Amber here with the next chapter. This chapter is in Amber's POV. Amber, Brian and Erin belong to me. Cass and Jack belong to Aries. Everything else belongs to there respectful owners.
Amber's POV
It had been a few weeks since we joined the survivors in the camp. Everyone had been doing their part for the camp. Lori had taken to doing laundry. Shane was basically telling everyone what to do which was really getting on my nerves. I knew that basically being a housewife was not for me. Daryl hunted for the group so I decided to hunt as well. Unfortunately, I did not have a sweet crossbow like Daryl did so I had to set up traps to catch animals.
Cass' son, Jack, and Erin had become really close to each other and were basically attached at the hip, which I couldn't help but adore. I adored Jack, he was a sweet kid and he looked out for Erin.
I decided to check the traps since I needed to be by myself for a while. I stepped out of my tent and saw Erin and Jack playing. "Erin." I called as I walked over.
"Yes mommy?" Erin asked, looking at me. I could see how happy she was, which was great.
"I gotta go check the traps and see if any animals were caught. Make sure you stay with Jack okay?" I explained. She nodded.
"Yes, mom." She said.
"Take care of her, Jack. I'm counting on you." I said while smiling and winking at Jack. Jack nodded and smiled. He really was a sweetheart. I hate to admit it, but Cass is doing a great job with him. Daryl had told me that Jack was adopted by Cass. Those two were definitely complete opposites.
I grabbed my hunting stuff and left for the woods. Hopefully my traps caught something this time. I hated seeing Daryl do all the work with supplying us with food. I grabbed my stuff and headed out to the woods.
It honestly felt nice to be by myself and away from people. I loved being by myself most days, which was something Rick hated but accepted it. I really did miss my brother, even though he isn't my brother by blood but by family. I was adopted by his family when I was 13 years old, which is where the hate from Lori comes from. I never hated her in the beginning of her and Rick's relationship. She despised how close Rick and I were to each other which I've explained to her countless times that I only saw him as a brother and nothing more, but she swears up and down that Rick and I had to have slept together before she came into the picture. That thought just made me wanna throw up. I won't deny that Rick was attractive but he was like a brother to me and I would never sleep with him.
I focused back on the task at hand as I neared my first trap, which was empty. Dammit...Hopefully the next 3 had caught something.
After checking the traps, I saw that I had caught 2 squirrels and a rabbit. At least the rabbit would be good for dinner. I gutted the animals and placed them in a bag I had brought with me. As I was heading back to camp, I heard a groan. I looked and saw a walker heading towards Cass. I waited to see if Cass would pull out a weapon but she never did. The walker attacked her and they fell to the ground. I dropped my bag and pulled out my knife that I always kept on me. I rushed over to her and quickly stabbed the knife into the walker's head.
"I didn't need your help," Cass hissed out as she shoved the walker off of her. I figured that'd be her response.
"Didn't seem that way to me," I said smirking and cleaning off the blood from my knife. "Most people say thanks when someone saves their life."
"I didn't need or want your help, Amber, so I won't say shit to you." She snapped, pushing past me.
"That might actually be more peaceful," I shot back while laughing a little. She just flipped me off and left me behind. I just shrugged and grabbed my bag, heading back to camp. As I came back, I saw that Daryl returned as well. "Hey Daryl," I called as I walked over to him. He stopped and looked at me.
"What's up?" He asked as I reached him. I took my bag and handed it to him.
"Some stuff I caught in the traps I made. 2 squirrels and a rabbit. Sorry, it's not much." I explained. Daryl shook his head.
"It's alright. Anything helps." He said and I nodded and smiled. "How did you learn to hunt anyway?" Daryl asked out of curiosity.
"My fiance taught me everything he knew about hunting. He was actually gonna teach me how to use a crossbow but we never got the chance." I explained.
"I can teach ya sometime if ya want." Daryl offered and I could tell he was a little nervous but I didn't know why.
"I'd love too." I answered, smiling. Daryl really was a sweet guy, unlike his brother. Daryl nodded and we decided to go our separate ways. I needed to check on Erin anyway.
xXx
While we ate dinner, which Carol cooked for us, Cass had made a comment about it tasting bland. Of course, we ended up throwing insults before Daryl broke it up and sent Cass away to cool off. Fine by me. Daryl eventually stood up and said to me, "I forgot to tell you to let me know when you wanna learn." I nodded.
"I will." I said. Daryl nodded and left.
"Is there something I need to know?" Carol asked with a little smirk. I laughed.
"No, Daryl is just teaching me to use a crossbow is all. I told him my fiance was gonna show me how but never got the chance." I explained, playing with my engagement ring. Carol and I had become close and she was a sweet person. I knew about Ed's abuse towards her. She tried to keep it hidden but I could see through it.
"I see." Carol said. I was a quiet for a moment.
"You know you can talk about the pain Ed is causing you and Sophia." I explained. Carol looked at me shocked and a little afraid. "I won't judge. I know how it feels to be abused by someone who is supposed to love you. My parents abused me until I was 13 years old before my brother's family found out and took me away from them and adopted me. If you need to talk, I'm there to listen." I explained. I had never told anyone about my abuse. Only a few knew about it, the people being Rick and Brian, and now Carol.
