Chapter Five: Introductions
Merle can feel his stump being manipulated and reflexively tries to pull his arm back. The grip around his right forearm tightens slightly and a pleasant feminine voice tries to sooth him, "Its ok, just need to change your dressing, try to relax." He can feel cold metal slide against his skin followed by the sound of scissors cutting through his bandage. Merle begins to moan as his stump begins to throb from being handled by this woman. "Shhhhhh, please try not to move, I know this is probably painful for you but need you to keep still. I just gave you some more pain medication, it will start working soon, I promise," the woman softly says.
He can feel the woman pulling on the old bandage and Merle suddenly sees stars as the dressing is abruptly yanked from the wound, taking dried blood and dead tissue with it, and causing a shit-load of agony. "Ya fuckin' bitch," Merle screams as he tries to sit up and open his eyes in order to finally get a good look at the cunt causing him all this pain. Just then his head begins to swim as the drugs come into effect and Merle leans back into the pillow beneath his head. "Ohhhhhhhh," he moans as he once again drifts off into a drug-induced sleep.
Over the next few days, Merle's existence is reduced to either being unconscious or half-awake and high as a kite from all the pain medication being given to him. Although he would rather be out looking for Daryl and the fuckers who left him to die on that roof, he is somewhat grateful for the state he is being kept in because his amputation hurts like a bitch and he knows his body needs to rest in order to kill off the infection raging within. He knows Daryl better than anyone, that he wouldn't stop looking for his big brother after only a matter of days. During the times he is hazily awake, he learns that there are three people, other than himself, living in this dilapidated apartment building. He thinks their names are Owen, Ed, and Mitch but he isn't too sure, his mind still seems so fuzzy. However, he knows one thing for sure, and that is that he likes Mitch because she gives him the drugs. Merle decides that he will fuck her till she can't walk right once he is well enough as a way of thanking her for all the care provided. Other than that, he knows nothing about these people and doesn't plan on sticking around long enough to learn more.
Merle fully opens his eyes for the first time in days and slowly looks around his surroundings. He is indeed lying on a bed which was situated in the middle of a small square room. There is a desk in dire need of a new coat of paint placed underneath a boarded up window, although Merle can see rays of sunshine peaking in through the haphazardly nailed pieces of wood. To the left of him, sitting in a cheaply made rocking chair with closed eyes, is a black man who looks to be in his late sixties. Merle has to admit to himself that if it weren't for the colour of his skin, the man would be quite handsome, with his strong jawline and symmetrical face, Merle is sure that women wet their panties checking him out when he was in his prime. Merle slowly sits himself and once the spinning sensation passes, he swings his legs over the left side of the bed, and plants his bare feet on the floor. He now practically sits face to face with the other man who continues to sleep peacefully despite Merle's movements. Merle shakes his head at the sorry excuse for a guard and sees this as his chance to escape. He cautiously tries to stand up knowing that his usually physically fit body is weakened. However, the moment his body lifts off the bed, the nylon rope acting as his restraint swiftly pulls on his left arm causing him to fall back down toward the bed. He goes to untie the simple knot but as he brings his right hand toward his left, he realizes that it won't be as easy as he first thought.
He glares down at the neatly bandaged stump and can feel rage bubbling within. "Fuckin' chink-town pizza boy, fuckin' clumsy ass nigga', fucking' cunt ass bitch, fuckin' howdy dudey rent-a-cop, I'ma fuckin' kill 'em! Rip 'em limb by limb for this!" Merle screams as he yanks his restrained arm forward in a desperate attempt to break the bond. This outburst causes the once sleeping man to jump to his feet.
"Hey there son, calm down," Merle recognizes the voice and determines that this must be Owen. The man, now standing to his full height, looms over Merle and gently puts his hands on Merle's shoulders in an attempt to get him to remain seated, "You're just gonna..."
This further infuriates Merle as he cries, "don't touch me ya fuckin nigga'! Jus' untie me and let me go!" He continues to pull on his left arm but the rope is far stronger than it looks. Merle glares into the eyes of the dark-skinned man, "I ain't ya prisona', I ain't nobodies prisoner!"
In his outburst, Merle fails to notice the room's door opening and the person now standing at the end of his bed until he hears, "And you're not our prisoner. Just sit back down because you are going to end up hurting yourself even more and I really don't want that to happen," says a soft-spoken female voice. Although she says it in a manner that is polite with words of honest concern, Merle can detect a hint of anger seething beneath the words.
Merle slowly turns his head to finally get a good look at the owner of the voice, Mitch, the one who has been giving him drugs and doing his dressing changes. The woman's appearance catches Merle off-guard, so much so that he stares at her briefly with his mouth agape. Her light brown hair flows freely around her face, down her back to her waist and appears slightly disheveled as though she had just gotten out of bed. The sunshine sneaking in to the room causes her hair to shine and he sees that she has streaks of blonde scattered throughout her thick waves. Her fair skin appears youthful and flawless, and he notices her cheeks are slightly flushed, probably from rushing into the room upon hearing his outburst. Her hazel eyes stare down at him without fear, although he is far larger than her and could easily overpower her slender frame. The off-white tank top clings to her curves and he can't help but briefly gawk at her supple breasts which clearly are not being held back by any bra at the moment. While she most definitely would have been considered a pretty woman before the apocalypse started, the fact that she looked so clean and healthy made her, by far, the most beautiful thing he had seen in weeks. He clears his throat to speak and for the first time since waking up, notices how dry his mouth has become, as though it were stuffed with cotton balls. Merle wants to use some of his famous Dixon charm on the woman but all he can muster is, "oh…" He suddenly feels like passing out as his state of exhaustion catches up to him and he mutters, "y'all have anything to drink 'round here?"
