Chapter Twenty: The Opposite of Us
Having gotten up early, I made a mug of instant coffee, grabbing a protein bar before making my way outside. I sat in the eating pavilion, looking out over the fields. I could hear the animals making noise. Able to see the pigpen and stable that held the livestock that would sustain our people. It was the perfect temperature right now, making me just want to sit here all day. But I knew that people would start to wake up and roam out here for breakfast. I'd be forced into simple chitchat and be thanked for everything I've done for the community. I felt like I'd done nothing. I was just living.
Since I'd been here – a part of this group – it always seemed like that initial group was always revered higher than everyone else. As well as Sasha and Tyreese. Even Karen had climbed ranks. But Rick and his group, along with me and Michonne, we were held to higher standards and sometimes it felt impossible to hold them up. I was just me. I wanted to be just me. I didn't want to feel like I was responsible for anyone let alone everyone. But – like always – it would seem that I would never get my way. I had Michonne to look after. Maggie. Glenn. Daryl. Rick. Ray. The list was getting long. But thanks to Hershel, I was able to feel better about it. He had definitely been the light during a dark time. A time where the feeling of metal in my hand was the only security there was. That fighting and killing was the only options in the world. But it wasn't. I wasn't alone in that and it was the reason why I was out here now. I wasn't the only one who had to choose a different way. But the more time passed, I was feeling better. I felt like the old me again.
Thinking about the few weeks since mine and Rick's run; I was finally starting to feel peace once again settle on me. Being in a better place with Rick definitely made all the difference. I finally could be happy – truly happy – without the weight of my hatred weighing me down. Or the sadness I'd been carrying around with me.
Finishing my coffee, I stood, starting to walk toward the gate, only to be bumped from the side. "Morning." I smiled at Rick.
"Morning." He smiled back. "How are you feeling?"
I nodded at him, "I feel good."
"Need help changing the bandages?" He asked.
"Yeah." I replied. "After chores are done I would appreciate it." I watched him splash water on his face from the barrel by the gate. "Though they're healed. I don't know why we're still worrying about them."
"You know what Hershel said." He replied.
Laughing lightly, I nodded, "I remember."
"Good." He said as we passed through the gate. "Here."
"What's this?" I asked as I took the iPod from him.
"Days get long working out here all day." He stated as he looked up at the sun. "I thought you could use a little distraction."
"Thank you, Rick." I smiled at him. "It means a lot."
He nodded, "I've, uh, had it for a while now. I was planning on using it as a way to break through but we managed without it."
Laughing, tipping my head back, I nodded at him, "That we did, baby. That we did."
Putting the buds in my ears, I looked through the music. Whoever had owned it before me had a broad taste in music. A wide smile crossed my face as I picked a song, the first notes making my hips swing.
It was going to be a good day.
Going straight to the animals while Rick headed down to the fields, I moved to the music, my audience of pigs weren't quiet as impressed as our horses were. Our remaining mare bobbed her head with me, walking in circles as I danced my ass off in the middle of their small pasture. I was breathing hard when I finally stopped, looking toward Rick who was still tilling the soil. He caught me, smiling as he waved. Waving back, I took a deep breath, starting to muck and clean and brush down and everything else that the animals required.
"Looks like you were having fun up here." He smiled when he was done, coming up to the fence, both his hands on top of it.
Laughing, I stepped up to him from the other side, putting my hands on the fence between his, "I was. I can't thank you enough. I feel pretty damn alive today."
"Good." He smiled. "That's good. I'm glad."
"I'm glad you're glad." I replied and laughed again, my stomach fluttering as he covered my hands with his.
"You didn't wake me up." Carl interrupted as he walked toward us.
"'Because I knew you were up all night reading comics with a flashlight." Rick replied.
"So was she." He stated and looked at me.
Rick smirked at me.
"Not all night." I defended.
"Yeah." He nodded. "You spend more nights in his cell than yours." He added and shook his head.
