Of Monsters and Men

Two weeks had passed since the horrible outburst from Daryl and everyone was living on edge. The fencing had just been completed and the majority of the group was moving outside. Shane, and T-Dog were pitching their tents while Dale helped Glenn move some stuff back to the RV. Emma couldn’t help but sit by the window and watch them relocate themselves back in the wilderness. She turned to her husband who had entered the room behind her and studied him for a moment.

“Do you think this is the right thing to do?” She asked softly as Carol brushed past.

Daryl grunted and crossed his arms over his chest, “Of course. Those damn people can’t keep out of our private business.”

Emma couldn’t help but frown slightly and go outside to see what the rest of the group needed from her. Merle crept into the room and clicked his tongue in a disapproving manner. He wrapped an arm around his younger brother’s shoulders and let out a coarse laugh, “The problems always start when your woman starts to question you.”

The hunter looked over at his brother with a questioning look and shook his arm off. Daryl ran a hand through his slightly overgrown hair and grabbed his crossbow before running out the back door. Merle smirked to himself before heading into the kitchen to help himself to some food left over from the night before. Surrounding himself with nature, Daryl felt more at ease. Having all the people constantly around him was starting to be a bit much for him. He leaned against a tree and thought back to a much more solitude time in his life.

The hunter spent a lot of time either tinkering with his bike or riding it. Women hardly ever crossed his mind. After his mother left, Daryl only thought they were a waste of time. It wasn’t until he met that brunette in the food market with her nice clothes and basket full of vegetables.

Daryl scratched his chin slightly as he stood before a refrigerated case. All he needed was a bag of carrots for his next door neighbor. Wy the hell where there so many different options? Just as he reached out for a bag of baby carrots, Daryl pulled it back as he spotted a different brand of carrot for the same price. He let out a soft groan of frustration and was on the brink of giving up with he felt someone give his arm a nudge.

To his left he saw a brunette, just about eye level with his shoulder. She smiled brightly at him with a pack of carrots in his hand, “Here, these taste better than those other ones you were about to grab.”

Slightly thrown off by her friendliness, Daryl gave the girl a disgruntled look, “Don’t need your help.” He grabbed the package from her hand and tossed it in his basket before turning to walk away. That’s when he heard it.

A light airy giggle drifted up to his ears, “Sure you don’t. That’s why you were staring at all your options for the past fifteen minutes, right?”

“You been watching me or something?” Daryl snapped, turning around to face her.

The girl didn’t even flinch at the harshness in his voice, “Or something... I’m Emma by the way.” She out stretched her hand which Daryl just stared at.

“Daryl.” He muttered before walking away.

Emma sighed as she helped Carol pitch her tent, “I’m really sorry you have to stay out here...”

The older woman smiled and shook her head, “It’s quite alright. I’m used to it. Besides, now we have a nice sturdy fence so we don’t always have to worry about those walkers.”

The brunette nodded slightly, still not convinced, “Maybe I can talk to Daryl tonight, try and get him to change him mind.”

“You do that, sweetie. Until then, Andrea and I will be just fine out here.”

Emma soon left Carol and joined Glenn and Dale in the trailer. Since the Dixon’s had joined the group, Emma had felt very close to Glenn and Dale. They reminded her of people she once knew, before the world went to shit. It was comforting to have people she could talk to that wasn’t her husband or his brother. She took a seat beside Glenn and rested her head on his shoulder.

“You doing okay?” He asked tossing an arm around her shoulder.

“I guess so... I’m real glad you guys are back.” Emma sighed softly closing her eyes.

Dale sat down opposite the two young adults, “You want to talk about what happened earlier?”

Emma shrugged, knowing Dale would continue to gently pry until he got an answer, “It’s still hard getting used to it, you know? I mean, he would be two right now if I hadn’t failed. Little Mikey... would he even make it this far? Would I have been a shit mother? What if-”

“You didn’t fail and you will an amazing mother.” Glenn reassured his friend, dropping his arm and rubbing small circles in the small of her back.

Dale nodded in agreement, “Losing a child doesn’t make you a failure. It makes you stronger. You’re still a young woman with your whole life ahead of you-”

“Dale, dead people are coming back to life... they’re eating people, killing people. We live in constant fear!” Emma cut the older man off and let out an angry sigh.

“No,” Dale stated sternly, “You have four walls, a roof over your head, and a fence around your home. You are surrounded by people who adore you! Just because the world isn’t in a great place doesn’t mean you can’t bring an innocent child into the world. Look at Lori and Rick, the timing isn’t great but they’re still going to give that child as much love as they possibly can.”

The RV was silent as all parties thought about the unpredictable future.