Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead or any of it's related awesomeness, kinda wish I did though...
Chapter 29:
Caught
The team meetings were getting annoying, not just because she was getting talked down to a lot, but Paula also felt as though she was working in an office and it was time for the weekly report.
"So you're saying the area is safe?" Carol asked Rick and Shane who had returned, Daryl had gone separately and hadn't returned but Merle had said something along the lines of 'Damn pansy runs off for days at a time and comes back with all sorts of shit'.
By the sounds of things even Daryl needed time off from Merle. The redneck, still high on something, was lying down in the front of the Dixon's pick-up truck.
"Well we looked at the surrounding mile around the quarry and the last group had a security system up." Rick said to the congregated group minutes, yet again, Morgan who had taken to seclusion on top of the RV keeping watch and the kids who had gotten bored of the meetings and had gone inside the RV.
"You mean the rope with cans tied to them?" Paula asked sceptically, she had seen the 'security' system after she had followed Carl down the hill. Shane and Rick both cast a sideways look at her, Rick looked like he was about to reply but Shane continued regardless.
"The security system may look flimsy but it holds up, we'll spend the night here and talk about alternatives tomorrow." He announced, Paula sighed stressfully after being ignored again.
"Why aren't we staying here? You said it yourself just now that everything this 'Dale' said would be here is here. This is a 'prime locale'." Leon pointed out, mimicking Shane's words from earlier that day.
"That may be but we don't know exactly how safe this place is." Shane said but this time Lori jumped in despite still looking slightly worn down, her wound was apparently giving her grief.
"Then we do a bigger sweep of the area tomorrow… I don't just speak for myself when I say that we are getting tired of moving around." She argued, although Paula was on the fence about Lori at the moment she agreed, she was getting slightly tired with 'living on the edge'.
"She's got a point Shane, this looks like a good place." Rick said, Shane sighed almost like a parent talking to a particularly annoying child.
"We all know how quickly walkers can find us, we stay in one place for too long and they just come right for us." He argued.
"He's not wrong, they do seem to be able to smell us out from miles away." Hannah said sadly, Paula sighed and tried speaking up again.
"But what if we were more careful?" she said, Shane sighed again in that annoying way of his and spoke to Paula head on.
"How then? Tell me how." He almost ordered Paula, Paula glared at him and spoke up.
"We sweep the whole area and refine this 'security' system. We have round the clock watches and nobody goes anywhere alone. These simple measures could be all we need." Paula said, she saw Hannah and Leon look at each other and the former whisper something in the latter's ear whilst she saw Carol exchange a glance with Lori who was next to her, however there were several sounds of agreement.
"She may be onto something there." Rick said turning to Shane, Shane just shrugged and put his cap on before picking up his shotgun from the log next to him.
"If you feel that's what we should do then we'll give it a go. Just don't get your hopes up, we should all get a fire goin', that light ain't gonna last." He said gesturing to the sunset going down over the horizon, for all the 'danger' they were apparently in the view was beautiful.
"Good idea. Everybody can pick out a tent to use, they all clean?" Rick asked the group, Hannah answered.
"We checked all of them, most have sleeping bags and clothes, certainly enough for all of us." Hannah said, Rick nodded as Shane peeled away.
"Everybody takes a tent, Carol and Sophia can sleep in the RV, you mentioned she's a restless sleeper?" he asked Carol, Carol nodded and then Rick said something more subtly to her as the group started to peel away from each other, Paula wanted to catch Lori by herself but she saw the woman walk towards a tent with Hannah and Leon with her, clearly showing them some of the 'features'.
Paula found herself mostly alone as everyone had something to do, Shane had taken to starting up the fire, Rick was now talking in depth with Carol, Lori was with Hannah and Leon and Morgan was still enjoying his reclusion, Paula had no desire to join him ever since the… unpleasantness.
As she turned to the RV she saw Carl and Sophia step out together without Jamie and start walking away from it towards the barrier between the RV and the beginning of the woods leading down to the quarry. Paula felt that saying nothing would be irresponsible of him.
