.:Raelyn | 27 *Present*:.
After Merle had been subdued by the handcuffs, it didn't take long for the rest of the group to settle down. For a few minutes, everyone was quiet, stayin' solid in their positions on the roof. Rick, Morales, and I were still slightly separated from the others, still just helplessly watchin' the dead wanderin' around below in broad daylight.
The silence between us creeped me out. It was way too easy to hear the geeks groanin' from the ground, tryin' their hardest to break into this building and sniff us out.
"Hard to believe those things used to be people..." I mumbled to no one really in particular but myself, leanin' over the edge of the building and starin' at the corpses walkin' around in the streets. "Y'know, with names and families... People like us."
Outta the corner of my eye, I could see Rick stiffly nod his head, but Morales was the one to speak up. "Yea, well... I try not to think about it that much."
He ran a hand back through his dark, curly hair and let out a sigh. I couldn't blame him. Thinkin' too much about people ya miss, or gettin' too sensitive about who those things down there used to be could get ya killed now a'days. Always had to be on your toes, couldn't let your emotions get in the way of your survival.
"Look at 'em all..." Rick muttered from next to me, his face twistin' up in a mixture of horror and disgust.
I watched as the walkers swayed back and forth, intertwinin' with one another like a giant sea of rotten flesh and bone. As my eyes warily followed one walkin' corpse to the next, I could feel my stomach churnin'. I swore I could smell their awful stench from all the way up on top of that roof...
"Oh, God," I grunted, pushin' myself away from the wall and fightin' off the urge to gag, "I can't look at 'em anymore..."
I lifted a tremblin' hand to my mouth, closin' my eyes and takin' deep breaths, tryin' to keep whatever was in my stomach down.
"Hold it together, girl." Morales's soft voice suddenly came from behind me, and I felt his hand gently pat my shoulder as he passed me by, on his way back to everyone else in the group.
They were much calmer now, and Merle seemed to accept that he wasn't goin' anywhere without that key in Rick's possession, so he was just sittin' quietly for a change.
"Hey, T-Dog, how's that signal?" Morales called out as I trailed along behind him on top of a metal grate connector, still tryin' to put a little bit of distance between me and these people who were still strangers to me, frankly.
"Like Dixon's brain," T-Dog growled hoarsely, seemin' like he was still in pain from the beatin' just minutes earlier. He twisted the knob on top of the CB in his hand, but all that was comin' out of it was static. "... Weak."
I leaned against the wall a few feet away from Merle, crossin' my arms over my chest and watchin' as he locked eyes with T-Dog for a few solid seconds. Surprisingly enough, he didn't rattle off some smart-ass remark or racial slur. Instead, he simply raised his free hand, and flipped him the bird... Harmless enough.
Morales seemed a little discouraged, lettin' out a sigh and glancin' over the side of the roof where Jackie and Andrea were standin', doin' exactly the same.
"Keep trying." He told T-Dog, just as Rick drifted his way over to the rest of us.
"Why?" Andrea asked dryly, backin' away from the wall and hopelessly shakin' her head, "There's nothing they can do. Not a damn thing."
"Wow, way to be optimistic..." I grumbled, earnin' an evil glare from the strung out blonde woman.
She turned to give Rick one last bitter stare before stompin' over to a group of backpacks layin' a few feet away from Merle, unzipping a pocket on the red one and aimlessly diggin' through it.
"We've just got some people outside the city, is all..." Morales cleared up when Rick and I both stared at him, lookin' puzzled. "There's no refugee center... That's just a pipe dream."
I heard myself snort with a bit of sarcastic laughter at Morales's words. "No shit..."
Rick quickly glanced at me before studyin' the ground over the edge of the building. There was a pause in everyone's conversations, and the low, hungry growls could be heard from the ground where those freaks were still tryin' to bust through the glass doors.
"Well, all right..." The sheriff sighed after thinkin' everything over for a few seconds, "Then we're on our own. It's up to us to find our own way out."
I really thought Mr. Police Officer would have had somethin' better to say than that, so I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up in the air in aggravation.
"I thought we already clarified that?" I snapped, "Seems like we're goin' 'round in circles here. Find our own way out, right? Well do you remember what's down there waitin' for us, Rick?"
