After I had told Rick I would stay he had smiled brightly and directed me to a shower. He had said that the group had already agreed on me staying, even without my consent. I had grabbed some clothes and toiletries out of my truck and walked toward my designated shower. The warm water felt heavenly on my aching muscles, it'd been at least two weeks since I had had a proper shower. I rolled my neck and looked at my feet. The water was a light brown color with a slight pink tint from blood. I sighed as I grabbed the shampoo, squeezing a handful of it into my palm and lathering it into my hair. I rinsed and repeated at least three times before conditioning, washing my body, and shaving. After about 25 minutes I got the nerve to get out of the shower, so I turned the knob and grabbed my towel, yanking it off the rack and proceeding to dry myself.
I pulled on a loose fit white tank top and a pair of denim shorts. I grabbed my brush next and began to yank it through my tangled hair. Once it was relatively tangle free I pulled my hair up into a messy bun and grabbed my toothbrush, putting a dollop of toothpaste on the bristles and sticking it in my mouth before pulling on my black combat boots. I rinsed my mouth out and looked up at the slightly foggy mirror. My brown eyes looked tired, I had bags under my eyes, and my long curly brown hair that usually hung to the small of my back was sat effortlessly atop my head. I smiled slightly at my reflection, besides the bags under my eyes and the scars that littered my body, I looked great, there was no more blood or mud all over me and that was a good change.
I was supposed to go talk to Hershel, as he wanted to know a little about me, and Rick wanted to know how I contribute to the group. I opened the bathroom door and walked across the landing to the stairs, Rick was waiting for me at the bottom. I walked down the stair and stood beside Rick "Daryl will be waiting out front for you when you're done" Rick said, leading me toward what I assumed was the dining room. I hadn't yet been introduced to anyone else besides Daryl and the men who pulled me over, but I assumed the old man at the old oak table was Hershel.
I smiled at him shyly before pulling out a chair directly in front of him and sitting down. I reached across the table and self my hand out to Hershel. "Madison" I briefly introduced myself. He nodded in recognition, grasping my hand firmly and with a brief shake he said "Hershel". Rick went to sit next to Hershel, his chair scraping lightly against the floor. He cleared his throat before he began to speak "So, Madison, we know that you are Daryl's cousin, but that's all we really know. So how do you think that you can contribute to the group? What skills do you have? Daryl told us that he taught you a little bit in hand to hand combat and other weapons. He didn't say much so we're here to ask you, just a basic run down" Rick said. I nodded and began to speak. "Well weapon wise, I can use most guns, I'm really good at hand to hand combat, better than Daryl anyways" I said with a small chuckle. "I can't use a crossbow like my cousin but I can use a bow and arrow and most other weapons. I've always been a fast learner so after a basic rundown on a weapon I can use it. Um I'm 19, but I had been in Pre-Med when everything ended I guess. I graduated high school at 16 with a scholarship and immediately went to college. I've had to patch up a lot of wounds and I know a lot about the medical field. I could serve as a doctor of some sort? Or keep watch? Or I could scavenge?" I suggested.
"It would be nice to have some help medically, no one else really knows what to do except put in an IV" Hershel said thoughtfully, looking over at Rick. "Doctor?" I ask, "Vet. A veterinarian" Hershel answered. I nodded and smiled at him. "We could use more scavengers, with all the people on the farm two people won't cut it. Watch is covered unless someone needs a break" Rick added. "I could hunt with Daryl? We used to all the time, we make a great team, plus you'll have double the meat" I said, glancing between the two men. "I suppose so, just three questions left. How many walkers have you killed?" he asked. "I'm assuming you're talking about the lurkers, so too many to count" I answered. He nodded. "How many people have you killed?" "I'd love to say none, but I'd be lying. I guess around 6?" I spit out. Rick looked a little taken back. "I guess that last question is why?' I took a deep breath before beginning to talk. "I mentioned earlier that I don't have a good history with groups, specifically the men. I don't regret what I did, and I would do it again. That's all I'm going to say but know that my reasons are justified" I explained quickly before pushing myself to my feet.
Rick looked sympathetic, obviously understanding what my reasons were. "You can go see Daryl now, we'll discuss this more later, I think you'll be an asset for this group" Rick said, nodding towards the door. With a nod I walked out the front door and to Daryl. He was sitting on an old wicker chair, waiting for me. "I know you have a few questions so go ahead and ask" Daryl said, pushing himself up from the old chair.
"I've been itching to ask- where's Merle? He's a tough son of a bitch, he's alive right?" I question as I dragged Daryl to the steps and sat down, Daryl beside me. "He- I – I don't know. We lost him weeks ago, Rick handcuffed him to a roof 'cuz I guess he was being his usual asshole self and he cut his hand off to get away from the building. He cauterized his wound and crawled out the fire escape, and we couldn't find him after that. He stole our truck and now we don't know if he's alive or not" Daryl quickly explained. I nodded and took a deep breath, pushing my head into my hands, Merle wasn't my favorite person, but he was family and I loved him none the less.
