Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, ect., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings: Rated Mature for language, gore and adult situations. Readers under the age of 18 are discouraged from reading.
Scars of Survival
Chapter Ten
When you live in the shadow of insanity, the appearance of another mind that thinks and talks as yours does is something close to a blessed event. - Robert Pirsig
Grabbing the bottle of Southern Comfort from Daryl’s hand, I plopped myself on Jenner’s desk and took a long pull. If I was going to be forced to say this shit in front of a stranger I sure as hell wasn’t going to do it sober.
“I had been on my own for two months…”
The days were getting ridiculously hot now, a Georgia summer wasn’t far off. It had been several days since I had last run into another living human and my encounters with people were coming fewer and farther between. I was sure it had to do with the infection. People were dieing off in rapid numbers and there was more and more walkers now.
I was dead tired, I hadn’t slept properly in three days, only napping during the day in the branches of trees and that was only for a few hours before I trudged on. I never slept at night unless there were other people to watch my ass.
Dark was comin’ on and I was about to spend another night in the wilderness when I heard a cluster of laughing voices.
People.
It was almost too good to be true but as I headed towards the sounds the smell of roasting meat and camp smoke drifted to my nose, luring me further into the fray, I knew it was true.
It was like a blessing.
It was a group of at least sixteen survivors. They greeted me with kind smiles and polite manners. Sure there were a few of the men that leered at me but I was used to that. After all not many woman survived these days, pretty but stupid ones were usually the first to go.
There was this teenage kid who was real nice to me, Randell, I think his name was. He couldn’t have been more than eighteen but he was the most comforting out of all of them. The woman for some reason stayed away from me but I was so tired, I didn’t think anything of it.
I was so fuckin’ stupid.
They gave me a place to set up for the night, some food and water. I fell asleep almost immediately and didn’t wake up until the next night…
I cut myself off, taking in the angry expression on Daryl’s face. I guess I was trying to gauge if he was going to pop off soon. He still looked calm, maybe a little too calm but it was enough for me to continue.
I wasn’t in my tent when I woke up and… I was stripped down to my underwear and bound. My rifle and pistols were missing but my bow was leaned up against the tent wall and my knives were sitting on this make-shift table of milk crates and some plywood.
There was a man sitting there, looking at my knives with interest. He was a big guy, probably 6’2 and…
Anyways, he smiled at me when he noticed I was awake. He told me that I wouldn’t always be tied up like this, that when I learned my place that I could join the other girls in their duties to the camp.
I was pissed to say the least and I shot my mouth off. I was beaten that night and left till morning.
The next day it was a different guy. This was a fat piece of shit with a foul mouth and reminded me a lot of Ed. I never did catch his name but he was the first that tried to…
He was the first one that tried to…
“Rape you?” Jenner supplied for me, his face was still purely curious but it held an undertone of disappointment. Like my story was some kind of confirmation that the human race was shitty. I could have told him that without the help of my scarred up face.
He cut me loose from the post that I was tied too in the middle of the wall tent.
I screamed, I fought back and in the end I kicked him in the balls so hard, he puked. I may have won that battle but I was severely punished for it.
“Your face?” Jenner asked.
Again, I nodded but I pulled up the back of my shirt and let him see the other marks that marred my once pure alabaster skin. “And then some.”
I chanced a glance at Daryl’s face as he was incredibly quiet throughout my tale so far. It wasn’t a bad thing, at least he wasn’t tearing the room apart, but it wasn’t a particularly good thing either.
His face was hard as stone as he stared at the ground with rapt attention. So I continued.
Fuck, why was this so difficult?
“The guy, the one I hurt. Turns out he was the leaders right hand man. Even after they did what they did to me, I made the comment that he must have been a very busy man.” I told them with a humorless laugh. Daryl and Jenner remained silent.
“Yeah, they didn’t think it was funny, neither.”
They couldn’t do much to me after that, so I was left to sit in that tent for a few days to think about my actions. They didn’t let me have any food or water for two days and by the third I was will to trade my soul for a drink.
They sent a different man on the last day of my punishment and this one was… nicer.
I stopped again and turned to Jenner, telling him with my eyes that this would be the time to step away from the half-crazed, drunk redneck he was standing next to. He seemed a little confused but caught on after a minute and took a seat on the other side of his desk.
I played nice with this one. I told him if he’d just let me rest my arms for a few minutes I’d…
That… I’d make it worth his wile. Stupid bastard nearly jumped at the chance and I think I kind of understood then that he might not get the same privileges with the other camp girls as his friends did. He was younger and dumber looking. I used it to my advantage.
He untied me and let me have some water before he stepped back and sat on the makeshift table and undid his pants.
He smelled really bad and I tried so hard not to throw up the little water I had in my system, but he smelled… so bad.
It didn’t seem to make a difference to him that I had thrown up, he just kept… touchin’ himself.
I was in tears at this point and I wasn’t sure how I was gonna be able to look at Daryl after he heard this. How he was gonna be able to look at me. Things would never be the same between us.
“I saw my knives sitting next to him when I got on my knees and that was what made what I did next bearable. I did what he asked and took him into my mouth…
He was moaning in earnest as I sucked his disgusting cock, it made me want to retch all over again but I held it in. As he got more into it he leaned backwards and shut his eyes. It was my chance. He got sloppy.
Shakily I grabbed my granddaddy’s hunting knife… and bit down, hard.
I choked and gagged repeatedly as I tried to dispel the chunk of the mans groin and his blood from his mouth. My granddaddy’s knife was lodged deeply into the mans skull. He was already dead but…
My pack was still sitting in the corner of the tent. I grabbed it and my bow and I ran.
“I ran until I gave out and then I sat in a tree for a full day, half naked, ashamed and too scared to move…”
Strong male arms came around my shoulders, pulling me off the desk and into a toned chest that smelled like bourbon, pine and tobacco. His arms were shaking near as bad as mine as he turned and led us out the door.
Jenner said nothing to protest to our leaving and I said nothing to him. It was good that he remained silent. If he would of demanded more of me, I think I might have killed him myself and I was more than 99.9% sure that Daryl would kill him.
~
Daryl was completely silent as he led us through the halls that led to our assigned office/bedroom for the evening. He didn’t even say anything once we arrived, just pushed the door open and with a gentle hand on my back led me wordlessly toward the tiny bathroom.
He stripped me quietly, only his ragged breathing mixing with the sound of the pouring water.
Hot water.
What a blessing.
As his fingers mapped out every mark on my body, I don’t think I’ve ever felt more vulnerable or naked. The man has had his cock up my ass before but right now… I just felt different.
When he turned me to push me under the water a sob finally stole from his lips, it was long and loud. I turned to him, frightened. I had never heard such a noise from him before and I was certain how to handle him like this.
Burring his face in between calloused finger, he sunk to the shower floor, knees hugging and drawn tight against his body.
“Daryl?” I called, shaky.
He just shook his head and wailed again.