I knew I might have been over steppin' my boundaries, but someone had to put it all out on the table. If we were gonna survive this, it had to be thought out carefully. We didn't have any time for test runs or changin' up plans in the middle. Whatever we decided to do had to work on the first try... It was all a game of chance, and there was no goin' back once the chaos started brewin'.
"What other choice do we have?" Rick came back at me, whirlin' around to give me a stone hard stare with his piercin' silvery blue eyes, "If we stay up here on this roof, we'll all die for sure."
He was right, and I knew it. I never tried to tell him he wasn't, but... How the hell were we gonna get ourselves outta this mess? A strangled groan escaped my throat as I tangled my fingers into my untamed blonde hair, pacin' about on top of that metal grate. My thin hips naturally swung back and forth slightly with my steps, makin' my faded red flannel tied around them sway against my thighs.
Merle suddenly chuckled from his seat still handcuffed to the giant metal pipe, just a few feet away.
"Well, these streets ain't safe in this part'a town, from what I hear." He joked with a rye smirk, jinglin' the metal clasped to his wrists slightly. His eyes wandered over to Andrea, who was still crouched in front of her backpack. "Ain't that right, sugar tits?"
At that moment, I think Andrea and I rolled our eyes in perfect unison, although she probably looked a lot more appalled than I did. I'd heard Merle Dixon use that perverted nickname so many times, it didn't even phase me much anymore. He stopped usin' it on me when he realized I wasn't like all the tramps he slobbered over... All it took was one swift right hook to the jaw from me when I was 15, and he got the point real quick.
It was violent, but hey. It earned me respect, so I went with it.
Andrea didn't respond to Merle, and instead just kept lookin' for somethin' in her backpack, God knows what. So, of course, he kept prodin' at 'er.
"Hey... Honey buns." Merle called out to Andrea, "Whadaya say ya get me outta these handcuffs, and we go off somewhere... Y'know, bump some uglies. Gonna die, anyway."
Alright, that time I was disgusted. I turned away, holdin' back a gag that was threatenin' my throat.
"I'd rather." I heard Andrea scoff, followed by her footsteps walkin' away.
Didn't surprise me. No sane woman ever wanted to get with Merle... Gross. Not even in a zombie apocalypse.
He suddenly turned his head over his shoulder and looked right at me, his lips startin' to form that stupid grin that until now, I'd missed more than anything in the world.
But, after his little power trip earlier, I was feelin' more disgusted by the sight of it than anything.
"C'mon, Rae-Rae," The greasy redneck urged me in his best sugary sweet voice that after years of friendship had no affect on me anymore, "Give your ol' buddy Merle a hand, would ya? I'm sure you could use that fine ass'a yers to get that key from-"
"Save it, Merle." I cut him off, crossin' my arms over my chest, "I ain't doin' a damn thing for you. I think it's best you just sit there a while."
I could hear Merle grumblin' somethin' to himself, but I couldn't hear the words over Morales.
"Just this once, Merle's right." He announced to the group, gesturin' over the side of the building, "Saying the streets aren't safe is an understatement."
Suddenly, I remembered a story my Aunt Laura used to tell me to keep me from swimmin' in the ponds after dark. Enormous, mutated gators that lived underneath Atlanta in the sewers swam out into the ponds to feed on little kids who broke the rules and went swimmin'... I know, real nice Auntie I had, huh?
Showed how much she really knew about me, too. I wouldn't dare go swimmin' anywhere, at any time of day... 'cause truth was, I never knew how. Still didn't to this day, but it wasn't somethin' I was ever really open to share with anyone, unless it was completely necessary.
The only ones who knew were Daryl and Merle.
"Ain't there, like, tunnels under the streets?" I piped up to the group, gainin' everyone's attention, "Sewers, I mean... If there were, they'd lead us out of the city, completely underground."
Everyone stared at me for a moment, the idea apparently just dawning on them, too.
"Oh, man..." Morales muttered breathlessly, his eyes wide and his voice urgent, "Glenn! Check the alley, do you see any manhole covers?"
Glenn bounced up onto the metal grate I was standin' on, and I turned my body so he could brush past me. I watched his back as he jogged to the other end of the rooftop, leanin' over the edge and peerin' down into the alleyways.
