Daryl watched the tense stand off between Merle and Emalyn from the fire pit while skinning the latest kill. This had been a few days coming and Daryl wanted no part of this argument because he was on Emalyn's side on this and didn't want to deal with the ton of shit he would get from Merle by siding with an 'outsider'. Daryl had gone on two runs with Emalyn and Hannibal, every time it was as smooth as it could be with competent people on your side. Hannibal had also gone on two more runs with Michonne and Beverly as well (most noticeable being the time he had come back with the skinned faces).
Merle had been hunting, and there was plenty of work around camp, so it took him until now to notice Emalyn wasn't going to allow him to leave camp. Allow was a strong word but Daryl had no other word that fit because when Merle tried to leave camp a few minutes ago Emalyn told him in no uncertain terms he wasn't going anywhere.
"Ya think yer gonna boss me 'round girlie? Ain't no one tell a Dixon what to do but a Dixon," Merle sneered getting all up in her face. Emalyn's face was as calm as always not flinching away from his aggression or giving him a single inch. Daryl spotted Hannibal as the cat footed bastard made his way ever so slowly to Merle's back and decided that no he didn't see anything. Nope not him.
"Oh, you're gonna listen to me alright. I am not having you leave this camp outside of hunting until you're clean, end of discussion," Emalyn said slowly looking Merle square in the eye meeting his challenge head on.
"Yeah, you gonna stop me sugartits?" Merle hissed chin tilted up.
Emalyn didn't say a word at first, just looked at him like he was an idiot and then Hannibal had Merle in a headlock with a small knife pressed to his neck. "Hannibal…wait…" she said calmly and Daryl was nervously shifting wondering how fucked he was as he got up to back up his brother (he didn't want to do it). He heard the loud click of a gun in his ear even before he stood up, Beverly was there right next to him pointing a gun at his head smirking at him and she winked as he looked over. Daryl realized he was so caught up looking at Merle and Emalyn, he hadn't even noticed her getting so close to him. Daryl just put his hands up and sat his ass down.
"Now Merle, what was that one rule I warned you about when you joined our little family here?" Emalyn asked with a gentle smile on her face as Merle struggled to breathe.
"You don't hesitate…" Merle said struggling.
"No…I don't…I don't hesitate to protect my family…even from their dumb ass selves. Now you've had a rough life, you turned to substance abuse to cope with how fucked up you are…I understand… and I don't judge you for it. What I need you to understand is that as long as you're using, you're a liability and a danger to anyone around you. Now out here, away from walkers and people…that's not an issue. Out there on the other hand…that's another story. You with me so far handsome?" Emalyn said cool as a cucumber.
"…with…you…" Merle said struggling.
"I think that if you want to kick a bad habit like what you have…well it needs to be your choice so while your choice is to stay on the drugs. Which if I am honest is one of the most idiotic decisions a person can make considering that the world is full of dead people wanting to chow down on you while your alive and screaming. Being high makes you slow, being slow makes you dead, what you gonna do if you pass out and camp is overrun? Huh? But I digress. Your choice. So, since that's your dumbass choice my choice is to make sure your dumbass decisions only affect your dumb ass. You with me?" Emalyn asked very sweetly as Merle could only grunt seeing how red his face had become as he struggled to breath.
"Now, moving forward, you will be respectful when you talk to me or I am gonna let Hannibal finish what he started, you get me?" Emalyn said as she motioned for Hannibal to let him go. Hannibal sighed and seemed to be very reluctant as he let the man go. Merle landed on the ground on his knees gasping for air.
"Glad we could come to an understanding Merle, now since I was forced to air out your dirty laundry, I can now offer you a place in my RV to sleep without any bullshit. Now that Hannibal, Will, Jamie and Liam have moved into the new Rv there is room for you and Daryl in my RV. I'm offering it because you're an idiot getting high and you staying in a tent with a piece of fabric between you and any walker who stumbles by is the height of idiotic decisions in my opinion. I expect you to be a gentleman and watch your language around my children…understand?" Emalyn said as she made her way over to the bus to let Duncan know the argument was over.
Merle stayed on the ground and Hannibal stood over him for a while just looking at him like he was an animal he was considering butchering. Daryl held back his shiver, dude gave him the creeps and he didn't understand how Emalyn seemed to be so at ease around him. Merle's brain must have had a forced restart from the lack of air, and he didn't start anything more so Hannibal tsked at him before following Emalyn into the bus.
Daryl motioned his hand at the situation and kept his hands up for another minute before Beverly winked at him while putting her gun away. He wasn't sure if he felt grateful or not that she was so slow about it since on one hand it gave Merle time to notice his situation on the other hand it gave Merle time to notice his situation. When Merle sat himself down next to him he sneered, "Some help ya are little brother."
"Yeah well, ya shouldn't pick fight ya know we are gonna lose," Daryl said going back to finishing dressing his kill.
"Didn't know we were gonna lose until I picked it, now did I?" Merle sniped back.
"Thought ya were scared of her getting mad," Daryl said curiously while keeping his eyes down.
"Oh, I still am little brother, ya see that? Cool as a preacher in church, that wasn't angry…that was like a momma talking to a toddler throwing a tantrum," Merle said as he took up one of his kills wot start dressing it.
"Ya a toddler now?" Daryl chuckled.
Merle hit him in the shoulder, "Ya know what I mean…she had every bit of that in her control. Means she was expecting it and planned accordingly…that is one scary bitch."
Daryl flinched his eyes going to the bus and was relieved Hannibal wasn't in ear shot, "Don't call her that."
Merle eyed him, "Sure whatever ya say…not like I was insulting her or nothin'."
