Minority page 15
Author's note: Character head count – Merle, Katherine, Peaches, Glenn, Daryl, Carol, Carl, Rick, Andrea, T-dog, Maggie, Beth, Kevin, Bruce, Lucy, Lily, Jo, Michone, Tyrese, Sasha… some of these people are about to die, just a heads up.
"I gotta admit…I'm a little jealous." Merle said as he strolled on to the back porch of the house. The screens that enclosed it were all full of holes and the door to the back yard was barely hanging on by a thread. It was a nice lookout point but it made for a shitty place to relax. The furniture consisted of an old floral couch – covered in decades worth of old dust and dirt. Peaches was curled up on it, a thin blanket over her legs. The days had started to warm up but the nights were still cool. She rolled her eyes before she looked at him.
"What?" She asked.
"I remember when you used to hit me like that." He said as he nodded towards the house. She sighed.
"Leave me alone." She growled out before she went back to watching the dark back yard.
"I can't." He said. There was a long silence before he continued. He shifted – unsure whether to move closer to her or stay away. "Don't do this to me, Peaches."
"What ever agony you're in now is self inflicted. I'm not doing anything to you."
"I did what I had to - to keep you alive!" He suddenly yelled.
"So you became a monster and killed innocent people to keep me alive?" she asked. "Did you also lie, cheat and steal to keep me alive? What about beating the crap out of Glenn and nearly killing Kevin – was that also for me?"
"Peach—
"And you wonder why I gave back the tags. It's so I don't have to be your enabler anymore." Peaches said. "I don't want to be your excuse for being a dick."
"The Govenor had my nuts in a vice." Merle said as he moved closer. "It was obey or be killed. Or worse he'd do something to you to punish me for not following his every command. You don't put on your bunny ears in the middle of a wolf pack."
"Well he's probably dead after that herd that walked through – we're a hundred miles from Woodbury so case closed. You can go back to your life." Peaches said. He opened his mouth but she held up her hand. "And don't you dare say 'I'm your life' – I will beat you crapless for being that fucking cliché."
"Come on Peaches…" He said as he sank down to the couch next to her. He leaned over – putting his elbows on his knees.
"What's the point?" she asked as she shook her head. "You have Lucy and Lily for sex. Daryl still spends time with you. You don't need me." She looked down at the floor. "And… I can't stand you so just go away."
"You think I only want you for sex?" he asked.
"I know—
"You don't know shit, woman!" He laughed. She glared at him and he just gave her a cheeky smile. "Yeah, I'd fuck Lucy or Lily but then I'd have to find a cure for herpes. And even if I could find some cocaine there wouldn't be enough of it to make them appealing. Talk about 'well wore tires' – there ain't no tread on them." She covered her mouth so he wouldn't see her small smile.
"Merle… I just can't." Peaches said. "Katherine had the right idea – getting too close…it hurts to much when someone dies. This world is already eating us alive."
"We're all we've got now." Merle said. "If you don't want to be my life – fine. But you're sure as hell the only reason I keep fighting. Ain't nothing changing that. S'why I'm not gonna let Bruce lay a hand on you. Or anyone else."
"That's great but I can take care of myself. You can go now." Peaches said. When Merle didn't budge she looked at him. "So you're just going to hover around me until I come around?"
"That's my general plan. I might come up with something better though." Merle shrugged as he got comfortable on the couch. After a few seconds he cleared his throat. "Your watch shift over in two hours?"
"Three." He pressed his lips together and nodded.
A clothing run had Katherine, Andrea, Glenn, Rick, Maggie and Peaches picking through things at a Ross in a small shopping center not too far from their little house. Tyrese, T-Dog, Kevin, Jo and Sasha were off in the opposite direction, scouting for a new place to live. Merle, Daryl, Lily and Bruce had gone past the Ross to do the same. Michone, Carol, Lucy, Carl and Beth were left back at the house to prepare things should they have to leave in a hurry.
"Who's that for?" Peaches asked. Katherine hid the lingerie she had been looking at and glanced at Peaches.
"Nothing." Katherine said. "No one." Peaches just smirked and Katherine sighed. "Don't give me that look."
"I'm not." Peaches said as she looked through a rack full of nightgowns.
"You're good at reading people. What do you think of Kevin?" Katherine asked.
"… he's alright." Peaches said. "He and T-dog are like twins separated at birth. He's not a douche bag like Bruce. But he's not a doormat. He's funny – smart enough." She shrugged. "Doesn't hurt that he has that nice body either." Katherine laughed.
"He used to play football in college."
"How are things going with him?"
"As good as it can get." Katherine answered. "Given the fact that we can't be alone. But it's worth waiting for."
"He asked me what your favorite color was the other day." Peaches said. Katherine's eyebrows went up. "I honestly didn't know so I told him blue."