After a moment I spoke up. "I looked for you, ya know. First place I went? Your parent's house. They didn't make it, opted out. And when I checked you house and Merles house, they were empty so I assumed you'd made it out" I said, rubbing my eyes before leaning back. Daryl nodded at me "My father was a coward, I expected him to opt out. I was plannin on lookin for ya but Merle dragged me to Atlanta, insisted that you were smart enough to go there, I guess you were smart enough to not go there. After I realized you weren't there he wouldn't let me leave, said you'd be smart enough to find us or sumthin" Daryl muttered.
"At least you tried"
After that we stayed silent, sitting together in silence, just enjoying being in each-others company. After 15 minutes Daryl spoke up, "So what about your parents? They make it?" I laughed bitterly. "Seems even after death the bastards still try and kill me. Had to put em down" It was silent another moment before the door behind us opened and closed, boots thudding on the platform before Rick appeared in front of us. "I think it's time proper introductions were made" Rick said, motioning for me to get up. I groaned lowly as I pushed my stiff body up, silently nodding to Daryl before following Rick to the line of tents. I smiled at curious people who watched us walk by.
"These people, they're good people, we're all family here, we all contribute and protect one another. I expect the same from you, we aren't like the groups you've been in before" Rick said, as he lead me o the people who had gathered in front of an old RV. "That's Dale, Andrea, Glenn, and Carol. We're looking for Carol's little girl right now" Rick said, pointing out the people. When we reached the group I smiled shyly at them. "I'm Madison, thank for allowing me to be in the group… " I awkwardly greeted, looking at the smiling people. Dale looked up at me and smiled. "Nice to meet you, I assume Rick told you our names already?" he asked, sticking his hand out with a smile. I grasped his hand firmly, shaking it with a nod. "Yeah, nice to meet ya" I said. Before Rick could introduce me to everyone else Dale looked at me and said "If you ever need anything, you know where to find me" He said, a friendly smile spread across his face.
Rick lead me away to meet everyone else, I met his wife and son, Hershel's family, Glenn, and formally met T-dog, who apologized for Shane, who was the last person I was supposed to meet. He was leaning against the house, in the shade. We walked up to him and stood a foot or two away. Shane glanced up at me and said "Sorry about the small fact that I knocked you out" He said immediately. "Yeah, its fine, I'm sorry about your cheek by the way" I said. "My cheek?" he asked. I nodded before pulling my fist back and slamming it into his face. He stumbled into the wall and looked at me in shock, as Rick pulled me back. "Sorry, ya know, about the small fact that I punched you" I sarcastically said as I was dragged away. "What the hell were you thinking?" Rick hissed, pulling me towards my truck. "You know Daryl, and you knew Merle, you must know about the Dixon attitude, besides, us Dixon's hold grudges" I said simply, pulling my wrist out of his grip. I walked towards my truck and grabbed a water bottle from the trunk and chugged half of it before looking up as Maggie got closer.
Maggie smiled at me. "I saw you punch Shane, I don't think I've ever seen him so shocked. But he deserved it. Just don't make it a habit of pissing him off, he's been pushing Rick lately, and they're really close. I don't wanna know what he'd do to a stranger" Maggie said, getting quieter at the end as if to keep it a secret. I nodded "I know I just met him, but if he knocks out someone he just met, I think he must be off his rocker" I said, laughing slightly. She smiled at me. "You should come eat dinner with us in an hour, so we can get to know you" She said, backing up slightly. "If I'm hungry I will, but definitely tomorrow?" I ask. She nods before turning around and jogging towards the house. I smile slightly before pushing myself off the truck and walking towards Rick.
He excused himself from his son and walked over to me. "Hey, about the sleeping arrangements, I don't have a tent and I won't sleep in the house so can I take the loft in the stable?" I asked, nodding my head toward the stable behind us. He scratched his beard before nodding. "Yeah, yeah that's fine, Let me know if you need anything" he shortly replied before going back to his son.
I nodded before turning around and heading towards my truck, wanting to get some much needed sleep. I pulled my sleeping bag and a pillow out and headed towards the stables, hearing the horses neigh as I got closer. The stable was a huge wooden structure, with a large loft above the stalls and little carved in sketches all over the walls. I opened the large doors and walked in, closing the door behind me as I headed towards the ladder leading up. I quickly clambered up, softly smiling at the familiar smell. In college they had an equestrian class and I spent a lot of time with the horses.
my sleeping bag and spread it out on a couple hay bales, pushedtogether in a make shift bed. Iplaced my pillow at the head of thebag and kicked my shoes off,climbing into the bag. I guess I hadn't realized how tired I was earlier, because within moments I was fast asleep
~A/N~
The love interest of the story doesn't actually make an appearance until the very end of chapter five, so until then it's just letting you get to know my character.