Status: active

To Keep You Close to Me

Our Biggest Fear

Andrea, Amy, Carol, Jacqui and I were down at the quarry doing laundry. We all agreed that it was the most important thing to be done at the moment. We held small conversations between watching Lori and Shane argue across the lake. I speculated that it was all over Rick. I knew that Shane told her that Rick was dead, and then for her husband to come back, alive nonetheless, I’d be pissed too.

Ed was behind us, sitting on the bed of the truck, smoking a cigarette. It came as no surprise when he lingered around and watched us work. When he heard us talking, he walked over to us and stood there. He didn’t say a thing, he only stood and watched. He knew that we wouldn’t talk now that he was around. And that’s exactly what we did until Andrea opened her big mouth.

“There a problem, Ed?”

“None that concerns you,” he sneered. “You oughta focus on your work.”

“Ed, tell ya what. If you don’t like how your laundry’s done, you are more than welcome to do it yourself. Here,” she said, tossing a shirt over to Ed. He grabbed the shirt and slapped it back in her face. I noticed a similarity between Ed and Merle. Merle liked to sit back and watch as others did his work for him. The only difference is that Merle wasn’t abusive towards women.

“Ain’t my job missy,” Ed said to her, sticking his cigarette back into his mouth.

“Andrea, don’t,” Amy warned.

“What is your job Ed?” Andrea pressed. “Sitting around smoking cigarettes all day?”

“Sure ain’t listenin’ to some uppity smart mouth bitch, that’s what. C’mon, let’s go,” he ordered to Carol.

“I don’t think she has to go anywhere with you,” Andrea spat. At that very moment, we were all wishing that Andrea would just shut her mouth for Carol’s sake.

“I say it ain’t none of your business,” Ed retorted. When Carol started to walk towards Ed, Andrea placed a hand on her shoulder to try and stop her. “Hey, don’t think that I won’t knock you on your ass, just ‘cause you’re some educated cooze.”

Ed beckoned Carol once more, saying that she’d regret it later.

“So she can show up with another bruise?” I questioned. Jacqui agreed. Ed began pulling Carol away, but as we tried to get her to stop following him around, Ed’s hand suddenly flew across her face. Out of nowhere, Shane came up behind Ed and pulled him away from us. Shane pushed Ed to the ground and started pounding his fist against Ed’s face. I could see the blood running down Ed’s disgusting face and covering Shane’s hand. Once Shane had had enough, he gave one last kick and walked back off to camp. Carol ran over to Ed and cradled his head.

“I think we’re done here,” I said and walked back to the water. I grabbed my clothes and stuffed them in a bucket.

When I got back, Shane was sitting in his chair, cleaning his gun. I walked by with my bucket full Daryl’s and my clothes, but before I could get to a clothes rack, he called me over.

“I’m sorry about what I had to do with Daryl, but I couldn’t let him go after Rick like that,” he said, looking straight into my eyes. He had a look of guilt on his face from his prior actions.

“I understand,” I said quietly, as if I was ashamed of Daryl. “Daryl can get out of hand sometimes. I’m just glad that they could pull together and go back.”

“Wouldn’t say I’m happy about it,” he argued.

“Why?” I asked, turning to face him.

“Lemme ask you somethin’. What if those geeks got to Merle? You think Daryl’s going to hug Rick and thank him for the ride?”

“He wouldn’t kill Rick,” I sighed. “I know he comes off as angry and mean, but he’s not. He’s just misunderstood.”

“I guess you know him better than the rest of us,” Shane nodded.

“Hey, what you did back there,” I started, “I’m kinda glad you did it. I couldn’t bear to see Carol with another bruise on her. I think it’s about time someone showed Ed what it feels like.”

“Wish it didn’t have to go own that way,” he replied. He stared at me for a brief moment before he picked up his gun and scraped it with the small brush. I took that as a sign that our conversation was now over, so I picked up my bucket and carried it to the clothes line we set up. I pinned each individual garment onto a line.

“Val!” Amy called as she approached with a fishing pole in her hand.

“What’s up?”

“Me and Andrea are gonna go fishing, wanna come? Dale has a third pole?” she asked.

“Oh, no, I don’t really like boats,” I declined.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, I get sick,” I said. She accepted my refusal and trotted down to the lake with her sister. Daryl always wanted to take me fishing, but we could never go because I’d have a hard time keeping my lunch down.

It seemed like everyone had their own things to do, and I was the odd man out. I knew that Dale was atop of the RV so I decided to go keep him company. He could always keep a good conversation going. So I climbed up the ladder on the back of the RV and took a seat next to Dale. His gun was propped up against his lawn chair, but it wasn’t really necessary at the moment. At times, I felt like I needed a gun for safety. Daryl never let me get too close to the walkers to actually need a gun though. When the time comes, I’m sure he’ll let me have a gun, but he’ll have to teach me first. That subject was unfamiliar to me.

