Skin Deep

A sharp jab in my stomach woke me from a dreamless sleep. I opened my eyes and saw Merle was passing by me.

“Mornin’ sunshine!” he exclaimed cheerily yet sarcastically. A heavy boot clunked next to my head, and I suspected the other one was what had hit me. I groaned as I started to pull myself out of my sleeping bag. After a quick scan of the campsite I noticed my bag of food was out of sight. My heart sank as I realised I’d have to talk to the men about it. I had a feeling they wouldn’t take well to me speaking up. Something else caught my eye. There was a pile of light brown fur and tiny bloodied bones next to the wood of the fire. Daryl, looking like he had only just awoken too, was groggily holding onto a stick that had meat attached to it, and he slowly turned it above the fire. He noticed me staring and held it out to me.

“Want some?” he offered. I shook my head and turned away, busying myself with packing up my gear so I didn’t think too much of the tiny creature. Not only was it an adorable-looking little thing, but its meat smelled strange. Even though it was food, I had eaten last night so I’d be fine. My stomach didn’t listen to my logic and grumbled quietly. I reached into a small inner pocket near the top of my backpack and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. As I looked up I noticed Merle was staring at me.

“You not gonna offer us one?” he questioned. My hand stopped moving to put the packet back and I pocketed it in my jacket instead, having a gut feeling he’d pinch them if I didn’t hold onto them. Merle snorted and shook his head to show his disapproval before he started to eat a piece of freshly cooked meat. I just lit the cigarette and then walked away from camp. It looked like they weren’t quite ready to leave yet, so I assumed it was safe to have some time by myself. Once I was a decent distance from them, I did my business and used a handful of tussock to wipe. It was times like these that I greatly missed the old world.

Afterwards I continued to smoke and spent some time watching the end of the sunrise as I walked back. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun casted its yellow glare on the clouds. It all made me calm down. Once the cigarette was just a little stub, I no longer felt hungry and I felt a lot less nervous about confronting Daryl about the canned food. I approached the brothers, noting the fire was now out and their gear was packed. They were both on the ground doing push-ups, and I couldn’t ignore the slight blush that crossed my cheeks when I saw their arm muscles. I couldn’t blame myself, though. I hadn’t seen a man for months, and hadn’t been with one for a year.

“Thirty-nine, forty!” Merle shouted, sounding breathless.

“Liar!” Daryl grunted. Both of them were moving at a rather fast pace, so if ‘forty’ was accurate, then I was impressed. I put my packet of cigarettes away in my bag, pulled out my aviators and put them on, then looked around the camp. The bag of canned foods was still hidden. I waited a few more seconds before Merle came to a stop, and then he jumped up, laughing loudly.

“Bet you again!” he declared cockily while brushing the dirt off his hands. Daryl was on his feet a few moments later.

“Only ‘cause you cheat,” he replied with a hint of annoyance. It was difficult to not laugh at their childish behaviour, but I somehow kept a straight face. Daryl spat off to his side, almost onto my boots, and then he looked up and realised I was back.

“What now?” I asked them. They both remained silent, Merle giving a tiny shrug. “Well do I get half of the cans and we go our separate ways or what?” That made them perk up.

“Well what way are you heading?” Daryl asked. Merle had opened his mouth to talk but Daryl had cut him off.

“North,” I shrugged. I still didn’t want to head south because the Biters increased in frequency. It was safer up here in the desert.

“So how ‘bout we stay together? Just until we stop going the same way, or the food runs out,” Daryl suggested in a surprisingly kind tone.

“You’re too soft, baby brother,” Merle grumbled disapprovingly. I frowned, unsure of what his problem was with me. I had good reason to be apprehensive about staying with them. Brawn alone gave them a huge advantage over me. But that was also what would benefit me if we came across a horde or violent scavengers.

“As long as I’m not causing any trouble,” I concluded with a glance at Merle. Despite his temper, he hadn’t attempted anything to put me in any sort of danger, so I felt like I should be okay. I walked over to my bike and kicked the stand back up. As I sat on it I saw Merle and Daryl were close together, talking in hushed voices. My hand paused on the ignition, wanting to eavesdrop.

“Why not? What is wrong with her tagging along?” Daryl was asking.

“Because we don’t know her!” Merle retorted in a slightly louder voice. He dropped to a level that I couldn’t hear before getting louder again. “… could stab us in the back. I don’t trust her!” Daryl smirked.

“You’re scared that Jo, a woman who is half your size, is going to hurt you?” Daryl clarified in a slow, teasing tone. I smiled, surprised I somehow intimidated Merle, one of the most aggressive-looking men I’d ever seen.

“Shut up…” Merle spat, backing away. He stormed off to his bike and I looked back at Daryl. He swung his bag onto his back before glancing at me. We met eyes and shared a short smile. I got the feeling he had a heart, that he didn’t mind helping out a fellow survivor, while Merle was more selfish. As brothers I expected them to be more similar, but to me that was a quality that set them apart greatly. Daryl turned and headed for his own motorbike so I looked to the sky. The sun had rose from my right, which meant that was approximately east, so I was already facing the correct way. Our engines all rumbled to a start in sequence, and I pushed my bike more upright as I willed it forward.

As we drove across the endless desert floor, I felt as though we were in a movie. We all looked the part of badass bikers, riding side by side as we tore across the flat expansion of the desert. Occasionally one of us would pull ahead, challenging the others to a short race. Merle always won because his bike was bigger and more powerful, but I still liked trying. It was a pleasant autumn day, but to me it still felt like a hot summer’s day. The sun on my exposed skin felt glorious, and was a great contrast to the usual snow I experienced. I found myself relishing the moment more than I should have. The world was crap, overrun with Biters, and I was with two intimidating strangers. For some reason I was becoming numb to the gambling of my life as I appreciated the moment. Looking across to my left at the men, I could see they too wore small grins. I turned back to look ahead and brushed a thick strand of my brown hair out of my face. At least I wasn’t the only one who was enjoying life once more.