To Keep You Close to Me

Daryl and Merle had returned a few minutes after we noticed the bombs dropping. Lori and Shane rushed back to the group and then we were soon joined by Andrea and Amy. As we all stood shocked and scared, Dale suggested heading towards a quarry.

“It’ll be safe up there. There’s a lot of space and there’s the lake. If we can get there before everyone else, we can set up camp,” Dale suggested. Everyone was thinking it over. I thought it would be a good plan since Atlanta was now blown to pieces. Most of the others agreed, except for Daryl and Merle so I pulled Daryl aside to convince him to join them.

“Daryl, we could be safe. We should join a group so there will be more protection,” I said.

“We don’t know these people!”

“So? I’ve talked to them for a little and they seem nice. They don’t seem dangerous. I don’t want to go out there alone. They just blew up the city for Christ’s sake! It can’t be safe out there anymore!”

“Fine, but if they give me any reason to doubt them, I’m leavin’,” he said. I ran back to Dale to figure out where to go. A Hispanic family had now joined the group. They asked to follow us, since they overheard us talking. Many of the cars were now turning around so we had a good chance of getting out of the jam. Dale agreed to drive ahead of everyone so we could all follow. He led the way in the big RV. Once we got off of the highway, there was no sign of any other cars being out here.

The RV rolled to a stop in front of us. Daryl questioned why he was stopping. I rolled down the window and stuck my head out. I couldn’t see anything past the RV, but as I looked around, I saw a person slowly walking in the distance. When Daryl caught site of the stumbling figure, he jumped out of the truck and grabbed his crossbow from the bed. I ordered for him to be careful as he tracked after it.

Shane came running from behind us, his handgun extended in front of him. I heard a few shots before he came running back. Daryl followed behind him and got back into the truck. Dale started driving again so we began following behind him again. We turned off onto another dirt road and followed it for about a mile. I peered down into the quarry, the water several yards below us. We continued up to the very top of the mountain. It was clear that Dale had been here before and knew the area.

We finally made it to an overlook area. Dale parked the RV along the cliff side as the other cars pulled up behind him. Everyone jumped out of their cars and crowded together in a circle. Daryl, Shane and Merle joined together and guarded the circle. Each of them had their weapon of choice, Daryl had his crossbow, Shane had his hand gun and Merle grabbed a sniper rifle out of the back of our truck. Ed, who I quickly determined was a total prick, stood with the group listening to the conversation, but not contributing.

“How long are we going to stay up here?” Lori asked the group.

“Until it’s safe to leave. We can section this area off with the cars and we’ll be safe for awhile,” Dale suggested.

“Will we even be able to survive up here? We need food and shelter, we can’t just sleep in our cars,” Lori argued.

“There’s a gas station about five miles down the road. We can go down there for food and water until we hear where to go,” Shane proposed. “Now some people gotta stay by camp, guard everything. Everyone else will need a weapon.”

Carol and her family were staying with the group as well as Amy, Dale, the Hispanic family, Lori and Carl. Daryl and Merle had both volunteered to go. Merle was only because he wants to prove himself to the group so he could become the leader and Daryl was only following his brother. I could tell that Daryl still didn’t trust these people. I volunteered to go because I wanted to be with Daryl.

We all climbed into a single car as Shane drove to the gas station. I was squeezed between Daryl and Merle in the back seat. Before we climbed into the car, Daryl handed me a machete which was now standing up on the floor between my legs. Daryl’s crossbow rested on his lap and spilled over onto mine.
The ride was silent. We were strangers to each other. I had an advantage because I knew how to handle Merle and Daryl. But with two new people, who knew how we’d all work together in this situation.

After the brief car ride, we cautiously climbed out of the car. The building and surrounding area was vacant. There were several cars parked outside, but no one stood with them. Shane, with his gun tightly gripped in his hands, slowly approached one of the empty cars. He stuck his head in the window, looking in the back of the car. He backed away from the car and returned to the group. The door to the building was open. Shane took lead and entered the building first, followed by Merle, Andrea and then me and Daryl.

It was dark inside of the building. No lights were on, not even the lights inside of the coolers, but the light from outside was good enough. We all split off in different directions around the store. Daryl stayed closer to me but did his own thing. I walked towards the back of the store near the coolers. Everyone else was in the middle and by the front of the store. It was a rather big store so we were spread far apart. I slid the door open and started grabbing water bottles and throwing them into a bag. It was clear that we wouldn’t be paying for items.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man approaching me. I thought it was Daryl because he came from that general direction. But what really caught my attention was the deep growls emitting from his mouth. I turned my body to the man just as he lunged for me. I let out a scream as I backed away, his arms extended towards me, grasping at my body. The others in the store came running for me as I fought the man.

“Val!” Daryl yelled as he lifted his crossbow and sent an arrow through the man’s head. The man fell to the floor by my feet. Daryl rushed to my side, grabbing at my shoulders.

“He scratch you?” I shook my head.

“Are you okay?” Andrea asked me. I silently nodded my head in response to her question. I was speechless. My mind was so cluttered with images of what happened today and the day when I saw my first attack.

“We should get outta here,” Shane suggested. Just then, a door along the back wall flung open. Daryl and Shane raised their weapons as three people emerged. An Asian boy ran out first followed by two black people. All three looked scared as they came face to face with us. The Asian and the other man each had a gun, which were raised at us.

“We don’t want any trouble,” the black man said. They proceeded to lower their weapons.

“We’re just looking for supplies,” the Asian told us. Shane dropped his gun, but Daryl still kept his crossbow ready. The three strangers noticed the dead man on the floor.

“We heard your screams and thought you were being attacked. I’m Glenn by the way,” the Asian said. I learned that the other two were Jacqui and Theodore, but he went by T-Dog. Merle scoffed when he heard this, earning glares from several others.

“Were you guys out on the highway?” Glenn asked.

“We were, but we got out of that mess,” I told them. I wanted to invite them to come with us. We could use the manpower for protection. “We went up to the quarry.”

Daryl protested my statement, saying that we didn’t know these people. Immediately, I silenced him, explaining my thoughts. Shane and Andrea both agreed that it would be helpful to have others with us.

“Would you want to join us? It’s safe up there,” I offered. They were all pleased to join a group, so it was official.

“Do you have a car?” Shane asked, knowing that they’d never fit in ours.