Full Time Job

I slowly opened my eyes to reveal the light blue glow of sunrise shining through the window. I rolled over and felt the cold bed next to me, Daryl wasn’t there anymore. I sat up slowly in bed, pulling the cotton white flat sheet around my naked body. He was wearing just his loose green plaid pajama pants that hung deliciously along his sexy hip line. Daryl was sitting on the antique captain’s chair that sat near the end of the bed, next to the dresser. He was restringing his crossbow and looked up from his work to look over at me. A gently smile formed on his face.

“You sure are a sight for sore eyes,” he muttered softly and I smiled as the butterflies quickly returned to my tummy. I climbed out of bed; my muscles were stiff from the activities I partook in the night before. I wrapped the sheet completely around me like a strapless toga and stood in front of him, and he set his crossbow on top of the dresser. I sat sideways across his lap and loosely wrapped my arms around his neck. He kissed me amorously …it was a soft caressing kiss that felt so nice on my lips.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, but it wasn’t awkward. With Daryl, I didn’t feel the need to fill every second with conversation. Silence was just as nice as talking to him, as far as I was concerned. The events of our night together played through my mind, and I felt warm desire pool in my stomach. He was amazing, and I thought our night together was so perfect. I began to wonder if it was as good for him as it was for me. I would say that it was the best sex that I’ve ever had, but I’ve never felt for anyone the same way that I feel about Daryl.

“What are ya thinkin’ about?” He asked gently, and tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I met his gaze and his light eyes were searching mine. I blushed and giggled lightly.

“What?” he repeated, smiling at me and waiting for me to answer.

“Just thinking about last night,” I said, blushing lightly.

“What about last night?” he asked, planting soft kisses on my neck.

“I was just wondering, ya know, if you had had as good of a time as I did,” I answered, nervously. He smiled into my neck and placed a few more kisses before looking back directly into my eyes.

“Well, love, lemme just say this. You’re the only girl that I plan on sleeping with a second time…not because last night was perfect, but because you’re the only person that I can’t ever stop thinkin’ about.” He confidently explained. I smiled and tried to ignore the annoying butterflies that had returned. He gently lifted my chin so he could look into my eyes.

“You’re my girl, Gianna,” he said solemnly and I kissed him sweetly. I laid my head on my shoulder and felt him run his fingertips up and down the small of my back, over the sheet I was wrapped in. We sat quietly for a little while longer before I got up and pulled on some black yoga pants and a black sports bra. Daryl had stepped into the bathroom, brushed his teeth and groaned promiscuously and squeezed my butt as I was leaned over the bed, trying to spread the blanket out smoothly while I made it.

“I gotta get out of here and go hunt before you and your sexy ass persuade me to do otherwise…We gotta eat…” he muttered as he pulled one of his long sleeved flannels on. I turned to face him and he had a seductive smirk on his face that screamed, ‘I’ve seen you naked…” He kissed my forehead lightly and walked towards the door.

I glanced out the window and swore that I saw a man standing about twenty feet away, staring eerily at me through the window, he was standing dead still. I gasped in fear and froze in my spot. We hadn’t seen any walkers on the property, but this creature looked like a perfectly live human. He was wearing dark colored clothing, a tan vest, had withered, tan skin, and short dark hair.

“What is it?” Daryl asked, urgency rang in his voice. I looked away from the figure out of the window and over to him as he quickly crossed the room, and as we both peered back out the window again, the figure was gone. I walked over to the window, looking frantically around for any trace of the figure that I had just seen.

“Gia, what is it?” he repeated impatiently, following me to the window and pulling me away from it. He stood exactly where I just had, studying the property through the window.

“I thought I saw someone, standing there, staring at me from down there,” I said shakily, pointing to the area where I thought I had seen something… or someone. My heart was racing. Daryl looked over at me, and taking in my frightened appearance, pulled me tightly into a hug.

