I stood back from the funeral as Rick began. The wind blew over us as we all looked down at the freshly dug grave for our friend. "Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave." I heard Carol give small cries as she stood next to Lori. "He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us, the truth, who we really are. In the end, he was talking about loosing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to fix it." I looked at my feet and felt a small tear run down my cheek. I wiped it away and looked up at Rick. "We aren't broken and were going to prove Dale wrong, from now on we do this Dale's way, we honor him." He placed down Dale's hat and we stood around, you could see the sadness in everyone's eyes.
The day went by fast as no one spoke and silence filled the air. When night came, people moved into there tents and I laid in mine, staring up at the ceiling.
"How dare you!" He slapped me across the face and May ran over to help me up, but I moved her away. "I'm okay." I signed and she nodded, moving back with the others. "You work for me, and your lucky I don't shoot your ass right now." He pulled his gun out and aimed it at my head. "Do it, end me from this torment!" I shouted, my blood boiling. "Ryan, don't, she's the strongest one." Miranda said as she walked into the room. "Miserable brat, but time is all we need and then she'll break." She motioned to the guards and they grabbed me, pulling me into a white room. "Doctor." I hissed and the man came out with a long needle. "Disobedient delinquent." He punctured me in the neck with the needle and I barely felt the pain. He then pulled a rod from a fire and held it over me. "Soon you will break my dear, be it stress or fear." The rod came down on me and I cried out as it burned my flesh.
I jolted awake, my breath shaky. I walked outside of the tent and let the cold breeze run across my face. Grabbing my jacket, I headed for the far tent and could see the crackle of a fire. I hugged my chest as the cold nipped at me, my hair falling over my shoulders. I saw Daryl fixing up his crossbow and he became alert when I stepped into view. "Mind if I join you?" He motioned his head towards the bench and I sat next to him, and saw that he was messing with the string. "Here, let me help." I carefully reached over and fixed the delicate string of the crossbow as he watched. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked and added more wood to the fire. "Pretty much." I said and watched the fire crackle and spit. He raised an eyebrow and then laid his head into my lap, where I was looking down at him. "What about you, Hillbilly?" I joked and he scoffed. "Got better things to do." I rolled my eyes and ran my uninjured hand through his brown hair. He reluctantly closed his eyes as I continued and soon soft snores came from him, causing me to giggle. I ran my thumb across his forehead and then down his cheek. He seemed so peaceful when he was asleep, so calm. The fire sparked as I stayed there watching my surroundings and glancing down at a sleeping Daryl.
"How's your hand feeling?" Lori asked as I helped her wash clothes. "It's a little sore, but it's nothing new." I gently washed a pair of jeans and a shirt, then handed them to Lori, who hung them to dry. "You miss him, don't you?" She asked and I continued to wash, looking down at the water at my reflection. "We all do, it's not just me." I said, handing her a shirt. "You two seemed close though, like you saw him as a father figure." I ignored her and handed her a pair of jeans. "Scarlett—."
"Lori, please, I'm really not in the mood to talk." I finished up and walked away from her, towards the farmhouse. I was about to go through the door, when it opened and smacked me in the face.
"Oh my god, Scarlett." Maggie ran over as I rubbed my nose. "Are you alright, I'm so sorry." I placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small smile. "I'm fine, why are you in such a rush?" I asked and pressed my back against the railing. "Heading out on a run with Glenn for more supplies." I nodded and she adjusted the bag on her shoulders. "Be careful out there, oh and you wouldn't mind bringing back some more clothes, would you?" She smiled and pulled out a small notepad. I wrote my name and "clothes" beside it. "Thanks Maggie." I said. "No problem, oh and get my dad to check out your hand, maybe clean it up again." I nodded and headed inside.
"Hey, Hershel." I said walking into the kitchen to see Hershel, sorting medical supplies. "Hello, Scarlett, how are you?" He asked and moved a box of bandages to another cabinet. "I'm getting through it. I was wondering if you could take a look at my hand." I asked and sat at the dining room table. "Of course." He brought a wet rag and a small bowl of water to the table, and slowly unwrapped my left hand. My palm was bloody, but it wasn't as much as when it was first cut. He slowly moved the wet cloth over my palm and wiped the blood from the clear cut. I winced when he pressed to hard into the cut and he ran over it gently. "Well, there's no infection, but I would kept it covered a few more days just to be safe." I nodded as he took the now pinkish rag and bowl to the sink. He then came back with new gauze and gently wrapped my hand. "Thank you, Hershel." He smiled and then went back to sorting.
