ᴀ ᴅᴇᴀᴅ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛ ʙᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 3

𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐞

I look around to see all their faces before looking back at Shane. It looks like he understood what was happening and he nodded. I nod my head as well. I didn't really feel bad. He wasn't the best person at the camp. When we first met the group, Merle wasn't the kindest about the idea of letting us join. He said that there were too many people, especially kids. I didn't blame him for not wanting more people, but Jesus. The rest of the group didn't feel 'right' about leaving two kids by themselves, so they let us join, even with Merle's protests.

The first few nights, I could hear him and his brother complain about how there were too many useless people in the group, and some people needed to carry their weight. I wasn't sure about people not carrying their weight. People would go on runs all the time, and they would always come back with something. Not to mention, people are scared. I know I was scared at first. I still get scared sometimes. But now, I think the two siblings knew I was listening because ever since then, I don't hear them shit talk anymore.

I walk away from the group.

The sun started to set. And I could hear the sounds of fire crackling on the outside of my tent. I pull out a book with the title "The Raven's Memories." I smile a bit as I trace the words with my fingers. I open it up to the first page, "To whoever finds this book, These are the memories of Raven Williams. Treat them as if they are your own." I giggle at the words. The page had neat handwriting but my name was shakey and big. I was only 7 years old when I got my Polaroid and photo book, but my dad was the one to prepare it for me. I lightly placed my hand on his handwriting before I was interrupted by a little voice outside my tent. "Raven? It's dinner time!"

I quickly hide my book before letting out a shakey breath and calling out. "Okay, I'll be there in a minute!" I hear the footsteps slowly disappear and I calm myself down. I fix my clothes and unzip my tent. I walk towards the fire pit and see Evangeline talking to Dale. I smile as I sit beside her. Dale hands me a plate of food and I thank him. "So, where were you, Rick? I mean you weren't with Lori and Carl for so long, where were you if you weren't with them?" Amy asks, setting an empty plant down on the ground.

That question piqued my interest as well. I look over at the three. "Well, I was in a coma for a long time. And when I woke up, everyone was gone. But, I knew Lori and Carl made it out. I just knew." Rick responds. I was honestly shocked at how he survived this long. He was asleep at the beginning of it, so how did he know what was going on?

I continued to eat my food, listening to the people talking. I notice Evangeline has finished her food and she's looking at everyone else's food. I place my food on top of Eva's empty plate and smile. Although most of the food was gone, I could tell she was still happy. Shane pokes the fire and I watch the flames. I zone out for a few moments before I hear Shane yell at Ed Peletier.

God, I hate that man. Everyone can tell he's an abusive prick to his wife, Carol, and his daughter, Sophia. He is a horrible person. I'd say just as bad as Merle. It makes me wonder how people like him survive this long. I would've left him as soon as this hell started. But I know it's not that easy.

"Hey, could you not use as much wood!? We need to save the wood." Shane calls towards Ed. He burps and looks up at Shane. "You ain't the boss around here. I can do what I want." He says before sitting back in his lawn chair. Carol and Sophia look over at us and I feel guilty they have to deal with a man like him. That seemed to push Shane's buttons. Shane gets easily mad whenever someone questions his authority, That's something everyone knows around here.

Shane quickly walks toward Ed's fire pit and pulls out the firewood Ed had just placed in there. Ed stands up and gets into Shane's face. I stand up and so does a few other people. Rick was the first to get up there. I stayed back and lightly grabbed Eva's hands. I glance at everyone else, but my eye catches Carl. He seems worried and scared. Lori pulls Carl behind her to shield his eyes in case anything happens.

Eva looks up at me and does a small whistle. I shake my head no and she scoots closer. As Rick jumps in so do Glenn, T-Dog, and Andrea. Glenn and Rick finally de-escalate the situation and Shane walks back to the rest of the group.

We all sit back in our original spots and sit in silence for a while. Evangeline yawns and that grabs my attention and I whisper if she wants to go to bed. She shakes her head no and places her head on my shoulder. I smile at the sweet contact of my sister.

"What actually happened to Merle?" Amy says, starting quietly but ending the sentence in a normal voice. I didn't want them to continue this conversation, because I knew there was going to be a lot of yelling and probably violence when Daryl heard that his brother didn't make it out.

Rick cleared his throat and was about to continue with his sentence but T-Dog interrupted him. "Merle was getting out of control and Rick handcuffed him to the roof. But when we were getting ready to leave, I dropped the keys and we had to leave him behind." My mouth drops, slightly. And so do a few other people's mouths.

Whatever I was expecting, it was most definitely not that. They left him behind?! I guess they were scared... something probably went wrong and that's why T-Dog dropped the keys. But did they even try to get him out?

"You did, What!?"

Oh, fuck. I wasn't ready for this to happen this soon.