“There’s no one there, babe,” he said quietly in my ear. “I’ll check out the area when I go to hunt, but I think your eyes were playing tricks on ya…” he said dismissively. I sat on the edge of the bed, the vision of the man staring up at me was burned into my memory. I nodded to Daryl, who was telling me that after he hunted, he still had the workbench and a few other things to sort through in the shed.

“Do you want me to stay?” he asked again and I shook my head. I was being silly. There was no way that I could have seen what I saw. I stood up walked over to him as he stood by the door and kissed his cheek.

“You’re right, it was probably nothing,” I said, and he left a few moments later. I took a deep breath and pulled on a t-shirt and quietly crept out of the bedroom. The rest of the group was still asleep, as it was still very early in the morning. I cracked the door to the living room open and peeked inside. Rick, Carl and Vinny were sleeping soundly on a large pallet on the living room floor. Vinny was snuggled into Carl’s side, whose head rested on Rick’s abdomen. I smiled to myself and quietly shut the door behind me.

I quietly started to make a pot of coffee and put away the dishes from Daryl and I’s dinner the evening before. My stomach turned nervously as I remembered that he had lifted me up and carried me to the bedroom for this exact spot in front of the sink. I watched Daryl through the window above the kitchen sink as he was looking around the spot that I had pointed at earlier, finding nothing. He shrugged and then walked out of the clearing and into the nearby woods. I still was sure that I saw something, but the ridiculousness of the idea made me start to doubt myself more and more.

I poured myself a cup of coffee and sweetened it with some sugar that we had acquired from a rundown restaurant that was abandoned after the outbreak. I sipped it gingerly and sat alone at the kitchen table, enjoying the peace and quiet.

I shivered slightly and rubbed up and down my arms, realizing that the room was starting to get cold. I glanced towards the wood burning stove in the room and saw that the embers were faintly glowing inside... indicating that it needed more wood. I pulled on my fleece jacket and zipped it close over my t-shirt and pulled on my tennis shoes that were left in a pile with everyone else’s shoes by the door. I quietly crept out of the front door to the cabin, trying not to wake anybody.

I walked around the house and still had the tense, peculiar feeling that I was being watched as I walked quickly to the wood pile, grabbing an armful of wood, and turned to return back inside. My breath clouded the cold, dewy morning air around me as I walked. I returned to the kitchen and quietly opened the small door to the wood burning stove, and shoved a few planks of wood inside, and the door squeaked as I closed it.

I returned to my spot at the kitchen table and picked up my coffee cup, sipping it lightly. A short while later, I heard a door open and close down the hall, and smiled and nodded towards Hershel as he walked sleepily into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Gianna,” he said cordially and I poured him a cup of coffee, with no sugar, like he always requested it. We chatted lightly for almost an hour before the rest of the group slowly emerged from their bedrooms, drinking coffee and sitting in the kitchen in their pajamas. When Vinny emerged from the living room, fully dressed in the outfit that I packed for him, followed by Rick and Carl, I smiled widely at him and he ran up to me and into my arms as I sat at the table. I hugged him tightly, joy filling my heart as soon as I caught a glimpse of him. A night alone with Daryl was utterly fantastic, but could never compare to the happiness that I felt when Vinny kissed my cheek.

“Did you have fun?” I asked excitedly and he nodded animatedly. He began to tell me all about the scary stories that Rick told and how they had cooked their fish in the campfire.

“Don’t forget, little man, the ‘Cowboys Only’ party isn’t over yet. You still want to go fishing with me and Carl, right?” Rick sang out to Vinny, who grinned hugely and nodded.

I stood up and started to cook pancakes from a batter mix that you just add water to that I had found in the pantry.

“We don’t have any syrup, though,” I complained as I dumped a small amount of oil into the frying pan that I was warming on the stove.

“I could make a sugary syrup from just sugar and water,” Beth offered, “it won’t have the same taste as maple, but it’d still be somethin’.”

