I dreamt of fire and death. Everything around me was burning to the ground and the sounds of screams filled the air like the thick layer of smoke. Images of the people I held dear flashed in front of me. Dr. Candace Jenner, Adam, ….Sophia. What made those images so horrific was the fact that in each flash their bodies were presented by being mutilated and covered in blood.
In my nightmare I searched for the Geek that had done this to them. I wanted to cut its body up until there was nothing left. I wanted some sort of revenge even though I knew that the monster wouldn’t be able to feel a damn thing. When I looked for it though I couldn’t find it, in fact I couldn’t find any Geeks, there were just puddles of blood soaking into the ground and balls of fire burning off in the distance.
I searched and searched but found nothing until another scream rang through the air. Instantly I spun around in search of where the scream had come from but when I turned I met a pair of cold black eyes. Those eyes held me in a trance not because they had belonged to the Geek that I had been looking for, oh no, they belonged to a much more sadistic living person.
A slow wicked smile crept along his rough features before he jerked something out of me. There was a sickening bloody slice that made my lower lip tremble in horror. I knew what he had done to me without even having to look at it but still I looked down. A dark red stain was consuming my white tank top and right in the center of it was a hole where his knife had made. My shaky cold hands reached up to touch the bleeding hole in my chest and as soon as it touched the warm liquid it became covered in it.
I fell to my knees then with a scream and looked up at the Bryan. He laughed at my pitiful state while he flipped his blood covered knife around in his hand. I realized then that it hadn’t been a Geek that had killed my loved ones, it had been him and the scream that had made me face him…was mine.
As my breathing became labored and filled with more screams of agony he knelt down beside me. Bryan pressed the tip of his knife into my tear stained cheek and pressed until blood was oozing out of it. Only then did he lean forward and whisper into my ear, “I’m commin’ fer ya’.”
♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
My body snapped into a sitting position as my eyes wondered frantically around my car, looking for Bryan. My chest was heaving out breathes with each moment that passed in fear that he might show himself. When Bryan didn’t appear however I put a hand to my chest and let out a thankful sigh. Thank God, I thought gratefully. Thank God it was only a dream.
My body trembled as a cold breeze blew against my skin and I turned to see my door open. Not remembering why I had left it op I reached over to shut and noticed the dark figure leaning against the outside of my ‘tank’. Fear gripped my throat as I stared at the blob and my body started shaking from something other than the cold. Had Bryan really found me? I thought worriedly and reached into my pocket for my knife. With a quick flip and a gentle click the blade was out and I leaned out of the open door a little to get a better look. The body moved then making me jump back with a pair of wide eyes and half of a scream lodged in my throat. I was about to wildly throw myself forward and plunge the knife into his throat when he spoke.
“What the hell are ya’ all jumpy for?” I froze at the sound of Daryl’s voice and then vaguely recalled that I had asked for him to stay with me before I had passed out.
Feeling mortified that I had almost attacked him I hid the knife in the crack of the seat and sat up. “I didn’t think that ya’ would stay.”
The waxing moon offered very little light this night because of all of the clouds but a small amount managed to sneak through, casting a blue-ish glow to Daryl’s features as he notched his head up to look at me. His blue eyes sparkled with the heavenly glow making them even more breathtakingly beautiful. My heart was going crazy inside of my chest as I stared into those eyes and my throat felt tight.
His southern drawl was as tempting as warm honey when he huskily whispered, “Said I would.”
My chest grew tight with a warm liquid that slowly slid into the pit of my stomach. My eyes drifted from his gorgeous blue eyes, to the chiseled sides of his jaw and finally down to perfectly formed lips. I don’t know why but suddenly I had this overwhelming desire to touch them. Knowing that it was strange for me to even think of such a thing I moved my hands underneath my upper thigh to help subdue my temptation.
“A little chilly outside don’t ya think?” I pried my eyes away from his lips and looked back into his eyes. “Ya’ could have come in here if ya’ wanted to.” I gestured to the empty space besides me.
Daryl gave a shrug of his shoulders before turning his attention to the far off campsite. “Always preferred sleeping outside, besides… ” He picked himself up off of the ground and slung the strap of his cross bow over his shoulder. “Cold breeze kept me alert.”
“I see.” I said feeling a little more warmth sink into my chest. Knowing that he had been awake this whole time kept watch over me made me feel…cared for. A sense of caring for him filled me as well as I watched him slowly moving away towards the camp, suddenly I had this need spill out what was on my mind. “I want to go to Fort Benning.”
Daryl stopped instantly and looked over his shoulder at me, a frown forming on his face. “What?”