Lowering myself to my knees I slowly pried his hands from his face and tugged at his chin. We he looked up my heart broke. His face was streaming with tears as snot ran from his nose. But it was the look in his eyes that broke me… he looked so damn lost. Like he had no idea what to do now.
“Dar-”
“No!” he yelled. “I’m so fuckin’ mad.” But even he looked like he no clue what he was so pissed about. “You should’a stayed in Trenton! Ya shouldn’ave looked for me!”
“Daryl-”
“No! No, no, no, no! I ain’t worth it! Ya would have been safe! Ya wouldn’…” he trailed off into another round of deep, mournful sobs. And I cried with him.
It took a while but after a bit of coaxing he allowed me to touch him again. It was a simple action, that he was ready to finally let out all the hurt. I washed him slowly, taking care to wash every inch of him I could reach without asking him to move. I was washing the thick, black rings from his neck when he reached out and crushed me too him.
“Promise me..” he whispered. “If we get separated… you’ll stay safe.”
“We won’t,” I tried to protest. “We’ll never-”
“Promise me,” he said again, more forceful and demanded.
“Okay, Daryl, I promise.” I told him quietly.
The rest of the shower was intense, full of longing touches a desperate lips. Even drying off was held and air of intimacy.
Nudging his forehead against mine, he whispered. “Ya know I love ya more than anythin’, right?”
“Even now?” I asked, not bothering to hide the insecurity from my voice.
He sat up on his elbows then his body lingering over mine in the darkness of our room. He used a calloused finger to turn my head. “Look at me.” He said huskily, making my insides quiver from the honey that dripped from his voice.
Timidly, I peek an eye open only to find his lips inches from mine and those bright blue eyes staring down on me with enough intensity to burn me to ash. He doesn’t say a thing, but then again, he doesn’t have to. By the time his lips touch mine the spark is ignited and I’m burning all around him.
“Daryl,” I whimper, my voice raw with need. “Please.”
“Wh’?” he smirks against the tender flesh of my lips. “What is it ya want?”
I stop then, looking dead into his eyes and whisper. “Make me feel beautiful again.”
He looks taken back by my request and shakes his head. “No. Ya are beautiful.”
All at once his mouth was everywhere as he panted and groaned along my heated skin, the stubble on his face only adding further friction to stoke the fire.
Tightening his arms around me, tongue and teeth went to work along the flesh of my neck making me cry out in excitement. He suckled harshly for a moment before drawing back lightly and whispering. “Ya sure?”
I growled and turned over on my side as I slid a leg up between his, making sure I nudged his cock just a little bit to get him going. Boy was that a mistake.
Before I could even cry out he had me flipped over on my back as he settled into the cradle between my parted thighs.
~
With the new dawn, I awoke to warm lips. Soft and gentle they rained down my spine, his scruff scratching against the sensitive, marred skin of my back. It wasn’t uncomfortable per say, but it was still strange for him to be so gentle, especially with so much emotional baggage that had been unleashed.
Stretching like a great lioness, I giggled as Daryl’s wet mouth found a particularly ticklish spot just under my third rib. “Mornin’.”
“Christ woman, I want ya.” Was his gruff reply. And I could really, really tell. His hard cock was heavy and laying perfectly flush with the back of my thigh.
Warmth pooled just below my navel as tingles pebbled my skin as Daryl continued to grunt nasty little things against my flesh. With a long swipe, his tongue darted up my spine to the side of my neck before he took the lobe of my ear between his teeth and tugged hard. “I wanna fuck ya so bad.” He hissed, thrusting his swollen head against my ass.
“What are ya waitin’ for, Dixon,” I replied huskily. “Fuck your pussy.”
It might have been the after effects of the alcohol or perhaps just the effects that the night had left on both of us, but my apparently we both decided to be lewd in bed this morning.
Daryl growled, jerking upright to sit on his haunches before he flipped me onto my back by the swell of my hips. There was no warning, not that I needed one, morning sex had never, ever been all that much about foreplay. Actually I was more than surprised by the amount of restraint he had shown not to just fuck me awake like he usually did. I think he was afraid to hurt me. I didn’t like it.
Without words, he brought the head of his cock to my slit, rubbing it in a teasing motion with what I’m sure was a cocky little smirk on his lips before he hips hitched forward. We both groaned on contact. It was wonderfully painful and the only regret I had in that moment was that I couldn’t fully see his face.
Daryl’s fuck me face was just as gorgeous as his O-face, it was primal, fierce and it made me feel like I was apart of him in that moment. It was the truest form of raw emotion and for the longest time that was all I had of Daryl, his physical love and his anger. His anger didn’t have to be directed at me for me to feel it burning through me ten fold.
“Fuck,” I hissed. “Yesss!
He must have still been angry because he was power thrusting. Pounding me into a blissful oblivion, his rough fingertips pinching and twirling skin. Puckering nipples and soaked clit. He was tangled in me, hips rocking in wild abandon.
Harsh panting and slick skin slapping against slick skin, “Fuck, so wet…” Daryl grunted as he flipped me over and pulled my ass flush over his groin. “Feels so good.”
“Deeper,” I begged, pushing my hips against him harder. He knew the spot I was just itching to have scratched. Hell, I hadn’t even known it existed until I had been intimate with him. “please!”
“Look at ya,” he growled, his bare chest flush against my back as he pulled me upright to sit in his lap. I barely recognized his voice like this, it was so deep. “Look at ya fuckin’ my dick.”
I gaped, clutching at his thighs with my fingers curled, nails biting deep into the meat of his legs. I had to find purchase of something or I felt I might fly away. “Yes, fuck, yes!”
“You like it?” He grunted, enunciating every word with a forward thrust of his hips, sharp and rough at the top of my cervix. His hands came up, cupping my shoulder and gripping at my hair. “Answer me.”
“Yessss!” I screamed, nearly falling apart under his rough love. “Fuck yes, baby.”
He hissed right along with me, pulling me closer, going deeper. “Ya. Fuck yerself on me. Fuck yerself real pretty.”
His hand slipped from hair and slid down over my hips to the juncture of my thighs. Slipping between wet, tangy folds he stroked, languidly at first… then in a frenzied tandem; fast shallow circles all clockwise. “Make it rain fer me.”
“FUCK!” I cried, feeling the familiar burn running down my legs and onto the sheets below.
His hips changed position as I came, shifting to a new deeper angle. “Oh fuck, oh fuck…” he grunted, his hips rocking faster and faster has his orgasm loomed. It wasn’t the longest we’d ever made love but as crazy the world was today I was more than thankful for the few spared moments we were able to enjoy each others bodies again.
His hips pounded three more times until he came with a sharp intake of breath and a loud, satisfied grunt. My caveman.
With an amused snort, I fell face first back to the cool sheets on the couch, pulling a disgruntled groan from Daryl as he pulled out of me.
“Thank you, caveman.” I laughed lightly as Daryl fell down next to me, pulling me close as he murmured ‘mine’ before passing out cold.
