The next few days were much calmer, after she soothed the anxious children. Amy felt bad that she didn't even think of what their reaction would be to hearing a gunshot and having the door lock automatically. Jamie didn't know there was a button for the shades over the windows so she kept all the kids on the bed behind her with only a knife for protection. After the last two days they all fell asleep after a nice dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese. Andrea looked a little disgruntled while Amy showed the kids the touch screen control panel. She took the time to explain some of the functions to Jamie just in case she had to be locked in with the kids.
It shouldn't have surprised her when a large part of the group was packing up to leave the next morning. No one explicitly said that it was her fault but she heard the murmurs of the end of the world and were eager to get away while they were unarmed. Alot were just looking for their families and the older couples that came with T-Dog left him without even saying goodbye. However, there were no tearful hugs or promises to keep in touch. There were all strangers that had known each other for a week, even if Dale was being a bit of a drama queen about it.
With less mouths to feed, Amy decided to stick around camp with the children, which made the quiet quartet very happy. Jamie tried to act unaffected but in the face of care, food, and a laptop with minecraft she failed spectacularly. Emma and Billy were oddly attached and wanted nothing to do with the four other children at camp, which Amy thought was odd. They were still all crowded in her bed with Andrea on the couch, demanding Amy snuggle them while they cried. The young blonde spent most of her days with Andrea and the children fixing up the trailer and learning the intricacies of raising quail.
"Are we going to live in the woods?" Emma asked curiously.
They were all outside watching Amy and Andrea mount solar panels to the trailer. Billy and Emma were sitting at the table with snacks and coloring books. Jamie was trying to update a brand new ipod from the truck and Braden was giggling in an outdoor playpen in the shade. Apparently all the outdoor toys were baby toys which Emma informed her quite sternly she wasn't no baby after Billy turned his nose up at the heavy ass plastic car. Okay, so it was LIL TYKES and pink but it said not for under three!
"Maybe." Amy huffed, setting her tools back in their box before sliding down the side of the trailer. "Or maybe an island…or a jungle…or even an apartment!"
"I like having a bed wherever we go." Billy chipped in wisely, looking very satisfied with his picture of a blue hulk.
"Can we go home?" Jamie asked curiously.
"Where is home?" Andrea asked nonchalantly, but kept her eyes on her sister.
"Kings County." Billy answered swiftly, his large brown eyes focusing on his book.
"Dad kept our house after the divorce, Mom moved us to Atlanta." Jamie explained, the Ipod was forgotten on the table. "Mom crashed the car and we thought she was dead and we couldn't call anyone cause the phone didn't work and when we got to Dad's he didn't even want to know what happened and just made us sit in the other room and when she came ba-"
Amy stepped up, the girl getting more emotional than she had ever seen. Jamie did not refuse the comfort, suddenly bursting into loud noisy sobs. Billy moved next, wanting in on the hug and Emma joined last, not to be left out. While her younger sister was quietly cooing over the children, Andrea felt like an outsider, unsure of how to respond. She glanced to the side at Braden who was completely oblivious to anything outside of his soft blocks and mirrored activity wall thing.
"Your Mom gave you a chance." Amy spoke softly, having heard the full version already the morning after they were found. There were some tears but nothing like this. Pulling away so she could rest a hand on each Jamie and Billy's shoulder and look them in the eye. Emma rolled with it, still clinging to her hips. "She was brave and kind and wonderful, so you guys can make room for missing her. It's going to hurt for a long time but it wasn't your fault. You did the right thing, you got each other to your Dad's."
"But if we stayed with her-"
"Then you could have gotten bit." Amy interrupted firmly, squeezing Billy's shoulder in comfort. "You guys might have drawn more attention to the car where she couldn't defend herself or you. There are a lot different things you could have done after the fact but your Mom found you again. So you did the right thing."
"It was because of us she got bit." Jamie snapped angrily, but did not move away. "She was so distracted by us that she didn't see the biter in the back seat!"
"No, It was an accident." Andrea spoke up suddenly, standing a few feet away, twisting her hands. "Your mom didn't check the back seat because she didn't know she had to. Billy said the doors were open, it wasn't anyone's fault."
