The sound of lips smashing clogged my ears. How long could they keep this up for? I cleared my throat, trying to attract their attention. They still didn't stop.
I rolled my eyes in annoyance before grabbing Dakota's elbow and pulling her back. Her and Merle's lips finally separated. Dakota pouted as an amused expression crossed Merle's face.
"Are you done?" I asked. My voice was filled with annoyance.
Merle noticed my lack of enthusiasm at their makeout session and smirked as he enjoyed annoying me — especially with my sister. Let's just say that this wasn't the first time I've had to watch those two suck each other's faces.
"We were just gettin' started." He retorted. Dakota pecked his lips, and I resisted the urge to kick him where the sun doesn't shine — it would make me look like the bad guy even though he was the one provoking me.
Dakota hated seeing her boyfriend and sister fight, so I was the one who had to tolerate it all while he did whatever he wanted.
"Be safe, alright?" She demanded. He gave her a genuine smile. That's a sight you don't see every day — or, you know, ever. She was the only one who could make him smile like that.
Sometimes I wondered if it was even an actual genuine smile or simply the most genuine he could get — probably the latter — but Dakota was pleased with it, and that was all that apparently mattered.
"Of course, sweetheart," He said. I gave them a stern look. If I had to watch their lovey-dovey shit for another second, I would've gouged my eyes out.
There were people who were ten times more obnoxious than them, but the fact that it was my own sister made me want to puke. There was no solitude in the apocalypse when you were in a group, which meant I had to watch that shit all the time.
"Okay, you've said your goodbyes," I said, "Now you can go on that run."
Dakota rolled her eyes as Merle kissed her forehead. Again with the lovey-dovey shit.
I was not here to watch a romantic movie, I was asked to fetch Dakota for laundry duty. Carol knew better than to expect me to participate in such tasks — my personality often clashed with others'.
We watched as he walked towards the other members for the run, and Dakota turned to me. "Why don't you like Merle?"
"I think the better question is why you do," I said, "The guy's a completely loose canon, has no filter and is a general asshole."
What she saw in him was beyond me. Maybe there was some good in Merle, but it was really deep, deep, deep down inside of him. It just didn't seem worth the trouble.
Her choice was quite limited in the apocalypse, but she could've just been single with me and not think about the asshole that was Merle. She always seemed to fall for the wrong men.
"It has nothing to do with your hate towards his brother? Daryl?"
"Don't remind me. For once, that asshole has nothing to do with this. He can rot in hell for all I care," I snapped. Dakota chuckled and I scowled.
The Dixon brothers were the biggest assholes I had ever met — both of them acted so innocent, accusing others for their own mistakes.
If it were up to me, the group would have rejected them weeks ago. But nope, we needed them for 'protection and food'.
"You still mad about that accident?" She asked.
"Accident? The guy's a perfect shot yet somehow the arrow 'accidentally' lodged itself into the tree inches from my head? And then he blamed me for what he'd done, saying I was standing on the wrong side of the camp or something. It's bullshit."
A chuckle left her lips as I clenched my jaw. Anger filled my body as I took a deep breath, trying to calm down.
Of course, everyone else thought it was a genuine accident and that I was overreacting. That boosted the asshole's ego, and we have been at each other's throats since.
"Oh, remember how your face got all red and you tried to lunge at him, but Ryan stopped you? Good times, good times." Dakota said.
I rolled my eyes before pushing her towards Carol, who was already waving her over for laundry duty. I sighed, glancing at Abby and Sophia near the lake.
Thankfully, Abby was the one sister that I didn't have to worry about when it came to sexual activities. Instead, it was her safety that kept my mind occupied.
Four siblings, one apocalypse. What could possibly go wrong?
---------
I glanced at Ryan, my third sibling, to see him making out with Amy. What was up with my siblings and making out with people? Was I the only one who wasn't looking for a romantic adventure?
It had only been a day since Merle went on the run, but Dakota had already started complaining. How much can she miss him after one day?
The radio on Dale's van switched on, the members of our group's voices emitting from it.
"Hello? Hello? Reception's bad on this side. Repeat, repeat." Dale said.
"Is that them?" Lori asked. Who else could it have been? This radio channel was specifically chosen for the purpose of contacting each other in case of an emergency.
Other survivors could be reaching out, but that was a long shot. It had been too long since the outbreak for someone to be using the radio to contact other survivors — most people have given up on technology by now.
