All We Have

Meeting Merle

AUTHORS NOTE

If anyone who is reading this story is interested in making a cover for it, let me know! I'd really appreciate it (:

Hope you guys like it so far!

**Now back to the story!**

I woke up to my father's gruff voice.

"Get the hell up" he said, for once not raising his voice too loud. That could only mean that others were around.

I opened my eyes slowly, hoping that everything was a dream and that I was fine in my bed at home.

I was wrong.

I saw tents before me and various cars and a RV parked overlooking a deep quarry with a lake at the bottom. I guess this was the place that Lincoln had told me about; but why were there tents here?

I switched my gaze from the front windshield to the left window. Lincoln stood there with a man, who looked about the same age as him. He had brown hair that was a little curly at the top and he wore a shirt that was tight across his chest. He seemed very in shape, and I even had to admit that he was downright good looking.

I shook my head from my thoughts and looked to Brady.

"Darling, would you like to go outside?" I murmured, wincing at how scratchy my voice sounded. He nodded his head and I reached over to open his door. Ashlyn must have already been outside.

Our father stayed in the truck and I was grateful for this. He would only cause problems for us if these people allowed us to stay.

"We got here at about 3 the day before yesterday" I heard the man say, "There's quite a few that managed to come with us and a family found us last night. Your more than welcome to stay, but you gotta pull your own."

"We would appreciate that very much" my brother answered, looking up as he heard my feet hit the ground and then Brady's.

"Damn, how many people you got in there" The man said laughing and smiling at me.

"Well that there is Brady and Jasmine. Our dad Jack is in the front seat and Ashlyn you already saw." Lincoln answered.

"I'm glad you managed to keep your family safe and unharmed" The man said again. I still didn't know his name.

"Linc, why these people here?" Brady asked, his voice sounding confused as he took in the hustle and bustle of the camp.

'there was a lot of people here' I thought as I looked around. Women were stringing laundry up by some trees, a man stood atop the RV, kids ran around, and a slightly overweight man sat at a fire sleeping.

"They got here before we did bud, we are going to join the group. They are safe" Lincoln answered.

"Well who's he!" Brady asked, hiding behind my leg as he pointed to the man Lincoln was talking to.

"That's Shane. He's gonna introduce us to the others later." Lincoln smiled as he answered.

"There's some kids over there Brady if you wanna go-" Before the man-Shane, could finish I heard a scream.

I darted off towards the lake, deciding that was where it came from. I knew that voice anywhere and these people better pray that I'm not right about who I think it is. I ran down the hill and could see the lake clearly, but Ashlyn wasn't there. I looked around, my head spinning wildly, afraid for my little sister.

Good Lord please let her be-There! There she is running out of the woods.

"Ashlyn!" I yelled as she screamed again.

I saw her trip and then I saw what she had been running from. A monster, taller than our father and twice as big was chasing after her, determined to get ahold of her.

I don't know what came over me at that moment but I knew I couldn't let my little sister be eaten by that thing. I dove over top of her as I saw the monster start to get too close to her.

The zombie-man fell onto me and was struggling to get ahold of my arm, of my skin, of anything he could bite into it.

"Ashlyn run! Dammit get out of here!" I yelled at her as I saw another zombie come out of the woods. My little sister got up and dashed up the hill, screaming for someone to help.

Where the hell was everyone else! My arms were beginning to get tired as I tried to hold the monster back. I managed to kick it off of my body and roll it away from me but as quick as I did that, he was back up. The other zombie, another man just as built as the previous one had been was advancing towards me.

'What the heck had these guys been on, steroids?' I thought, laughing wildly in my head as I knew my death was imminent. I wasn't afraid to die, I guess, as long as I had saved my sister and this new group would be kind to my family.

I felt decaying hands on my arm, pulling me back towards their mouth. Before he could bite me though, a man came out of the woods and quickly stabbed the one who had ahold of me. He then punched the other monster and stabbed it in the head as well.

"Fucking hell girl!" the man exclaimed as he saw me fall to the ground, weak and disoriented.

I had almost died, again. I couldn't live in this world, I wasn't strong enough.

"Sweetcheeks. Hey, ye' alright there?" the man asked again as his face swam into my view.

"N-no I don't thi-" I couldn't finish my sentence before I started to heave. I leaned to the side and dry heaved, but nothing came up.

"Come on doll, I'll get that sweet ass back up ta camp" he said, as he picked me.

I was a little repulsed by a man touching me, I couldn't stand anyone touching me after all I had been through my entire life.

"Put me down!" I managed to yell as I thrashed around in his grasp. He dropped me and I saw Lincoln and the man run down towards us.

"Merle! What happened here!" Shane yelled as Lincoln bent down to pick me up.

"Chicky here was bein 'tacked. Saved her myself" He said proudly.

"Thank you," my brother said, "I am in your debt"

"Don' say that. Ye wouldn't wanna be in a debt ta the likes of me" Merle said, shaking his head with a sick smirk on his face.

"Where the fuck were you!" I yelled, finally gaining my voice. "I would have just died saving Ash, while you were up there gossiping like a fucking hen!"

"We thought the scream came from the woods closer to us, we didn't know what was going on until your little girl-"

"Sister" I interrupted Shane.

"Until your little sister came into the camp screaming like a damn banshee." He corrected himself as he finished.

I just snorted and pinched Lincoln's arm until he dropped me. I stalked up to the truck and slammed the door behind me. I was so beyond pissed.

~~~~~

"Damn look at that ass she's go'" Merle said, whistling as he watched the girl he saved walk up the hill.

"Shut the fuck up Merle" Shane said, beating Lincoln to it.

"Tats the thanks I get for savin her?" Merle asked, pretending to be shocked before he chuckled.

The other two men just shook their heads as they began to walk back to the camp.

"How'd the hunt go anyways" Shane asked Merle, trying to change the conversation.

"Werent too bad, got some tree rats." The redneck man answered, "Daryalina's still out, likes ta stay out on 'is own"

Shane nodded and then disappeared. Lincoln looked at Merle again as he was walking.

"I want to thank you again" Lincoln said, "Without you, I would have lost my sister."

"Need ta tech her some skills" Merle answered simply, delighted inside that this man was the hot babes brother. 'He could get some ass hopefully!' he thought as he walked over to his tent, leaving the man behind.