To Keep You Close to Me

Daryl and I climbed into his truck, while Merle jumped on his bike. Daryl’s truck was an old beat up pick up. It took you from point A to point B, and that was it. It wasn’t fancy, but it got the job done. Daryl’s had it for as long as I’ve known him. Merle’s bike, while it was kinda cool, it was impractical. Daryl and I did all the heavy lifting while Merle drove around in all his pride and glory.

Before we had left, Daryl and Merle agreed that we needed to stop for gas. Merle drove ahead of us, the engine of his bike roaring through the air. It was a short ride until we reached the gas station. Cars flooded the parking lot as they lined up for their turn at the pump. Daryl parked the truck behind five other cars in line, while Merle drove to the other side.

Merle got off of his bike and walked over to the truck. He laughed about how he was glad they grabbed extra jugs so they could stock up while we still had the chance. He expressed that most of these people were probably on the same route as we were.

“We need to go see if Charlotte is okay. Her house is just five minutes down the road from here,” I suggested.

“I don’t think so,” Merle said.

“What? Why not? I need to see if she’s okay. We have room for her.”

“We need to get to Atlanta A.S.A.P,” Merle said slowly.

“But she’s my-”

“She ain’t my problem,” Merle sneered.

“You’re an asshole,” I spat. I crossed my arms against my chest and sat back. But then I realized that Merle was on his own. He could head to Atlanta, Daryl and I could go.

“Daryl,” I said, as I turned to him. “Please?”

Daryl alternated his gaze between me and Merle. He didn’t want to chose, but this time I would make him.

“We’ll stop by, but it best be quick,” Daryl said.

“Thank you.” Merle just scoffed and went back to his bike.

After waiting for 45 minutes, we finally made our way to the pump. Daryl filled up the truck as well as two extra jugs. He said that we could siphon gas later if we needed, but we weren’t going to stop until we reached Atlanta.

Once we were all set to move, Daryl drove out of the parking lot, allowing the next person in line to move up. I directed Daryl to Charlotte’s house and Merle followed behind. Just as Daryl stopped the car, I jumped out and ran to her front door. I knocked as quickly and as loudly as I could, calling her name. I quietly listened for any sound behind the door, but there was nothing. Not a single sound.

“What’s goin’ on over there? Where she at?” Merle called from his bike.

“I…I don’t know,” I said as I backed away from the door. “She’s not here.”

“C’mon! We ain’t got all day!” Merle yelled. I rushed back to the truck, tears lining my eyes. As I shut the door, Daryl frowned at me.

“She probably just headed to Atlanta. We’ll meet up with her there,” Daryl reassured. A single tear rolled down my cheek. Besides Daryl, she was the most important person in my life right now and it killed me to leave without her. I was afraid I’d never see her again. I was afraid I’d never see a lot of people again.

I stared out the window as my hometown flew past us. We were leaving so many things behind, so many people and so many memories. I was scared. What if Atlanta isn’t what they say it is? Everyone is heading there, what if they don’t have enough room for everyone? So many thoughts ran through my head, it made me sick. I couldn’t think about it.

“I’m scared, Daryl,” I proclaimed.

“Why?” he responded.

“Aren’t you? Daryl, this isn’t just some emergency. Cole said this is some kind of disease. Yesterday, a man bit a nurse,” I told him, the memory still fresh in my mind.

“So? He was probably crazy,” Daryl said.

“No, he wasn’t Daryl. That’s the thing. Okay, he had Alzheimer’s, but he wasn’t crazy,” I said. “He bit her arm. He bit a chunk out of her arm, pulled the flesh right off her!”

Daryl glanced over at me, “They were just covering it up with drugs, weren’t they?”

“Yeah. I don’t think they wanted people to know, but I think this is the apocalypse that people have been waiting for. Zombies, I think they’re zombies. Have you seen an attack in person?”

“No, but I’ve seen one of ‘em up close,” he told me.

“When?”

“When I was out in the woods. Tried to bite me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I exclaimed.

“Didn’t want you to worry,” he admitted. “Besides, I took care of it.”

“How?”

“The brain. Ya gotta get the brain,” he explained, eyes steady on the road. By his causality, it’d seem that the attack didn’t even faze him. He didn’t even seem worried about the situation. I’d never be able to handle that. I don’t have the strength nor do I know how to use a weapon of any sort.

Daryl briefly took his eyes off the road and looked at me. A frown appeared on his face as he noticed my fear. His right hand let go of the steering wheel and grasped my hand.

“Val, we’ll be fine,” he said sweetly.

“That’s easy for you to say,” I said. “What if things get worse and we have to fend for ourselves? You can fight and hunt. You’ve survived out in the wild. I can’t do any of that.”

“Guess it’s a good thing ya got me,” Daryl said seriously.

“Yeah, I guess,” I agreed, wrapping my hands around his hand. My eyes shifted to the road before us. The red lights flashed all around. The cars in front of us were quickly braking and soon enough, the truck rolled to a stop. Daryl cursed under his breath as he tried to see what was holding everyone up, but he was unsuccessful. Various cars around us starting beeping, but that wasn’t helping our case. There was no progress; we were stuck.

We were just outside of the city. The skyscrapers towered over the horizon. The city wasn’t lit up like I had expected, it made me nervous. I sensed that something was wrong, but then again, I was just scared. My fear could be hindering my judgment.

I looked around at all the stopped cars. People were starting to step out into the open, all searching ahead of us for the same reason. Daryl turned off the engine and flung open his door, slamming it shut behind him. I followed his lead, not wanting to be alone. An older man stepped out of an RV in front of us. He wore a Hawaiian shirt and a beige fishing hat.

“The hell’s goin’ on?” Daryl asked as he walked past the old man.

“Can’t tell for sure, but I assume too many people are trying to get into Atlanta,” the old man said. He seemed nice and easy to trust.

“I’ma find out,” Daryl said as he and Merle walked ahead.

“Don’t go too far,” I called out, staying behind. I smiled at the old man, crossing my arms.

“The name’s Dale,” the old man said while extending a hand.

Accepting his handshake, I introduced myself, “And that’s Daryl and Merle.”

“Ah, I see.” Then, two blond girls walked out of the RV. One was definitely much older than the other, but not enough for them to be mother and daughter.

“Ah, Andrea and Amy come meet Valerie,” Dale called to the two girls. I assumed they were his daughters. We greeted each other, and then they decided they were going to take a look around.

“They your daughters?” I asked.

“No, found them just outside of Atlanta just after the outbreak hit,” he explained. I nodded my head understandingly. Dale and I got to talking. I explained a little bit about my situation and we hit it off. Dale was quite the talker. He rambled on and on about his life and whatever else he could think to talk about. We started walking around, still staying close to the RV. We found a small group off to the side of the road. It seemed to be two families who were in a similar situation as Dale and me. They each had a young child with them, who were complaining about being hungry. A woman with short hair had volunteered to give them food, but was stopped by her husband. Since I knew I had some snacks in the truck, I offered them food. The young boy’s mother seemed very appreciative so I ran back to the truck and grabbed a bag.

I listed off the various snacks I had and let the children choose. I offered everyone else some, but they politely declined. Dale and I had introduced ourselves to the others. There was Lori, Shane and Carl, and then there was Carol, Ed and Sophia. Lori and Shane stepped into the woods to have a private discussion and once they were gone, I heard Sophia say something about Carl’s dad.

“That’s not my dad, my dad’s dead,” he said sternly. A few moments later, several moments later, the sound of nearby explosions filled our ears.