Time To Grow Up
Chapter 5: Hell No!
…Cara's POV…
…Later That Night…
We were all eating around the fire. I sat next to Glenn, while Rick tried to explain what it was like waking up in the hospital.
"Disoriented. I guess that comes closest, disoriented. Fear, confusion. All of those things, but disoriented comes the closest." He leaned into Lori.
"Words can be meager things. Sometimes they fall short." Dale spoke, taking a sip of his water.
"I felt like I was ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while, I thought I was trapped in some coma dream. Something I might not wake up from."
"Mom said you died." Carl said.
"She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt it." Rick wrapped his arm around him.
"When things started to get really bad, they told me at the hospital that there were gonna medevac you and the other patients to Atlanta, but that never happened." Lori added.
"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell." Rick replied.
"Yeah." She mumbled.
"And from the looks of it, the hospital must have gotten overrun."
"Looks don't deceive. I barely got them out, you know?" Shane said, pointing his chin towards Lori and Carl.
"And I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it."
"There go those words falling short again. Paltry things." Dale said.
On the other side of the large, was my family. Ed didn't like sitting with the group, so we built our own fire. It isn't mine anymore, because I am not family anymore. But I digress. Ed put another log on his fire.
"Hey Ed, you want to rethink that log." Shane asks.
"It's cold, man." He replied.
"The cold doesn't change the rules, does it? Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"
"I said it's cold. You should mind your own business for once." Shane got up, heading towards my family. I shot up with him.
"Shane stop." I pleaded.
"Hey Ed. You sure you want to have this conversation, man?"
"Shane stop. It isn't worth it." I tried to get in front of him.
"Go on. Pull the damn thing out. Go on!" My mom went to pull the log out, but I stopped her. I snatched the log out, tossing it on the ground trying not burn my fingers. Sophia just watched from her place next to Ed.
"Christ." Shane shouted, stomping out the flames, "Hey Carol, Sophia, How are y'all this evening?"
"Fine. We're just fine." She whispered.
"Yeah, right." I muttered, going back to my spot. Glenn grabbed my hands, wiping off the char with his napkin.
"Okay."
"I am sorry about the fire." She apologized, acting like it was her fault.
"No no no no. No apology needed. Y'all have a goodnight, okay?"
"Thank you."
"I appreciate the cooperation." Shane then rejoined the group.
"I am going to bed." I stood up, putting the plate in the bin. Glenn stood, "No need to follow. Goodnight all." I left.
Going to my tent, I got a weird feeling that things weren't going to be peaceful for every much longer. I changed into a loose t-shirt and pajama short, leaving my clothes in a pile to be washed in a couple of days. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. The mummers of the group was my lullaby.
…The Next Day…
I was sitting at the table with Sophia and Carl. I was writing in a journal that Glenn got me, while they were working on some school stuff. Daryl still wasn't back. It usually took him a day to day and a half to get a good amount of food. He must be taking something big, like a dear. I looked up as Rick approached us.
"Morning." My mom called to Rick.
"Morning." He called back.
"They are still a little damp. The sun'll have them dry in no time." She said, hanging them up.
"You washed my clothes?"
"Well, best we could. Scrubbing on a washboard with a little soap ain't half as good as my old Maytag."
"That is very kind. Thank you." Rick left, approaching an upset Glenn. I went back to my writing.
We worked a little bit longer before Carl and Sophia got bored. Carl nudged my foot, making me look up at him.
"Come play with us, Cara. (A/N All I can think about is the twins from the Shining "Come play with us.. Forever." It creeps me out.) It will be fun!" He smiles brightly. My face heated up.
"Alright." I smiled back.
"Mom! Sophia, Cara, and I are gonna go play." He yelled.
"Okay, stay within yellin' distance!" She yelled back, looking away from the laundry.
"Same goes for you, Cara and Sophia."
"Alright, mom!" We all yelled, racing off towards the woods.
We chased each other around the camp and a little bit in the woods, playing tag. We played for like twenty minutes before Carl got it and came after me. I ran farther into the woods then they had been a loud to go. I heard growling and stopped, causing Carl to run into me. I froze watching the geek attach its mouth with the innocent deer. Sophia came up next to, trying to see what made us stopped. I guess the sight was too much for her and Carl, because they both screamed. They were loud. The walker didn't even look up at us, it just kept eating. The sound of hurried footsteps pulled me from my frozen state.
"DAD!" Carl yelled, running towards his mother.
"BABY!" Lori yelled, pulling him closer to her.
