"Sam, do you think you could lend me a hand?" Rick called.
I sat up in my chair and looked around for him. I spotted him near the barn, so I quickly stood up and walked towards him.
"Everything alright?" I asked as I drew closer.
"Do you think you could keep an eye out for Shane while I talk to Randall? I don't want him barging in on me." Rick sighed, keeping his eyes level with mine.
"Sure." I shrugged.
He nodded and walked towards the barn next to me, squinting as we turned into the sun.
Why would he need a warning if Shane was coming? The only reason I could see was that Shane would go in with all guns blazing, and that was not wanted. Nor was it fair. No, Rick's calm approach may have more success. What he wanted to talk to Randall about was a mystery to me, though. all I could think to ask is why his group were going to leave us as walker food when we met Dave and Tony in town. The memory of that night left me with a bad taste in my mouth.
"Okay, you wait outside. If you see Shane heading this way, give me a call." Rick stated, and I nodded in silent compliance.
He opened the door to the barn, and quickly disappeared inside it. I leant on the barn wall and crossed my arms, watching as the camp buzzed with life.
I hadn't seen Shane that morning, but Dale had told me earlier that he had left to go teach Andrea some more shooting techniques. Dale didn't seem too happy about their pairing, but there was little he could do. Andrea was a grown woman, and Shane was an unstoppable force.
"Why were you in the town?" I heard Rick ask, his voice low but dangerous.
"Just looking for Dave and Tony. We were all looking for supplies at first." Came the stifled reply.
My eyebrows knotted. I didn't like the fact that Randall was on the farm as much as the next person, but I didn't agree with him being shoved away like this in the barn. Then again, he may have been one of the guys that was shooting at us. The whole situation left me feeling uneasy.
"Well if you were all looking for the same thing, why did you send a load of people in two convoys?" Rick asked, but I could tell there was anger in his voice.
"I don't know, I just went with them!" Randall sniffed.
I heard Rick pacing about, and I knew he was stressed. It wasn't an easy situation. I mean, what was? Everything was crazy. The situation we were in was crazy. But I knew Rick could hang tight. I had to believe that - he was the rock of us all.
"Just let me out. I'll go quietly. I won't tell the others or anything. You can even blindfold me again." Randall rushed, making my heart feel heavy. I even felt guilty.
"I... Ah!" Rick grunted, his rapid footsteps heading towards me.
He burst out of the barn, his face set in a straight line as he ran his hands over his face and hair. I silently watched him, not knowing whether to speak or not. He soon collected himself and looked at me. He reached to his back pocket and pulled out a mangled bottle of water.
"Do you think you could give him some? Just don't give anything away to him about the group." He asked, his voice raspy but short.
"That's fine." I said, slowly taking the bottle from his hand. Confused, I span where I stood and walked into the barn. I took one last look back at Rick. He was pacing and his face was set in a scowl. I blew out my cheeks before continuing into the barn.
The humidity of the place hit me as soon as I was inside the door. My clothes soon felt sticky and the air was a lot more stuffy. I saw Randall sitting against one of the walls, hands behind his back. I walked towards him, his head raising as I drew closer.
"Hey lady, what are you doing?" He asked as I knelt near him.
Silently, I opened the cap and held it up. He opened his mouth and I poured in two thirds of the bottle when he signalled that he stopped drinking.
"You want the rest?" I asked quietly, and he shook his head.
"Can you cool me off?" He asked.
I poured the rest of the water over all of his head, slightly confused at his weird turn of phrase. Can you cool me off? Sounds like the end of a cheesy pick up line.
"Lady, you think you could take off these cuffs? Just for a bit? I wouldn't hurt you, I just want to be more comfortable." He asked, his voice high.
I looked up and sighed, shaking my head at him. I was kind of alarmed at the fact he was still sitting in handcuffs, but I understood the precautions. I then stood straight and with one last understanding look, strode out of the barn. I stepped back out into heat, but it felt a lot better than being inside the barn.
"Thanks Sam. But you better go. Shane's on his way over." Rick said quickly, but laid a hand on my shoulder.
I gave him a stoud nod before walking away from the barn and towards the camp. Shane gave me a wide birth as he walked past but acted as if I wasn't there, and was soon arguing with Rick in no time. I looked back and saw Shane getting extremely heated, his fists balling and face growing redder.
I stopped walking and watched, conscious of the fact that I might have to go and restrain Shane from punching Rick. I knew he was capable of going to such lengths. Fortunately, Rick remained somewhat calm and ended the confrontation. Shane marched into the barn, followed by a strong but concerned-looking Rick.
I let out a shaky breath and continued back up to camp, reeling.
Shane was becoming volatile. Not only was it a hazard to him, but to everyone else as well. I guess it wasn't just walkers I had to keep an eye out for.
"Perimeter check time. Any volunteers?" Rick asked.
He came back from the barn with Shane looking like he was on the verge of pulling his hair out. Shane himself rocked up to the group and had then disappeared into his car and left for a while. Before he left he did acknowledge me, though. He gave me a filthy look, and I saw his teeth grinding. He was asking fora fight, but I wasn't going to give it to him. At least not today. Only when it mattered.
Since there no takers for Rick's offer, I stood up and nodded.
"I'll do it. My legs are starting to go dead, anyway." I shrugged.
