CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"Relaxation"


"Rise and shine, sleepyheads!" Shane's call came clear through the air of the camp as Ali stirred within her tent. Stifling a yawn that escaped from her thin lips, she brushed the loose strands of hair from her face as she reached to the backpack she kept a hand's reach away, grabbing both her glasses and a hair-tie from it. She adjusted the glasses, the frames slightly bent askew, as she settled them over her eyes. She sighed sorrowfully. The glasses had served her well for a long time, but when she and Kelsey—a friend she had met while on the run after the whole world fell into chaos—were attacked by a horde of walkers and Kelsey was bitten, Ali's glasses were damaged in their mad dash to escape.

Ali sighed as she felt her soul stiffen at the thought of Kelsey. The poor girl, her neck dripping blood and ripped skin from the walker bite, and the survivors who came across them. The horde following them, falling upon their "saviors"—and the terrible decision she had made to abandon them to escape with her friend.

A lot of good that did, Ali thought grimly. Kelsey died not long after. Refusing to let her friend, the only one she still had that she even knew of, die and turn into one of . . . those things drove Ali to take a machete she had discovered and drive it into Kelsey's skull, killing her as she was racked with guilt and the tears poured.

On the road alone was when she had found Nigel and Sahale, and together they had come across the rest of the larger group. From there, they had stuck together.

Ali pushed the thoughts of her past from her mind. Today was a new day, she told herself. There was no reason to burden herself with guilt over Kelsey's death, or anything else that had happened in the past.

For once, she was feeling hopeful.

Ali tied her hair into a ponytail and got to her feet. Instinctively, she reached for the holster that she had been clipping onto her belt before she paused, thinking on it for a moment, and then buried it back into her pack. No need for that, she told herself. Not now.

Unzipping her tent, Ali stepped outside and was greeted with the nice, welcoming warmth of the sunlight peering over the canopy of shade that the trees provided. Members of the group were slowly coming out of their places of slumber, clearly having been rejuvenated. Ali felt an irrepressible smile come to her lips. The group hadn't been so rested in so long. It was truly a miracle that they had such an amazing place to call their home.

From the tent next to her, Sam climbed out, straightening his plaid black shirt before turning and giving her a quick nod. Ali smiled softly to him as she ducked her head, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as, on her left, Sage and Annie exited their tent. "Good morning," she said, and Sage turned to her and grinned.

"Hey, Ali," he said as Annie squealed her name and ran to her, throwing her arms around one of her legs and hugging her tightly. "Did you sleep well?" he asked as he put his hands in his pockets as Ali got to her knees, hugging Annie tightly.

"Oh, yes, it was wonderful," Ali said, beaming. "I-I just can't believe how wonderful it is here," she continued. "It was the first good night of sleep I've had in . . . a very long time."

"I think the same can be said for all of us." Sage turned his eyes to Shane, who was speaking with Rick and Morales about ten feet away. Shane turned his eyes and surveyed the entirety of the new group, and he sighed. "Looks like we're about to have a group meeting. I suppose we'd best get over there and see what Shane's got for us."

Ali nodded as the three of them joined the others as they slowly congregated towards the two policemen.

"I hope you all got a good first night's sleep here in the camp," Shane said, his trademark grin on his face. "Now, I know you all probably are feeling like you're being called to a school assembly or somethin' with me callin' you all here, but it isn't really anything too serious. Just basically a rundown of what you all are gonna be expected to do here and what we do here on a day-to-day basis. Okay?

"So, of course probably the biggest thing is going to be having people stay on watch for our group. We like to have an alternating shift of people on watch. Typically, four or so people at a time; we just like to keep an eye on the main entrance into the camp. Thankfully we're isolated out here and we just have the one road in. Everything else is sort of boxed-in, so there's not too much of a way in from the outside except that main road.

