Chapter 22
"Mall-ing"
"Glenn's an absolute genius." Archer repeated to Daryl. "No way we'd ever have gotten in this easy if he hadn't come up with that plan to lure them out."
Daryl nodded, his wary eyes searching for stragglers as they moved through the store.
When the temperatures dropped well below freezing for a long stretch, Glenn had suggested they try clearing the mall. There had been too many walkers inside for their group in the past, but Glenn suggested opening the doors and luring them out into the cold with a car alarm.
It worked like a charm. Once the walkers were outside overnight, they were near frozen and easy to pick off. They repeated the trick three times at each mall entrance until they were reasonably sure the bulk of them had been removed.
Then it was just a matter of clearing the inside. Rick led the strike team, and they cleared in waves. It hadn't been particularly hard, the mall wasn't heated and the remaining walkers inside were sluggish.
Now they were raiding the stores in teams of two. The biggest find had been the outdoor store. It had an ample supply of bows and arrows. Daryl had been particularly pleased.
Today, Emma had been assigned to go through the smaller shops one by one with Daryl as her guard. They went into a store, cleared it and put the desirables in garbage bags outside the doors for the others to pack up. They were to clear every store in their particular section.
Right now, they were in a swimwear store. Emma had a list of sizes for the women in the camp and grabbed what she thought could work. They were grabbing a few extras in the event that new people came. Daryl pfft at her as she moved through the store. He wasn't impressed.
She spotted a navy blue bikini and popped it into her own backpack when Daryl wasn't looking. You never know…
"I'm done here." She told Daryl, who nodded. They left the store, closing the door behind them. The next store was lingerie. Daryl whistled and gave her a wink before disappearing into the store.
There were no walkers inside but she did find some painkillers in the back room. When she emerged Daryl threw something lacy at her, she caught it with ease.
"For later." He said with a wicked grin.
She laughed "Put it in your own pack then."
"I ain't no perv." He said, moving out of the store and onto the next. It was a jewelry store. "Skip it." Daryl said.
"Rules are we've got to clear it." She said, barring the door of the lingerie shop behind her with a stick and tossing the bag she'd stuffed in the aisle in front of the store.
"Fine." Daryl opened the door and headed in. Emma followed, pausing by a cabinet of rings, they sparkled in her flashlight. "I did so love sparkly things." She sighed and headed into the back room. There was one walker in there, which she easily dispatched.
She came out from the back with a few bottles of allergy medication and painkillers. She waved them at Daryl. "See? You never know."
Daryl ignored her. She shrugged and searched the till, coming up with a set of keys and a lighter. The keys unlocked the cabinets and after a quick search she bagged up a few wind-up watches. The timepieces would come in handy.
She saw Daryl staring at a case of rings. She went over to join him and spotted a handsome men's wedding band. "Oh, that's perfect." She unlocked the case and removed a men's wedding band with a large square diamond in it. "I wonder if they have more sizes." She searched the drawer under the cabinet.
"I ain't wearing no diamond." Daryl stated.
She chuckled. "It's not for you." She found the same ring in a few different sizes and stuffed them in her pockets. "It's for Michael. I think he might want to give it to Joel one day."
"They're gay, Em."
"So they can still get married if they want to."
Daryl rolled his eyes. She thought about nabbing a few plain gold bands when she thought Daryl wasn't watching, but decided against it. Daryl had never really been public about his affections, but she was pretty sure it was common knowledge at the fort.
Neither of them had put a label on what they were. Emma frowned. She wasn't sure she wanted to be someone's fuck buddy. Emma bit her lip, no matter how fun it was, it rankled her.
"Ya done yet?" Daryl was unusually gruff.
"Yes." She scowled at him. "What's next?"
"End o' the line." Daryl shut the door to the store behind her. "Time to take th' haul back." He grabbed a bag in the aisle and headed for the exit.
She followed after him and wondered how he could have gone from playful to foul in such a short time. Emma grabbed a bag from the aisle, it was heavy and she had trouble getting it on her shoulder. When she looked up, Daryl was far ahead. She sighed and ran to catch up.