"Close enough." Katherine shrugged. "The only color I can't stand now a days is red." Peaches nodded.
"And I'm guessing his favorite is purple." She flicked the lingerie in Katherine's hand and smiled. Katherine just shoved it into her pack.
"He likes bluegrass and prefers the beach to parks."
"Michone mentioned wanting to head to the coast for safety." Peaches said.
"What do you think of her?"
"She's… intense. Something tells me she's been alone since day one of this – probably even before that. She suspicious of every male, every woman… she doesn't respect us. She sees us relying on any of the men for anything – it's an automatic 'weak' in her book."
"I'm not trying to impress anybody." Katherine said and shrugged. "If asking Rick to get me a bucket is weak then oh-well." Peaches chuckled before she picked up new underwear and socks. Katherine noticed she picked up men's sizes too, probably for Daryl. But Katherine knew Peaches still shopped for Merle, even if she didn't realize it. They were packing up to leave the store. Pilfered duffel bags from the travel section filled to capacity with clothes, cooking supplies, sheets, blankets, batteries, flashlights and anything else they might need. They chucked the bags near the door and Glenn and Andrea grabbed them and loaded up the red suburban before squeezing in the back seat with them. Maggie was reaching out to pull the door shut when a pair of grey, decaying hands grabbed her.
"Ahhh!" She shrieked and tried to pull away while reaching for her knife. Another walker crowded the door before she could shut it.
"Maggie!" Rick hopped out the driver seat ready to shoot when another walker rushed him. It's head jerked back when Andrea shot him from the roof of the car. They all froze when Maggie let out a loud scream. The walker was taking a huge bite out of her bicep. The rest of her arm was covered in scratches from its jagged nails. The walker dragged her out of the car and several others joined in on the feeding.
"No!" Andrea killed some of them but it seemed like every one she shot two more would stumble up. Maggie's screaming was suddenly silenced. Glenn, Katherine and Peaches came running out the store. Katherine chucked one of the bags at a walker when it lounged for her. "Let's go!" Rick started the car and was peeling out when everyone jumped in. Andrea clung to the luggage rack as he sped down the road.
"Oh God…" Glenn gasped as he looked back at the small herd as they converged on Maggie's body. "Oh shit."
"Who died?" Bruce asked when he came in the house with the rest of the group that had gone with him. Beth just sobbed louder and hugged Glenn tighter.
"Maggie." Rick answered – more than a little annoyed by his cavalier attitude.
"So did Lily but you don't see me blubbering about it. Get a grip, girl." Bruce said.
"What!?" Jo yelled.
"Yeah, walkers got Lily." Bruce said like it was no big deal. "She fell behind, hurt her ankle. By the time we noticed she wasn't behind us there was only a stain and half her face left." Jo was about to scream his head off when Tyrese and his group came bursting through the door.
"We gotta go now!" He said as he grabbed Sasha. "Walkers coming through the back. Move now!" Everyone scrambled. They hadn't even had a chance to unpack the suburban. Carol gathered up Beth and tried to get her out the house. But she was hysterical and nearly dead weight in her arms.
"Come on!" T-dog reached for them and got a hold of Beth before he felt a sharp pain in his forearm.
"T-dog!" Andrea nearly ran to him but she was blocked by a drooling geek. She took him out and looked up just in time to see Carol and Beth surrounded by the walkers that weren't chasing T-dog. Andrea picked them off and caught him as he collapsed. Rick was next to them in an instant – axe in hand as he looked at T-dog's arm.
"No!" T-dog protested.
"It's the only way to save you." Rick said. T-dog weighed his options quickly and laughed almost hysterically at the poetic justice he was being dealt. Merle would never let him live this down. He grabbed Andrea's hand as she held him in a vice grip. Rick held down his wounded arm and raised his axe.
Peaches stopped short hearing their screams. She nearly headed back to see what was happening when she felt a shove. She looked back to see Lucy stumble against the truck – a gushing wound in her neck. When Peaches moved to help her she noticed Lucy's eyes were already cloudy. Her arms and face going pale as she seemingly changed right away. She let out a snarl that was probably an insult or a cry for help – Peaches couldn't tell. She just brought her machete down through her forehead when Lucy jerked towards her. She dropped and Peaches climbed in the suburban as it pulled off. She noticed Carl was in the back seat with her. Tyrese was behind the wheel with Sasha and Katherine on the bench seat next to him. They all nearly went through the windshield when Tyrese slammed on the breaks. Andrea was half way across the hood when they came to a stop. She gingerly got down and limped into the car. She was covered in blood but she wasn't putting pressure on any wounds – she just tried to catch her breath and not get any on Carl. He climbed into the front seat, half way in Katherine's lap when Rick ushered T-dog into the car.
"Oh my god." Peaches gasped and grabbed her bag when she saw his arm.