I slid out of my car and pulled my jacket tightly around my body to try and protect it from the cold. “I need to see if Adam is really dead.”
He face me fully now and but didn’t budge from his spot. “Rick said that it was gone Evie.”
“No,” I countered. “It was folks from Bryan’s group that said that. It’s not that unlikely that those men couldn’t have lied ya’ know and even if they did happen to be telling the truth there is still a chance that he’s…..He could still be alive.”
Daryl was already shaking his head. “I understand your need to see if your brother is really dead, I get it better than anyone else could but putting yourself in danger on just a chance. That’s not right.”
“He’s still alive.” I cried tightening my grip on my jacket. “I know he is.”
“Rick’s not gonna let ya’ leave and the group’s not going to want to leave this safe haven.”
“I can leave if want to. I ain’t a part of this damn group and Rick can’t stop me.” I spat.
Daryl’s eyes hardened into a glare as he took a few steps towards me. He stopped inches away from me and leaned his face in closer. I kept my head held high as I sneered into his threatening glare. “Rick might not be able to stop ya’ but I sure as hell can.”
I scoffed. “No ya’ can’t Daryl.”
Something fierce simmered behind his cold gaze and I saw the twitch in his jaw as he took a slight step back. “Try.”
I looked at the small gap he made between us and felt a little bit of my anger disappear. Given the fact that I had been trained all of my life in combat I knew that I could get away from him without any problems but a strange feeling held me back. I didn’t want to fight with Daryl and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to deal with being alone again. No matter how tough and well trained I was I didn’t want to go back out into this hell by myself, so maybe it was best to wait…at least for now.
With an aggravated sigh I ran my hand through my dirty hair and turned away from him. “I’ll stay for now Daryl, but ya’ all can’t keep me here forever.”
I had managed to hop back into my ‘tank’ and get comfortable before Daryl responded. “We’ll see.” He scoffed and then walked back to camp.
♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠ ♠
A week passed with nothing eventful really happening. Randall stayed cooped up in a horse stall in the barn while Beth recovering in her bedroom. Rick and Shane had convinced Randall that he had been hallucinating when they had brought him in for surgery and that I had never been there. Randall seemed a little sketchy about the whole thing but Rick told me that as long as I stayed out of sight then there shouldn’t be any problems.
Daryl went off hunting a lot nowadays and every time I saw his figure walking towards those woods alone I felt scared that it would be the last I saw of him. It wasn’t that I thought that he couldn’t handle a few Geeks…or walkers, but Bryan’s group was out there looking for me. What if they came across him or something?
For days that he was gone I would sit on top of my car and wait for his return which normally didn’t come until late into the night. When he did return he would go straight to his tent and I would breathe a little more easily. Daryl had made another trip out to the woods this morning alone but this time I didn’t feel so nervous about him leaving. I mean an entire week had passed and so far there were no signs of Bryan’s gang so I shouldn’t be worried…right?
Rick must have thought the same thing because he planned on taking Randall somewhere far away and dropping him off. Of course I was fine with this simple because Hershel had told me how screwed up his one leg was and I doubted that the boy would make it a day out there alone much less find his way back to his group. Shane and Rick had left with him a little after Daryl had gone hunting.
It was now around mid-day with the warm sun beating down on my exposed shoulders. The heat felt soothing against my pale skin as I sat up on my ‘tank’ and every once in a while I would take a sip of my bottled water. I was running a little low on my own supplies seeing as how it hadn’t rained in a while and Rick wouldn’t let me leave the farm to go on runs so I was out of luck.
“Mama was wondering if you would like to have lunch with us.” I moved my shades down a little and looked down at the side of my car. Little Sophia was standing there with her doll tightly held to her chest and Lori’s son Carl by her side. The boy was wearing his father’s sheriff hat and his look he gave me reminded me nothing of a child.
I smiled down at Sophia, truly happy to see her again and nodded my head. “I would like that very much sweetie.” I slid down off the top of my car, to the hood and then jumped off. I dusted my hands off on the upper half of my jeans. “What’s your mama making?”
She smiled as she rocked back on her feet cheerfully. “Sandwiches.”
“Ah,” I smiled and started following them to the farmhouse. Carl for some reason felt the need to walk in front of us and it only made me smile even more. “So Carl,” He looked over his shoulder at me as he walked.
“Yeah?”
“Are ya’ excited to be a big brother?” At some point during the week the entire group had been informed on Lori’s pregnancy so I knew that it would come as no surprise to her son.
The little boy smiled up at me, “Yeah but I wish I knew if it was going to be a little brother or not.”
