Chapter 20

BPOV

Rick was no longer there when I arrived back to the tent, or at least, where the tent used to be. Daryl had taken everything down and was just finishing strapping it to his bike when I showed up. At least someone around here was taking my advice. Right away I noticed he had even rolled up my blanket for me and then rolled it up inside of his sleeping bag; the yellow barley poked out of the green, but I could see it. He apparently knew it was special to me and was trying to keep it clean; or that's what I chose to believe. It could've just been more convenient to do it that way, but I didn't think so. If that was the case, he could've just left it tossed to the side for me to deal with when I returned, but he didn't. It made my heart skip a beat and a small blush come to my cheeks. It was stupid to get worked up about what he did with my blanket, but to me it showed he took notice and cared about what he did with it. It also showed me that he intended for me to ride with him to the prison when we left.

"Thank you Daryl" I said nodding to the bags on the bike. "Weren't nothin'" was his predictable reply as he shrugged off my thanks while messing with the straps on the bike, but I wasn't going to let it go so easily this time. "My mother made that for me, she couldn't sew for shit but she did her best. It means a lot to me, so really, thank you Daryl" I said softly with a smile. His ears turned red and he looked away from me, but he nodded once to show his acceptance. It was one of the first personal things I really shared with him since we usually kept things light, but I really wanted him to know it meant a lot to me. I went over to the bike and was just taking my pack off, when Daryl was suddenly in front of me looking angry "What happen'd to you?" as he gestured to the bruises on my upper arms. Even if I had wanted to lie about it, which I didn't, there would've been no point as you could clearly see the hand shaped bruises. Ugh.. Just when I was bruise free I had to go and get some more. They really stuck out on my pale skin, my t-shirt unable to hide them.

"That's what I came to talk to you about…" I said going on to tell him about Shane. He said that with all the prison stuff going on he hadn't seen Shane around. I let him know that I was kind of worried for Rick, because Shane was going to do whatever it took to claim 'his family' as he had put it. There wasn't anything to worry about right this minute, as Rick had taken the last large load of stuff along with most of the group to the prison, but he would be back later; Rick had finally done something sensible. I was hesitant to tell him about my plan for Randall for some reason. I guess I didn't want him to judge me for what I needed to do, or worse yet, him try to take on the dirty deed so I didn't have to. We spoke for a while longer, discussing exit strategies and meet up locations if things went south before we left the farm. Then we both went to go see about helping the others who were left on the farm and make sure everyone was accounted for.

I found Glenn near the farmhouse loading a fuckton of suitcases into the bed of the farm truck. "Holy shit, what's in all those?" I asked him nodding to the bags. He took a rag from his pocket and wiped his face "Maggie's stuff" was his reply. "Uh oh, that didn't sound very happy Glenn, you ok? What's going on?" He looked around then back to me before saying "I feel like she's just using me… I have some feelings but she made it pretty clear the first time that she didn't. Now I'm here loading her summer wardrobe, winter wardrobe, and I don't even know what else is in these bags… Do all women need this much stuff?! I think I'm just a place holder to her till someone better comes along… Then she was talking this morning about what happened outside with you and Daryl… I just didn't think she was so cruel." He leaned over the bed of the truck, letting his head fall forward. He seemed so devastated, and even thought I really don't like Maggie, I wanted Glenn to be happy.

"Glenn" I said patting his arm to get his focus back on me, "Have you talked to her at all about any of this? I mean if you feel this bad about it, wouldn't it be better to know now rather than let this keep going on for longer? If you want her to be honest with you then you need to be honest with her… as for her attitude, I think she needs some kind of wakeup call to make her treat people with kindness instead of being a bitch all the time; she could be feeling insecure or have some kind of unresolved feelings that are making her lash out. You're a good man, she would be lucky to have you.Talk to her Glenn" I smiled at him when he lifted his head to nod at me, then he turned to go back inside, but I called him back "Glenn, hold on a minute. Has Rick told you anything about why we are moving to the prison?" I asked lowly, not wanting to freak anyone else out.

