The day soon turned into evening, and the sun had set, leaving the group highlighted by the light from the fire as they gathered around together, listening to the events of that day. A mixture of shock and understanding came from the group as the story unfolded.
They had come so close to death they had fought but still survived. However, the fate of Merle Dixon remained unknown.
The group were shocked to find that Rick had handcuffed Merle to the roof of a building but not disappointed, surprised or upset.
"I put chains on the door. There's no way the geeks could push through them. Dixon is still up there," T-Dog mentioned; everyone could see he felt guilty, even though Merle had been cruel and racist towards the man.
Megan, who had stayed quiet throughout the recap, finally spoke up, "all I can say is you best be prepared to tell Daryl. He's going to be pissed," she looked around the camp, most nodding in agreement.
"She's right," Dale agreed as he poked the fire, sending sparks into the air.
"Where is he anyway?" T-Dog asked.
"Hunting," Megan replied shortly. Her mind wandered elsewhere.
The group talked amongst themselves, and as she glanced over at her brother, who was holding his son in his arms, it finally occurred to her that Rick didn't even know she was pregnant.
She wondered when the best time to tell him would be, but would there ever be a good time? She was momentarily worried that he would be angry with her. He was always so organised and methodical. A baby would mess up the plans she knew he had whirling through his mind.
"Rick, can I talk to you alone, please?" Megan asked, 'better now than when I'm in labour, screaming bloody murder and attracting every Walker in Georgia,' she thought.
Rick smiled and nodded, "sure," he replied as he removed his arm from Carl's shoulders and stood up from his seat.
Megan led him far enough away from the camp so that no one could hear but close enough that they could still be seen.
Rick spoke up first as Megan stood nervously, chewing at the skin around her fingernails, "you're nervous," he pointed out, "what's wrong?" He asked, putting both hands on his hips as he looked down at her.
Megan took a deep breath before she began to speak, "so, before all this, before you even got shot, me and Matthew had been trying for a baby," she watched him closely, trying to gauge what his upcoming reaction may be by his facial expressions. Still, he remained emotionless and nodded instead, prompting her to continue, "well, a few days before you got shot, we found out I was pregnant."
She stopped suddenly, not wanting to continue.
"Oh," Rick replied, "Oh!" He repeated as the reality of what she was saying dawned on him, "you're pregnant? You're having a baby?"
She nodded slowly, "yeah, I'm not very far along, maybe eight- ten- twelve weeks, I don't know exactly; I know it's going to be tough; I understand if you're mad-"
Rick cut her off, smiling widely at his sister, "I'm happy you got what you wanted," he put his hands on her shoulders and squeezed comfortingly, "I'm just sorry it's not that way you imagined. We will work it out, don't worry. I'll look after you."
"We, as adults, can barely survive In this world, never mind a newborn baby," she sighed, trying to hold back the tears once again, "it could already be dead."
Rick sighed and hugged her, "It's going to be okay, Meg; I'll look after you, you know that and Lori and Shane."
'Lori and Shane,' her mind wondered.
Megan had forgotten what she had seen unfold in the tent just hours ago. She was battling right and wrong, wondering whether to tell her brother what she had seen or prevent him from any more heartache. It wasn't like he could divorce Lori, leave, and only see her when he picked up his son. He was stuck with her now; there was no escaping, and the more logical side of her brain knew that Lori had thoroughly believed Rick was dead. Was it even cheating?
Megan thought about it carefully; she would give Lori a chance. If she didn't suspect anything between her and Shane again, she would forget it happened and hope Rick never found out, but if she ever saw the pair together or suspected anything, she would tell him.
__________
Hearing the birds tweet in the early hours of the morning became something Megan looked forward to. The sound was calming and somewhat comforting, and it took her mind off, reminding herself of the growls of the dead.
When Megan finally exited her tent, she was surprised that Daryl still hadn't returned from his hunting trip. She was torn between whether it was better he was away longer so her brother didn't have to deal with the repercussions of leaving Merle behind and wanting him to return sooner to get the arguments out of the way.
Regardless, she was just thankful she had no involvement, but she did worry for her brother.