"SOPHIA! CARA!" Our mother yelled, not too far behind Lori.
"MOM!" Sophia yelled, embracing our mother. I just backed up, not wanting to embrace anybody.
"CARL!" Rick yelled. He was holding a medal poll.
The group moved towards the walker, mostly the men, beating it with the random objects they were wielding. Dale came in swinging, causing the others to step away. He hit the head, sending it flying. The body slumped forward, laying in the open belly of the deer. Dale looked at it bewildered.
"That is the first one we've had come up here. They've never come this far up the mountain." He said, leaning against his bat.
"Well, they're runnin' out of food in the city, that's what." Jim said, moving away from the scene. The rustle of the trees caused everyone to jump into action mode, standing with their weapons at the ready.
Daryl came out of the trees, grumbling about the deer. He and Shane gave each other a look, causing Shane to lower his gun. A look of rage took over his face as he laid eyes on the decapitated walker leaning into the deer.
"Oh, Jesus." Dale breathed, watching Daryl ripe the corpse away from the deer.
"Son of a bitch! That's my deer! Look at it. A gnawed on by this," He started to kick the corpse, "filthy, disease-bearing, motherless bastard!" Dale stepped up.
"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Daryl came at him.
"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to the 'old golden pond'? I have been tracking this deer for miles ('I knew he was after something good' I thought.)" He took the bolt from the deer, something I hadn't noticed. "Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do ya think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?" He pointed at the neck.
"I wouldn't risk it." Shane stated. Daryl sighed, brushing his hands off on his pants.
"That is a damn shame. I got some squirrel, about a dozen of 'em or so. That'll have to do." Daryl said. Suddenly the head starting moving towards Amy, causing her to scream.
"Oh my god!" She yelled, backing away from it. I rolled my eyes.
"Come on people! What the hell?" Daryl went to shoot it, but I stuck my knife into it, "Thanks. It's gotta be the brain," He took my knife out, wiping the blood on a leaf, "Don't ya know nothin'?" He handed it to me as he walked passed.
"Way to go, Cara." Glenn whispered, patting my shoulder. We all followed Daryl back towards camp.
"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!"
"Daryl! Just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane said. Oh brother. This will totally go over well. Not.
"About what?"
"About Merle. There was a… There was a problem in Atlanta."
"He dead?"
"We're not sure."
"He either is or he ain't!"
"No easy way to say this," Rick started, but I cut him off.
"I can think of a way." Rick ignored me.
"So, I'll just say it." He continues.
"Who are you?"
"Rick Grimes."
"Rick Grimes, you got somethin' you wasn't to tell me?" By this time, we were in camp standing near the RV. I moved away from them, making my way towards the latter.
"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him to a roof. I hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there." I climbed up, sitting on the edge. Mom and Lori were holding onto Carl and Sophia.
"Hold on. Let me process this. You're sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?" His face was getting red. His breathing got real heavy, he was trying to control himself.
"Yeah." That sent Daryl over the edge. Throwing the squirrel at Rick, Daryl went in to attack him. Shane pushed him off. Daryl pulled out his knife.
"Hey! Watch the knife!" T-dog yelled. Daryl moved towards Rick, but Shane came up behind and put him into a choke hold.
"Okay. Okay." Shane tries to sound calm.
"You best let me go!"
"Nah, I think it's better if I don't."
"Choke hold's illegal," His breathing got heavier.
"You can file a complaint. Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."
"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asks, sounding calm.
"Hmm?" Shane echoes.
"Mmm, yeah." Shane let Daryl go.
"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work or play well with others." Rick stated.
"It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it." T-dog inserted. Bright idea. Tell the angry redneck that you were the one with the key that could unlock his brother. That is the fastest way to get your butt kicked.
"Ya couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asks, moving his intense gaze to T-dog.
"I dropped it down in a drain."
"If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't." He said, looking down at his feet.
"Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof. So the geeks couldn't get at him. I locked it with a padlock."
"That's gotta count for something." Rick says.
"Not likely." I muttered, Daryl looked up at me.
"Hell with y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."
"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori inserted.
Really, Lori? You gotta open your big slutty trap. (A/N I know rude, but that is Cara's personality. Deal with it. She is abused child, anger is her release.) This has nothing to do with you, so mind your own damn business.
"I'm going back," Rick states. Lori moved towards the RV, while Daryl stalked away towards his tent.