Billy started sobbing again, making Andrea fear she had said the wrong thing again but her sister threw a reassuring smile over his shoulder. Once again she was in a suffocating hug, however Emma now lost interest and went to sit by her brother, pushing her hands into the netting. Braden wasn't having that, squealing in indignation that his safe place was being invaded by his sister so he pushed her hands ineffectually. When that did nothing but make the little blonde girl giggle, he started to bawl, so loudly that the others were concerned he would attract the dead.
"Okay, enough of that little man." Amy tried to be soothing but she could tell she sounded a little panicked. The children were quick to follow the blonde while she picked up the baby to calm him. It didn't help that now Emma was sniffling, thinking she would be in trouble for making her brother cry.
"Hey!" Andrea suddenly crouched down, trying to help out her sister before she became overwhelmed. "I think I saw some DVD's in the trailer Amy hasn't had time to pack away. Could you guys help me find them?"
That diverted one crisis and the older kids' attention. They had not been allowed in the trailer to explore before the shelves were put in. It took two days before Amy and Andrea had most of their finds stuffed away in storage totes and bolted down the new quail habitat. The younger blonde did the responsible thing after the camp split by giving up most of the canned food and handing over four of the rifles over to Shane for safe keeping. They had no ammo for them and they were just taking up space in their bulky cases.
There had been no ammo left at tractor supply and the archery section was completely wiped out but there had been slingshots along with boxes of bottled BBs and pellets. She couldn't exactly teach Billy and Jamie to shoot at the quarry but she could let them have slingshots once she figured out how to use them.
"Hey buddy." Amy cooed at the sniffling baby, his teary face pressed down into her sweaty cleavage. Abruptly he made a wet fart noise against her skin that seemed to startle him out of his fit. Lifting his heavy ass head from her chest to look at her with startled eyes.
The blonde chuckled to herself as she shifted him awkwardly to her hip, unsure how mother's got anything done with these koalas in their arms all the time. She had found wraps and baby carriers at the store but they came with no instruction and too many straps to feel comfortable. Looking around at their campsite, she came to the conclusion she would need some help from the other mother's at camp.
It was with a resigned expression that Amy made her way to the main fire with six different colorful cloth wraps and a bulky baby carrier. These women had made no secret on how they felt about her bringing in more children. Kind of weird, in her opinion, they agreed that they needed to be brought to camp but none of them offered to help or take them. Not that she would allow that; Carl was a wild child exploring the surrounding forest with no boundaries, Sophia was terrified of her own shadow, and the Morales children were the only ones constantly supervised by their mother who only spoke spanish. Or atleast claimed to, Amy was pretty sure she was faking to stay close to the children with her husband constantly chopping wood. He was like a damned NPC with one task but with all the fires it got used up quickly.
"Oh honey." Lori was the first up, her pretty face sympathetic at the sight of Amy. Carol took one look at them before hurrying Sophia back to Ed with an apologetic glance. "I know how hard it can be. I can't tell you how overwhelmed I was at home with Carl."
And she was off, explaining all the different brand qualities and what she should look out for. How old is he? How much does he weigh? Is he off the bottle? Were you able to get any documents with his things? What's his blood type? What are any of their types? The questions Amy had no answer for were endless and she was overwhelmed almost to tears at what she had taken on herself. The older woman wasn't even trying to be cruel, just brought up a lot of things she should know as a caregiver.
Then Mrs. Morales was there, clucking in rapid fire Spanish that she didn't understand any of. The busty woman hip checked Lori out of the way with a stern look, throwing the bulky carrier towards the fire with a sniff and explaining the wraps with her hands and broken English that was definitely exaggerated. It was better because the young blonde only had to nod her head to show she understood what the woman was showing her. Little Eliza was dutifully by her mother's side, taking the baby with eager hands. Louis patted Braden's head very cautiously, like he had been told many times to be gentle before.
"He's so cute!"
