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I jerk upright, nearly falling off the trucks bench seat in the process. I wipe away a couple of tears that have formed in my eyes and try and keep my mind away from the nightmare I just had.
Out the driver's side window I can see Daryl and Merle setting up our small tent. Trying to ignore the pain in my head I shuffle to the door and climb out and instantly become confused with sound of voices coming from behind me. Peering over the bonnet I see a whole bunch of people, ten times bigger than the group we ran into earlier.
I slam the truck door shut which grabs the brother's attentions. I stare at them eyebrows raised and arms crossed.
"Wanna explain?"
Merle grimaces and genuinely looks like he would rather be anywhere but here. "You ain't in no condition to travel munchkin. Found this place, they were already 'ere but we ain't gonna be scared off by a bunch of women and ol' farts." He comes up beside me and leans against the bonnet and points to a man carrying a shotgun. "He's the only real arsehole here. A former cop".
Daryl gruff voice comes from right behind me. "We ain't stayin' no longer than we need to".
I make a small noise in the back of my throat but otherwise remain silent. I can't argue with their decision to stay here. It is literally just a bunch of old people and a couple of families. Plus they both look shattered and I know they won't sleep if we found another road side to sleep along, because I know I wouldn't.
I get pushed as Merle suddenly steps back. "What the fuck do they want?"
I follow his gaze towards a small group of people as they march towards us, the cop leading the march.
Learning from my earlier mistakes I grab my bat that is leaning up against the pile of supplies we have, and retreat back a few paces. From now on I will be ready for anything.
"Who the fuck is this?" The cop shouts towards us and with the way Daryl's hand flexes on his bow I can tell he really isn't keen on being spoken to like that.
Merle steps around the truck. "None of ya fuckin' business".
"I think it is". Big mistake.
Merles hands ball into fists and I bet more than anything that he wishes he was holding a weapon. "No, I don't think it is officer fuckwit. I told ya we ain't playin' happy families with you pricks which means we don't need to tell ya shit about the girl. She's with us and that's all ya shit-heads need to know".
The officer doesn't say anything, but it's not because he's scared or even listening to Merle. It's because he's now close enough to get a look at me, a good look at me in all my injured glory.
To my complete utter horror he raises his shot gun straight at Merle. My heart races and I take another step back, I have never had a gun raised at me in anger before, and the closest I've come to that is when I first met the Dixon's. Daryl's hand shoots out behind him and he grips my wrist to stop me moving.
The gun is cocked, "Ya've out stayed ya welcome. Ya've got three seconds to get the fuck outta here." Daryl pulls me towards him and it doesn't go unnoticed. "The girl stays here".
Nobody moves but my anger starts reaching its limit and the grip on my bat tightens to the point my knuckles are starting to hurt. I have had enough with everything that's happened in the last two days they have no right talking to us like that.
"I can shoot you sick fucks right know or ya can do what I say." And then it explodes.
"How dare you. You have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. You wanna shoot the people that are responsible for this then go right ahead. I won't stop you. I'll even give you their last known whereabouts." I move forward, past Merle whose fingers skim my arm. "Those pathetic excuses for humans deserve everything bad that ever happens to them but I will not let you threaten the two people who stopped to help me when I was alone, who got ambushed and beaten to a pulp just because they wouldn't give me over. Because you will not walk out of this whole," My hands start shaking as I realise what I am doing. "Seven heavily armed men", Lie, "didn't escape without serious injury when they were thrown against these two so what makes one man and a bunch of scared families think they have any chance?"
I swallow heavily but try to remain outwardly calm. I can't believe I just done that but what makes them think they have the right to stereotype and be judge and jury of the situation. They are nobody in this world. They have no standing authority.
The presence of two bodies behind me tells me this was the right thing to do.
The officer only lowers his gun a fraction. "Did you just threaten us?" I see his grip on his gun tighten.
Merle swings an arm round my neck, it's meant to look like a calm easy action but I know he's ready to pull me back at any given moment.
"Shane", a lady stood behind the officer puts her hand on his arm and pushes down, making him lower his weapon. She averts her gaze towards a young boy stood off in the distance. He nods and then completely relaxes.
"Where were they headed?"
Merle shrugs "They are long gone by now, they ain't a threat no more".
Shane seems to think that's the end of it and just stalks away without another word said, he's quickly followed by the rest of the group who look like they have no plans on sticking around without their protector.
The arm around my neck tightens and I'm pulled into a gentle, as he can be, head lock.
"Jesus girl where the fuck did that come from". Who knows, all I know is I wasn't liking the accusations.
"I don't know, probably just hungry". Merle chuckles and lightly pushes me away.
"Ya just full of surprises Squirt". He then walks away with a shake of his head and a small smile on his lips.
I turn to face Daryl who is leaning up against the truck. "You two look just as bad as I do, surely he must have realised something had happened to us?"
He sighs, "Ya'd think, but he'll only see what he wants to see, as ya can tell he don't like us".
I groan. "I know and that makes me so angry".
He chuckles "I can tell. Next time you wanna go all out like that a warnin' would be nice".
"Sorry". He just shakes his head and offers a small smirk which I try to mimic but my lip pulls too much to smile. He notices my wince and pushes off to come over to me. He tilts my head back slightly and looks over my injuries. "How'd they look?" I'm kind of glad I haven't looked at them yet as they are obviously not looking good with the way he frowns at them.
He tilts his head in the direction of the tent. "Come with me". He unfolds a camping chair and gently pushes me down into it.
He pulls a bucket of water closer and dips in a cloth, wrings it out and then places it against my tender cheek. I actually wince at how cold it is, definitely a feeling you don't get anymore.