Daryl shifted uneasily and went back to his kill. He had told Merle the reasons behind the skin masks but not how Emalyn had gotten the idea. It just didn't seem like a smart move, to tell Merle that, for one he wouldn't believe it for a second and two…Merle was unpredictable when he was using. Merle sober was one of the most bad ass men Daryl had ever known, Merle high was a stupid mother fucker that was labile to get himself or Daryl killed. Its why Daryl wasn't too upset by Emalyn grounding his ass at camp.
Once the meat was processed Merle wondered off to nap off the rest of his high in the bed of Daryl's truck and Daryl brought the meat to the bus for Emalyn to make food. When he got there, he heard Emalyn talking, "It's gonna happen tonight if I am counting the days right, we shouldn't go anywhere near the city…its too risky."
"As much as I appreciate the warning Emalyn…I gotta see this for myself. While you got Hannibal convinced, and Michonne…you'll have to forgive me for being skeptical. I mean…you saw this all in a dream…come on…I can't take that on faith even if Hannibal is willing to do that. Which…is really surprising given your profession." Beverly's voice set Daryl's teeth on edge. It was the same tone of voice everyone used when he told them about his own experience with that chupacaubra. You could feel the disbelief, the condescension, and the mocking in that tone of voice.
"Fine, go…but don't go into the city. Go to the outlook down the road. And take this camera with you." Daryl heard some shuffling around and assumed Emalyn was handing Beverly something.
"Ah, wanna go as well," Duncan's distinct voice broke in.
"Are you sure Duncan…its dangerous," Emalyn's voice sounded very reluctant.
"Ahm sure, 'sides dinnae say not to go anywhere alone?"
"Okay…but you can't go until after dinner, the bombing won't happen until the nighttime anyway."
Daryl opened the door to the bus startling the group that was lingering by the door, "They're gonna bomb the city?"
Emalyn looked tired, "Yeah, they are, things have gotten to a boiling point and the higher ups are panicking."
"You dream this too?" Daryl asked as he handed the meat off to Emalyn who took it.
"Yeah, its one of the reasons things get worse," Emalyn said as she turned to take the meat into the kitchen area Daryl was reluctant to squeeze into the bus as well so he stayed by the door.
"How'd it get so bad," Daryl said as he shifted to the side to allow Hannibal to slip past him. It opened up some room in the bus so Daryl went further into it as Beverly and Duncan followed Hannibal out. The kids waved to him from the back before their attention went back to whatever movie they were watching headphones keeping the little ears from hearing their discussion.
"A lot of factors, some I know, some I can guess," Emalyn said as she set about making them lunch using the squirrel meat they had provided.
"So?" Daryl asked, "what do ya think?"
"What I think happened is someone fucked up, this spread way too fast to be anything but airborne. If its airborne then it spread fast, now in a normal pandemic you shelter in place and you…wait it out. It doesn't help much but humanity usually bounces back even if we lose a few million people. Take the Spanish flu, started in 1918 killed about 50 million people but we bounced back. We have a large population and it could be managed. This time the infected don't stay down, they get up and become a threat to the ones sheltering in place. How effective is a quarantine when the infected people break your doors down to eat you?"
"What's that got ta do with them bombing people?"
"Panic, the higher ups are taking the burn it down approach. The high-density population cities are a hot bed of infection, close quarters, millions of people, they figure if they can burn us out then they can contain the spread. They can't…its idiotic and all they are doing is making more corpses who will either feed the dead or get up and walk around too."
Daryl sat heavily on what was once Will's bed, feeling hopeless, not that he had much faith in the government to begin with, but it hadn't hit him that this was the end of everything as he had known it. There was no going back, no saving this, just…surviving. He was good at that, but it doesn't mean he wanted to see the end of it all for everyone else.
"There is really nothing we can do…is there…its all over." Daryl said as his eyes sank to the floor.
He felt her soft hands on his face turning it, so he was looking up at her, "Civilizations have fallen throughout human history to death and disease. It's the natural order of things, what matters is what we build from the ashes of that. We have each other, we will fight for each other and one day we will build a life worth living out there. Right now we will do what we have to…to survive, because we are survivors. One day though…we will get to a time when we will do whatever we have to so we can thrive."
"Why fight? Why do all this?" Daryl asked confused about what she was getting out of helping the people she helped. Emalyn knew what was happening, she had the jump on everyone, if she had wanted, she could have just…gotten gone. There was absolutely no need for her to take him and his brother in. Yeah she had seen him in her dreams and knew what he was capable of but that didn't mean she had to extend her hand at all to him.
"For them," Emalyn said tilting her head to the kids in the back.
Daryl looked at her surprised. "What's that got to do with anything?"
"None of this means anything if they don't make it, yeah, I could have made it on my own. I could still survive fine alone…but what's the point of that? They give my life meaning, and they will be safer with more adults around looking after them. I may not know you Daryl Dixon…but I know you. You would never save your own skin if it meant one of them had to die. You are one of the good ones, you will help me build a place they can grow up in."
For a long time, Daryl just stared at her in the eye, trying to find the joke, to find the caution, to find the…distrust…but there was nothing in her eyes but solid faith in him. No one in his entire life had ever looked at him like that and he felt his heart squeeze painfully in his chest while his stomach felt warm. "Yeah…well…what do ya know? Just cause you saw some shit in your dreams don't mean nothin'. Ya're stupid if ya think anyone's gonna protect them kids but ya…" Daryl bit out on reflex and flinched when Emalyn just smiled at him instead of fighting back.
"Daryl, you can say all the mean things you want, call me whatever you want…but when it comes down to it, I know you'll step up for them. You are a good man Daryl Dixon and in times like these men like you are few and precious." Emalyn grinned at his grimacing face, squeezed his cheeks and went back to making lunch. Daryl promptly got the hell out of there haunted but Emalyn's giggles as the door slammed shut behind him.
