-Where the Arrow Flies
-Paring(s): Rick Grimes/OC/Daryl Dixon
-Rating: M for gore, language, violence, and adult situations
-TV-based
Disclaimer: I don't own The Walking Dead. The characters belong to their creator Robert Kirkman. I only own the OCs introduced.
[Content Warning]: Mentions of Implied and Attempted Suicide
Chapter five:
"Such meager emotions"
When the archer finally came to, it wasn't from the car alarm but the sound of unknown voices shouting over it. One blue-grey eye groggily popped open and peeked through the windshield. Standing in front of the hood was a good-looking man in his late thirties with short curly dark hair and currently dressed like some leading actor in a rom-drama camping novel probably written by Nicholas Sparks himself. He easily seemed like a rugged, authority-type that didn't mind putting someone in place if they got outta hand. There were several other people gathered around the car and Glenn that she later noticed. She closed her eye for a moment with a groan before opening both at the mountain man banging on the hood. A hard glare was unknowingly thrown his way.
Alexa zoned out what was being yelled all around, focusing on the familiar young man as he returned inside to pop the hood. He met her gaze, silently apologizing. It was unnecessary. Plus, she needed to be awake now with all these new folks. She didn't know them to see her in such a defenseless position. Some blonde girl kept pestering the Asian with question about Andrea; Romanov briefly wondered how far ahead they were of the others. The car alarm plug was at last pulled then, creating a deafening silence.
"Why isn't she with you?" the younger girl pressed on, grating on the archer's fragile nerves. "Where is she?"
"If you'd stop running off a million questions a minute," deadpanned the Russian rudely as stepped out finally, "He could actually tell you she's fine and with your friends in a truck not too far behind." The younger girl stared, offended. All different sets of eyes landed on her then, taking in her dirty appearance and sleep-mussed hair. She inwardly cringed from the sudden attention, cursing herself as always for not staying quiet. The young woman already felt out of place without the security of her bow and loyal beagle.
"Who might you be?" Mountain man asked with his southern accent and a scrutinizing look. Hazel eyes narrowed back. Opening her mouth to give a snarky reply, Rhee quickly answered instead.
"This is Alexa, an old classmate I ran into with her friend when we were stuck in the city. And everybody else's fine too, by the way." Glenn assured them, pausing a moment. "Well, Merle not so much."
"Are you crazy, driving this wailing bastard up here?" Mountain man—clearly the leader of the camp—scolded disapprovingly, "Are you trying to draw every walker for miles?"
"I think we're okay." remarked a much older man who looked to have been caught on a fishing trip during the Apocalypse.
The other man peered at him. "You call being stupid okay?"
"Well, the alarm was echoing all over these hills." he justified his reasoning, "Hard to pinpoint the source. I'm not arguing. I'm just saying." He looked to the two young people. "It wouldn't hurt you to think things through a little more carefully next time, would it?"
"Sorry." Glenn apologized softly while the young woman just shrugged with a blank expression. She didn't feel in the mood for arguing and explaining that without that god-awful noise, they wouldn't be here having this nice little chat.
"..Got a cool car." added the Asian like that was enough to get back in their good graces. Just then, the truck arrived up the dirt path as promised, saving the two from anymore reprimanding.
"Come meet everybody." Morales told Rick kindly before getting out. Alexa had hurried over once spying Andrea holding her pet as she exited the back. The younger blonde took him from her, giving a thankful nod which she returned before meeting her sister. It was a happy reunion then for her and her sibling as well as Morales and his family. The sight caused a painful twist in the archer's heart.
Needing a distraction, she moved to stand near the driver side window, watching Grimes pinch the bridge of his nose tiredly.
"Hanging in there, Cowboy?" Weary blue eyes drifted over to concerned blue-greys. She canted her head questioningly with Harley mocking the action in her arms.
He chuckled softly, nodding. "Yeah, Legolas." Romanov nodded back, satisfied with his answer. The man smirked at her then. "Have a nice nap the way here?"
"How—"
"Glenn came back to find us. That's when I saw." She whipped her gaze in said person's direction, glaring daggers into his back while muttering very choice words in Russian. The officer burst out laughing at the sight. Yes, the happy reunions were making him miss his family greatly but having the young woman there was helping even though she didn't know it yet.
"..I'm glad you're here, Alexa." Rick confessed suddenly in a tender voice, holding her wide gaze. She blinked before glancing down bashfully and scratching behind the beagle's ear.
"Just keeping up our bargain." she uttered, still not looking up. A hand rested atop her head softly made her lift her eyes to see the appreciation in his own.
She quickly peered to the side, embarrassed. He shouldn't do that. At least not to her. 'Save it for your family' she want to say but the lump forming was getting harder to swallow, much less talk. She aimed her focus on a mother speaking to her crying twelve year old son who was most likely affected by the reunion as well.
He must have lost his own father to the chaos and with that thought her heart couldn't help but go out for him. Though she wasn't much of a people person, the young woman actually liked kids. Their bright innocence always brought a small smile to her face. But the longer Romanov stared at the young boy, a peculiar sense of familiarity washed over her.
Rick's voice brought her out of her curious reverie. "..So, you met these people first. Any impressions I should know?"
"They seem all right so far.." she replied blankly with a shrug, "Annoying if anything." He laughed again. She was starting to weirdly like that sound the more he did so.
