Chapter 4: The Beginning of The End
Bailey woke to a wet nose nuzzling her cheek. Her face scrunched up and she squirmed, moving away from the tickling contact. Opening one eye, she saw Bruno out of the corner of her eye and couldn't help but laugh softly. She pushed his nose gently away and stretched, smiling as she did so.
"Hey boy. How did you like sleeping with abuelo?" she asked, turning her gaze to the dog.
He whined softly and put his paws on the couch, tail wagging a mile a minute. She chuckled, patting him on the head and sitting up fully, moving over a little.
"You know you're not supposed to come on the couch... But no one's awake so..."
She proceeded to pat the spot next to her and Bruno didn't hesitate to jump up next to her, taking a minute to get comfortable. With a grin, she turned on her side and rested her head on his back, pulling the covers tight to her chin and letting out a sigh. She loved mornings like these, where she just got to snuggle with her dog and feel warm and relaxed until papa or mama got up to make breakfast.
Her eyes shifted over to the clock and she noted that it was about seven in the morning. Usually, her brothers would be up by now. Where were they? She tried to decide whether she wanted to get up and check or stay in her comfortable spot. Staying put won out, so she closed her eyes again and snuggled up next to Bruno.
She didn't stay that way for very long because she heard stirring across the room. Peeling her eyes open, she looked up to see that Chris was waking. Bruno lifted his head as well and she could feel his tail thumping against the couch underneath the mess of blankets. The two of them hadn't formally met yet.
After a moment, his eyes fluttered open and he took in his surroundings. She took the opportunity to sit up properly and brush her hair out of her face. Chris blinked and she smiled at him.
"Hey. Sleep okay?" she asked, latching onto Bruno's collar as he inched forward with excitement.
"Huh..? Oh uh, yeah. Great," he croaked, wincing a little as he moved.
"Oh, shoot you're probably due for more medicine. Here uh...you can hang out with Bruno for a sec while I go and get the stuff. Bruno, he gentle," she prompted, letting go of his collar.
The dog leaped off the couch and made his way over. She watched him for a second before pushing herself out of her seat and padding to the bathroom. After grabbing the painkillers, she returned and settled down on the floor. Chris was patting Bruno's head as the dog licked his arm and wagged his tail.
"Bruno, sit," she commanded and the dog did just as he was told, seemingly knowing that he needed to give them some space. "Good boy. Here, take one of these and..."
She reached across the floor to the table where the bottle of antibiotics was sitting.
"One of these. Antibiotics so you don't get an infection and painkillers," she explained, handing him each of the bottles.
"Thank you," he murmured, nodding slightly at her and then unscrewing the caps.
"Anytime." A small smile graced her lips and she took his glass of water from the side table and held it out to him when he was ready.
He downed both of the pills quickly and she put his water back and the bottles on the table.
"So um...your dog is...really friendly," he commented awkwardly.
"Oh uh, thanks. He's a good boy. Had him since he was small," she responded, looking over at Bruno.
"Bruno, you said right?"
"Yeah. After Bruno Mars. He uh, kinda used to be my favorite artist."
"Oh, he's uh, pretty good." He nodded.
"Yeah... So uh, are you hungry at all...?" she asked, figuring that it would be about time to start making breakfast.
"I actually...um, I really need to use the bathroom?"
Her cheeks instantly lit up in flames. "Oh! Oh um...let me go and get one of my brothers."
Bailey practically jumped to her feet and slipped out of the room and down the hall. The bedroom door was shut, but she opened it up gently, peering inside. Her parents were just starting to stir, but both her brothers were sound asleep. She smiled a little bit at mama, who was more awake than papa, and then trekked across the room over the mattresses on the floor to where her brothers were sleeping.
"Samuel! Alejandro!" she whisper-shouted, shaking each of their shoulders.
Alejandro groaned and rolled over, shoving his face under the pillow. She rolled her eyes and turned her focus more on Sam. Shaking his shoulder again seemed to do the trick and he drew in a deep breath, opening his eyes.
"Bailey?" he murmured, a yawn following soon after.
"Yeah, it's me. Chris needs to go to the bathroom and Ale won't wake. Can you help him?" she prodded, leaning back on her heels.