"I had to save him." Rick said as he squeezed in the backseat with them. He held T-dog's arm up as Peaches attempted to wrap it. A walker bumped into the car in it's attempt to get at them through the window. "Drive!"
The speeding caravan didn't stop until the food truck sounded it's horn an hour later. Merle, Michone and Bruce had been driven crazy by Glenn's ragged breathing and constant questions about the other members of the group. He decided to give the kid some peace of mind and honked the horn. They came to a stop and everyone climbed out to get a head count. "Are you okay?" Glenn asked as he rushed to Daryl on his motorcycle. He checked his arms before cupping his face.
"I'm fine." Daryl said before he did the same to Glenn. The other man was streaked with blood and dirt. Everyone who piled out the food truck was. How Glenn had lasted an hour with only Merle, Michone and Bruce was beyond him. Rick took a head count and slumped over the hood of the truck as it sunk in. He put his arm around Carl when he came up to him. "From twenty to fourteen." He sighed when he didn't spot Jo among them. T-dog had passed out from the shock of suddenly becoming right handed – it still wasn't clear if he would make it.
"Let me take a look at that." Peaches offered when she saw the gash on Bruce's forehead. He just glared at her and snatched the bandage from her when she fished it out of her bag. He then stomped back to the food truck. He was the only one left from the old motorcycle gang besides Kevin. In fact he didn't even have his bike anymore – it had stalled out and tipped over back at the house while he was fighting off a walker. He glared at Kevin as he rolled by on his slowly, to get to the front of the line with Daryl. Kevin offered the redneck a fist bump and he looked Kevin up and down before reciprocating. Kevin patted his back and smiled a little.
"Are you hurt?" Merle asked quietly when he walked up to Peaches.
"Please tell me you guys found somewhere for us to settle." Peaches said.
"Yeah but…it needs a lot of work." Daryl piped up when he over heard them.
"Let's get to the Ross and stay there tonight. Try to get some rest and head out in the morning." Rick said as he nodded to Tyrese. He started herding everyone back into the vehicles. Daryl whispered something to Glenn and after a moment he smiled and got on to the bike behind him. Glenn hugged his waist and held on tight as he pulled off.
"Wow." Peaches said as she looked at the place they found. It looked like it was a mega church. Plopped down deep in the woods. Their two-lane road had split into four lanes and soon the massive front gate came into view. The area around it was flat – a thick line of pine trees on one side, a massive lake on the other. There was a little grass on the other side but it looked like it fell off a ravine into a waterfall. Besides the enormous main cathedral there were several little buildings near it in a semi circle in the front – a gift shop, a place to get coffee and magazines after driving so far to get there. There was even a little gas station with a few church buses off to the side. Peaches picked up a flyer that she noticed under her foot. It was a bulletin for a special 'End of Days' gathering, dated nearly two years ago when this whole thing started. Despite that there were only a few cars scattered around the huge parking lot.
"Did good, didn't I?" Merle asked as he grinned at her. She gave him the smallest smile she thought he deserved before she followed everyone else in the gate. To be honest, a church was just what the group needed right now – a restoration of faith since it had fallen so far so quickly. But before they could rest, there were things to tend to.
"Let's do this." Daryl said as they headed for the back entrance. They decided to take the rectory first. It was pretty much guaranteed to have a place to sleep and make food. The resident priest was found in his office – slumped in his chair. When he heard the door open and approaching footsteps he lurched up and rolled his eyes towards Daryl. He reached for what looked to be his first meal in a year and his arm fell off and flopped to the floor. Daryl watched for a few minutes as he tried to stand – his knees snapped beneath his weight and he hit he floor with a thud.
"Come on. Don't be cruel." Glenn said. Daryl shrugged and ended the priest's misery with an arrow to the temple. "Looks like he got bit, came in here to pray and died." Glenn noticed the rosary beads still tangled in his hand – there was a tear in his collar where a walker got him. They followed the blood trail out and down the hall to the other rooms. It looked like the priest had checked every door before going to his office. The other walkers in the rectory were much the same as the father, gone so long without venturing outside to even catch some animal to feed on that they could barely be called walkers. Glenn looked at Daryl oddly when he rushed out of one of the rooms. "Is the smell that bad?" he asked. Daryl just stared a him for a second – wide eyed and unsure.
"Maybe you don't want to see." He warned. Glenn put his hand on top of Daryl's before he pushed the door open. The smell of old bodies was just as bad as the other room but Glenn covered his mouth when he saw this particular room was full of children. All different ages but for the most part none of them were over twelve save for the one adult corpse he spotted, holding what looked to be a long decayed infant wrapped in a blanket. Glenn was torn – he was glad that none of them were moving, they would only have to collect the bodies and get them out or just seal the room up. But at the same time it broke his heart to see that none of them were even remotely alive. Even more heart breaking was the fact that none of them were shot – there were juice cups littered on the floor around them. Which means the adults had probably drugged them until they over dosed and died in their sleep. A few looked like they had reanimated and taken some bites out of the adult's body before she eventually 'went bad' and changed too. After that it seemed their damaged brains couldn't figure out how to escape the room and they eventually starved and died again. "Oh God." Glenn pulled the door shut before he looked for a way to lock it.