"No. I thought it was because of the fences for more security, you know with Lori being pregnant we'll have a screaming infant on our hands soon" He said. OK time to burst his bubble, but better that than him being unprepared. "That's only part of it… see I told Rick about the prison for a reason. The farm is going to be taken by a herd of the dead, most likely tonight." I stopped, putting my hand up shaking my head seeing the questions written all over his face. "No questions about that please. I just know shit, Ok. I just want you to know what's going on to be prepared and maybe make sure everyone is out of here before nightfall." I said softly, feeling kind of bad for shutting down his line of questioning before he even got started.

He looked hesitant to believe me, but nodded his head in acceptance. Just as we were wrapping up our conversation, the Shrew made her appearance. "GLENN! What's taking so long…" then she trailed off as she caught sight of us talking by the truck. She had crossed her arms across her chest and had her glare firmly in place. I turned to Glenn and gave him a meaningful look, mouthing 'talk to her' before I turned to leave them to it their drama. Mostly everyone was already gone; so far I had only seen Glenn, Maggie, Daryl, T-dog, and lastly Hershel. Dale was already gone along with his RV, and most of the vehicles had gone with the group that left with Rick this morning. We had already taken the farm equipment that we could use over to the prison and the place was looking pretty abandoned, which seemed to be having a bad effect of Hershel.

He was leaning on a fence, looking out to what has been his home for probably many years, with a sad look on his face. I approached him and patted his shoulder. He turned with a small smile in my direction "You know my Bethy was born here, on this farm? There was a big storm on August 15th, and the roads were flooded so we couldn't make it to the hospital. She was born right in the kitchen at 11:15pm, I delivered her; it was a lot different than delivering farm animals... But she was so beautiful; she took her first breaths here. Annette, my wife, and Shawn, my step son, they look their last breaths here…" he said sighing rubbing his beard. Hershel needed to have some hope that things would still be good as time went on, "My whole life, I always was moved around from one place to another. My mother was a good woman, just a little eccentric, so we never had a true home. My father loved small town life and the two of them just couldn't come to an agreement that would work for both of them. You see this farm as a base for your home and family, but you're wrong. Home isn't about any one place, but the places your loved ones are happy to see you every day. Your daughters are still here Hershel, making the best life they can for themselves in this new world; they love you more than anything, anyone can see it. This land will never be happy to see you or share its happiness with you. Love is what makes a home Hershel, so even though you've been here for a long time and change is hard, I give you my word that this is the right move to make." I said looking right into his eyes.

He sighed, and then looked to the ground like the weight of the world was on his shoulders before nodding. "You won't regret it Hershel. Now, why don't you grab whatever else you need and maybe catch a ride with Glenn and Maggie back to the prison" I said in an urging matter. Truth is, I didn't want him to see the farm fall. Depending on how many dead ones were in the herd, things here could be leveled to the ground. He stared at me for a bit, like he knew exactly what I was thinking, before he finally nodded and patted my shoulder before heading to the farm house. I sighed a big breath of relief, not wanting to be worried about him when the herd plowed their way through here. The sun was just starting to go down and I needed to take care of Randall before I left.

On the way to the barn, I noticed no one was outside keeping watch; which was strange because I saw T-dog over here earlier. Did they move Randall to the prison? I didn't think so, Rick had yet to come back and since he was the appointed leader, everyone looked to him before making big decisions like that. Glancing back at the house, I saw T-dog helping Hershel with a bag before climbing into the back of the truck himself. The truck drove away, leaving Daryl and myself on the farm. Shane was probably around here somewhere as well since he didn't leave with the first group this morning but I had yet to see him. Daryl still wasn't back from where ever he went, and now was my chance. I stepped into the barn only to find the room that we had Randall in empty.