Hope Is a Waking Dream

Chapter 21

“Bet you’s hopin’ I was dead somewhere, huh?” Merle said snidely. “Bet Daryl beat your ass when he found out what you done to me. I’m surprised you’re still alive Officer Friendly. I’da thought my baby brother woulda killed you.”

“He didn’t kill me Merle. I don’t know why. You should ask him yourself.”

“And how the hell am I supposed to do that?” Merle said incredulously.

“He’s with us at the development. Ya took him too.”

“I didn’t take nobody. I weren’t even there. All I know is I recognized you and the Chinese kid as soon as soon as they dragged your asses out of the trucks. It was just you, him and some girl. Daryl ain’t here.” Merle then realized what Rick had just told him. “Wait a goddamn minute here, you saying that my baby brother is still hanging with you assholes? You saying he ain’t out looking for ol’ Merle no more?”

Rick finally got himself in an upright position and leaned back against the wall. “We went back for ya. Me, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog. We went back to that rooftop and you was gone. Daryl had a fuckin’ shit fit when he found your hand. Pointed a damn arrow right at my head.”

“So what happened? How’d you convince him to give up on me?”

“I didn’t do shit. We were gonna go through the city lookin’ for ya after we picked up the gun bag and ran into a gang. They took the guns and Glenn. I’m glad we didn’t stick around the city after we got ‘em back. The camp got overrun that night. If we hadn’t got back when we did, we would have lost everybody.”

“Does everybody include me, ‘cause I sure as hell was lost. Found that damn truck ya left me though, that was mighty kind of ya, I’ll admit.” Merle pulled up a chair in the space in front of where Rick was sitting on the floor. “So you took advantage of my sweet little baby brother, didn’t ya? He follow you around like a damn puppy? Did everything you told him to without question. Ya convinced him I was dead and he needed someone to take care of him?”

“Your brother ain’t nobody’s puppy. Daryl’s his own man now. Better man than you that’s for damn sure,” Rick said looking Merle directly in the eyes. “He’s protecting us, he’s feeding us. He almost lost his life looking for Carol’s little girl. I trust him with my life and the lives of every member of the group. He’s loved and respected. He’s out of your shadow and he’s a good man.” Mere stood up and threw the chair across the room. Grabbing Rick by the collar, he pulled him to his feet and punched him so hard he bounced off the wall before falling back onto the floor.

“You don’t know a goddamn thing about my brother Officer Friendly. I’m gonna find him and beat some sense inta him. He’s gonna learn what kind of an asshole you are,” Merle said and stomped out of the room, letting the door slam and lock behind him.

The Governor was sitting in his office with Shumpert and Martinez when he walked in. “Who is he Merle? He part of the group that left you to bleed to death?” he asked before he took a sip from his glass of Scotch.

“Yup,” Merle answered, “that’s the sum bitch that handcuffed me to the damn pipe. The Asian kid too, don’t know who the girl is. Some whore they picked up along the way, I guess.” He paused long enough to pour his own glass. “Fucker says my brother’s still with ‘em, says he was at that development. Ya sure those three the only ones you saw?”

“Those three were sneaking ‘round the back of the house.” Shumpert said. “We were too busy taking care of them to notice anyone else, but he could’ve been the fucker that let the biters loose. If that was him, he couldn’t have outrun a damn truck full of ‘em. Either he’s dead of he’s one of ‘em, man.”

The thought of Daryl being a walker infuriated Merle. “He ain’t no damn biter. He may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he knows how to survive. He ain’t gonna let no damn asshole take him out like that. He’s alive, I know it. Ya gotta let me go to that housing development so I can find him. I’ll bring him back here. He’s the best bow hunter I’ve ever known, he’d be great for Woodbury. He takes orders good too, you got a job needs doin’, he’ll do it. I gotta get my brother back.”

“Alright Merle,” the Governor said, “you go find your brother and bring him here to me. If he’s half the man you are I know I can trust him. He will be loyal to this town, won’t he Merle?”

