It's My Life

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Charlene. (pronounced "shar-lean")

Chapter 2: Reunions


"And my name's Charlene, bitch."

The small woman chuckled to herself a bit. Only now, looking back did she realize what had happened to her husband. He was dead after she blew a hole in his chest and he had come back. Perhaps her household had been ground zero for the infection?

It had been only a couple months before the announcement of the outbreak. The Government probably already knew about the infection and was keeping it on the down low to prevent chaos.

This thought caused her to laugh out loud. Chaos? What the hell was this world now? Fuckin' fairy tale? Fuckin' idiots.

She shouldered her bow as she picked through the forest silently. Charlene was on her way out of Atlanta- she had run into a bad group of people- violent, sadistic people.

She waited until their backs were turned; killed her guard and got the fuck out of dodge. There wasn't anyway she was going to stick around for that shit. The outbreak down in Waco was completely fucking awful. It was relatively near Austin- capital of Texas.

Those beasties swarmed the surrounding towns; Charlene had barely made it out with her life. She decided to leave Texas and head to Georgia- that thin shimmering thread of hope still hung in her brain that maybe, just maybe her brother was still kicking.

No such luck in finding him obviously. Slightly disheartened, Charlene sighed heavily. Continue on. You're still alive, and there's still your life left to live.


The blue pickup rolled down the graveyard of a highway. Daryl leaned against the passenger's side door, his arm rested lazily on the sill, his fingers brushing across his mouth as the wind billowed by.

Merle cast a glance at him, his arm hung out the window, reveling in the feel of the air flying by. "Those were some messed up people."

His little brother nodded his head slightly. "Don't think they saw us?"

"For their sake, I hope they didn't." Merle laughed jovially. A small smirk crossed the younger man's face and vanished just as quickly. The group they had seen down in Atlanta was some sadistic bastards, if he'd ever seen any.

He and Merle watched as they shot a little kid in the leg and left him for bait so that they could escape. The kid had been no older than fourteen years old and Daryl was positive he hadn't been with them on his own volition. The thought turned Daryl's stomach.

He wasn't a bleeding heart of any kind, but there were just some things that were unacceptable- even in this post apocalyptic world. The man was torn from his thoughts when Merle spoke again, "Well, well- what have we here."

His icy blue stare located a woman dart from the thicket of the forest. He shifted in his seat and grasped his crossbow. Merle was forced to slam on the breaks as she ran out onto the highway.

The woman jumped out of the way at the last possible second. Daryl's body slid into the dashboard forcefully. He grunted as the air rushed from his body from impact.

Merle yelled, "Don't ya know to look-"

The woman cut him off, "DUCK!" She wrenched a hatchet from its sheath on her hip. Daryl grabbed his brother's head and pulled him down in the seat just as bullets began to scream around them. The truck gave a jerk as they made their impact into its side.

Daryl watched as the hatchet flew through the cab and pelted a man in the skull standing at the edge of the forest. Merle growled, "Got ourselves a lil' powwow here, don't we brother?"

The younger man jerked the door open and kept his head down. The small woman had leapt into the bed of the truck and was rapidly firing arrows at the two other men who exited the forest.

He lifted his crossbow and fired a bolt across the short clearing. It lodged into the man's head and he immediately crumpled. The woman let out a yelp and blood splattered the side of the blue truck. Her body fell to the pavement with a harsh thud.

Merle hopped out of the vehicle and was sprinting along its side from the gunfire aimed at him. Fear ripped through Daryl's body as his brother fell to the ground. The hail of bullets was suddenly halted and silence ensued. He shot a glance around the truck to see the woman on her knees and a knife lodged in the attacker's head.

Blood soaked the side of her white tank top where she had been hit. She rose on two shaky legs and extended a hand to his brother.

Daryl ran around the truck, terrified of what he might find. Merle lay on the ground, grumbling- no blood, just an angry addict. The relief washed through him as the tiny woman jerked him to his feet.

She gave a lopsided grin, "Thanks for the help boys. Come on, y'all are entitled to half the shit these douchebags got."

Merle's eyes lingered on her backside. He shot a dirty smirk towards Daryl. "Now, just what did a pretty little thing like you do to deserve that treatment?"

She gave half a grimace and smile. "Be a woman in an apocalypse."

She wrenched Daryl's bolt from one of the attacker's heads and tossed it to him. The woman wiped her hands on her dark colored jeans. "What's y'alls names?"

Merle gestured to himself, "Names Merle and this here is my little brother, Daryl." He slammed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. Charlene chuckled as she pulled her hatchet free from the skull.

"Merle and Daryl, huh? I like that."

The older man laughed boisterously. "You like that? You should see what I have downstairs."

Daryl's lips turned into a small smirk. The woman faced them and laughed in response- her face contorted into a joyful smile. "Sorry pops, I like my dicks young, not my father's age. Name's Charlene."

Merle laughed again loudly. "You're alright, sweetheart."

Daryl watched as she bent down for the shotgun, she winced and her hand jumped to her side. She tossed the shotgun to Merle, "Y'all can have the two shotguns. I'm taking this nice little glock here."

Charlene pulled back on it and examined the weapon with interest. She flicked the safety and stuffed it in the front of her jeans.

Daryl spoke suddenly, "You need to close up that wound. Smell will draw walkers."