"Second," Shane continued, "is supply runs. Now, as you all know, we usually send a group of people out to find supplies—that's how you all met Glenn, Andrea, Morales, Merle, T-Dog, and Jacqui. With all of you guys here, that gives us more people to be able to rotate in and out of the lineup. We like to give people breaks so they aren't constantly being sent out time after time, but, as you'd expect, those who have a clear-cut forte in that department kind of become regulars. It's just simpler that way." Shane paused, glancing around, before adding, "Of course the kids aren't eligible for watch duty, but everyone else is game to volunteer. If you'd like to take up a watch shift or be on the roster for the runs, then just let us know so we can get you into those rotations."

Scratching the back of his head, Shane continued, "Other than that, it's just a mixture of different daily duties and chores. Cooking, washing clothes, gathering water, collecting firewood—we have a little garden we're setting up and there are some places in the woods where we sometimes send people out to forage. That's the kind of stuff we expect everyone to be able to pitch in and help at." Shane shook his head. "Other than that . . . I think there's not really anything else."

A moment of silence passed as many of the members gave slow nods of understanding. "Well," Shane said, "if that's it, then it's all settled. As I said, if you want to volunteer for the rotations for watch duty or the supply runs, be sure to let me or Morales or someone know, and we'll get you worked in there. We're going to—"

A loud yell and laughter cut Shane off, and he spun around to see Merle hollering off into an shrouded area. "Haha, you dumbass! You look worse than I do, and that's saying something!"

"Merle!" Shane shouted, jogging towards the man as his hand went to his holster on his hip. "What is it, a walker?!"

Rick, Morales, Iago, and Sam drew closer, their hands on their weapons too.

Merle snorted. "Now if it was a walker, would I be sittin' here yakking with it? Naw, man, it's just my little brother."

A slightly smaller man with short-cut, unkempt hair and a small bit of facial hair staggered from the treeline, a crossbow in one hand and a handful of squirrels and rabbits in the other. "Who you callin' dumbass? I know it sure as hell ain't me."

Merle laughed hysterically. "Mighty big talk there, little brother," he said. "Where you been, anyways? I was lookin' for you all last night and you never came back."

"Wha's it look like I was doin'? I was huntin'," the younger man—Merle's brother—said, shaking his head. "You really are dumb." Merle just laughed again.

Ali, though, was a bit transfixed by the appearance of Merle's younger and—she noticed rather embarrassingly—much more attractive brother. When he turned and surveyed the group further behind Shane and the others, she felt her cheeks redden.

All he said, though, was, "What the hell? Where'd we get twenty people from?" He turned and his eyes settled on Merle. "You found all them in the city?"

Merle shook his head, looking off into the woods. "Don't look at me, I ain't the Fairy Godmother. I was just the one that was handcuffed to the roof."

"Handcuffed?" the younger Dixon said, startled.

Shane shook his head. "Hey, hey, forget all that. All that this means is we got new people, okay? New people to help keep watch, go on supply runs, and do chores around here—who knows, they could help you hunt." The crossbow-wielder glanced back to the group before rolling his eyes. Shane suppressed his smile before saying, "Everyone, this is Merle's younger brother Daryl. As you can see, his got the Dixon family charm just like his brother."

"Haha!" Merle laughed. "Y'hear that, Daryl? We got the Dixon family charm."

"Shut up."

Rick stepped towards Daryl, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you, Daryl. I'm Rick Grimes." Daryl eyed him curiously before Rick added, "Lori's husband. Carl's father."

Daryl kept eyeing him before nodding, then glanced to Shane and said, "I gotta go skin these squirrels and rabbits right quick."

Rick threw up his hands as the two brothers stalked off, and Shane chuckled. As Rick looked to his friend in bewilderment, Shane threw his hands up. "You'll get used to 'em."

Rick laughed to himself. "Yeah. Sure."


Emily, Brennan, and Caitlyn all walked towards the main gathering of their group, where Lori, Carol, Amy, and Andrea were passing out different fruits and some granola bars. As Emily observed the dispersion of the food, Elsa caught her glance and offered, "It's our breakfast."