~
Daryl slept like the dead and if it wasn’t for the occasional snort or ball scratching he did, I’d really think him dead much of the time. As it was though, I couldn’t fall back asleep. I felt amazing despite having cried my eyes out the night before and having the brains fucked straight out my head this morning.
Having something akin to a pep in my step, I pulled myself from the comfort of Daryl’s arms and decided to hit up that wonderful shower once more. While I’ll admit that have Daryl in the shower next to me naked and all soapy was a beautiful image that always made me randy, it was still nice to be able to take a few minutes to myself to just bask in the hot water.
He was still dead to the world when I emerged from my quick twist in the shower, the only part of him covered was one of my favorite parts. He was lying on his stomach and that gorgeous male ass was thee only thing the crisp white sheets covered. It was a damn shame too and seriously had me considering just going back to bed, but as my stomach grumbled and feet shifted down the hall that plan was put on the back burner to another kind of hunger.
So foregoing another romp in the sheets, I settled for dressing in moderately clean clothes and finding out what was for breakfast.
Finding clothes in the dark was a bit of a task but I managed well enough but it wasn’t till I stepped out into the hall did I even notice what I was wearing. It was one of Daryl’s favorite tank tops with my bars logo on the right breast. It was the tank top I met him in. Paired with a set of reinforced camo, it could be guaranteed that Daryl and I would be fucking again before the morning was out.
I was greeted with a chorus of good morning’s when I entered the small kitchen/dinning area which in reality was a kitchenette and a conference table. T-dog was manning the stove stirring something that smelled a hell of a lot like scrambled eggs.
My stomach gave another angry roll as Glenn groaned his good morning as I breezed past him to the coffee maker. “Don’t ever, ever let me drink again.”
I laughed at his pained expression. Hell, I’m sure all of us had been in that same place at one point or another. I sure knew I had, many, many times. Most of them after a night of partying at my dad’s place with Daryl and my dad’s club brothers. Though, at least I had been broke in at an early age and for the most part knew my limits… Not that I listened to myself half the time, but at least I had no one to blame in the morning other than myself.
Poor Glenn had been dooped by my redneck of all people and I couldn’t wait for Daryl to get up and see this. His shit-eatin’ grin would most definitely be present this morning.
As if he heard me thinking about him, he poured in a few minutes later looking bed haggled but clean but I blushed as I noticed the deep purple and angry red marks that lined his neck and clavicle. He came up behind me, sucking at my neck before he slapped my ass, causing me to squeal. Many heads jerked up, some looking like their faces might crack if their eyes got any wider. Like I said Daryl was really funny about PDA and for him to act this open in front of so many people was a bit astonishing. To me it just meant that he was hung-over. A hung-over Daryl meant an extremely horny Daryl. Most of our Sundays were spent in bed, eating, watching old movies and fucking. Not necessarily in that order either.
“Are you hungover, too?” Carl asked, looking up at Rick innocently from his plate of powdered eggs and freezer bacon. “Mom said you would be.”
Hell, the kid’s mom wasn’t wrong, the good sheriff was definitely looking worse for wear this morning. His eyes were bloodshot and he was green around the gills.
Rick didn’t look all that amused with his son’s question but answered him honestly. Daryl just smirked at me, his perfectly little mole curling around his lips. He was grinning like an idiot at Glenn who let out another pained groan and smacking his head against the table.
Out of the corner of my eye I caught Daryl sliding my paper coffee cup towards him as he pulled the half drunken bottle of Soco from somewhere and started adding a liberal amount to my beverage. “Hey!”
“What ya yellin’ ’bout, woman.” He asked with a rye grin and Glenn parroted him with a “Yes, please don’t yell. Yelling is bad.” Which of course made everyone crack up into loud raucous laughter.
I just glared and excepted my now spiked coffee before humming around my own plate of bacon n’ eggs. Powdered or not, T-dog did ‘em right.
Shane turned his head to spit something in Lori’s direction and I caught sight of his neck, I gasped. “Holy shit!” I hissed quietly next to Daryl. “You see that?”
He nodded his head with a chuckle. “Yeah, I’d give ya three guess as to who did it, but ya only gonna need one.”
As Jenner made his appearance, I sat up straighter, bristling almost at the look he gave me. It was a strange look, one I couldn’t fully understand this early after waking up… but I didn’t like it. Apparently Daryl didn’t, either. He pulled my chair closer to him and slipped a warm hand between my thighs. Like I said, caveman.
Dale perked up at the sight of the strange scientist and I just knew our calm morning was about to turn to shit. “You know Doc, I don’t want to start throwing questions at you first thing.”
“But you will…” Jenner replied with a smooth smile.
Andrea glared over at him, dropping her fork to her plate. “We didn’t come here for the eggs.”
Like I said, happy morning over.
"One woman scorned and covered with scars still strove with her last ounce of courage to reach the unreachable stars; and the world will be better for it."
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Chapter Nine
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, ect., are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Warnings: Rated Mature for language, gore and adult situations. Readers under the age of 18 are discouraged from reading.
Scars of Survival
Chapter Nine
Yes, hell exists. It is not a fairy tale. One indeed burns there. This hell is not at the end of life. It is here. At the beginning. Hell is what the infant must experience before he gets to us. ~ Dr. Federick Leboyer
“I looked for ya.” Daryl blurted suddenly, startling the silent calm that had enveloped the cab of the truck while I lost myself to memories of days long since past.
I looked over, my neck straining from the odd angle it took to look at his face fully. He was upset. More than upset and it showed in everything from his bloodshot eyes to his cherry red nose.
“What?” I asked, confused. I almost felt stupid the moment the question escaped my lips. There could only be so many things he was talking about but I guess I needed to hear it and the question fell from my lips in a an automatic response.
His breathed hitched in his throat and rushed out his nose. “When all this,” he gestured to the world around us. “happened, I went lookin’ for ya?”
Oh. Oh. And I wasn’t there.
I wondered when this would come up in conversation. I guess now was as good as any other time.
It didn’t surprise me in the slightest that Daryl waited until we had the loud roar of an engine and several hundred feet separating us from the others of our group before saying something. His reaction to his own words were enough for me to not want to be around anyone else.
“Oh.” Because lets face it, what else could I possibly say to that?
Sure there were probably a lot of things I could have said. I probably should have apologized for being such a spaz and leaving Trenton to begin with, it was a stupid move and it damn near got me killed.
But I didn’t say I was sorry for doing it and I couldn’t. I wouldn’t apologize for something I felt was right. All I knew in my present apocalyptic meltdown when the amazingly idiotic notion came to me; was what my instincts were telling me and that was to find Daryl. Daryl was all that mattered.
I did however have something to apologize for but I wasn’t really sure how to do it without pissing him off. “I’m sorry I worried you.”
When he growled low in the back of his throat like some wild fuckin’ animal, I knew I had been correct to assume he’d be pissed. “Sorry?” He said loudly, turning his face to the window as he removed the arm across my shoulder to wipe at the corner of his eye.