"Where you two goin'?" she asked, both turned around and Carl immediately looked down out of embarrassment after what had happened between them in the tent. Paula didn't blame him… it was some pretty big stuff he had told her.
"We were just going to watch the sunset. Is that okay?" Sophia said, oblivious to her friend's embarrassment, Paula nodded and smiled.
"Sure, just don't wander too far away, I'll tell your… parents." Paula said careful not to say 'Mom' in front of Carl for fear of reigniting his emotions. She turned and noticed Hannah and Leon walking towards the van where all for their things were followed by Rick and Carol. Lori stood by herself by one of the tents as she was examining the bandage around her hand.
Paula moved towards her, intending to confront her once and for all.
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The sunset was beautiful and Carl was grateful he could enjoy it.
He sat next to Sophia near where the woods began, but the sudden drop and tree line meant that the view of the sunset over the quarry was truly mesmerising.
It had been Sophia's idea, even though she had only known Carl for 3 weeks Carl knew she could tell something was seriously bothering him. She had then noticed that the sun was setting and the orange luminescence was illuminating the sky above and the water below in the quarry. They were going to invite Jamie but she had fallen asleep on one of the RV whilst the adults had had a meeting.
Carl was enjoying the silence, Paula had obviously told the adults where they were since no-one came.
Carl didn't care.
The calming atmosphere was enough for him.
"I always used to watch the sunrise from my rooftop… sometimes my Dad would be gone for days and my Mom would still be asleep so I'd sneak out of my bedroom window onto the roof and watch the sunrise and sometimes the sunset if she fell asleep really early." Sophia said whimsically, Carl turned to look at her so see her staring out like he was.
Although he was thinking intently about it he couldn't help recognising her completely. The way the dying sunlight was reflected in her face and the way the light brought out the colour in her loose-hanging hair, her skin was glowing in the light and even her eyes seemed more magical as they reflected the light.
Magical?
That surprised him…
"What about you? Did you ever just… watch the sunlight?" she asked turning towards him, Carl turned away quickly and pretended to be transfixed.
"Um… yeah. It's really, nice, to look at." Carl said, he felt more at peace in that moment than he had felt in weeks. The walkers, the hiding, the people dying around him… all of it didn't matter in that moment.
"I really miss everything… I used to think school was so boring and a waste of time… but now it feels like so long ago and I just want to go back." She said sadly, Carl knew how she felt… the feeling nestled within him that just wouldn't go away.
"I know, me too." He said simply, he couldn't find any more words of comfort, however Sophia just continued talking.
"Do you think we'll stay here?" she asked turning to Carl, Carl turned to her and considered the possibility.
"I dunno… I hope so, I would like to be able to sleep somewhere knowing that I don't have to be ready to go somewhere else the next day." Carl said, Sophia nodded and sheepishly placed her hand on top of Carl's, his heart started to beat faster but he stayed still and held her hand in return. They didn't talk to each other or say anything else until the all too familiar scent of baked beans filled the air around them, at which point they stood up and simply walked to the fire.
They made sure to let go of each other before anyone could see them.
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Jamie looked at the 'happy couple' through the RV window, she had feigned sleep earlier to get some time to herself and had heard Sophia whisper to Carl about watching the sunset, Jamie was happy to have some time to herself, a luxury in itself.
She smiled slightly to herself, as sad as it sounded she had almost been begging Sophia to tell Carl that she liked him, Sophia couldn't keep a lid on her thought process to save her life so Jamie had found out a lot when they had spent the night together in the station.
Jamie wasn't mad at her Mom anymore, she knew she would have to get over Billy by herself, now she had so many other people to get over as well… Duane especially.
His absence was weird, it kept coming back to her in her mind, every time she was by herself and Carl and Sophia were talking she would turn around with the intent of telling him something but then realise he was dead… every time she did it she had to take a minute to breathe before going back to what she was doing.