"So? We like comics. Sometimes it's more fun to read together than separately. It's not like we have two copies or anything."
"And you're too impatient to wait for me to finish them." Carl stated.
I just shrugged at him, "It's not like you're complaining."
"No." He replied, looking at the pigs. "What's up with Violet?"
"Carl, I told you not to name them. They're not piglets anymore. They're food." Rick scolded.
"I just thought, you know, until…" He started but stopped. "Okay."
"I don't know what's going on with her." Rick went on with a kinder tone. "Could be sick, could be nothing." Then he smiled, adding, "Feel better, Violet." We all laughed. "Well, what are your thoughts?" He asked me.
"I think she's sick." I told him. "But I'm hoping that it's just something she ate and nothing more serious. She was fine yesterday so I'm going to keep a close eye on her for the next few days. If she doesn't come out of it than we'll have to put her down. Can't risk it spreading to everybody. So far no one else seems to be sick."
"Okay." Rick nodded.
"And for the record," I told him, "we named them together. That's Herbert, Louise, and Harper."
He laughed lightly, shaking his head, "You, too?"
"I am the vet tech after all. I can't not name them." I stated.
"She's really good with them." Carl told his father.
Rick nodded, "I've noticed."
Watching him for a moment, I couldn't help but latch onto the compliment. It was nice.
"But what are you gonna do when it comes time to eat them?"
"Before this new world, I wouldn't have been able to do it. But now that it's eat or be eaten, Herbert is gonna taste real nice."
Both Grimes men laughed. Letting silence linger for a few minutes, we watched the pigs play. They'd grown up fast and I missed their piglet days. They were so stinking cute.
"I grew up on a farm, and even then, me and my sisters would name everything, giving them all a ceremony before they were butchered."
"And you ate them?" Carl asked.
"Oh, hell no." I told him. "We swapped meat with the neighbors so we wouldn't have to."
"Your dad probably just told you that to make you feel better. You probably ate all of them." Rick stated nonchalantly.
There was a horrible truth to that. "That…is a horrible thing to say." I replied, feigning horror.
"Yeah, Dad. Way to torture her."
"Linny knows I'm kidding." Rick said before smirking, "Sort of."
"Hey." I said and gently shoved him. "Not nice."
He laughed and met my eyes. "What are your plans for the day?"
"I don't know. There are so many things to choose from." I smirked at him.
He grinned, momentarily bowing his head, "Care to help with the gardening?"
"I would love to." I smiled at him. "Carl?"
"Yeah. Okay." He replied, bobbing his head.
Smiling at him, I wrapped my arm around his neck, "Good. You need a little more responsibility around here."
"And it's not like I've been given much of a choice." He added under his breath.
"True enough."
"Caroline." Hershel called from behind me.
"Good morning." I smiled, wrapping my arm around him as he stepped next to me. "Ready to teach."
"Only if you're ready to listen." He smirked.
"Hey, I know a thing or two about farming. I was raised on one."
"But you do not have a green thumb." He stated.
Laughing, tilting my head back, I nodded, "That is true."
Going to every growing plant, Hershel knelt down, gripping leaves that were being overshadowed by the rest of the plant. "These leaves are gonna be in the shade, so we won't get any good fruit from it. So we just pinch it off here. Things break, but they can still grow. These little bristles, they'll take root and we'll have a whole new plant."
"That made way more sense to me than when my dad tried to tell me." I stated.
"That's probably because you were disinterested at the time." Hershel replied.
Nodding, I smiled at him, "You know me too well."
"Where's Ray?" He asked. "I thought you were going to make her start helping."
I sighed, "She's been doing better. She's been participating in story time, helping Carol with all the kids. I can't make her change too quickly. So if she's putting effort in, I can't say anything."
He nodded, "I'm glad. She needs direction. Carol is a good person to help with that."
"Yeah. Since I've failed left and right."