"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" the camp leader inquired of Glenn while the two by the truck were talking.
"Alexa's friend. He got us out." he answered.
The man raised a brow, repeating. "He?"
"Yeah, crazy vato just got into town." Morales told, turning towards the truck. "Hey, helicopter boy! Come say hello. The guy's a cop like you." Alexa stepped back as the driver side door opened, revealing Grimes. A stunned expression took over the camp leader's and Rick's face upon seeing each other. The archer turned to the mom and her son, seeing the same look as they stared.
"No way..it couldn't be?" she thought in surprise, not believing the odds. "..Could it?" But it was. The child ran towards him then, crying 'Dad'. Father and son hugged each other tightly with his wife joining in. The officer looked at the camp leader—most likely a friend or brother of his, smiling happily. The man returned it. To all watching, the moment was endearing.
Even, the young woman who stood far from the group smiled slightly at the sight..but it quickly faded. Her promise was now done, freeing her once more.
It was just Alexa and her loyal beagle again like she prayed for.
"..Then why is the idea of being alone.." she thought, at a loss. "..not bring me the same complete comfort as before now?"
Later at night after the newcomers were settled in, everyone sat around their individual group of fires. Alexa sat at the one Rick was, on the left of Glenn who had T-Dog on his other side, with her knees pulled close to her chest while her arms and chin rest on top. Her hazel eyes focused on the low flickering fire, enjoying the small warmth it gave off in the cold night air. Harley laid across her former classmate's lap, fast asleep. He was taking a liking to him now so it seemed.
"Geez, are you gonna like everyone you meet now?" she thought bitterly to her traitorous pet.
Earlier, she was introduced to the people resided in the outskirts camp much to her chagrin. She didn't want to know anyone else, much less their names. Because when you had a name to a face, it made it harder to be unaffected if bad things happen to them. The young woman stayed quiet during the greetings, only unfortunately giving her name a few times herself. Glenn stuck by her the whole time though and did most of the talking which she was silently grateful for.
The others around the fire with her were Shane Walsh, Rick's friend and partner on the police force, Carl and Lori Grimes, and Dale Horvath who was the old man who scolded her and Rhee besides Shane. Lastly, was Andrea and her 'twenty questions' sister, Amy huddled together next to the old man.
While they sat together, Rick told his full story with them listening quietly but intently.
"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest..Disoriented. Fear, confusion—all those things but..disoriented comes closest."
"Words can be meager things." Dale smiled knowingly, "Sometimes they fall short."
"I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else." the officer detailed his emotions at the time of waking up in the hospital and before meeting Alexa, "For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever."
His son looked up at him then. "Mom said you died."
"She had every reason to believe that." he told gently to make sure he didn't think his mother lied. "Don't you ever doubt it."
"When things started to get really bad," Lori explained, "They told me at the hospital that they were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, and it never happened."
"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell."
"Yeah.."
"And from the look of that hospital, it got overrun."
"Yeah, looks don't deceive." Shane said, speaking up for the first time. "I barely got them out, you know?"
"I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane." his friend thanked, "I can't begin to express it." Romanov subtly shifted her gaze between his wife and friend. She wasn't oblivious like Rick was at the moment. She easily read the tension coming from Lori and Shane. There was or had been something going on between them before their arrival.
'Another reason why you shouldn't get attached to anyone.' Mishka whispered in her head, 'Problems like theirs could arise..'
"Yeah, I know. Not exactly ideal to have a friend with benefits in the Apocalypse." she deadpanned, not looking for that kind of relationship now or then.
Grimes' sky blues that he shared with his son landed on the young woman. He hadn't forgot all she had done. He never could for no matter how long he lived, forever indebted to the brave, recluse girl who saved him with an arrow each time.
"Same to you, Alexa." he chuckled with a warm smile, eyes intent on her. She tried hard not to fidget. "I feel like a broken record from how times I've said it today." Wordless, she quickly glanced back at the fire, seeming embarrassed by the praise to everyone there. Well, in reality, it was the curious but suspicious look his wife was giving her. Clearly seeing the cogs moving as she pondered the relationship between her husband and the younger woman, even with what she heard of their short history since stumbling upon each other.
"Relax. Your marriage is safe without my involvement, hypocrite." snapped Romanov, wishing nothing more than to say aloud. Mishka snickered loudly.
"There go those words falling short again." noted the old man again, "Paltry things." Wood clattering was heard behind them then where a family called the Peletier were. They consisted of Ed, the laze-about husband, his timid wife, Carol and shy twelve year old daughter, Sophia. The sound came from Ed tossing in another log, making the fire bigger than the rest had theirs.
"Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" Walsh asked nicely.
"It's cold, man." came his disobedient reply.
"The cold don't change the rules, does it?" the other man questioned firmly, "Keep our fires low, just embers, so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"
"I said it's cold." Ed rudely repeated, "You should mind your own business for once." Shane stood then. T-Dog went to stop him but decided against his judgment. Grimes didn't either, knowing that he had no say in the matter. Shane apparently ran this group, not him.
"Hey, Ed.." he said softly when near him, "Are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?"
"Go on. Pull the damn thing out." the laze-about ordered his wife, "Go on!" She obediently complied, making Shane mutter the lord's son's name in exasperation. Carol tossed the burning piece to the side, allowing the other man to stomp it out.