~~~Shane~~~
Shane had thought the day Rick was shot was the worst day of his life, but it seemed like every day after that was competing for that slot with dreadful enthusiasm. Rick falling into a coma after surgery was a nightmare, every day he would visit and just beg him to wake up. Rick had been his brother; he had been the longest relationship he had ever had and no matter who walked in or out of his life Rick was there. Rick was there when his father had walked out on his cheating mother leaving him to her tender mercies. Rick was there when his mother would get drunk and confuse his dad with him and he needed a place to stay the night.
Rick had been there for him, and he had been there for Rick. He had coached him on what to say to Lori when he asked her out. He had been his best man at their tiny courthouse wedding, he had loaned Rick the money he had needed for the security deposit for his first apartment, and he had been there pacing the waiting room when Lori was fighting for her life giving birth to Carl. He had been the first person to hold Carl after Lori and Rick.
The only thing left of Rick in this world was his family and Shane was gonna protect them no matter what. Shane tried not to think about the hospital room he had left Rick in, he still didn't know if he had done the right thing leaving his body there and he could only hope that blocking the door had kept it from getting eaten by these bastards. It still made him nauseous thinking about his body there, slowly decaying in that room or maybe the geeks had knocked down his barrier and they had eaten him.
He forced the bile back down his throat and forcibly turned his thoughts from Rick.
Somehow, he kept his hands from shaking by clenching the steering wheel and turning his thoughts to what he was gonna do now. Lori had gotten quiet the longer they drove, and Shane was thankful he didn't have to talk right now. All his hope for a solution to their crisis burned with the bombs that their own government had rained down on Atlanta. He had no idea how he was going to provide for his family now that the refugee center was gone.
They had run out of food two days ago and they only had a couple days left of water if they were careful. Shane didn't know where to go or what to do for his own family let alone the trail of cars that were persistently following behind him. When he saw the camping signs for the quarry lake Shane just started to follow them, a lake had water at least and they had pots to boil it. Maybe he could rig something up for fishing if worst came to worst, forage some mushrooms from the forest. It had to be enough.
When they pulled into the campsite, and he saw they weren't the first people to find this place Shane was kicking himself for not anticipating them. The group must have seen them coming a mile off (not that they could have seen this group in the dark in return) because they were waiting for them with weapons held loosely in their hands. Smart. Shane thought, because nowadays people were out for themselves. He had seen it getting Lori and Carl out of King County…the way people had just…went after each other. The complete breakdown of the law had left Shane floundering, he had no back up, he couldn't protect anyone but his family. The guilt was killing him every time he thought about that chaos.
"What do you think they want?" Lori asked. She sounded scared and Shane felt like such a failure that he was more used to her sounding scared now than normal.
"They are probably just being cautious Lori…you've seen how crazy it is out there…you stay here with Carl, and I will talk to 'em." Shane said as he got out of the car trying to reassure her even if he felt wary himself. He stepped out with his hands up and open a friendly smile on his face that he hoped would help deescalate the situation. "Hey there, I'm deputy Shane Walsh of the Kings County police department, who might you fine people be?" Shane said hoping that identifying himself as a police officer might get him some credit or at least some caution from them.
A beautiful brunette woman stepped forward her hand held loosely on a damn sword of all things at her hip, it was one of those fancy swords he used to see in movies like the Three Musketeers with the fancy hand guard. Shane took his eyes off her weapon and placed them firmly on her face when she spoke, "I'm Emalyn Prescott…this your group?"
Shane looked behind him to see people gathered around Lori and Carl behind him, he had no idea who any of them were except Carol and her family. However, they had followed him here and he felt responsible for them even if he didn't even know their names. He was a police officer; it was his job to protect people and he had been pretty shit about it the last few weeks. So, almost on reflex Shane nodded. "Yeah, these are my people."
The woman, Emalyn, narrowed her eyes at his pause but didn't say anything for a bit. "These are my people, and we were here first."
"I get that, I do, but we need this place. They bombed Atlanta, the highway is a magnet for those geeks, we don't have anywhere else to go. Now we don't mean to trouble you none," Shane said hoping he didn't sound like he was begging to Lori and Carl.
Emalyn shifted on her feet when she looked behind him and saw the children that had been corralled together in a group by Lori, Carl, Sophia and two others who he had no idea who they were. Lori must have put them front and center. Shane felt a zip of pride for Lori, that was smart, it would hopefully get them some sympathy.
"If you stay here there will be rules," Emalyn said with her eyes narrowed on his group.
"What sorta rules?" Shane asked hands clenching tense at his sides.
"Simple ones, you look after your group, I look after mine, we will divide the campground and you stay on your side. Every time someone leaves my group, when they get back, they are visually inspected to ensure that they weren't bitten or scratched…I expect you to do the same. You keep your people in line, they try to steal or mess with my group…they will be met with force. We do not hesitate and if your people cross the line you're gone."
"Those are simple enough to abide…is there any food you can spare us? When the lockdowns happened most of us went through the little stocked food we had, we were hoping the refugee center would provide some relief but…well you see how that turned out." Shane wasn't expecting much but he hoped the kids would garner enough pity that they could get something.
Sure enough, Emalyn was looking at the children with narrowed eyes and tense shoulders, "We will provide you with two cases of Ramen, one time and one time only. My people aren't here to provide for your people, and I expect that going forward such generosity will not be expected from you."
Shane nodded, "And I can expect your people to not mess with my people and for your group to abide by the same rules going forward."
"Of course," Emalyn turned to the woman at her side, "Michonne, get two cases of Ramen for him and one case of water. Hannibal…if you would be so kind as to grab the twine and a stake from my rv?"
Shane felt surprised when she actually went so far as to put up a physical line for his group not to cross. "Is that necessary?" Shane asked when Hannibal came back with the twine.