"We're trapped in the department store." T-Dog's voice cut through the radio.
"Did he say they're trapped?" Ryan asked.
"Yeah." Shane nodded. My eyes narrowed at him.
The guy was annoying as hell, but apparently if you voiced your opinion about him, everyone would disagree. Like, I get that he protects the camp and all that, but that doesn't mean I have to like the guy.
If anything, the attitude he gets when 'protecting' our camp makes me like him even less.
"Geeks all over the place," said T-Dog, "Hundreds of 'em."
"T-Dog, repeat that last, repeat."
I watched Dakota's expression fall. Frowning, I immediately offered to go get them. My proposal was quickly shut down by Shane who claimed they knew the risks.
In turn, Dakota almost lunged at him, but Ryan held her back. Despite my dislike of most of the group, they didn't deserve to die by flesh eating monsters — well, perhaps Merle did a little bit, but not the others.
As Ryan went to comfort Amy, I stuck with Dakota. If things got bad and Merle didn't return, she'd need me to pick up the pieces of her broken heart. We've been here before.
--------
"He'll be back, Dakota," I assured her, "He always is."
She bit her lip as she paced in front of our tent. It wasn't like they'd known each other long enough to be in love.
My guess was that there was way too much free time, Merle was decent looking, and so they decided to waste time sleeping together.
I never understood why she looked for a relationship with him. All he did was disappoint her.
"I know," She sighed, "but who knows what could've happened to him? They said the department store was overrun."
"It's Merle, he's probably insulting T-Dog or something. You know him better than anyone. He'll survive." I said.
Before she could reply, sirens began roaring in the distance. "What the hell?"
I got up quickly; the noise was nearly foreign after so long. After the outbreak, silence filled the air and it was difficult to not be overwhelmed by it. There used to be cars and machine hums — now there was only silence and groans of the dead.
"Abby, Ryan!" Dakota called. Ryan went to her and Abby ran to me. I threw an arm around her as a way of protecting her and keeping her safe.
If you glanced at the four of us, you wouldn't think we were even related. We never quite seemed to fit together. We used to get teased that we weren't actual siblings and that our parents must've adopted us.
Although, the theory could've been true considering the age difference between us.
Dakota was the oldest and was almost thirty years older than Abby. Our mother had kids both very young and very old. Our personalities were too similar for us not to be siblings though, and I do remember my mother being pregnant with Ryan and Abby.
"Is it them? Are they back?" Amy asked. Ryan's eyes flew to hers as I scowled. While Dakota fell for the wrong guys, Ryan just fell.
It hadn't even been a few weeks since he'd known her, and he already cared for Amy more than an average person would.
Although I pointed out she wasn't the right girl for him, I didn't have the guts to tell him she wasn't in love with him. He was just there, like Merle was.
"I'll be damned," said Dale.
"What is it?"
"Stolen car is my guess." He retorted.
The red car approached the group, parking right in front of us. Glenn came out grinning from ear to ear. A sigh of relief left Ryan's lips at the sight of him.
The two were both men of delivery which is why they got along so well. They, unlike a lot of people here, had something in common.
"Nice car, dude, but maybe turn that thing off before it attracts all the geeks," said Ryan.
"I don't know how!" Glenn shouted. They continued shouting back and forth, trying to figure out how to turn it off.
For the first time in his life, Shane was useful as my ears were ten times better without sirens blaring when he turned them off.
The others discussed what happened to the rest of the run party. Besides Glenn getting an expensive car, we didn't know much of what went down.
"Yeah, they're all okay... Well, Merle not so much." Glenn said sheepishly.
Dakota narrowed her eyes at his words. Oh boy, this would not go well — when she cared about someone, Dakota could be extremely fierce.
Too much at times; that was the one trait that the both of us shared. Unfortunately, it came from our mother, who gave us nothing useful in life. "What do you mean? What did you do?"
He flinched at the sharpness of her tone and went to reply when Shane interrupted him. He started lecturing Glenn on being more careful while he claimed that because of Glenn we'd get more walkers attracted to us.
While Dale stated that the group should be fine, a van parked behind the car. Andrea, Amy's sister, came out first.
"Amy!"
"Andrea!"
They hugged and Ryan smiled at his little girlfriend being happy. Although I disliked both of them, even I could be pleased that the two sisters reunited.