Soon Carl wandered over to see the impromptu fashion show, looking at his mother worriedly. Lori was back to eagerly giving her opinion on swing chairs and how she wished she had brought some of Carl's old outfits because Braden would just look so cute in his sheriff costume. It even had a hat and stuffed revolver that looked like his dads. A friend from the station made it for them when Carl was almost eighteen months old. How old did you say he was again? He looks a little underweight.
"Thank you." Amy breathed out when she had finally learned how to tie up the three wraps the women deemed worthy. Lori still thought she should keep the bulky black carrier simply for options but Amy planned to dump it all in the large supply tent. Her favorite was the gray Boppy one that had comfortable shoulder straps and was easier to wrap.
"De nada." Mrs. Morales said warmly, giving the blonde a hug before pulling back and looking over the sleeping baby strapped to her chest. "You come to me for bebe."
"Ofcourse!" Lori nodded along, taking her turn to hug the blonde girl as if she had not shot a gun in camp just a few days ago. "You come to us for any of the kids, we'll answer any questions you have!"
"That was a real nice show, blondie!" Merle spoke up from his spot on the other side of the fire, sharpening his wicked looking bowie knife. When had he even gotten there? "Next time you shoul' let 'ol Merle kno-"
"Merle!" Lori screeched, turning around to give him a piece of her mind. Amy wasnt worried, Where Merle was his brother was nearby like fucking Batman in the shadows.
"Merle!" Speak of the handsome devil, Daryl stepped out of the trees just behind his back, a deer slung over his wide shoulders. Amy bit her lip, looking him over slowly. How did a man make dirt look att- "Help clean this son o' a bitch!"
With that he stomped away, the heavy ass dead deer on his back not even hindering his sure steps. What the fuck, Amy huffed having to carry Emma and Braden around for a couple days left her exhausted. He wasn't even that muscular! Granted, if she remembered right his bow had an insane draw weight, still he still strutted through the camp like it was a lazy stroll!
It was only when he was out of sight did she realize that she was staring at his ass. What the fuck? It was like her brain went on holiday what Daryl fucking Dixon's arms made an appearance in camp. This was the apocalypse! Glancing around she hoped no one noticed. Lori was still arguing with Merle, who had a very creepy smile on his face. The older man had done nothing but pick verbal fights since they set camp. He had not been violent, if anything he was kind of funny, riling up Lori, Shane, and Dale. In fact, he had not even really said anything racist that she could remember. Except for this time he grabbed her ass. He left her alone after threatening his knee caps. Must be drugs. Miranda Morales was looking at her with a sly smile, having caught onto her staring.
"What?" Amy suddenly looked down at Braden who was babbling happily to her. "Yes, you do need a new diaper. How silly of me."
The young blonde moved in quick strides with a barely heard thank you, tossing her unneeded baby carriers into the supply tent. They landed on Glenn's corner but she had no time for that, she had to get to the safety of her RV. When she came in, Andrea was nowhere to be found but the kids were all sitting at the table watching something on TV. They probably had to be fed, the dog too. Damn, she was suddenly starving.
Well, cannon is done.
While Amy did not scavenge as much as she did before she found children she still went out every three days. She wanted to keep an eye on the CDC and the other military outposts without getting too close. It surprised her that she felt no guilt in only scoping them out, most didnt have alot of civilians but she knew that they would fall soon. Many already had but those had a lot of refugees so more dead shuffling in the fenced perimeters.
It was on one of these solo runs that she had run into the machine name Michonne. While the woman wasn't yet the literal one woman army she had remembered from her last life, she was still a badass. They had rounded the corner at the same time and almost shot each other when they noticed their matching supplies. Granted, hers were for a toddler a couple years older than Braden, but it was enough to get her to lower the gun. Amy almost hyperventilated because it was Michonne!
"How old is he?" There was an open expression on the older woman's face when they finally sifted through their scattered loot.
"I'm not sure, right around a year. His sister is only five but she told me his birthday was forever ago. So, it could have been a week before this started or months but all the books place him at just over a year." The blonde smiled a little sadly, she still didn't know their last names or about their lives before her. No pictures, no birth certificates, even going back to the car didn't help since it was stolen.
"Oh." Michonne was taken back before nodding in understanding. "Is it for your group?"
