General 3rd Person POV:
Daryl returned home after spending three days in the wilderness tracking a deer. He had taken his time, enjoying the peace and quiet of the forest. He had finally caught the deer and dropped it in the backyard, planning to gut and skin it later. As he headed to the front door to grab some grub, he inserted the key and jiggled the handle, but it wouldn't budge. His confusion turned to frustration as he gave the door a firm shove, and a folding chair tumbled over in response. He looked around, the place was in its usual mess.
"Kali?" he called out, but there was no reply. Kali was usually up by now and would have responded to his call. Something felt off, he could just feel it.
As he made his way down the hall to her room, she was startled awake by the sound of the chair clattering to the ground. Her heart raced as her sleepy brain tried to process who it could be. She tensed up, her mind immediately jumping to the worst-case scenario that it could be her father. Fear consumed her as she curled up into a tight ball, trying to make herself small. She was in so much trouble for ruining last night, she just knew it. She tensed as the footsteps grew closer and closer until finally, the door creaked open. Kali clenched her eyes shut, hoping beyond hope that it wasn't him. The room was silent except for the sound of the floorboards creaking under Daryl's boots.
Daryl scanned the room, noticing the empty bed but with the blanket missing. He knelt down on the ground, his heart sinking as he realized what Kali had been through something. She'd never hide under there for fun, she mostly did as a kid and hasn't for years.
"Kali," he called out gently, hoping to reassure her. Kali let out a startled scream but calmed when she saw it was her brother. Relief washed over her as she realized it wasn't her father.
Kali 1st Person POV
My heart was pounding as I sat at the small kitchen table, trying not to cry. Dixon's don't cry, that's what Merle always said, and right now, I was embarrassed that Daryl found me cowering under my bed. But I was scared and grateful he was finally home. He set a steaming hot cup of coffee in front of me at the kitchen table.
"What happened?" His gruff voice was full of concern as he gave me a once-over for any bruises, but there were none, save for maybe my shoulder, which was covered by my t-shirt, and I hadn't even checked yet. There was a pause, and I didn't even know how to begin.
Don't get me wrong, I wanted to tell him, I just wasn't entirely sure how. Last night, our father had people over. He was making a drug deal, and he wanted me there as 'entertainment.' He made me snort fucking cocaine. It was all a blur after that, but I knew I had to get out of there.
Fingers snapped in front of my face, getting me out of my thoughts. "What'd he do?" his voice was gruff, and I could tell he was trying to keep his anger in check.
"He... He had people over I'd never met before," I began, gripping the cup of coffee tightly, "He...there was...I think...he's getting into dealing drugs."
Daryl's intense stare bore into me, and I felt a lump forming in my throat. "He made me do it," I finally admitted, tears streaming down my face.
"What did he make you do, Kali?" Daryl's voice was low, but I knew he was seething.
"The drugs," I whispered, barely audible. "He made me do cocaine."
Daryl's expression turned from concern to pure rage. Without a word, he stormed out of the trailer and next door to confront our father.
I started to protest, but the look on Daryl's face made me think better of it. His eyes were blazing with anger, and his jaw was clenched so tight I thought it might break. "Just wait inside, Kali," he growled, his voice low and dangerous. I could hear the venom in his words, and I didn't argue.
I watched as he stormed out of the trailer, the door slamming behind him with a loud bang. I could hear him cursing under his breath as he made his way to our father's place next door. I wanted to follow him, to see what was going on, but I knew better than to get involved in one of their fights.
I sat down on the couch, my hands shaking with fear and anger. Every beating Daryl had been given, every fistfight Merle started, and every time I got lippy was going through my head. How could our father do this to me? To us? I could feel the tears welling up in my eyes, and I tried to push them back. But the more I tried to hold them in, the harder they came.
I buried my face in my hands, trying to block out the sounds of the fight next door. I could hear my father shouting and cursing, and I knew that Daryl was giving him everything he had.
In the weeks that followed, things improved a bit, but it was still a strange time for both of us. I moved in with Daryl permanently, but he seemed angrier than ever before. It was like he was constantly on edge, and I could tell he was struggling with guilt. He wouldn't disappear for days on end anymore though. We never talked about what had happened, and eventually, I stopped bringing it up, trying to bury the memory in the past.
To make matters worse, Merle showed up one day, completely blitzed out of his mind. On top of that, the news was filled with stories of people turning on each other and even resorting to cannibalism, apparently.
As I sat in the living room, Merle's snoring was the only sound in the trailer. Daryl had finally left to run some errands, leaving me alone for the first time since I moved in. I had exhausted all my usual activities, reading and drawing, but I was still itching for something to do. That's when I noticed the back scratcher laying nearby, and an idea came to mind. I hesitated for a moment, but the temptation was too great. I crept over to Merle and started poking his nose with the back scratcher, giggling to myself as he grumbled and shifted in his sleep.