"Yeah, sure. Just give me a few minutes. You want to start breakfast? Papa might appreciate it after yesterday."
"Okay. Eggs okay?"
"Sure. We're out in the fridge so check the coop."
"Gotcha," she affirmed, pushing herself to her feet.
Stepping over each of the mattresses again, she headed back out of the room. Quietly, she entered the living room and headed to where her shoes were discarded by the door.
"Sam is coming and I'm going to start breakfast. Sit tight," she said to Chris, bending down and slipping her feet in the sneakers.
"Okay. Thanks," he replied.
She nodded at him and grabbed the basket from by the door. Bruno moved away from Chris to come and join her. She smiled at the pup and opened up the door, hot air already hitting her hard. She always thought California was hot, but Mexico was much hotter. Still, it wasn't as stuffy outside and it felt nice to escape.
Around the back of the house was the chicken coop of twenty chickens that her abuelo kept. It was a good source of food, since they produced eggs daily. She knew eventually the ones that stopped laying would become their dinner, so she tried not to get attached to any of them, but the arrogant little rooster always made her laugh.
Bruno sat outside of the coop and she opened it up, snorting as soon as the rooster came charging toward her.
"You think you're such a hotshot, don't you? Well stay back," she snickered, using her foot to keep a distance between the two of them.
The rooster cawed and took a few steps back, puffing his chest up proudly. She rolled her eyes and then proceeded to collect the eggs from each of the nests. By the end of her collecting, she had gotten a good seventeen eggs. Plenty for their breakfast this morning and to last another day or two.
With the basket in hand, she maneuvered her way out of the coop, locking it once she got out, and then heading back to the house with Bruno on her heels. When she got back inside, Chris wasn't in the living room anymore and the bathroom door was shut. Papa and mama were bustling about the kitchen, making the morning coffee that they were almost out of.
"I got it from here. You guys can just relax," she informed, setting the basket on the counter and getting a pan out of the cabinet.
"You sure?" Mama asked, taking a sip of her coffee.
"Yeah. Now go and relax. Shoo!" she chuckled, using the dish towel to swat at them.
Mama grinned and she saw a small smile on papa's lips too. That was a good start.
After the two of them left the room, she went about frying the eggs and cooking up some beans and tomatoes. She never really liked cooking much, but she knew how to do it so she made sure to add all the proper spices and keep an eye on everything until it was cooked all the way.
It took her about twenty minutes to get everything sorted and she made everyone's plates separately, balancing each precariously on her arms as she brought them to the living room. Bruno hopped on his paws when he saw the food, but she ignored him, setting the plates down on the coffee table and then going back to get the last ones. Bruno waited in excitement, his nose sniffing the air and drool beginning to ooze from his mouth.
"Gross, Bruno, relax," she snorted.
Chris and Sam hobbled back into the room, with her brother practically carrying the boy. Gently, he set him back down on his spot on the couch.
"Sam, can you get mama, papa, and Ale?" she asked, taking a plate and leaning across the table to hand it to Chris.
"Yeah. Gimme a sec," he responded, plucking a tomato off his plate and popping it in his mouth.
Smirking, Bailey sat back and waited, not starting yet because her family usually said grace before they ate. Chris noticed this and put his fork down after taking a bite. She laughed a little and shrugged.
"You don't have to wait. I can tell you're not religious. We're not overtly either. Catholic, but not really practicing," she said. "We usually just say grace before we eat."
"I...," he started, looking conflicted.
"Really, it's fine," she assured, though looking up her brothers and parents had started to file in.
Shrugging a little, she folded her hands on the table, waiting for her mama and papa to sit down. Everyone gathered their plates and sat down.
"Bless us, O Lord, and these, Thy gifts, which we are about to receive from Thy bounty. Through Christ our Lord. Amen," Papa prayed.
"Amen," she chorused along with the others, the only one not to speak being Chris.
Everything tasted heavenly. These days when food tended to be the same old same old, it was hard to find anything tasting good. But she made sure to go a little extra this morning, hoping it would put her papa in a good mood. They mostly got their vegetables from the garden across the yard and the eggs from the coop. Everything else came from runs and whatever they found out there. Sometimes they would get meat from hunting, but it was scarce.