“Hey Dale,” I stated.

“Valerie. What brings you up here?”

“Eh, had nothing else to do. Besides, no one seems to need my help right now,” I told him.

“So you come to talk to the old man,” Dale joked. I laughed and cocked my head to the side. Dale wasn’t that old. Maybe early 60’s, I didn’t want to ask.

“I hope you’re not worrying about Daryl.” Dale certainly had a way of knowing what you were thinking without actually saying anything about it.

“I can’t help it, Dale. I know Daryl can protect himself, but it’s the city that scares me,” I explained.

“Worrying only makes it worse,” he advised.

“I know,” I confessed. Dale was looking out over the lake, watching the two girls. It was obvious that he cared deeply for those two. He had become sort of a fatherly figure to them and me as well. And that was comforting. He was giving me the kind of attention that I had yearned for from my own father. Dale had words of wisdom, which he always shared with everyone.

“What do you see in Daryl?” he asked. Taking a deep breath, I rolled my eyes. If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me that, I’d be rich.

“I’m only asking because you two seem like an unlikely couple. Just trying to start conversation,” he added.

“Daryl can be sweet when he wants to. Most people don’t see that and they don’t hesitate in judging him. Or misjudging I should say. People don’t seem to notice that about him. Once he really trusts you, he’ll do anything for you,” I said. “You have to earn Daryl’s respect.”

“I get that from him. He’s a decent man. But I’m guessing you get that question a lot?”

“More than you could imagine. None of my friends really approved. They said they did, but I knew they were lying. I don’t know why they couldn’t see past his attitude. It wasn’t like he was beating me or anything. I wouldn’t have put up with that.”

“What did your parents think?” he asked. The matter of my parents was a completely different story.

“They didn’t know him. They died awhile ago,” I said.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Dale comforted.

“I’m not.”

“Why?”

“They were always methed out. Didn’t give two shits about anything. They’re the reason I went to school, so I would never turn out like them,” I said bitterly. “Daryl was there though.”

“That’s unfortunate. I mean, good that you decided to get out of there,” Dale assured. Dale then started to talk about his wife, which I had heard about before. But he told me the whole story. They tried to have kids, but she miscarried and they never tried again. It was unfortunate. I think Dale would have been a good father. A few years ago, his wife passed away from cancer.

A little while later, Andrea and Amy had reappeared with a huge bundle of fish. Dale and I climbed down from the RV to marvel at their catch. It was amazing. We’d have a great dinner tonight. We haven’t seen this much food in awhile. Since I didn’t help catch, I volunteered to help clean the fish. Lori, Carol and I scrubbed the first and then removed the scales so that we could cook them. Everyone was commenting on how we’d be eating good tonight. While I couldn’t stop hoping that Daryl and the others would be back in time.

Shane had started the two fires as we put the fish into dishes. Once everything was prepared, we began to fry the fish. The smell from the fish had filled the air, making our mouths water. By the looks on everyone’s faces, I could tell that they were all excited. Within a few minutes, the fish were all fried up and rationed out to everyone. Lori had served the fish and Carol and I were handing the plates out.

Once everyone else started eating, Lori dished out three more servings and we joined in on the feast. For the first time in a long time, we were all laughing and having a great time cuddled by the fire. It gave me a sense of security.

The sky was completely dark now. The stars up above were visible above our heads. I leaned back in my chair and gazed at the twinkling lights. I was nervous that the others hadn’t returned. I think we all were. The night was a dangerous time to be out in the city, or anywhere for that matter.

I was finished eating. My stomach was filled to the brim from all the fish. Of course, I stored some away from Daryl’s return and even found the generosity to save some for Merle. The leftovers were divided between plates set out for Rick, Glenn and T-Dog.

Amy stood up from her chair and placed her plate onto the ground. Andrea questioned her, causing Amy to look embarrassed as she explained she just had to pee. The group laughed as Amy said it was impossible to be discreet around here.

The conversation had dwindled, allowing us to focus on the red hot embers in front of us. The fire was able to warm our bodies in the cool of night. Right now the weather was just cool enough to be able to wear a jacket and not be cold, but within the next few months, there will be a change in temperature.

“We’re out of toilet paper,” Amy called from the RV. I turned my head to look at her when I saw our biggest fear. I yelled her name to warn her, but it was too late.
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Shane's a little bitter about the situation. What do you guys think? I want to know what you guys think about this, anything. What you do/don't like. Whatever. I just want you guys to comment with your thoughts.

On another note, three days til The Walking Dead! Who is counting down the days?? I know I am!