I just looked down at the clock and realized that this update is LATE! I swear it almost felt like I was late for work or something! Shew... that's ridiculous. I'm hard at work on chapter 56 and it is a tough one and there is my excuse! Sorry! Read and review and ENJOY! There is a surprise at the end for you!
Chapter Forty Six
Merle had been driving for a while now. He wanted to make sure that he got far enough away for anyone to hear the shots. Sophia sat next to him and Carl was next to her, staring worriedly out the window.
"Why are we going so far out?" He asked without looking over.
Merle grinned. "Cause the further out we are the easier it'll be for me ta git outta dodge after I kill yer ass."
Carl turned his head slowly, eyes wide. "You wouldn't." He said as he shook his head.
Merle grunted as he felt an elbow hit his ribs. "Stop it, Merle." Sophia scolded.
"Watch it, lil miss. All ya are is bones. Them elbows hurt. And 'sides that, he knows 'ol Merle is only messin' with him. Surely the two of ya wouldn't be stupid enough to get in a truck with somebody that could maybe hurt ya, now are ya?"
"You aren't scary, Merle. You're an ass. There is a difference." Sophia gave him a dry smile and he returned it with a wink.
Carl just stared at them for a few minutes and then turned back to the window. "You never answered the question." He said quietly.
"Have to get far 'nuff away for ya'lls nibby ass parents not to hear. They start hearin' gunshots and we're all three busted. And I be damned if I'm gonna listen to my own baby brother lecture me on how I ain't tryin' hard enough to be an upstandin' example for the youth of the group. Asshole."
He pulled the truck onto an old dirt lane. Him and Sophia had gotten up at the crack of dawn and met Carl in the barn and showed them the basics. Now all they needed to do was learn to shoot. He had faith in the girl, but he wasn't so sure about Carl. He seemed to want to learn but it didn't seem like he had the drive that Sophia did. He was still just a kid and even though they were about the same age Sophia was more a grown up than even Merle himself.
There was a run down old farmhouse at the end of the drive and he figured that would be about perfect. Hell, knowing the dumb asses in this group they would probably end up living in it. The kids followed him around the side of the house and then towards a sagging barn.
"What are we going to be shooting at?" Sophia asked.
Merle gestured towards the barn. "Shoot at that till ya get the feel for your piece. Then we'll see about findin' us somethin' to shoot. If we can't find nothin' there's always Officer Friendly's boy. A runnin' target is the best kind."
"Merle, leave him be. Stop being so mean all the time." Sophia said as she raised the gun like Merle had showed her back in the barn.
"Wait." Carl said as he pushed her gun down. "What if the shots draw Walkers? They're attracted to sound, remember?"
Merle just laughed. "That's the damn point dummy. We get'em comin' for us and then you two best be ready. We just gotta hope it ain't no herd of'em. If so I 'spose we're screwed."
"I don't think this was a good idea." Carl said after watching Merle to make sure this wasn't another one of his jokes.
"We have to learn Carl and this is the only way. Unless you wanna go ask our parents. I'm sure yours would be thrilled."
"No shit, boy." Merle scowled. "I got up all early and snuck your asses off the farm. You know how much shit I'm gonna catch from my brother once we get back. It ain't gonna be for nothin', by God. You aim that mother fuckin' gun and you shoot. Now."
For a second it looked like the boy wanted to shoot Merle himself but finally he turned and aimed and shot at the side of the barn. Merle studied them as they both started getting used to the gun in their hands and the loudness of it. Both of them had good form, he had to give them that.
"Okay, enough." Merle said suddenly and both of them clicked on the safety and dropped their guns to their sides. "I'll be right back."
He took off towards the truck to retrieve a can of spray paint he had stashed in there earlier. He drew two targets on the side of the barn and then stepped away. He nodded to them as he walked back and they both raised their guns and started shooting. And to his utter amazement they were both good. Damn good. He hadn't made the targets very large and neither one of them missed. There wasn't one bullet hole outside of the outer circle.
"Enough." He said quietly and they dropped their weapons once more and looked at him expectantly. He shrugged. "That's it."
"That's it?" They both asked, sounding pretty surprised.
"It ain't rocket science." He scoffed. "It's shootin'. Seems to me like you both got a knack for it too." He patted Sophia on the shoulder and gave her wink. "You did good, lil miss. I'm proud of ya."
Sophia beamed up at him and for a second he felt something strange flutter around in his gut. He tore his eyes away from her smiling face and glanced towards Carl. There, that was better. Looking at Rick Grimes boy killed the strange sensation.
"Let's get the fuck outta here and get this shit over with. God, Daryl's gonna be kickin' up a damn dust storm over this. Mother fucker is always kickin' shit when he gets good and pissed. Ya'll ever notice that?"
Carl and Sophia just shared a smile and followed him.
"You guys think we can take a look at the inside of the house?" Carl asked.
Merle frowned down at him. Sophia looked up at him with a hopeful expression. "Why the fuck ya'll wanna go in there for?"
Carl shrugged and Sophia smiled. "It looks like it's haunted." She said as she raised her eyebrows.
Merle laughed. "Girl, you got monsters runnin' all over the country side and you wanna go try to find ghosts?"
