Blood Doesn't Mean Family
Chapter Seven : Use to It
Rick woke up on the floor of one of the smaller bedrooms in the house. The blanket under him had done little to soften the hard wood floor but it was still more comfortable than sleeping cramped up in a car. It was only a little after sunup but already the rest of his group was awake and the bedroom empty. Rick found Raven, and Duane down stairs in the dining room. Hershel was also there rewrapping Ravens arm.
"How's it healing?" Rick asked, looking over Hershel's shoulder as he finished wrapping the stump. He took a mental note that they would need to find new bandages soon as the current ones were becoming dirty and unsafe to use much longer.
"As long as it stays clean, I believe it will heal perfectly, swelling has already gone down and stitches are holding well." Hershel said, offering Raven a reassuring smile.
"Does that mean I can go out scavenging today?" Raven asked, excitedly.
"You got the all clear from me just no heavy lifting of any kind, but it's not my choice if you go out there or not," Hershel said, standing up and giving Rick a pat on the shoulder.
"Of course, you're gonna be there. I wouldn't trust anyone else to do the job right." Rick smiled as Ravens eyes went bright.
"Can I have my gun back?" She asked. Hershel stiffened next to Rick, shocked about how a child could so easily ask for a weapon as though it was just a piece of candy.
"We'll see," Rick answered. "Where's your dad Duane?"
"He went outside a little while ago, there was a walker out there. I think he went to take care of it," Duane said, his eyes flicking to the closed front door.
"Good, I'll go see if he needs a hand," Rick said nodding, going towards the front door. He was hit with crisp morning air when he opened the door. There was a heavy dew on the front lawn and a trail of footprints crossing the lawn heading around to the left of the house. Rick shut the front door and followed the tracks. He soon found Morgan several meters past the back fence of the house. There was a dead walker by his feet, and he was cleaning the dark blood off his knife with the dead man's shirt.
"That the only one?" Rick asked, looking around for any signs of other walkers.
"Seems like it, Glenn said he saw it wondering around out here for a while. It didn't seem like it wanted to move on so thought best to get rid of it before everyone was up." Morgan said walking over to join Rick.
"I want you to stay at the house today, keep watch out front as people come and go." Rick said as the pair walked back to the house. "And I was going to ask Hershel to keep watch out back in case anything wonders out of the woods."
"Sounds good." Morgan agreed.
"I was gonna have Lori do stock take of what we bring back."
"You think supplies are really gonna last long enough that we need a list of them?" Morgan asked.
"No, but I think it will keep her busy and out of your hair. Duane and Raven will be with me, all the other kids and Lori will stay in the house. I was gonna try and get everyone else out of the house, try and get all the houses cleaned out today."
"Is it smart to have so many people wondering around? Especially ones who don't know how to protect themselves." Morgan asked.
"Faster we get things done, the faster we can all be back inside," Rick said' as he walked up the front steps to the house. When he opened the front door, he was hit by the smell of food coming from the kitchen. His stomach rumbled in hunger. Everyone was scattered through the living room and kitchen with bowls and spoons in hand. He found Carol in the kitchen scrapping the last of some soup into a few bowls on the kitchen table.
"There was still a little gas in the lines. I hope it was okay to use some of it to heat up breakfast," Carol said, as she offered the men a warm bowl of soup each.
"Thank you," Morgan said and Rick offered her a nod of approval as well. Using the fireplace would have been a better option and save the gas for a more important time but Rick decided not to push the matter this time.
The two men took their soup to the dining room where Raven and Duane sat having a conversation about what they hoped to find today. It was quite a revelation too Rick to see the difference between the two children he had spent so many months on the road with compared to the kids from the farm. The other three kids sat cross legged on the living room floor playing paper, scissors, rock, while their bowls sat empty on the floor next to them. Duane and Raven savoured their soup, knowing it would be a long time before their next meal.
"It's getting colder, we need to keep an eye out for jackets," Raven said and Duane scribbled something down on a small scrap of paper.
"Toilet paper!" Duane stated matter-of-factly.
"What about it?" Morgan asked, raising an eyebrow at his son as they sat down next to them.
"They ran out of it this morning and one of the blonde girls was mortified when I handed her a newspaper," Raven said shrugging.
"What's with the list?" Rick asked as Duane added more to the list.
"We assume they don't know what to look for first so we thought a list could help. Food first, then any kind of medication, water, weapons but good ones not just kitchen knives. Oh, and a siphoning hose, we are definitely going to need one of them," Raven said and Duane put it on the list in big letters.