Emalyn smiled at him, "Sometimes it's better to have clear boundaries so that people know not to cross them. The lake of course will be shared ground, but the actual campsite needs to be divided. No offense but the more people here the more dangerous it gets…plus I want to be able to see the walkers coming that will be easier to do without your lot cluttering up our area."
The flash of anger Shane stomped down, if he was in her position he would do the same and he couldn't fault her for protecting her people. The annoyance at the way she seemed to be prepared for this and he was not, made him nauseous. All his life Shane and Rick had been the ones people looked to for guidance. They became police officers together because they wanted to help people. However, when this happened Shane realized how wholly unprepared he was to live without the niceties of society. Every day there seemed to be another thing that reminded him of how unprepared he was for all of this and seeing someone who seemed so at ease during this…was so annoying it put his teeth on edge.
"Thank you for the food," Shane managed to say when the woman Michonne placed the two cases of Ramen in front of him.
Emalyn smiled at him and nodded. Hannibal walked from a tree to just past Emalyn with the twine to stake it down right between them. Shane wasn't sure if he was annoyed or impressed with this group's efficiency. Another mean looking man set down a case of water next to the Ramen cases and Shane managed another, "Thank you."
After that Shane took the food back to the group of people waiting for him and explained his agreement with this other group. The woman Carol took the ramen and took out a big pot out of her car. "I'm gonna need a fire to make all this," she told Shane softly as her husband looked at her scowling.
Shane nodded and got a few men with flashlights to go get some wood while he had some stones to ring it.
"You're not going to just light that fire there are you?" Shane flinched as Emalyn's voice called out from her side of the line.
"What of it?" Shane said annoyed.
"The light from it will be easy to see, attracting who knows what here…don't you know how to dig a Dakota fire hole? Easier to cook that way as well."
"If you know so much, why don't you come over here and build it then?" Shane bit back, annoyed, and done with playing nice.
Emalyn just looked annoyed at him, "I just don't want you making stupid choices that will compromise our area."
"We agreed, you look after your own, I look after mine, seems to me that you're overstepping," Shane smirked enjoying the back and forth. It got his mind off everything and frankly it had been too long since he had flirted with a woman.
Emalyn just sighed and went back to her bus. Shane was only mildly disappointed. Women were a great distraction; they came and went out of his life. He liked it that way but now he had a family to take care of. He didn't have time for distractions or flirtations. Even if having this woman, Emalyn, on his side would make his life easier. She seemed like she had a lot of supplies and was much more prepared for this than they were.
Later that night another car drove up to the campsite and Emalyn was there to meet it. Shane was tense until he saw Emalyn greeting the two people who parked not far from their new line. Shane got up to see what this was all about and saw the woman hand Emalyn a camera while the boy handed her a folded-up map. "Are you alright Beverly?" Shane heard Emalyn ask the woman. The woman, Beverly, was pale and shaking.
"I…It wasn't real you know…I thought…I thought maybe…but then they…" Beverly started and stopped, struggling with her words.
"Hey…I get it. Why don't you go talk to Hannibal? Yeah?" Emalyn said as she put a gentle hand on Beverly's shoulder. Beverly nodded and went over to the other RV, not Emalyn's.
"Did she manage to map it?" Emalyn asked the boy.
"Ah donnae kin how she managed to keep it together to do it, but she did." The boy's strong accent made Shane raise his eyebrow.
"Thanks Duncan, I'll check you and then you can go to sleep. It's been a long day; I have first watch and your last."
Shane wanted to ask what all that was about but Emalyn didn't even spare him a glance before walking off with the Duncan kid. He figured he would ask about it in the morning, he had a feeling he was gonna want to know what the hell that was all about.
~~~~Hannibal~~~
Its odd how quickly life falls into a routine and how quickly you can get used to something. Hannibal had spent his life hiding, not because he was ashamed but because he loved his freedom. Unfortunately, his favorite hobby of hunting people to cook in beautiful ways…was frowned upon by society at large. This hadn't bothered him, since it meant he just needed to avoid getting caught doing the things he enjoyed and to do that he needed to hide. He needed to pretend to be like the pigs upon his table.
There was a thrill in that for a long time, fooling people, charming people, knowing that unless he did it in front of them most people would never see him as he truly was…monstrous and powerful. Until Will Graham had come into his life Hannibal had been content with going unseen and the loneliness that comes along with that. However, once he was seen by Will…once he was understood and known by someone…he realized he had been a man starving the desert of his own making.
For a while that had frightened him, Hannibal knew that now, he had been afraid of being seen by Will…not because of the threat to his freedom but because of the threat to his isolation. It had taken the revelation from Emalyn to see that, to see what he would have done to push Will away from him so he couldn't see. Emalyn had given him everything when she made him dream and see what could have been…what should have been.
How he would have pushed Will into a corner hoping that he could change Will into something more like Hannibal. How that was a foolish and blind choice from the start. Will was a monster all his own, that was in the chrysalis and Hannibal's ham handed approach had been to rip him out too soon. Hannibal knew now that what Will had needed was time, to be allowed to grow into the monster he was making all his own and not what Hannibal wanted him to be. That was why Will loved and hated him in equal measure in his dream. He had tried to subsume Will into himself when Will needed to be more Will and less Hannibal.
The gift Emalyn had given him in forcing him to face that, in taking the teacup Hannibal had shattered and putting it back together…she had given him everything. Then as if that wasn't enough she had also given him something Will had never given him…acceptance right from the beginning. Emalyn had known him, had seen him do horrible things and she accepted it like it was nothing. Like he was something to be embraced and not shunned.
It was a fascinating reaction.
She feared him but accepted him.