“I was goin’ out of my fuckin’ mind, Lil!” He barked, his voice rising with each tear that slipped from the hard walls within him. He furiously wiped at them with the palm of his hand, growling over the sniffles like I couldn’t hear them.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, trying to sooth him the best I could by rubbing circles into the soft material of his plaid button down. Unfortunately for me, he was in mood to hear it yet and was in even less of a mood to be coddled.
With jerky movements, Daryl sat up a little straighter his eyes narrowing on the road as the white van in front of us crawled to a stop. He muttered something under his breath before he wiped his face again and grabbed the 30-06 from the gun rack above my head.
“Stay here,” He commanded, shoving the heavy rifle at me. “We’ll talk about this later and you will tell me what happened to ya.”
It wasn’t a question at all. I knew it. He knew it. It was just a question of when we would have the chance to be alone again, really alone. As much as I hated to even think about the past events that led to my Franken-face, I knew that for Daryl not to completely lose his mind I was going to have to suck it up and spill. I just hoped for the sake of the group that when that conversation went down, when his emotions got the better of him, no one would be stupid enough to pry at the noise.
That being said, I most assuredly didn’t have to like it and I was pretty damn sure that when he heard the story in all it disgusting detail, he wasn’t gonna like it either.
Daryl appeared around the front of the truck several minutes later, cursing up a storm and motioning me to get out. I did so hesitantly, trying not to step on the landmines around Daryl. It was like walking on eggshells. I could only hope the others were smart enough to pick up on the extremely hostile vibes Daryl was practically vibrating at the moment and left him the hell alone.
His shitty mood and mine was only further spurned by the breakdown of the R.V., Jim’s rapidly declining health and the now encroaching dusk. We still had a ways to go before we arrived at the CDC and we would be just making it before dark if we left like five minutes ago.
About halfway through the fix of Dale’s radiator hose, Jacqui came scrambling out of the back of the camper. Her eyes were frantic as she stumbled up to me of all people and told me she didn’t think Jim could take much more.
Which to me was the code for “Holy Shit, Jim’s turning into a walker!”
No shit, lady. He should have never been in that R.V. to begin with.
I honestly had no clue what it was she wanted me to do about it. I wasn’t particularly close to anyone in the group, well except for the obvious and my obvious had already tried to solve this problem once only to have it shut down and slammed back in his face like he was some kind of homicidal monster. Not really adhering to my softer side, the side that actually wanted to help, my decision was clear.
Fuck that. They could decided what fate had in store for Jim now, I wanted nothing to do with it.
It didn’t really matter in the end anyways, her panicked voice really carried well and by time she was through with her terrified rant everyone was gathered around us.
Awkward much.
Even more awkward than that was the morbid funeral we held for a living man who was sitting under a tree just before we left him there. Rick had offered him a gun to do what he had to but I didn’t see Jim as the suicidal type of guy, plus he was actually reasonable enough to know we’d need the damn thing later. Why Rick didn’t just let Daryl or Shane kill him, I’ll never know. Not that I’d let Daryl put that on his conscience now and let the others treat him like a barbaric outcast for it later.
They could kiss my ass.
~
The rest of the drive to the CDC was uncomfortably quiet. Daryl was stewing in his grief and anger and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it all came to a head, one way or another.
The smell was pungent enough to make my stomach lurch so and made it evident that we had arrived before Daryl ever put the truck into park. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes and I knew without him having to open his mouth that he thought this was a bad idea.
I was quickly starting to agree with him.
The point was further proven when we stepped out and took in the surrounding mass of corpse and bloodshed. It was devastating. It was complete devastation. The entire yard of the building and then some was completely covered in guts, gore and flies.
My god, the flies were horrendous.
“I don’t want ya outta ma sight, ya here!” Daryl commanded, thrusting his rifle back into my arms with a deep scowl on his face. He was scared. It made every bit of the female rights worthy argument die in my throat before it could bother to slip out. I wouldn’t argue with him right now, not when we were in such a detrimental situation. Not when he was close to blowing his top in the first place.
As a group we maneuvered through the sea of the half eaten torsos and decaying limbs it was plain to me that the massacre here didn’t bode well for our safety in the future.
Shielding my face from the hordes of flies and stench, I used one of Daryl’s handkerchiefs to which earned me a look of displeasure from Lori and Andrea. I just glared back and went about my tiptoeing, sniggering mentally at their jealous faces. Even Daryl looked a little miffed about not having the hindsight to think about it ahead of time. Sorry babe, you fell in love with me for a reason.
More gnats, more flies and more dead soldiers…
It seemed that was all that was left of the CDC. Destruction and the dead.
With the sky turning darker by the second, I pushed closer to Daryl not wanting us to be separated when the inevitable happened. Dark always brought out the walkers and we were all sitting fuckin’ ducks at this point.
~
There was some kind of quiet argument already underway when we approached the what used to be some kind of perfectly maintained entry way. Now it was splattered with guts, both walker and human. Wonderful.
“Then why are these shutters down?” Rick hissed over his shoulder and then went back to his study of the doors, like they might hold all the answers to the universe.
I could feel a nasty retort building up in the back of my throat but Daryl shouted exclamation of “Walkers!” overrode it and allowed the panic to set it. This was our camp all over again. Only this time we had even less ammunition and our people were already traumatized.
“Ya led us into a graveyard!” Daryl shouted over the shots being fired, his eyes immediately seeking me out, though I knew it wasn’t me he was yelling at. No, Rick was the privileged one to get Daryl’s temper this time.
Dale stepped forward, “He made a call!”
“It was the wrong damn call!” Daryl shouted back, his face beet red with murder in his eyes.
That quickly led to Shane and Daryl chest to chest, Shane defending Rick’s honor. Had this been another time I would have defiantly had something smart-ass to say to that. Sometimes I really couldn’t tell who Shane was more in love with, Rick or Lori. But as it was, I was too busy killing walkers and trying to think of something to get us out of this mess. I had nothing and it wasn’t looking good for us.
“Fort Benning, Rick, it’s still an option.”
Lori looked like she might cry at the suggestion and I really couldn’t blame her. “That’s a hundred miles from here! We need someplace, now!”
You got that, sister. Not only that but there was a it was a very possible likelihood that Ft. Benning was in the same condition, or worse.
I thought to suggest what I had been thinking since it was decided that we were breaking camp but much like Ft. Benning, it was too dark and we had too little of supplies at the moment for anything I was planning. That and I wasn’t so sure I wanted the whole group with me when I suggested it. Call me a bad person but some of the people here were beyond naïve and I had learned first hand what naivety did for you; it got you injured or killed.
Jerking another shell in the chamber, I took aim at the female walker dragging her leg behind her, it was only hanging on by several tendons. Ew.
“Wait! It moved! The camera! It moved!” Rick shouted.
I took my shot and turned, wondering what the fuck he was going on about now. Not for nothing but he wasn’t exactly on my list for people I trusted.