"Good idea. I was gonna send you two with Glenn and Maggie to one of the houses further down the road-" Raven cut Rick off.
"Where are you going to be?"
"I was going to take Carol, Beth and Amy to the house over the road so Morgan can keep a watch on them and the house. I don't think they will be focused enough to watch each other's backs so best to keep them close as possible to the house. While they are cleaning out that one, I was gonna check over the other houses and clear them out if needed."
"Okay, sounds like a plan," Raven nodded, finishing the last of her soup. She stood up from her chair and grabbed her dish and spoon taking them back to the kitchen. She paused in the living room looking down at the other kids. "Put your dirty dishes in the sink it's not your mother's job to clean up after you," she hissed, making the other kids stop and stare up at her. "Well don't just sit there hurry up." Sophia and the young Hispanic girl both rushed to their feet taking their dishes into the kitchen. Carl was a bit slower and glared at Raven for a long moment before following after the girls. Rick knew Raven could be blunt and rude at times but she was good at heart. He was sure of that.
...
Rick wondered through a maze of abandoned cars trying to reach the gas station ahead. His hopes of finding gas were crashed as he saw the 'NO GAS' sign swaying in the breeze. It looked like people had been living here for a while, so it was no surprise they had used up all the resources.
With a sigh he turned back in the direction of his police cruiser. He walked back along his tracks passing by a few makeshift tents and hollowed out cars. Movement to his right caught his attention and he paused for a moment. He squinted at a shiny white sports car. It seemed very out of place in the field of old cars and run down trucks. He saw more movement coming from inside the car. Curiosity got the best of him, and he wondered over to the car. He had one hand on his pistol ready to shoot if it was a walker. He assumed it was either an undead person or something like a raccoon or cat who had somehow become trapped in the car. The windows were marked up and hard to see through, but the movement seemed to be coming from the passenger's side foot well.
Rick drew in a sharp breath before swinging the door wide open. He pulled his pistol out of reflex aiming it at the things head. He was a second off pulling the trigger when the small girl held her hands up to shield her face. She was covered in grime, not just grime but dried blood, lots of it. Her hair was a mattered mess of dark black curls, and her eyes were squished shut not wanting to see what was to come next.
Rick lowered the gun.
"I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm a police officer. Are you alone?" Rick slowly knelt down to her leave. The girl peeked through her fingers at Rick. Her eyes flicked to something behind Rick, and she seemed to become even more nervous. Rick turned around to see an undead girl ready to pounce at him. He pulled his gun back out and shot the dead girl without hesitation. The small body went limp and fell backwards onto the pavement. By the time Rick turned back the car the living girl was already out of the car and running away from him.
"Wait! I'm not gonna hurt you!" Rick yelled, running after the girl.
...
Maggie looked around the door into the bedroom Raven was searching. She sat on the side of a large bed, a dead body laid outstretched on the other side of the bed, its brains blown out across the headboard. A small revolver rested in its dead hand. Raven's eyes flicked to Maggie for a second before she returned to rummaging through the nightstand.
"Find anything good?" Maggie asked.
"Not really, I thought these people would have some kind of pills in this place but looks like this moron took everything before he offed himself," Raven said, slamming the top draw shut and moving onto the next one.
"How do you do that?" Maggie asked, hovering in the doorway.
"Shut a draw?" Raven asked, looking up at Maggie confused.
"No, I mean sit next to... Him," Maggie said, pointing to the dead body. Raven looked over her shoulder at the body.
"It's not like he can hurt anyone," Raven said, shrugging.
"It doesn't bother you?" Maggie asked.
"I guess not, it smells but I've smelt worse," Raven said. "Why does it bother you?" Raven asked standing up.
"He's... dead," Maggie said, pausing between the words.
"Yeah. He's dead, dead, dead." Raven shrugged saying the word without meaning. "He cannot hurt you, he's perfectly safe to be around. He can't bight you, can't scratch you, definitely can't shoot you." She said and pulled the gun from the dead man's hand. "Perfectly safe."
"I guess," Maggie said with a sad frown.
"Don't worry, you'll get use to it," Raven said slipping the gun into her waistband and moving to the closet to search. Maggie's frown deepened as she worried she would one day get use to it.
AN:
Hopefully this chapter wasn't too confusing with the time jump. It was a litter slower than I would have liked but I think the next chapter should be more eventfully, hopeful.
Please review I love feedback it really helps keep me motivated.
Stay safe and have a great week wherever you are.