There were other times when talking to either Carl or Sophia and Jamie would say something which slightly confused them, the age gap may only be just over a year but it felt bigger to Jamie sometimes.
In times like these however, when she watched Sophia and Carl engaging in what looked like one of the most awkward hand-holding sessions in history, that she felt most alone.
She watched as Carl and Sophia said something to each other and then stood up and began to turn around, Jamie ducked under the window again since she didn't want to be seen eavesdropping on their 'perfect' moment. She knew they had moved off for dinner, she had smelt the all-too-familiar smell of baked beans fill the air and had almost groaned upon realising the meal was going to be that again.
"Great… more beans…" she moaned before getting up off the bed, she checked her reflection in the small mirror, her hair had grown beyond her shoulders and was in desperate need of a good shampooing, neither the station or hospital had anything good she could use so her hair was lank and slightly messy, she didn't like how her teeth felt, she hadn't brushed ever since the station where she had left her toothbrush.
"Ugh…" she moaned, she felt… gross. She didn't like it at all… she could feel the clamminess on her body from the worn-out clothes and tried willing it away.
She looked positively ugly…
It was still all about the little things.
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"Lori, can we talk?" Lori heard the voice behind her, the voice she had been waiting for ever since Carl had shouted at her. Lori didn't turn to face Paula but continued to 'unroll' the sleeping bag in her hands.
"Um… what about?" she asked, trying to sound innocent but failing. She knew exactly what Paula was going to talk to her about.
"About Carl." She said simply, Lori sighed and lay the sleeping bag down. She turned to see Paula standing there with a completely neutral expression… she could be pissed to hell with Lori or maybe not even have a clue about what is actually going on.
"Uh, sure." Lori said, Paula moved past Lori into the tent which Lori was going to use for her, Rick and Carl. Lori looked back to see Rick looking at her and giving her a brief smile before saying something off-hand to Leon who moved off towards the RV.
"So… I'm assuming you want to talk about what Carl said to me today?" Lori asked, her long-time friend's face was stoic, her eyes giving nothing away as she simply nodded.
"Well… Carl is convinced that I tried replacing his dad with Shane, I don't know why he would think that..." Lori began but Paula cut her off.
"I can think of something." She said simply, her facial expression didn't change except for a small twitch in one of her eyes. Lori's heart stopped still.
"What?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.
"He told me. He told me what he saw you and Shane doing." Paula said, her face wasn't stoic anymore.
It was angry.
"Paula…" Lori tried reasoning but words failed her, none remained for her to argue with.
"You slept with Shane? Lori, what were you thinking?" Paula asked, Lori stuttered before managing to find an answer.
"I-I-I wasn't. He was just so… so determined and he just… I-I couldn't..." she stuttered, Paula exhaled sharply and shook her head.
"You know what? It isn't me who you need to reason with, it's Carl. The little boy who told me he saw his mother kissing his uncle." Paula seethed, Lori was left speechless, Paula turned to leave but Lori managed a few final words.
"I'm sorry." She said, her long-time friend turned around and spoke with venom in her voice.
"Just be thankful that was all Carl saw." She said before turning away and walking outside, she closed the tent behind her. Once the flap was closed Lori broke down, she sat on the bed and cried into her shirt so no-one else would hear.
She could only think one thing.
No…
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Rick felt the night almost beckoned an attack, everyone was alert as they sat around the small fire, small enough so that it wasn't visible from a distance. Leon and Hannah sat atop the RV keeping watch, Morgan stood silent facing the darkened woods with Shane near the fire and Merle was simply walking around having another cigarette having slept off whatever narcotics he had taken.
Daryl still hadn't returned, however Rick had reassured everyone that the hunter would be able to look after himself.
Carol and Lori were washing the plates in a bowl of water collected from the quarry that Shane had drove to too collect water earlier. The mixture of the simple task, the warming glow of the fire and the serenity of the woods made for an intriguing atmosphere.
"You know what I miss most about the old world?" Carol said absent-mindedly whilst washing the last dish.
