Better Days
Chapter 288
Author's Note: I just did a overhaul of my Photobucket page, well the main cast. I will not ever be doing that again! It was a pain in the behind. I did it because I wanted it in order, like going through when they were introduced and also I changed Summer's again and I want all three to be represented. Summer's got a big story arch coming up and I needed someone who actually looks tougher then the Summer I have now. So Summer is now played by Eliza Taylor. So, I beg of you, because it took me 4 hours to do so, go look at my main cast over on photo bucket. I'm Captaintjf over there. So of course this is out of order and they don't get to the party right away. A family meeting needs to take place before they go. Thank you. Please review.
Daryl and Mitch's POV:
Mitch walked quietly with Daryl as they hunted. He stopped and got Daryl's attention and mouthed, "We're being followed."
Daryl nodded and quickly turned with his cross bow out. "Come out!" he exclaimed as he tilted his head at Mitch as a signal to stay a bit behind. "Now!"
Aaron came out with his hands up as Daryl lowered the crossbow, slightly nodding at Mitch to do the same with his gun. "You can tell the difference between walkers and humans by sound? Can you tell the difference between a good guy and a bad guy? Rick doesn't seem to be an expert at that," he told them.
"There aint much difference anymore," Daryl answered.
"That how you feel about your people?" Aaron asked.
Mitch looked at him as he rolled his eyes. "We're different," he answered. "Rick knows the difference, but he can't take chances anymore, not if he wants us to live."
Daryl glared at Aaron. "Why are you following us?"
"I didn't know I was. I came out to hunt rabbits. I know why you're out here, why both of you are out here. Mind if I join?" Aaron asked.
Mitch looked at Daryl and shrugged as they both turned around. "Keep up," Daryl told the man.
"And keep quiet," Mitch and Daryl told the other man.
Aaron glanced between the two. "He's a lot like you, you know?" he asked Daryl. "I don't mean to presume anything, but he's not yours or Mar's by blood is he?"
Daryl shook his head at Mitch to keep him quiet. "What part of keep quiet didn't you understand?"
"I didn't mean anything about it, you know? Just you couldn't tell the way both of you act, the way Mitch carries himself," Aaron told them.
"Lost my brothers early on, any other group would have left me behind. I was the youngest at the time, nobodies responsibility. They could have just left me, forgot about me. I mean we didn't nearly have as many people as we do now. Jewel, Carl, Summer, Daryl, Rick, Carol, Glenn, then Mar, then Maggie and Beth, the others' are all dead and gone. Not one of them ever said to leave me behind. If anyone thought about it, they didn't tell me. Same with Mika. Any other group, we'd be sacrificed to the walkers' or worse, humans," Mitch answered. "Now, we need to be quiet," he told him. They walked a little further up and stopped. "It's a horse," he told them as he was amazed by the site of him.
Aaron gave a small smile at the sign of some child like amazement still remained in Mitch. "I've been trying to catch him for months, bring him inside. His name is Buttons," he explained.
"Buttons?" Mitch asked as he and Daryl both gave Aaron a look.
"One of the kids saw him run by the gate a while back, thought he looked like a Buttons. I haven't seen him for a while. I was afraid it was too late. Every time Eric or I come close, he gets spooked," as he took out rope.
"I could try and calm him, I'm smaller then him, I don't intimidate, then you can slip the rope on him," Mitch told Daryl.
"You've done this before?" Aaron asked as Daryl took the rope out of his hands.
Daryl nodded. "My group did, but they weren't out there that long. The longer they're out there, the more they become what they really are," he answered. "You stay back here with Aaron Mitch, he's to wild for you to even try, and I aint in the mood to explain to your momma or Aunt Jewel why you're injured," he told him.
Mitch nodded as Daryl walked out to the horse.
Aaron looked down at him. "Daryl wasn't just talking about the horse, was he? About becoming what they really are?"
Mitch watched Daryl approach the horse then shrugged. "I like you Aaron, you're a good guy. It's rare now of days to find someone like you. But you've been behind those walls, safe, livin' under some pretense what's outside won't come in. But it always does. The people are the worst, there's no laws, no justice, no rules to answer too. They do whatever they want, the more they get away with, the worse they become, til they aren't human no more. It's how you survive, it's what we would have had to become, what we were starting to become. You judge Rick, because he hit you, because he didn't want to come here, to bring us here, but don't be to quick to judge him, until you've had to do what he's done, what we've all done, to survive," Mitch told Aaron.
"You're a lot wiser then I'd expect a nine year old," Aaron told Mitch.
"Ten or maybe even eleven by now," Mitch responded. "You've been hanging out with the wrong ten or eleven year olds," he told the other man. "Daryl's almost got him," he said as he heard a twig break. "Walkers'," he responded.
"Shit! Come on they're coming!" Daryl yelled as the horse ran off as he got shot his bow and arrow and Aaron and Mitch shot there guns. When they ran out of ammo, they started using knives.
As soon as they took care of the walkers', Mitch collected Daryl's arrows and handed them to him. "Are we going after the horse?" he asked.
