Hope Is a Waking Dream

Chapter 22

Merle awoke early the next morning, eager to begin his search for Daryl. He stopped by the Governor's apartment to let him know that he planned to be gone for about a week looking for his brother. The Governor wanted him to take Martinez with him, strength in numbers he said, but Merle refused saying that Daryl was skittish around strangers and he didn't want to risk him bolting before he could talk to him. Phillip reluctantly agreed to the request and allowed Merle to leave Woodbury for the week. As he was loading his supplies into the bed of the truck, he saw a beautiful blonde walking on the other side of the street. "Hey sugartits, how ya doing this morning?" He said as he walked across the street to greet her.

"I'm doing just fine Merle. How are you?" she replied sarcastically.

"Got me a good feeling about today. Imma head out, find my brother and bring him home."

"Do you even know where to start looking Merle? He could be miles away from the farm by now, if he survived."

"That boy can survive anything blondie. I ain't worried about that."

"Where ya gonna start, huh? Do you have any idea what direction he might have gone in?" Andrea asked.

"Our illustrious leader just got back from a scouting mission. Shumpert and Martinez said they saw a group of people out that way and one of 'em had a crossbow. Bound to be him, haven't seen a lot of those lately."

She patted him on the chest, "I hope you do find him. He and I bonded back at the farm, and I would love to see my friend again."

Merle side-eyed her suspiciously. "You did what with my baby brother? He don't bond with anyone."

"I know, but this was pretty close." She ended the conversation abruptly and walked passed him and down the street.

"Hey girlie! Why didn't you and I ever hook up?" he shouted at her retreating form.

"You called me a whore and a rug muncher, Merle," she yelled back at him as she turned the corner. He shook his head and snickered, "I sure got a way with words, don't I?" he said to himself.

"How long do you want me to wait to pull outta here boss?" Martinez asked the Governor.

"Give him a thirty minute head start, you should be able to track him, right?"

"Yeah, I'll watch him leave, see what direction he heads in. You really think he's gonna fuck you over?"

"Merle's been loyal to me and this town, He's the type of man I need at my side and if his brother is anything like him, we'll do good to have them on our side. But I'm not ignorant Martinez, I know how strong familial loyalty is also, especially in these times. The only thing Merle has wanted since we found him was to find his brother. I'm just afraid that in all his excitement, he might forget to come home. He may decide that he would rather take his brother and leave us, and I can't let that happen. I just want you to keep and eye on him. If he finds him, make sure they both make it back home, preferably alive. I'm gonna need help dealing with all the new members of our community and he knows how to do that better than anyone else."

"Alright boss," Martinez said walking to the door. "What if he doesn't find him and still don't come back after a week?"

"I would still like to have him back home alive, but if that proves to be a difficult task, do what you have to do. I need at least one of you to come back."

It took Merle about two hours to reach the housing development. From the outside, he could see no evidence of anyone being there. He didn't see any vehicles that weren't stripped or rusting out. He had hoped to find his precious motorcycle, but there was no sign of it. Shumpert had told him which house they had stayed in, but he didn't know what direction their guests had come from. He started at the house Shumpert had told him about and went straight to the basement. He found nothing but overturned chairs and pieces of rope. Searching the rest of the house, he found no evidence that Daryl had been there, so he moved on checking the three houses on either side. By mid-afternoon, he was tired, hungry and frustrated. Not one sign of his brother anywhere. He went back to his truck and ate his lunch, a bag of deer jerky and a can of mixed fruit. He looked at all the houses, trying to see if anything stood out to him. He was only gonna look at two more, then call it a day.

He decided to spend the night in the last house he checked. There was something different about this one. He noticed that immediately. There had been a fire in the fireplace not too long ago, less than twenty-four hours. There were empty food cans in the trash and blankets on the floor. When he went upstairs into the bedroom, he finally found the evidence he had been looking for, a leather quiver filled with homemade bolts. "Hot damn little brother," Merle exclaimed. "You a dumbass for leaving these, but I'm damn glad ya did."