"Hey, Carol, Sophia. How are y'all this evening?" Walsh greeted them afterwards.
"Fine. We're just fine." Carol responded curtly. She then added in a quiet tone, "I'm sorry about the fire."
"No, no, no. No apology needed." he assured, "Y'all have a good night, okay?"
"Thank you.."
He walked away, saying sarcastically to Ed as he passed. "I appreciate the cooperation."
"Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?" Dale questioned once he was back. "He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."
"I'll tell him." T-Dog said, "I dropped the key. It's on me."
Rick interjected, "I cuffed him. That makes it mine."
"Guys, it's not a competition." Glenn peered at the two men. "I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy."
"He's going to find out either way why it happen and how come he was left." rebuked Alexa blankly, "What difference does it make? This Daryl, if he's anything like his shithead brother, will want to hurt them both by the end of it." The younger man gave her an incredulous look to which she shrugged. "What? It's true."
"She's right." Douglas agreed, "Plus, I did what I did. Hell if I'm gonna hide from him."
"We could lie." suggested Amy.
"Or tell the truth." Andrea added, "Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed." She looked to Lori. "Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."
"And that's what we tell Daryl?" The old man stared at her in disbelief. "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you?" Andrea said nothing, just shook her head. "Word to the wise—we're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."
"..I was scared and I ran." the African-American man stated truthfully, "I'm not ashamed of it."
"We were all scared. We all ran. What's your point?" the older blonde sister queried.
"I stopped long enough to chain that door. Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that—not that chain, not that padlock." He paused for a moment. "My point, Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us." The man got up and left afterwards, leaving the others to absorb this new information and whether to acted upon it.
Lori sat on her bed in her tent, getting ready for bed while Rick was on the other side where Carl was talking to him softly. She quietly watched the heart-warming exchange between father and son.
"I found you, didn't I?"
Carl nodded. "I love you, Dad."
"I love you, Carl." he smiled, kissing his forehead as a physical goodnight.
The officer observed him for a bit more as he went to sleep. How lucky he was to have reunited with them. Maybe..it was fated for him to stuck in that tank, just like finding the archer. His mind drifted to said person then. She was currently camped with Glenn since his tent had an opening other than the Dixon tent. But given what happen to one of the brothers, they doubted Daryl would be pleased to share. He just hoped she was comfortable, not too worried if the younger man tried anything since she would most likely handle it well.
Grimes went and joined his wife finally, kissing her that was deep and full of love. They parted with a blissful sigh. It had been too long since they last done that.
"I found you both."
"Yeah." she agreed gently.
"I knew I would."
Lori smirked. "You're getting cocky now, a little bit."
"No. No, I knew." her husband assured, "Walking into our home, finding an empty house, both of you gone."
"I'm so sorry—"
"I knew you were alive."
"How?"
"The photos were gone, all our family albums." His wife smiled and chuckled a bit before sitting up to pull out one of the mention albums.
He looked at her; a pleased glint in his blue eyes. "I told you so."
"Now you're getting cocky, huh?" she repeated again, teasing. "A lot." She flipped through some of the pages while Rick went to retrieve something from his pants' pocket. It was the professional family portrait of the Grimes that kept in sun visor and then on his person the whole time.
The officer showed her, placing it with the photos from Carl's birthday. "It belongs in here."
"Baby..I really thought I would never see you again." Lori said sadly, staring up at him. "I'm so sorry..for everything. I feel like..when you were in the hospital, I just—I wanted to take it all back. The anger and the bad times. But the mistakes—" Her words were cut off by another affectionate kiss.
"Maybe we got a second chance." she was told, "Not many people get that." They kissed again. The woman removed her necklace hidden under her shirt. His wedding ring hung at the end of it with a silver locket.
"I wondered where that went."
"Do you want it back?"
"Of course." She removed it from the chain and placed it back on his left ring finger. More kisses were given; deep and long that eventually lead to quiet love making. From the protection of the tent, the rain falling outside didn't touch them..either did Shane's ever-present gaze as he sat on watch atop the RV.
The man was glad that his friend was alive but guilt and jealousy was eating at him. It killed him knowing that the two were in there together, doing what he didn't want to think about. He was so absorbed in his conflicting thoughts he failed to notice the dark hooded figure sneaking away from the tents and to the quarry behind him.
The dark water lapped at the gravel beach, pushed by the winds from the thunder storm above. Light raindrops pelting the leather of her hooded jacket and soaking her jean and shoes. Sitting there in the darkness with only flashes of lightning brightening the quarry wasn't ideal but it was the only place that put Romanov at ease. She needed that after the nightmare she'd dreamt...
"I have to keep moving." Alexa muttered as she carefully moved through the dank, pitch black sewer tunnel. The yellow of her flashlight only reached so far in front of her. Her footsteps echoed impossibly loud off the stone walling.
She didn't know how long or far she'd gone. There was nothing but endless blackness. Her harsh breathing filling her ears, blocking out everything else. Getting to the rendezvous point was all the young woman cared about, making it back to Mishka. That thought process would be her downfall as she failed to notice the extra pair of footsteps behind her until it was too late.
An unseen force pulled her backwards, making her stumble a bit. Recovering quickly, she spun on her heel with bow raised to shoot. But the sight that met her wasn't the normal Unfriendly one she'd gotten used to.