"You haven't failed." Rick stated. "She's just more stubborn than you are."
"Ha-ha." I smiled at him.
Hearing a whistle, my stomach jumped, knowing exactly who it was. Looking to the gate, I was already running, the men with me as they opened the gate. Hearing hooves, Michonne came into view, riding up on the stallion.
"I've missed you!" I exclaimed as I stepped up to her and the horse. She opened her arms to me only to have me hug the horse's nose as he pressed his forehead against me.
"I see where I stand." She grinned at me.
"Kidding." I said and hugged her tightly. "You gotta stop spending so much time out there. Stay home for a change."
"That's why you're here." She smirked.
Rolling my eyes, Rick and Carl came up to us.
"We're glad to see you." Rick smiled.
"Glad to see you, too." She smiled back before looking at Carl. "Somebody hit the jackpot." She told him as she pulled out comics and handed them to him.
"No way." He said with awe. "Awesome! Thank you."
"I get to read 'em when you're done." She smiled at him.
"When we are done." I stated.
Carl shook his head at me, "You just can't wait, can you?"
"Nope." I grinned at him.
"And I found this." Michonne added as she handed Rick an electric razor. "Your face is losing the war."
Smiling, I stepped next to her, "She's not wrong."
"You can't talk, Sasquatch Legs." He grinned at me.
My mouth fell open and then I was hitting him, "That was one time."
"And I remember."
"Asshole." I said shaking my head as I partially moved behind Michonne. She just laughed at me.
"You gonna stay a little while?" He asked her.
"Just a little while."
We were interrupted by Daryl's motorcycle approaching. "Damn. I forgot about the run."
He stopped and looked at Michonne, "Well, look who's back."
Michonne looked at him sadly, "Didn't find him."
"Glad to see you in one piece."
"I'm thinking of looking over near Macon." She told him, though he didn't look pleased. "It's worth a shot."
"70 miles of walkers. You might run into a few un-neighborly types. Is it?" He asked her, not getting a reply. Then he looked up at Rick. "I'm gonna go check out the Big Spot. The one I was talking about, just seeing."
"Yeah, I got to go out and check the snares. I don't want to lose whatever we catch to the walkers."
"I'll go." Michonne volunteered.
"You just got here." Carl complained.
She simply smiled at him, "And I'll be back."
Putting my hand on Daryl's shoulder, I met his eyes with a serious look, "Please be careful."
"Always am." He nodded, wrapping his arm around my waist.
Sighing, I nodded back, pressing a kiss against his forehead. "Be smart."
"Always am." He repeated, smirking now.
Smirking back, I put my hand against his cheek, "See you soon."
"Be good." He told me before revving the bike and moved forward.
Walking with Carl to the pasture, we put the horse back, taking the tack off and started to give it a good brush down.
"He'll be fine." Carl told me.
"I know." I smiled. "He always is."
Then Rick walked up, "You seem anxious."
"Now that I don't go with all the time, I'm always anxious when they go." I replied.
"Going to check the snares?" Carl asked him.
"I am. You're not. Do your chores. Read comics. Maybe some books, too. Hang out with Patrick. Maybe go to story time."
"Dad, that's for kids."
"Yeah. Now finish brushing him down." He told him. Then he looked at me, "Wanna come?"
"Yeah." I nodded. "Daddy." I grinned at Hershel.
He smiled at me before meeting Rick's eyes. "Nothing wrong with staying close, Rick. Everyone understands. You're growing us enough food so we won't need to do runs soon. But we do have to find you a good pair of overalls. You need to look the part. A little piece of wheat out of the corner of your mouth. Maybe a bigger ass."
Rick laughed, "Yeah."
"Listen, the rest of the council – Daryl, Glenn, Carol, Sasha, all of them – they wanted me to talk to you. When you go out there, you got to take your gun."
My head shot up to Rick, seeing the stubbornness on his face.
