Natural Disaster

Ashley woke to the sounds of footsteps coming down the hall. She opened her eyes and saw Gabe staring at her in wonder. His shaggy hair standing on end, sleep dripping from his eyes. It was then she realized she was not in her bed. A foot was lodged in her back and her head was resting on the arm of the couch.

She jumped up quickly, not caring if she woke her companion up in the process. She couldn't imagine what was going through her son's mind. She had fallen asleep on the couch with Daryl.

"Gabe! You're up," she said, pretending like it was a normal occurance for her to be asleep on the couch, let alone with another person. Gabriel eyed the man who was starting to groan from all the commotion.

"Who's he?" Gabriel was immediatly on the defense. Ashley just shook her head. This world made him hard. It was no way for a child to grow up, but then again, in this world, it was better than him being open and welcoming to strangers. That got you killed.

"This is Daryl," she told him motioning behind her to Daryl who was already sitting up on the couch. Gabriel gave her a questioning look. "I grew up with him. He's a good man and was looking for Sophia. He's part of her group," she tried explaining to him. She felt silly explaining herself to a 10 year old.

The boy continued to eye the man just as Sophia walked into the room, her eyes lighting up at the sight of someone from her group. Ashley thought it best to give them some privacy, taking the opertunity to tell Gabriel their next move.

"We need to talk," she said as soon as they walked into the small kitchen. Gabriel grabbed a water off the counter, taking a quck swig of it. "You ain't gonna be happy, but you gotta trust me," she continued. She watched his face for any reaction before she dropped the bomb on him. Her greatest fear other than losing him was him hating her. "We're gonna go with them," she finished.

Gabriel spit the water in his mouth out. No doubt he was furious. Their last group was less than friendly. Ashley quickly learned that everyone wasn't what they seemed and when her and Gabriel made a run for it, the were nearly killed. Ashley almost took a bullet in the process scaring both her and Gabriel for life.

"No! No! I'm not going. No," Gabriel yelled at her. Ashley flinched at his outburst.

"We have to. I can't keep us both safe for much longer alone. There's people there, good people. Kids your age. This could be a good thing," she tried reasoning with him.

"Or this could be our funeral. Are you crazy? We barely got out of the last cam alive. If I'm going to die, it's not going to be at the hands of some human because my mother was too stupid to realize that we can't trust anyone." Ashley stared at him, mouth hanging wide. Not only did her 10 year old son sound like an adult, but he just threw everything back in her face. It hurt.

Finally assuming the stern mother role, she crossed her arms and gave him a hard look. "We're going, thats final. Now, please go back your things while I talk to Daryl," Ashley said. Gabriel huffed and walked out of the kitchen. Ashley turned, placing both hands on the counter and dropping her head. Her head spinning with questions, senerios. She hated not knowing.

"That didn't go well," she heard a deep raspy voice say. She looked over her shoulder to see Daryl leaning against the door frame. She shook her head and let out a long sigh before turning to face him.

"You promise me right now, Dixon, that you're not walking us into the lion's den," she hissed at him. Daryl took a few steps closer, a dark look in his eye, forcing Ashley to step back when he croweded her personal space. She didn't want to trust him. She was scared to trust him, but she had no other choice. If she stayed here with Gabriel, they were sure to die.

"I ain't," he growled to her, a dark glint in his eye from being questioned. She shook her head at him. In a past life, she would trust him with her life. But this was a new world, a heartless one.

"How can I trust you," she asked him. She searched his face for any kind of emotion. Any kind of sign that would give her a clue as to his intentions, but Dixons were notorious for erasing all emotions, keeping them locked in and never letting them show. The only way to know what they were thinking was if they told you and that was a task in itself.

"That boy is my blood, family. I ain't gonna let him die out here, he said, turning to walk out of the kitchen. Ashley felt a pang in her heart he was doing this all for Gabriel, like their past ment nothing.

