Note: Studying is finished so now I get to spend more time writing...Enjoy! (p.s. I'm not good at writing an accent like Daryl's so there isn't much of that, plus it's a bit easier to read when it's not all redneck-y...)
Note2: I decided to rewrite what I had for Chapter 9 so that it wouldn't go darker and this way I can continue on with the story for a bit longer...
I bit my lip and gave him a nod. I turned around to go back inside to get my backpack.
"Would you rather it have been Carl if he had been there?" I said only loud enough for him to hear.
I strode into the cell block and headed up the stairs to where I was sleeping. I stuffed a few things into the backpack and grabbed the strap. I stopped at Dix's bed and dropped a picture of Travis onto it. While I had told him a bit about Travis before this all happened, there was plenty more that I wanted him to know. Until Rick cools down, a picture of his son would have to be enough. I slipped my bow and quiver off my shoulder and also left it behind. I knew it would be better if I didn't try to say anything so I just gave everyone a weak smile once I was back outside. My feet slowly headed towards the gate.
"Come on, Rick. Ya can't let her leave. It ain't safe."
"Daryl's right. She won't survive out there with all those walkers."
"She killed my wife!" he yelled, waving his gun around.
I wasn't the one to get her pregnant, I thought, pushing my arms through the straps of the backpack.
"Where's ya bow?" Dix screamed, trying to pull out of Glenn's arms.
I opened the gate and walked through.
"Like you said, they'll be looking for someone with a bow. I will be wanting it back, Dix, so don't you dare destroy it. I will keep my promise."
Rick was right behind me the entire walk to the outer fence, his gun drawn down at his side. He unhooked the cords and I carefully stepped out. Without a word he secured the fence and stared at me until I backed away. I took stock of my surroundings before running off into the woods.
I ran away from the prison but kept it in my sights. I ducked behind a tree and watched as Rick waited before turning around. Dix finally broke free from Glenn and began swearing at the group. His hands were in the air gesturing. When Rick finally made it back up to the courtyard, he exchanged some words with the redneck. Dix was able to get in a good right hook before flipping him off. All Rick did was stare at his daughter for a moment before walking away.
"That bastard better look after her or he will be getting an ass-whopping when I get back," I spat as I finally turned away from the prison.
I needed to find a place to rest up and gather food before I came back to keep watch. Patting down my weapons, I strapped the backpack down and began my journey through the woods. Now that I didn't have my bow, any walkers had to be closer for me to get rid of it. Not many noticed me and as I ran, I thought of why.
It had to be the blood or at least the smell. I was covered in Lori's and I did wipe my machete off on my pants once or twice after killing a walker. Making my way to the road, I noticed a sign for a nearby town.
"Fifteen miles! Only in the apocalypse do you find out how fit you are. That's gonna take me a long time on foot. Doubt I could get one of these cars to work."
I jogged down the road, through the cars keeping an eye out for anything I could use or needed. Smashing a few windows to get at the belongings had me on edge in case of nearby walkers and them hearing the noise. The few things I stole were placed into the backpack and I continued on. When the cars began thinning, I chanced at trying to hotwire a car. It had been so many years since I had done it last but it's almost the same as riding a bike; you never forget. Plus the memory was one of my favourites. Dix had dared me to hotwire the personal car of the sheriff and move it, he would agree to go on a date with me. It was our first date of many and he actually wore clothes that weren't torn.
There wasn't much left in the gas tank according to the gauge but I just hoped it got me to the town. A few walkers limped around the edge of the road or at the entrance to the woods but there was no way they would catch up to me in a car. I did slow down when I neared the town and as I drove through. I needed to find a place that hadn't been ransacked already.
Parking the car on the next street, I jogged back over to the little pharmacy and inched the door open. Slowly and quietly, I walked through the store and grabbed everything. They had a few things for newborns but only 1 can of formula. Standing inside the window, I looked at the other store fronts. There was a Pop's General Store down on the corner but about a handful of walkers loitering around on the street.
"Shit. I could try for it but if they come after me at once, I'm done for it. If I creep around the block and come up the other way…no. I don't know what that back street is like. Oh, fuck it."
I kept my back close to the building as I tiptoed down the block. One walker had staggered up to the other end near the pharmacy and another had moved into an alley. I glanced over my shoulder when I reached the end. A few further down the street but none were near me. I heaved my backpack further up onto my shoulders and filled both hands with a weapon. Taking a deep breath, I moved out onto the street.
Finally making it to Pop's, the door was the most problem. It creaked as I opened it and I paused. I dashed inside and scoped out the remaining items. There were a few more cans and even some clothes. I was filling an old wooden crate with the things I found when I heard something. Leaving the crate behind, I moved through the store towards the back when I was jumped. We fell to the floor and my head was grabbed. It was slammed into the floor a couple of times before I found my voice.
"Stop that, you motherfucker. I'm not one of them."
The head smashing stopped and I was finally able to look at my jumper. It was a young boy with flaming red hair. What clothes he was wearing were filthy and torn. His face had caked on dirt with a few smears of blood through that.
"Told to watch the store and go for the head. Ya shouldn't be here. Pop's will skin me alive if he finds stuff missing."
I made a point of letting go of my weapons. Dix would yell at me if he saw me doing this but I needed this boy to get off of me and not attack again. The boy released my head but didn't get off of me.
"How long has it been since you saw Pop?"
He counted on his fingers since the only way to keep track of days passing were on the sun rising or sun setting. He held up a whole hand and 2 fingers. He had been left alone for a week and had somehow survived. If the dead weren't walking around and the authorities weren't a piece of the past, I would be calling Child Services at that piece of information.
"Is there anyone else here? I'm sorry to take those items but my friend really needs them."