It was a tall, slender young woman with long, dirty brown hair covering most her bloody face. Alexa could see the tattered blue hoodie she wore the read 'GSU' in big, white bold letters and cotton shorts which showed off her scrapped knees and bare feet. That description sounded normal enough..except for the crown of her head was missing..like the dead farmer she saw back at the Siggard farmhouse.
"M-Margot." Romanov gasped out, having trouble breathing now. The archer resisted the urge to vomit as she tilted her head, giving her a deeper look of the empty brain cavity. Cloudy green eyes landed on the other woman with such pure hatred she took an involuntary step back.
"How could you! How could you let me pull the trigger!" Her harsh words coming out an scream like sob. She walked closer slowly. The archer's hands tighten on the bow but still trembled. "Look at me! I-I can't go home to my parents like this."
"I..I..I tried to stop you. I'm so sorry but I tried."
"You lying bitch! You didn't care what happen to me, only your precious brother.." Her heavily blood-stained hand pointed somewhere behind the Alexa with a sickening sneer. "And look what happen to him."
The horrified woman cautiously peered back, hazel eyes growing incredibly wide. Several zombies had appeared and were viciously eating away at someone..Mishka. She could see him through the wildly tearing arms, making eye contact with his half ripped off face and ignoring the creature chewing into his blond-haired head. Alexa didn't dare look lower..witness his innards firsthand being pulled out like a pig. Her hitched breathing was to the point of hyperventilating now.
Gurgling blood, Mishka's mouth worked to utter soundless words but she read them clear as day just as Margot bit into her neck.
'Rule Ten..'
—You will die sooner or later.
Alexa shuttered at the vivid remembrance that had her waking up in a cold, drenched sweat and on the verge of a full-blown panic attack. She hadn't had a nightmare that bad since the Beginning days. The bumpy ground was digging in her ass uncomfortably after sitting for so long. Sighing, she stood feeling utterly drained. The young woman was still a little shaken up too, doubting on getting anymore sleep once back in Glenn's tent.
She turned but paused for a moment. Hazel eyes drifted back on the almost beckoning man-made lake.
"..I could just end it right now." she pondered, "Walk into the water and not come back up.." As said many times before, she wasn't afraid of dying. It would be so easy. No one would know unless her dead body washed up on the shore; everyone just thinking she up and left.
'Go on..step closer.' her sibling voice encouraged, sounding sugary sweet. This was something her brother would never tell her to do. But in her hazy mind, it sounded normal. Her drenched body started moving forward on its' own then until waist deep in the water.
'Now just dive in.'
And Alexa did.
Nails scratching repeated against nylon accompanied with a persistent high-pitched whine woke Glenn from his slumber. At first he thought it to be a geek that snuck into camp before remember his two new roommates. Groggily, he looked over at Harley still scratching at the closed tent opening and then to the empty mat a few inches from his.
"She must have gone to the bathroom.." he thought sleepily before laying down again. But the beagle's frantic behavior caused an unsettled feeling to wash over him. What if..something bad happen to her? That scary thought had him out of his sleeping bag so fast he almost tripped himself. Pulling on a jacket and shoes, he quickly unzipped the tent forgetting to hold Harley until the animal darted out into the dark.
"Harley!" he hissed, scrambling after the tiny dog in the light downpour. Luckily, the animal didn't get too far and stayed in the tree line so sneaking pass the ever-watchful Shane atop his Winnebago throne was simple. When they passed the last of the trees, he was lead down the steep slope shortcut to the quarry instead.
"So..not a bathroom break then." the young man noted, growing more concern.
Rhee was thankful for the consistent lightning that lit his path on the now-slippery terrain. Half way down, his dark gaze lifted up for a moment from watching his feet towards the lake since Harley wasn't in front of him anymore.
There, he spotted him on the beach focused on something in the water. It was the archer hidden under her hood with only her torso visible in the dark water..before she leaned forward and dropped in face first. Harley ran to the water edge and yipped in panic while the man gasped, sliding down the shortcut. Adrenaline continued to push the young man forward. Once at the water, he dived in blind without a second thought. Thank whatever God was up there that he arrived when he did because his frantically searching fingers managed to grab hold to the back of her jacket before she dropped any deeper. Pulling them both to the surface took serious effort as Glenn didn't possess the trained skills of a lifeguard.
It sure as hell didn't help that Alexa was dead weight in his arms, making it even more an uneasy task to reach the shore. Once back on solid ground with Harley, he dragged her a few feet from the water and laid her on her back. He quickly checked her pulse which was faint but there was no breath that escaped from the motionless young woman.
"Time to put those first aid classes to use." he remarked shakily before performing CPR. After several repeated cycles of compressing her chest and then breathing air into her lungs, a gurgled noise escaped Romanov before a mouthful of water was spit out. She returned to consciousness. Rolling on her side, Alexa coughed and heaved the lingering liquid out. The Asian dropped beside her, laughing-slash-crying a bit in relief.
Moist hazel eyes trailed over to her rescuer. "..Why did..you do..that?" she panted furiously at him.
He stared at her, disbelieving. "What? Save your life?"
"Yes!"
"Because it was the right thing to do!" Romanov scoffed, getting to her feet wobbly. Glenn hopped up and tried to help only to be roughly pushed away with the little strength she had.