"Look out!" Glenn's warning stopped her from being blindsided by a walker. She skidded to a halt but the weight on her back unbalanced her and she fell over. A gunshot rang out and the walker's head exploded. Emma scooted backwards away from the corpse.
"You okay?" Glenn trotted up beside her.
"Yeah, fine. Thanks." She stood up, shaking a bit at the close call. "Where'd it come from?"
"Washroom." Maggie said. "Saw it stagger out."
"Everyone ok?" Rick came running around the corner with Michonne in tow.
"The fuck was that?" Daryl came back.
"It's nothing. I'm fine." Nothing to see here, she thought, just an idiot who can't keep her eyes open for walkers. "Glenn got it."
"Glenn should've fuckin' cleared it instead of screwin' his wife." Daryl spat, his voice venomous.
Glenn's face turned scarlet, Daryl had hit the nail on the head.
"Where the fuck were you?" Maggie hissed. "You're supposed to be watching her back."
"Hey, settle down." Rick's voice was calm but commanding. "Ain't nothing to be gained from arguing." He cast a pointed look at Daryl. "We stick with the plan."
Daryl headed back down the hallway, still in a huff. Emma brushed herself off and bent to pick up her bag as the others moved on. Rick's hand was on hers as she grabbed it.
"You sure you're okay?" Rick's voice was quiet.
"I'm fine. I just feel pretty stupid, that's all."
Rick nodded.
"You comin'?" Daryl turned back impatiently.
She scowled at him. "I'm fine Daryl, thank you for asking. No, this bag isn't too heavy, I can carry it."
Casting a dirty look at her, Daryl waited for her to catch up before continuing down the hall.
}.{
Daryl's foul mood radiated off him on the drive home. Emma sat with him in the front seat, regretting her choice not to accept a ride from Maggie and Glenn. She busied herself by polishing up the rings she'd nabbed for Michael.
"Why get married at all?" Daryl asked, although it sounded more like an accusation than a question.
"Sorry?"
He nodded to the ring in her hand. "S'not like they're gonna have kids."
She shrugged. "I guess when you really love someone, you just want the whole world to know."
Daryl shrugged. "Don't see 'em making a big fuss 'bout each other in public."
"Really?" She looked at him. "Haven't you ever noticed the way their eyes light up when the other one enters the room?"
Daryl didn't answer, his eyes trained on the truck ahead of their caravan.
She shook her head and tucked the rings back into her pocket. "I know Michael's pretty shy about that stuff, but when he thinks no-one's looking he does hold hands with Joel. That's big for him." She closed her eyes and leaned back into her chair. "Moving in together was big deal for Michael."
"But ya got here t'gether. You were all livin' t'gether."
"It's not the same. We all shared a room when we arrived, but when the boys moved out on their own it was a declaration of sorts."
"Don't see how."
She chuckled. "Their room only has one bed, Daryl. Moving in together meant sleeping together every night. That's pretty damn intimate."
"Don't see th'big deal."
"Maybe you don't Daryl, but I do. I'm glad that my friends are happy. I'm glad that they found each other."
"You blind, Archer?" He spat. "Look around. The world's shit. Getting' hitched just gives 'em one more thing to lose."
"What's got your knickers in a twist?" She frowned. "How come you're all pissy." Damn, she thought. I'm starting to sound like him.
"Why the fuck d'you care?"
"Look, if you don't want to tell me why you're pissed off, that's your choice." She turned back to the window. "Until you get over yourself, you can leave me the hell alone. I am not going to be your punching bag. We both know I don't deserve it."
They rode the rest of the way back in silence.
}.{
"What the hell happened, Daryl?" She overheard Rick in Daryl's room as she was walking by the gatehouse.
"What?" Daryl was pissed.
"You were supposed to be with Archer. We work in teams."
"We were fuckin' done."
"Why wasn't she with you?" Rick's voice wasn't accusatory. There was concern in there.
"She's dead weight." Daryl was seething. "Don't see why I hafta carry her ass."
Emma's stomach sank and her face reddened.