Emily nodded to the younger woman as Lori looked to her, offering her a smile. "I guess we haven't officially had an introduction. I'm Lori, Rick's wife," she said, wiping her hand on the jacket tied around her waist before offering it for Emily to shake.

"I'm Emily. These are my kids, Brennan and Caitlyn," she said. The other women introduced themselves as they passed some breakfast items to the three Kratts, as Caitlyn went to sit with the other children, who were chattering amongst themselves next to Kai. Brennan turned and walked off towards a tree, leaning against it as Amy stepped towards Emily.

"Once we all finish eating, we're going to go check the garden and bushes for some fruit and vegetables. Would you like to join us?" the young woman asked, her hair shining a bright golden blonde in the bright morning sunlight.

Emily glanced over towards Caitlyn as Amy, noticing her glance, quickly cut in: "She'll be safe here—trust me." She gave her a reassuring smile. "We haven't had any trouble since we've moved into this place. She and the other kids can hang out and play together. It won't be long, though. Just a half-hour at the most."

Mulling it over in her mind, Emily thought to herself, What's the harm? She turned and smiled to Amy. "I'd love to."

"Great!" Amy said excitedly. "Lori and Carol are going, and Ali and Elsa said they'll come as well." She turned and started walking towards the latter two, who were engaged in conversation as Dayana sat a little off to the side, not really in their conversation. "I'll let them know. We'll come grab you once we're ready to go."

Emily nodded as she took a bite from the apple in her hand, turning to look at Caitlyn before settling her gaze on her son. As he stared off into the trees, the sun bringing out the brighter, reddish hues of brown in his hair, she couldn't help but picture his father—just when he was much younger and much lankier. Her eyes crinkled slightly as she laughed at the memory; before Brian became the lovable, bear-like man he was, he used to be smaller and skinnier like their son, but he bulked up with age. He'd always jokingly tack it down as "the price of married life," but she always loved to retort with the truth that it was the price of too many Kit-Kats.

Emily reached a hand to a stray tear running down her cheek. When Brennan turned and his eye caught hers, she gave him a soft smile, which he returned before looking back into the wilderness, taking a bite out of his granola bar. Emily sighed as she turned back towards the group, walking towards the conversing group of fellow mothers.


Carl was sitting across from Carol's daughter Sophia, who was scratching at her arm as she waited for him to move one of his pieces. They had been playing checkers for the past ten minutes, since their mothers had left with a few others to go check the garden and woods for fresh fruits and vegetables. Carl was sitting with his balled fists under each cheek, his eyes examining every possible move over and over as Sophia alternated between scratching and curling her dirty blonde hair around her finger.

Finally, Carl sighed as he made a move that he instantly regretted but knew had to be made anyways. As he slid the red checker at a diagonal, Sophia grinned and jumped it, and Carl groaned. "I'm sorry," Sophia said in probably the most un-sorriest of tones, between laughter.

Carl smiled as he shook his head. "You're not supposed to be sorry, that's how the game goes."

"Yeah, but still . . . sorry." She laughed again as Carl heard two more laughs to his right, and he glared at the two Morales children beside them, covering their mouths in a poor attempt at concealing their laughter.

"Hah-hah, very funny," Carl said, feeling his cheeks burn.

"Sorry," Eliza, the eldest of the two siblings, said before all three of them began laughing again, leaving Carl to bury his head in his hands as he studied the board again.

"Hey, Carl," Rick called as he strolled towards his son and the other kids.

Carl glanced to him. The smile came naturally to his lips. Pretty much every time he saw him, Rick had noticed, Carl couldn't help but beam at his father. He'd never had a greater feeling before. "Yeah, Dad?"

Rick got down on one knee next to his twelve-year-old son, looking him in the eye. "You know how that group I came in had some kids with them?" Carl nodded as Rick continued: "There's seven of them, and I think they'd probably like it if you and the others got them involved somehow. Made them feel welcome. You know?"