It didn't take him but two seconds to scan the ground before shakin' his head, turnin' around and boundin' back to us.
"No, they must all be out on the street, where the geeks are." He panted.
For a moment, everyone's hope seemed to dwindle and droop. .. Until Jackie suddenly perked up from next to T-Dog.
"Wait!" She yipped, startlin' me a little and makin' me flinch. "Buildings like these, old ones from the 1920's, often had drainage tunnels built leadin' into the sewers, in case of flood. Down in the subways."
All of us stared at the woman as she rattled off this information from the top of her head, seemin' so sure of herself, as if she were doin' somethin' as simple as recitin' the alphabet.
"How do you know that...?" Rick asked urgently as he stared intently in Jackie's direction.
"It's my job. Well, was." She replied, straightenin' herself up. "I worked in the city's ownin' office."
Everyone was quiet again, simply exchangin' glances. One thought was circlin' around the lot of us; Could this really work? There was only one way to find out... We had to get down to the boiler room, which none of us were jumpin' up and down to do.
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It took a little while, but after windin' up at three dead ends, regroupin' twice and almost killin' each other from our frustration, the small group of us that had set out to find the drainage tunnels wound up right where we needed to be: the boiler room.
It was eerily quiet deep in the bowels of the department store, the only sounds bein' our shoes scufflin' against the cement floor.
Glenn was leadin' the way with a flashlight, with Jackie followin' close behind. I followed behind Rick, also wieldin' a bright light, with Andrea and Morales last in line. In front of us, I could see a big fenced off square with red and yellow caution signs plastered everywhere.
As we approached it, each of us leanin' over the bars and peerin' down into what looked like a black pit with a ladder leadin' downwards into nothin', Morales broke our silence.
"This is it...?" He asked skeptically, Rick guiding his sight for him with the bright glow of his flashlight, "Are you sure...?"
Glenn nodded his head, aimin' his own flashlight down into the tunnel, his face lookin' real nervous. "Yea... I scoped this place out really good last time I was here. It's the only thing in the building that goes down... But I've never gone down it before. Who would want to, right?"
"Yea..." I muttered, and when I glanced up from the dark pit, I could see everyone else's eyes were pointed right at Glenn.
No one said a word as he darted his gaze from each of our faces in a matter of seconds. He frowned, gulpin' and noddin' his head as he realized what we were tryin' to say to him, without actually speakin'.
"Oh, okay." He grumbled, lookin' warily back down into the tunnel below us, "... Great."
Andrea suddenly spoke up from next to me, her voice soft and gentle, like she was tryin' to offer up some sorta comfort, "We'll be right behind you-"
"No, you won't!" Glenn snapped before she could even finish her sentence, and I whipped my head around to stare at him with wide eyes. "Not you."
Lookin' to Andrea now, I could tell she was offended. She scowled at Glenn from across the pit, leanin' forward a little as she growled, "Why not me? You think I can't?"
Glenn's face suddenly softened, almost making him look innocent, and his voice got real quiet with his reply, "I-I didn't say that... That's not what I meant..."
He glanced around at everyone still starin' at him with eyes wide as dinner plates. I hadn't known the kid for more than two hours, and I could already tell it wasn't like him to go yellin' at someone like that. He seemed like he was almost embarrassed, shrinkin' back from our eyes until Rick stepped up, placin' an encouraging hand on his shoulder.
"Speak your mind." He said firmly, noddin' his head at Glenn, which seemed to give him a little more confidence.
Glenn gave one last anxious glance around the group, before takin' a deep breath, "Look..." He said hesitantly, "Until now, I always came here alone. Get in, grab a few things, get out. Smooth sailing every time. The FIRST time I bring a group, everything goes to hell."
He paused, his shoulders seemin' to droop a little in relief as he watched our understandin' expressions. We all kept quiet, lettin' Glenn keep explainin' his point.
"I don't mean any offense, Andrea, when I say I don't want you going down behind me..." He assured the woman behind me, who nodded her head in an apologetic way. "I mean the same for everyone, really. If I go down there and run into trouble, I need to be able to get out fast. I can't have all of you behind me bogging up the tunnel and getting me killed."
"So you're just gonna go down there alone?" Jackie said fearfully as she gazed down at the deep tunnel.