She casually approached the fire, briefly greeting Andrea and Amy, who sat by the fire, grilling up some fish for breakfast. The smell made her stomach churn, and she had to force the bile back down her throat, "I don't think I'll ever enjoy fish again because of this baby-" she began to laugh, but the sound of a child screaming caught everyone's attention.
Everyone jumped into action, shouting for Carl and Sophia, who were now both screaming for their mothers. Megan followed along as Dale, Shane, Rick, and Glenn picked up the closest weapon to take with them.
They reached a small clearing by the tree line where Sophia and Carl had run from; everyone watched from a distance as the four men got a closer look.
They could hear the snarl and the crunching as a Walker chewed upon the flesh and guts of a young deer; four of Daryl's arrows were stuck into the deer's body in various places.
The smell of the walker's rotting flesh reached Megan's senses, but it was when Dale finally detached the walker's head from its body that Megan began to vomit.
"You kids okay?" Rick asked Carl and Sophia, who were hidden behind Lori and Carol's legs shaking in fear. The terrified children nodded, clinging to their parents.
"Too close for comfort," Megan muttered, spitting out the last taste of bile, "and to stomach," she groaned.
"They haven't been up this far before," Shane stated, glancing over at Rick, "we might need to think about finding someplace else, don't you think?"
The bushes rustled, and everyone raised their weapons once more. A few terrifying seconds went by before Daryl appeared, holding his crossbow up in preparation to shoot if necessary.
"Oh, come on," he groaned in frustration as he looked down at the half-chewed deer, "I've been tracking it for miles."
He began to kick the headless body of the walker that had tainted his meal, "maybe we can just cut around the chewed-up part," he suggested hopefully, but he knew it wasn't worth the risk.
He kicked the walker's head when it began to growl and snap its jaw, "Don't you people know anything? It's got to be the brain," Daryl chastised as he killed the walker for good.
He sighed and, stepped over the body and made his way to the main camp shouting out for Merle. He received no response.
"Daryl, wait up, buddy," Rick called after him, the rest of the camp following closely behind, besides Glenn and Dale, who joined together in an attempt to dispose of the corpse and deer, "Merle isn't here. There was a problem back in Atlanta," Rick finished.
A flash of red devoured Daryl. There was shouting, weapons drawn, and before he knew it, he was in a chokehold by Shane. They finally let go of Daryl, and Megan stood beside Rick.
"He's going to go back and help you look for him, right?" Megan asked Rick. She had thought about the situation a few times since she learnt of the predicament and knew that if she were in Daryl's situation, the least she would want was for those who put her brother in harm's way to try and rectify what they did.
Rick looked at Daryl and nodded, "I am," he answered sincerely, as though he had already made the decision.
Daryl tutted and walked away to his truck, muttering under his breath about police brutality and bent cops.
Megan followed him curiously, feeling sorry for the younger Dixon. She found him leaning against the side of his truck, fiddling with one of his arrows.
He looked up briefly when he felt her presence, but his attention immediately returned to his arrow.
"What do you want?" Daryl mumbled in frustration.
Megan shrugged her shoulders even though Daryl wasn't looking, "I came to see if you were okay and to say sorry."
"Sorry, won't get my brother off that roof," he scoffed. He looked at her, "I don't need your pity."
"Yeah, sorry, I'm not very good at this," she sighed, "It's just, you were there for me after- when Matthew - I-I just wanted to try and repay you," she stumbled with her words.
Daryl looked up, twiddling the arrow in his fingers; the corner of his lip twitched, almost like he was trying not to smile. "Thanks, I suppose."
Despite his words and the potential smile he was trying to hide, Megan could sense he wanted time alone.
"I'll see you around, Daryl; I hope you get the outcome you want," she said, "I'm going to go take watch. Stay safe."
_____
Megan didn't get involved with the ongoing arguments between Lori and Rick, Rick and Shane, and Glenn and Andrea. Eventually, it was decided that Rick, Daryl, T-Dog and Glenn would return to the city for Merle, the guns and not forgetting Dale's much-loved tools.