When Martinez pulled up to the development, he could see Merle's truck from the front gate. He hid his own vehicle behind some trees and bushes opposite the entry gate and sat watching for that asshole hick to show himself. He had never like Merle, of course Merle didn't like him either. The redneck was a bigot and didn't like anyone who wasn't white. He knew the Governor didn't trust Merle, but kept him around to do the dirty work. He had no problem killing anyone the Governor wanted dead. He had no conscience or scruples. He figured Merle wasn't good for much else. He figured he had been in a drug gang before the world went to shit, he was higher than a kite when they found him in that box truck with his whole hand off. Martinez knew the Governor wanted Merle back in Woodbury alive, with or without his brother, but he wasn't under any obligation to protect Merle. If that asshat got bit, or shot, well that was none of his business. He had been the Governor's right hand before Merle came along, he would be again.

Michonne was sitting on the bed in their little room when Andrea walked in. "Did you talk to him?" she asked before the door closed.

"Yes I did. He doesn't understand why you don't like him. He wants to know what he can do to make you trust him."

Michonne stood from the bed and walked over to her friend. "He can give me my weapon back, and let us leave."

"I know you don't feel comfortable here Mich, but it's safe and secure. There are people here, we can build relationships."

"I don’t want to build relationships. I have you, right? That's all I need . . . and my katana, and my freedom"

Andrea sighed and walked to the small refrigerator in their room, grabbing a bottle of water. "We have freedom here. We can walk the streets freely, we can go anywhere we want, and Phillip said he would be happy to return your katana. All you have to do is go pick it up."

"I could always go wherever I wanted whenever I wanted. That's not what I'm talking about. I want to do those things without being watched. He has eyes all over this town Andrea, you know that. Merle, Martinez and Shumpert. One of them is always around.

"It's called security, they're just keeping everyone safe. Please Michonne, go get your katana and talk to Phillip. Just get to know him and give this place a chance, for me. Please?"

"I'll talk to him," Michonne acquiesced, "but I'm not pulling any punches. I don't think he is the man he portrays himself to be, and I'm gonna prove it."

"Fuck!" Daryl exclaimed loudly and slammed on the breaks, causing Melissa to do the same behind him. He turned off the engine and sat cursing himself until his companion walked up to the window.

"What happened Daryl? Are you okay?" she asked leaning into the truck.

"We left the goddamn bolts at the house." He was pissed and frustrated. His legs were beginning to cramp up from all the driving and he was hungry. When he realized they had forgotten the bolts and sticks, that was the last straw.

"It's okay, we can make more. Let's take a rest, eat lunch and then we can collect more sticks," Melissa said in a soothing tone. He looked at her smiling face and it calmed him down. "Alright," he said and stepped out of the truck. He helped her grab some food cans and bottles of water and they settled in a clearing on the side of the road where Daryl began to collect wood for a fire.

"Think I'll see if I can get us a couple of squirrels or a rabbit to go with this feast. Won't be long, go ahead and get the fire started." She found enough sticks to make a spit and assembled them over the flame. There must have been a lot of activity in the woods, because fifteen minutes later Daryl returned with two squirrels and a rabbit attached to his belt. She helped him skin them and put them on the spit. Afterwards, he sat next to her by the fire, so close their thighs were touching. She remembered that she had the camera in her bag and took it out. "I want a picture of both of us, together. We can do one for you and one for me."

"Alright, if that's what you want," he said feigning annoyance.

"It's not all that I want," she said coyly, "but this will do for now." He put his arm around her as she lifted the camera trying to get them both in the shot. When the pictures were developed, Daryl took a pen out of his bag and wrote their names at the bottom. "Just in case you get knocked over the head and forget who I am," he said, trying to make a joke.

"I'll never forget you Daryl. It would leave a hole in my heart." He kissed her deeply and ran his hands over her arms.

"I don't deserve those kinda words, but I can't tell you how good it feels to hear 'em. Especially from you." He kissed her again and moved his lips down her jawline to her neck. When his stomach interrupted them, he laughed. "Guess I'm hungry for food too."

They ate their fill of squirrel, rabbit and canned fruit, Daryl also downing a can of peas in addition. They packed up what meat was left and extinguished the fire. Then they set out to find new bolts. "Left the damn quiver too. Gonna hafta find something to carry 'em"

"Maybe we'll find a town or a sporting goods store. I would think there would have been a lot of hunters around here."