"It's just outside the fence. I have my knife. I get in trouble, six bullets isn't gonna make the difference." He replied. "Plus, I'll have Linny."
"Rick." I told him gently. "Even I take a gun when I go."
Hershel nodded, "Rick, we want you to be safe. Bring your gun."
"Linny will have hers." He tried again.
"And if something happens to me?" I frowned at him. He shifted feet, meeting my eyes with a hard look. "Shit happens, Rick. Who knows what we'll run into? What if we get separated?" He sighed and nodded. "Thank you." I smiled at him.
"Only to ease your mind." He smirked.
Smiling, I gently shoved him, watching him walk off to get his weapon. Turning to Hershel, I put my hand on his arm, kissing his cheek, "We'll be back before dark."
"Take care of each other." He told me as he walked me to the gate.
"Always." I smiled at him. Looking up, listening to the voices in the pavilion, I could see Ray among them, sitting apart from the main group of people. "Will you keep an eye on her for me? If she gets out of hand force her to do whatever you want her to do."
He smiled, "I'll keep an eye on her."
"Thank you." I smiled.
"You ready?" Rick asked as he stepped up to me.
I nodded, "If you are."
He just smiled, his arm finding my waist before he spun me, making me face the woods. Moving into them, we followed the same path we had been for months, checking each trap, hoping that something was in all of them. Rick and Daryl had done most of them, but I had been learning, wanting to know as much as possible. Who knew what the future would bring? I wanted to be prepared for anything.
"Do you think Violet will be okay?" Rick asked.
"You're awfully worried about her." I smirked.
"She's big and she's a good mother. We should either attempt to breed her or butcher her when the others are bigger. If we do that, she'll feed a lot of people." He replied.
"All good points." I told him.
"If she's sick can we still eat her?" He asked.
"No." I replied quickly and seriously. "I do think she's sick and if that's the case we need to euthanize and burn her to hopefully kill whatever pathogen she might be carrying. Zoonotic diseases are nothing to play around with."
"Zoonotic?" He frowned.
"Diseases that can be passed from animal to human." I replied.
"That's a thing?" He asked next.
"Yeah." I nodded. "You were a deputy. I'm sure you've heard of rabies and cat scratch fever."
"Yeah." He nodded back.
"Both are zoonotic diseases. So is toxoplasmosis, worms, salmonella, Lyme's disease, e. coli, anthrax, giardia, listeria, the plague –"
"I get it." He told me with a frown.
"Sorry."
"You're just full of knowledge." He added with a smirk.
I raised my hand, "CVT." He laughed. "I didn't get the 'C' because I was stupid."
"I would never think you were stupid." He stated.
"And I appreciate that." I smiled.
Finding a rabbit, he walked me through resetting the snare before we moved on. Even though he already knew that knew exactly how to do it. Next we found a deer but it had been torn apart by walkers. It was fly ridden and smelled horrible. Though I found the scent of its rotting flesh better than that of a destroyed walker. They had a distinctive smell that you just can't forget. Like parvo. Ew.
"Can I ask you a question?" He asked me as we walked.
"Of course." I replied, snapping a stick in my face. "Ow."
He laughed, putting his hand against my face, his thumb touching the line it had made. "How the hell have you made it this long?" He teased.
I laughed, "Sometimes I have no idea."
"I'm just going to call it a sign of happiness." He replied.
Grinning, I nodded, "Yeah. I think you'd be right." He smiled and then we kept moving. "You had a question?"
"No." He replied. "I think I already know the answer."
Hearing something up ahead, the snare came into sight, a big black boar stuck in it.
"Damn it." I whispered, hearing the way it was breathing. It was sick.
I was about to move to it, to assess it better, but before I could take two steps there was the sound of rustling. Rick gripped my waist, pulling me backward and behind a tree. He gripped me tightly as we watched a very emaciated woman come into view, kneeling next to the boar. She needed it more than we did. Rick motioned toward the way we had come. Nodding, we attempted to leave as silently as possible.