Daryl jumped in front of me then, his back to my front as he pushed me backwards, his crossbow still raised, aimed out towards the city were the walkers were still pouring out of the woodwork. I knew the 30-06 was a bad idea. It was a wonderful weapon when it came to accuracy and drop power but the sum’bitch was a cannon. The blast could be heard for miles and it wasn’t the only loud weapon in our group. Rick’s Python was just as loud and Shane’s pump came in a definite third.
Taking the time Daryl’s protective barrier gave me, I pulled a few more rounds from my pocket and jacked in another couple of shells. Locking the rifle in my arms I took a quick case of the area through the high powered scope and nearly crumbled at what I saw.
I whimpered.
“What is it?” Daryl yelled.
“Walkers!” I announced through a sob. “Hundreds of ‘em. We have to get the fuck outta here!”
I took down three more before trying to reload again but my hands were shaking under the pressure and full shells were falling to the ground with a clanging that rang in my ears like death bells tolling.
Not looking back at Rick as he shouted to the camera, I locked eyes with Daryl. It was a silent I love you. It was a silent goodbye.
Even if we did leave now, our chances of making out of this parking lot was slim to none.
A heavy raking of metal on metal startled Daryl nearly as bad as it did me but as we both turned to look we were blinded by bright lights pouring out onto the concrete walkways. Daryl looked at me as I looked at him in astonishment before he grabbed my arm hard and ran, pulling me along behind him into the unknown.
After my eyes adjusted to the false lighting I was now unaccustomed to, I noticed the building was devoid of life. It was eerily silent. The large room and high ceilings did nothing to quell the feeling of emptiness this building already seemed to scream at us.
It was silent as the grave. Empty and silent. At this point I was ready to go back outside and try my hand at the walkers again. I didn’t like this place.
“Hello,” A voice called from behind us, startling me enough that I almost shot the bastard.
The man who I now know as Dr. Edwin Jenner was an average looking man, not handsome but not hideous. He looked like he had been ready for bed before we interrupted him with our little life impending situation outside. His blonde hair was skewed and his clothes were rumpled but as he swayed a little on his feet I wondered if maybe I was wrong. He looked drunk.
“Anyone infected?” He asked, his AR scanning through our group looking for possible threats. I couldn’t blame him for trying to protect his own ass but it didn’t stop Daryl from growling at him when he pointed that barrel at us.
Rick stepped forward, ever the leader. “One of group was, he didn’t make it.”
Why the fuck he offered up that piece of information, I’ll never understand. Yes, one of our group was infected. Key word there. Was. Rick didn’t need to give this man a rundown of our life stories, he just needed to know that not one of us was currently infected.
Jenner’s eyes narrowed as he scanned through our faces again, but I shuttered as they landed on me again. He took his time looking me over before he announced that we would have to submit to blood tests.
Done buddy.
Daryl told me to wait with the others while he, T-dog, Shane and Rick retrieved our things from the vehicles still outside. Begrudgingly, I obliged, though to be honest, being trapped in a building with this guy and only Dale for protection wasn’t exactly fun. I had a feeling that Jenner had a bone to pick with me.
Damn, I hate being fuckin’ right.
“You,” Jenner said almost immediately after Daryl was out of sight. “Were you scratched?”
With the AR still in his hand, Jenner took a step forward and I took an involuntary step back. “No.” I told him sternly, yanking the do-rag away from my face so he could get a better look.
“Don’t lie.” He said, eyes hard as he took another step forward.
Alright asshole, kind of pissing me off now.
Dale decided to intervene then before this asshole got himself dead real fuckin’ fast. I wasn’t in the mood to be bullied right now. Daryl was still angry with me and I was almost walker bait last night. Dale stepped in between and Andrea spoke on my behalf. “She was attacked a couple weeks ago, by men.”
Even though she emphasized that it was in fact men that had done such a horrible thing, I could tell by the way Jenner’s nose wrinkled that he wasn’t buying it. “Those stitches are fresh.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Carol started crying again. “There was a scuffle in our group, I got in the middle of it, end of story.”
“Is there a problem here?” Rick asked as he and the others came barreling back through the doors just as the rollers locked back into place.
Jenner shook his head as Daryl retook my side, his face twisted down in a horrible frown. “No.” He finally said.
Even as he said it, I knew that wasn’t the end of this discussion.
It wasn’t.
As blood was drawn from us it gave Jenner the time to scrutinize my face.
I hated it. I hated the way he stared, at first with hostility and then with pity and remorse as it became apparent that I wasn’t infected.
Daryl didn’t care for that shit either and he made his dislike for the doctor complete clear as he told the man to “Stop starin’ at my fuckin’ woman.”
~
Dinner with the solemn scientist was an interesting affair. Everyone was eating their fill of pasta and indulging in the wine and booze Jenner provided. It was nice but I just couldn’t shake the nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach that had developed since meeting the man. Something was off about him and I knew he was hiding something from us, something important.
“Once this door closes, it stays closed…”
That simple statement echoed through my mind on a never ending loop. I couldn’t shake it, not even with the help of red wine and Soco.
It wasn’t just in the way he said, all ominous and cryptic. It was the look on his face.
I didn’t like it. Not one single bit.
As everyone laughed, I stayed quiet. I was content enough. I had a full belly, and a warmth spreading to my extremities with every sip of the deep red wine I drank.
Though I did give a very girlish giggle at the look on Carl’s face when he had his first taste of wine and proclaimed. “Ew.”
“That’s my boy,” Lori sang, dumping the rest of the Carl’s wine into her glass. “You just stick with soda.”
“Not you, Glenn,” Daryl said as he rounded the table with a full bottle of Soco in his hand, surprising me. Both Glenn and I looked at him with astonishment. “Ya keep drinking’ little man, I wanna see how red yer face can get.”
It was official. Daryl was buzzed.
He was grinning like a fool, hands fumbling as he poured three shots of Southern Comfort, shoving one in Glenn’s face before sitting one down in front of me and taking his seat next to me. Glenn looked lost, like he wasn’t really sure what to do with the burgundy liquid.
I beamed at him, then at Daryl for making an effort to be a human part of the group. Of course I wasn’t stupid enough not understand that he would be back to his normal, grumbling self with the rise of the sun but for now, it really helped me to relax seeing him like this.
Rick stood up, a little shaky, glass in hand. “It seems we haven’t properly thanked our host.”
Cheers erupted all around as we all raised our glasses to the man still sulking in the corner.
Daryl lifted the entire bottle. “Boo-yah!”
“I’ll drink to that!” I announced, lifting my shot and eyeing Glenn to the same. The liquid didn’t burn my throat as it went down but Southern Comfort never had that effect on me, it was sweet, almost a little too sweet and I knew my stomach was gonna hate me in the morning.
Fuckin’ gut-rot.
“Boo-yah!” I cheered and Glenn smiled happily, until his face turned sour. Daryl laughed right alone with me as he pulled me up out of my chair and put me on his lap.
Shane ruined our fun a few seconds later when he started in on Jenner. It was strange, the look in Shane’s eyes. He seemed determined, so much more than he usually did and he was extremely defensive, grumpy. Something had to have shifted in the Rick/Lori/Shane dynamic, though I didn’t have a guess as to what. Just that something had changed and when it did it changed Shane as well. He looked so damn hurt.