"I don't need your damn help! And that wasn't your call to do so either. Especially, after I finally got.." She bit in her bottom lip hard. Rhee raised a brow in surprise at her slip up. The young woman went to brush angrily pass him then but he grabbed the arm, stopping her. She didn't bother shrugging him off. Her whole being felt so incredibly exhausted now, wanting nothing more than to sleep the incident away and pretend it never occurred.
He fixed her with a serious expression she refused to met. "This wasn't the first time, was it?" No response came. He spoke again, his voice pleading this time. "Alexa..talk to me." Her burning eyes squeezed shut in hopes of blocking him out. Why couldn't he just leave it alone—leave her alone?
"Don't push me out like you always do." Glenn begged, tears forming. "Please."
"What do you want me to say?" came soft words that he had to lean closer over the storm to hear. Her voice soon grew louder, almost to the point of crazed screaming. "That..I'm tired of acting brave when I want nothing more than to curl up into a ball and vanish into nothing. That I'm haunted by the voice of my dead brother and the death of his girlfriend to the point of insanity. That I blame and loathe myself for not being able to stop it when I could." She choked on a sob as the pain she pushed back for so long bubbled up and began to burst. "But worst of all, for being alive when I don't deserve to be!"
Glenn pulled her into him then, wrapping her up in a firm hug. The archer struggled in his hold this time, not wanting his sympathy, but he didn't relent. So she gave into the emotions she hid from and cried violently in her old classmate's chest for a long time; the rain fell around them and the night shrouded the two from any prying eyes. During it all, he just stroked her wet hair affectionately and told her 'she'd be okay' and to 'just let it all out'.
For the first time in forever, Alexa felt comfort being stuck in someone else's arms. Maybe it would be too bad to let him in..
Unbeknownst of the archer's breakdown in the rain, Rick woke mid-morning to the pleasant sound of bugs chittering and kids playing. He felt incredibly well-rested as if the frighten events the day before never happen. Sleepy sky blues drifted to where his clothes were left the night before, discovering new ones along with shoes replaced them.
Once dressed in regular clothing, he stepped outside. It was a nice cloudy day with the rain long gone and the Georgia heat already in the air that early. He was taking in his wooded surrounding when a familiar voice appeared.
"You sleep like the dead." Glancing to his left, Alexa stood there in a damp blue fitted shirt and black mesh shorts with hot pink flip flops. Her pale body looked scrubbed of dirt and her blonde hair brushed with a healthy sheen to it now; the smell of coconuts wafting in the passing warm breeze. It was an unexpected sight from the rough survivor ensemble he met her in, showing a different, more normal side to her. At her side as always was a gleeful Harley who appeared equally clean as his owner; Grimes then saw the towel, brush, and bottle of dog shampoo in her arms.
A slight smirk played on those pink lips of hers. "Have a good night sleep?"
"Morning to you too." he smiled, "And yes, I did."
'Hmph. I bet.' her teasing hazel eyes read, brow raised. He silently noticed they were a bit bloodshot and puffy.
"How about you?" She shrugged in response, eyes downcast. He lifted her chin and peered into her nervous gaze, not caring if someone saw. "You can tell me the truth, Alexa."
There was no way the young woman could tell the officer the truth about her terrible episode last night. That after sobbing her eyes out and covering her classmate's already drenched shirt with snot and salty tears, he quietly lead her back to his tent. Where they changed into dry clothes and Glenn dried her hair for her before placing her to bed. And here came the real kicker to her fucked up tale: once asleep, Romanov somehow ended up clinging to him during the night and woke up to them cuddling..and Rhee's little friend poking her stomach.
Heat inflamed her cheeks. Yeah..to hell that was being retold.
So she coolly lied. "I have trouble sleeping in unfamiliar places nowadays. So..yeah.." And he completely bought, at least she hoped so.
"That quite the ensemble you got there." the man changed topics, glancing at her brightly colored footwear with a teasing smirk.
Alexa rolled her eyes. "Went down to the quarry to give Har a bath." she explained, unaffected by his poor jab. "He always gives me a struggle when it comes to that. So, these are my 'bath time' clothes."
The officer knelt, scratching under the beagle's chin. "Well, you clean up nicely, Harley." His gaze peered up to his owner, complimenting too. "Same to you too, Legolas." He could have swore her cheeks redden just before she turned away.
"Save the charm for your wife, Cowboy." Romanov spoke a quick command to her pet and left. Rick just shook his head, watching her go for a second. He knew immediately she was hiding something; the skill acquired from his former job description. The fact oddly hurt him that she wouldn't speak to him about it. But her trust for him was still a low percentage even if higher than it would be with others. Still, he was more than glad she decided to stay even if it wasn't for too long. His family had been found, the single goal they agreed on back at the Siggard barn. So there was no reason to stay around him anymore now..
Pushing that sad thought away, the man headed up the short path to the main encampment. Some of the camp survivors greeted him on the way, including Carol who stood in front of an ironing board doing as such to his clothes.
"Morning. They're still a little damp. The sun'll have 'em dry in no time."
"You washed my clothes?"
"Well, best we could." the woman stated, "Scrubbing on a washboard ain't half as good as my old Maytag back home."
"That's very kind. Thank you." he told her. She smiled lightly in response. Grimes went over to stand by Glenn who had a peeved expression on his face..along with a very obvious bruise under his right eye. The other man's own subtly narrowed with suspicion.
