Red River Blue
Chapter 27
"Like a damn romance novel," Daryl announced.
Zach was making a big public show of saying goodbye to Beth. As thick as the kid was laying it on her, it was clear they hadn't slept together yet. While the little display of affection was mildly amusing, Daryl was actually feeling a little confused by it. For weeks now, he had been noticing Zach fluttering around his neice Harley like a bee to a flower. Now all of the sudden he was kissing Beth in front of everyone. Including Harley.
Harley swung open the car door, tossing her pack into the backseat. Daryl watched her to see what her reaction to the kiss would be. She was good at keeping her emotions hidden. It always made Daryl feel good to think that they were a little alike in that way. The girl certainly didn't get her composure and self control from either of her loud mouth parents, that was for certain. Maybe she had gotten it from him. Harley was trying to act like she didn't care about Beth and Zach, but she cast one more glance their way before she climbed into the car, the corners of her mouth twisting up into a smirk. Daryl became aware that he had been expecting a very different response from the girl. He had assumed she might be upset. In that moment, Daryl also realized that Zach's story about splitting his lip by tripping over a chair was complete bullshit. Harley had busted his mouth up. If he was a gambling man, Daryl would bet his last pack of smokes on it.
Harley left the car door open, trying to fan out some of the hot air that had accumulated inside. Her dad swung the other door open and slid into the backseat next to her. Harley didn't speak to him but she did bob her head slightly to acknowledge his presence. Her mom leaned into the car to kiss him goodbye. They were kissing all nasty too, with their tounges in each other's mouths. Didn't they ever worry about germs? Harley rolled her eyes and leaned her head back against the seat, willing them to hurry up and knock it off. She heard her mother laughing and then she was poking her head into Harley's side of the car.
"Don't worry Rat, I got kisses for you too," her mother teased, grabbing Harley and planting as many kisses on her face as she could before the girl shoved her off.
"Mooooom," Harley moaned, "leave me alone and don't call me Rat."
Rat was a silly nickname held over from when she was a toddler. Her mother called her that because she said every time she turned her back, Harley would run like a rat. Some of the stories about her running away were sort of funny, but that didn't mean she wanted to be called by a baby name out in front of all the people she was trying to get to treat her like an adult.
"Sorry, sorry," River said. She gripped one of Harley's hands, pulling the girl up and out of the car so she could wrap her up in a tight embrace. "Be careful out there," River said, her voice turning serious as she stroked the wild little bits of curl that had escaped Harley's tight braid. Harley hugged her mother back in her unique way. Tight and fast, like she loved the affection but also wanted to get it over with as quickly as possible.
"I'm always careful," she reminded her mom. Harley let go of her mother and brushed herself off like she was trying to rid herself of love germs. Then she climbed back inside the car, wondering where her sister was and why she wasn't outside slobbering all over everyone. Wren was probably with that boy again. Harley had already warned her sister to stay away from boys. They were nothing but trouble. But Wren didn't seem inclined to listen to her sister's sound advice.
"Yer momma still calls ya Rat?," Merle asked her. He was smiling to himself, the nickname bringing back memories he thought he had all but forgotten years ago.
"Not if she wants so live to see tomorrow she don't," Harley grumbled. That made her dad laugh and she had to fight back her own laughter. Her mom was so crazy sometimes. Who besides her mother would nickname their baby after a dirty rodent?
"Yer mom eva tell ya about the time ya ran away from her in Wal-Mart and broke a huge ass display of wine bottles?," Merle asked the girl. Harley shook her head, but really she was thinking that it depended on which time she ran away that her dad was talking about. She ran away a lot. And broke a lot of shit too. The time he was talking about, Merle had actually been there for that lovely incident.
Sasha fired up the engine of the car and started pulling out behind the truck in front of them while Merle told Harley the story. They stopped for a second to let Michonne climb into the backseat with them. She and Harley hugged and held onto each other's hands in the funny way that only women had of being physically affectionate without having it come off as sexual. To Merle's surprise, once she had greeted her friend, Harley encouraged him to continue on with the story.
Merle and River had come home to Georgia to visit River's mother. The day started out boring enough. They went to the store to buy some food so River could cook her mama dinner. He went along. Mostly because he River had a tight pair of white pants on and he wanted to look at her ass while she walked around the store. And let's be honest, he also wanted to make sure no one else was looking at her ass while she was shopping.