“Be my guest!” I said happily and we worked side by side together in the kitchen as the group was talking together around the table behind us.

Suddenly, the lights flickered off and the mechanical humming noise of the generator that we had all gotten used to had slowly died down to complete silence. We all sat quietly for a few seconds in the dark kitchen and Rick’s voice rang out around us.

“Generator’s out of fuel,” he said, and chuckled. I walked over to the only small window in the kitchen, besides the other small window by the kitchen sink. I yanked the dark blue curtains back and light flooded into the kitchen. I stared at the spot that I had seen the figure at earlier, and still no one or nothing was there. T-Dogg and Glenn left the kitchen to go refill the generator, and I didn’t realize I was still staring awkwardly out the window.

“What’s out there, Zia?” I heard Vinny ask, and tore my gaze from the window.

“Nothing, Sweetie,” I answered and sat down to join the group sitting around the large table. The lights flickered on and the mechanical hum started buzzing again about ten minutes later, and Beth and I finished serving breakfast for everyone.

After we ate breakfast and cleaned up, we dispersed as each small group left the cabin to perform whatever daily tasks that they had set to do that day. Carol, Lori, and I were the last few remaining in the kitchen, and I yawned idly as we sat around the table together.

“Didn’t get much sleep last night, huh G?” Lori asked, chuckling. I rolled my eyes at her but felt my cheeks warm as I tried not to blush. Carol smiled at me and quickly changed the subject.

“Lori and I have to go talk with Hershel. He’s training me on how to deliver the baby, when the time comes,” Carol said quietly. She stood up slowly from the table, and Lori followed her out of the room, waddling slightly due to her pregnant belly that seemed to be growing larger by the day.

I yawned again and since I had nothing really to do, I decided to nap until Vinny got back from his fishing trip. I laid down in mine and Daryl’s bed and quickly drifted off to sleep.

I woke hours later when Vinny had jumped onto the bed and shook me awake.

“Zia! Zia! I caught a fish!” he said excitedly and I sat out of bed sleepily.

“You did?” I asked, yawning as I stretched.

“Yeah! And Mr. Troy helped me reel him in, but Mr. Rick didn’t like that…” he chattered on and I looked down at him peculiarly.

“What?” I asked him again, confused.

“Mr. Troy. We met him by the water, and he had his friend, Mr. Ben. They were nice at first but then Mr. Rick told them to go home and never ever come back.” I hung onto every single word that my nephew was saying, trying to make sense of his chatter. I quickly got of bed, and picked Vinny up, slinging him onto my hip and exited my bedroom. I walked into the kitchen, where Lori, T-Dogg, Carol and Carl were sitting around the table.

“Where’s Rick?” I asked quickly, scanning the faces of the people in front of me.

“He’s out cleaning the deer that Daryl shot today, in the shed…” T-Dogg answered, looking at me quizzically. I quickly set Vinny down in an open chair and told him to stay with Carol.

“What’s wrong, Gia?” Lori asked impatiently.

“Nothing,” I started, “I just wanted to ask how the fishing trip went,” I finished as I pulled my jacket back on and slipped into my tennis shoes.

“Carol, are you ok with him?” I asked, motioning towards Vinny, and she nodded and answered, “Of course…” I kissed Vinny on the cheek and walked out of the cabin and jogged towards the shed that was on the other side of the open clearing. I looked nervously around at the tree line all around me, still feeling like someone was watching me. I shivered from the chill in the air as I approached the shed. I heard Rick’s muffled voice inside.

“We have five guys, and they only have two…” I heard him say.

“…that we know of,” Daryl added. “I don’t like it. If they were at the river then that means that they jumped the fence. They knew they were on private property…” I tugged open the heavy shed door and both Daryl and Rick glanced at me and away, they were butchering the deer in the shed and the smell of salty blood and game meat filled the air. I crinkled my nose and approached them, noticing that they were abruptly quiet.

