A/N: So, I was writing chapter 5, when I realized that I needed to have a bit of a filler chapter. Yes, unfortunately this is a filler, but it's kind of necessary to understand why Ed and Merle are the way they are in Chapter 6 (which will be out later today!) I hope that, even though it's a filler, you guys still enjoy it. No Daryl or Carol in this chapter, sorry!
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Chapter 5: Methods of Dealing
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Ed sat in the uncomfortable confines of his beach chair, glaring at his good-for-nothing wife as she unloaded the car, and smoking his umpteenth cigarette of the day. He brought the small stick to his lips, and sucked in the sweet smoke, holding it in before slowly blowing it back out. He took another drag, enjoying the feel of the smoke filling his lungs, and the nicotine calming his nerves.
Bitch better not drop my booze he thought, watching Carol struggle with the second box containing numerous bottles of alcohol. "Be fuckin' careful with those!" Ed ordered before taking another puff of smoke. Carol nodded fearfully, not meeting his eyes as she scurried into the tent with the box. She came back out moments later, but was distracted first by the redneck hicks who began setting up next to them, and then by Sophia. He sat glaring at her as she talked to their daughter, Should be making me some goddamned food is what the bitch should be doing. He stared at her, but the sight of Sophia bending over to enter their tent caught the corner of his eye.
He slowly broke his gaze from his wife, and turned it towards sophia exiting the tent with her doll. He dragged his eyes up and down Sophia's form, the sick feelings starting in the pit of his stomach. Ed clenched his hands into fists, disgusted by his urges, but couldn't bring himself to drag his eyes away from his daughters figure. All of a sudden, he felt someone's eyes on him, and turned his head to be greeted with the two furious eyes glaring at him, belonging to the younger bumfuck next to them. Ed narrowed his eyes at the man, and then turned his head back to Carol, snarling, ""Get back to work, woman. We ain't got all day to wait for you to get some fuckin' dinner ready."
Stupid fuckin' bitch...both of them; her and the little one. It's her fuckin' fault I feel this goddamned way. FUCK! Should have forced her to get that fuckin' abortion, then I wouldn't have to stare at that soft skin, those small hips, and...Ed snarled at himself, slamming his hands against his chair's armrests. He felt himself losing control when he saw Carol unpacking the M.R.E.'s by the side of their tent, and he saw red.
He stormed over to her and seized her small forearm, tightening his hand so she could really feel the pain. "What in the FUCK do you think you're doing?" He asked just above a whisper, practically seething from his anger. He watched her whimper in fear, her blue eyes filling with tears as his hand closed even tighter around her arm. I told you earlier we ain't sharin' with these people, and then your dumb ass goes and reveals what we got to the entire god damned camp!" He was practically spitting the words out at her now, so close to losing control that the only thing keeping him from snapping the bitch's neck was the public setting they were currently in. "Get those boxes in the tent, and you better hope to God no one saw and tries to that what's ours."
Ed glared at her for a few more seconds, making sure his message sunk in, before releasing her arm from his grip
and storming off towards the woods, hoping to calm down and get rid of the disgusting thoughts of his little girl.
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Merle stretched out his arms, having just finished setting up camp with his brother. It was nearly sundown, and he could feel stress of the week settling upon him. He felt his stomach start to growl, and remembered the boxes of M.R.E.s he'd seen the mousy bitch unpacking. Merle let his eyes scan the area, searching for his brother, who was checking out the new weapons they had looted earlier that day.
"I found myself a small gold mine, baby brother," Merle smirked, walking up to Daryl, and cracking his neck along the way. Daryl looked up at his brother, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"What you talking about, Merle?" He asked under his breath, dropping the arrows he had been inspecting.
"The little mouse of a thing, saw her unpacking a box 'a M.R.E.s before that brute of a husband nearly yanked her arm off," Merle laughed, pulling out a cigarette from his back pocket and lighting it up.
Merle watched as Daryl narrowed his eyes even more, standing up from his crouched position to glare at him. "Ain't no way in HELL we're doin' what you're thinkin' 'a doin' brother," Daryl said taking a step towards him.
Merle took a drag from his cigarette and blew the smoke in Daryl's face. "'S that so?" He asked, never breaking eye contact with his brother. "What you afraid of, Darylina? Need to grab your suitcase and slip in your big girl panties?"
"I ain't stealin' shit from that woman and her little girl. You saw the way that fat bastard was to her. He'd kill her if any 'a their stuff went missin'." Daryl said, keeping his eyes locked with Merle's.