As soon as they got into the place, River made Harley promise to hold onto the shopping cart. In a fairly unsuprising turn of events, as soon as River took her eyes off the girl, Harley broke her promise and took off running. River should have put her ass in the damn cart in the first place, like Merle fucking told her to do about a thousand damn times. Now he was stuck pushing a grocery cart while his wife chased their daughter through the store yelling at the top of her lungs at the girl to stop running away from her. Of course that never worked. As soon as Harley knew she was being chased the little shit would just run ten times faster.
At some point Harley made a beeline for one of those little pink barbie jeeps and climbed inside. River stopped running, assuming that the battery inside the car wasn't hooked up. After all, what store employee would be stupid enough to leave a fully functioning barbie car out in the middle of the store for small children to drive around in? All Merle remembered clearly was hearing River cuss. Every filthy word she knew came flowing out of her mouth in a colorful stream of profanity as Harley tore out of the aisle in the barbie jeep like a goddamn nascar driver.
Harley cleared the first turn and headed down the main aisle of the store. By this time, River was running after her again, holding her breasts with one hand to keep them from bouncing out of her tank top as she hauled ass after her daughter. They both disappeared around the corner. The sound of a loud crash came next, followed quickly by the horrible sound of lots and lots of glass breaking all at once. Merle rounded the corner after them, walking into a scence of complete mass destruction. Harley had rammed straight into a display of wine. And apparently it was a rather flimsy display because the entire fucking thing knocked over and sent all the bottles crashing and smashing onto the hard linoleum floor.
River's mouth was hanging wide open, her eyes wide with shock. She wasn't even old enough to drink legally and she was standing in an expanding lake of what had to be thousands of dollars worth of alcohol. Harley was still stamping her little foot down on the gas pedal of the plastic jeep, the wheels spinning in the puddle of wine, splashing dark red staining liquid all over River and the display of dish towels behind her.
"Take yer purse," Merle hissed, shoving the pink leather bag into River's arms. She grabbed the bag, slinging the straps over her shoulder and looking down in horror at her new white jeans that were now peppered with dark red stains all the way up to her thighs. He grabbed Harley under her armpits and yanked her out of the little pink car. Merle carried her like a football, taking care to keep her legs out behind him because he knew the brat was going to try and kick him. She went for the balls too, even at that age. Grasping River by the soft fleshy part of her upper arm, he dragged her out of the store as fast as they could go without attracting any extra attention.
Michonne was laughing so hard by the time they got to the store that tears were running down her face. She had been hesitant to squeeze into the backseat of the small car with Harley and her father, especially since the man had a foul mouth and a habit of making the most innapropriate comments at the worst possible moments. But now she was glad she didn't ride over with Glenn and Zach. That had been the funniest story she had heard in a long time. And watching Harley try not to laugh while Merle was telling it was even more amusing.
"Are you going to stay awhile this time?," Harley asked the woman once she knew her dad was done embarassing her. She sort of liked hearing stories about when she was little. But now she was eager to change the subject from her years spent as a toddler. She missed Michonne and worried for the woman when she was out on the road alone. Harley had offered to go with her the last time. They even had an extra horse. But her mother had put her foot down over that.
"A little while," Michonne admitted. Carl had asked her the same question the moment she arrived back at the prison. She knew she finding the governor was a lost cause. His trail had gone cold weeks and weeks ago. Finding him would be like finding a needle in a haystack. A walker infested haystack. He was probably dead anyway. Looking for him was becoming less about finding him and more about having an excuse to be away from the prison. Away from the people she was coming to care about more and more. The more she started to care the more afraid she was that she was going to lose them just like she lost Andrea. Just like she lost her son.
TWD
Rick scooped up another bowl full of compost and tried not to laugh at the disgusted look on Wren's face. Her mother was making a similar face, but she had already backed away from the smelly pile. River didn't go on the run, so she had decided to make herself useful helping out in the gardens. In the gardens. Not in a pig pen with a bunch of stinky garbage eating animals.
"Are you sure pigs can eat worms?," Wren asked.
"Worms are good for ya," Rick told her, holding the scoop a little closer so she could get a better look at the wiggly insects. Wren eyed them with equal parts disgust and curiosity.
"Should take some out ta go fishin' with," River called over. She was squatting down by the peas, pulling out weeds and tossing them in a bucket. It was a beautiful day out. Fishing sounded like more fun that pulling weeds in the hot sun all day. And fried fish for dinner sounded like a nice change of pace from the venison and canned veggies they had been eating for the last four nights in a row. Rick nodded his approval, sending Carl and Wren running for a small bucket of dirt to put their worms in.
