.: Raelyn | Age 27 *Present* :.
It was mid-mornin' by the time Amy and I finished hangin' up all the laundry to dry, and everyone was up and bustlin' around camp.
Carl and Sophia, Carol's daughter, scampered past us as we made our way through the tents and parted ways, Amy turnin' left to see what Andrea was doin' inside the RV, and me stayin' on my path goin' straight, headed toward the other vehicles.
I frowned, feelin' my heart sink as I scanned my eyes around at all the passin' faces, still not seein' the steel blue eyes I was hopin' for... What I did see, though, was that beautiful red Charger propped up on a jack, with Dale, Jim, and Morales swarmin' around it like frantic honeybees on a freshly bloomed flower.
"Whoa, what's goin' on?" I asked Glenn, who was standin' off to the side bitterly watchin' the other three men tinker away.
"Look at them." Glenn spat as he crossed his arms over his chest, glarin' at Morales while he popped the front left tire off the car's body and started rollin' it off toward his van, "Vultures. Go ahead, strip it clean!"
He sounded so disappointed, watchin' as Jim used a wrench to disassemble the gorgeous, powerful engine, and as Dale drained the last of the gasoline from the tank into a red canister. It wasn't really fun for me to watch, either. It was an amazin' car in almost perfect condition, just bein' ripped apart right before our eyes.
"Sorry, kids." Dale sighed with a sympathetic smile as he lugged the can of gas passed us and toward the RV, "Generators need all the fuel they can get... No power without it."
He reached up and gave Glenn's shoulder a pat, who let out a deflated sigh.
"I was hoping to drive it at least a few more days." He grumbled to me, and I nodded in agreement.
"Life ain't fair, I guess..." I replied glumly.
Boy, was that an understatement.
I was so busy watchin' the men ravage the Charger that I didn't notice Rick at my side until he spoke up, "Maybe we'll get to steal another one, someday."
I rolled my eyes at him, and I noticed he wasn't dressed in his Sheriff's uniform today... Instead, Rick was wearin' a plain white t-shirt, blue jeans, and some gray sneakers. It was sorta strange, seein' him dressed like a regular civilian, but I suppose that's all he was, anymore... Just a survivor like the rest of us.
Rick then chuckled, patted Glenn and I each on the shoulder, then turned to stroll off toward Lori, who was busy foldin' dry clothes at that long white table with Carol and Jackie.
Glenn and I stayed put, makin' gruesome faces at the car as one part after another was ripped from the engine, until the sound of tires rollin' up through the dirt caught my attention. The sharp breeze cut through my hair, whippin' it over my shoulder as I turned my eyes toward the main path leadin' into camp.
If I didn't feel disgusted enough already about the car, I could have almost puked at the sight of Shane's jeep tearin' through the trees and screechin' to a halt about fifteen feet away. A cloud of dust swooped up around the vehicle as the driver's side door popped open and Shane stepped out onto the grass.
"Water's here, people!" He hollered out to everyone in earshot, slammin' his door behind him and takin' off his sunglasses, "Just a friendly reminder to boil first."
As Shane and Rick half-heartedly greeted each other by noddin' their heads and limply wavin' their hands toward one another, Glenn and I pulled ourselves away from the metal carnage and drifted over to the back of the Jeep, helpin' unload the few jugs of water. I noticed the feelin' of Shane's eyes lingerin' on me as I hauled the jug down toward the cooking area, but I did my best to just ignore him, rather than turn around and snap like I wanted to.
Glenn quickly made his way back up toward the main group of campers, but I chose to hang back and slip into Jackie and T-Dog's tent. It was quiet and secluded, exactly what I wanted in that moment as I plopped down on my sleepin' bag and let out a long sigh.
I was feelin' so anxious and frustrated, the last thing I wanted to do was go make nice with a bunch of strangers... Rick and Glenn were honestly the only ones I could stomach the longest, and even they got on my nerves... Carol was pretty nice, too, though. And Amy...
All right, so I guess it wasn't exactly the people around that were botherin' me... It was the lack of that one particular person that was just drivin' me up the wall. I wanted to see Daryl, I needed to see him. To hear him, to hug him... I just couldn't handle bein' away from him a second longer, and knowin' he was put there, alive and well, makin' his way back to this camp at that very moment... Well, it was enough to send my anxiety levels into the clouds.
"C'mon, Daryl..." I quietly urged him as I fell back onto my pillow, "Hurry up and get here, already..."