"What?" Rick asked whilst sitting back with Carl leaning against him, the relaxed atmosphere was still penetrated by the odd bush land noise.
"My entire kitchen. We may have been living cheap but it had a dishwasher, a Maytag, oven and all the good kitchen appliances." Carol said wishfully as she took the stacked dishes and pilled them back into the box they compiled of all eating equipment.
"I miss my squad car." Rick said but Carl protested.
"Dad, we have one right here." He said which caused the remaining people by the fire to laugh, only Rick, Lori, Carl, Jamie, Carol, Sophia and Paula remained.
"Ah but son, that ain't my squad car. That's a spare we had in case of an accident." Rick answered, he felt oddly relaxed.
"What's the difference?" Carol asked and Lori commented in an oddly faraway voice.
"Oh, we'll never hear the end of this." She commented which made Rick chuckle, he may have lacked certain household skills that Shane would make up for but he knew cars.
"I'm just saying that a man's car is a very distinctive thing. It's like me sitting in Carol's car and just assuming it's mine." Rick said which made everyone laugh again, even Morgan and Shane who were just in listening distance.
"Never heard the end of you and your car Rick." He said in a joking way, Rick smiled as Paula suddenly spoke up.
"I miss coffee maker… haven't tasted good coffee in weeks." She mused, it had become a game now and everyone took their turns.
"I miss toothpaste… you've no idea…" Hannah's kid Jamie said which caused a few laughs.
"I miss my television." Carl complained.
"I really miss wearing new clothes." Sophia complained in an exaggerated voice.
"I miss just… having a home." Paula said, Rick sympathised with everyone at the fire, they had been living it for weeks whereas he had only been awake for a few days and even he was sick of the moving… they must be so tired.
"This could be our home." Rick said out loud. Everyone, Shane and Morgan included, looked at him.
"You think? It may look pretty but it could be a landmine troubles, man." Shane said moving away from his post which Morgan kept.
"I think if we took the right measures we could make this a liveable place, it's got all the right things and there is more than enough space for us." Rick said, he saw Carol and Lori next to him nodding.
"I took a look around some of these bushes earlier, some of these bushes have edible berries and mushrooms." Carol said, Shane took a deep breath and spoke very calmly.
"I just don't know, brother." He said simply, Rick stood up and addressed everybody except for Leon and Hannah who were on the RV.
"Look… I know you're all tired, I am and I've only been awake for a few days. But if we make that effort to make this place a home we can really do it…" he said, as he stopped talking a rustling came from a group of bushes nearby, Rick turned on the spot, readied to fight anything that came out of the bush, he saw Shane shoulder his shotgun and Lori and Carol move towards the kids.
However before he could think of anything else Daryl emerged from the bushes, he looked perfectly fine… considering the 5 squirrels he was carrying over his shoulder.
"Hey, baby brother!" Merle shouted from the other side of the fire he suddenly joined, Daryl just looked a bit peeved as he dropped the squirrels next to the washed dishes.
"Got some squirrel, best do something with them before the walkers smell 'em." He said simply as Merle came and patted him on the back. Shane, however, wasn't impressed.
"Any walkers?" he asked, Daryl looked towards the man who had only just lowered his shotgun.
"One, but she was a little ol' lady who looks like she been dead a while now, she was stuck in some mud." He said, Rick looked to Shane who exchanged a glace with him.
"So there are walkers here, knew this place wasn't safe…" he grumbled but Daryl stopped him.
"I said she was an ol' lady, no way she coulda made it up 'ere by herself. She's probably been there for a long time." Daryl said, Shane looked to Rick who spoke calmly.
"Well that's good, means walkers aren't gonna be a big problem. Look… tomorrow we'll set up better defences, move the tents closer together and organise another shift rotor and get some organisation." He told the group, everyone looked to him and most nodded, Rick looked over to Shane who shrugged with a passive look on his face.