She sat on top of the RV, watching as the group gathered together to leave. She watched Daryl curiously as he walked towards the group.
She held her hand up to wave at her brother. Rick waved back before climbing into the driver's side of the truck they had brought back the day before.
Daryl looked up towards the RV, using his hands to shade his eyes from the blazing sun. He looked lost in thought, "stay safe, Megan," he eventually called up to her.
She smiled genuinely, "you too," she called back. Her smile remained as she watched Daryl jump into the back of the van.
Not even an hour later, Dale began to order Megan from the RV, insisting he took over due to the rising heat. Megan couldn't argue with Dale; she was stubborn, but in all honesty, she had been wanting to come off watch for over thirty minutes.
She climbed down the ladder, dripping with sweat, "thanks, Dale. I owe you," she let out a heavy breath.
_____________
The trip to Atlanta had been partially successful; they had retrieved the bag of guns Rick dropped but returned without Merle. Daryl was slightly reassured his brother was alive, even though he was handless and potentially bleeding to death. He knew Merle was strong in every sense of the word and hoped he had used his last brain cells to return to the quarry for help rather than vengeance.
The tricky part came when their truck was found to be stolen, which led to them running back to camp as nightfall came. Rick refused to stop, not knowing whether Merle was already back and seeking revenge. All four men jogged through the burning in their chests and the aches in their legs.
They were less than a hundred yards away from camp when they heard the first scream, then the second, third and fourth. The men briefly glanced at each other before forcing their bodies to run faster.
They eventually came through the tree line, unable to take in the scenes surrounding them. Their friends screamed, the children cried, and gunshots began to echo, but most frightening of all was the sound of the walkers as they groaned and growled, making their way closer and closer to their friends and family.
Shane was already shouting orders and attempting to guide people to the RV safely while shooting any walkers that got too close.
Bodies began to litter the ground, both of the dead and the people they knew.
The screams got louder, and the growls got closer; Daryl shot two walkers to his left, while Rick shot one that was approaching Shane without him realising. Several more shots were made, and soon, the group stood in silence; the only sound was sobs and the crackle of the fire.
"Where's Lori? Carl? Meg?" Rick asked frantically.
"I sent them to the RV," Shane answered as he kicked the body of a walker on the ground, making sure it was dead.
Rick ran to the RV, where he found everyone he loved safe and sound, apart from Megan. She wasn't in the RV, and when Rick questioned Lori, she didn't know where Megan was either.
He stepped out of the RV and looked around the camp; bodies were scattered, and the fire crackled louder than ever. He looked amongst the remaining men and women who stood around the camp but still couldn't see Megan.
"Where Megan?" He asked out loud, "She's not in there." No one responded at first, "Where's Megan?" He yelled.
Rick, Daryl and Shane all began to rally around in search of Megan, shouting her name cautiously in fear it would attract more walkers.
Rick checked and rechecked every body that littered the ground, just in case she was amongst the dead.
Daryl approached the many cars parked up in a row; as he got closer, he heard heavy breathing and sniffles. As he rounded the corner, his eyes fell on Megan, sitting on the floor leaning against his truck with her knees tucked up to her chest and her hands over her ears.
She had freaked out as soon as the first scream came from Amy as the walker took hold of her arm with its teeth. She had tried to follow the many orders being thrown around to head to the RV, but as she got closer, she found a walker blocking her path, so she ran and hid.
"You alright?" Daryl asked awkwardly when she looked up to meet his eyes.
She rapidly shook her head, no, her hands still over her ears. Despite the gunshots and growls of walkers being long gone, her brain was tricking her into thinking she could hear every bang and snarl repeatedly.
"Stop breathing so damn fast," Daryl snapped as he crouched down in front of her.
"I-I'm trying," she stuttered. She briefly removed her hands from her ears to wipe her damp face.
Daryl sighed and, put his hands over hers and took them away from her ears. "Slow your breathing down," he ordered again but in a much softer tone, "It's not good for the baby."
Megan nodded slowly and closed her eyes as she tried to imagine happier thoughts.
She thought of her husband, his laugh, his smile and the silly dance he did when he was drunk.
