Chapter 2

'Who the fuck made you the boss, boy?'

Glenn looks from me to Merle, who is glowering at us both, his eyes roving up and down my body. My skin feels like it is crawling; this guy gives me the creeps. Everything about him says that he is not to be trusted. Glenn was right when he said that he was nothing but a bully.

'Merle, we can always do with extra hands to help get us out of the city; what was the alternative? I couldn't leave her sitting there.'

Merle looks from Glenn back to me, his eyes burning into my skin making me feel anxious. He steps towards me, hands clenched by his sides. He moves closer until his face is inches away from mine. I feel his hot breath on my cheek as he looks down at me and bile rises in my throat when I catch a scent of his breath. Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he was frightening me, I force myself to meet his eyes with my own. I will myself to look unbothered by his bullying nature, but I feel my insides crumble as he reaches towards me and grips me around the throat with one of his hands. Instinctively I reach up and grab at his fist, my eyes not showing how scared I am, tears springing up and sliding effortlessly down my cheeks. I hear Glenn beside me as he tries to talk Merle into stopping what he is doing.

'Girl, I am the boss around here. You will do what I say, when I say…Do you hear me?'

'Merle, put your dick back in your pants and leave her alone.'

This voice is from a female and I try to move my eyes towards it.

Merle releases his grip and smiles at me, before licking at his lips.

'Ahhh, Andrea….I was just having a bit of fun.'

I rub at the spot on my throat where his fingers have been, and I look over towards the blonde woman who is standing behind Glenn.

Merle is still standing over me and I see him look me up and down.

'Maybe you could take her to pick out some new clothes, Andrea…. this girl smells like fucking shit.'

I feel the colour rising in my cheeks and I force myself to move away from him, tears still coming.

'Come on,' Andrea says, walking past me, not looking at me, but leading me down some stairs.

We head down into the convenience store below and I follow as she leads me through a side door which goes through into the clothes store next door.

'I will wait here, go get yourself cleaned up and changed and come back here. Make it quick.'

There is no kindness in her voice and I feebly mumble a thanks, before heading into the store. Not wanting to piss anyone off, I pick out a pair of denim trousers and a vest top, as well as a chequered shirt. On the back wall, I spy fresh underwear and I head to the back and find a room where I can change. I strip out of my stinky clothes and get dressed quickly, conscious of every minute that ticks by. In the corner I spy a bottle of air freshener and decide to spray myself with that, seeing as I had no alternative. I head back out, feeling a bit less disgusting and spy myself in the mirror. This is the first time in weeks that I have seen myself…my hair is long; usually glossy, now lies flat against my head, greasy and unclean. My eyes are darkened through lack of sleep and my skin is pale. The skin on my lips are cracked and I wander at the pretty girl I used to be.

'Are you done admiring yourself yet?'

I turn to see Andrea staring at me with a strong dislike. I am guessing Merle isn't the only one who doesn't like me being here. I walk back towards her and she turns before I can respond.

Entering the room above the shops, I head over towards Glenn, the only one who appears friendly and open so far. He smiles as I sit down next to me and smells the air.

'Do I smell wood pine?'

I laugh loudly, catching myself off guard.

'Wood pine with a hint of vanilla, actually.'

'I am not complaining…it is a vast improvement from 'Eau De Undead'.'

I laugh again, my tension crumbling. I look around the room and look at the others around me. Merle is nowhere to be seen, which I am kind of happy about. Andrea is in the corner, stealing quick judgemental glances in my direction. T-Dog appears lost in his own thoughts, he is pacing and although he has said hello to me when I came, he hasn't really spoken much else to me. Everyone else looks like they are waiting, but I am not sure what they are waiting for.

'Is there a plan?'

Glenn looks at me, his eyes skimming the room as though he is checking that it is safe to speak.

'We are looking at moving out once Merle gives us the go ahead.'

'And do we need his permission?'

I realise how brash I am being, and I steal my glance away from Glenn to make sure nobody else has heard me. Glenn doesn't answer me, but I know he heard what I said, do we really need this dickheads permission before we can head off away from the danger?

My hands kneed into one another and I realise I am feeling tired. I yawn and stretch my arms up and above my head.

Glenn eyes me from the side before throwing a worn blanket at me.

'Go find a corner and get some rest, it could be a while before anything happens here.'

'You sure you don't need me to do anything? I feel like I need to help in some way.'

Glenn smiles at me before pointing into a darkened corner.

'Over there is a good spot, go sleep…when the time comes to move, I will come let you know.'

I take the instruction and head over to the corner; it is hidden behind a tall filing cabinet and looks quite cosy with old blankets and clothing stacked up on top of one another. I don't need much encouragement to rest; within moments of my head laying down I feel the familiar pull and let sleep take me.