"Hope so. Can't really hold 'em and use the bow at the same time." They called it a day after finding about twenty good sized sticks and Daryl sat them in his truck on the passengers seat, then he walked her to her truck. "Gonna try to find us a place to stay tonight, something with a roof. I think it's gonna rain soon, tonight or tomorrow and I don't want us getting stuck in it. If we find that sporting goods store we can grab a couple tents to take, just in case." She agreed and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I wish we had cell phones, or walkie talkies, or even a CB radio. Its too quiet in that cab all by myself."

"I know darlin'. I'll keep an eye out for something like that too." He kissed her slowly and opened the door for her to climb in Once he was in his own truck, they set off down the road.

Michonne stood at the door of the Governor's apartment. She didn't want to talk to him, she didn't want to go in there. She knocked three times and the door opened quickly. "Hello Michonne," the Governor said smiling. "So glad you came by. You're here for your sword, I assume."

"Yes, I am." She said sternly.

"Please come in," he offered and stepped aside so she could pass. "Have a seat, I've kept it safe in my cabinet. I'll just be a minute." He turned to go into the other room, but Michonne did not make herself at home. She stood watching him walk to the glass cabinet in the corner and remove her katana. "It's a beautiful weapon. It must be an amazing sight seeing you wield it. I'm sure you manipulate it with deadly accuracy." He stared her down as he offered it to her.

"I do, as a matter of fact," she said curtly as she slung it on her back.

"Did you learn from a Master, or are you self taught?" He sat on the couch and invited her, once again to have a seat, which she refused.

"I was taking lessons before all this, but didn't get the chance to finish them. I learned the rest by trial and error. " She stared him down, wanting him to know he did not intimidate her.

After a moment of silence, he spoke again. " Andrea tells me you're not happy here, that you don't feel comfortable. Why is that?"

"I don't trust you," she said simply. "This world you've created gives these people a false sense of security. They're helpless if this place is overrun. They will all die. Do you want their blood on your hands?"

He stood from the couch and went to the makeshift bar on the other side of the room and poured himself a drink. "These people are safer here behind these walls than any other place they could be. Most of them wouldn't survive out there, you're right about that, but they are safe because the walls are sturdy and secured, and because I have guards and snipers posted all over this town. I assign only the most skilled to wall duty. We haven't had one breech since I built this town, and I trust my guards to take out any threat they perceive. These people love me Michonne, they trust and respect me. Give it time, you will too."

She shook her head in amusement. "I'm glad you trust your men, because I don't. I'm glad these people respect you, because I don't. I'm not gonna lie to you Governor, I'm suspicious. There is something going on in this town, you're hiding something from these people and I'm going to find out what it is."

It was getting late, the sun was beginning to set and Daryl hadn't found a place to camp for the night. They had taken a few piss breaks and one heated make out break in Melissa's truck. They hadn't gotten as far down the road as Daryl had hoped and hadn't found any clues to the whereabouts of their friends. His eyes searched the road until he could see what looked like a chimney through the tree tops. He took a left and pulled to the side of the road. Getting out he went to speak to Melissa. "You see that chimney over top of them trees? I think that could be an old hunting cabin. It’s getting dark and we gotta find something fast. We'll take the trucks as far as we can and walk the rest."

She followed him, the trucks maneuvering quite well over the terrain. There weren't a lot of trees in this area, they had all been cut down years ago. Daryl parked the truck in front of a dilapidated shack, there were slats missing and a window broken out. The two grabbed their weapons and circled the hovel. This hadn't been a hunting cabin, Daryl thought, it hadn't been built for that. When he saw the small building in back, he knew exactly what this was. They found nothing on the outside and slowly approached the front door. He jiggled the door handle and found it was unlocked. He banged on the door a couple of times and waited for the telltale sounds of groaning. When he heard it, he looked at Melissa and silently conveyed their plan of attack. He pushed through the door and saw a walker, fat and balding, wearing a stained wife beater and an equally stained pair of jeans. It was shuffling toward the door when a bolt caught it between the eyes. Melissa followed as he entered the room. There were two rooms, the main room led to a kitchen with a table, stove and refrigerator. The two looked around but found no other threats, so they went out to the trucks and grabbed a few items.

Once they had disposed of the corpse and Daryl had barricaded the windows, he pulled a flashlight from his bag. "Come on, got something I want to show ya," he said and reached out to take her hand. "This place weren't no hunting cabin," he said as he led her to the back yard. "As soon as I saw this, I knew exactly what it was."