"Wanta go fishing today?," Rick asked the woman, shading his eyes with his hands. He had been on the fence about River when she first joined their group. She had looked familiar to him right from the start but he had been unable to figure out where he knew her from. He met a lot of people in his line of work and eventually wrote her off as someone he must have come into contact with when he was on duty. One night after dinner, Karen had put on some music. She and River were goofing around, dancing by the wash buckets while they cleaned up the dinner dishes.
The moment Rick saw River shaking her ass, his face turned beet red. He suddenly knew exactly where he recognized her from. That titty bar that Shane used to drag him to when he was fighting with Lori. That was where he saw River. She had been a lot blonder then, and not as thin. And wearing a lot less clothing. But he was sure it was her. Shane had a real thing for the woman. He liked to brag and say he nailed her, but Rick had his doubts about that. There was no way Shane Walsh would pay good money at the titty bar every weekend to see an ass and a pair of titties that he already saw for free.
Once Rick realized who River was, he started actively trying to avoid her. Knowing he had seen her mostly naked just made him uncomfortable. But since his son and her daughter were getting so close, they often ended up at meals or working on small jobs together. Despite her previous line of work and her odd attachment to Daryl's foul mouthed brother, a relationship that Rick would never even begin to pretend to understand, he had slowly decided that he liked River.
Rick didn't give his trust away easily, but River had a way of making the people around her feel comfortable. She was friendly and always quick to volunteer to help with anything that needed to be done. Most times she could be found helping Carol with the laundry and the cooking or stabbing walkers down on the fenceline with Karen. Judith liked her, and River often offered to watch the baby so Beth could have a break from her. At first Rick had kept a close eye on River when she had his daughter in her arms, mostly because she had a tendency to hand the baby off to Merle if he was around. But despite that, it didn't take Rick long to start trusting her. River had raised two babies of her own and that was obvious in the way she interacted with his daughter. She even taught Judith some simple sign language gestures so she could indicate if she was hungry or wanted to go outside. When his daughter heard River's voice or saw her, she would reach for the woman to pick her up. They were cute together.
"It's such a nice day out," River replied with a shrug of her shoulders. It was a nice day. And she was getting cabin fever being locked up behind these fences. Most days she kept busy enough that she didn't mind, but today it felt like all the trees in the woods were calling her. It would be good for Wren to get out too. River didn't want her to stay hidden so long that she would forget how to survive outside these walls.
The best way to get out was to go through the tombs. The kids were armed with their fishing poles and a bucket of worms, which Carl had very politely offered to carry. They also both had knives on them. River had her handgun and a small purple backpack on her back. There were sandwiches and bottles of water and a large flask of sweet tea inside. Rick had the gun on his hip that Hershel had insisted he take if he was going outside the walls and two more fishing poles for him and River to use. The kids were walking ahead, whispering back and forth. Carl shuffled his pole and bucket around, holding them both in one hand so he could have one hand free to hang onto Wren.
"They're cute," Rick said, keeping his voice low enough that his cute son wouldn't hear him and get mad that he was making such a comment.
"That's easy fer you ta say," River quipped, "yer the parent of the boy." Rick laughed, understanding what she was implying. River giggled along with him. Then she added, "Yer right, they're so dang-gone cute I can't take it." She really meant it too. So far the little romance between her daughter and Rick's son seemed innocent enough. River asked her daughter if they had kissed yet. Wren insisted they hadn't, but her face got so red River guessed either they had already kissed or Wren just really wanted to kiss him.
"You think I outta have a talk with him?," Rick asked. He was partly kidding, but partly not. In the middle of the end of the world, having the birds and the bees talk with Carl had not been his top priority. And even back in normal life, Lori had always been the one that handled things like that. But River's joking comment had Rick thinking, he wanted to at least make sure Carl knew to be respectful. His son knocking up Merle's daughter was not a situation that he cared to deal with anytime soon. Or ever.
"You ain't ever had a sex talk with 'im?," River asked, feeling shocked. She had given Wren the basic talk a lot of years ago, back when Harley's pet cat got pregnant. The more detailed information came later, when Wren's body started developing. She had gotten pregnant when she was 14, mostly because she had no idea how to prevent pregnancy. River didn't want that happening to her girls.
"Do ya want me to talk to him?," River offered. Then a wicked smile spread across her face, making her nose look more crooked than normal. "I could see if Merle wants ta talk to 'im," she teased.
"I think I like my son the way he is," Rick joked back, "in one piece." River giggled. She had a contagious laugh. It was very high pitched, like a little girl's laugh, which was odd since her normal speaking voice was much lower.