"You mean how you and Merle steered me wrong, allowing me to believe you both would always be there," she said before she realized it had come out of her mouth. Daryl froze before he reached the door, his body tense and rigid with anger. He spun quickly and in a flash, was in her face, teeth bared looking like a rabid animal ready to attack.

"I didn't fuckin' leave you. You left. You disappeared. I was left alone with Merle thinkin' you didn't fuckin' want us anymore. You suddenly thought you were too good for a goddamn low life like us," he growled at her through clenched teeth. His fists were clenching, but Ashley knew he would never hit her, never lay a hand on her.

"I didn't have a choice," she whispered, pressing her back against the counter, the edges digging into her lower back as Daryl moved in closer out of anger, pinning her against it and him.

"Bull shit! You coulda told me," he said, much softer this time. He quickly took a step back from her, suddenly realizing just how close he was to her.

"Would it have made a difference?" Ashley asked him, looking at a spot on the wall, not ready to meet his eyes. She knew the answer. Daryl would have followed his brother regardless and he knew that. Instead of answering her, he just sighed and walked out of the kitchen.

"We're leaving out in 30 minutes," he called out from the living room. Ashley moved from the counter, through the house, to the back room to begin packing. She thought about their fight in the kitchen. She'd never seen that much anger directed towards her come from Daryl.

The sun was hot, humidity causing their clothes to stick to them. They'd been walking for nearly an hour, no one saying a word. The birds chirped, critters carrying on their lives like nothing was happening.

Ashley was walking next to Daryl, both in an akward silence. She was thinking about the arguement they had back in the cabin that morning. Her mind imagining what life would of been like if Merle hadn't forced her to leave.

"You goin' to tell him?" Daryl asked, breaking her thoughts. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye then looked back to Gabriel who was walking with Sophia. Ashley smiled when she saw him hold a hand out to help her over a log. Ever the gentleman, unlike his kin.

She finally shrugged. The truth was, she didn't know what to tell her son. 'This is your uncle. His ass hole of a brother is your father. We don't where he is, but they've been out of our lives for so long because your father didn't want you.' That just seemed too mean, to harsh and heartless. Too....

"You need to figure somethin' out. People are going to talk when they see him. Kid looks like me and Merle," Daryl said. She looked back at Gabriel again, realizing he really did look like a Dixon. The darker hair, the piercing blue eyes, the ability to kill someone with just a look.

"What do you want me to tell him? If I tell him about Merle, it'll kill him. I can't do that," she said back to Daryl. He seemed to ponder on it a moment before coming to a dead stop. Ashley froze, worried Daryl was goign to tell Gabriel himself before she heard it. Footsteps. Movement. Voices. There was someone not far behind them and they were closing in.

Ashley's heart sped up. She could heart more voices. There were more people. Fear engulfed her, causing her to sweat. She motioned to Sophia and Gabriel to stay quiet and pointed to a bush. She watched as they moved behind it, crouching down low, using it for cover.

The voices were louder now. They'd walk up on them at any minute. Ashley looked to Daryl who had his crossbow out and ready, looking for a place to hide. Finding nothing on the ground, he looked up. He pointed to her then pointed to the tree behind them. She moved over to the tree as he jumped up, grabbing the branch and pulling himself up. She looked behind her one last time then looked back to Daryl. He held his hand out, ready to pull her up.

Her small hand grasped his, hanging on for dear life as she felt her feet leave the ground. His face was straining to hold her weight on one hand while his other held the tree trunk to steady himself. Once she was up, he kept a hand on her side to keep her balanced while she climbed up higher in the tree. Her mind drifted to the kids on the ground, she could just make out the bush they were hiding it. It was thick. With the pace these men were walking, she was sure they wouldn't see the kids.

Daryl perched on the branch just below her, crossbow aimed and ready incase they were spotted. Ashley held her breath as the first sign of a green shirt appeared just a few hundred yards away from the base of the tree they were in. Sortly after, 4 more men appeared, walking towards them. Ashley watched as they laughed, joked, and told vile stories of what they just finished doing to some poor woman. She cringed at the thought of what these men were capable of, thankful she had Daryl on her side if something were to happen.