“He’ll be anything I tell him to be. I fucking raised him, I fucking take care of him. He’s the man he is ‘cause a me. You don’t worry, you’ll have two Dixons in your corner. That’s all you’ll ever need.” Merle tipped back his glass and finished the last of his drink.

“That’s good to know,” the Governor said. “You can head out tomorrow morning if ya like, but there’s one more think I’d like you to do for me.”

“I just don’t trust him,” Michonne said to her companion. “He’s too charming, this place is too perfect. He’s hiding something, I can sense it.” Andrea rolled her eyes.

“Listen Chonne, I can understand your skepticism. We were out there for a long time, but this is a safe place. The walls are strong and tall, their guarded every minute of the day. The farm was a good, safe place, it gave us a chance to relax for a minute, we didn’t have to look over our shoulders for a while. You can’t tell me that you don’t miss living like this.”

“I can say it. The only thing I miss about my old life I can never get back.” Andrea considered asking her what that was, but the sadness in her friends eyes kept her from it “I’m not going to stay here and wait for something to happen. If walkers get in, these people can’t defend themselves. They’re too soft, they’ve gotten used to having bar-b-ques on the weekend, having clean clothes every day and hot showers. I bet not one of them have had to go without food for more than a few hours since this shit started. If the dead get into this place, every one of these people will die.’

Andrea stopped walking and sat on a bench along the sidewalk. “That is exactly why we need to stay. We could help them, we can help protect them and train them with weapons.” Michonne sat next to her friend.

“Why hasn’t the Governor already done that? He has an army here, they could have had the whole town trained by now. All the women and children too. Instead, he has them making casseroles and baking cookies. Have you asked him about that?”

“No Chonne, I haven’t, but I will. Phillip is a good man. He wants to bring people in and protect them. That’s why they made him their leader.”

“Phillip?” Michonne asked and arched her eyebrows in question.

“He asked me to call him by his name. It’s not a big deal.” Andrea replied.

“What about that friend of yours? His Lieutenant, what’s his name? Mac, Mitch or something? He was in the same group with you wasn’t he? How well do you know him? What kind of man is he?”

Andrea sighed, she knew what kind of man Merle Dixon was. He was shady, racist and misogynistic. He was perfect as a militia leader. “Merle is an arrogant, bigoted asshole. He hit on me more times than I can count. I’m pretty sure he has no morals or ethics. He’s an addict and almost got us killed on a run in Atlanta. I don’t trust Mere, but I do trust Phillip. If Merle trusts him and is loyal to him, he won’t step out of line. He won’t do anything against Phillips wishes. He wouldn’t hurt us.”

“Not unless your boyfriend Phillip tells him to. You do realize that man still has our weapons, don’t you? He has your gun and my katana. He promised that he would return them as soon as we were settled in. It’s been a week Andrea, we don’t even know where he’s keeping them.”

“I’ll ask him about that too. He probably forgot. He’s in charge of this town and all these people. He has a lot on his mind, I’m sure.” Andrea stood from the bench, “I’ll go talk to him now. Why don’t you walk around for a while, introduce yourself, and make new friends.”

“I have enough friends, but I will take a walk. I know there’s something going on and I’m gonna find out what it is.”

Andrea turned back to her friend as she walked away, “If you find Jimmy Hoffa, let me know.”

Glenn hadn’t seen Maggie since they had arrived at whatever this place is. They had been in the truck together, but were separated the moment they got here. He was currently blindfolded, gagged, and tied to a chair He had no idea how long he had been in that room, but he must be under guard, because he could hear voices outside, but couldn’t understand them. His thoughts were consumed by Maggie. Where is she? Is she still alive? His thoughts were broken by the sound of the large metal door opening and closing. He heard footsteps circling him, but whoever it was hadn’t said a word. The person then slapped his shoulder and spoke.

“Long time no see Chinaman.” Oh Fuck, Glenn thought. That couldn’t possibly be who he thought it was. “Ya look different. Your balls finally drop, ‘cause you ain’t the same skinny ass kid you were back at in Atlanta.” When the man pulled the blind fold off and took the gag out of his mouth, he replaced them with a brutal hit to the face.