"I'm good, I'm good," she repeated in a whisper as her breathing began to return to normal.
Daryl nodded and quickly dropped her hands; he looked at her awkwardly for a few minutes before standing up and stepping away. "She's here, Rick!" He called out over the top of the truck.
As Rick approached, Daryl walked away, only briefly looking back as the brother and sister hugged.
"Don't do that to me again; you had me worried," Rick sighed as he helped Megan to her feet.
Megan sighed and wiped her face, "sorry," she mumbled. Always the overprotective big brother.
As they returned to the main camp, everyone stood in silence, staring at the many bodies that littered the floor; the only sounds to be heard were the crackle of the fire and Andrea's sobs as she lay over her dying sister.
The group remained on high alert for the rest of the night; no one could sleep, and many of the men had taken it upon themselves to drag the bodies of the dead away from camp.
When the sun rose, the bodies of their friends were taken to an open area to be buried. Andrea had refused to part with her sister's body until she reanimated; she had sobbed and whispered to her body, still only seeing her as her younger sister, until Amy began to snap her jaws in an attempt to attack. Andrea shot her, spraying blood across the ground nearby.
Dale eventually convinced Andrea to let him help wrap Amy's body before bringing it to the burial site.
It had been a long and very traumatic night and day for everyone involved, and it only became worse when Shane and Rick began to argue about their next destination. Everyone understood the quarry was no longer safe, and no one wanted to remain there, and many were looking to Rick for the answers.
Rick had suggested heading to the CDC, but there had been many mixed responses from the group. Some agreed in the hope they would be told of a cure, and others were against returning to the city in fear they wouldn't be able to fight off the hoard of walkers that roamed the area.
Shane, however, was firmly set on heading to Fort Benning. He insisted it would be well stocked up on all the supplies they would need, heavily guarded and willing to take in survivors. Again, his suggestion came with mixed reviews. They didn't have the fuel to waste travelling miles to possibly find a massacre.
"I ain't going anywhere with that asshole," Megan mumbled to herself as she listened to Shane list his reasons for his idea being the best option.
She heard a snigger from behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see Daryl standing with his crossbow across his back, staring at the same scene as everyone else.
"Oh, hello," she spoke awkwardly when she realised her mumbling had been heard.
Daryl didn't return her greeting but asked, "don't like him very much, do you?"
Megan shrugged her shoulders, "never really have; I've known him for as long as I can remember, but- he makes me feel uncomfortable," she finished with a whisper. She wasn't lying, but she wasn't being sincere either. She hadn't always disliked Shane, but Daryl didn't need to know the ins and outs of her complicated friendship with him.
Daryl said nothing, and Megan approached the fire, sitting on a nearby log.
Daryl appeared to contemplate his next move before sitting down across from her. The fire burned between them, sending sparks and thick smoke into the air.
"How-" he paused, "how's the baby?" He asked cautiously, pointing a finger towards her.
Megan shrugged, "I couldn't tell you, hungry, I suppose and making me feel sick as a dog every minute of the day, but it's not like I can run down to the doctor's office and get a check-up," she sighed.
Daryl grunted in response, "I guess sucks," he mumbled before chewing at his thumbnail.
Megan noticed he appeared lost in thought before he spoke again.
"I'll make sure I bring extra back when I go hunting," he finally said, looking at her carefully. "Got a few less to feed now," he muttered morbidly.
Megan smiled, "you don't have to do that, Daryl. You have enough responsibilities, and this one," she said, placing her hand on her stomach, "isn't yours. I'll manage."
Daryl shook his head, "Ain't going to let you manage. Going to make sure you both survive," he scoffed before walking away in a huff.
She hadn't quite expected such a reaction, but she knew she was a burden to the group, and it would only become worse when she inevitably gave birth, and they had an extra mouth to feed.
'If I live that long,' she thought to herself sadly.
_____
So half of this chapter was rewritten two years ago, and the other half this week. Hopefully, it still flows nicely.
Thank you for the lovely comments, I'm glad that so many of you are enjoying the rewrite!
Updates will most likely be weekly, but as soon as another chapter is rewritten and looked over I will be posting it.