Every now and again, she would toss a small piece of egg to Bruno, who gladly sucked it right up like a vacuum. Her papa would give disapproving looks, but he smiled nonetheless, which made her believe her tactic worked.
After they were finished, she collected the plates and went to go and wash them. About halfway through, papa came in.
"Thank you, Bailey. Breakfast was lovely," he murmured, kissing the top of her head.
"Welcome. Look I know you're upset," she started, sighing gently.
"Bailey, it's alright. I'm just looking out for our family. I know you are capable, I just don't want my little girl hurt. And I was afraid that boy might bring trouble. I still do not feel greatly about him, but I know that you wouldn't leave someone to die. You have always been good inside."
A small smile came to her lips and she went to hug him. "I love you, papa.
"I love you too." He hugged her back tightly, rubbing her back. "Mama and I are going to tend to the garden. If you need anything, holler, alright? And keep an eye on abuelo. He didn't wake to eat his breakfast yet."
She nodded, pulling away slightly. "Okay."
Kissing her head again, he patted her on the shoulder before retreating from the room. Her smile grew and she turned back to the dishes, wiping away the grime with the sponge. For the rest of the dishes, she was lost in her own world until her brothers went crashing through the living room.
"Bailey! We're going out to check the traps! Sam and I have a bet that I'm totally going to win," Alejandro shouted.
"No you're not!" Sam followed up, his voice a little more distant.
Laughing a little, she shook her head and moved to the doorway, leaning on it. "Don't have too much fun. Sam, I'm counting on you to kick arrogant Ale's ass."
"Hey!" Alejandro pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh come on. You need to be knocked off your high horse," she chastised, smirking.
"Pft. You always root for Sam."
"Cause he's not cocky like you."
Sam chuckled. "Come on. Let's see how bad you did today."
She snorted as the two of them continued to bicker on the way out of the house and she let out a gentle sigh, feeling a lot more peaceful now that the house was quiet.
"Are they always like that?" Chris asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah pretty much. I'm guessing you didn't have siblings?" she questioned, moving across the room and sitting down on the couch across from him.
"No. Well sort of. I have two step siblings." He shrugged. "Never exactly close with them."
"Oh... Step siblings must be hard."
"Yeah. Especially when one's an addict and the other thinks you're a psycho..."
She pressed her lips together. Definitely sounded like he had a bad family situation. That is, if his family was even still alive.
"How did...you get separated from them?" she murmured, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.
"I uh...went with those guys you saved me from? And I...well my dad, I left him behind." He swallowed thickly.
"Oh... You just...left him?"
"Yeah. I did."
Why would he even do that? She could never imagine leaving her family. His family situation didn't sound great, but even so she didn't think she would be able to do something like that. In times like this, she wouldn't want to be alone. And even if she sometimes fought with her family, they would still be there and she could trust them.
"I...should go check on my abuelo," she breathed, unsure of how to respond and figured it would be better to remove herself from the situation.
He opened his mouth to say something, but closed it and sighed. Giving her a brief nod, he turned slightly, closing himself off from further interaction. She bit her lip, but didn't say anything and got to her feet.
At her abuelo's door, she knocked gently and waited for a response, but didn't get one. Frowning slightly, she opened up the door, peering in. She spotted his figure in bed, still tucked under the covers. The breakfast was still sitting on the bedside table and she sighed gently. His appetite had been pretty bad over the past few weeks, with some days eating a lot and others nothing. Once in a while, he slept in late, but not this late.
"Abuelo? Are you alright?" she pressed, moving across the room and reaching out to shake his shoulder.
Bad idea.
His body suddenly lurched upwards and she screamed, coming face to face with her abuelo as a muerto. His body overpowered hers and pinned her to the floor, the only thing keeping him from munching on her face being her arm pressed against his neck.
"Abuelo, stop!" she pleaded, even though she knew that this wasn't her abuelo anymore.
Bruno came charging in and started to bark and growl viciously, latching his teeth onto his arm and pulling as hard as he could. It did help, because abuelo's attention was diverted to Bruno and the dog pulled him off just enough for her to slip out from under him.