"Yeah, come on," Daryl said as they walked. "You see tracks?" he asked Mitch.
Mitch nodded. "They go that away, he was running scared, they slow down a little. The danger is over, he felt like he can take a breath," he told him.
"You get all that from tracks?" Aaron asked.
"It's no use to know how to track if you can't tell how they are running, if there's anyone following them. That's how you avoid trouble," Mitch told him.
"He's right," Daryl answered.
Aaron gave a smile. "Daryl, you ride horses?"
"I ride bikes," Daryl responded.
'I take it you don't mean 10-speeds. I know you're feeling like an outsider, both of you. It's not your fault, you know. Eric and I, we're still looked at as outsiders in a lot of ways. We've heard our fair share of well-meaning, but hilariously offensive things from some otherwise really nice men and women. People are people," Aaron told them. "The more afraid they get, the more stupid they get, fear shrinks the brain. They're scared of you and me for different reasons. They're scared of Mitch for a total reason all together. They see him as a kid, and the way he acts, the way Mika, Carl and Lexi act, it scares them because they aren't acting like normal kids and teens," he told them. "Like right now, they think Mitch should be in school, learning," he added.
"Like I said, you're hanging around the wrong kids. Whatever you got going on in there, that isn't normal. This is normal, fighting Walkers," Mitch answered.
Aaron nodded. "I get that, Mitch. I like you, and I like Daryl, that's because I've gotten the chance to know you both. They're less scared of me because they know me. It's less and less every day. So let them get to know you. You both should go to Deanna's party tonight," Aaron told them.
"We got nothing to prove. I met a lot of bad people out here doing a lot of bad shit, they weren't afraid of anything," Daryl told him.
"Yes they were," Aaron answered.
Jes and Joey's POV:
Joey walked outside the gate to the tower. "You heard about the party?"
"Yep," Jes answered.
"You going?" Joey asked.
"Deanna practically insisted Sasha and I had to be there if we wanted to man the guard tower. She knows how to play the game, I give her that," Jes said as she stomped out the cigarette. "Spencer's late," she said.
"Spencer?" Joey asked.
"Deanna's youngest, she was going to put him up here today, I told her that I'd be joining him, once his sister admitted he wasn't the best shot. We're going to have to test these people on there shooting skills. If they can't shoot, then they have no reason to be up here. It would be as useless as the dummy," Jes told him. "So you going?"
Joey shrugged. "Thought I'd come and man the tower, so it's not left unguarded, someone has too," he told her.
"You'd make Summer go alone?" Jes asked.
"She wouldn't be alone, she'd have everyone else around. Plus I would feel safer if one of us were up there," Joey answered.
"Yeah, so would I. But by being alone I wasn't talking about not having the group. Summer's a beautiful young woman, as you know. The two of you haven't put a label on the relationship, which is fine. It's always been the two of you because you knew each other and not a lot of choices. There's choices now, for both of you," Jes pointed out.
"I know what you're doing Jes," Joey told her.
"What exactly am I doing Joey?" Jes asked as she crossed her arms.
"You're trying to put doubts in my head about our relationship. Neither one of us has to worry about the other. I mean no we haven't put a label on our relationship, or we haven't done anything, we don't need too," Joey answered.
"Both of you don't but other people may take that as a reason to make a move. Axel told me that he caught Spencer looking at her, talking with her," Jes pointed out. "Killing the leaders' son isn't an option," she warned. "Speak of the devil," she said as the other man walked over. "You're ten minutes late."
Spencer looked at her. "Didn't realize you were tracking time."
"She always does," Joey answered. "I'm Joey."
"Spencer," he said as he extended his hand and Joey took it.
"Jes," she introduced herself as she gave a nod. "Joey and I were just discussing who was going to be up here during your mothers' party."
"No one needs to be, it hasn't been necessary," Spencer answered.
"You got lucky," Joey answered.
Jes nodded. "There's a group out there, marking the victims' with a W. First saw them at Shirwalt Estates, Noah's home. The walls were marked with the Wolves Not Far. Saw a walker with a W on his head not far from here earlier, which means they Wolves are around. Now, you seem like a smart man, for someone whose had the safety of the walls protecting him all this time. So, what would you rather do Spence? Guard that tower twenty four seven or bury your mother, your sister, your father, your niece because a damn dummy was up here doing a bang up job."
"Seeing kids die, either by walkers' or humans are the worst. They can't protect themselves like we can, and it's our job to protect them. You hold them in your arms, you try to avoid looking at what killed them, you tell them you're sorry that you didn't do more to save them, then you wrap them up and put them in the ground. Then you got to leave them. Leaving anyone hurts, but kids, kids should never be alone. You've escaped the pain so far, because you're lucky. But the day you have to bury your niece or any other kid, it'll haunt you, make you less of a man then you were. When that happens, it better not be any of the kids in our family because I'll be digging a hole for you too," he said. "I'll go see if someone doesn't want to go to the party to stand guard," Joey said as he left Spencer standing with his mouth open.