"Look at 'em. Vultures." Rhee said bitterly, noting to the men stripping the Mustang of various parts. "Yeah, go on, strip it clean."
"Generators need every drop of fuel they can get." Dale mentioned, patting the young man's shoulder. "Got no power without it. Sorry, Glenn."
"Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days." the Asian dejected softly. He needed that freeing high again after the night and morning he had. Waking up to Alexa in his arm was heaven divine..expect for the strong punch she gave in return. After weakly arming himself from anymore with his pillow, he carefully explained what happen. The archer blushed bright red and stammered an apology with no further incident.
"Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday." the officer proposed to him, giving his a consolingly pat to the back. He frowned, very doubtful.
Stepping away, Rick found his wife pinning wet clothes on a line a few feet from him.
"Morning, officer." Lori said sweetly when seeing him.
"Hey."
"You sleep okay?"
"Better than in a long time."
She chuckled lightly. "Well, I didn't want to wake you. I figured you could use it." He stared at her. "God. What?"
Grimes began, wary. "I've been thinking..about the man we left behind."
"You're not serious." his wife told in disbelief at what he was obviously thinking. Before he could continued, Shane came driving up in his jeep with containers of water.
"Water's here, y'all." he informed, stepping out. "Just a reminder to boil before use." He nodded in his friend's direction before helping remove the water. Rick returned the greeting while Lori busied herself with the laundry again.
"Are you asking me or telling me?" she inquired suddenly.
"Asking."
"Well, I think it's crazy. I think it is just the stupidest way to break your son—" Just then, a scream came from the woods behind them.
"Mom!" Carl's voice followed.
"Carl?" His parents took off in the direction where his voice came from. Glenn tossed the man a weapon as he went. Others followed behind to assist. They found him with Sophia and Jacqui passed the can alarm line that bordered the campsite but were fortunately all right. The African-American woman pointed in the direction of what caused the commotion. And the armed men hurried that way.
Through thick bushes and into a small clearing, a male walker was devouring the neck of a dead deer. The men quietly surrounded it from a safe distance while the monster was distracted; Amy and Andrea appeared watching curiously from the safety of the bushes. The zombie was intent on its' meal until smelling the others suddenly. It faced them and growled sinisterly from it's blood covered mouth. The men attacked when it started to lunge, beating it to the ground with their weapons. But it was Dale who gave the killing blow—chopping the walker's head off with his axe.
"It's the first one we've had up here." he informed, out of breath. "They never come this far up the mountain."
"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." Jim, his friend, stated. Branches snapped behind him then along with footsteps. They moved closer, ready for whatever it was. Luckily, it was just a dirty looking man with a crossbow and not another walker. Grimes assumed this was Daryl Dixon, Merle's younger brother that they all had been dreading his return.
"Oh, Jesus." Shane muttered, lowering his shotgun.
"Son of a bitch. That's my deer!" Daryl cursed when spying the torn-into animal. Which was obvious than that he caught sight of it first from the arrows stuck in his hide everyone now spied. "Look at it. All gnawed on by this.." He began kicking the dead body with each insult. "Filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!"
"Calm down, son." Dale told, "That's not helping."
"What do you know about it, old man?" he snapped, getting in his face. "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?" The tracker turned back to the deer. "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"
"I wouldn't suggest that." advised flat accented female voice from behind Dale and Rick as Alexa arrived with her bow and dog. "Not unless you want to vomit venison and blood." The archer looked like she stepped off an army base. She replaced her earlier clothes for a grey baggy short-sleeve t-shirt and army fatigue skinny jean with scuffed combat boots. Daryl stared at her curiously for a moment which she returned with a bored expression.
"..That's a damn shame." sighed Dixon. "I got some squirrel—about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."
The young woman glanced at Shane. "I checked the outer perimeter for more just in case. None were seen or found."
"That's good to know." he said with a thankful nod. Right then, the dead zombie head opened it's eyes and moved it's mouth as well.
"Oh god.." Amy groaned in disgust at the sight, hurrying away with her sister.
"Come on, people." Daryl remarked with an annoyed groan.
"What the hell?" exasperated Romanov as well. The bow-wielding duo then stepped forward, shooting an arrow at the head simultaneously. The two looked at each other again, closer now to really get a good look at one another.
The first thing Alexa took in were his deep blue eyes which were harder than Rick's gentle ones. But she didn't feel unsettled by them. Next was his face. Handsome with a strong jaw line and cute mole above his upper lip. She could see easily some resemblance with his jackass brother—him being the blessed of the two with both nice physique and physical appearance—and from what she caught of his words from afar, the rude personality was there too. He was an expert hunter and tracker like herself which was the only things so far they clearly had in common. Another thing she took noticed..was how calm and quiet Harley was being near him; his tail wagging lazily.
"Are you for real? You think he's a good guy, Har?"
Daryl, on the other hand, took everything in about the newcomer all at once. The swoop of her blonde bang that was parted from right in her tousled bob cut. Dark arched brows, cool hazel almond shaped eyes, and pink cupid's bow lips were features that caught his attention from her pretty heart shaped face. She was much shorter than him causing him to look down at her but her body appeared fit and strong. The young woman had to be for her to master that Compound bow of hers with skills that rivaled his own. She also gave off an impassive tough-minded attitude—the kind of person you didn't want to push their buttons too much or they'd lash out violently.
