In the Sound

"I told Shane I want him to stay."

Wiping my nose against my shoulder, I gave her a wry look.

Lori's chest fell slowly. After setting a plate down on the bench, she shook a dark curl away from her eyes to look at me. She plopped her lips together hard after that, mindful of how loud she was.

I shoulder checked.

Patricia and Beth were giggling over the table. They were playing some kind of board game or maybe a guessing game. Beth's sweet little laugh hiccuped every now and again. Herschel was sitting at the other end of the dining table, his elbows just reaching into my view. He peered through his glasses, scanning over a newspaper that he probably read ten times every day.
None of them were listening to us.

My hands dove back into the sink. The warm bubbles splashed up to my forearms. My fingers had crinkles engraved into the skin, a scruffy dish cloth wedged between them. It was a warm night tonight, but I was glad for the extra warmth of the sink water.

I set a bubbly white plate onto the drying rack for her. "Why'd you do that?"

Lori genuinely considered this. "Well, I guess I meant it." She fiddled with one of her sleeves, bunched up around her elbow. "I don't know what I'm doin' Nora, I jus' knew he was going an' I was scared. I mean, Rick can't do this on his own. We need Shane," she finished with a hushed voice.

I didn't believe Lori one bit. Rick didn't need Shane. I could tell everyone trusted him. And I was directly standing behind him no matter what. Shane would never have that.

"Hmm," I hummed, squinting my eyes at her skeptically.

Kit was sitting at my heels. He whined and whined. Nose pressed hard against the back of my knee. He was making me wobble crazily. I tried to ignore him.

"Things okay with you an' Rick?"

Lori picked another plate up, "Sometimes-don't get me wrong, sometimes he can jus' be- well impossible. An' other times I mighty appreciate him."

Rick Grimes. Impossible? I couldn't help but imagine them bickering at each other the way me and Daryl did. That was probably more impossible than Rick ever was. Lori was such a typical woman. Nagging. Nagging about nagging. And Rick? Grimes once told a man he had his full permission to kill me. Yeah, he was umpulsive like something chronic. A fight between two of them was no doubt long and annoying.

"You know," I started, "I think I know the exact feeling."
Another whine from Kit.

Lori flicked her hair up, the frizzy tips brushing my cheeks as she did. I didn't realise I was so close to her.

She pursed her lips before tentatively asking, "You an' Daryl?" She didn't wait long before adding, "Darlin' I know I'm the last person to be judgin' but you gotta be careful."

We were caught in the forest, but I honestly didn't think of Lori saying anything to me. She was a cautious little deer, and this was pretty bold for her. Her eyes were big, so I knew she must've been trying to put a serious expression on.

"Why?"

I piled the last cup onto the drying rack. After dipping my fingers back in the sink water, I snaked my fingertips around the plug and tugged it out. There was a loud suction noise, swallowing and vacuuming up traces of silence.

"Because he's a total wild card. Goes off like a firecracker at a moment's notice. If you'd have seen him when they told him Merle Dixon got left behind. Almost put a knife in Rick," she breathed out a quick breath and shook her head.

I was quickly getting the feeling that Lori was the kind of person who liked to hound people with her judgy opinions. Those were the kind of people I got feisty with. But I guess that made me one of those people too. I mean, I'd hounded and judged Daryl every time I spoke to him.

My lips curled into a gentle smile, one that she slowly mirrored. "I'm a big girl. Super capable of handling myself."

It was something I'd probably say to my Mum or something. Lori seemed a little satisfied with the comment, because the smile on her jaw grew wider. Her eyes crinkled at the corners.

"I know ya can darlin', if I have a girl I'd want her to be jus' like you. You've got the moxy in you anyway."

"Lor Lor, did you jus' say moxy?"

Lori looked just as amused as I probably did. With a sarcastic scoff, she patted a tea towel at the bubbles coating her hands.

"Don't ya dare go callin' me that horrid nickname. There was this one girl in school, back when me an' Rick were just meeting. She called me Lor Lor, an' oh hell I hated her."

A booming laughter spilt from my mouth before I could stop it.
I edged over to the other bench, slipping a plate into my grasp. It was a little heavy, full of scraps and bones. There was always less scraps these days. People savoured. Ate till they were full since they weren't sure they'd ever eat again.

Kit swarmed over to me as soon as I knelt to his eye level. One hand on his head, I placed the plate down for him. He bowed his nose and dug it into the food.

"You know," Lori continued, "Daryl's got his fair share of creative nicknames. Called me Olive Oil the other day. That's probably the first time I've actually been bullied in fifteen years." Her dark eyes were wide again, popping out of her head.

Yeah, could definitely see the resemblance.

"Oh, trust me- you're not the only one at the bad end of the stick. I get Shaggy." I gestured lazily at Kit, "He gets Scooby. And yesterday Daryl dropped the 'Nora the explorer' bombshell."

"Who knew he was so... artistic," she whispered back behind her hand.

We broke into a little wave of snickers, Lori nudged her shoulder against mine. I let her body sway me, my hands frozen in the bubbly water. For a moment it felt like Dale didn't just die. Like I didn't see my Dad walk out of the barn, or see Kit get tipped by that arrow. It was like being back at home, nestling by the warmth of a fireplace. Laughing over doing the dishes, using the time to ask each other how our day was. It felt totally normal.

But I always knew, it was never like that for long. And I was right.

Maggie frantically scurried into the house. Her presence known by the loud bang of the screen door. Beth and Patricia's giggles hushed, they spun on their chairs to see Maggie scuttling through each room. Her face was sweaty and flushed. Her breathing heavy.

"Randall jumped Shane an' took off!"

Herschel scooted the chair back and stood up. His thumbs went to his suspenders, face grim. "Where's Rick?"

"Him an' Shane went lookin' for Randall. Daryl an' Glenn too."

"How did he get a hand on Shane?" Patricia asked, her withered hands were covering her mouth.

Beth was frozen beside her. She latched a hand around Patricia's elbow, her eyes glossy and scared. I couldn't bare to look at Lori. She was probably mortified. Maggie opened her mouth to reply, her lips just barely parted.

But her voice was drowned in the sound of a haunting crack.
It thundered across the fields and rang throughout the house. We were porcelein dolls in our places. White faces. Ghosts. I could hear the screeches of birds fluttering out of a hundred trees. It was a sound imprinted in the back of our minds. One we'd never forget.

Someone had fired a gun.