Merle sneered at him, "That ain't your place, and you know it. We came here to do one thing, and that's to steal some shit so we can get our asses back on the road. I ain't gonna stay here like a sittin' duck, actin' as a buffet to these fuckin' freaks." Merle took a step closer to Daryl, their chest almost touching, "And as for that mousy bitch you got yer eyes on," he whispered, "You best walk away now, 'cause if I catch you anywhere near that piece of tail again, there'll be hell to pay, little brother."
Daryl glared at him for a second longer, before he turned on his heal and made his way to the woods, his crossbow slung on his back. Merle watched him go with disbelief. He knew his brother had always been the sensitive one, especially when it came to women being beaten, but for Christ's sake, the world was in fuckin' chaos! Old rules were for fuckin' suckers, and there was no way in hell he was gonna get his ass ripped apart by these freaks because Daryl couldn't get his shit together enough to steal a few supplies!
Merle scoffed and looked around, noticing the bitch in question staring at him out of the corner of her eye. He sneered in at her, directing all his hatred and anger into one look, and whipped around, making his way over to his bike. He practically ripped open the side bag, digging for the contents on the bottom. He felt the plastic zip-lock bag against his fingers and grasped it in his hand as he pulled it out. He was going to get high out of his mind, and no one was going to stop him, Too busy huntin' in them fuckin' woods.
Merle threw open the flap to his tent and went inside, not even waiting to close it before he dove into his bag of Heaven.
"Well hello there, beautiful," Merle whispered as he took out the large pouch of blue crystals. He stared at the glass in his hand, faltering momentarily.
Probably ain't the best plan. You just barely got these people's trust, is now really the time to start blazin' in a tent?
He frowned as he thought about it, turning the bag in his hand as he did. Daryl won't be too pleased if he sees you high as a kite...Boy's always givin' them holier-than-thou looks whenever you do it. That did it. In an instant Merle glared at the tent walls in front of him, clenching his hands into fists around the meth he still held. That fucker ain't even here. Went off, left like everyone else. Doesn't care about me, or what happens. After all I done for that boy, all I'm tryin to do. He don't even care. Don't care what we gotta do in order to survive. Probably thinks he can do better with out a fuck up like Ole Merle. He don't know how much I saved his scrawny ass. Always savin him, and he just up and leaves. He don't know. He don't know anything about what I've done for him!
With that, Merle practically tore apart the bag, scrambling to collect the meth that his body craved. He grabbed his pipe and shoved the glass into it, bringing it to his lips and lighting up. The effects were instantaneous, and Merle felt his body collapse as he fell to the ground, lying on his pillow, as he enjoyed the numbing feeling that overtook his body.
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Ed stumbled along the water line by the Quarry. After he had calmed down in the woods, the shock from the past week truly hit him. The images of people being mutilated in the streets, people that he had known for years, stuck in his mind. Their terrified screams as those...things feasted on their flesh played and replayed behind his eyes. He had made his way back to camp and grabbed himself a nearly full bottle of vodka from his box of booze. Carol was no where to be found, but everyone else, by the looks of it, was up the hill by their tents, preparing dinner and talking to each other. Wanting to be alone, Ed took his bottle and traveled down the hill.
Once he had reached the water, he opened the bottle and took a long swig, feeling the burn against his tongue, throat, and stomach. He settled himself in the sand, clutching the bottle, and let the silence wash over him. Ed sat and drank, trying to forget the horrors that he'd seen, and wanting nothing more than for all of this to be over.
The sun had set, and darkness was filling the light. Ed brought the much lighter bottle to his lips and took one last sip, before drunkenly throwing the empty bottle to the side. He tried to stand on shaky legs, and had to take a second to gain his composure as best he could. Once he felt that he was steady enough to walk, he stumbled back up the hill towards the camp. When he finally reached the top, he saw the whole group sitting around a low fire, all eating and laughing together. He narrowed his eyes when he noticed his wife's grey head amongst the group, and felt his insides flare with anger. He stormed over to the flames, ready to drag that bitch to the woods, and show her her place.
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A/N: Ok, so that was the chapter...I really had a hard time writing Ed's parts :/ I really don't like him...he might be dying quite a bit sooner than expected (hope you're all ok with that lol) The next part should be up soon! I already started writing it...soo...yeah :) Daryl and Carol will be finally interacting not in the next chapter, but the chapter after that!