She shrugged and glanced longingly towards the dreary looking house. "That's the thing. I know monsters are real. I've seen them. I've killed them. But ghosts. Now that's spooky."
Carl nodded in agreement. "Totally creepy."
Merle snorted and then looked down at Carl. "Fine. We can go ghost huntin'. But you gotta give me that gun of yours." he held out his hand.
Carl scowled but finally, after an encouraging nod from Sophia, he handed it over to Merle who stuffed it into the waistband of his pants.
They followed Merle inside. It wasn't very bright since the windows were so dirty but they could still see just fine.
"Can we go look around?" Sophia asked.
"No. No way. You keep your ass right here next to me." He snapped.
Her face fell a little but she just shrugged.
"Can I?" Carl asked with a hopeful look on his face.
Merle just shrugged. "Have at it, kid."
Before Carl could take off Sophia grabbed his arm. "No way. If I can't go then neither can you, Carl Grimes. Fair is fair."She shot Merle an angry look. "Why would you tell him yes right after you told me no?" She fumed.
He shrugged. "Cause I care if you get ate. I ain't got much for the boy. Figure if he gets himself munched on me and you can just tell the others that we hand't seen him all day."
"Jesus, Merle." Sophia shook her head and narrowed her eyes at him. "Would it kill you to be nice?"
"Maybe." He countered. "Are we gonna check this place out or what? I'm getting' hungry."
They both nodded and started looking through the house. Merle started going through the drawers and cabinets.
"What are you doing?" Carl asked.
"Might as well scavenge while we're here. Ain't that what ya'll are into?" Merle asked with a shrug. "Like a bunch of fuckin' rats in the wall." He grumbled to himself.
They didn't encounter any Walkers but Merle really hadn't expected them too. The doors had ll been shut firmly and all the windows were still intact. It looked like the place had been pretty empty for a while before the dead started walking. He drew the gun anyway when he started up the stairs. Just in case.
Sophia and Carl looked like they were getting pretty bored. Good. He had started this little adventure out that way. There was one more bedroom to check out so he went inside with the kids right on his heels. They had found a few blankets and little things in the other bedroom and he had them draped over his right forearm and held the gun in his hand.
I'll check the closet. "Sophia mumble. She was obviously disappointed that they hadn't ran into any ghosts. Merle almost chuckled at the thought of the kids really getting spooked by ghosts when he heard Sophia scream.
He moved so fast the he wasn't even aware of moving at all. He had Sophia shoved behind him and the gun aimed into the closet. But what was there was not what he had expected to find. The eyes that were staring up at him were not the dead cold eyes of a walker. They were the large dark brown eyes of one scared kid. He was shaking pretty badly so Merle lowered his gun.
"Who the fuck are you, kid?" Merle asked in a low voice.
Sophia peaked her head around Merle's side and peered in at the boy. He looked to be about their age, maybe a little older. "It's alright." Sophia said softly.
Merle stiffened. He didn't know this kid and he didn't want Sophia talking to him. Now days you had to look at everything and everybody like they were a threat. The kid wasn't a threat to him but he could be a threat to her and that wasn't something he was gonna tolerate. But there she was, putting her hand on his arm and looking up at him like she could read his mind.
"It's okay, Merle. He's just a kid." She said as she knelt down and looked in at the boy. "My name's Sophia. This is Merle and Carl."
"D-Duane." He stammered. "My name's Duane."
~H~
"I can't find her anywhere. Are you sure none of you have seen her this morning?" Carol asked, panic coating her words.
Everyone looked at one another and shook their heads. "Carl told me on his way out this morning that they were going to hang out in the barn." Rick said as Lori nodded in confirmation.
Carol felt Daryl's hand tighten in her own. "And you two are fine with them two runnin' off together without anybody around to keep an eye on'em? You shoulda came and told us that earlier."
Rick and Lori just gave him a confused look and a few of the group actually looked like they were trying to hide a bit of laughter. Carol would have probably laughed at Daryl's outrage too if her daughter wasn't currently missing. Again. Lori was used to Carl running off on his own all the time but Sophia never had before. Not until now.
T-dog, who was one of the ones that did not look amused at the situation nodded at Daryl and started walking towards the barn. "I'll help you check out the barn. I'm sure she's alright, man."
Daryl nodded and they started towards the barn.
"Sorry about that." She said to Rick who was watching them go.
Everyone had all of their stuff together except for what they would need to keep on hand for their last night. Which was basically tents and bedding since Maggie had assured everyone that they could eat dinner in the house and then breakfast before they headed out in the morning.
Daryl and T-dog both stopped and turned around, looking towards the drive. When the rest of them did the same Carol saw Daryl's truck barreling down the driveway, dust clouding behind it. When he finally had it parked and jumped out he gave a no handed wave.
Carol turned and saw that Daryl was storming towards the man with a murderous scowl on his face. But then Daryl stopped in his tracks, causing T-dog to slam into him from behind. She glanced back towards Merle and standing at his side was Sophia. The son of a bitch had left the farm. With her daughter. And hadn't told her? She felt her legs carrying her over to him before she even told them too.
Daryl was the last thing Merle Dixon had to worry about at the moment. Carol's hands clenched into fists at her sides. No, He didn't need to worry about Daryl at all because she was going to kick his ass before Daryl had a chance to touch him.