Carl sighed as he looked to Sophia, then looked back to his dad. "Y-yeah, I know. It's just . . . well, I don't know them, Dad." He let out a nervous chuckle. "You know how it is as a kid, right?"

Rick laughed to himself. "Yeah, I think I can remember that far back."

"You can? Really?" Louis, Eliza's younger brother, said in disbelief.

Rick grinned as he shook his head. "Yeah—really." He laughed as he locked his eyes with his son's again, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I think it would mean a lot to them, Carl, if you got them involved."

"Yeah, but—what would do?"

"I don't know," Rick said in exasperation, laughing again. "Put together a game of kickball, or dodgeball, or something."

Carl sighed. "Alright, Dad."

"That's my boy," Rick said, patting his son on the shoulder. He gestured towards the main area where the newcomers had sort of made their home within the campsite. "They're all back that way. Be sure to introduce yourself, now. The main goal is to actually get to know them and make them feel welcome, not just play a game. Got it?"

"Yeah," Carl replied, nodding. "Got it."

As Rick walked off, Sophia stepped to Carl's side, and he glanced to her. He came to about her nose, which at first had made him a bit nervous—it felt weird, having a girl tower over him—but he came to not think so much on it once he got to know her. "I-I hope they're friendly," she said softly.

Carl smiled at her. "Don't worry. They will be," he assured her. She gave her friend a smile back as he waved to the Morales kids and the four of them jogged towards where the other kids were waiting.


Sam stomped through the leaves in the camp, finishing off the apple he had been given for breakfast as he turned and chucked the core into the trees. As he wiped his lips, he scanned the area for his bike, seeing it standing on its kickstand next to Dayana's Harley. Before he got to it, though, a pair of voices in soft yet deliberating tones caught his attention as he glanced to the RV, where Dale and another man were standing, looking at its engine while speaking with one another.

Sam initially considered just going straight for his bike, but shrugged and changed his course for the RV. "You guys need some help?" he asked, and both men glanced to him, a bit startled by his sudden appearance.

"Actually, yeah," Dale responded as the other man looked to him, his countenance a bit hurt it seemed. "This thing had been running hot on me on our way down here. It's really a good thing that we found this place when we did," he continued, looking around the glade. "Between me and Jim we've generally been able to handle any problems with our vehicles that've come up, but this—this one's giving us a run for our money."

"Yeah," Jim said. Sam glanced to the man; he was a good few years younger than Dale but still older than him—probably a couple years older than Rick. He had a short, dark beard and similarly dark hair under a cap, which sported a logo of a car mechanic's company. Must've been where he worked, Sam figured. "Back at the auto shop I worked at, we really only ever handled cars, trucks, SUVs, that sort of thing." He gestured in a defeated manner towards the RV. "Never anything—like this."

Dale chuckled as he shook his head, removing the bucket hat he wore and wiping his brow with it. "I'll tell you one thing, it's driving me outta my head, that's for sure." He replaced his hat and held one hand out to Sam and the other to the RV. "If you can figure out what it is, then you'd be a lifesaver, man."

Sam nodded to him. "Let's see what I can do." He ducked down, hands on his knees, as he squinted his eyes to examine the engine. His eyes floated all over the machinery. He checked the water pump, which seemed to be in good condition. The coolant was also at the right level. A thought came to Sam's mind as his eyes caught the fan belt. He shot a glance to Dale and said, "Go start her up. I need to see something."

Dale eyed him curiously—as if he knew what he was thinking. "Sure thing." He climbed inside the RV and, after about eight seconds, the engine roared to life. Sam looked back at the fan belt, and a smile came to his face.

"Gotcha," he muttered, before he shouted, "Shut it off, Dale! I found it."

Dale cut off the RV and exited, coming to Sam and Jim. "What is it?"

Sam pointed to the problem. "The fan belt's not turning. It must be shot."

Dale uttered a curse as Jim shook his head. "I told you, Dale. It was the fan belt."