For a split second, the scary thought passed through my mind that maybe he wasn't gonna make it back... Images of my best friend covered in blood and walker bites filled my mind, and panic rushed through my veins.
No, that wasn't possible, though. Daryl was too tough, too stubborn to let himself go down like that. I knew that for a fact, he'd put up one hell of a fight before anyone took him out, and not even a bunch of walkin', flesh eatin' dead guys could stand in his way of survival.
I closed my eyes and thought of his face, tryin' to recall every little detail... His scruffy light brown hair... His pale blue eyes, of course... That little mole right next to his mouth on the right side... His lean, toned frame from all the hikin' and huntin' he did... The way he'd squint one eye when the sun was too bright, or the way he smirked when I told a joke that he thought was funny, but didn't wanna laugh at... I missed him so damn much.
Suddenly, just as I felt my mind driftin' away from me and my body givin' into a light sleep, a high pitched scream pierced the air, scarin' the shit outta me. My body jolted upward on my sleepin' bag, my heart poundin' and my breath ragged as I listened, tryin' to pinpoint the noise.
"MOMMY!" A tiny voice hollered out from a distance away, soundin' like Sophia from the top of the hill. Then, came Carl's terrified cry, "MOM! DAD!"
I could hear everyone shoutin' frantically as chaos unfolded outside the tent, and I scurried around to find some sorta weapon. I didn't know what was goin' on out there, but I wasn't gonna just sit around and wait to figure it out, and I sure as hell wasn't runnin' into anything out there unarmed, either.
My pistol was useless with no bullets, so I left that underneath my sleepin' bag, and instead grabbed the next thing my eyes laid on... A crowbar, leanin' up against a crate packed full with some of T-Dog's personal stuff. In a flash, I had the zipper ripped open and was dashin' full speed through camp. A few people had stayed near the RV, cowerin' and whimperin' in fear, but mostly everyone had disappeared. I could hear frantic voices screamin' out from the trees at the top of the hill, and my legs automatically propelled me there.
When I finally reached the top of the hill where the forest started to get thick, I could see everyone crowdin' around in a panic. I passed Amy and Andrea huddlin' next to Dale to see Lori and Carol hangin' back, shieldin' their children with their bodies and holdin' them close. Just a few feet away, Shane, Rick, Glenn, Jim, and Morales circled somethin', fiercely beatin' whatever it was with blunt objects like shovels and the butts of their guns.
"What the hell's goin' on?!" I yelled out as I gripped the crowbar and pushed my way to the group of guys, fueled on pure adrenaline.
"Stay back, Rae!" Rick roared out at me over his shoulder, swingin' the shovel in his hands out in front of him.
My eyes followed his weapon at the lightnin' speed he was wieldin' it, and my heart stopped when I saw the walker. It was horrible lookin'... Bloody, grimey, clothes muddy and ripped up, face half rotted off... And all the guys were doin' was batterin' it around, knockin' it in the chest and stomach, which only made it more agitated.
The walker let out a disgustin' gurgle as it stumbled toward Glenn, who yelped and swung at its upper body with a metal baseball bat.
He struck the corpse in the left shoulder, breakin' the bone with a loud snap, but that still didn't stop that ugly, dead bastard. It just kept comin', reachin' out and grabbin' for one person after the other.
"Ya'll ain't doin' shit to it-" I protested as I tried to step in, but felt an arm brace hard against my collar bone and roughly shove me backwards.
I stumbled a little but quickly caught my balance, sharply glarin' at Shane, who had been the one to shove me. He scowled darkly in my direction, then quickly snapped at me, "Girl, are you deaf or somethin'?! Stay the hell back away from this damn thing!"
Before I could yell back at him, he turned and bashed the butt of his rifle into the livin' corpse's neck, bustin' the skin open and 'causin' a sea of black, deceased blood to spill out all over the grass. Everyone jumped back as the thing wobbled forwards, stumblin' straight in my direction.
I tightened my grip on the crowbar, keepin' my eyes on the beast and listenin' to Morales's panicked shouts that sounded so far away, "Raelyn, move! Get outta the way!"
But I didn't go anywhere, despite Carol, Lori, and Andrea's screams mixin' in with Morales's. Instead, I held my ground, and when that disgustin', evil thing got close enough, just before it could curl it's boney fingers around my neck... I swung my arm as hard as I could, smashin' that crowbar into the walker's rotten skull. The metal sickeningly crunched into the bone, shatterin' it to pieces and rupturin' the brain.
