Hey everyone! I'll start uploading a little bit slower, but I thought that I would post a few chapters to start with to see how you feel about it! Please leave me some feedback so I know whether or not you guys want me to keep updating! Enjoy! :)
Disclaimer- I don't own The Walking Dead!
As they arrived at the quarry, they followed a narrow path up to a clearing large enough to fit the people who gathered themselves. An older man with a large RV pulled the vehicle up into where they were going to set up camp, offering the top to be used as a lookout area.
Piper stayed in the truck with her mom and niece, taking in the sights while the rest of the people set up camp. Merle came up to the open window and roughly knocked into her shoulder with his fist. "Quit daydreamin' and come set up a tent like a good broad." He joked, receiving a half-hearted glare in return, but Piper did step out of the truck, lowering her now sleeping mother across the seat carefully and setting Bailey on the ground.
When she saw Merle about to wake her mother up, Piper swatted his hand away. "Let her sleep. She handled…everything worse than us. She hasn't slept in a long time." She said sadly. Merle scoffed, but walked away, pointing at the truck bed from over his shoulder. "Set up yer tent bitch." She rolled her eyes and pulled the tent out of the back of the truck with Bailey at her heels. She looked over and saw Daryl setting up a similar tent a few yards away. The Dixon campsite was set a ways away from the main camp and Piper was torn as to where to set up the tent. She decided to settle it a few yards from Daryl's tent and she began putting poles together and pressing stakes into the ground.
After multiple failed attempts, and many laughs from Merle and squealing giggles from Bailey, Daryl finally grumbled and ripped the poles from Piper's hands as he made quick work of setting up the tent. Piper flushed red with embarrassment and thanked him quietly. He snorted and returned to the campfire, where he was cleaning one of his knives. Shane then walked up to the small separate campsite, and Merle and Daryl both tensed subtly, not going unmissed by Piper.
"Y'all set up over here?" He asked. Piper nodded and gave him a reassuring smile. He nodded and asked if he could help them with anything. Piper spoke up before either of the Dixon's could cut in with a rude remark.
"Actually, do you think you could get my mom out of the truck and put her in the tent? I don't think I'll be able to get her out without waking her and I definitely can't carry her all the way over here." She chuckled. Shane snorted with amusement and nodded, making his way over to the Dixon's truck.
Merle walked up and roughly grabbed her arm, not enough to hurt her, but enough to get her attention. "What'chu doin' lettin' him into my truck?" He asked harshly.
"Relax Merle, you're shit is in your tent. I'm trying to give him a chance to look in the truck and see that you guys didn't kidnap us." Piper replied nonchalantly, "You can't tell me you haven't noticed him watching us like a hawk?" When Merle returned his glare to the policeman, who was now slowly removing the sleeping woman from the truck, he let out a huff and returned to his seat by their fire.
Shane approached with Claudia in his arms and gave Piper a questioning glance. She rose from her seat and gestured to the large blue tent where she and her mother would be staying. She walked ahead of him and unzipped the flap and pulled it away. He bent over slightly and walked in, careful not to rouse the woman in his arms. He laid her down on the dark green sleeping bag settled on the left side of the tent and turned to make his way out. When he reappeared outside the tent he gave the Dixon's a calculating look before nodding and turning back to Piper.
"You ladies need anything jus' lemme know." Piper smiled and thanked him as he made his way back to the main camp.
"See Merle? No big deal. The big bad scary policeman didn't find your stash." Piper smirked over at Merle and he let out a loud booming laugh.
"Baby brother, this was a good call. I like these girls!" Daryl just shook his head and returned to cleaning his arsenal of arrows and knives while Bailey sat beside him while she played with her toy wolf.
Later that evening, the majority of the survivors were gathered around the main fire, preparing to eat the beans and squirrel that had been cooked. Piper, Bailey and Claudia sat with the main group, not wanting to be alone after the Dixon's went out into the woods to hunt. Piper sat with Bailey in her lap between her mother and a large black man. On her mother's other side sat Lori, Carl and Shane.
There wasn't much conversation that night. The memories of the burning city they had all seen earlier that day still burned images inside their heads. The few children that were at the camp huddled close to their parents and families stuck close together around the fire. After they were done eating, Piper, Bailey and Claudia returned to their tent for the night. Bailey quickly fell asleep on Piper's left side while her mother lay on her right. Images of the day their world went to hell flooded their memories, and the two women squeezed each other's hands as they wept for their lost family. Piper's father Dean, her little nephew Aiden. Sadness and grief overtook them. They ended up crying themselves to sleep that night.