I jumped off of the top of the RV, rolling onto my back. Everyone gasped, my mom moved towards me. I held up my hand, signaling her not to come any closer. I got up and went after Daryl. He was just zipping his tent, when I caught sight of him again. He is most likely changing, so I wait out front of his tent.
"Daryl?"
"What?"
"I am sorry about your brother." I state, looking down at my hands.
"Why ya sorry? Ya had nothin' to do with it."
"I just am okay!" I snap.
"Whoa! What's yar problem kid?"
"You!" I yell, "You don't talk to me for a month and a half, and I don't know why. I don't know what I did to make ya hate me, but I hate it!"
"I ain't made at ya kid." He states simply, exiting his tent.
"Then why did ya ignore me for so long? There must ya been a reason."
"I was gettin' attached. Can't get attached." His scowl deepened.
"I ain't going anywhere, so you can get attached."
"YA DON'T KNOW THAT! If I get attached to ya, then ya'd get attached to me. If I die, then you'd hurt. If ya died, then I'd hurt. It is best not to get attached!"
"People died every day before this shit happened. Did that stop you? I bet not. We are in this together. I don't got anybody else right now."
"Ya got Glenn, yar momma, yar sister, even Carl. That ain't nobody."
"Glenn doesn't understand me. My mom and Sophia are stuck with Ed. He took them from me. If it wasn't for you and the world going to hell, he would have gotten me too. I was close to ending it all, before the outbreak. I wanted to die, because of all the pain I was feelin', then you come a long. You taught me to survive, not only in woods or on my own but in life." I took a deep breath before continuing, "I needed ya and ya left me. I am falling back into that hole and I need somethin' to pull me back up."
"I'm not good, Cara. I have done bad things."
"You haven't done bad towards me and that is the only thing that matters to me, nothing else."
"It should!"
"But it doesn't!"
"What do ya know, ya are just a kid? Barely able ta do anythin', but wipe ya own ass. I want ya to leave me the hell alone! I don't want ya in my life! I don't need ya! I don't need anybody, but my brother." He snapped, causing my heart to break.
"Fine. If that is want ya really think, I'll leave ya alone." I turned away from him. Tears fell as made my way over to my tent. If he didn't want me in his life, then I wouldn't be in his life.
I made my way into my tent, falling onto my bed. I buried my face into my pillow, wanting it to suffocate me. I laid like that for a good ten minutes, before Glenn knocked on the tent wall.
"Hey, we are about to head out. Do you want to come see us off?" He asks sweetly. I sigh, pushing myself off of my bed.
"Sure." I replied quietly, wiping way some stray tears.
"Sweet!" He smiled brightly, wrapping his arm around my neck. He led me to the cube truck that they brought back yesterday. Rick and T-Dog were sitting in the front, waiting for Glenn and Daryl.
"Be safe, okay? No, doing crazy shit like last time." I said, looking up at Glenn.
"I will, but you gotta watch your mouth. No using grown-up language." He replied, scolding me for my usage of 'grown-up language'.
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes, nudging him towards the truck, "You better go. Don't want them to leave you behind, do ya?"
"Nope." He chuckled, leaning down to kiss the top of my head, " See ya, when we get back. Don't start something without me here. I wanna watch." I laugh.
"Alright. Now go!" I pushed him towards the truck. He laughed, running towards the truck. He jumped in, only to look back at me and shout:
"Love ya!"
Daryl scowled, gripping the door. Hmm, I didn't see him there before. Must have snuck passed me.
"Love ya too, Glenn! Be safe!" He nodded, just as Daryl shut the door. Rick started the truck, backing out of the spot. I stood there, watching them go. By the time I looked away, they were so far out of sight and Carl came up next to me.
"Are you alright?"
"Hell no."
A/N Hey!
I hope the little author notes in the story are alright! I just hand to add my two cents.
Well, to the lovely guest that reviewed. They did talk, but I bet it didn't turn out the way you wanted it too. I just want to say that I am sorry. I don't think that everything would go back to normal after him distancing himself from her. They are both very stubborn people that have had to deal with a lot of pain in their life. But don't fret! Their relationship will be on the mend soon, I don't know when but it will be, I promise. Oh! Thank you for reviewing!
I would have written more, but I have to go to bed early tonight. Mind you that it is 12:44 AM where I am now and that is early for me. I have a doctor's appointment in the morning, like 9 AM morning. I wanted to post something tonight, so here you are!
I can't think of any ship names for Cara and Carl, if you got anything let me know! I am open to anything.
Please review! It means a lot to me! I love hearing your feedback and comments!
Night/Morning!
G-V Princess.