The woman's cerulean eyes jumped to him. "So you speak?" She gave a little smirk at the glare that crossed his features. "Yeah, I'll probably cauterize it in a bit. Thanks for the warning."

Merle's raspy voice cut in, "Come with us. We got a nice little camp up the mountain a bit…can use another woman to wash our clothes and cook." The sly grin that crossed his face widened at her glare.

"Fuck you. I ain't washing nor cooking for nobody."

He chuckled, "Don't be like that darling, come on, you can sit next to ol' Merle."

The woman's eyes narrowed in distrust. "Keep your hands to yourself. You saw what happened to the last poor bastards who thought they could take advantage of me."

Her arms gestured around at the carnage to make her point.

For the first time since their meeting, Merle's face curled in anger. "Lis'en here sweetheart, I ain't a good man, but I ain't never taken an advantage or laid a hand on a woman."

Her eyebrows jumped into her hairline in surprise. Charlene gave a slow smile, "Good to know."

Merle nodded his head, "Well, let's get to it then!" He hopped back into the cab and the truck roared to life. Charlene grabbed her pack and bow and tossed them in the back of the truck.

At the sight of Daryl's crossbow she smiled, "I never could get the hang of those things. I've always preferred bows myself. How much weight does that pull?"

The man's face seemed to be stuck in a permanent glower. "I ain't looking for a friend. Get in the truck."

Her eyebrows raised into her hairline again in surprise. "Yes, sir." She replied sarcastically. Charlene slid across the seat into the middle. Daryl hopped in beside her and slammed the door.

His eyes skated over her more in curiosity than anything. Her hair was long and straight- he thought it was black until the sun cast it's bright glare and it glimmered with strands of a dark chocolate color. Her eyes were a bright hazel blue and her lips were full and a tender pink.

She looked nothing like any survivor Daryl could picture, but here she was. She had a strange talent with throwing weapons; he hadn't come across anyone able to do such a thing with that much accuracy. He could appreciate it somewhat.

Merle grinned, "This is cozy."

Charlene gave a slight grin, "You better enjoy it, this is the closest you're ever gonna get."

His older brother laughed again as they began to roll down the highway. "Where ya' from, girly?"

She shrugged a bit, "Down in Waco, Texas. It's near Austin, I got the fuck out of there. Too many fucking beasties to be able to survive for long."

Merle gave a low whistle. "What brings ya' all the way to little ol' Georgia?"

Charlene grimaced, "I was trying to find my brother. I don't think he survived though."

Silence ensued- an understanding sort of one. Charlene could appreciate it for what it was.

"What'd ya' do before all this?"

The question surprised the woman, not because of it itself, but from who it came. She looked at Daryl and gave a soft smile that made his frown increase over his rugged face.

Charlene grinned as he turned his gaze out the window. "I was in the Marine Corps for a while and-" She stopped and a slight frown pinched her forehead a bit. "-Then some shit went down. Here I am."

Daryl and Merle looked at each other knowingly. The younger man gave a shrug; he'd let it slide for now. Charlene knew they knew something was up, she tensed slightly, but they never said anything.

Relief flooded her body and she was allowed to breathe easier. It wasn't anything bad, but she preferred not to talk about it. It was nobody's business but hers. An unsettled look crossed her face as she thought. Her hands picked at a tear in her jeans before the truck jerked to a halt. She gave a slight gasp at the pain in her side. The younger man jerked a look at her.

Charlene ignored the pain and looked up- her eyes took in the sight of the camp. It was large and several people milled about their chores. A few waved at the arrival of Merle and Daryl and stared at her with interest.

Daryl felt a hand grasp his leg, he jolted and looked down at the woman's hand. He jerked his leg away and glared at her angrily at the heat that flooded from her touch. "Keep you're hands to yourself, woman."

She ignored him and he followed her stare to the police officer. She murmured softly, "Shane."

Daryl's eyebrows rose questioningly, she shoved against him. "Hurry up, let me out."

He growled in annoyance as he stumbled out of the truck. "Woman-" Charlene sprinted past him, not listening again. He grumbled as he slammed the truck door.

"SHANE!"

The man turned and his eyes landed on her as she ran towards him. Joy etched across her face- he could scarcely believe it. He mumbled, "Charlene?"

She leapt into his body and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. Her body shook with laughter. It was her. He lifted her up off the ground, and joined in her happiness.

Shane clutched her to him like she would disappear if he let go. He was vaguely aware of the camp staring at them in wonderment. He released her as Charlene drew back.

Her face was contorted into a large smile; she shoved him lightly. "You stupid bastard, I've been looking everywhere for you."

Shane grinned again as Merle approached them slowly. Charlene spoke excitedly, "Merle, this is my brother! The one I've been looking for!" Her grin was infectious.

His eyebrows rose. "Deputy asshole here is your brother?"

She laughed loudly. "So, I see you've been making friends, Shane." Her hand gave him a small, loving shove.

Her brother glared at Merle who only returned it with a slight smirk. Charlene patted his shoulder; "They saved my life and brought me here."

"Thank you for saving my sister." He spoke dryly.

Merle grinned and goaded at him, "Oh ho! Does that mean we're friends now?"

Shane didn't respond and only glared before smiling down at Charlene. "Let me introduce you to everyone."


Thanks for the responses y'all! I'm glad there is some interest in the story, here's a new chapter, hope y'all enjoy it!