If there's anything I can understand, then that's the importance of family. I would give up my own life, without hesitation, for my siblings.
"How'd y'all get out of there anyway?" Shane asked.
"New guy, he got us out."
"New guy? What about Merle? Where is he?" Dakota bombarded them with questions, her eyes wild.
She was once ignored and I could see the frustration building inside her. Unlike me, she had just a tiny bit more patience in these situations.
Morales called the 'new guy' and he exited the van: my eyes sharpened at his sheriff's uniform — he looked out of place. It was even worse when he started crying, which made no sense to me.
I frowned, wondering if he was ill or something.
"Dad! Dad!" Carl yelled. The kid brushed past me into the sheriff's arms.
Lori hugged the sheriff as well although she looked more shocked than happy. She was probably shocked since she slept with Shane, and I'm assuming this was her husband.
They pulled away and I noticed the way Shane stared at them. This was going to cause trouble eventually, wasn't it?
"I hate to break up this happy reunion, but where's Merle?" I inquired, impatiently tapping my fingers against my thigh.
If they weren't going to listen to Dakota, I was going to make them listen to me. The sheriff turned to look at me, trying to collect his cool before speaking to me.
I didn't have time for his sappy family reunions, he could do that later. Dakota, however, needs to know Merle's whereabouts.
"Are you his girlfriend?" He asked.
"God no," I said, "I'd rather date the undead."
"I am." Dakota replied. He looked at her and his eyes softened. I didn't like that look on his face. It was the one you put on when you have to tell bad news to someone.
I knew for a fact that Dakota would not be satisfied with any answer that didn't guarantee Merle's safety and return.
I'd been trying to get her to relax for the last few hours and nothing had worked, so I doubt anything he says will change that.
"Back at the compartment, he threatened T-Dog's life, so I had to handcuff him on the roof. Due to unfortunate circumstances, we had to leave him behind." The sheriff explained.
"You left him there so that the geeks can get to him?" Dakota cried, "You son of a bitch!"
She lunged at him, ready to claw his eyes out but Shane held her back. The sight made my blood boil. If there was one thing that all of my siblings agreed on, then it was that if you came after one of us, you came after all of us.
I seized Shane's shoulders and hoisted him back. Dakota found herself free from his grip and landed a punch on the sheriff. He fell, though he didn't even try to fight back.
Ryan grabbed Dakota, deciding she had done enough damage. Shane went to help Ryan, but I stood in his way, more than ready to punch him the same way Dakota punched the sheriff.
"You touch them and I will feed you to the undead." I spat.
Shane held up his hands in surrender as an amused smirk tugged at his lips. I glared at him and took over Ryan's place in handling Dakota.
She struggled against my grip, but she didn't have the same rage that she did moments ago. Her chest darted up and down as she tried to catch her breath.
"Get Abby in her tent." I told Ryan. He nodded as I dragged Dakota into the woods.
Her shouts rang through the trees; they mostly consisted of insults towards the sheriff. Although I usually enjoyed her angry outbursts since they're quite rare, this time it wasn't convenient for us to be drawing this much attention to ourselves.
"Let me go!" Dakota barked, "I'll kill him."
"Be quiet!" I hissed, "We don't want the dead on us."
"I don't care." She snapped, pulling her elbow out of my grip and scowling at the direction that we came from.
It was at least some progress since she wasn't running over there to kill the sheriff. Hell, if Dakota didn't care for him, I'd have been shaking that sheriff's hand and thanking him for what he did.
"Look, I know you wanna kill Ranger Rick over there, but stop and think first. Merle isn't dead. We can go look for him first thing in the morning." I suggested.
It pained me to even think about bringing Merle back, yet we both knew that even if we didn't go after him, Daryl would. That was some comfort since I didn't feel like risking Dakota's life just so she could reunite with Merle.
She relaxed a bit, nodding in agreement. "Good." I said.
She then cracked a smile, shaking her head in amusement. I raised a brow.
"Ranger Rick?" She wondered.
Ranger Rick was the first name that came to mind when describing the guy. Just calling him sheriff didn't have the same amount of comedic effect as Ranger Rick.
It wasn't the funniest nickname I'd ever come up with, but it was enough to crack Dakota's anger.
A smirk ran along my face. "It fits him, doesn't it?"