. Harley started laughing again, ignoring the dirty looks her mother was giving her.

"STOP LAUGHING AT ME!," Wren hollered at her. She was still screaming, but at least she was making some sense now. Wren buried her face in their mother's shoulder and started sobbing like a baby. River rubbed her back and pointed her finger at Harley.

"Go out to the camper and get her some clean clothes and a maxi pad," she told her older daughter, "this is NOT funny." Harley didn't stop laughing, but she did get up and head in the general direction of the camper. A few seconds later Carol appeared in the doorway. She had a package of wet wipes in her hands and a sheet draped over her arm. River smiled gratefully at her.

The woman came in and tied the sheet up against the bars so they would have a little more privacy. Then she helped River pull her daughter out of bed. By now Wren had managed to regain some form of control over herself. She was still sniveling and wiping at her eyes, but at least the ear peircing shrieking had stopped. River held the girl against her and rubbed her back, assuring her everything was going to be just fine. She was just becoming a woman and that was nothing to be scared of.

"I... I...," Wren stuttered, "I saw the blood and I was afraid those monsters would be able to smell me." River hugged her daughter tighter. Even becoming a woman had been tainted by this stupid outbreak. Not that getting your period was such a joy, but she wished her daughters didn't have to grow up afraid for their lives over every little thing.

"We just need to get you cleaned up and then they won't be able to smell you at all," Carol offered. Wren looked up at her and then looked at her mother for confirmation. River nodded. Harley chose that moment to poke her head back into the cell. Thankfully, she had done as she was asked. There were clean clothes in her hands, and a whole package of pads.

"You can borrow my black yoga pants," Harley offered, "they'll be more comfortable than jeans." She held the items out for her sister. Wren was clinging to mom like a baby koala. She looked at the bundle Harley was offering her suspiciously. "I'm sorry for laughing at you, okay?," Harley finally said. Wren nodded and her little hand snaked out to grab the clothes. Harley stood guard in the doorway of the cell while her mom and Carol helped Wren get cleaned up.

Once Wren was clean and dressed, she felt much better. Her mom and Carol took her clothes and sleeping bag outside to wash them while Harley made them some breakfast. Harley noticed most of the other women were making it a point to stop by and offer her a few words of advice that came with their understanding smiles. She was starting to feel like she had become a member of some kind of secret club that she had not even know existed before.

The women all smiled at her. All except for the quiet black woman that kept the sword strapped to her back. She didn't say a word. And she didn't smile. Instead she set a little crinkly package on the table in front of Wren as she passed by heading outside. A fun sized pack of peanut m&m's. Wren smiled at the woman's back and stuffed the candy into the waistband of her sisters yoga pants because they didn't have any pockets.