"Yeah, yeah," Dale replied, still staring at the belt. "I know you did. Truth is, I didn't want to believe you were right." He lifted his eyes up to Sam. "How are we gonna find a fan belt?"

"Only one thing we can do," Sam said with determination. "We've gotta head back into the city."


"Shane! Rick!" Dale shouted as he, Sam, and Jim strode through the camp, moving past several confused and startled members of their number.

Rick, Shane, Alex, Sage, and Morales were huddled around a table, where the bag of guns was lying and unfurled. The men were all examining the firearms as they looked up. "Yeah, Dale, what's up?" Shane asked, crossing his arms.

"Sam here looked at the RV's engine. You remember how it was overheating?" Dale asked. After Shane nodded, Dale continued, "He found the problem. The fan belt's cooked."

"Dammit," Shane muttered.

Rick glanced at the members of the camp. "You don't happen to have any spares, do you?"

Dale shook his head. "Unfortunately not. Whenever I set out with my wife on our journey, I figured if I needed a part replacement, I'd just stop at the nearest auto shop and get if patched up." He let out a sarcastic laugh. "Obviously didn't expect all this to be going on."

A few moments of silence passed before Sage spoke up. "Does this mean what I think it means?"

Sam nodded. "We've got to make another run into Atlanta."

"Geez," Alex mumbled.

Sam interjected. "What else do you suggest? We just dig one outta the ground?"

"No, no, I didn't mean that," Alex replied, raising a hand. "It's just—we barely made it out the last time."

"But we did," Sam shot back. "We just need a small group to go, check out some auto shops. I know what to look for. I know vehicles, trust me."

Rick and Shane exchanged glances before Rick sighed. "If we need these parts, then we need to get them," Rick said decidedly. He looked to all the others. "When should we head out? First thing tomorrow?"

"That would be best," Shane said. "Can't go now, we'd have to wait on the others to come back so we don't just leave out of the blue. Tomorrow would be best, yeah."

"Alright," Sage replied. "I'll ask around, see who else from our group would want to go. How many do you think, Sam?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, maybe five? Six?"

"Well, you and me makes two—" he started before Rick cut him off.

"You don't need to get out there, Sage. You need some rest."

"He's right," Alex replied. "You've been carrying too much of a load as it is." He paused, then added, "I'll go. We can ask around, see who else would like to."

"You'd probably be better off taking Glenn for sure," Shane offered. "That kid knows the streets like the back of his hand."

"We'll talk to him," Alex said. "Once we find out who's all going, we'll get with you guys. Then, we'll be off tomorrow."

"Sounds good," Shane replied. He looked back at the guns on the table. "Well, now that that's settled, let's get back to checking these guns."


Kai tried to zone out the kids chattering between each other as he concentrated on making sure he didn't slip up on his sewing job. It wasn't until he realized that it was Dahlia saying his name that he stopped and glanced to her. "Oh, I'm sorry, Dahlia. What's wrong?" he asked in his accented voice.

"Nothing's wrong, Kai," she answered, gnawing at her lip as she looked to the bright pink material he was holding. "What—um, what are you doing?"

"Just sewing," he said, giving her the slightest of smiles.

"Ohhh," she replied, smirking as she extended the one-syllable word to be much longer than it needed to be. "Something for me?"

Kai laughed dryly. "What a silly question. Do you think I'd look good in pink?" he said, gesturing down to his black jacket, white shirt, and dark, patched jeans.

Dahlia chuckled. "Definitely not."

"Then there's your answer," he said, smiling slightly. That was something he was working at—smiling and attempting to tell a joke. It was something he'd grown up with . . . minimally in his life prior to moving to America. He felt his expression sour grimly before Dahlia's smile faded, and he quickly shifted to become more relaxed. Trying to, at least.

He held up the shirt finally, letting it hang loose. "There, what do you think?" he asked.

To most people, it would appear pretty absurd—the left arm's sleeve was cut short, not even to the elbow, whereas the right sleeve was its full length. But to Dahlia, it meant a lot. They had learned, through trial and error, that long sleeves were problematic for her after she had lost her arm to the walker bite. Kai had vowed to fix it for her, as he always did.