There was also a quiet monster dressed up as practicality living inside Emalyn that Hannibal could not wait to see emerge. But he had learned his lesson from Will…he would allow this monster to emerge in its own time even if the impatience tasted sour on his tongue. Hannibal knew that this was something that would be sweeter the more naturally it came about.
He found her staring off into space in the morning after the new group's arrival with the most curious look on her face. She had the same look when she had asked him if he could make her masks with the faces of the dead. A beautiful bit of monstrous art that Hannibal had very much enjoyed. "What is weighing so heavily on that mind of yours my dear?" Hannibal asked as he sat beside her on at her table. Kalon was eating his breakfast quite happily on her chest and Hannibal envied him his tenacity. Food had been entirely too bland lately.
"I am having a debate within myself, I know what I would like to do…but I don't want to make a rash decision that might have consequences for our group on a…fickle emotion. But then again…I have been sitting here trying to weigh why it would be the wrong decision and can find none."
"Oh, pray tell, what has our illustrious leader so entangled?"
"The group that came," Emalyn began but trailed off.
"Yes?"
"I know them…well some of them, a few are wolves that think they are sheep, one is a sheep dog that thinks he's a wolf, one is a cornered little mouse that can be pushed into becoming a dragon…and one is a Pig that needs to be slaughtered. The dilemma I am facing…is whether or not to make slaughtering that pig worth something. He is gonna die, pigs like him don't live long among wolves and sheep dogs, but he could be useful."
Hannibal felt a rush of excitement and kinship. A part of him had begun to wonder if this was what it might have been for him had Misha lived, his precious Misha. "Useful how?" Hannibal asked hoping Emalyn could capture his thoughts away from that old pain.
"I want to snap his neck and see how long it takes him to get up," Emalyn said honestly and Hannibal grinned. This woman brought such joy to his life.
"I take it you aren't grappling with the moral questions of this given our past experiences…so what is holding you back my darling?"
"Oh…the moral question isn't something that comes up for me in slaughtering pigs like him…it's how to do it without causing problems within that group and ours I'm grappling with." Emalyn said as she nodded to a man across the way as he emerged from his tent. Hannibal took about a minute to see him and know he was exactly the kind of man who would have ended up on his table but not in his art…too crass.
"If it's a stealthy execution you are grappling with…perhaps I might offer you my services…I am quite…acquainted with making people disappear…quietly."
"That was the plan, I'm just not sure how to go about timing it, I think I'll just coordinate with you…I'll start the stopwatch the moment you snap his neck. I want to see how long it takes for him to get up, this is a bit useless without a larger data set to pool from but its not like we could snap more of their necks. It would be too suspicious for one and the rest are not as repugnant as him so I would have some aversion about doing that. Still, we could use him in our other study…I am curious on if being buried would make any difference in decomposing the body."
Hannibal felt such delight in listening to her and was once again enchanted with her ruthless practicality. Emalyn was akin to Will to Hannibal in that she had seen and been influenced by Hannibal's masterful manipulations of Will. Emalyn, whether she was aware of it or not, had fallen under his influence just as Will had fallen. She had come to him to talk a lot after she had killed her first person in cold blood and it had been a pleasure to twist her until she didn't think of it much anymore.
Daryl came out of the woods carrying his latest kills and Hannibal felt a thrill of delight as the feral man scowled at him. Hannibal found Daryl to be very entertaining, the man had been so twisted by whatever darkness had swallowed him in his childhood that he was so out of touch with his own desires he literally could barely feel them. It would be some months yet before the man realized that he very much desired to be owned by Emalyn. In the meantime, Hannibal enjoyed Daryl's petty jealousy at his own closeness to Emalyn.
While Will was indisposed Hannibal had decided to devote some time to building the trust and dependency of Emalyn to him. It was vastly entertaining for him and would be useful in the future. So, under Daryl's watchful eyes Hannibal pulled Emalyn into a hug that she predictably tensed in at first but then slowly relaxed if somewhat reluctantly. "That pig bothers you…why?" Hannibal asked curiously.
"He is the worst sort of pig…he hurts his family…that little girl deserves better."
It was a curious thing, Emalyn's unshakeable desire for family and Hannibal found that it curiously mirrored Will's own unconscious desires. Family. Something he had gone so long without…that he had forgotten what it felt like to be protective of someone. "That's not all what else?" Hannibal pushed as he smoothed a hand over her hair petting her and smirking over her unsuspecting shoulder at the scowling Daryl who was butchering his rabbit roughly.
"I don't like that she lets him get away with it…" Emalyn had tucked her face into his chest as she said those words. Hannibal turned his attention to the mousey little woman that followed after the pig as he stomped around the camp.
Hannibal could understand Emalyn's disgust, because that woman was the antithesis of Emalyn's character. Emalyn personified bravery. Hannibal had gotten a lot of entertainment from Emalyn's justified fear of him. She knew what sort of monster he was, but she faced him anyway, accepted him anyway, worked with him, used him anyway. That was bravery beyond measure. Emalyn was the type of person that pushed past her fear through her strength of will alone and that strength of will was sharpened so meticulously that Hannibal was surprised it hadn't cut her yet.
"That is to be expected, cowardice for you is as rudeness is to me," Hannibal said agreeably as she forced herself to relax into his arms, he grinned.
"I can't understand that, letting someone hurt your child…their yours," Emalyn was looking at Kalon as she said this brushing a gentle finger across his forehead. Hannibal quite liked that little boy; he looked very much how Will might have as an infant…all dark curls and piercing blue eyes. He reminded Hannibal of the last child debt he owed to Will…the child he had Verger kill. He pushed that thought to the side for a moment.
