"So, I've been thinking about what Rick's been saying.." Shane was making a speech about teamwork and what not when Miranda grabbed Amy by the elbow.
"What will you be doing?" Miranda demanded in perfect english, knew it. However, it wasn't the time to celebrate. She knew exactly what would happen if the Morales' left on their own.
"Safety in numbers." Amy stated bluntly, speaking in hushed tones to not interrupt the other discussion. "I know that if I struck out on my own, I would have Glenn, the Dixons, and Dale following. However Jim is sick and so is Merle so it would leave us undermanned for vehicles. I have the silverado and I gave the keys to the humvee to Daryl. Andrea has been catatonic so she's been resting and Me and Michonne have our buses."
"I've been thinking we should go out to my family in Alabama." Miranda pondered aloud, wanting another opinion.
"Just you and Hector with the kids?" Amy scrunched up her face in concern. "It's not the dead you have to worry about, it's people. Right now they are all banding together, trying to survive by any means. You would be safer with us, if the CDC does not work and we go back on the road you can always suggest Alabama."
"I heard you wanted to settle an island, though?"
"It would take more people than what we have. Right now we have nine kids and only…fifteen adults. So, we do need more survivors, more people for watch, scavenging, laundry, watching the kids, cooking food, hunting, etc." Amy said slowly, watching Miranda nod accepting her words. "I would prefer you come with us, cause I know wherever the kids are you'll be two steps behind at all times. You know what I'm sayin?"
Miranda glanced over at Lori and Carol with a small frown, seeing their children down by the tents, rushing through the destroyed camp. Lori was comforting Carol as they stood over Ed's wrapped body. Shane was still talking but she noticed that Daryl was looking at them with squinted eyes. Slowly, she turned to her husband and gave him a careful nod, they would stay.
"We do first aid training Tuesdays and animal husbandry on Thursdays." Michonne spoke softly, spooking the shorter woman and making Amy laugh aloud.
While they were having the funeral, Miranda and Hector brought an excited Louis and Eliza to Amy's bus. The kids were very happy to see the blonde after an entire day cooped up inside. Jamie had taken some of the dehydrated food stored under the bed to make a large pot of beef stroganoff for everyone, surprising the adults.
"This place is amazing." Hector sighed after his second plate of food, marveling over how they all fit around the table comfortably. Amy had just left to bring food to the people resting the Med RV, leaving Michonne to field the questions while the kids watched a movie on the bed. Braden was once again strapped comfortably in place, babbling away about being with his mama.
"So, why doesn't Amy just…" Miranda asked the other woman in an undertone.
"Honestly, I don't think leadership is something she's considering." Michonne finished her plate and took a long drink to think. "She's so focused on getting us through this that it never occurs to her that people are already looking to her."
"I need more direction." Hector announced without a hint of shame. "I asked Shane what I could do to help every day for a week and he just told me to chop wood. So, that's what I did. It kept me in camp with my family but I could have been doing more. I volunteered to go out to the highway to siphon fuel but he told me to stay and protect the camp, leaving me with an empty rifle!"
"Well, there's plenty to do even on the road I'm sure. Amy has a list somewhere, she has a lot of ideas in her book." Michonne paused, considering sharing it with them before deciding against it. "Not just an island or the mountains, either. I've talked to her about just finding a place with fences but she argued that what we would need is walls. Can you imagine? Walls?"
"We definitely need more people if we ever want to build something like that but I've done construction in the summers all my life. We were both teachers." Hector smiled a little at the idea he could help with something.
"Hey guys." Amy opened the door, Daryl following close behind looking around with a perplexed expression. "See we have plenty left for you, Daryl."
"Thanks." He muttered, watching as she fixed him a plate, motioning him to the table to sit down. He did so cautiously, like he didn't want to get it dirty.
"What are you guys talking about?" Amy asked curiously, grabbing two cold beers from the fridge, putting one in front of each of the gobsmacked men. Next she took out a bottle of wine to pour a small amount for herself and the other ladies. "If last night didn't warrant a relaxing drink then today definitely did."
"They were just about to tell me what they taught before." Michonne smiled encouragingly at the couple, still staring at their drinks.
"I was a high school algebra teacher, Miranda taught Spanish at the adjacent middle school." Hector smiled at the first sip of cold beer he had in two months.
"Is it really safe to have a drink?" Miranda fretted but still took a small sip of her fruity wine.
"I don't plan to have more than half a glass." Amy smiled reassuringly, taking her time with her own. "Just a little something to sleep hard tonight. I stayed up most of the night watching the cameras and the kids for nightmares. This day just sucked."
"Here here!" Hector raised his beer with a grin.
"Boo-yah!" Daryl blurted out, looking immediately embarrassed.
"Booh- yeah!" Michonne and Amy clinked their glasses in laughter, helping the hunter relax slightly.
"We were also talking about walls." Miranda piped up with an eager expression. "You have plans for walls?"