“Merle? What the fuck? What are you doing here? What are we doing here?”

“Looks like you and Officer Friendly went snoopin’ around where ya don’t belong. I’m here to teach ya to mind your own business . . . and find out where my brother is.” He hit Glenn again on the other side of his face. “What were ya doing at that development? That where ya camp is now?” Merle’s fist went into his gut.

“We were just scoping it out. We’re thinking about moving the group there.”

“How many in your group now?”

“Rick, Lori, Carl, Carol, Herschel, Beth, Maggie, Daryl and Melissa. There’s ten of us including me.”

“Who’s the girl you’s with? Who does she belong to?” Another hit to the jaw.

“She’s Herschel’s daughter.”

“Where’s my brother at? Officer Friendly says he’s still with you assholes,” Merle growled at him.

“He and Melissa were there too. They were checking out the damn box truck.”

Merle ignored the man’s slight attitude for the moment, “Did he get away? Is he still alive?”

“I don’t know Merle. Your asshole friends grabbed us. I never saw him after we separated.”

“They ain’t my friends Chinaman, you best remember that. I’m only in this to find my baby brother, and he better still be alive or you and your friends are gonna be walker bait.”

After their dinner of canned beans and peaches, Daryl and Melissa cuddled by the fire he had built. Winter was fast approaching and the nights were getting chilly. She found a few blankets in a hall closet and they had made a little nest for themselves in front of the roaring flame. They discussed the plan to find their friends. Daryl figured there had to be tire tracks somewhere that would lead them in the right direction. They decided that Melissa would drive the truck that had been left by the others. The supplies they had found were still at the house where Rick, Glenn and Maggie had left them and they didn’t want to leave them for someone else to find.

They stayed downstairs until the fire was almost out then went upstairs to bed. For the first time in his life, Daryl Dixon slept without a shirt, or much else for that matter. He climbed in bed wearing only his holey boxers. It made him feel free to be able to do that. He was finally beginning to let some of his demons go. Melissa slept in her bra and panties as usual now. They both felt comfortable enough with each other to do that and thy wanted as much skin on skin contact as they could get. Once the lights were out and Daryl had her snuggled tightly against his chest, she voiced a concern that had been nagging at her gut since they found Rick’s Colt.

“What kind of person, or people do this? Just take people, hoard walking corpses in trucks? What the fuck kind of person does that?” she asked him.

“It’s hard to day, I guess,” he answered. “Maybe he was fucked up before the world went to shit. Maybe the world going to shit is what fucked him up? I used to know guys, Merle’s friends mostly. They were addicts and degenerates. They did some fucked up shit to people for a lot of different reasons. Nobody really knows what’s in somebody’s head or why it’s there. Just gotta believe that Rick and them are alive. Gotta have some faith in ‘em. Their badasses, they can survive anything.

“I’m scared of what we’re gonna find when we see ‘em again. I’ve really gotten attached to this group and I think it’d break my heart to see ‘em dead or undead, or whatever.” She began to cry softly and Daryl tightened his hold around her.

“You ain’t gonna see ‘em dead or undead. They’re alive right now, wherever they are and they’re gonna be alive when we find ‘em. The minute you see ‘em, you gonna run up to Maggie and hug her and y’all gonna cry for days, you hear me?” She sniffled in his arms. “Look at me Melissa.” She turned in his arms to face him and he wiped the tears from her eyes. “They’re my family, only real family I ever had, only people to give a damn about me. I ain’t gonna lose them. We’re gonna find ‘em and take ‘em back to the rest of the family. Do you believe that?” She nodded her head and sniffled some more. “I’d hate to think you’re doubting my skill and an expert hunter and tracker,” he said and smiled at her. She tried to smile back at him, but couldn’t make it convincing enough. “Just close your beautiful eyes. We got a long trail ahead of us tomorrow.” He put his arm around her and she laid her head on his bare chest. She knew Daryl would keep her safe, she knew she could keep him safe, but also knowing that they would be trailing a probable psychopath didn’t calm her nerves. She soon felt his breathing slow until she knew he was asleep, while she lay there thinking about what they would be walking into next.