"Wait. Please." She called out to us. Her voice accented. "Please? Please help me."
She sounded so defeated. Turning back to her, she was hideous. She was filthy and skinny and her teeth were discolored. Her clothes were in rags and she was clearly suffering. It was sad. Gripping Rick's wrist, I felt a wave of emotion. This could have been me. This could have been us. This could still be us. This is what the world was now. Was this what we had to look forward to? No. No, we were going to be okay. We had a good life. We would keep it.
"I know you don't know me." She told us. "Okay, I know that. But can you please help me get this to my husband? We haven't eaten in days."
Rick stepped toward her, my hand slipping from him, pulling out the tinfoil of meat that he'd brought. "Here. Go ahead."
"Thank you." She said as she took it. "Do you have a camp around here?"
"Yeah."
"Could we possibly come back with you? We've been doing…very badly on our own."
Rick stepped back until his arm brushed mine, "We'd have to meet him. I need to ask him some questions, both of you."
"What questions?"
"Just three. When we get there." He told her getting a nod in response. "You have a gun on you?" She shook her head. "Can I make sure?" She nodded and he stepped forward, patting her down, only finding a knife. "Yeah. Look, I don't know you, so I'm just going to tell you this. You try anything – anything – you're gonna be the one who loses."
"I don't have anything else to lose."
"No." Rick told her. "You do."
"Rick." I said softly. He looked at me and nodded. "Okay." Keeping his eyes for a moment, I looked at the woman. "Lead the way." She nodded and quickly turned and started back the direction she had come from. "Will you tell us your story?" I asked her.
"We were going to Puerto Vallarta for our honeymoon." She started.
I immediately felt sorry for her. She had just gotten married. She was going to start a life with the man she loved. It sucked. God it sucked.
"When they shut down the airports, our connecting flight never connected. They wouldn't let us leave the terminal, so…we slept next to these huge marble sculptures from Zimbabwe. Then, on the fourth night, the things just came through. There were a lot of us and…now it's just Eddie and me. And I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for him. And it isn't that…he saved me over and over again or that he showed me the things that I had to do or…to be willing to do. If he wasn't still here…I – I couldn't be. I just – I couldn't."
Rick looked at me, anxiousness filling him, "What were they?"
"What?" She asked.
"The things you had to be willing to do?" I replied softly.
"Um…eating whatever we could find – animal carcasses and rotten fruit – and…leaving people behind. Hiding from people who needed my help. Unlike you." She replied.
"You don't know what we've done." I frowned at her.
"This is not charity." Rick added, his fingers briefly brushing mine. "You have to have numbers. People are the best defense against walkers or people. We help each other."
"You call them "walkers"?"
"What do you call them?" I asked.
She never replied, making an awkward silence fall between us as we kept walking. I gave Rick a look and he offered me his hand. Reaching for him, I tripped and slammed to the ground. He grinned, attempting not to laugh as he helped me back up. Brushing myself off I sighed at him. He offered me his hand again and I took it, holding it only a few minutes before letting it go again, settling for intermittently gripping the back of his shirt.
"I saw those sculptures at the airport once. My favorite was the kids playing leapfrog."
The woman glanced at him, "Mine, too."
"All the animal ones were my favorite." I piped up. "Except for the ants. Those were creepy."
Rick smiled at me.
"What Eddie and I had to do, did you do things like that? Did you? Do you think you get to come back from them?"
Rick looked at me before replying, "I hope so."
"Yeah? I hope we answer your three questions to your satisfaction." She told him with a glimmer of hope.
Coming out into a small clearing, their camp came into sight. The woman moving just a little bit faster. "It's just ahead." She told us. "Eddie. Oh, thank God you're still here. This is Rick. He's gonna help us." She said as she knelt in front of a wooden box. "Everything's gonna be okay. Everything –" She was breathing heavily.