The body stopped movin', its arms fallin' limp at its sides as I ripped the crowbar free, watchin' the bag of bones and decomposin' skin crumple to the ground in a bloody heap.
I could hear Carl and Sophia whimperin' behind me, along with their mothers' hushed, soothin' voices tryin' to calm them down. My eyes were glued to the walker for a second or two before I flicked them up and around to all of the camp's men surroundin' me.
"Gotta aim for the head." I informed them bluntly after takin' in their wide eyed stares of confusion. I let my gaze lock onto Shane's, feelin' some kinda anger fester in my stomach as I narrowed my eyes and lowered my voice just slightly, "I was tryin' to tell ya that, if you woulda just listened."
Really, I wanted to cuss that guy out and maybe give him a taste of that crowbar in my hand, but of course I controlled myself and my mouth in front of all the campers, especially the kids. But I sure as hell made certain that Shane could understand my pure hatred for him just through the look in my eyes.
And by the way his ears turned red and his jaw clenched, all the tension in his dark eyes travelin' down to his flarin' nostrils... I knew he understood my feelin's.
"That's the first one we've seen up here..." Dale grimly pointed out as he suddenly stepped forward, keepin' a weary eye on the corpse sprawled across the grass.
Jim then took off his baseball cap to wipe the sweat from his forehead before sighin', "Well, that must mean they're runnin' outta food in the city..."
A sick feelin' hit me in my stomach at the word 'food' comin' outta Jim's mouth, knowin' he meant people... Livin' human beings.
It wasn't until now when everyone was a little more calm that I realized why the walker had straggled into camp. A decent sized buck lay near the treeline, it's throat ripped out and gnawed on. I noticed there were also a handful of arrows stickin' out from its back, but didn't think too much of them in that moment.
I let out a sigh, turnin' to leave and head back down to the tents, when suddenly there was a rustlin' sound comin' from the trees behind us all. Everyone froze, the men raisin' their weapons and urgently glancin' around to find the source of the noise.
My heart was racin' as I turned back around, starin' intently into the trees and expectin' to see another dead body come strollin' out toward us, thinkin' it'd make one of us its next meal.
When I finally caught a glimpse of a human figure startin' to show through the brush, my stomach leapt up into my throat. I couldn't tell if it was a walker, or a human, but either one could be equally as threatenin'. My fingertips instinctively tightened around the metal crowbar, just in case I'd need to use it again... But suddenly, a gruff, twangy voice rang out through the trees...
"Sum' bitch! That was MY deer!"
Instantly, my body felt numb from my head to my toes. My breath was caught frozen in my lungs, and I couldn't quite tell if my heart was beatin' too fast, or not fast enough. All I did know was that voice... I knew that voice better than anything, it was the voice I'd been dyin' to hear for over three months now, and that I had been almost positive I'd never hear again.
"Look at it, all gnawed on by this... -" The bitter soundin' voice continued, but trailed off, leavin' everyone quiet.
He was in view now. I could see him, standin' right there in the sunlight... It was really Daryl, lookin' almost exactly how he did three months ago, granted his hair was a bit longer, his face had grown more scruff and his muscles were more toned.
In a split second, I took in his entire appearance, from his tanned skin, to his misty blue eyes, his gray sleeveless shirt and dirty jeans, right down to his dusty old workboots. His old crossbow hung slack in his hand danglin' by his side, and he was starin' right at me... His eyes were vacant, his face completely blank, like he was starin' at a ghost.
I could feel everyone's eyes on us, watchin' to see what we'd do, but I just let 'em stare. They were the last thing I was thinkin' about while I was standin' there just six or seven feet away from the person I'd been searchin' so hard for...
"... Rae...? " Daryl spoke up first, his eyes narrowin' and his voice just above a whisper.
And that was all it took, the sound of my name rollin' from his lips. The crowbar fell into the grass with a thud as my body's autopilot took over, propellin' me forward until I could reach out and touch Daryl.
My breath hitched as I threw my arms up and wrapped them around his neck, pullin' his body into mine so tightly, I thought we might possibly morph into one person. At first, Daryl was stiff and unresponsive from the shock, but after a few seconds I heard his heavy crossbow drop to the ground, and felt his masculine arms encircle my waist. In that moment, even though I'd just bashed a zombie's rotten skull in with a crowbar, I felt complete bliss. I never wanted to let Daryl go.
"Raelyn...Holy shit." My best friend breathed into my hair as I felt his right hand travel upwards and press against the back of my head, "Yer really standin' here? Right in front'a me? This ain't some dream?"