"Not everyone is as you are, my darling, take comfort in the fact that had you been in her position I'm sure you would have eaten that pig for dinner a long time ago…perhaps the first time he revealed himself as such." Hannibal knew the real reason Emalyn was so discomfited by that woman was that she was terribly ordinary. The sort of woman any woman could become given the right circumstances. Emalyn feared the banality of her existence and what that meant for her. In the far reaches of her mind…the question lingered…could that be me? The answer of course was that was entirely impossible because of Emalyn core characteristics. Her practicality would have never put her in that situation and if by some odd quirk of fate, she had somehow gotten into that situation…she would have killed that man the moment he was a threat to her child.
As Emalyn so lovingly puts it, she does not hesitate. Not when it comes to protecting her family.
"We do it tonight, the sooner he is dead the sooner I can forget about the whole disgusting situation." Emalyn said with finality.
Hannibal grinned as she escaped his arms to tend to Kalon and begin breakfast as was her routine. "Of course, my dear, tonight," Hannibal felt a rush of pleasure at how uncomfortable Daryl looked and savored that feeling as he went to tend to his Will. Will was recovering nicely but it would be perhaps another week before he was in any shape to do anything more than lay about listlessly. Hannibal found him sleeping peacefully in their new RV, their two new children were reading quietly in the kitchen nook and Hannibal was very pleased with that.
They were shaping up to be a lovely acquisition and once Will was better Hannibal was sure he would appreciate having two of the three children he should have. Will had been very paternal in their other life. Hannibal had flirted with the idea of having a family with him as well and he had felt very paternal over Abigail before Will had betrayed him. He had been a little disappointed at having to cut her throat to punish Will…she had been on her way to becoming such a lovely little monster for them.
Hannibal carded his hands through Will's hair and worked on getting the small snags out before he had to wake him for breakfast. The life Emalyn had shown him in his dreams…he remembered it as if he had lived it…years gone in a single night and the lessons held heavy on his heart and his mind. Hannibal traced the bridge of Will's lips softly, knowing he was too strung out on his medications to be awakened from such a gentle touch. He wouldn't kiss him, not now, it would be a poor first kiss for them in this life if he did.
Their first and last kiss…Hannibal was mournful of it. The accumulation of years of work and tireless devotion…their new first kiss would not have the same weight he feared. That kiss full of their blood and the blood of the dragon. The weightless feeling of falling through the air as Will kissed him like Hannibal had always wanted him to kiss him. It was a pity that Will would not remember it for a while yet. Hannibal wasn't entirely sure what would happen when Emalyn did gift Will with the lovely Dream of what could have been for them.
Will was so deliciously unpredictable.
Would he kiss him again?
Would he try to kill them both again?
The anticipation of it was tangible on his tongue, a promise, sealed with a bloody kiss.
Hannibal had witnessed how lovely Will was once he let go of his tiresome humanity and embraced the monster that had grown inside of him. Embrace Hannibal. When Will embraced himself.
There was a debt to be paid once his dear Will remembered the life that they could have had…three children, one friend, and a lifetime of kisses were owed. Hannibal looked at the two children in the RV that he had picked up, one girl as a replacement for Abigail and one boy as a replacement for Walter. There should be one more…an infant that he owed Will. For a moment Hannibal entertained the thought of simply allowing Emalyn to carry a child of Will's. He was sure Will would enjoy Emalyn, her practicality, her sweet growing darkness, and she was much in line with their dear Alanna Bloom without the tiresome hold on righteousness. Hannibal didn't mind so much if it was under his direction that Will got another woman pregnant.
Margot Verger had overstepped herself in claiming Will and it had been satisfying punishment for the both of them to lose the child that they had spawned between them. Will had been lashing out at the time, and Hannibal had forgiven him that indiscretion. The thought of another touching Will, (he was his) was not as repugnant when it was Emalyn because Hannibal had come to care for that woman. Not only because of what Emalyn had given him by providing him with the memories of the life he would never live…it was also because she took such good care of both Will and him. She saved the two of them in ways she might never know, who knows what would have happened to the two of them if Emalyn hadn't picked them up in the city.
Emalyn was a fine mother, protective and clever.
The pain that would put Daryl in was also appealing because his reactions were very entertaining. However, Hannibal put that thought aside for the moment because it would have to wait until Will had a chance to show him what he would do with the knowledge of their past life. Hannibal woke Will, helped him dress and then got Jamie to help him get him out to join the others at breakfast. He was sure that the envy from the other, less prepared group would be a nice seasoning for this morning's breakfast.
Hannibal was right, the group across the way was looking at them with a mix of envy, impotent anger and covetousness. It made the egg scramble Emalyn made with the rabbit meat, the warm oatmeal with dried fruit and honey taste like the height of decadence. When they were finished Emalyn set Duncan to the washing and Beverly back to watch. She added Will's next dose of medicine into his IV and then set the four older children to practice with their wooden practice swords not far from them.
Emalyn took out the camera she had sent off with Beverly last night and laid out the map of Atlanta on the cleared table. "Last night Beverly managed to roughly map out where she estimates the bombs were dropped and her best guess on their blast radius. Like we expected the city will need to be excluded from our supply runs for the foreseeable future. I don't want us to do any runs today, the walkers will be swarming because of the noise from the explosion and the fires. Better not to risk leaving camp for today, maybe tomorrow we will have to recon the road before we commit to anything."
Hannibal noticed the leader of the other group Shane lingering as close to their drawn line as possible and he was amused by his tenacity. He would not be able to hear much of anything over there, but he still tried. "Where will we go then, to retrieve supplies?" Hannibal asked as he watched Michonne correct her son's form before she returned to their table.
"I say we concentrate on the deserted small towns in the surrounding area, I also want to see about hitting up some of the gas stations for their underground tanks. The power went out soon enough that if the station didn't have back up generators the underground tanks would likely be full. I have an electric pumping system we can use to get the gas out of the tanks, but I want to get some 65-gallon drums to fill out instead of the tiny gas cans."