"We're at an old quarry. There's a lake down there and the waters pretty fuckin' cold. It should help to keep the swellin' down". He uses a small corner of the cloth and dabs at my lip. "Ya'll need to be careful with this cut. It's bad and it'll take a long time to heal cause of where it is."
"Yeah so keep the lip action to a minimum sweet cheeks" I roll my eyes at Merle's comment.
"Your loss then".
Daryl hands me the cloth, "Keep that on your lip until I get back".
"Where are you going?" Surely he shouldn't be wandering off on his own just yet.
"We gonna need some firewood, stay 'ere", he sets his glare on Merle, "and don't do anythin' stupid". Merle mock salutes him and scoffs before giving Daryl the finger.
Daryl just ignores him, scoops up his bow and a hatchet and heads off towards the trees.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
The three of us are scattered around the small camp they set up, each needing our own space. I'm sat on the trucks tailgate trying to stop my mind wandering back to this morning's events. It's hard to stop them going back there, especially with the injuries I keep seeing on the guy's faces. Every now and then my hands shake at the thought of what I've done. However at the sight of the children running around the other camp surely makes what we did justified. We stopped those people doing any harm here.
Those innocent children playing tag, hiding behind tents and more than likely causing their mums mild heart attacks. There's no way I could let what happened to us happen to them, and no matter how much I hate what happened, I can't say I wouldn't do it again.
I don't allow myself to cry, not anymore. We have to put this all behind us. Heal and just move on. Stay away from other people as they so clearly can't be trusted anymore.
Chatter reaches my hears, I look over my shoulder as a small group of women slowly walk past the truck, As they reach us they quieten down and attempt to hide the fact that they keep throwing us all looks. As soon as they've passed they start up the chatter again but it's clear what it's about, especially when a couple of them are still throwing us looks over their shoulders.
I groan in annoyance. Even explaining the situation to them doesn't make them any less judgemental or nosy. However my interest peaks when I spot what they're carrying, baskets of washing. We can wash our clothes and then my brain clicks. We can wash properly because from where I'm sat I can see a makeshift shower. A very makeshift shower, definitely wouldn't want it unguarded while I showered.
Well then, I'm gonna stop moping and go and get clean.
I jump down from my seat catching the attention of the other two who hadn't expected any movement. I grab my bag from where it was dropped in the bed of the truck and swing it onto my back. I grab a towel from another.
"You're coming with me because I need a look out while I shower". I point to the blue tarp on the other side of the camp with my bat.
"I got ya sweet cheeks," Merle follows it with a very creepy grin. I know he's joking but sometimes you never know with him.
Daryl scoffs, "Yeah right". He gets to his feet and points in the direction we need to go. "After you".
I give a little finger wiggle to Merle as we leave him sat in his chair.
People stare as we walk through their camp but nobody stops us or even questions us. When we reach the shower I peer inside. Very basic but it's more than enough and will do the trick just fine. I glance up at Daryl.
"I'll wait right here and don't get that wet". He points at the gauze before he settles his crossbow in his hands. Not exactly aiming it, more like he's warning people to stay away.
I shower so quickly feeling very weird about being naked out in the open with only a tarp to stop people seeing me. I towel off as much as I can and throw on another dress. It's way too hot for anything else. With my hair hanging wet down my back I step out.
Daryl is still stood exactly where I left him, his eyes constantly roaming around. To be honest he could probably do with a shower to but it's unlikely he'll allow himself that vulnerability in a place full of strangers.
"Ya feelin' better?" He looks down at me.
"Wish I could have washed my face a bit more than I could". I let out a small chuckle, "But yeah so much better". His lips twitch with a start of a smile but it's gone before it's even formed. None of us are really in the mood for smiling today so I can't blame him for it.
We start the walk back.
Daryl clears his throat beside me and then his fingers are lightly touching my arm.
"How ya doin'?" It's clear what he's asking and it sets my heart beating a little faster.
"I'm fine", he opens his mouth to object to the words I keep saying but I cut him off. "Honestly I am. There are kids here. Rather us than them right." I take in a deep breath and let it out slowly, possibly stalling for time. "As for what I did, we did. I've been thinking about it over and over, constantly, but we had no choice. It was us or them, that was their decision and I'm gonna carry this weight with me for a very long time but it looks like the world has come to what everyone hoped it wouldn't".
He puts a hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze, "I ain't gonna say it won't happen again 'cause there are gonna be some fucked up people out there, but if we stick together then I am positive we'll get through it".
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
Cooked squirrel is surprisingly nice, but then I suppose any sort of fresh meat would taste heavenly now-a-days. We're not the only ones who seem to be enjoying the new food, I look over at the other camp and watch as they sit around a campfire, laughing and tucking into, what maybe the best meal they've had in ages, all thanks to Daryl.
When the sun finally sets and we are the only three people still up, well apart from the person sat above the RV, I decide it's time for bed.
"I'm going to bed, I'm achy and I'm tired". The both give me a small nod. "Are the two of you going to stay up all night?"
"We're gonna take watch shifts". I stare at them unblinking for a few seconds. Somehow I don't believe that they'll be sleeping tonight.
"Well if that was true then I'd take one of those shifts, but your lying so please don't let yourselves get too tired otherwise you'll be wrecked for tomorrow".
"Yes mum".
"Goodnight Merle". I step over Daryl's outstretched legs, "Night". He whispers it back and then I'm disappearing into our tent.
I lose the shirt but I keep my dress on, another thing to add to my list is a pair of sweats or cotton shorts to sleep in.
I know, nothing much happened but you need a couple of filler chapters just to prove that not everything's hectic in their lives.
Sorry it's so short but like I said, filler chapter.