"Just me and Pop. You didn't see him outside did you?"
"I'm AJ. What is your name?" I asked as I shifted out from under him.
When I stood, I noticed the boy reached my waist. I smoothed back his hair and stared into his eyes.
"Max. I hope Pop comes back soon. I'm not allowed to use the stove and I ate the last candy bar. You're an adult, right? Maybe you can cook me some food."
My heart broke for this little boy. Bending over, I tried to chip off some of the dirt with my thumb.
"How about a deal? I'll make some food and we can head out to find your Pop. I need to get those things back to my friend but we can take a few minutes to search. What does your Pop look like?" I asked.
"Like him," he replied, pointing.
Expecting a walker behind me, I raised my knife and pushed Max behind me. The boy was only pointing at a painting on the wall. The man was an elderly man in his sixties but his hair wasn't stark white, more like salt and pepper coloring. He was in a button up top, an apron, and a bow tie. Sadly it matched one of the walkers out on the street I saw as I was inching over to the store. Nodding, I asked Max where the stove was and he led me up some back stairs. There was a small window that looked down into the store but the room was set up like an apartment. Max pushed a chair under the doorknob before leading me into the small kitchenette. I found some beans and about half a dozen cans of Spam.
"Can opener?"
The boy shook his head. Pulling out a knife, I wiped it clean before trying to slice the lid open. It didn't take long for the beans to cook in the pot while I worked on getting the Spam can open. While my stomach rumbled at the smell of food, I let Max eat as much as he wanted. Candy bars were great for a short burst of energy but they didn't keep a body running for days.
As he ate, I walked around the apartment and gathered up items for Max, stuffing them into a small backpack. I was hoping to get back to the prison quickly but the sky let out a loud booming round of thunder. I sprinted to a window and looked out. The sky was getting dark and it looked as if it was already raining in the distance.
"Damn it. We'll have to stay the night. I hope Hershel can figure something out for the baby."
"What baby? Do you have a baby?" Max asked, wiping his mouth with the tattered end of his sleeve.
"My friend had a baby this morning. That's what I was taking, items for the baby."
"I can show you some more baby things. Mama brought us to stay with Pop when my baby brother was born."
"Max, what happened to your mother and brother?"
"Pop had to lock her up in the basement. Mama was hurt and had a fever. When she stopped moving, Pop locked the basement. He won't let me near the basement now. Jack wouldn't wake up from his nap so Pop took him outside and neither came back."
Oh, my God. How could they have survived this long only for them to get infected now? If Jack died, then there's a zombie baby somewhere. Since he might not have been old enough to chew on people's flesh, would he have starved to death? Can walkers starve to death, if they're already dead? The picture of a baby crawling around, growling and snapping its toothless mouth had me running for the sink.
"Are you OK?"
"I think so. Since it's raining, we're going to stay the night but first thing in the morning, we're leaving."
Max showed me the baby items and I was careful of taking them downstairs to the wooden crate. I couldn't take much since I might have to run with the crate in my hands. I locked up the store as best as I could before heading back upstairs to Max. He was curled up in bed and shivering. I covered him with a blanket or two and pulled out cleaner clothes for him. I took the time to change out of my blood soaked clothes and washed Lori's blood off my skin.
The first rays of sun woke me. I jolted from the chair before relaxing and looking around the apartment. Nothing had been disturbed and a glance into the store showed no walkers. I boiled some water and added it to some instant oatmeal. Sneaking a few bites, I shook Max awake.
"Breakfast is ready and there's a change of clothes. Those are pretty dirty so we'll leave them here. Did Pop have a car nearby?"
"An old noisy truck out back. Mama has a small car out front though."
While Max was eating, I checked out the store for anything else we could need but light enough to carry. There wasn't a car out front like Max had said but there was one around the corner and the walkers from yesterday were gone, including Pop. Taking a chance, I ran outside and checked the car. The owner left the keys on the seat so I scooped them up and put them in my pocket.
It took us a couple of trips to get everything outside. Since it was right there and I didn't have to lug it far, I grabbed whatever I saw. Soon Max saw what I was doing and began grabbing random things too. The car was all packed and I put Max in the back seat surrounded by the packs of toilet paper I took.
"Let's go, Max."
I pulled away from the curb and headed out to the road I drove in on. As I approached each intersection, I kept my eyes out for any movement. I was nearing the last street when I finally saw movement. I slowed the car and smiled. I would recognize those love birds anywhere. I turned the corner but stopped so I wouldn't spook them.
"Stay here, Max. I see some of my friends."
"Please don't leave me," he whispered.
"It'll be alright. Take this knife in case. I'll be right over there. They're probably here to look for things for the baby too," I said, handing over a hunting knife.
Opening my door, I leaned out and let out a whistle. Glenn's head popped up from the SUV where he was standing. He waved so I hurried over. Maggie was standing in the doorway with a basket of formula. I grabbed Glenn in a hug and he awkwardly hugged me back.
"Daryl will be happy to see you safe."
"Rick won't be."
"No one has seen Rick since he kicked you out yesterday. It'll take a bit of time for him to understand that you were doing what Lori wanted you to but I'm sure he'll come around. What are you doing here though? Carol thought you'd climb a tree and keep watch. Something about a promise." Glenn asked.
"I was going to do just that but thought you'd need things for the baby so I came here. I found a little boy abandoned by his grandfather and he's tucked away in that Toyota with everything I took. Did you find anything else than the formula because I have some clothes for the baby and anyone who will fit them, some food, and random shit?"
Maggie had gone back inside to gather more things while we talked. Glenn looked up and in an instant, I knew something was wrong. His hand flew to the gun on his hip and I wiped around pulling out my machete.
"Merle," the Korean breathed.
