Damn the Dead

Quicker than I thought possible, we arrived to the other side of the woods and saw about nine more people standing around an RV. I was surprised to see so many people living and traveling together, and it definitely wasn't what I was expecting.

Rick introduced us to everyone in a quick manner, I learned everyone's names relatively quickly; I was just happy to be surrounded by people again. There was Carl, Rick's son, and his wife, Lori; Carol and her daughter Sophia; Rick's friend and Deputy, Shane; T-Dog, Andrea, Dale, and Glenn. They were all really friendly and accepted Emily and I almost immediately, which was a relief.

I learned that they just came from the CDC in Atlanta a few days ago, where this crazy scientist tried to blow them up. Quietly Rick also mentioned that they had another woman with them, Jaqui, but she decided to stay at the CDC, and that they were close to losing Andrea as well. I did notice that she was acting quite distant from the group and spent most of her time inside the RV.

I noticed that everyone looked exhausted, and with good reason, too. They are lucky to have even made it out of the CDC alive, especially with a group as big as theirs.

Emily and I told them of our plan to find our father in Savannah, but we were going to stop in Atlanta to see if there was a possible "safe zone". We were told that there was no "safe zone" in Atlanta, and that they were swamped with walkers. I shuddered at the thought of my sister and I walking into this city, not knowing any of this. We would definitely be walker chow; there was no doubt about it. It doesn't matter how many guns you have, if too many attack at once, there is no hope of getting out alive.

When Daryl wasn't around I asked T-Dog why he was such a dick, and I learned that he recently lost his brother in Atlanta. "We went back to get him, but the fucker sawed his own hand off and left it on the roof. Daryl has always been distant and pissy, but ever since he lost Merle, it's just gotten worse." I glanced up and saw that Daryl had been walking by when T-Dog said that last part, but he just strode away without a single word.

T-Dog let out the breath he had been holding, "He doesn't like me very much, since I was the one who dropped the damned cuff key." Without another word, he went to join Dale and Glenn by the RV.



"So, how long do you guys plan to stay here?" Emily asked, as we sat around a mini fire in the woods later that night.

"We'll probably leave tomorrow. We're still too close to the city, too close to the walkers for my liking," Rick replied. Emily just nodded her head as she reached in her bag and pulled out an MRE.

"What is that?" Carl asked, pointing at the packaged food.

"These are called MRE's, which stands for Meals Ready to Eat. Kait and I's dad is in the National Guard, and he stocked up on this stuff. They're pretty decent. It comes with an entrée, side, dessert, and a drink. The whole sha-bang," Emily said.

"Speaking of which, what kind of food and supplies do you guys have?" I asked, looking around at the group.

"Not much," said Lori, "just some canned foods, and whatever Daryl manages to get in the woods, which is mostly squirrel."

I nodded my head, before turning towards my backpack. I unzipped the compartment that I kept my MRE's in, and pulled them all out. "Well, I have enough MRE's here for everyone tonight and some tomorrow. I'm sure we can find another military supply house and get some more sometime. So here, take what you want," I said with a smile.

"You don't have to Kaitlyn, that's okay. We're just fine with the canned stuff," Lori urged.

"No," I said looking over at Emily, "we can share ours, I mean it's the least we can do. These are like actual meals, and it wouldn't be fair of us not to share. You guys look like you've had one hell of a day."

Emily nodded her head, and reached into her bag to get her vegetarian MRE's. Everyone seemed grateful, and took a package of whatever they wanted. Everyone except for Daryl that is, who claimed he wasn't hungry. I hid one in my backpack to give to him later. The guy was a douche, but I'm not gonna let him starve.

When it came time to go to sleep, I suggested that I stay up and be on watch with Glenn, but everyone quickly dismissed that idea. T-Dog volunteered to go on watch, but he looked so tired and I felt bad.

"No, really. It's not a problem. T-Dog looks exhausted, he deserves some sleep," I told everyone. We compromised that I would sleep a little first, and then take T-Dog's shift afterwards.

Then there was the problem of deciding where Emily and I would sleep. Since T-Dog and Glenn shared a tent, they offered it to us while they were on watch and we gladly accepted. As I was about to climb into my tent I saw that Daryl had his own tent as well, but it was set farther away then everyone else's. He was sitting outside of it with his own fire, cleaning his arrows. Our eyes met briefly and I gave him a tiny smile, before reaching into my bag and retrieving the MRE. I walked over to him, and tossed it next to him.

"Here, its chicken with dumplings, you look hungry." He looked over at the package of food before looking back at me.

"You know how to make it?" I asked, hands on my hips.

"Yeah, I'll figure it out," he replied focusing back on his arrows. Rolling me eyes, I reached down and grabbed the MRE before opening it for him and getting everything situated. It didn't take any longer than five minutes, and before he knew it, I was shoving the chicken in his face.

Slowly, he reached for it, brushing my hand with his as he grabbed it. "Thanks," he mumbled as I got up. I stood there for a few moments, before turning around and going back to the tent.



Gasping, I woke up not realizing where I was. As my sight adjusted, I remembered meeting Rick and Daryl and coming back to their camp with them yesterday. Then I realized that no one woke me up for my watch, which really irritated me.

Why didn't they wake me up?

Groaning I climbed out of the tent and saw that the sun was just now raising in the distance. Barely anyone was up yet, only Dale and Daryl were up, as they were the ones on watch. I stumbled over to them, crossing my arms. "Why didn't anyone wake me for my shift?" I asked with a yawn.

Dale glanced from me to Daryl before shrugging. I looked at Daryl, whose focus was anywhere but on me. "Daryl? Why did you take my shift?" I asked a politely as I could. He never answered, and I just assumed after five minutes of standing there, that he never would.

As I turned away, he said, "T-Dog asked me to wake you, but you were out like a light, so I just decided to do it. No big deal."

I turned back to him, and he was finally looking at me. "Well, thanks," I started, then Daryl looked away, "but if you ever do that again, I will kick your ass. If I say I'm gonna take someone's shift, I'm taking it."

I heard Dale chuckle as I turned away again and went back to the tent.