"No," Glenn replied with a shake of his head, "I'll take one of you... Rae, I think it should be you."
My head snapped up from where I was lost starin' into the tunnel, wonderin' what could possibly be waitin' down there for anyone to walk by. "What? Me?"
I stared at him in disbelief as he nodded, seemin' so sure of himself, which was more than I could say for myself.
"Yup... You and I are the smallest people here." Glenn explained, "We'll be able to turn around and run the fastest, if we end up having to run for our lives."
My stomach twisted into knots as he spoke, soundin' like it was no big deal that there could be flesh eatin' monsters down inside these drainage tunnels.
"Gee, way to sell me on this plan of yours..." I grumbled, lettin' out a sigh as I ran my hand through my tangled hair, "All right, I'll go with ya. But I need a weapon, or at least ammo for this one." I lifted the hem of my tank top just slightly so the handle of my pistol was visible, jutting up from the waistband of my jeans.
"I've got three bullets here... I think they'll work for that gun." Morales offered up, diggin' his pocket and pullin' out three shiney pieces of silver. He dropped 'em into my hand and nodded to me. "Better than nothing, right?"
"Yea...Thanks." I mumbled gratefully, loadin' them into the pistol. Luckily, they fit.
"Here, take this, too." Jackie piped up, scurryin' off to the side in the shadows and pickin' somethin' up off the ground. When she moved towards me back into the light, I could see she was holdin' a thick lead pipe that had probably fallen down from the plumbin' above us.
I grabbed it from her hands, givin' it a good swing through the air. "That'll do some damage." I said with a slight grin, and a nod in Jackie's direction. "Thank ya, ma'am."
"All right, someone take my backpack..." Glenn spoke up, shruggin' his pack from his shoulders and handin' it off to Rick, "Why don't you and Andrea stand watch by the doors? Everyone else keep watch, keep an ear out for Rae and I... and just be careful. Shout down to us if something happens... Anything."
Rick nodded and handed me his flashlight.
"Be careful down there..." He mumbled to me, givin' me a sharp look that he tossed over to Glenn before he led Andrea out of the boiler room.
Everyone else scattered, and Glenn and I were left starin' down into the blackness of the drainage tunnel.
"We're really goin' in there, huh..." I mumbled to the young Asian man next to me, who nodded grimly.
"Yup..." He replied before scootin' around the outside of the metal bars and steppin' down onto the ladder, "Somehow, I'm always the one getting volunteered to do this kinda stuff."
I made a face as I watched Glenn disappear into the shadows, then reluctantly stepped over the side after him, movin' downward on the ladder and keepin' a tight grip on that metal pipe.
"How the hell did I get roped into it..."
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.:Raelyn | Age 9:.
Even from the road, which was pretty far away from Daryl's house, I could hear the screamin'. I could never hear exactly what was bein' said, but I could always make out the voices. Daryl's was the easiest for me to recognize... He was my best and only friend, after all.
The only other voices were Daryl's dad, and sometimes his big brother, Merle, who I'd only seen there once or twice. He was way older than me, so he was usually out in his truck with his friends.
I'd never been inside Daryl's house, not once in the two years that we'd been friends. He wouldn't let me even set food past his front fence, which was at least a football field away from his doorstep. He always said he didn't want me goin' in there and seein' anything I shouldn't be seein'.
It always made me wonder what was in there... Maybe they were hidin' somethin', like an alien or a dinosaur bone. But in my heart, I knew it was just 'cause his daddy was so mean, and he didn' t want me to meet him.
So, usually I'd ride my bike by his house, and wait behind one of he big willows for him to come outside, just like today. It was early in the mornin', it had rained somethin' awful the night before, and we were supposed to go fishin' in the creek. Worms were gonna be real easy to find in all the fresh mud.
I tried real hard to ignore the hollerin' comin' from behind the walls of the old blue house, but after almost an hour of waitin', I still hadn't seen a sign of Daryl, and the noise was gettin' a little hard to just brush off my shoulder. It made me wonder just how long a person could keep screamin' without losin' their voice...