The bright light of the outside world loomed up ahead of them. Rick flipped his flashlight off and River stopped laughing. Outside the walls, staying quiet meant staying safe. Carl and Wren waited at the exit for their parents to catch up. Rick went out first, with River close behind him. They scanned the area quickly, checking for walkers. There was one, shuffling towards them, but one walker was nothing to be alarmed about. Rick stabbed it through the eye with his knife and motioned to the kids that it was safe for them to come out.
River felt more afraid than she thought she would be. She had been right. It had been too long since she had been outside the fences. The next walker that they happened upon, River made sure to kill it herself. Using her knife, she came up under it's chin, stabbing up and back towards the stem of the brain. It dropped instantly. That made her feel better. She could alread feel some of the tension and fear leave her body.
People went back and forth from the prison to the small fishing lake often enough that there was a well trampled path for them to follow. Just in case, there were some markings spray painted on the trees that showed the way. River saw another walker. This one used to be a woman. She started off the trail after it, but before she could get too close the walker dropped to it's knees and started cutting at a half dead boar with a knife. River felt Rick's arm go around her waist. It was the first time he had ever really made any sort of body contact with her. He pulled her back and shoved her behind him, next to the kids. Then he approached the strange looking walker woman.
She was so filthy, just looking at her made River itchy. There was something smeared all over her face that looked like fungus. They had all lost weight since the outbreak but this woman was crack whore skinny. As soon as Rick started talking to the woman, River slung her pack down off her shoulder and dug out the sandwich she had packed for herself.
River didn't step in front of Rick, but rather reached around him to hand the foil wrapped package to the woman. The woman took it, but made no move to unwrap or consume the food. That made River uneasy. This woman had to be hungry. But she was just holding the sandwich like she wasn't interested in it at all. And there was no way River was taking her food back and eating it after this woman touched it with her dirty fungus hands. Waste of a good sandwich is what that was.
The woman asked them for help. She claimed her husband was back at their camp and needed medical assistance. That was never a good sign. River had her doubts, but she followed Rick when he decided to go with the woman. River did lean in close to her daughter and warn her to stay away from the strange woman. Then she took Wren by the hand and kept her close.
As they walked, Rick talked to the woman and asked her questions. It didn't take them long to get to the woman's campsite. The tent looked like it had been up a while, which made River more uneasy. She didn't like the idea that people were camping so close to the prison without them knowing about it. But more concening was that there was no husband to be found anywhere. River glanced into the tent, thinking maybe the sick man in question was sleeping or resting inside. The tent was empty. And there was only one sleeping bag inside. This whole thing stunk of some kind of trick.
River spun around with the intention of either confronting this crazy woman or telling Rick they needed to leave. But before the words were out of her mouth the crazy bitch lunged at Rick. She knocked him to the ground, trying to stab at him with a knife that looked even dirtier than she was. Wren screamed. Carl pulled out his knife, edging towards the struggling pair and looking unsure of what he was going to do. River fumbled for her gun, then changed her mind. She wasn't the best shot ever and she didn't want to hit Rick by accident. Instead she reached down and seized one of the fishing poles that Rick had dropped when the strange woman lunged at him.
"Hey bitch," River hollered at the woman. The woman looked up. River was gripping the fishing pole like a one of Harley's softball bats. She swung it so hard she could hear the air whistle as the long bendy switch cut across the open space. It slammed into the woman's face. River hit the woman so hard the pole broke as she was knocked backwards. Aiming for the ribs, River kicked the woman hard enough to roll her the rest of the way off Rick. Then River stepped on her throat, choking her. Rick scrambled to his feet, watching River and the woman that had tried to kill him. Just from what he had seen, he could tell this was not River's first fight. The woman slashed at River's leg with the knife that was still in her hands, but Rick was ready. He lunged, grabbing the woman's wrist and twisting it until she dropped her weapon. Then he tossed the dirty blade away from them into the woods.
"I can shoot her," Rick offered. River was still standing over the woman, crushing her windpipe with the sole of her scuffed pink converse sneaker. Choking her. The woman's legs were twitching. Rick knew she was close to death. He had killed his share of people since the dead started walking, but for some reason it was making him sick to watch River choke this woman to death. She might have been in a few fights before, but Rick doubted she had killed anyone. He didn't want her to have to do it. Rick put his arm around River's slim waist again, pulling her back. She tugged back for a moment but then allowed him to move her away from her intended victim. Without River stomping on her throat, the woman sucked in a ragged breath, gasping and coughing up splatters of blood. Then the side of her head exploded as a bullet from Rick's gun tore through it.