Status: active

To Keep You Close to Me

That's On Us

Dale and I were on lookout on top of the RV. He held a rifle over his shoulder, whereas I was empty handed. His attire hadn’t changed much since the first time I saw him. He was still wearing that same old fishing hat and a light Hawaiian style button up shirt. I faintly heard the sound of a siren in the distance, but as it got closer, it sounded like a car alarm.

Dale stood up, put his binoculars up to his eyes and looked around. I stood up as well, looking for any clue as to where this car was coming from.

“Talk to me Dale!” Shane yelled.

“Can’t tell yet,” Dale answered. We watched and watched but there was no sign of a car. Just then, I saw the flash of red as something flew around the dirt path.

“Is it them? Are they back?” Amy called.

“I’ll be damned,” Dale muttered.

“What is it?” Amy asked.

“It’s just one car,” I announced.

“Stolen car’s my guess.” The whole group stood and watched as the red car drove up and screeched to a stop. The alarm was loud and echoed through the woods. Glenn jumped out of the car with a big smile on his face. I had to admit, that was a pretty sweet car.

Holy crap, turn that damn thing off!” Dale warned.

“I dunno how!” Glenn yelled over the alarm.

“Pop the hood,” Shane ordered, standing at the nose of the car. Amy walked up to Glenn, asking about her sister. Everyone was yelling at Glenn at once and I could tell it was overwhelming. Glenn climbed into the car to pop the hood while enduring Amy’s pestering. Shane pulled the hood open and then Jim pulled a few wires and the alarm went off.

“Is she okay? Is she coming back? Why isn’t she with you?” Amy bombarded.

“Yes! Yeah, they’re alright. Everyone’s fine. Well,” Glenn said. “Merle not so much.”

It was a good thing that Daryl wasn’t here right now. If he heard that something happened to his brother, Daryl could destroy the camp.

“What happened?” I asked.

“You crazy drivin’ this wheelin’ bastard up here? You tryna draw every walker for miles?” Shane questioned.

“I think we’re okay,” Dale suggested, earning a dirty look from Shane.

“You call bein’ stupid okay?” Shane spat.

“The alarm was echoing all over these hills. Hard to pinpoint the source,” Dale said. Shane glared at him again. “I’m not arguing, I’m just saying. It wouldn’t hurt you to think things through next time.”

“Sorry. We got a cool car,” Glenn defended nervously. A large van pulled up behind us and everyone’s attention shift. Andrea climbed out of the van first, running for Amy. Morales came next. His family ran for him, greeting him with open arms. Jacqui and T-dog were the last to come out.

“What happened to Merle?” I asked Glenn again as I pulled him aside.

“New guy cuffed him to a roof,” he told me. “Merle was beat up T-Dog and was out of control.”

“New guy?”

“Yeah, he got us out.”

“Hey helicopter boy, come say hello,” Morales called. A fifth guy climbed down out of the van and slowly walked towards the group. “He’s a cop, like you.”

He was dressed in a brown cop uniform, very similar to Shane’s. The man stood awkwardly as he noticed Carl and Lori. I looked over to Carl, who then turned his head and recognized the new man. I also notice the expression on Shane’s face soften as he suddenly recognized this man too.

“Dad!” Carl screamed, taking off running towards the man. Lori shortly ran after Carl and ran into the arms of her husband. The rest of the group stood amazed because of the unlikely reunion. Though it was heartwarming, it was also confusing. Lori and Carl both believed that he was dead. I heard many times how Shane told them that his best friend was dead.

As Lori hugged her husband, she glared at Shane, who stood there with a sadden expression. Things were about to get real awkward. Shane slept with his best friend’s wife. If that was ever revealed, I don’t know what would happen.

Lori dragged her husband, along with Carl, into their tent. The rest of us went back to what we were doing to prepare for dinner. Glenn walked up to me, silent at first. He stood there with an apologetic expression on his face.

“What?”

“I’m sorry about Merle,” he said.

“Why? I’m not the one you should be worried about. I can’t stand the man,” I told him. “Save your apologies for Daryl. He’s the one you should be worried about.”

Glenn didn’t respond. I didn’t expect him to. I figured he realized that Daryl would be upset. It was a mystery as to how Daryl could react. The fact that it was this new guy, Rick, scared me. Daryl had a hard time trusting new people as it was. And since he was the one who cuffed Merle on a roof, Daryl would be going after him first.

After dinner, the group sat around the fire. We had two separate fires going since the group was too big to fit at one pit. Carol’s family and a few others had taken over the smaller one. Her husband didn’t really allow them to interact with the rest of us. At night, they stayed to themselves.

Rick was explaining his experience after waking up from a coma to all this. He was out for a few months, and woke up in the hospital alone. I couldn’t imagine going through that, to see the world fallen apart. I don’t know how he survived.

A bunch of awkward glances were shared between Lori and Shane. I didn’t want to be there when they confronted each other. We all knew how that would end.

“Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?” Dale asked. “He won’t be happen to know his brother was left behind.”

“I’ll tell him. I dropped the key, it’s on me,” T-Dog said.

“I cuffed him, that makes him mine,” Rick retorted.

“Guys, it’s not a competition. I don’t mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy,” Glenn argued.

“Daryl isn’t like his brother,” I defended. If this were Merle, then I would totally agree with Glenn. But I know that Daryl isn’t racist. He’s only associated with whatever Merle does. I wished that he could break away from that, but he’s living in his brother’s shadow.

“I did what I did. Hell if I’m gonna hide from it,” T-Dog said.

“We could lie,” Amy suggested.

“Lying won’t help,” I told her.

“We tell the truth,” Andrea said. “Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he would’ve gotten us killed. Your husband did what was necessary and if Merle got left behind, it is no one’s fault but Merle’s.”

“And that’s what we tell Daryl?” Dale questioned and then turned to me. “Will he take that well?”

“I don’t know,” I sighed. “There’s really nothing we can say to make him take it well. We’re gonna have our hands full when he gets back from this hunt.”

“There’s something that might make him feel better. I chained that door before I ran. That staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen walkers can squeeze in at one time. Not enough to break that chain, not that padlock. My point Dixon’s alive, handcuffed on that roof. That’s on us.”
♠ ♠ ♠
Once I get into writing season two, things will start to get better and you'll see a little more of Val and Daryl's relationship. And since it's so early, is there anything you guys want to see? Don't want to see? Let me know!

Please comment! I love hearing what you guys have to say! leaveonechance, kirsti182, c976061 thank you guys for commenting!