I nodded my head into his shoulder, unable to keep the smile off my face as he pulled away slightly, searchin' my eyes in disbelief.
"It's me, Dare." I assured him through an exhausted chuckle, leanin' in and pressin' myself against him again, "Jesus Christ, I thought I was never gonna see ya again..."
"Ah, so Dixon's got a soft side, after all." Dale's voice teased from a few feet away.
"Shut up, old man." Daryl growled back, and I heard Dale chuckle as my best friend pried me away from him and held me out at arms length, his puzzled eyes flashin' over me a few times and his tone much more serious as he spoke again, "Rae... How the hell did you get here?"
"I was in the city..." I replied, glancin' around at everyone still starin' at us, "I ran into your group and came back here with 'em."
Daryl raised his eyebrows at me, "The city?! Just what the hell were you doin' there? Place is a livin' graveyard."
"I was lookin' for you and Merle..." I explained, my voice startin' to sound a little nervous, so I cleared my throat, "Which reminds me, Daryl... I need to tell ya somethin'-"
"Ya seen my brother already, huh? That fool still alive?" My friend asked me with a slight smirk before I could tell him anything about his brother bein' left behind in Atlanta, "I got about a dozen squirrels here I need 'im to help me skin."
Daryl held up a bunch of squirrels strung together before makin' his way back down the hill toward camp, and I flashed the group an uneasy glance before quickly trailin' behind him.
"Merle?!" Daryl called out as he neared the tents, "Merle, c'mon! I got us some squirrel, let's stew 'em up!"
He continued to rustle around in the cookin' area, rattlin' pots and pans around until he noticed everyone starin' at him.
"That's what I was tryin' to tell ya, Dare..." I started out in a gentle voice, "There was a problem with Merle... Um... Somethin' happened back in the city."
We all waited as Daryl seemed to absorb this information, his face slowly fallin' into a grim, blank stare. My heart sank as he glanced down at the ground, then turned his eyes back up to me. "... He dead...?"
I shamefully shook my head and shrugged my shoulders, feelin' a dull pain in my heart as I told Daryl the truth, "We're not sure-"
"The hell you mean you ain't sure?!" My best friend sharply snapped, raisin' his voice as he suddenly stood to his feet, "Either he is or he ain't!"
I furrowed my eyebrows at Daryl, about to come back at his fierce tone, when Rick suddenly stepped in and boldly spoke up.
"Look, there's no easy way to say this," The police officer announced as he looked toward Daryl, who was growin' more agitated by the second, "So I'll just say it."
"Who the hell're you?" Daryl barked his demand toward Rick, narrowin' his blue-eyed and givin' the man a once over.
"Rick Grimes."
"Okay, Rick Grimes." The redneck I'd been searchin' for all these weeks replied, spittin' his words out in a condescendin' way, "You got somethin' you wanna tell me?"
Rick didn't waste any time tellin' Daryl how it was, keepin' his voice level and even the entire time, "Your brother was a danger to us all. So, I handcuffed him to the roof. Chained him to a piece of metal... And he's still there."
At that moment, T-Dog approached, holdin' an armful of firewood. He could hear what Rick was sayin' to Daryl, and immediately his face fell into an anxious mess.
At this point, Daryl was pacin' back and forth, his face twistin' into a tense, angry scowl. "Hold on," He snarled out, and I knew just from experience with his temper that he was about to explode, "Just lemme process this. So yer sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof
... An' you LEFT HIM THERE?!"
Daryl stared Rick down with wide, angry eyes, and the police officer nodded his head with no fear. This prompted the redneck I grew up with to turn to me, and take a few stompin' steps toward me, "An' you just stood there and let Mr. Clean-Cut over here handcuff Merle to a god damn piece'a metal?!"
"He pointed a gun in my face, Daryl!" I snapped back, immediately defendin' myself as Daryl glared daggers at me.
Just as Daryl was about to start shoutin' somethin' else at me, Rick stepped between us and held his hand out to keep my best friend from comin' any closer. I watched as Daryl's eyebrows raised and his jaw clenched, knowin' Rick had only amped his anger up a notch or two.
"Hey, it wasn't Raelyn's fault." Rick firmly said to Daryl, "Merle was puttin' her life in danger, too. She didn't tell me to use the cuffs, that was my decision, and mine alone. Just back up a little."
"Rick-" I started to say, but Daryl's loud mouth was still ragin' on over my voice.