“Ya want a little brother?” I wondered happily.
He nodded before turning his attention back to the house. “Yea that way I can teach him how to shoot.”
I hadn’t been expecting that kind of answer at all. The smile dropped off of my face as I watched the two children run up the porch steps.
Sophia made a pouting face at Carl. “You can teach a girl to shoot just as well as a boy.”
Carl rolled his eyes at Sophia. “Yea but girls are slower than men at it. By the time you pull the trigger the walker would have already taken a bite out of you. Dead in seconds.”
Horrified that these two children were talking about this with such a care free attitude made my stomach turn. It wasn’t right for them to be talking about shooting guns and death so easily. It just shouldn’t but I kept my mouth shut. After all, Adam wasn’t much older than them and he knew how to kill people and shoot a gun well before the world ended. When I thought about it like that and how the world was now I understood their need to learn how to protect themselves, but it still didn’t sit right with me.
Carl and Sophia continued on with their banter once we entered the house and ran off into the living room to play. I heard the two women yelling as soon as I entered the house and instantly went in that direction. Carol was leaning up against the wall near the kitchen entrance with a plate of sandwiches in her hands.
“What’s going on?” I asked forcing Carol to meet my eyes.
She looked in the direction of the kitchen and shrugged. “Lori is arguing with Andrea. I guess Beth took a knife to try and kill herself with, but Lori took it away before anything could happen. Andrea says that it wasn’t her place to do that and that if Beth wanted to end her life then she could.”
“My god.” I stated taking a step closer to Carol. “What is Andrea thinking?”
Carol smiled sadly and nodded. “I’m not really sure but I’m sure Lori will change her mind.” She looked up into my eyes and offered me a sandwich.
I snatched one up and followed her into the living room where the children were. They greedily took a few slices before running outside to play. Carol and I sat on the couch in silence listening to the argument in the next room. It was getting really heated now and Carol must have been feeling a little bad to ease drop so she started up her own conversation.
“I never really got the chance to thank you for saving my daughter.” I finished up the last bit of my sandwich before shaking my head.
“There is no need for that.” I started. “I’m sure anyone would have done the same thing if they had the chance.”
She smiled a little before looking down at her hands. “I don’t think they would. Out of everyone in this group I think that Daryl would have been the only person who truly would have.”
I frowned. “Why would ya’ say something like that?”
She shrugged her shoulders at me before she fiddled with a ring on her finger. “When she was missing he was the only person that believed that she was still alive. Every day he would go out looking for her and ran himself ragged doing it. He got shot at and injured and still he had faith that he would find her even after I had lost hope. Daryl’s the only one here with a good heart.”
I knew that Daryl was a good man from the first moment I saw him but hearing Carol talk about him made him into something almost dream like. I was about to comment on my own thoughts on Daryl when a scream rang through the house. Carol and I looked at each other for a split moment before nodding our heads in a silent agreement.
She went outside calling for the children while I ran upstairs, yanking my knife out of my pocket as I went. I heard a lot of banging and ran in that direction. The banging suddenly stopped and the sound of women crying filled the hallway. My heart was pounding in my chest as I ran into Beth’s bedroom and found Lori, Maggie and Beth all huddled in the bathroom.
With a relieved sigh I snapped my knife closed and shoved it back into my pocket. I was going to yell at them for getting me and Carol all freaked out when I sat the blood dripping onto the floor.
“What happened?” I asked walking into the small washroom.
Maggie looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “She cut herself.”
I looked down at Maggie’s hands and noticed the blood trickling out from between her fingers as she held down on her sister’s wrist. With no hesitation at all I grabbed ahold of my longer white tank and yanked ripped off some spare cloth. “I need you to go get me some hot water from the kitchen Lori.”
The woman didn’t waste a second as she ran from the room. I gently moved Maggie’s hands away from Beth’s wrist and looked at the damage. The cut had sliced through a minor vein so it wasn’t life threatening but if it had been any deeper we would have had problems.
I wrapped the cloth around Beth’s wrist as she cried, mumbling out about how sorry she was and asking her sister to forgive her. “Maggie I need ya to go find your daddy’s stitches and thread for me.”
She looked over at me worriedly. “Is it that bad?”
I shook my head from side to side. “Not as bad as it could have been.” I looked over at Beth’s red and blotchy face. “The cut was shallow but it’s still gonna need some stiches.”
Maggie nodded over at me thankfully before pressing her lips against her sister’s forehead. “I’ll be right back.”
Once Maggie was gone I lead Beth over to the bed and made her sit. She was blubbering out something but I couldn’t understand a single word of it so I simple stuck to adding pressure and keep her wrist raised.