“Rick,” I started, trying to calm myself, “When were you going to tell me about the two guys that you saw at the river today? And one of them touched my nephew?” I asked, trying to steady my shaking voice. Daryl looked towards my face in concern. I was glaring at Rick who as looking at the ground in front of him.

“I’m telling Daryl right now, Gianna…” he said, holding his hands up defensively. I shifted my weight nervously between my legs and said, “Vinny told me they were named Troy, and Ben...” Rick nodded and looked at me curiously. “What did they look like?” I asked deliberately.

“One had longer blonde hair and a goatee, and the other had short black hair.” He described and shrugged.

“Did the one with the dark hair have on black clothes and a tan vest?” I asked seriously and he looked down at me, surprise in his expression.

“Yeah, why?” he asked and my stomach dropped to the ground. I started to rub my eyes because they were welling up in tears. Someone had been watching me this morning. A shiver ran up my spine, and it had nothing to do with the cold.

“Gia thinks she saw someone staring at her from the window this morning,” Daryl muttered.

“I DID see someone this morning, Daryl, Rick met him today at the river!” I said, my voice was shaking out of my control. Rick was looking at Daryl, over to me, and back to Daryl again. I wrapped my arms around my body, trying not to feel frightened. I watched as Daryl pulled off the long rubber gloves that he was wearing and covered in deer blood as he stepped over the animal that they were butchering on the floor to the shed and he wrapped his arms around me. Rick watched him curiously.

“Even if you did see someone, and if Rick saw them at the river, that doesn’t mean that I’m going to let anything happen to you… I promise… It’s okay, G” he said quietly in my ear as he hugged me. He released me but still kept an arm wrapped around my waist as Rick continued talking.

“Two men approached me and the boys as we were fishing. They were friendly enough, and I was contemplating on whether or not I should invite them into the camp, but a small, loud feeling in my gut told me not to, and I trusted my instincts. The more they talked, the more it seemed as if they were acting like someone better then they truly are… I didn’t want to take off and make them believe that I suspected them, or lead them back to the cabin…” Rick said, and I found myself agreeing that that would be exactly what should have been done. “They kept asking me about the camp, our numbers, and how many women we had. The one called Troy was really interested in how many females we had at camp.”

“What’d you tell ‘em?” Daryl asked, and Rick shrugged. “I told him there weren’t any women at camp…” Daryl nodded approvingly.

“Well, Vinny caught a fish, and Troy, the one with the tan vest, wrapped his arm around him and was teaching him how to reel the fish in on the fishing pole. He set him down, unharmed, but I pulled my gun on him. There was something truly dark about this guy and it was almost like he was boasting that he was able to easily get to Vinny and could have hurt him if he wanted to… It was eerie and completely instinctual.” Rick recalled, making direct eye contact with both me and Daryl.

“If they were strapped, they didn’t point any guns at me in return… I told him to stay away or I’d not hesitate to kill him.” Rick added. I buried my face into the small crook between Daryl’s neck and shoulder. I was trying to hold back tears, I was terrified and angry with myself for not being there to protect Vinny.

“Before they lurked back off into the woods, Troy had told me that he already knew where we slept and they could come and find us whenever they wanted.” Rick concluded. I felt Daryl’s body tense next to me, and wrath was painted on his face.

“And nothing that they said or did led you to believe that they came from a group of more guys? Daryl asked, anger roughened his voice.

“I just don’t know…” Rick answered. Daryl nodded, and slowly released his grip that he held around me.

“Well, I say that we finish butchering this deer. Tonight, we have watch duties on the house, and tomorrow, we find these idiots and break their fucking heads open…” Daryl suggested. He kissed my cheek.

“Gianna, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone at camp. No need to alarm everyone. Daryl and I will take care of it.” Rick instructed, using his authoritative cop voice.

“You better,” I answered and left them in the shed to continue cleaning the deer.