Hope Is a Waking Dream

Chapter Two

Melissa stormed passed them and into the cabin. Sure enough, they had their shit scattered everywhere. She stopped cold when she realized that there were eyes on her. She looked around a saw a petit blonde girl, a taller brunette, a skeletal pregnant woman with a young boy beside her and a grey haired lady. They looked at her as if she was one of those feral children found in France. She just growled at them and walked back into the room that she had taken as her own. She could hear Rick and Daryl talking to the others, but she wasn’t paying attention. The room was dark as she approached. She flicked her zippo, but it was too late. She tripped over something big and landed on her ass, again. Goddamn mouth breathers and their shit! She picked herself up off the floor and carefully walked over to the dresser that was in the corner. She took a blanket out of it and stepped over the shit on the floor and back out into the living area. She just looked at them, all watching her. They had to have been talking about her; she was the latest impediment to their safety. She had no interest in them or what they thought of her. She just walked right passed them and through the front door. Grumbling to herself, she laid down on the front porch and pulled the blanket over her body. Fall was coming and it was starting to get chilly at night. Tomorrow she was setting down rules. Rule number one: No one is allowed in her bedroom. She’s taking that back, and she doesn’t care whose stuff is in there either. She’s had this place for herself for too long to let this happen.
Everyone just watched her walk out the door. Rick just shook his head as Daryl plopped down in front of the fireplace. “So, she’s been here the whole time?” Lori asked.
“No, not the whole time. Around a month she said.” Rick replied.
“Maybe we should leave, give her back her home. We shouldn’t be here if she doesn’t want us here.” Carol said.
“She said we could stay tonight and we’re gonna talk about it tomorrow. We’re gonna convince her that we need to stay; that Lori and the baby are safe here. We were able to convince Herschel to let us stay at the farm.”
“Rick,” Herschel said, “I should have allowed you to stay in my home much sooner than I did. We might not have suffered as many loses as we have. But I thought I was protecting my family. This girl has no one to protect but herself. Self-preservation is a strong motivator. Maybe I should talk to her, or maybe Carol. This girl is hostile and she won’t take kindly to your persuasion. She needs to be dealt with by a sensitive and empathetic person. She’s not use to having people around and doesn’t deal well with it. There is only one of us who can see through her eyes.”
Recognition and trepidation flashed across everyone’s face when they realized about whom Herschel was speaking. That conversation would be a nuclear explosion. Those two had already gotten off on the wrong foot, neither would tolerate the company of the other long enough to resolve anything If their fate was dependent upon his people skills, they were out on their asses. He, however, either wasn’t listening or was trying to avoid the topic; he just continued to stare into the fire, watching the rabbit cook. No one was willing to approach him with the idea, he’d already had one confrontation tonight, and nobody wanted to risk another. He was still stewing about what had happened earlier with the girl. Everyone silently decided that the conversation was over for the night and headed to bed. Once all the candles were extinguished, the fire kept burning. Once he felt everyone was sleeping, he stood up and walked to the front window. He watched her dark figure laying on the porch. He heard everything Herschel said, and whether or not he had a point, he wasn’t about to negotiate with this girl. He’d rather sleep in the trees every night than kiss this bitch’s ass for a roof over his head. He understood that Rick as thinking of his family and that he considered the whole group his family, but Daryl didn’t. He had lost his only remaining family to these arrogant assholes who didn’t even know what it truly meant to survive. He refused to do it; he refused to barter for these people. He would tell Rick in the morning and if he had a problem with that, so be it. Daryl Dixon wasn’t anybody’s bitch.
The next morning, Melissa woke up early to go hunting. She wanted to get out of there before any of them woke up. She knew they would give her the bleeding heart, we’re all human, and why can’t we all get along speech. Although she did have concern for the unborn child, she had none for the adults responsible for it. She folded the blanket she had slept under and placed it on the rocking chair in the opposite corner. She quietly walked around the house to the side where she had encountered Daryl last night. Looking on the ground, she finally found the knife she had dropped lying a couple of feet away from where her ass had landed. Sheathing it in her boot, she headed out into the woods. She had been out for at least an hour when she found her first squirrel. For some reason, the critters were scarce this morning. As the squirrel paused on its way up the tree trunk, she released her knife and hit the creature square in the middle. Unfortunately, an arrow went flying straight into its head at the exact same time. Son of a Bitch, she said to herself as she heard footsteps approaching.
“Nice shot” he said, almost pleasantly. He strode passed her to the tree, yanking out his arrow and her knife. When he turned around to face her, the squirrels on his hip shook. That’s where they went, she thought. “You’ve taken almost all the food in the woods for yourself dumbass. That one is mine.”
“I’ve got more mouths to feed, dumbass. You can have this one though, you earned it. Seeing as how your skills haven’t got you nothing so far. I won’t make you starve.” Daryl said, full of himself.
“I’m really having a hard time not killing you right now.” Melissa hissed. “You people have taken my home, my security and now you’re taking my food. You’re as bad as the dead ones, except they’re easier to get rid of.”
“Hey, I’m not doing jack shit to you bitch. Just trying to survive, like you. These woods are pretty damn big; no reason you can’t go a little further out. Besides, I was up and out a lot earlier than you. You didn’t even stir when I came out the door and walked right past you. If you want to survive much longer, I’d suggest you pay better attention to your surroundings. I could’ve slit your throat while you were sleeping; then I wouldn’t have to listen to your whiney ass. If it was up to me, we would’ve been outta here last night.”
Melissa was enraged. She stalked right over to Daryl, “Who the fuck do you think you are talking to me like that? I’ve survived this long because I am capable, I know how to take care of myself and, up until now, I’ve been able to avoid douche bags like you and your friends! I didn’t invite you here! I didn’t ask for ya’lls company! I let you stay because I didn’t really have a choice! I’m not being nice to you! Ya’ll took from me, just like every other fucking worthless human on this planet! I’m not asking for your protection, or your help! I don’t need you and ya’ll certainly don’t need me! I gave you your one night of shelter! When I get back to that cabin, ya’ll better not be there, or I swear to shit I will burn that fucker down with ya’ll and your shit in it!”
Daryl just stood there, stunned out of his mind. Of all the women he’d ever encountered, this girl was the fucking meanest, dumbest of them all. He grabbed her by the arm and put his face right in hers, “You ain’t gonna do a fucking thing to those people. They are under my protection. If you breathe in their direction, I will take you out and not regret it. I didn’t want to be here, I didn’t want to stay, but I ain’t the leader. I was alone for a long time before I met these people, I can handle it just fine. They can’t. You are not gonna scare us or threaten us. We will stay here as long as Rick says we will. If you don’t like it, find a tree to sleep in.” He let go of her arm and walked away back toward the cabin. Stopping only to drop her knife to the ground and throw the squirrel in her direction.