"She seems all right..too bad she's a commie though."
The older man broke their prolonged gaze, leading down to remove their arrows from the head.
"It's gotta be the brain." he scolded the others watching with curiosity from the two's silent stare down. "Don't y'all know nothing?" He offered the archer her arrow then. She took it back with brisk nod of thanks. Saying nothing more, Daryl walked back to camp.
The rest followed close behind.
"Merle!" his younger brother called, stopping at one of the campfires. "Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel!" Some people had gathered under the awning of Dale's RV, watching and talking amongst themselves. They knew trouble was going to happen when he learned the news of his brother's fate. Alexa stayed by Glenn, resisting the urge to go stand by Rick.
"Daryl, just slow up a bit." Shane said calmly, "I need to talk to you."
"About what?" he questioned.
"About Merle. There was a..there was a problem in Atlanta."
Daryl looked at him. "He dead?"
"We're not sure." Walsh told honestly.
"He either is or he ain't!" Dixon shouted, growing angry fast with his inexplicable answers. Seeing it was becoming hostile, Rick butted in then.
"No easy way to say this, so I'll say it."
"Who are you?"
"Rick Grimes."
"Rick Grimes," the younger man repeated harshly, "You got something you want to tell me?"
"Your brother was a danger to us all," the former officer stated, "So I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."
"Hold on. Let me process this." the crossbowman said; his voice trembling a bit. He stepped away before turning back to them to shout. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?"
"..Yeah." Daryl glared at Grimes for a moment before tossing his bundle of squirrels at him. He ducked which would have allowed the redneck to jump him but Shane managed to tackle him to the ground before he could. Daryl removed a knife from a harness on his hip then. Walsh scrambled out his way upon seeing it. The young woman went to help but was held back by Rhee who quietly shook his head.
'Pick your fights..' his dark eyes told when they met hers.
"..And this isn't one of them." she finished with an miffed sigh but obeyed..even if it killed the martyr in her a bit.
Angry dark blue eyes went from Rick and his friend, deciding to go after the latter. The knife slashed through the air missing Rick since he backed away. When given an opening, Grimes grasped his attacker's arm wielding the knife and twisted it back. His old friend came over and wrapped his arm around the crossbowman's neck, holding him. The other man pulled the weapon out of Dixon's hand while he still held him.
"You'd best let me go!"
"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."
"Choke hold's illegal." grunted Daryl as he was pulled to the ground again.
"You can file a complaint." Shane remarked, indifferent. "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."
Rick knelt in front of him. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?" He repeated the question slowly. "Do you think we can manage that?" The hick stared and said nothing but had stopped struggling. The two officers took that as a yes and released him.
"What I did was not on a whim." Grimes explained while Dixon panted on the dirt. "Your brother does not work and play well with others."
"It's not Rick's fault." interjected T-Dog, having returned from gathering firewood. "I had the key. I dropped it."
"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl queried.
"Well..I dropped it in a drain."
The crossbowman scoffed, standing to his feet. "If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."
"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof so the geeks couldn't get at him with a padlock."
"It's gotta count for something." Rick noted. Dixon sniffed and wiped his face quickly before shouting with a hoarse voice.
"Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so's I can go get him."
"He'll show you." Lori answered suddenly, looking at her husband. "Isn't that right?"
He nodded. "I'm going back." His wife said nothing more, joining her son in the Winnebago. Daryl brushed pass him and T-Dog then, returning to his campfire. Rick sighed, the violent interaction returning in previous exhaustion. Sensing someone's piercing gaze then, sky blues instantly found Romanov's. Worried filled them and asked for the condition of his well-being, having him smile with reassurance. The tension in her shoulder released like a visible sigh before walking off with Glenn somewhere.
The young man patted her shoulder, saying something to her he couldn't heard but saw the result. A genuine smile that actually reached her hazel eyes.
His heart constricted painfully, surprising him.
Quickly turning away, the officer headed back in the direction of the tent his family stayed.
When he returned after some time, he was dressed back in his—now cleaned—uniform. Shane stood waiting for him the whole time.
"So that's it, huh? You're just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everybody else?"
"I'm not saying to hell with anybody—not you, Shane. Lori, least of all."
"Tell her that."
"She knows." he replied simply, heading back to the main camp.
"Well, look, I—" Shane stammered after him, "I don't, okay, Rick? So could you just—could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"
"Hey, choose your words more carefully." Daryl warned, overhearing.
"No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant." Walsh told, "Merle Dixon..The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."
"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me." stated Grimes firmly, "I can't let a man die of thirst—me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."
"So, you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" his wife queried, skeptical that was all. He didn't answer, instead glanced at Glenn who stood with his stoic classmate over by the stripped Mustang.
The Asian groaned, "Oh, come on."
"You know the way." the officer pleaded to him, "You've been there before—in and out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along." Blue eyes drifted to the young woman behind him. She was leaning against the car, observing him with those intense eyes. "Both of you." He gestured to his wife. "I know she would too."
A moment passed between them before her head tipped forward as a yes; Glenn agreeing too.
"That's just great." his partner remarked in a disapproving tone, "Now you're gonna risk a woman and two men, huh?"
"Three." joined T-Dog. Shane shook his head and turned away, exasperated.