With one last glance toward the shadowy house, I let out a sigh, then ripped my ratty blue backpack open. I dug around in the biggest pocket until I found my notebook, folded up and jammed all the way at bottom, right underneath my social studies book. The paper made a loud tearing sound as I snatched it from the spiral binding, usin' my favorite purple pen to scribble a message onto the front:
"Meet me at the big rock underneath the oak tree by the creek. I'll wait an hour - Rae"
Short, sweet, and to the point. I stuck the pen back in my backpack, folded the jagged piece of notebook paper into a sloppy square, and stuck it down into the thick branches of the willow tree we always met in front of.
When I was sure it would stay there no matter how strong the breeze was, I hopped onto my bike and pedaled as fast as I could toward town. I wanted to get as far away from that horrible screamin' as possible... Daryl never told me anything about his daddy or his life at home, but I knew it wasn't good. It couldn't be, why else would he wanna hide it from me?
Why else would there be screamin' comin' from behind those walls day and night, angry screamin' full of hateful names and words...
Not to mention, Daryl always had cuts and bruises, sometimes even a busted lip or one of his eyes swollen shut... I knew his daddy did it to him, even though he always tried to tell me he fell, or walked into somethin'. It was so obvious to me, the way he got all angry and sensitive when I asked him about it.
But I knew the truth, and even though he tried to act like it was a secret, he knew I knew.
I knew his daddy beat him, and it really made me mad... It made me boilin' mad to know someone, whether it was his own daddy or not, was hurtin' my best friend, my only friend in the whole world, and there was nothin' I could do about it... Hell, I was just the skinny little blonde haired girl from down the road. What was I gonna do to protect Daryl, a boy twice my size, from a grown up?
The best I could do was this: Be his friend. Be there for him as best I could, and that's what I'd been doin' for the past two years. That's was what my life was about... Daryl, and bein' his friend. Gettin' outta school and always seein' him waitin' on the old railroad tracks that passed through the middle of town, 'cause he was older than me by four years, so we were never in the same school at the same time. He always got out an hour earlier or an hour later, didn't wanna go home, and waited for me there so we could hang out for the rest of the day.
It was those moments I waited for every day... Daryl gave me somethin' to look forward to. He wasn't like other kids around here, he actually liked hangin' around me and talkin' to me, even if all we were doin' was tellin' stupid knock knock jokes and sittin' by the creek, tossin' rocks in to see who could make the biggest splash. I loved my days with the shaggy haired, blue-eyed Dixon boy, and I always felt empty and sorta lost when I didn't see him. I didn't really know how to pass my time when he wasn't around... Nothin' was as fun without him.
It was the beginnin' of fall in Georgia, and everything was startin' to look real pretty... The leaves on the trees were changin' from green to orange and red, fallin' from the branches and layin' all over the ground. The sky was a gloomy gray up against the brightly colored leaves, and the breezes that passed through were actually pretty chilly. They bitterly nipped at my face as my bike carried me down the street, and I was thankful for my thick, pink sweater with Minnie Mouse on the front... Even if Daryl said it was the ugliest sweatshirt he'd ever seen.
It wasn't mine, it was my cousin Martha's, and she'd left it at my Aunt Laura's house on thanksgivin' three years ago. It kept me warm, and that's all I really cared about.
My wheels buzzed as I whirled through town, dodgin' parked cars and fire hydrants, even skiddin' around a pair of old ladies walkin' from the grocery store holdin' plastic bags full of bread and eggs.
I smirked as I heard both of them yellin' at me to slow down, demandin' to know where my helmet was. Of course, I just kept on goin', headin' towards the woods to the spot that I'd told Daryl to meet me.
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It was always real quiet out in the woods, and that's why I liked it so much... No cars goin' by, no one talkin' unless it was me or Daryl if he was with me... Just birds chirpin', leaves brushin' together and the creek tricklin'. In a few more weeks, the water would be frozen over, and Daryl and I would have to wait months before we could fish again. It was a bummer, but at the same time, I was glad when the creek froze over... Don't get me wrong, I loved fishin'. It was one of my favorite things to do.
But I couldn't swim... No one ever taught me, and I never really wanted to try and teach myself... The fear of drownin' always got to me.
The creek was pretty deep, so sometimes it made me nervous to be around it... And it didn't help that Daryl was always tryin' to get me to go swimmin', and I had to make up lies 'cause I was too embarrassed to tell him.