"Amber, I'm so sorry." She said, giving me a sad look. I shrugged.
"It's in my past now. I've moved forward from it." I answered. "But like I said, you can talk to me." She nodded and we hugged. Cass eventually came back and apologized to Carol about the food which Carol accepted.
xXx
Later in the night, after a major fight with Cass and Erin wanting to spend the night with Jack, I walked over to Glenn. "Hey, Glenn." I said when I reached him.
"Hey Amber." Glenn said. "Did you need something?"
"Yeah, I know you're doing a run tomorrow in Atlanta and I wanna go with you guys. I'm good with a knife so I can defend myself." I explained.
"That's fine with me but what about Erin?" Glenn asked.
"I've talked to her about it. She's not too happy about it but she's gonna stay with the other kids." I explained. Glenn nodded. He went over the places we were gonna check tomorrow.
xXx
The next morning, I saw that Cass was with us. "I thought you weren't coming with us?" I asked. She shrugged.
"Changed my mind, though it's none of your business." She shot at me. I just sighed and rolled my eyes. I just try to ask a question and she gets bitchy at me. Excuse me for trying to have a conversation.
"Mommy!" I heard Erin call. I watched as her and Carl rushed over to me. They both hugged me and I hugged them back.
"Please, be careful Aunt Amber." Carl said.
"I will be, I promise." I said looking at both of them. "Remember Erin, stay close to Aunt Lori, all right?" I said to Erin. She nodded as she tried not to cry. "Hey baby, don't start crying. I'll be back, I promise you." I said while kissing her on the forehead.
We were soon ready to head out. I gave Erin and Carl one last hug and we headed out. The drive to Atlanta was pretty quiet. I really didn't talk to any of them. Of course, Cass and Merle, I would avoid talking too. Andrea, T-Dog, Jacqui and Jimmy were okay but I never really interacted with them. Glenn was awesome but I honestly wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone. I kind of wished Daryl had tagged along but he was out hunting today and I didn't wanna bother him.
We arrived in Atlanta and instantly ran into a few walkers. I quickly drew my knife and dispatched a few walkers that were closer to us. I looked and saw that Cass did the same. We moved forward and we were about to turn another corner when we saw a heard of walkers, slowly making their way our way. We back tracked, where we ran into another group of walkers. This town was infested with these things.
"We need to head to that building!" Glenn called over. We looked and saw the building Glenn was talking about. The entrance was crowded by a few walkers but Cass and I quickly dispatched them. We headed inside and locked the door so they couldn't get in.
"Great, now we're trapped in here. Now what?" Andrea asked sarcastically.
"We need to see if there are any other exits in this building." I explained. "The upper levels are bound to have emergency exit doors."
"There's also an emergency exit on the other end of this floor. Maybe we can sneak out." T-Dog explained. This time Cass put in her opinion.
"Bad idea. If you open that door and there are walkers there, you'll basically be letting them in." Cass explained. I agreed with her on that one.
"Look, Amber and I will head higher up and see what's going on. Cass, why don't you and Merle head up to the roof." Glenn said. Cass and I nodded but Merle stayed silent.
"And what about the rest of us?" Jacqui asked this time.
"Stay here and keep watch. If those walkers break down the door, you get the hell out of there and head to the second floor." I answered.
"Who the hell made you the leader?" Andrea asked glaring at me.
"I'm not the leader. I'm being realistic and trying to keep you alive." I shot back. Andrea was really pissing me off.
"Well, I'm not taking order's from a China man or a damn woman with anger issues." Merle said. Cass hit him in the chest.
"That's my best friend you're talking about and he's Korean." Cass said warningly. "We'll head up to the roof. Stay safe." Cass said looking at Glenn who nodded. I just left and headed on up. Merle was seriously pissing me off. He didn't know shit about me. Glenn caught up to me.
"Hey Amber. You okay?" Glenn asked me. I nodded.
"I'll be fine. Merle just pissed me off with his racist remarks especially towards you." I said.
"Don't worry about it, Amber. I'm used to it." I nodded unsure. "C'mon, let's go see how it looks outside." Glenn said. We headed on up. While on a lookout, Glenn had noticed someone slip into the tank, escaping a huge heard of walkers that we almost ran into. Glenn eventually left to go help him and I decided to stake the place out and see if there was anything I could find. I managed to find some things for the kids to play with and activity stuff to keep them busy. I was about to head on up when I suddenly heard gunshots and I raced up the stairs. I had a feeling I knew who it was.
I reached the top and like I suspected, Merle was shooting at the walkers and causing a lot of noise. "Would you stop shooting that thing, you dumbass! You're gonna attract every damn walker!" I yelled out angrily. Merle was gonna retort when all of a sudden, everyone came up to the roof including Glenn. At least he was alright. I looked at the rest of the gang and I froze on who I saw. "Rick?"
There was no mistaking that it was my brother. I'd know him anywhere with his short curly dark brown hair and grey/blue eyes. I noticed he was wearing his sheriff uniform. Rick was the one in the tank? "Amber." I felt the tears well up in my eyes and I rushed over and hugged him.
"I thought you were dead..." I said lowly.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." Rick said kissing the side of my head and hugging me tightly. This day has definitely gotten better to some degree. Now we just needed to get out of this mess.