Jenner looked reasonable to the questions being asked, it was expected and he almost seemed like it was a weight lifted, like he was just waiting for someone share all of this with. But he was still hiding something. It was there just below the surface and I was diligent enough to try and read between his lines, even if I was half buzzed.
However, it was not expected when he turned in my direction and slammed us with a stipulation for his answers, a stipulation that would completely fuck up the rest of my night.
“I want to know what happened to you.” He stated clearly. His face had the strangest emotion playing across it, it was something between genuine curiosity and mild concern.
Daryl stiffened underneath me and made a noise of displeasure. It rumbled deep through his chest and up his throat. He was trembling. “Don’t see how it’s any o’ yer business.” He replied tersely, defensive.
Jenner shook his head as the other either leaned on their elbows for a better seat in the show or shrank back in their seats, waiting to see what my volatile hunter would do next. “I don’t believe it was you I asked?” It came out coolly and I had to give Jenner props for that. Even a village idiot could tell it wasn’t a good idea to piss men like Daryl off, so he was either very brave or very stupid. I kinda think he was a little of both. “And I want to know. Think of it as a trade.”
Maybe he was just very suicidal?
Everyone sitting at the table turned to me expectantly as I sat frozen in Daryl’s lap, unable to move or blink. “I-I…”
The man beneath me blanched. He jerked to his feet, his boots slamming against the hard concrete floor as he stood on long legs and pulled me along with him. “Ya ain’t gonna tell him shit.” He all but growled, his hard blue eyes burning holes through everyone. I couldn’t even see him to know that was exactly what he was doing.
“Daryl, be reasonable.” Rick said, standing as well. “We all need to know as well, it’s for our own safety.
My head jerked around to pin the half drunk sheriff with a hard stare. “Well for one this story ain’t for little ears, sheriff.” I told him looking pointedly at the two children still sitting at the table. “Two, it ain’t none of yer fuckin’ business to begin with and if it’s that much of a problem, I’ll leave!” I said scowling before I rounded on the nosy scientist. “Jenner, if you really have to know, I’ll tell ya. But I’ll be damned if I do it with a room full of judgmental eyes.”
He nodded and stood, waving with a polite gesture to the rest of the group. “If you will all come with me, I’ll show you were you’ll be staying.”
Warnings: Rated Mature for language, gore and adult situations. Readers under the age of 18 are discouraged from reading.
Scars of Survival
Chapter Nine
Yes, hell exists. It is not a fairy tale. One indeed burns there. This hell is not at the end of life. It is here. At the beginning. Hell is what the infant must experience before he gets to us. ~ Dr. Federick Leboyer
“I looked for ya.” Daryl blurted suddenly, startling the silent calm that had enveloped the cab of the truck while I lost myself to memories of days long since past.
I looked over, my neck straining from the odd angle it took to look at his face fully. He was upset. More than upset and it showed in everything from his bloodshot eyes to his cherry red nose.
“What?” I asked, confused. I almost felt stupid the moment the question escaped my lips. There could only be so many things he was talking about but I guess I needed to hear it and the question fell from my lips in a an automatic response.
His breathed hitched in his throat and rushed out his nose. “When all this,” he gestured to the world around us. “happened, I went lookin’ for ya?”
Oh. Oh. And I wasn’t there.
I wondered when this would come up in conversation. I guess now was as good as any other time.
It didn’t surprise me in the slightest that Daryl waited until we had the loud roar of an engine and several hundred feet separating us from the others of our group before saying something. His reaction to his own words were enough for me to not want to be around anyone else.
“Oh.” Because lets face it, what else could I possibly say to that?
Sure there were probably a lot of things I could have said. I probably should have apologized for being such a spaz and leaving Trenton to begin with, it was a stupid move and it damn near got me killed.
But I didn’t say I was sorry for doing it and I couldn’t. I wouldn’t apologize for something I felt was right. All I knew in my present apocalyptic meltdown when the amazingly idiotic notion came to me; was what my instincts were telling me and that was to find Daryl. Daryl was all that mattered.
I did however have something to apologize for but I wasn’t really sure how to do it without pissing him off. “I’m sorry I worried you.”
When he growled low in the back of his throat like some wild fuckin’ animal, I knew I had been correct to assume he’d be pissed. “Sorry?” He said loudly, turning his face to the window as he removed the arm across my shoulder to wipe at the corner of his eye.
“I was goin’ out of my fuckin’ mind, Lil!” He barked, his voice rising with each tear that slipped from the hard walls within him. He furiously wiped at them with the palm of his hand, growling over the sniffles like I couldn’t hear them.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated, trying to sooth him the best I could by rubbing circles into the soft material of his plaid button down. Unfortunately for me, he was in mood to hear it yet and was in even less of a mood to be coddled.
With jerky movements, Daryl sat up a little straighter his eyes narrowing on the road as the white van in front of us crawled to a stop. He muttered something under his breath before he wiped his face again and grabbed the 30-06 from the gun rack above my head.
“Stay here,” He commanded, shoving the heavy rifle at me. “We’ll talk about this later and you will tell me what happened to ya.”
It wasn’t a question at all. I knew it. He knew it. It was just a question of when we would have the chance to be alone again, really alone. As much as I hated to even think about the past events that led to my Franken-face, I knew that for Daryl not to completely lose his mind I was going to have to suck it up and spill. I just hoped for the sake of the group that when that conversation went down, when his emotions got the better of him, no one would be stupid enough to pry at the noise.
That being said, I most assuredly didn’t have to like it and I was pretty damn sure that when he heard the story in all it disgusting detail, he wasn’t gonna like it either.
Daryl appeared around the front of the truck several minutes later, cursing up a storm and motioning me to get out. I did so hesitantly, trying not to step on the landmines around Daryl. It was like walking on eggshells. I could only hope the others were smart enough to pick up on the extremely hostile vibes Daryl was practically vibrating at the moment and left him the hell alone.
His shitty mood and mine was only further spurned by the breakdown of the R.V., Jim’s rapidly declining health and the now encroaching dusk. We still had a ways to go before we arrived at the CDC and we would be just making it before dark if we left like five minutes ago.
About halfway through the fix of Dale’s radiator hose, Jacqui came scrambling out of the back of the camper. Her eyes were frantic as she stumbled up to me of all people and told me she didn’t think Jim could take much more.
Which to me was the code for “Holy Shit, Jim’s turning into a walker!”
No shit, lady. He should have never been in that R.V. to begin with.
I honestly had no clue what it was she wanted me to do about it. I wasn’t particularly close to anyone in the group, well except for the obvious and my obvious had already tried to solve this problem once only to have it shut down and slammed back in his face like he was some kind of homicidal monster. Not really adhering to my softer side, the side that actually wanted to help, my decision was clear.
Fuck that. They could decided what fate had in store for Jim now, I wanted nothing to do with it.
It didn’t really matter in the end anyways, her panicked voice really carried well and by time she was through with her terrified rant everyone was gathered around us.
