Living Like You're Dead

"So tell me about him." Daryl said.
"Why would you want to know?" she snapped.

They had been driving south for an hour now. The sun was setting, soon they would stop to camp - so as to avoid walkers.

"Just trying to make conversation."
"imbécile."
"Look, no need to be rude, but we've all lost someone in this. It's something we have in common, and you don't have nothing to say then fine by me." Daryl didn't like that her voice was filled with antics whenever she spoke. It may have been the prettiest voice he'd ever heard - but he knew when she wasn't being meaningful.

Adeline took a moment to register he was trying to be friendly, she was nothing but a bitch. She rolled her eyes, and tried to reconcile the way she knew how.

"He flew over with me in the hélicoptère."

"So there were two of you, or more?"

"Just him. All I had was him. Who did you loose?"

"My brother, Merle. He was all i had too. He's one stubborn sonofabitch."

"Je suis désolé - mind if I -"

"He got left behind on a scouting mission with some of the others. When I found out I was furious and ready to leave to go back ta' the city to get him, Rick, Glenn, and T. They all came back with me."

"But it didn't turn out well?"

"Well... we got in, climbed to the top of the building they'd done handcuff him too and found nothing but his fuckin' hand. We spent the next two hours looking for him, we ran into some city dwellers, but they said they hadn't seen him. And when we got back to the truck it was gone."

"Handcuffed?"

"Well Merle was bein' Merle... and they handcuffed him to keep him from attrackin' walkers. And T-Dog here... he done drop the key right down some drain."

"But at least he's still out there, right?"

"Out there or not, he's still lost."

"Oui." she nodded in agreement.

"Well what was his name?" Daryl asked.

"Who's?"

"Who da ya think?"

"Oh, Alexander. Well I just called him Alex"

"He must've had a good job to buy ya that rock." Adeline took out the stone in her pocket and looked at it - before it had seemed small - but in the midst of this chaos, she realized it was over sized. My, how perceptions change.

"He was an engineer. He helped design fuel tanks for planes, the ones I flew."

"So yer a pilot?"

"That's how I got here. That's also how we met." Addie said smiling she thought back to the day that all the pilots were introduced to the fuel system that was now "cleaner and more efficient," thanks so the engineering crew from Moulton Oil. Alex had been the key note speaker answering all the questions regarding the new system, including Adeline's.
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"Que devons-nous sauver en passant à votre système?" (What are we saving by switching to your system?) Adeline asked.

"Mes calculs suggèrent milliers chaque mois." (My calculations suggest thousands each month.)

"Nous passons beaucoup de faire des milliers? Tout cela est juste bénéficiant votre poche?" (We spend thousands to save thousands? Is all this just benefiting your own pocket?)

The crowed laughed at her spiteful criticism. They had all found the new system a waste of money. It was highly over priced to save any company and money.

"Je ne peux répondre à M. Moulton -" (I can't answer for Mr. Moulton - )

"Oh mais je pensais que la raison pour laquelle vous étiez ici." (Oh but I thought that's why you were here.)

Alex smiled back at her, amazed by her wit. The hall began clearing when the clock had struck five. When they could leave they did - it left no time for Alex to answer her question. But they looked at each other in awe. Each knowing the airline had simply wasted money. He stepped down from the podium only to ask her if she liked cream or sugar with her coffee.

"Les deux." she replied.
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"Well lucky guy I guess." Daryl stated.

"You guess?" she asked quizzically.

"Well when yer nice, yer not so bad." he said laughing.

Adeline playfully hit his arm in retribution for what he had said. But only winced when she hurt her own ribs from the movement. They drove for a short while longer until they pulled over to stop for the night.

Miles away from Alex's wounded body she felt safe. She knew it'd be weeks before she ever saw him again, and maybe yet - he was dead. She also felt strangely safe with Daryl. She looked at all these people and realized they did have something in common - everyone had lost someone.
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The moment Adeline left the fire everyone leaned in towards Daryl.
"So what's the scoop?"

"She flew over from France with her boyfriend, thats the dude who's face we done smash in
back there."

"She must've been pretty torn up."

"Not in the slightest. She says he ain't dead."

"What?"
"What!"
"What the hell?"
"Huh?"
"Wait..."
"What?"

"Ask her, I didn't understand half of the disease mumbo jumbo she said." Daryl stated.

They looked shocked, they cooked some squirrel with potatoes in a poor attempt to make a stew. When Addie came back she threw a bunch of strange leaves and grass into the pot.

"What the hell that could be poisonous."

"Oh no. Not in the slightest."

"How would you know, your a pilot not a botanist." Daryl said.

"I'm French." she sated. Everyone simply stared. "We cook."

"Like Julia?" Sophia said, her hair still in braids.

Her mother looked down amazed at her daughter, "Child. She means Julia Child. We had her books on our shelf back home."

Adeline smiled, and nodded. "Yes like Julia."