As I left the house, Beth came up to me leading Carl by his hand. "Hey, Scarlett, would you mind watching Carl for a minute." I nodded and came down the stairs to sit next to Carl. He was fiddling with a pocket knife and looked up from it when I came over. "I don't believe we ever met personally, I'm Scarlett." He gave a small smile. "Carl." I smiled and then saw Beth near the barn talking to Lori. I shook it off and turned back to Carl. I watched as he took in his surroundings and watched over people. He would look at T-dog and then over at Carol, then Beth, Patricia, and Jimmy. "When do you think my dad is going to be back?" Rick and Shane went out early to try and drop Randall off again, I hope they didn't run into a problem. "I'm not sure, kid, but I'm sure they'll be back soon."
Around the afternoon, Rick and Shane pulled up and helped Randall out of the back of the car. We all walked over and people asked about what happened. "He knows Maggie." Rick said, leading the boy back into the barn. "So what do we do now." Andrea mumbled to herself. The group was stressed out about the whole Randall thing, and there was so much tension in the air. I walked into the farmhouse and spotted a guitar sitting in one of the rooms. I stepped out on the porch and took a seat, and Carl sat next to me. "Can you play?" He asked, a small smile on his face. "It's been awhile, but let's find out." I carefully stroke my fingers over the strings and heard the sweet sound of the guitar. I started to strum a tune of a song and Beth came up to listen.
She leaned her head against a beam of the porch and began to softly sing to the tune I played.
"I remember tears streaming down your face when I said I'd never let you go, when all those shadows almost killed your light."
"I remember you said don't leave me here alone, but all that's dead and gone and past tonight."
"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down."
"You'll be alright, no one can hurt you now."
"Come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."
"And don't you dare look out your window, darling everything's on fire."
"The war outside our door keeps raging on."
"Hold on to this lullaby, even when music gone."
"Just close your eyes, the sun is going down, you'll be alright, no one can hurt you now, come morning light, you and I'll be safe and sound."
"Oh oh, oh oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh oh, oh oh, oh oh."
"Just close your eyes."
"You'll be alright."
"Come morning light."
"You and I'll be safe...and...sound."
Beth's voice along with mine and others who joined in throughout the song, brought a sense of safety the camp. They all seemed to smile again and I even saw Daryl leaned against the house, listening in. I smiled and began to lightly strum the cords again as some of the group grabbed food that Hershel was laying out. "You have a beautiful voice." Beth said, stilling leaning against beam. "Thanks so do you." She smiled and pushed Carl along to get food. I slowly hummed a tune, that I thought I had forgotten. It reminded me of May and I smiled remembering how I would sign the song to her and she would watch my hands like a play.
I carefully set the guitar down as Maggie and Glenn pulled up, and started handing supplies out. Maggie came up and handed me a bag of clothes. "Thanks." I signed by accident and she looked at me confused, and I quickly whispered a thank you. Then leaned back in the chair and sorted through the clothes she brought me. Pairs of skinny jeans and button up shirts, along with some t-shirts, and some socks and undergarments. I tied the bag and walked over to my tent, shoving the bag into my bag.
I grabbed a small can of peaches from my bag and ate in silence, then pulled my dark green jacket on and walked out to the fire.
"So he knows me? I don't remember him." Maggie said to Rick as they sat around the fire. I sat down next to Carol and she gave me a small smile. I looked up to see Shane glaring at me and I rolled my eyes. He was petty, worrying about me when he should be focused on the apocalypse happening around us. I watched the fire flicker and then moved forwards to place a new piece of wood into the dying fire, it perked up at the new wood and continued burning, warmth spreading over me. "It's becoming quite cold, maybe we should move everyone into the house. With the cattle coming, this place will be a target for walkers." Everyone looked at Hershel as Maggie smiled.
Everyone left the fire to grab their stuff and move into the house. I threw my bag and bow over my shoulder, and pack up my tent, placing it in the back of the pickup. T-dog and some of the others moved the vehicles, and I did the same, moving my bike near the house. When I walked into the house, Maggie caught my arm. "Come on." She lead me up to her room and smiled. "I know you're not that big about being around crowds of people, I see you sneak away when we eat, so you can stay here with me." I placed my bag and bow to the floor, and gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Maggie." She left the room and went downstairs as I looked around the room.