"Right… now let's get to sleep, we need as much daylight as we can get tomorrow. Paula, you wanna tell Leon and Hannah what we decided on?" he asked the woman, she nodded and smiled before moving off towards the RV where the two were, Rick turned to his wife who still looked a bit distant.
"Hey, you there?" he asked jokingly, she gave a half smile and talked to Carl.
"Sweetie, our tent is that red one, you're on the left side." She said before kissing the top of his head, he must have been very tired since he barely acknowledged Lori and waved to everyone before walking off towards the tent as everyone started to go to their own tents, everyone had just claimed the closest tent when they could, Rick turned to Lori who still looked a bit dazed.
"Hey, you OK?" he asked, she nodded but avoided eye contact.
"Yeah… um, my hand's just hurting." She said, Rick was concerned about her hand since it had been a patchy stitch job by Paula.
"Oh, you want me to check it?" he asked but she shook her head.
"No, it's okay. I'll get Carol to look at it tomorrow." She said before simply kissing him on the cheek and walking after Carl. Rick was left by himself at the campfire with only Shane for company. Morgan wandered towards his own tent and Paula was still at the RV.
"I wanna talk to you, man." Shane says before facing Rick dead on, Shane's eyes were always sharp. Even from looking at them you knew he was a cop.
"I think I know what about…" Rick said and Shane nodded, his shotgun still shouldered.
"This camp… I don't know if we can even have camp. Every time we set up shop somewhere, no matter for how long, walkers would be there by the time we left."
"Then we work harder… Look I know I ain't been in this world as long as you but…" Rick began but Shane cut him off.
"Exactly, man. You haven't been living the hell we've been living, you got to skip weeks of that shit, you just wake up and assume you know everything about the world…" Shane said but Rick interrupted him, their conversation overlapping.
"I don't profess to knowing everything, Shane. But I've been awake long enough to know the basics… I've put down a walker, I'm not completely oblivious…"
"I'm not saying that, man. Just that you gotta listen to me for now."
"I am, but I think we should give this place a shot before we give up." Rick argued, there was a silence as both men stood silent before hearing a noise behind Rick, Rick turned to see Hannah walking pass, she seemed unaware of the conversation taking place since she just gave a small smile.
"I'm out guys, Leon wanted me to tell you that Paula is taking over for him in a bit, night." She said simply, she walked down the hill to the tent she and Jamie were sharing, Jamie having picked it herself since there were two bedrooms. Rick turned to Shane again to see him just nod before walking to his quarters, after the spat between Shane and Paula he probably wouldn't be taking watch.
Rick stood there for a few moments before moving off to his tent.
As he stepped into the tent he saw the Carl and Lori were already sleeping their own parts of the tent, he slowly removed all but his underwear as he tried to crawl in beside his probably awake wife without causing too much discomfort. She smiled slightly at the sight of him and shifted so he could creep under the covers.
They lay next to each other for a while but didn't sleep, they held each other's hands softly and simply… enjoyed the others presence. Rick kissed her lightly on the head and nestled closer to her, her arm draped across his chest and wound but it didn't hurt too much, it was healing fast.
"Hey, you wanna…" Rick began, his eyes met his wife soft brown ones and she looked slightly worried about the question.
"What about Carl?" she whispered, Rick knew Carl had a skill for falling asleep almost on cue, he turned and looked at the boy's inanimate figure.
"Carl." He whispered lightly, the boy didn't move at all even when Rick repeated his name. He turned back to Lori and rubbed her hand with his own whilst still whispering.
"See, he won't wake up. And I've missed you so much…" he said whilst kissing her hand again, he felt the need to be with her after all that had happened.
"I know, I've missed you as well…" she said and they kissed, the kiss lasted longer than their usual ones. They embraced each other and Rick began to manoeuvre next to her as their kiss continued.
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All Lori could think about was her betrayal.
As her loving husband kissed her all she could feel was God judging her as he started to move next to her and she reacted to the kiss.
She was truly in Hell.
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Author's Note: Thanks for reading and feel free to review :-)