"Well, it depends on where we settle." The blonde hummed thoughtfully. "Like if we end up in the mountains, I would think we could cut down a bunch of those baby trees like an old fashioned fort. However, if we're closer to civilization we can probably get sheet metal right away. Then, there those rig trailers we could use or cars…oooo you know we can take the compacted cars and metal from the scrapya-what?"
Michonne giggled, feeling warm with wine. "Keep going!"
"Stop looking at me like that!" Amy slapped Daryl's arm, forcing him to look away. "My brain-nevermind- as I was saying we might even look into private schools. Some of them have a lot of land already bricked in. Less work setting it up and more time spent improving it!"
"Oh, that would be nice!" Miranda agreed enthusiastically, resting her chin on her folded hands. "We could grow our own crops! If it's really nice it would have already gone green so it would have green houses and maybe solar panels!"
"I do know how to set up solar panels." Hector bragged, patting his chest happily. "I helped my cousin with big jobs. Mostly the gopher boy but I've seen it done enough times."
"What about, Daryl?" Amy nudged the man with a grin. "Think you could help us with trapping animals and foraging?"
"Yeah…" He took a long drink with a small smile. "I could help with that, did some construction work too."
"That explains the arms." Michonne said sagely with a straight face right at Amy.
"I thought it was from that heavy ass crossbow."
"How you know my bows heavy?" Daryl turned to her with a smirk.
"Oh please!" The blonde couldn't help but exclaim with wide eyes. "We all saw you carrying that heavy ass deer across camp on your shoulders!"
"Mhmm." Miranda winked at the blushing man. "Yes, we did!"
A knock interrupted any further teasing and Amy sighed when she saw it was Rick and Shane. The Morales couple actually groaned and the adults got up, knowing their fun was over. While the parents started encouraging their kids to leave, Daryl stepped right past the men and made his way to other camper where his brother was resting. Amy stepped out after the Morales', giving them all warm hugs before turning to the former policemen.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?"
"You weren't at the funeral." Rick says it like a question but the blonde has had half a glass of wine and was feeling no fear.
"We were wondering why you didn't feel the need to come." Shane spoke up helpfully.
"I disagreed with burying them and didn't feel like getting pissed off." Amy spoke with blunt honesty.
"It was agreed as a group that we would bury our dead."
"No, a few weeks ago we talked about burning them." Amy disagreed with a shake of her head. "We all agreed that we don't know what this virus is and that it could affect the soil long after we left."
"We need to bury those we care for." Rick spoke passionately, looking at the blonde with big blue eyes. Too bad for him Emma has prettier baby blues. "It's how we keep our humanity."
"People have been being burned for thousands of years." Amy disagreed with a confused frown. "Being buried has become the common method because funeral homes are a commercial business. In another year no one here will remember where we buried those people. Hell, probably won't remember their names."
"That's harsh." Rick frowns disapprovingly, crossing his arms.
"No, what's harsh is people settling here twenty to fifty to a hundred years from now and getting sick because they planted crops over a forgotten infected graveyard."
"Why were the Morales' here?" Shane asked with a frown, watching the blonde skeptically.
"Having dinner, letting the kids watch a movie." Amy shrugged, wondering what they were even doing there. "That's another reason I didn't go. The kids didn't know those people outside of other campers who repeatedly told me I should get rid of them. I'm not going to ask them to be sad for people who wanted them dead."
"No-one wanted them dead!" Shane snapped aggressively.
"Oh, so what do you think would have happened if I had listened to the camp? Let them fend for themselves? Take them back where I found them?" Amy snapped right back, getting annoyed. "The youngest is just over a year old and the oldest is almost twelve. They'd be dead, Shane. Just like their parents. So, four orphans never wanted to be anywhere near camp because no one cared if the orphans could hear them talking about how they were nothing but dead weight. How I shouldnt have to be burdened by them."
"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Shane demanded, feeling lost. He had not wanted her to take care of them because it would take her time away from scavenging but he had never heard anyone being so callous. His idea of letting some of the other campers take them never grew any traction with any of the adults. He had no idea the other campers felt that way.
"They weren't quiet about it, Shane." The blonde threw up her hands. "You led the charge the first day I came to camp with Emma and Braden! Wanting me to give them to Jim, who isn't even all the way there most days! Honestly, the only time I talked to most of the campers was when they wanted something. How dare they approach me for designer bathing suits and special fucking shampoo when I risk my life to feed them."
"I'm sorry, Amy." He really does seem regretful but she is far from forgiving. "I had no idea that they were doing that, I thought you just avoided camp because you were anti-social."
"Oh, I'm a total introvert and you are wearing down the last of my social battery." Amy huffed, looking away to the windows where the children were pressing their faces into the glass. "We're still going with you, but I think I need to take a step back. I'll still scavenge but maybe say thank you every once in a while."