"Back up a little?!" He repeated Rick in a raised tone, his lips upturnin' into a frown and his misty colored eyes narrowin' threateningly. "Man, why don't ya take yer own advice?! Git outta the way!"
Suddenly, Daryl threw a punch at Rick's jaw, but the police officer was quick to dodge. Outta no where, Shane flew in and shoved Daryl to the ground, coaxin' a yelp from my throat as I dropped to my knees to help my childhood friend back up to his feet.
Everything happened so fast, I didn't even notice the sharp huntin' knife Daryl had whipped out and clutched tightly in his hand until he was bumpin' me outta the way and scramblin' to his feet.
"Watch the knife!" I heard T-Dog warn no one in particular, but it must have been intended for Rick because that was who Daryl was targetin'.
He lunged once, swipin' the sharp blade at Rick's throat, but he ducked right at the last second and avoided bein' sliced open.
"Daryl!" I hollered out desperately as my best friend took another vengeful stab at Rick, who luckily dodged once more. "Daryl, stop!"
Shane abruptly leapt up again, latchin' onto Daryl and tightenin' his arms around his neck in a choke hold. As the knife fell from my best friend's fingers and his movements weakened a little, I felt a fiery rage ignite inside me. Before I knew it, I was lungin' toward Shane, but someone wrapped their arms firmly around my waist and held me back.
"LET HIM GO!" I screamed out to Shane as I struggled against whoever held me, which turned out to be Rick.
"Just calm down!" His voice hissed in my ear as he fought to control my flailin' limbs, "Relax, Shane ain't gonna hurt him...!"
"You best let me go!" Daryl growled to Shane, who was slowly forcin' him to the ground, "Choke hold's illegal...!"
When Shane let Daryl go and tossed him to the ground, I calmed a bit, and Rick released me. He slowly trailed over to Daryl, kneelin' in front of him and talkin' in a low, even tone. "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Think we can manage that?"
I stared hopefully at Daryl with my arms crossed over my chest as he sat there on the ground, pantin' and glarin' around at everyone in the group before forcin' a stiff, reluctant nod. Rick sighed, then started explainin' his actions in the city one more time.
"What I did was not on a whim." He clarified, "Your brother does not work or play well with others-"
"It ain't Rick's fault." T-Dog suddenly piped up, and everyone looked at him, "I had the handcuff key. I dropped it..."
It was quiet and tense as everyone looked to Daryl, waitin' for his reply, which came after a few seconds in his desperate, exasperated voice, "Well... Did ya pick it up?!"
"I dropped it down the drain." T-Dog clarified, his voice stiffenin' up a little bit.
Daryl's head drooped as he sighed gravely, liftin' his gaze back up to glare in T-Dog's direction. "Yea, well if that's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."
His voice was so bitter and angry, but T-Dog kept tryin' to make the situation better.
"I chained the door shut so the geeks couldn't get to 'im..." He muttered, glancin' at the ground.
"That's gotta count for somethin'." Rick offered with a shrug, and Daryl seemed to think this over. He glanced at me, and I nodded my head to prove that T-Dog was tellin' the truth.
My best friend let out a sigh as he pushed himself up off the ground and to his feet, scowlin' at all of us standin' around him, just quietly starin'.
"The hell with all ya'll!" Daryl growled in an exasperated tone, flingin' his arm out toward us all in a dismissive gesture before turnin' toward Rick, "Dammit, just tell me where Merle is. I'll go get 'I'm myself."
"He'll show you." Lori's voice suddenly piped up from the door of the RV, where she was standin' with Amy, Andrea, and Dale.
"No," I interrupted sharply, "I will, since this is partly my responsibility."
I glared at Daryl as I spat those words, and he instantly fought back. "You ain't goin' back out into that damn city!"
"Like hell I ain't!" I snapped right back, "You just try and stop me, Dixon."
Daryl seemed like he was fishin' for somethin' else to say, but Rick spoke up first and vest him to it.
"Then it's decided." He announced as he dreadfully passed his eyes around the group of us, "We're goin' back."
A grave feelin' washed over the entire camp, and I watched as Lori turned and braced herself in the doorway of the RV, seemin' like she was collectin' every little piece of herself after hearin' that news.
When Daryl abruptly stormed away toward the tents, leavin' his angry, spiteful tension in the air surroundin' us, I watched his back as he gained distance.
I was gonna just let him go and give him his space... And I tried to stick with that plan, I really did. But there was just somethin' inside me that was drawin' me to follow him, even though I knew he probably needed to be alone...
But I had to talk to him...
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To be continued...