Awkward much.
Even more awkward than that was the morbid funeral we held for a living man who was sitting under a tree just before we left him there. Rick had offered him a gun to do what he had to but I didn’t see Jim as the suicidal type of guy, plus he was actually reasonable enough to know we’d need the damn thing later. Why Rick didn’t just let Daryl or Shane kill him, I’ll never know. Not that I’d let Daryl put that on his conscience now and let the others treat him like a barbaric outcast for it later.
They could kiss my ass.
~
The rest of the drive to the CDC was uncomfortably quiet. Daryl was stewing in his grief and anger and I knew it wouldn’t be long before it all came to a head, one way or another.
The smell was pungent enough to make my stomach lurch so and made it evident that we had arrived before Daryl ever put the truck into park. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eyes and I knew without him having to open his mouth that he thought this was a bad idea.
I was quickly starting to agree with him.
The point was further proven when we stepped out and took in the surrounding mass of corpse and bloodshed. It was devastating. It was complete devastation. The entire yard of the building and then some was completely covered in guts, gore and flies.
My god, the flies were horrendous.
“I don’t want ya outta ma sight, ya here!” Daryl commanded, thrusting his rifle back into my arms with a deep scowl on his face. He was scared. It made every bit of the female rights worthy argument die in my throat before it could bother to slip out. I wouldn’t argue with him right now, not when we were in such a detrimental situation. Not when he was close to blowing his top in the first place.
As a group we maneuvered through the sea of the half eaten torsos and decaying limbs it was plain to me that the massacre here didn’t bode well for our safety in the future.
Shielding my face from the hordes of flies and stench, I used one of Daryl’s handkerchiefs to which earned me a look of displeasure from Lori and Andrea. I just glared back and went about my tiptoeing, sniggering mentally at their jealous faces. Even Daryl looked a little miffed about not having the hindsight to think about it ahead of time. Sorry babe, you fell in love with me for a reason.
More gnats, more flies and more dead soldiers…
It seemed that was all that was left of the CDC. Destruction and the dead.
With the sky turning darker by the second, I pushed closer to Daryl not wanting us to be separated when the inevitable happened. Dark always brought out the walkers and we were all sitting fuckin’ ducks at this point.
~
There was some kind of quiet argument already underway when we approached the what used to be some kind of perfectly maintained entry way. Now it was splattered with guts, both walker and human. Wonderful.
“Then why are these shutters down?” Rick hissed over his shoulder and then went back to his study of the doors, like they might hold all the answers to the universe.
I could feel a nasty retort building up in the back of my throat but Daryl shouted exclamation of “Walkers!” overrode it and allowed the panic to set it. This was our camp all over again. Only this time we had even less ammunition and our people were already traumatized.
“Ya led us into a graveyard!” Daryl shouted over the shots being fired, his eyes immediately seeking me out, though I knew it wasn’t me he was yelling at. No, Rick was the privileged one to get Daryl’s temper this time.
Dale stepped forward, “He made a call!”
“It was the wrong damn call!” Daryl shouted back, his face beet red with murder in his eyes.
That quickly led to Shane and Daryl chest to chest, Shane defending Rick’s honor. Had this been another time I would have defiantly had something smart-ass to say to that. Sometimes I really couldn’t tell who Shane was more in love with, Rick or Lori. But as it was, I was too busy killing walkers and trying to think of something to get us out of this mess. I had nothing and it wasn’t looking good for us.
“Fort Benning, Rick, it’s still an option.”
Lori looked like she might cry at the suggestion and I really couldn’t blame her. “That’s a hundred miles from here! We need someplace, now!”
You got that, sister. Not only that but there was a it was a very possible likelihood that Ft. Benning was in the same condition, or worse.
I thought to suggest what I had been thinking since it was decided that we were breaking camp but much like Ft. Benning, it was too dark and we had too little of supplies at the moment for anything I was planning. That and I wasn’t so sure I wanted the whole group with me when I suggested it. Call me a bad person but some of the people here were beyond naïve and I had learned first hand what naivety did for you; it got you injured or killed.
Jerking another shell in the chamber, I took aim at the female walker dragging her leg behind her, it was only hanging on by several tendons. Ew.
“Wait! It moved! The camera! It moved!” Rick shouted.
I took my shot and turned, wondering what the fuck he was going on about now. Not for nothing but he wasn’t exactly on my list for people I trusted.
Daryl jumped in front of me then, his back to my front as he pushed me backwards, his crossbow still raised, aimed out towards the city were the walkers were still pouring out of the woodwork. I knew the 30-06 was a bad idea. It was a wonderful weapon when it came to accuracy and drop power but the sum’bitch was a cannon. The blast could be heard for miles and it wasn’t the only loud weapon in our group. Rick’s Python was just as loud and Shane’s pump came in a definite third.
Taking the time Daryl’s protective barrier gave me, I pulled a few more rounds from my pocket and jacked in another couple of shells. Locking the rifle in my arms I took a quick case of the area through the high powered scope and nearly crumbled at what I saw.
I whimpered.
“What is it?” Daryl yelled.
“Walkers!” I announced through a sob. “Hundreds of ‘em. We have to get the fuck outta here!”
I took down three more before trying to reload again but my hands were shaking under the pressure and full shells were falling to the ground with a clanging that rang in my ears like death bells tolling.
Not looking back at Rick as he shouted to the camera, I locked eyes with Daryl. It was a silent I love you. It was a silent goodbye.
Even if we did leave now, our chances of making out of this parking lot was slim to none.
A heavy raking of metal on metal startled Daryl nearly as bad as it did me but as we both turned to look we were blinded by bright lights pouring out onto the concrete walkways. Daryl looked at me as I looked at him in astonishment before he grabbed my arm hard and ran, pulling me along behind him into the unknown.
After my eyes adjusted to the false lighting I was now unaccustomed to, I noticed the building was devoid of life. It was eerily silent. The large room and high ceilings did nothing to quell the feeling of emptiness this building already seemed to scream at us.
It was silent as the grave. Empty and silent. At this point I was ready to go back outside and try my hand at the walkers again. I didn’t like this place.
“Hello,” A voice called from behind us, startling me enough that I almost shot the bastard.
The man who I now know as Dr. Edwin Jenner was an average looking man, not handsome but not hideous. He looked like he had been ready for bed before we interrupted him with our little life impending situation outside. His blonde hair was skewed and his clothes were rumpled but as he swayed a little on his feet I wondered if maybe I was wrong. He looked drunk.
“Anyone infected?” He asked, his AR scanning through our group looking for possible threats. I couldn’t blame him for trying to protect his own ass but it didn’t stop Daryl from growling at him when he pointed that barrel at us.
Rick stepped forward, ever the leader. “One of group was, he didn’t make it.”
Why the fuck he offered up that piece of information, I’ll never understand. Yes, one of our group was infected. Key word there. Was. Rick didn’t need to give this man a rundown of our life stories, he just needed to know that not one of us was currently infected.