"Pfft. My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl said rudely while cleaning his arrows.
The African-American man looked in his direction. "You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass."
"Why you?"
"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."
"That's five.." Dale totaled from beside Rick.
"It's not just five. You're putting every single one of us at risk." Walsh informed, pissed. "Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."
"It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns."
"Right, the guns." Rhee remembered.
"Wait. What guns?"
"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up."
"Ammo?"
"Seven hundred rounds, assorted."
"You went through hell to find us." Lori stated softly, "You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?"
"Dad..I don't want you to go." Carl added, playing on his father's heart and morals.
"To hell with the guns. Shane is right." his wife said, "Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in. Tell me. Make me understand."
"Alexa isn't the only one I owe a debut to. There was a man I met and his little boy before her." he explained, trying to make her understand his reasons for going. "Lori, if they hadn't taken me it, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. The man and his son said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."
"..What's stopping you?"
"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."
Shane ran a hand over his face. "These are our walkies?"
"Yeah."
"So use the CB. What's wrong with that?" Andrea asked.
"The CB's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap—date back to the seventies, don't match any other bandwidth. Not even the scanners in our cars."
The other officer pleaded to the woman he loved in front of him, "I need that bag." His wife looked down, silently agreeing. He moved to his son then.
"Okay?" Carl nodded, trusting his dad. The five of them didn't waste time after that. Glenn backed the stolen van up closer for them to get in while Alexa stood off to the side waiting; her jacket and weapons added to her new outfit now. Daryl paced impatiently on the other side like a caged tiger before hopping into the back of the truck.
T-Dog and Rick went to talk to Dale. "Rumor is you have bolt cutters."
"Maybe.." the old man hesitated.
"Yeah, we get to that roof," T-Dog told, "We'll need to cut that chain and the handcuffs."
"I never like lending tools. The last time I did—" He pointed to the African-American man. "And yes, I am talking about you! Let's just say your bag of guns wasn't the only bag that was dropped. My tools got left behind with Merle."
"We'll bring your tools back too." Grimes bargained, "Think of the bolt cutters as an investment."
"Sounds like more of a gamble." muttered Horvath as he went to retrieve said item. He then looked to Rick before handing it over. "What do I get in return?"
"What do you want?"
"How about one of those guns you bring back? My pick."
Rick nodded. "Done."
Jim cleared his throat then. "Dale, let's..uh..sweeten the deal a bit. Now that cube van of yours—"
"What about it?"
"The RV's radiator hose is shot." the other man declared, "That's a problem if we need to get somewhere and wanna get very far. And the hose on that van is just about a perfect match—well, enough that I can make it fit."
"I'll tell you what, we get back, you can strip that van down to the bare metal." Grimes agreed their terms. The cutters were offered to him then.
The van's horn blared loudly behind them—the action done by an agitated Daryl.
"Come on, let's go!" he shouted.
"I think we got the idea from the horn blast." Alexa deadpanned, tossing her stuff in the back first before putting Harley in too. She decided to bring along him again. Something in her gut was telling her to and she always listened to those notions.
"We ain't got time to be movin' like molasses is stuck to our asses." the redneck snapped, "My brother—"
"Is right where he is and not going anywhere, so relax." she interrupted calmly. Her hand was offered to him then. "Now help me up." He glared down at her to which she simply raised a challenging brow. Daryl Dixon did not intimidate her in any way..and he knew that. With a huff, the man pulled her into the van effortlessly.
He nodded to the small dog at their feet then. "The mutt necessary?"
She readjusted her jacket, saying plainly. "Yes." The tracker grunted, highly doubting that but didn't comment more. Rick and T-Dog came to join them at the truck finally.
"Hey, Rick," called Shane, coming over. "Got any rounds in the Python?"
"No."
His friend opened his police bag. "Last time we were on the gun range, I'm sure I wound up with a few loose rounds of yours."
"You and that bag—like the bottom of an old lady's purse." Rick teased lightly.
"I hate that you're doing this, man. I think that it's foolish and reckless." Walsh said, serious. "But if you're gonna go, you're taking bullets."
"I'm not sure I'd want to fire a shot in the city, not after what happened last time."
"That's up to you." The other officer finished searching, coming up with five bullets. "Well..five people, five rounds. What are the odds, huh? Well, let's just hope that..let's just hope that five is your lucky number, okay?"
Rick took them, appreciative. "Thank you."
"All right." his partner uttered, watching him leave to join Glenn in the front seat. There, he silently loaded his gun as the new group left the camp to head to the damned city once more. But hopefully, everything went more smoothly than before so he wouldn't need to use those five bullets...
Lovely's Honorable Mentions:
NobLe123, Lyric Dreams, SuirenBlack, Erudessa-gabrielle, Millenia-the-wings-of-valmar, Anonymouspostings, Ghouly-Girl, kairigurl08, DarkDust27, the mummy fan,Cardinala, GirlIncognito99, LuceRunsAway, buttonsXD, darkoni66, mich-shelly,
RiverWinchester, SilverSnape, AmayaTsukiKage, Visenyas, sugarbearbaby, Sonea66, Dream. Weaver. Stories, 7darkangel7, littlepetrova, Cereza101, moonlightflame7, Otaku Wench, crazywolf like chicken, ghoullish-reader, jampotter, sweetkitty
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