"Rick." I said as I looked in the tent.
It looked like it was only for one. Looking around, I would think only one person lived here. Looking back at the woman, you could hear the sounds. Eddie was here all right, only from what I could tell, it was only his head. Rick and I looked at each other, only then there was the sound of a blade scraping. I felt my eyes grow wide as Rick turned just in time to deflect the woman as she attempted to stab him. We both pulled our guns out, aiming them at her.
"What the hell?" I said as I looked down at her pitiful form.
"Damn it!" Rick yelled.
She was sobbing on the ground. "I wanted to take the boar. I just knew – I knew I'd get you here so much quicker. He's starving. He's slowing. He needs something alive."
Rick moved toward the box while I kept my gun trained on her. Afraid to even blink in case she tried something else.
"Please, I told you, I can't be without him." She said as she got to her knees. "And so I kept him. It was wrong. I can't do things like this. And – and you have to do things like this. Let me be like him. Don't stop it. Don't end it after."
She raised the knife and I jerked toward her, "Wait!"
"No." Rick said.
"Let me be with him."
"No!"
It was too late. I gripped her arm a second too late as she stabbed herself. Even with my hand against her she stabbed herself again. I was too shocked to stop her, staring wide eyed as she fell to the side. My hands were shaking as I looked up at Rick. He was staring down at her with tears in his eyes.
Looking back at her, I gently moved the hair from her face, "It's gonna be okay."
"Don't stop it."
"I won't."
Rick bent down next to me, "Hey."
"What were…the questions? The three questions?" She asked as she started to struggle for breath.
He looked at me and I quickly put my hand on his arm, nodding at him, "How many walkers have you killed?"
"Eddie – Eddie killed – killed them all. Until…"
"How many people have you killed?"
"Just me." She said and gasped. "Just me."
The last question he pushed out with difficulty, "Why?"
"You don't – you don't get to come back. You don't get to come back from things. You don't…"
Then she died.
Shutting my eyes, tears slid down my cheeks, putting my hand against her arm. Hearing Rick, I looked up, seeing him already swiftly walking away. Looking back at her, I nodded, running my hand down her hair before I stood and slowly started to follow him.
"Rick." I said as he kept a fair distance between us. "Rick, stop." He shook his head and seemed to pick up his pace. "Rick!" I said and jogged after him, spinning in front him, putting my hands against his chest, forcing him to stop. "Please." He just met my eyes. "It wasn't your fault." I told him shaking my head. "She was too far gone. She kept her husband's head for God's sake." He just nodded at me. Taking his head in my hands, I stepped closer to him, "There was nothing you could do, Rick. Some things are out of your control." He sighed, lowering his eyes. Taking another step toward him, I pressed my forehead to his, "It's okay, Rick. It sucks but it's okay."
He gently gripped my wrist, leaning away and met my eyes. Nodding, he pulled me against him, wrapping me in his arms. Doing the same, I gripped him as tightly as I could. Gripping his hair, I sighed, feeling him press his face into my neck. He leaned away and his eyes met mine again. Smiling, I put my hand against his face, rubbing his cheek with my thumb.
"Let's go home." I smiled. He smiled, sighing again. "Come on."
Starting to walk again, I unintentionally made another branch smack me in the face, making me jerk back. Rick laughed, his arm finding my waist, moving me behind him. Gripping the top of his pants, I followed him, tripping before finally moving next to him. He laughed, making me just grin at him, happy to see him smile.
We still checked the other snares before we made our way back to the prison, conversation flowing freely along the way. When we got there, I stayed unusually close to him, feeling like he needed comfort, before I finally veered off. I wanted to check on Violet, hoping with all of me that she had bounced back. Grinning, ready to greet her, I stopped, seeing her lying in the mud.
"Damn it." I said and jumped over the fence, rushing to her. Checking her, she was dead. "Damn it." I repeated.