The overwhelming heat was what woke Piper the next morning. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, pulled her messy hair into a ponytail and took out a change of clothes for the day. She put on a pair of cutoff jean shorts that went to mid-thigh and a dark green tank top. She slid her feet into the tennis shoes she had packed up and made her way out to the small camp the Dixon's made up the night before, where she saw her niece sitting in a certain foul-mouthed redneck's lap, wearing the same overalls she had been the day before, but now with a bright green plain t-shirt underneath with her little Velcro sneakers. Her hair was damp and braided, suggesting that someone had given the girl a bath.
"'Mornin' darling'. Didn't think you was ever gonna wake up." Merle said as he lightly bounced the little girl on his knee, causing her to emit peals of laughter. Piper, still not fully awake, flipped him the bird before letting out a large yawn and plopping down on a log by the now extinguished fire. Before she could relax though, her mother walked up from the main camp with a tin mug filled with a steaming liquid that smelled an awful lot like coffee.
Piper immediately perked up and sent the cup of coffee a longing look. Claudia laughed and handed her the mug, which Piper eagerly accepted. After taking a few sips, she took in her mother's appearance. Her hair was wet and pulled up in a messy bun and she wore a navy blue t-shirt and knee length khaki capris along with her red sneakers.
"Oh my god mom, you're a life saver!" She thanked her mom profusely, to which she received a laugh in response.
"I'm your mother honey, it's a part of my job." Piper smiled at her and then looked around camp. The women were collecting laundry while most of the men made themselves busy cleaning guns and walking perimeters and other necessary tasks. The only person that didn't partake in any activities was a man that Piper learned was named Ed Peletier.
Piper wasn't one to judge people before she knew them, but she knew that this man was foul. She had seen the bruises on his wife Carol's arms and his daughter was withdrawn and scared whenever he was around. Piper had a soft spot for children and seeing this poor little girl so scared all the time sent a rage through her that she could hardly control.
Yesterday, she had seen Ed raise his hand to his daughter and she yelled out to the little girl and gestured her over to both get her attention and let Ed know that he was being watched. With a nervous glance back to her father, who glared at her, but nodded once, the little girl bolted to Piper's side and she ran a gentle hand through the young girl's hair and told her to go play with Carl and the Morales' children. She gave a grateful smile and nodded before taking off to play with the kids. Piper looked over to see Ed sending her a hateful glare, which she returned full force. Just as he was getting ready to head over to her though, Piper heard footsteps approaching and when she turned around she saw that she was quickly being flanked by the Dixons, who sent Ed a daring glare, to which he responded by spitting on the ground and skulking back to his tent.
"Ya need ta learn to mind yer own business girl. Gonna get yerself into sumtin' you can't handle." Merle said seriously as he tightened his grip on Bailey and narrowed his eyes at Ed's retreating form.
Piper snorted and perched her hands on her hips. "Please. Men like that don't scare me. They need to be put in their place. Asshole thinks he can get away with hurting Carol and little Sophia." She was beginning to rant when a hand smacked the back of her head, causing her to squeal a little indignantly and rub the spot with her hand. She turned to glare at the perpetrator to find Daryl sending her a chiding, yet amused look.
"Don't bite off more than ya can chew." Was the only thing he said to her before walking off to their little camp.
Things continued this way for several days. Piper and Claudia spent some time with the main group, getting to know people every day. Bailey, being the little social butterfly that she was, won everyone over as soon as they met her, but she took a particular liking to both of the Dixon's and Sophia as well as Shane. Piper bonded well with just about everyone, but Andrea and Amy were both around Piper's age, give or take a few years, and they found themselves nearly inseparable. The two younger girls brought out the youth and adventure in Andrea and she found herself happier than she had been in quite a while. Of course being close to the two sisters meant that Piper frequently found herself in Dale's company as well, which was perfectly fine with her because the sweet old man reminded her so much of her grandfather, and he was absolutely wonderful with Bailey. Always telling them about nature and trying to bring out joy and meaning in everything they did, and telling Bailey stories that kept the avid attention of the somewhat spacey three year old.
Andrea would get slightly exasperated with the old man, but Piper found it refreshing to know that someone was trying to take care of them, and while she knew that everyone in the group protected each other, it was nice to have people to get close to.
Claudia found herself bonding very strongly with the other mothers in camp, Lori, Carol and Miranda as well as a kind mother-like black woman named Jacqui. They would swap stories about their children and other womanly things while folding and washing laundry or preparing the dinner for the night. Their laughs at their inside jokes rung throughout the camp, lightening the mood considerably on even the dreary days.