"Bailey?!" she heard Chris shout in the other room.
Stumbling and tripping, she made her mad scramble to the hallway, but not getting far as abuelo grabbed onto her ankle. A cry escaped her lips and she latched onto the doorway, heart thumping madly as she tried to get leverage. Bruno continued to snap and bark at him, but still stayed too far out of reach to distract him enough.
A loud thud from the other room startled her and she let go of the doorway in surprise. Before she could get pulled too far, she wriggled her foot and her shoe slipped off, giving her a way of escape. With all her might and speed, she scrambled across the hallway and nearly tripped over the couch. Chris had fallen off it and seemed to be trying to crawl across the carpet.
"Bailey, are you okay?" he gasped, brown eyes filled with panic and concern.
"No I..."
She couldn't even breathe. He was gone. And trying to eat them. She couldn't even comprehend it enough to cry.
"Bailey, you need to get a weapon. A gun, something," Chris urged, reaching across the space between them to touch her hand.
The contact seemed to wake her out of her shock and she looked over at him, breathing heavily. A gun. A gun. The staggered footsteps reached her ears and she sprung from her spot. Where did she leave the gun? She panicked, ducking down underneath abuelo's outstretched arms and reaching the other bedroom. With shaky hands, she latched onto the shotgun in the closet, the weight and feel comforting her momentarily before Bruno started to bark like mad.
She scooped up two shells and slipped one in, but the other fell out of her hand.
"Bailey!" Chris's struggling voice echoed from down the hall.
"H-hold on!" she shouted, bending down and picking up the shell.
Her fingers were shaking so much she could barely get it in the gun, but the chaos in the other room fueled her. As soon as the second shell was in, she darted down the hallway. In the living room, abuelo had wrestled Chris on his back while Bruno was tearing at his leg to try and help. The gun slipped from her fingers and she grabbed onto abuelo's shirt, ripping him off Chris and stumbling to the side.
Before he could come at her again, she picked up the gun with trembling arms and aimed it at him. He continued to advance and she continued to take steps back. Even in his state, seeing his familiar face left her paralyzed. He wanted to eat her, take strips of her flesh and scarf them down with his rotted teeth. But he had once been her abuelo, someone she recognized and confided in. She could vaguely hear Chris shouting at her to shoot, stumbling over things as he tried to walk on one leg and get her out of her trance.
She could almost imagine turning her head to the side and dropping the gun to the floor to let him chomp on her. They could go down together and she wouldn't have to shoot. Everything would be over in a heartbeat.
But Bruno's nipping at her heels brought her back to reality. Brought her back to the realization that she still had so much to live for. Her brothers, her parents, her dog. Chris even. She had been the one to bring him here. He would likely be cast out if she died and all the work they'd done for him would be wasted.
Just before he grabbed her, she raised the shot gun and pulled the trigger. His head exploded - quite literally - as the pellets shredded through skin and bone. Blood splattered all over her face and the walls and his body twitched once before falling back to the floor with a mighty thud.
The shotgun slipped from her fingers and she brought bloody, shaking hands to cover her mouth. The sound of the gun must've brought attention to them because the door practically flew off its hinges as her mama and papa burst through. She tilted her head toward them, lip trembling and mouth slightly agape as she stared in shock. The tears came fast and hard and papa immediately wrapped his arms around her. Shoulders shaking, she sobbed all of the emotions out of her system, burying her face in his chest and tuning out the world around her. Everything ached so strongly she felt her knees buckle, but papa kept her steady. Why him? Why did he have to go?
A/N: a bit of a filler but some important stuff. I want to have them bond a little bit before the major dramatic things happen and having a death might help bring everyone a bit closer. Since the show is gonna be on break after this Sunday, I'm also going to be taking a short break from this as well, mainly because I want some time to work on some of my other stories too. I also need a little time to plan some future chapters for this as well. Plus when Fear The Walking Dead returns I'm going to also be bringing a new fic to the picture and I'll explain more of that when I get to it. Hope you liked it and thanks so much for reading and reviewing! :)