"Why go through all that trouble Sugar? We can just fill up our tanks as we go, finding drums out here will be a headache and a half if we don't know where to look." Merle said as he picked at his teeth. Hannibal breathed in and out slowly…if only Emalyn would allow him to butcher the pig.
"I told you we need answers to have any real idea on long term planning for our future, and eventually we are gonna need to go to the CDC for some of those answers." Emalyn said patiently as she swayed side to side with Kalon.
"What's the CDC gonna tell ya that ya don't already know?" Daryl asked as he pointed at her with the blade he was sharpening in his hands, "Ain't ya got all them experiments out in the woods for a reason?"
Emalyn sighed, "Yes, but they can only get me so far. And I can't do anything about testing them in cold conditions, for that we need the facilities at the CDC has."
"Why so we need the drums for the CDC visit?" Michonne asked curiously as she followed Daryl's example and took out a whet stone for her sword as well.
"You know what the CDC does when the power goes out?" Emalyn asked everyone looking around.
"I imagine that they go onto their backup generators," Will said to the surprise of the group who looked at him. He had been out of it for two and a half weeks now, so he hasn't been the best conversationist. It seemed that the closer he got to the end of his treatment the more he was aware of everything.
"Yes, and when those run out?" Emalyn said leadingly as if she expected them to know.
"I would assume a lock down of some sort to keep the things inside contained." Hannibal said lightly as he brushed the curls from Will's forehead.
"If by that you mean it locks the door and blows up the building…then yeah." Emalyn said startling Merle who was looking at the map of Atlanta.
"Why the hell would we wanna go there then?!" Merle hissed.
"I told you; they have information we need, and I am willing to bet they had a lot of supplies. What they really need though is gas, I doubt anyone there considered getting more gas for them before the city blew up around them and now, they won't likely risk leaving to get it the way things are. So, we bring a few drums of fuel for their generators, and I am willing to bet they will give us pretty much everything we want."
"So, when do you think we should go then?" Michonne asked resigned to going back into the city.
"Before we go, we need to secure our supplies, as much as we can possibly get our hands on. Right now, most people are still scattered or stupidly waiting for a rescue that will never come. So finding and securing supplies will be much easier now than it will be later. On that note I want to set a rotation of runs so we have at least one group going out a day once the roads are clear. In the meantime, I need volunteers to go check out the road situation for the next couple of days, so we know when its all clear."
"My baby brother and I can handle that when we go hunting, we'll be out that way anyways," Merle said finally finished picking his teeth only to move onto picking at his fingernails. Hannibal imagined how satisfying it would be to hear the snap of his neck under his hands…pity.
"Great, thanks. Hannibal, Daryl, can I talk to you both for a minute? Michonne…I think the kids need a firmer hand on their practice this morning…Andre just hit Liam."
"Andre!" Michonne said firmly as she got up to deal with the ensuing scuffle.
Merle and Will sat opposite each other on the table. Will was blinking tiredly while looking at the map, "I'll be just a moment Emalyn, it seems our dear Will needs to lay down."
Emalyn smiled and nodded before gesturing for Daryl to follow her out to the woods in the direction of where Hannibal had set up their tanning area. Hannibal got Will into bed easily enough and set him up with some light soft music on the mp3 player Emalyn had provided. He was asleep within moments and Hannibal then went in search of Emalyn.
He found her and Daryl where he had expected. It was amusing to him to watch Daryl dance around the woman, he was so touch starved and care starved that just by Emalyn being Emalyn she was well on the way to taming him. It reminded him amusingly of the little prince with his wayward fox. "Good you're here," Emalyn said when she saw him causing Daryl to flinch since he was right behind the man. Hannibal found that endlessly amusing, and so he continued to startle the hunter whenever possible.
"Yes, I am, I expect you want to talk about what we discussed this morning?" Hannibal asked lightly as he sidled up beside her lightly brushing the hair from her shoulder with a gentle finger. Daryl's reaction wasn't a disappointment, he was scowling at him like a dog that saw someone snatch up a treat from their jaws.
"Yes, it occurs to me we will need help if we want this to be as quiet as possible, Daryl is very good at hunting quietly." Emalyn had locked eyes with Hannibal as if asking his permission to bring the man into their little hunt. She was such a darling.
"What are we huntin'?" Daryl asked shifty.
"There is an abusive son of a bitch in that group that came, he beats on his wife and his child. I don't know for sure, but he might have done worse to his daughter…he is a threat I don't want living near Bella." Emalyn said simply but hesitantly.
"So ya wanna kill him? Just like that?" Daryl asked while snapping his fingers.
"I told you…we do not hesitate." Emalyn said defensively.
"Whatcha need me for then?" Daryl snapped back.
"Hannibal is gonna need help carrying the body," Emalyn said flatly.
Daryl seemed surprised, like he had been expecting her to tell him to kill the man, no…Hannibal grinned…Emalyn knew who to ask for something like that. "You can't help him?" Daryl grumbled.
"He is too heavy, plus I need to time him."
"Time him?" Daryl asked confused.
"Hannibal is gonna snap his neck and I need to see how long it takes him to reanimate."
"How's that gonna happen?"
"We're all infected Daryl…we just need to die to realize that, and I would rather have some data on how long that takes over none at all."
Daryl shifted stiffly, "This one of those things ya dreamed about?"
"Yeah, I need to see if it's real or if we are dealing with something else. So, are you in or are you out?" Emalyn asked while looking at him imploringly. Hannibal had to say, her eyes were very captivating and hard to resist when she looked at you like that. Daryl caved like wet paper, as expected.
"When we doing this?"
"Tonight, while they sleep. I don't want to cause problems with their group. We'll make it look like he ran off and abandoned his family. They'll never need to know."