"No, I found them alone." Amy wasn't going to talk about their walker daddy trying to eat them. "I've been taking care of them for a couple weeks now. Parents were gone already. What about yours?"
Michonne didn't take the subject change to heart but she did pull a little professional photo of a toddler in a sailor suit from her pocket. Her voice was brimming with pride and love as she showed off her son. "Andre Anthony, he's just turned three."
"Oh!" Amy made a little squeal she hoped did not alert the dead. "Look at those dimples! You guys are in a safe place, right? Got reliable babysitters? I hate locking mine up in the RV but my sister is awful with children."
"We're with the refugee center." Michonne did not look at ease, especially when Amy mentioned babysitters. In fact it seemed both had the idea they should bring the other back.
"You should get out." The young blonde spoke bluntly, not sure how else to continue. "I've been keeping an eye on the outposts around Atlanta and most of those with civilians have fallen."
"There are other refugee centers?" Michonne was taken back, glancing over her shoulder to look at the sky before her watch. "The soldiers, they say that we were one of the three lucky refugee centers in the area but that was just the first day? So you know what happened?"
"Well, they had the big one but the carpet bomb took it out along with most of downtown." Amy felt bad but it was something the other mother had to know. "Then a bunch of them kept popping up around the edges of Atlanta and some of the smaller towns but…It's not been a month and most of them are just gone. I'm not sure how it happens but it's most likely someone dying and coming back within the camp. A lot of the outposts still have fences around them."
"The army set up a bunch of men to be kind of like military police, maybe we could do bite checks?" Michonne said mostly to herself.
"That still wont stop people dying in the camp though, whether it's natural or even an overdose."
"Well, what does that have to do with anything?"
"It's not the bite that turns us, we all turn when we die." Amy explained, feigning shock that she didn't know. "Braden and Emma's mom died in childbirth only to wake up and take a bite of their grandmother. You haven't seen any of the dead that hanged themselves in the houses?"
"No!"
"I'm sorry, I thought you knew." Amy reached out for Michonne's hand with a sympathetic sigh. "The bite just kills us faster. If I were you I would find an RV and come to quarry just outside of Atlanta. We have some people there and I'm still setting up for when we eventually have to leave."
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"You have a baby to take care of." The blonde shrugged, not really sure how to explain that Michonne was a queen and little prince Andre deserved better than the story she knows. All she could do was offer advice and give her directions. "If you do decide to come, tell them Amy invited you."
It was not even a full day later that Michonne rolled up in an obviously stolen bloody military RV. She didnt know the name but it was loud as fuck and Michonne looked tiny beside it with just her sword. Shane was the first to greet her but shot Amy a furious look after introductions. The older woman parked just behind Amy's RV, greeting the blonde with a sad, tired smile. It was only Michonne and Andre but the blonde was not going to pry yet, just rushed forward to introduce her brood.
"I thought you just had two." Michonne said softly, looking again at the young woman, far too young to have given birth to the older children. Jamie and Billy stood at Amy's sides, their new slingshots already in hand.
"They found me while I was scavenging a Tractor Supply." Amy smiles down at Jamie, rubbing the top of her head fondly. "She pulled a gun on me, how could I leave a little amazon like that?"
"You never told me that!" Andrea looked between the blondes a little peeved.
"It wasn't loaded." Amy waved her away before turning to Michonne with a little smirk. "That's how I met her too."
"I think you forgot the part that the first thing I saw in that day care was the barrel of your gun." Michonne's smile was growing bigger, even if she was a little shocked at such a young girl having a gun.
"Best friends forever!" Emma waved her arms excitedly, and Amy worried that she may be a bad influence. Especially if she thought she had to make friends with guns involved.
It wasn't all that far from the truth, after a couple days of mostly avoiding the camp with Amy's small brood, Michonne haltingly told her about coming back to find her boyfriend and his best friend high. They forgot about Andre for most of the day so the toddler was tired, hungry, and soiled himself. She was beside herself after her talk with Amy in the daycare, so many awful scenarios going through her head that she simply snapped. The badass decided that in the morning she would take everything from their tent and steal one of the fully loaded RVs one of the army had lived in. Apparently, he was an asshole.