Owen releases his grip on Merle's shoulders after seeing that he has calmed down and starts to leave the room, but not before shooting Merle a quick scowl. Mitch sits down beside Merle, all the while watching him carefully in case he decides to make any sudden movement. She gently grasps Merle's stump in her hands and examines the bandage. Upon seeing fresh blood seeping through the white gauze, she shakes her head, "You need to be more careful Merle or all my hard work will be for nothing. You really shouldn't have tried to get out of bed on your own, you've been stuck in there for quite some time. Coulda' fallen flat on your face."
If Merle didn't feel so fatigued and if his mouth didn't feel like it was full of razor blades, he would have put that woman in her place. No one fucking talks to Merle that way, he thinks to himself as he turns toward her, a scowl on his face and a glare in his steel blue eyes. Merle notices Mitch flinch under his steady gaze but is rather impressed how she holds her ground against him, meeting his cool eyes with her own. Owen swiftly returns with a bottled water in hand, promptly hands it over to Mitch, and then heads back out of the room while stating, "I'll be with Ed, if you need me just holler, hun."
Mitch nods, acknowledging the statement, and then uncaps the bottle and brings it to Merle's lips, "Drink slow, ok. Your stomach hasn't had anything in it for days and if you drink it too fast you'll end up puking." Her words are gentle but her actions are cautious as she helps Merle drink a few sips of water. The warm water immediately quenches Merle's thirst as he feels it slide down his throat into his empty stomach. Just as Merle starts to get the feeling that if he drinks another sip he will hurl, Mitch pulls the plastic mouth away from his lips, as though she read his mind. "Want some help getting back into bed? You are looking a little pale and I should probably change your dressing," she says as she stands up.
"Darlin'," he drawls in his Southern accent, having now found both his voice and famous Dixon charm, "while I'd love ta stay an' keep such a gorgeous thang like ya'self com'ny, I best be on my way. Thangs to do, places ta be, people to… well ya know the saying," and winks at Mitch.
Mitch appears undisturbed by Merle's forthcoming remarks and now stands in front of him with her arms crossed over her chest in attempt to shield her breasts from his unabashed stares. She smiles down at him, "Like I said before, you're not our prisoner." She moves closer to him and skillfully begins to untie his restraint, all the while never taking her eyes off Merle's. As the last knot comes undone she sighs, "And while you are free to go, I really wish you didn't. You just woke up, you need twice daily dressing changes, more antibiotics…"
Merle interrupts, "While it makes me happy to hear ya'd be sad to see me go, Sweetheart, I've been through worse." He pushes himself off the bed and tries to stand tall, instead he sways back and forth, his legs no longer used to bearing the full weight of his body. He suddenly feels very light-headed and knows he is on the verge of collapsing.
Mitch swiftly wraps her arms around his waist and uses her weight against him in order to guide him back down toward the bed. Merle is surprised by her strength and relishes the few seconds he can feel her breasts pressing up against his chest. She promptly releases him then grabs his legs and swings them into the bed forcing him to lie down, all before Merle can grasp what she is doing. Just as he opens his mouth to voice his complaints, Mitch looks down at him with a stern expression on her face, "Look, you want to be here just as much as I want you here, which isn't very much. You are sick. You need my help. Stay for a least a few more days. I don't want all the time, effort, and supplies I put into you going to waste, which is exactly what would happen if you walked out of here in your current condition. You would be torn to shit by the undead," Merle tries to interject but Mitch holds up her hand to shush him, "Now do I need to get Owen to tie you up again? Or can I trust you to stay in bed?"
Merle lets out a long, drawn out sigh. As much as he hates when people talk down to him like this, especially women, he knows she is right. He wouldn't last five minutes out there. Hell, he couldn't even get out of bed without the world starting to spin and feeling like his guts were on fire. He looks her in the eyes and smiles, "Well… 'suppose I could stick 'round for another night or two. I do like 'em drugs ya keep givin' me. Hell, maybe we could snuggle up one of these nights," Mitch narrows her eyes at Merle, clearly not flattered by his words, but that doesn't stop him from winking at her and saying, "I could, ya know, repay ya for your services, if ya know what I mean, so long as ya hubby don't mind."
Mitch looks puzzled, "My husband?" She shakes her head and a small smile creeps onto her lips, "You must mean Owen? Well I am not exactly his type... Anyway, let's get you settled back to bed so I can change your dressing. Owen?" She calls out the door and within seconds the man is by her side, the worried look on his face slowly vanishes upon seeing Merle lying in bed, "Merle's going to be staying with us a bit longer. I just wanna get some clothes on but I wanna make sure he stays in bed…As long as Ed is alright that is."
"He is still sleeping, so do what you need to do," Owen smiles at Mitch as she walks out of the room. He goes and sits down in the rocking chair then coolly says to Merle, "So you decided to stay."