Jenner’s eyes narrowed as he scanned through our faces again, but I shuttered as they landed on me again. He took his time looking me over before he announced that we would have to submit to blood tests.
Done buddy.
Daryl told me to wait with the others while he, T-dog, Shane and Rick retrieved our things from the vehicles still outside. Begrudgingly, I obliged, though to be honest, being trapped in a building with this guy and only Dale for protection wasn’t exactly fun. I had a feeling that Jenner had a bone to pick with me.
Damn, I hate being fuckin’ right.
“You,” Jenner said almost immediately after Daryl was out of sight. “Were you scratched?”
With the AR still in his hand, Jenner took a step forward and I took an involuntary step back. “No.” I told him sternly, yanking the do-rag away from my face so he could get a better look.
“Don’t lie.” He said, eyes hard as he took another step forward.
Alright asshole, kind of pissing me off now.
Dale decided to intervene then before this asshole got himself dead real fuckin’ fast. I wasn’t in the mood to be bullied right now. Daryl was still angry with me and I was almost walker bait last night. Dale stepped in between and Andrea spoke on my behalf. “She was attacked a couple weeks ago, by men.”
Even though she emphasized that it was in fact men that had done such a horrible thing, I could tell by the way Jenner’s nose wrinkled that he wasn’t buying it. “Those stitches are fresh.”
As soon as the words were out of his mouth, Carol started crying again. “There was a scuffle in our group, I got in the middle of it, end of story.”
“Is there a problem here?” Rick asked as he and the others came barreling back through the doors just as the rollers locked back into place.
Jenner shook his head as Daryl retook my side, his face twisted down in a horrible frown. “No.” He finally said.
Even as he said it, I knew that wasn’t the end of this discussion.
It wasn’t.
As blood was drawn from us it gave Jenner the time to scrutinize my face.
I hated it. I hated the way he stared, at first with hostility and then with pity and remorse as it became apparent that I wasn’t infected.
Daryl didn’t care for that shit either and he made his dislike for the doctor complete clear as he told the man to “Stop starin’ at my fuckin’ woman.”
~
Dinner with the solemn scientist was an interesting affair. Everyone was eating their fill of pasta and indulging in the wine and booze Jenner provided. It was nice but I just couldn’t shake the nasty feeling in the pit of my stomach that had developed since meeting the man. Something was off about him and I knew he was hiding something from us, something important.
“Once this door closes, it stays closed…”
That simple statement echoed through my mind on a never ending loop. I couldn’t shake it, not even with the help of red wine and Soco.
It wasn’t just in the way he said, all ominous and cryptic. It was the look on his face.
I didn’t like it. Not one single bit.
As everyone laughed, I stayed quiet. I was content enough. I had a full belly, and a warmth spreading to my extremities with every sip of the deep red wine I drank.
Though I did give a very girlish giggle at the look on Carl’s face when he had his first taste of wine and proclaimed. “Ew.”
“That’s my boy,” Lori sang, dumping the rest of the Carl’s wine into her glass. “You just stick with soda.”
“Not you, Glenn,” Daryl said as he rounded the table with a full bottle of Soco in his hand, surprising me. Both Glenn and I looked at him with astonishment. “Ya keep drinking’ little man, I wanna see how red yer face can get.”
It was official. Daryl was buzzed.
He was grinning like a fool, hands fumbling as he poured three shots of Southern Comfort, shoving one in Glenn’s face before sitting one down in front of me and taking his seat next to me. Glenn looked lost, like he wasn’t really sure what to do with the burgundy liquid.
I beamed at him, then at Daryl for making an effort to be a human part of the group. Of course I wasn’t stupid enough not understand that he would be back to his normal, grumbling self with the rise of the sun but for now, it really helped me to relax seeing him like this.
Rick stood up, a little shaky, glass in hand. “It seems we haven’t properly thanked our host.”
Cheers erupted all around as we all raised our glasses to the man still sulking in the corner.
Daryl lifted the entire bottle. “Boo-yah!”
“I’ll drink to that!” I announced, lifting my shot and eyeing Glenn to the same. The liquid didn’t burn my throat as it went down but Southern Comfort never had that effect on me, it was sweet, almost a little too sweet and I knew my stomach was gonna hate me in the morning.
Fuckin’ gut-rot.
“Boo-yah!” I cheered and Glenn smiled happily, until his face turned sour. Daryl laughed right alone with me as he pulled me up out of my chair and put me on his lap.
Shane ruined our fun a few seconds later when he started in on Jenner. It was strange, the look in Shane’s eyes. He seemed determined, so much more than he usually did and he was extremely defensive, grumpy. Something had to have shifted in the Rick/Lori/Shane dynamic, though I didn’t have a guess as to what. Just that something had changed and when it did it changed Shane as well. He looked so damn hurt.
Jenner looked reasonable to the questions being asked, it was expected and he almost seemed like it was a weight lifted, like he was just waiting for someone share all of this with. But he was still hiding something. It was there just below the surface and I was diligent enough to try and read between his lines, even if I was half buzzed.
However, it was not expected when he turned in my direction and slammed us with a stipulation for his answers, a stipulation that would completely fuck up the rest of my night.
“I want to know what happened to you.” He stated clearly. His face had the strangest emotion playing across it, it was something between genuine curiosity and mild concern.
Daryl stiffened underneath me and made a noise of displeasure. It rumbled deep through his chest and up his throat. He was trembling. “Don’t see how it’s any o’ yer business.” He replied tersely, defensive.
Jenner shook his head as the other either leaned on their elbows for a better seat in the show or shrank back in their seats, waiting to see what my volatile hunter would do next. “I don’t believe it was you I asked?” It came out coolly and I had to give Jenner props for that. Even a village idiot could tell it wasn’t a good idea to piss men like Daryl off, so he was either very brave or very stupid. I kinda think he was a little of both. “And I want to know. Think of it as a trade.”
Maybe he was just very suicidal?
Everyone sitting at the table turned to me expectantly as I sat frozen in Daryl’s lap, unable to move or blink. “I-I…”
The man beneath me blanched. He jerked to his feet, his boots slamming against the hard concrete floor as he stood on long legs and pulled me along with him. “Ya ain’t gonna tell him shit.” He all but growled, his hard blue eyes burning holes through everyone. I couldn’t even see him to know that was exactly what he was doing.
“Daryl, be reasonable.” Rick said, standing as well. “We all need to know as well, it’s for our own safety.
My head jerked around to pin the half drunk sheriff with a hard stare. “Well for one this story ain’t for little ears, sheriff.” I told him looking pointedly at the two children still sitting at the table. “Two, it ain’t none of yer fuckin’ business to begin with and if it’s that much of a problem, I’ll leave!” I said scowling before I rounded on the nosy scientist. “Jenner, if you really have to know, I’ll tell ya. But I’ll be damned if I do it with a room full of judgmental eyes.”
He nodded and stood, waving with a polite gesture to the rest of the group. “If you will all come with me, I’ll show you were you’ll be staying.”
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)