As I absentmindedly poked Merle's nose with the back scratcher, he finally stirred and groaned in annoyance.
"What the hell, girl? Can't a man sleep in peace around here?" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes and sitting up.
"Sorry, Merle," I replied with a sheepish grin. "I was just bored and Daryl's not here."
"Well, ain't that just fantastic," he muttered sarcastically. "You wake me up for your entertainment?"
I felt a little guilty for disturbing his sleep, but I wasn't going to let him ruin my mood. "Come on, Merle, let's play some cards or something. It's better than just sitting here staring at each other."
"Cards? You think I wanna play cards?" Merle grumbled, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"Why not? It'll give us something to do while we wait for Daryl," Kali replied, shuffling a deck.
Merle grunted in agreement, and soon they were deep in a game of poker. Kali was surprisingly good, but Merle was no slouch either. As they played, Kali noticed that Merle seemed to be more subdued than usual. His usual bravado was nowhere to be found, and he seemed lost in thought.
I let out a heavy sigh, feeling a mix of disappointment and annoyance as Merle got up and dumped his cards on the table. "Crashing on me already?" I asked, my voice laced with a hint of irritation. I couldn't help but feel like he was coming down from something heavy, and I was growing increasingly weary of anything related to drugs.
"Course not," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Ol' Merle just needs to go grab something." He stood up, leaving me alone at the table with nothing to do but ponder my own thoughts.
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed him striding towards the neighboring trailer through the window. Panic shot through me. Shit. I sprang up and dashed to the screen door.
"Hey, Daryl explicitly said not to go over there," I hollered across the yard, hoping to get through to him. But he simply waved me off as if my concerns were insignificant.
I got really close to backing out from going but the sound of a bottle shattering had me rushing in. And of course, Merle was already in a fistfight with their father.
"Where's my money?" Merle was yelling at Earny holding him in a headlock.
"It's not yours," Earny said back elbowing Merle in the gut. I regretted coming here immediately.
"You took over my drug account, I want the money," Merle said. I felt myself shrinking against the wall.
I watched in horror as the situation escalated. Merle's anger had reached its boiling point and he pushed Earny hard, causing him to stumble and hit his head on the kitchen counter. Blood started gushing from the wound as Earny fell to the floor, unconscious.
But Merle didn't seem to care. He simply walked over to the counter and started rummaging through the cabinets, searching for the drugs he had come for. His disregard for his father's well-being was disturbing to witness.
Meanwhile, I stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do. The sight of Earny lying motionless on the floor was a mix of contempt and concern. My mind was racing with thoughts of calling for an ambulance, but I was afraid of the consequences that might come from involving the authorities and having Merle arrested... Again.
I don't know, there was some relief in thinking Earny was dead. But he elicited a groan, signaling that he was still alive. As he slowly stood up, Kali didn't notice that his eyes were now cloudy and that he was reaching out for Merle with a crazed expression.
"Merle, watch out!" she shouted, but it was too late. Merle was focused on his bag of miscellaneous drugs, and Earny had lunged at him, attempting to bite him like some rabid animal. Merle was struggling to keep him at bay... Their father was trying to bite him? Earny was growling and his jaw was snapping with renewed power trying to get at Merle.
"Don't just stare, Kali! Do something!" Merle yelled desperately, his face contorting with frustration. I felt my heart pounding in my chest. What the hell was I supposed to do in this situation?
I grabbed the baseball bat from the front entrance, my hands shaking with fear and adrenaline. Merle was still trying to hold off our father.
"Dad please stop," I pleaded, I did not want to have to do this, even if he deserved it. I always vowed to be nothing like my parents. But here I was going to be violent as he has in the past. He didn't stop clawing at Merle, I had no choice, again.
Merle was struggling, "Hurry up, Kali!" he yelled, his voice strained.
With a deep breath, I held the bat up, ready to swing. My father continued to claw at Merle, his eyes glazed over and unfocused. I couldn't believe what was happening. He was like they described on TV. I didn't want to have to resort to violence, even against the man who had abused me and my family for a lifetime.
I swung the bat as hard as I could to the side of his rib cage, I heard bones crack, but he barely flinched. What the fuck. I swung again aiming for his head and that did it. He stopped, and I dropped the bat and ran out the back door, falling to my knees and throwing up.
"What the hell happened?" I heard Daryl's voice yell from inside, guess he was back. I had finished throwing up and sat in a lawn chair feeling defeated.
"Turned into one of those damn dead things," Merle explained.
"I saw some in town too, where's Kali?" Daryl asked, concern lacing his tone.
"Outside, she's got a pretty good swing," Merle said casually as if we were discussing the weather. I didn't know what was more shocking - that my father had turned into an undead thing or that my brother seemed unfazed by it all. Daryl was pissed at Merle for bringing me back into this house, especially for a damn bag of drugs, but he couldn't say he wasn't happy that our father was dead. I couldn't say that even I disagreed.