After receiving a quick 'thank you' from Rick, I grabbed my machete from the tent. I gave an annoyed-looking Alex a nod and began to walk towards the edge of Hershel's land.
The sun was lowering in the sky, and the temperature was almost perfect. Sighing, I pushed my hair out of my face and followed the fences that surrounded the land. Thankfully, my British body was getting used to this Georgian heat.
I slowly made my was towards where Daryl was set up, making sure I checked to see if the area he was in was still in shape. After looking round the area, I sucked it up and made my way over to his tent.
I walked round and saw that the place was empty. Huffing, I turned back and carried on with my checks.
I don't have to justify to myself why I wanted to check on Daryl. He was a member of this group, and I want to make sure he lives, like the rest of us. No other reason.
Ignoring the feeling of disappointment that was settling in my gut, I walked back to the fences and climbed over. I kept on walking, keeping an eye on the surrounding areas. The fences were all still in good condition, and there wasn't any walkers around. It was quite a relief to not have to worry about it for now. The camp could be safe for another day.
I was nearly back to where I started, and I could picture crawling into the tent and sleeping through all of eternity. The though of sleep made me scrunch my eyes and my toes curl.
I hadn't slept well the night. Helena didn't stop wriggling and woke up needing a drink of water. Naturally, I was the idiot that got it for her - I wasn't going to let her go out in the dark just to get some water. No matter how safe the place is, you can never take chances. I learnt that from what happened at the quarry. When I got back, she took a few groggy sips and then fell fast asleep again. needless to say, I was a little annoyed that I got up for a few sips, but she was virtually restless for the rest of the night. I didn't get back to sleep, though.
I was broken from the memory by a movement ahead of me. I slowed to a stop, raising my machete. If this was a walker, everything I said about the camp being safe would've been the most naive thing I could have ever said. I needed to stop jinxing things.
I didn't want to get too close - I couldn't tell what it was, and in the dying light, distance would be my advantage. I circled the movement and began planting myself between it and the camp, only twenty or so feet between us. If it was anything dangerous, it's not getting to camp. That's for certain.
It stopped moving then, so it have either spotted me or was distracted. I still didn't want to move closer, so I though of what I could do to gain it's attention. Taking a deep breath, I wolf-whistled.
When I had finished, the shape emerged. It was bloody Daryl Dixon.
Blushing, I lowered my machete. We were getting into a habit of just appearing and me almost decapitating him. But I was relieved that it wasn't a walker, and that I didn't have a headless Daryl on my hands.
He walked fully through the trees, and upon seeing my defensive position and probably giant blush, he faltered. I didn't move, only blinking as I watched him. He probably thinks I wolf-whistled him! Oh jeez.
He took a few seconds to compose himself before giving me a stout nod and continuing to his tent.
When he was out of sight I relaxed and slowly carried on with perimeter check, feeling increasingly stupid. Why did I wolf whistle? I couldn't have done anything more embarrassing, or suggestive for that matter.
Daryl needs to stop coming out of nowhere and worrying the hell out of me. I mean, one day I will actually run him through... And I really, really don't want to do that.
Dragging myself from the thought of hurting Daryl, I finished up my perimeter checks and headed up to camp with a heavy head and a heavy heart.
I stepped into the RV, the cool air making me slow. It was wonderful, and I could stand there for hours. I looked around and saw Dale sitting by his table, helping Andrea clean the guns.
"Hey." I said, gaining their attention as I walked towards them.
"Sam! We could use an extra pair of hands." Andrea smiled, shifting further up the seat.
I perched on the end of the bench and grabbed a small handgun. I followed the instructions Andrea gave me about dismantling and switching on the safety. Soon enough, I was cleaning at a reasonable pace.
"So, how's the shooting coming along?" I asked after a short silence.
"Pretty good. Shane's showed me some police techniques. I'm getting quite sharp." Andrea smiled, the pride evident in her face.
"That's great. We need another sharp shooter." I smiled.
"I think we better watch ourselves when Andrea gets riled." Dale smiled, his eyes twinkling.
Andrea mock gasped, and I chuckled along with the charade. I did agree though. She did seem to fly off the handle quickly, and who knows if she's willing to raise a gun. I doubted it, but I guess it depended on how bad things got. And how much she hung around with Shane. Anything could happen.
My eyes flicked up to Dale and I smiled. He reciprocated it, placing his gun down and starting on the next one. I knew he was worried about Andrea, and I knew we were having the same train of thought.
Before I could carry on cleaning, something caught my eye just behind his head. A calendar.
I looked at the month and counted the days that were crossed off, confused at the familiarity of one of the upcoming days. It was also strange seeing a marker of time when we were living in a world where it didn't matter anymore. I had no idea what time or day it was, and seeing the calendar actually made me feel pretty uncomfortable.
"Is it really the sixteenth?" I asked, scanning the days.
"Yeah." Dale said, turning round and examining the calendar.
"How do you know?" I asked, screwing my face up as I concentrated.
"I've been marking days off, why?" Andrea asked.
I sat in silence for a few more seconds, running the date though my head. Why was it so important? Then it clicked.
"Oh crap - it's Alex's birthday in two days!"
Hope you all enjoyed this little installment!
I hope you like the next couple of chapters that will be coming soon, too. ;]
Thank all you lovely people for reading, following, commenting and favouriting!
- Loré. X