The men passed by the bush and the tree without them being detected. Ashley finally let the breath out and started climbing back down the tree quietly, Daryl helping her along the way. She watched as Daryl walked around the tree, looking at something on the ground, then at their surroundings, obviously judging if it was safe for them to move on.

"C'mon. Gotta movin' 'fore they decide to circle back," he whispered to them as the kids came out of the bush, Gabriel running up to Ashley and clinging to her waist. "15 minutes and we'll be there." He turned on his heel and walked off, leaving Sophia, Ashley, and Gabriel to follow after.

Ashley watched as Daryl and Sophia walked into the camp, Sophia more like ran. She held Gabe close to her side and stood just outside the small area the group had set up. She watched as Daryl walked up to a man in a sheriffs uniform, a man in a baseball cap not far behind him. They were close enough to Ashley that she could hear the conversation

"Rick, these two found Sophia, they need a place to stay," Daryl told the man in the sheriffs uniform. Rick eyed the two of them for a moment before looking back at Daryl and nodding.

"Rick, you can't just let people in here. We don't know a damn thing about them," the other man yelled out.

"Shane," Rick said in a warning tone.

"I know them, they're good people. She can hunt, fish, cook, do laundry, damn good with a bow. The boy is only 10. Be someone for Carl to be around," Daryl said to Rick, ignoring Shane.

"So just because the redneck says so, then it means they're okay? I'm not buying it. They could have a group somewhere. It could be a set up. Think about it, Rick," Shane said. Ashley quickly made judgment and shook her head, she wasn't imposing on these people if her and Gabe weren't wanted.

"It's fine, let me just grab my bag from Daryl and we'll be on our way," Ashley yelled out to them as she walked up to Daryl. She reached for her bag, but he quickly pulled it out of her reach. "Give me my bag, Daryl. We're not wanted and I'm not going to be in the way. You know where we're staying," she said to him. Daryl just eyed her and shook his head.

"You're not goin' anywhere. You're stayin' here, damn it," he growled at her then turned turned to Shane, deadly eyes boring into him, daring him to object.

Shane scoffed and eyed Ashley for a moment, making her skin crawl. "So you know the woman for a day, and all of sudden she's more worthy of your presence than your own group," Shane growled back at Daryl.

"I've known her my whole damn life," Daryl said back. Ashley could see the muscles on his back begin to coil up. He was like a python getting ready to strike. She knew all too well, that once he got going, it was hell trying to calm him down. She reached out, placing a delicate hand on his shoulder, trying to keep him grounded, much like he did for her earlier.

"That boy is my blood. I'm not lettin' them leave," Daryl said. Ashley sucked in a breath as Rick and Shane's mouths dropped, no doubt assuming that Gabe was his son. Ashley shook her head, ready to correct the mistake, but Daryl grabbed her arm, pulling her away from the men.

She grabbed Gabe's hand as they walked by towards the tents. Daryl quickly opened one and ushered them into it. She knew immediately it was his tent. The smell, the mess, and the items laying around screamed Dixon.

"Stay away from Shane," Daryl said as he kicked some of his stuff to one side of the tent, pulling their sleeping bags out of the sea-bag he carried and laying them down. Ashley nodded to him, too worried to speak, fearing he may snap on her or Gabriel.

"Just stay in the tent for the rest of the day. Let stuff cool down," he continued. He turned to leave before he stopped and looked at Ashley. Gabe was already sitting on one of the sleeping bags.

"Don't do anything stupid," he told her, giving her a hard look.

She nodded to him before he turned around and stepped back out of the tent. Ashley let a breath she wasn't aware she was holding out, turning to face her son.

"Was he lying," Gabe asked her. Ashley gave him a questioning look.

Gabe looked down at his back pack pulling on a string mindlessly, reminding her how young he actually was. She toed him with her boot, urging him to talk.

"Is he my dad?"