"Alright, fine, I'll help ya but don't expect shit like this from me all the time." Daryl warned half-heartedly.
Emalyn smiled and nodded, "Will you two help me, I wanna dig a hole for the body, it won't need to be very deep. I just need it deep enough to see how the body decomposes in dirt."
Hannibal was nostalgically reminded of a mushroom patch Will had stumbled on in one of his cases as he helped Emalyn dig her hole not far from the tanning site.
~~~~Emalyn~~~~
The entire day she felt like a bundle of nerves and the fact that their resident serial killer had taken it upon himself to show her with affection today wasn't helping. Hannibal was a dangerous predator and having his arms around her should not have felt as comforting as it did. Emalyn often had to remind herself this was the man that literally gut Will even though he was clearly in love with him. It was a cold comfort that it had only been to punish him and not to kill him. Either way…even if you had Hannibal's affection that didn't necessarily make you safe.
It was better to have him on her side than do something stupid like try to put him down…the man was far too deadly to go down easily, and he would take her down with him if she was stupid enough to try. She was feeling equal measures of guilt, shame and comfort in his presence today as they planned the murder of Ed Peletier. She felt nauseous thinking about killing a man in cold calculation but at the same time every time she saw him all she could remember is the way he had looked at Sophia. The way he talked to her, the way he had touched her, and the way Carol had prayed in that church about not protecting her own daughter.
He had to die.
Emalyn felt the weight of Daryl's stare on her throughout the day as well, he hadn't judged her much on her decision to put the bastard down, but he had looked at her differently. It was like he was reassessing her under a new light. A very small part of her wondered if she should have just left it alone, the man was going to die and while somethings may have changed Emalyn was sure a person like Ed wouldn't last long in this world. A small, cowardly bully like him would die screaming soon enough.
But it wasn't in her to just sit back and watch as the man laid hands on his child. Carol had made her own choices; she was a grown ass woman who could have left but Sophia was a child who deserved better. Emalyn knew what it was like to be small and powerless as the world made choices for you that made you suffer. It wasn't in her to let someone hurt a child, not while she was there and could do something to stop it.
Frankly, Emalyn felt a whole lot of disgust for the people around them that had known what he was doing and hadn't done shit about it. Shane might have beat his ass in the show but that was more for himself than it had been for Carol. However, at least he had done something. The rest of them just pretended not to see, pretended they didn't know and that was far worse in Emalyn's opinion. She remembered the opening of Boondock Saints the first movie she had seen Norman Reedus in, the sermon that priest gave had stuck inside her head and today it was ringing in her ears.
"And I am reminded, on this holy day, of the sad story of Kitty Genovese. As you all may remember, a long time ago, almost thirty years ago, this poor soul cried out for help time and time again, but no person answered her calls. Though many saw, no one so much as called the police. They all just watched as Kitty was being stabbed to death in broad daylight. They watched as her assailant walked away. Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men."
Emalyn might be practical, but she was far from falling into indifference. Ed was an evil man, and he would get what was coming to him. Emalyn refused to allow a child to suffer. Shane was like a caged animal pacing the line between their campsites all day, Emalyn could tell he wanted to talk to her, but she didn't have time to deal with him today. After digging their hole Emalyn had Hannibal walk her through her own practice with her sword along with Michonne. Then lunch had to be handled. Hannibal had been offering to help cook but Emalyn was reluctant because then he would have a better idea of their food stocks and it would be harder to fill them up without anyone catching on to her.
After lunch Daryl and Merle went off to hunt for dinner. Clothes had to be washed, the children had to be entertained, Will had to be tended to and Kalon needed changing/feeding. Plus, she had to take the time in privacy to try and induce her milk. Even with her dedication to that it would still take another three weeks before Emalyn could realistically induce herself to produce breastmilk to feed Kalon. She had enough saved milk to last another two months so it shouldn't be a problem feeding him as long as she kept it up.
When it was finally time to act on her plan Emalyn felt like her blood had drained to her feet and she could barely keep herself from shaking as she followed Hannibal and Daryl through the woods. They laid in wait for a long time, to make sure everyone over here was asleep, Emalyn had made sure to provide the group with another case of water today, but she had warned Shane it would be the last time. It was all for this moment…Ed got up to pee in the woods.
He was loud, Emalyn was working very hard with Hannibal on moving silently and so in contrast Ed was like a bull in a China shop. They heard him before they saw him, Hannibal waited until he was done before pouncing. Then he was there, one hand covered the man's mouth and the other cradled the back of his head before Hannibal snapped his neck with a flick of his wrists. Emalyn was always surprised by his brutal efficiency because it was not an easy feat to break a man's neck. The tendons, the muscles, it was hard to break without a lot of strength. The moment his neck snapped she started her stopwatch.
Daryl came up to help Hannibal with the body, he got his feet while Hannibal lifted him under his arms. Emalyn couldn't help but notice how pale Daryl was and how he seemed to be reassessing Hannibal with narrowed eyes. She supposed it was one thing to suspect someone was dangerous and another all together to watch Hannibal ruthlessly and efficiently kill someone. When they got to their hole Hannibal cut off Ed's arms and jaw to keep the man docile when he reanimated.
It took 23 minutes and 40 seconds before Ed was blinking and wiggling in his hole. Emalyn clicked her stopwatch off, "You guys bury him…I'll get rid of his car." She slipped away before they could protest and after she was sure they weren't following her…Emalyn threw up. Then she got herself together and made her way to the car Ed had driven up in. They wouldn't believe he had just left if he left that there for them and so it had to go. Luckily they hadn't thought to set up a watch yet and so Emalyn managed to push it far enough in the dark to slip it into her space and then made her way back to her RV. Tired and feeling a little dirty.