"No, if we're going to be living here those bodies are going to have to go." Daryl said quietly.
"But Rick is on 'hauling duty' with Bruce and Tyrese…he'll see this. We might not get him back after what happened with Lori and Judith." Glenn said. Daryl thought about it for a second before he nodded at Rick as he came down the hall.
"Any in there?" He asked as he secured the gloves on his hands.
"No!" Glenn and Daryl blocked him as he reached for the door.
"We'll get this one." Glenn insisted and tried to smile without looking nauseated. "Can you take over 'slash' duty?" he asked.
"…what's in there?" Rick demanded to know. "Let me see it."
"It's better if you didn't." Daryl said sternly and made sure Rick couldn't get past him to the door. "We'll get it." He assured him. Rick looked at them for a moment before he continued ahead. Glenn let out a breath he had been holding since he opened the door. Daryl rubbed his back a little. "You gonna puke?"
"No. I'm fine. How do you want to do this?" he asked. Daryl took another peek in the room.
"Rip the carpet up and seal them in it. Get a maintenance dumpster and wheel them out." He answered. Glenn nodded in agreement and they headed for the basement after marking the door with a stripe of red spray paint. The room would never be livable after they cleaned it. The stripe had become their code for 'do not sleep or eat here'.
Clearing out the rectory and the cathedral wasn't hard but it was an all day task. There were over fifty bodies in the main auditorium but they were easily put to rest. They didn't even have to rush through the process. They went row by row, sticking their knives into the brains of the struggling walkers – and even the ones that didn't move, just to be safe. Daryl had found the desired maintenance dumpster with wheels and the bodies were loaded up and dumped outside the gate for now. The gate itself ran the line of the trees, around the front and side before ending at the lake. It was doubtful that any walkers would be nimble enough to make it around without falling in the water and subsequently going over the falls. That night everyone washed up in the lake before retiring to a large room to sleep. They'd figure out living arrangements tomorrow but for now everyone got a good night's sleep behind locking doors.
It was the safest they had been since they lost the motel nearly a year ago. They had often theorized that the propane tank in the kitchen sprung a leak and combined with the heaters they had for winter created the blast that killed Herschel. They tried not to say he was in a better place – just that Maggie and Beth were with him now. But even that didn't ring true – Maggie and Beth could possibly be in limbo, trapped in a mangled body and limping around as walkers somewhere. Carl insisted that they were together somewhere – just like Carol and Sophia. Everyone drifted off eventually.
Peaches woke in the middle of the night and looked around to find Merle and Daryl were keeping watch out a nearby window. "…Hasn't been bad like this for a while."
"Reminds me of the early days." Merle said. "The gas station over nights."
"Trying not to get alcohol poisoning in that liquor store in Chamblee." Daryl said. They smiled at each other. That had happened right before they found the Atlanta camp – back when it was just the two of them.
"Then there was the split…" Merle said and looked down at his cuff.
"You found a new family." Daryl said – a little hint of jealousy in his voice. Merle snorted and mushed him in the face.
"Be that as it may you're all I got now. Lost half of my coloreds to damn geeks." Merle said. If Daryl didn't know any better he'd swear his brother was actually sad about the deaths of Robin, Mischa and Charles. And the fact that Peaches had given back his tags after the whole Woodbury debacle. He had to admit even he was on the verge of saying to hell with Merle and leaving the creepy town before everything went so horribly wrong with it. "Lost my Peaches to being extra stupid instead of just the regular amount."
"And you laughed at me when me and Glenn got in a fight and didn't speak to each other for three days. Here it is a full month later and you're pining over her like a teenage girl." Daryl tried to joke with him but it just seemed to make Merle more depressed. "Look, it ain't healthy to obsess. It's like them addictions you used to have. Thinking about it only makes it worst."
"Ain't no rehab for this. She's in my blood for good, Daryl."
"And it's making you into a sissy poet."
"Well then what's your grand suggestion for getting over it?" Merle asked in an angry whisper. Daryl seemed to think about it for a second.
"You could switch teams."
"What?"
"I'm sure you can turn Bruce now that Lucy is dead. He already like-likes you." Daryl said and grinned wide when Merle rolled his eyes.
"My woman is disgusted by me and your solution is to become a queer?" Merle asked.
"Or a eunuch." Daryl shrugged.
"Shut up."
Head count now: Merle, Katherine, Peaches, Glenn, Daryl, Carl, Rick, Andrea, T-dog, Kevin, Bruce, Michone, Tyrese, and Sasha.