"An outhouse Daryl? You brought me out here to see an outhouse?"

"Pfft, ain't no outhouse woman." He opened the door and shone his light inside. There was a fairly large contraption surrounded by crates of mason jars full of clear liquid. "This here is a still, and these here jars are full of shine." He bent over to pick one up and handed it to her.

"Are we gonna drink this?" she asked as the liquid sloshed around in the jar.

"We could, if ya want, but not too much. I suspect you've never had shine before."

"No, I've had whiskey and beer, but that's it."

"Then you go slow. I also thought we could take some with us, just in case we meet people. We could use it to barter for supplies if we need to."

"Or burn down the whole town," she said laughing. She carried the one jar inside deciding the would pack up the trucks with some before they left tomorrow. She opened the jar and sat down in the ragged armchair in the corner. She sniffed it and made a horrible face.

"Probably don't taste much better than it smells," he said making fun of her reaction.

"I'm sure it doesn't, but I'm gonna take a sip anyway." Daryl went into the kitchen and found a mostly clean glass on the small countertop. He poured a fingertip size amount in the glass and handed it to her.

"Bottom's up!" she said and swallowed it all at once. Her eyes bugged out of her head and she began to cough uncontrollably. "FUCK! This burns like a bitch!" Daryl was rolling on the floor laughing his ass of at her.

"There's a reason they call it 'White Lightning' sweetheart." As soon as she regained her composure, she handed to glass to him.

"I'm sure you're accustomed to the taste. Show me how a real man handles his shine."

"No thank ya. I don't want to get drunk and do something stupid," he said taking the jar and glass back to the kitchen. Melissa stood and followed him.

"What stupid? Like run around naked in the woods stupid?"

"Naw, never did anything like that. That was the kinda shit Merle pulled when he was drunk or high."

"Okay then, what stupid shit did you do?" He sighed and sat down at the table, "Fight's mostly. Merle always had a hand in that too. Sometimes . . . . I'd find a girl to fuck. I lose my inhibitions, not as scared or nervous around women when I drink." She sat in the chair opposite him.

"You're not inhibited around me, you don't seem nervous or anxious anymore."

"That's 'cause I know you. I know how you feel about me. Those other women . . . didn't know their names half the time. None of 'em ever wanted to know me."

"I'm glad you let me know you. You're not that arrogant, angry asshole who tried to put a bolt in my head the first time he saw me."

He smiled shyly at her, "That seems like such a long time ago. I don't even remember who he was anymore." He stood up and walked to the other side of the table. "Let's go to bed. I wanna hold you." They went into the main room and lay their blankets on the floor. As they laid together, he put his arms around her and pulled her tight into his chest and kissed her shoulder.

"I need you to touch me Daryl, please." He continued to kiss her and moved his hand to cup her breast.

"Just tell me where darlin'." She turned in his arms to face him. "Everywhere," she replied. He slid her shirt up and over her head and quickly unhooked her bra. As he latched on to her breast, his hands began to remove her pants. The heat that came from his touch and his mouth were causing an ache to build in her core. He licked her clit slowly, drawing moans from her. His hands played with her breasts as he licked and sucked her juices. "I could never get enough of you Melissa. You taste so good." She could feel her orgasm building and removed one of his hands and placed it on her stomach.

"Fuck me Daryl. Use your fingers and fuck me. Make me cum. I'm so close." He did as she asked and inserted two fingers into her tight channel. He pumped them in and out while never taking his mouth off her. She was writhing and moaning and he could feel her walls tighten around his soaking digits.

"Cum baby. Cum for me, all over my fingers. I want to feel you cum Melissa." She released her orgasm on him and he continued to move his fingers and mouth until she lay still. He sat up on his knees and leaned over her body, kissing her and letting her taste herself on his lips. He then put his fingers in his mouth and sucked them clean. He laid down next to her and wrapped his arms around her again.

"Do you need . . ?" He stopped her before she could continue. "No baby, I'm good. I just want you to know how much I love you and need you. I want you to know how much I love to make you cum."

"I love you Daryl, more than anything. You're such a good man. I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"I feel the same way sweetheart," he said and soon they fell asleep in each other's arms.