Kissing Death

Mid-afternoon

There’s way too much going on today. Apparently, Merle Dixon was left on the roof of a department store in Atlanta yesterday. I didn’t even notice that he was missing when they came back. I honestly wouldn’t care if he had fallen to the geeks. An irresponsible, racist asshole like him deserves to get eaten alive.

Daryl Dixon--who’d been off on a hunt--wasn’t too happy when he found out that Rick handcuffed his brother to a roof and left without him. T-Dog, one of the people from camp that I’m closest to, took the blame because he’d dropped the key to the cuffs. I wanted to laugh when he said that, because it’s all big karma for Merle.

Rick decided to take Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog back to Atlanta to go get Merle. Shane didn’t agree and neither did Lori. I wanted to speak up and tell Rick not to go, but it wasn’t my place. Not publicly, at least.

Ever since they left, I’ve been sitting in the tent, hoping that they’ll come back safely. Though I don’t exactly want to see Merle Dixon’s unworthy ass get saved, he’s Daryl’s brother. Knowing the feeling of losing family in such a violent environment, I wouldn’t want anyone to suffer the same way I did.

I can hear Shane shouting and Carl laughing. They must be down in the water, catching frogs. I wonder if Shane realizes that Rick is back and he needs to stop acting like a replacement father.



Nighttime - An hour past sunset

They’re still not back yet. I’m beginning to worry. T-Dog told me he would be fine, but I just couldn’t completely trust his word. And Rick didn’t say a word to me before he left. I don’t know if I should feel hurt. Then again, he isn’t mine. He belongs to Lori.

Two sisters named Andrea and Amy caught some fish for us to eat tonight. They thought it would be a good idea to bring everyone together and have a nice dinner waiting for the guys when they got back.

Jason’s calling for me. I’d better put my best smile on for him.



Nighttime - Past midnight

We were attacked. The walkers came out of nowhere while we were having dinner. The guys still weren’t back yet.

Amy was taken down first. Her screams forced us all out of our seats. I wanted to go help her, but Jason grabbed me and demanded that I stay behind Shane. He grabbed a shovel and started swinging away and severing heads.

Carl instantly grabbed my hand and asked me if I was okay. “Yes, I’m alright,” I told him. “You stay between me and your mom and we’ll keep you safe.” Lori and I exchanged a look that I still can’t quite understand. Perhaps she was telling me she knew something or was thanking me for being there for her son.

I slipped away from them when I saw another woman go down. I don’t remember her name, but I know that she didn’t deserve to die so violently. As I was running over to her, someone’s hand came to my shoulder, spinning me around.

“You stay behind me, Emily,” Rick said as he placed his hand upon my cheek. I stumbled over in shock as I held onto the back of his shirt while he fired at the walkers.

Something grabbed my ankle a minute later. A walker had fallen over and was reaching for me. I screamed and fell to my hands and knees. Rick turned and pressed the gun barrel to the geek’s forehead and fired, blasting away the top half of its skull.

He pulled me up to my feet and said, “Stay close.”

The shooting and beheadings eventually came to an end. The camp was covered in bodies. I approached Andrea--who was frozen beside Amy’s dead body--and tried to take her away, but she was practically glued to the ground.

Right now, we’re all pretty restless. I cleaned off Jason’s face with trembling hands.

“What’s wrong?” he asked as I wiped his forehead with a rag.

I gulped, not expecting him to speak to me. “I just can’t believe that happened. Half our camp is gone.”

“We would’ve been fine if that dumbass didn’t take three of our men back to find no one on that roof.”

“Don’t call him that.” I said sternly.

“What?”

I sighed. Jason heard me correctly when I said something he didn’t like, but always had me either repeat myself or say something more elaborate. “Don’t call Rick a dumbass.”

“Why?” he asked, shoving my hand away from his face. “You like him or something?”

“No,” I said, throwing the rag down. “What the hell is your problem?” I stood up and reached for a bottle of water across the tent. He stopped me by grabbing my wrist and pulling me into him.

“I saw the way you were holding onto him when they showed up,” Jason said. “I don’t like the way he touched your face... What did he say to you?”

I pulled my wrist out of his grip. “He said to stay behind him.”

“Tell me the truth.”

I stood my ground. “I am. Back off.”

His hand whipped across my face and I fell to the floor of the tent. He kneeled and gripped my face in his hand. “You don’t talk to me like that. You understand me?” He stood and exited the tent.

The bloody taste in my mouth instigated tears. I forced them back and rinsed my mouth out.

“Is everything alright in there?”

I suddenly rose to my feet and unzipped the tent entrance. Carol, a kind-hearted woman that always provided us with clean clothes, was standing before me.

“Yes,” I said, stepping out of the tent. “I was just about to go help out with the bodies.”

“He hit you, didn’t he?”

I gasped. “I’m sorry?”

“Your husband... he hit you. You still have blood on your lip.”

I wiped away at my lips and looked down at the ground in embarrassment. “It’s nothing, really.”

“That’s what I tell everyone,” she said. “But it is something.” She took my hand in hers. “I know what you’re going through. Ed was the same way... All men are.”

“No...” I said, looking past her. My eyes found Rick having a heavy discussion with the men. “Not all men.”