I probably waited by that big rock for more than an hour, waitin' to see Daryl come trudgin' through the trees toward me. When the sun was up in the middle of the sky, shinin' down on me from between the tree branches, I decided he wasn't comin'.
"Oh, well..." I sighed in disappointment, standin' up from my spot in on the ground next to the boulder.
The dirt was still damp from the rain the night before, and had left little wet spots on the back of my faded jeans. I didn't really care, though, and just sorta half heartedly brushed them off.
Just as I was about to make my way back uphill through the woods to get my bike and ride home, I heard footsteps tearin' through the brush to my right.
My heart pounded and my eyes darted around for the few seconds that I couldn't see anything, just listenin' to the noise get louder. Sure enough, though, I caught sight of a familiar red jacket, and a head of scruffy light brown hair peepin' through the trees.
"Daryl? Is that you?" I called out. I knew it was him, but I just needed to make sure, for some reason.
"Nah, Christopher Columbus."
I rolled my eyes at his sarcastic comeback, but found myself smilin'. I recognized his twangy, kinda husky voice anywhere, and it always made my stomach feel real tingly and warm...
"I was just about to leave, ya know." I told my best friend as I watched him get closer to me.
He was real lanky and kinda tall... well taller than me, at least. My head only reached up to his shoulder. His eyes were as blue as they always were, and stood out against his tan face... When I looked at them, I noticed they were kinda red, and there were dark purple splotches formin' on his neck and shoulders, and he had a good sized cut right above his left eyebrow.
"An' go where?" Daryl asked me as he hopped down over an old fallen tree that had been layin' there since the last big storm we had, about three months ago.
His lips were always pressed into a thin line across his face, like they were now, except in the rare moments when I'd get him to laugh or smile. Sometimes, it was like he was tryin' his hardest not to smile, or frown, or do anything to let ya know how he was feelin'... But somehow, I could always tell.
"I dunno," I replied to Daryl as he walked right up to me, leanin' against the big rock, "Home, I guess."
"Hm." He grunted back to me, kickin' at the dirt and keepin' his hands in the pockets of his jacket. Suddenly, he turned to stare at me, eyein' the big, dopey Minnie Mouse face plastered to my chest. "Still haven't got rid'a that ugly sweater, huh?"
I rolled my eyes at the Dixon boy and reached up to give his shoulder a little shove, gigglin' as I did it. "Shut the hell up, it ain't ugly...! Okay, maybe a little, but it keeps me warm, so you can just suck it."
Daryl suddenly let out a small laugh, and I made sure to watch his sorta crooked smile while I could.
"Y'know, for a little girl, you got a pretty colorful vocabulary." He told me, pushin' himself away from the big rock and kickin' the little ones on the ground toward the creek.
"Yer one to talk, Daryl." I replied to my friend as I followed behind him, tryin' to keep the fact that I had my eyes glued to a black bruise on the back of his neck a secret, "'Cept with you, it's 'fuck this' and 'mother fucker that.'"
"Jesus, girl," Daryl laughed again, "Look at you, just rattlin' off the F word left an' right... Guess I ain't the best influence on ya."
I felt my green eyes roll in my head again. I hated when Daryl said stuff like that, it made me feel like a little kid around him... Okay, I was a little kid, but in my mind I felt just as old as Daryl.
For a little while, we were just quiet. Sittin' there in the woods, tossin' rocks and sticks into the water, and watchin' the splashes. We must'a done that for almost fifteen minutes, and I couldn't stop stealin' glances at Daryl the entire time. The slice in his skin looked pretty deep and was crusty with dried blood, and the bruises seemed like they were gettin' darker with each second that went by.
Finally, I couldn't take just lookin' at him no more.
"Daryl?" My voice spoke up, almost on its own, it felt like.
"Yea?" He replied without lookin' at me.
"... What happened to you...?"
He instantly froze, his shoulder's bunchin' up. My breath caught in my throat as I watched Daryl seem to force himself to relax before replyin' to me.
"Nothin'." He said, his voice so low I could barely hear it.