"You asked for her." Rick said. Silence followed. "Fine. I'll take her tomorrow."
"Whatever. S'that all?"
Archer didn't wait around to hear the rest of the conversation. She scurried past, not wanting to be caught eavesdropping. She didn't know what she found more hurtful, the comment that she was useless or the fact that Daryl sounded so callus about her.
Probably both, she thought.
}.{
The next day she was working with Rick in the mall. They were going through the lower level, it was darker down there as the skylights from the upper floor provided less light. The stores were larger and deeper forcing them to rely on flashlights.
To add to her stress levels, she wasn't used to working with Rick and it felt awkward. He was being decidedly patient with her though. By the fourth store they were finding their own rhythm.
"That was better." He said as they exited the video store and headed onto the next. He pulled open the door and she followed him inside.
There was something oddly familiar about this particular store. She looked around at the displays and recalled the black and white façade.
"Sephora." She whispered. Aisle upon aisle of beauty product, perfumes and soap. Heavenly, heavenly soap.
"Clear." Rick announced. "You?"
"All clear, she advised." Trying to contain her joy. "I've got the back room." It didn't take her long to clear it. When she returned she found Rick pacing up and down the aisles, rechecking every corner.
"We're going to be here awhile." She told Rick, trying to remain detached and professional, but failing miserably.
She was used to Daryl scoffing at the 'useless stores'. Rick on the other hand smiled at her. "I thought so."
"Sorry. I don't mean to be such a girl. It's just…" She breathed in the scent in the air. "..they have nice soap, and shampoo. Really nice shampoo."
Rick laughed. "I'm sure everyone will appreciate that back home." He pulled a bag out of his back pocket. "Tell me what to grab."
"Seriously?" She was surprised at his willingness to help.
"There's a lot here. It will go faster if we work together."
"Okay. Do you think you can clear out those shelves?" She pointed to the shelves of shampoo and showed Rick how to discern Shampoo and Conditioner bottles from styling products. She thought that Shampoo was essential, conditioner was nice but they'd have less use for the other items.
Once Rick was at work, she set herself at the body wash section.
It took them about an hour, but in the end they had six garbage bags pulled out. Rick hadn't even batted an eye when she set him to strip some of the make-up racks bare. Make-up wasn't useful, but it would certainly be a pick me up for the ladies back home.
"What's next?" She said as Rick closed the door of Sephora behind her.
"It's nice to see you smile." Rick said.
"Sorry?"
"It's just you've been quiet all day." Rick shrugged. "It's good to see you happy."
She blushed. "Thanks."
He opened the next door and she followed him in. It was a children's clothing store. Emma wondered if they ought to clean this place out as well. She proceeded down her side of the store while Rick headed down the other. A rattling breath caught her attention. When a quick pass of her flashlight didn't reveal anything, she paused and listened again.
Definetly something nearby. She thought. As she neared the cash register she could smell it. Walker, for sure. Behind the cash.
Raising the axe she'd brought with her, she shone her flashlight down behind the counter. Seeing a pair of milky white eyes in front of her, she brought the axe down quickly. The rattling breath stopped.
On the second pass of her flashlight, she saw why this walker was still here. It was too small to open the gate that led behind the counter. It had been a child, no more than three years old.
She didn't know how long she'd stood there, staring, when Rick came up behind her. He must've seen what she'd done, because he started making soothing sounds. Emma's mind couldn't wrap around what he was saying, all she kept thinking of was the sound her axe made when she buried it in the child's head.
"… at me. Emma, look at me." Rick turned her to face him. "Focus on me."
Her eyes flicked up to Rick's, there was concern on his face.
"That's right." He said. "You with me?"
She nodded.
"I'm sorry you had to do that, but it had to be done. You gonna be okay?"
She blinked. "Yes, I'm sorry." Her hand was shaking. "It's just…" she sighed. "Nevermind. Is the store clear?"
He nodded.
"Okay, time to start bagging." She returned to the task at hand. Her giddiness had vanished. In its place was a morbid resolve to keep moving.