When Maggie and Lori returned with what I had asked from them I went to work on Beth’s arm. I had been taught a few things for survival reasons so I knew how to stitch up a wound. I made quick work of it and when I was done I tore off another strip from my shirt and wrapped the stitching. Only after that did I ask Beth about why she had tried committing suicide.
She told me that she did it because she was afraid. She was afraid of living and losing everyone she had ever cared about. I could understand her fear of losing everyone because I had but killing yourself wasn’t the answer. I told her that she had to be strong, strong enough to protect those that she loved so that she would never have to deal with the pain of losing them.
After Beth calmed down she told Maggie that it had been Andrea who had left her alone in the room. Maggie and Lori both became furious with the woman and rand from the room. I smiled over at Beth reassuringly before following after them. I didn’t really want to confront Andrea about anything because this was all the groups’ problem. I only followed because I wanted to go back to the quietness of my car.
I saw Maggie stomping her way down the porch steps toward Andrea who had been running back to the house. Realizing that I was going to have to go through the front door to get out I let out a sigh.
“Where were you?” Maggie asked angrily from the porch step.
Andrea tried looking around her for Beth and when she only saw Lori and me standing in the doorway she looked back at Maggie. “I heard. Is she all right?”
“She would be if you had stayed with her. Where were you?” Maggie demanded.
“How bad is she?” Andrea asked Maggie ignoring her question once again. I frowned at Andrea and felt my own anger start to boil up at the way she was behaving.
“It wasn’t deep.” Lori answered looking down at Andrea from the porch.
Andrea let out a relieved sigh as a smiled formed on her lips. “She wants to live.” She spoke looking back at Maggie. “She made her decision.”
“She tried to kill herself.” Maggie snapped.
“No, she didn’t.” Andrea shook her head with an all knowing expression covering her face.
I noticed Maggie’s shoulder’s growing more tense and her back straightening up to her full height. “Evelyn had to stitch up her wrist.”
Andrea didn’t seem fazed by Maggie at all as she reasoned. “She’ll live.” She then tried walking around Maggie so that she could go into the house but Maggie moved to block her.
“Stay away from her.” She spoke in a low angry voice that had Andrea taking a step back. It was then that Andrea realized how serious Maggie was and Maggie knew it. “From both of us. Don’t you dare step foot inside this house again.”
Andrea looked from Maggie and up to me and Lori. I glared down at the woman feeling my own rage pick up the longer I looked at her. She realized that she wasn’t going to get any help from either of us and nodded her head to Maggie before walking away. Maggie turned and walked back up the steps and I started heading down them when I heard Lori talking to Maggie.
“I’m not going to say that she was right but Beth has made her choice. She wants to live and now she knows it.” I stopped walking and looked back at Lori. She let out a sigh before continuing. “And sometimes you have to cross the line.”
I scoffed from the steps at Lori. “Leaving someone who was scared and broken like that alone wasn’t right. I don’t care what ya’ say to justify what Andrea did, she was still in the wrong.”
Lori puckered her lips at me and I could see that she didn’t agree. “But now Beth won’t try it again.”
I laughed dryly at her. “Ya’ sure about that? I was the one who stitched her up not ya’. If the glass would have been a little bit thinner she would have cut a major vein and bled out in minutes. What the girl needed was support and Andrea neglected that. I don’t know what is going on with your group but ya’ need to fix it.”
“There is nothing wrong with our group.” She said defensively.
I scoffed. “Oh really? Then explain to me why ya didn’t come back for me. Why ya’ and Shane left me stranded in the middle of nowhere after the wreck. Ya’ begged me to come along even though I wasn’t a part of the group and then left me in the road like trash.”
Her eyes grew wide and I knew that she hadn’t been expecting me to bring it back up. “What?”
I took an angry step forward and shoved my finger in her direction. “Ya’ group is broken. Fix it before I ditch ya’ and take the damn vaccinations with me.”
With that I spun around on my heels and stomped through the yard. I was still fuming from the whole ordeal when I saw a car pulling to the dirt driveway. I looked up to see Rick in the passenger’s side with gun pointed at the driver. At first I thought he was pointing it at Shane but as the car came closer I saw that it was Randall.
Something must have gone wrong with Rick and Shane dropping the boy off because I could think of no other reason for letting him come back her. His black eyes met with mine and a smile formed across his lips. I started cursing at myself for letting him see me because now he defiantly knew that I had not been a hallucination. Judging by the way his cold black eyes were glued on me I could see that he wasn’t going to forget about me a second time.