"That ain't nothin'." I disagreed, shakin' my head of long blonde hair, "Those bruises are real dark, and that don't just happ-"
"I said," Daryl snapped loudly to cut me off as he whirled around to face me, then lowered his voice again,"It's nothin'. I fell, is all."
"Down a few flights'a stairs?" I asked, showin' I didn't believe him one bit. I paused for a second, wonderin' if I should say what I was thinkin' of next... But before I could decide, the words were already comin' out. "Y'know, I can hear the screamin', Daryl... Comin' from yer house."
I looked at the thirteen year old boy standin' a few feet away, my eyes real serious. I was tryin' to study his face, tryin' to see what he was feelin'... But he was real good at hidin' it. He was silent and his ice blue eyes pierced my emerald green ones as I kept talkin'.
"Sometimes, when I'm waitin' for you by the willow, I can ignore it..." I was almost whisperin' now, "But other times, I just can't... Like today. That's why I left you that note..." I paused again, waitin' for him to say somethin', anything. When he didn't, I just kept goin'. "Daryl, it ain't right, what yer daddy does to ya-"
"Shut up, Raelyn." a growl suddenly came from Daryl's throat. His face had changed from flat to scrunched up and scowlin'. "You don't know shit."
"Huh...?" I asked quietly.
"I said ya don't know SHIT!" Daryl erupted at me, his Georgia twang gettin' heavier with his anger. "I told ya nothin' happened, an' that's that. Leave it alone!"
He was takin' angry, stompin' steps toward me, and I just backed up to stay outta his way.
"Why're you lyin' to me, Daryl?!" I demanded desperately.
"'Cause yer just a little girl!" He roared in my direction, "You ain't even ten years old yet, Rae! You don't need to be hearin' or thinkin' about the things that I seen... Things I been through!"
I suddenly felt offended or belittled for some reason, and sneered as I looked up into Daryl's face.
"What, you think just 'cause I'm only nine years old that I don't know about daddies who beat their kids?"
The way Daryl looked at me in that moment after I said those words, I was pretty sure he was thinkin' about killin' me. But I knew he wouldn't really do nothin' so I stood my ground, just starin' at his face. He tried so hard to look scary, scrunchin' up his eyebrows and usin' the fact that he was bigger than me to his advantage... But I wasn't scared'a him. I wasn't scared'a nobody.
Finally, I saw his chin start to quiver a little, and his blue eyes glistened with tears underneath his shaggy brown hair. Without a word, he suddenly turned on his heel and started stormin' away from me, keepin' his head down.
"Daryl...!" I called out to him, suddenly regrettin' everything I'd said, "Daryl! Wait!"
I started to chase after him, and watched as he tossed his head over his shoulder to glare at me. His cheeks were wet and stained in shiny streaks left by tears.
"Screw you, Raelyn." Daryl spat bitterly at me before turnin' back around.
I ignored his words, though, and kept runnin' uphill to catch him. The next thing I knew, I had my arms wrapped around his waist, tightly pulling him against me and pressin' my face into the back of his red jacket. It smelled like musty cigarette smoke and rain, but I didn't care.
"Don't go, Dare." I softly begged into his jacket, "Please? I'm real sorry about what I said, I won't talk about it no more. I promise."
At first, Daryl didn't move, and his body was stiff. But I didn't let go...I was so scared I'd just chased away my best friend, my favorite person in the world, all 'cause of my big mouth... Finally, though, I felt his chest heave a small sigh, causin' his muscles to relax. Daryl quickly drug the sleeve of his jacket across his eyes to dry them before turnin' around to face me.
I dropped my arms from his waist and took a step back, starin' up into his face as he gazed down at me. My heart was poundin' so hard, and it felt like a millennium passed by before Daryl lifted his arm up, and plopped his hand down on my head to rest.
"It's all right, Rae..." He sighed, givin' my hair a ruffle, "Ain't yer fault that yer too smart fer yer own good. But just like ya said, no more talkin' about it. Okay?"
I nodded my head quickly, and Daryl took his hand away, trailin' back down to the creek.
"Hey, Rae?" He said as he bent down to scoop up a rock, then flung it out into the water.
"Yea?" I answered, mimicin' his stone throwin' actions.
Daryl snatched another small rock from the ground, but before he chucked it, he turned his head to me and grinned.
"Knock-knock."
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To be continued...