And fixed it, he did.

Dahlia felt her eyes water slightly before she sniffled and wiped them away. "Thanks, Kai." She smiled at him, her bubbly grin even making him smile back. "You're the best," she said, throwing herself into his torso and hugging him tightly. For a moment, Kai didn't respond, before she slowly reached out, returning the embrace.

"Of course, sister," he mumbled softly. "I just need to apply the tape to the long sleeve."

Dahlia nodded. Kai had recently made it a point to wrap duct tape around the arms of both his and the children's shirts—a few layers would add extra protection from walker bites, allowing more pressure to be allowed before damage could be caused. He knew it wasn't fully impenetrable, but it offered them at least a few seconds more to react—and sometimes, that was the difference between life and death.

Darrien and Evelyn, who had been bickering about something trivial, Kai was sure, suddenly stopped talking as they, Annie, Caitlyn, Sahale, and Clementine all glanced towards four other children approaching them from further in the camp. Raha, who was lying beneath the chair Kai had been sitting on, got to her feet and stretched, licking her lips as she cocked her head at the newcomers.

"H-hello," the child in the lead said. Kai recognized him as Rick's son—Carl, he had been introduced as. Kai bowed his head in greeting as the kids all gave brief "hellos" in response. "I'm Carl. This is Sophia," he said, gesturing towards a girl near his age, but about half a head taller than him with dirty blonde hair and dressed in a matching pink shirt and pair of shorts. He then motioned towards two other kids, whose complexion closer matched Kai's than Carl's. "This is Eliza and Louis."

The three other children all smiled or gave short greetings towards the others, as Dahlia glanced back and forth between Kai and the new kids. Under her breath, she muttered, "Awkward," although Kai only shot her a puzzled glance. Dahlia mouthed "Never mind" to him before she glanced to Carl. "Nice to meet you," she said. "I'm Dahlia. This is my brother Kai, Darrien, Evelyn, Annie, Caitlyn, Clementine, and Sahale."

Carl, appearing as if he was caught off-guard by her sudden string of words, stood silent for a moment before he nodded. "Oh. Y-yeah. Nice to meet you too." He glanced back to Sophia, who shrugged as he turned back to face the others. "Um—we were thinking about trying to play dodgeball. Do—do you think you guys would want to play?"

"Dogball!" Annie exclaimed, pointing at Raha, who looked to the youngest child a bit curiously.

"He said dodgeball, not dogball, Annie! That's not even a game!" Clementine hissed, and Annie just laughed as Clementine kicked at the dirt, as if she was feeling secondhand embarrassment.

Dahlia looked to Kai, whose gaze flicked from her to Carl and his friends, and he slowly nodded. Dahlia turned back to them, smiling brightly. "Yeah, we would!"

"Great!" Carl said, smiling. He sent a thumb over his shoulder. "We have a ball back at our camp, and a bit of an open area where we can play."

"Yeah," Louis cut in. "The grown-ups don't want us to get too close to the woods." He snickered, then added, "They think we'll get lost or something."

Eliza huffed. "No, Louis, they think one of those things might get us." From the corner of her eye, Eliza saw the other kids stiffen and their eyes widen. Eliza quickly held her hands up. "I-I'm sorry! I mean they just want us to be safe. None of those things have ever even been near us, I swear. Right, guys?" she asked, glancing to Carl, Sophia, and Louis, who all nodded.

The other kids all let out sighs of relief as Carl gestured back towards the camp. "Well, come on. Let's go get started!"


A/N: How's that for a nice, relaxing change of pace? We finally get some downtime to spend with our cast of characters - and don't worry, this is only just the beginning of such chapters. Unfortunately not everything is going perfectly, but as is the world of The Walking Dead. Hopefully you all enjoyed the chapter, and as always, I look forward to reading all of your reviews and hearing your thoughts! Thank you all, as always, for the support! Until next time.