"Linny?" Rick said, making me look at him.
"She's dead." I told him, looking at her babies. They still looked okay. "We should take care of her right away." I added as I scooped her into my arms.
"Caroline, hand her to me." He told me.
"Just get the gate." I shot at him.
He sighed and opened it. Moving away from the pen, going to where the dead would be buried, there was little grass. Rick followed with a container of gasoline and a lighter. Setting her down apart from the graves, I put my hand against her shoulder.
"I'm sorry." I told her.
"Linny, step back." Rick said as he came up behind me.
I stood and turned to him, "Let me."
"No." He told me. "Just let me handle it."
"Rick." I said with a hard tone. "Let me."
He sighed and handed it over. I didn't hesitate to pour some of the gas over her, quickly lighting it. Stepping back, I watched her burn. Rick stepped next to me, staying quiet for a moment before I felt him staring at me.
"Is this where I tell you that there was nothing you could do?" He said softly, smiling at me.
Meeting his eyes, I cracked a smile, "Yes that would help."
"Linny." He said stepping in front of me, taking my head in his hands. "There was nothing you could have done. It wasn't your fault."
Laughing, I wrapped my arms around his neck, "Thank you."
Walking back up to the prison, I went to my cell, changing before showering quick. Not saying a word, when I went back to the cell, Ray looked down from the top bunk. She followed me with her eyes, her brows furrowed but so far she hadn't said anything.
"You okay?" She finally asked.
I sighed, "Violet died."
"Really?" She replied without feeling. "What a waste of meat." I glared up at her. "Sorry." She added quickly. "I know you like the animals."
"Yeah." I nodded.
"Linny?" Maggie said appearing in the doorway.
"Hey." I smiled.
"Do you have a minute?" She asked.
I was immediately on edge, "Of course." I looked up at Ray, "You good?"
"Yeah." She nodded.
Putting my hand on hers, I smiled before following Maggie. She led me back outside and back down to the pens. She looked at them, frowning before she looked to where there was smoke in the air.
"What happened?" She frowned.
"Violet died." I told her. "What's up?"
She smiled before letting it fall, "I'm not pregnant."
I sighed, frowning at her, "I'm so sorry, Maggie. I know you wanted to be."
She nodded, "I did. But Glenn didn't. It's better this way."
Smiling, I hugged her tightly, "I'm still sorry."
She sighed and relaxed against me, "Thank you."
It was a short talk before we went back up to the prison. Dinner was being made and I was eager to fill my stomach and to just go to bed. Taking my plate of food back inside with me, I was nearly to my cell, smiling as I saw Daryl leaning against the frame of it.
"Hey, handsome." I grinned. "What are you up to?"
He sighed and gave me that look. Setting my food on the small table, I turned and pulled him into me, hugging him tightly. Gripping his hair, I pressed my face into his neck. He just gripped me tighter, making it almost painful.
"It's okay, Daryl." I told him. "You did everything that you could."
He scoffed and let me go, "You don't even know what happened."
Smiling, I nodded, "No, but I know you."
He nodded, looking defeated. "I'm sick of losing people."
"I know." I told him. "Eat with me and then let's just crash for the night. Sound good to you?"
"Very." He replied.
Eating, we talked, trying to keep each other's minds off of the day's events. I didn't feel much like talking about it and neither did he. People died today. A good pig died today. He wasn't the only one who was tired of losing people. After, he laid down, making me roll over him, my back pressed against the wall as I nestled against his side. He stared at the ceiling but I shut my eyes, liking the warmth of him as I swiftly drifted off to sleep. There were definite perks to him being a man of few words.
Another chapter down and a hundred to go! Hope you all are enjoying it! I'd love any feedback you may have. Things that work and don't or if something doesn't make sense or needs further explanation. I do love the editing process! And I do know I can get carried away with things. =)
Lots and lots of funness ahead!
THANK YOU!