Just Gone

55: ❤️Familiar Faces❤️

We had been digging for a while, my skin was damp with sweat. Even when my arms ached I didn't stop, I needed the distraction. My gun was on the ground a few feet from the whole, I found the constant movement had made it dig into me painfully, so I set it down.

"Is it just you and Maggie leavin'?" I asked, I knew the answer. Something in me wanted to know more about it, I wished I could go, if Daryl went maybe I could.

"On the run? Yeah, we should be going soon, just wanted to see what I could get done before. Why? Did you want me to find something for you?"

I shook my head and coughed a bit, dumping a pile of dirt on the ground next to me. After a few minutes of silence, we both noticed Axel and Oscar walking toward us.

Glenn stepped out of the hole to talk to them. "How's the perimeter look?"

"We got the Walkers spread out," Axel waved toward the fence at the far side of the field. "Need help?"

Glenn only turned away, stepping back into the hole. I watched the prisoners out of the corner as I continued to try and loosen more dirt.

Axel crossed his arms, "Your friends, they were . . . they were good folks."

"They were family." Glenn became defensive, I wasn't sure if I'd ever seen him that way.

"I think I had one friend like that my whole life," Oscar regarded, his eyes briefly flickering over to me before going back to Glenn. "You got a whole group, sorry you lost 'em."

Glenn waited a moment then handed his shovel to Oscar, climbing out of the grave again. "I need one more."

I watched in confusion he walked away, leaving me with them. Then I noticed Hershel standing behind the fence, waiting for him. The men didn't hesitate, Oscar began helping me with the grave I was in, while Axel started on the second.

There was something comforting about being around them. They may have been sad, but it was only for the groups benefit, maybe some guilt by association of what happened. But they weren't grieving, I didn't have to be careful and feel awkward about it, sure it was awkward but not in the heavy, confusingly emotional way.

That peaceful feeling of mild comfort evaporated only moments after.

"I wanted to ask you something . . . don't want to freak you out or anything." Oscar spoke in a hushed voice, like he didn't know what to say. I just paused in my movements, watching him, I wondered if it would be about when he called me kiddo. My stomach flipped again with just the thought of it.

"Is your last name Davies?"

My mouth fell open and I could feel my eyes bulging out of my head. Speechless, my head whipped around so quick I felt my bad ear crackle and almost gave myself whiplash.

Oscar held up his palm, looking guilty and somewhat relieved, "Thought I was going crazy, like I said, didn't mean to freak you out. That's it, right? Your name?"

I nodded slowly.

"You wouldn't remember, I think you were, like, four? I used to come by and see your dad."

"Ya know my Daddy?"

"We went to high school together, we were close for a while. After graduation I left town, didn't see him for a long time. Not until after he had you, but we didn't really keep in touch. I think my brother did though, Marcus, you know him?"

Marcus. I felt as if an elastic band had been stretched around my brain and just snapped. Marcus had been the first Walker I'd ever seen. He was the whole reason Daddy decided to leave for Atlanta. After Marcus showed up bitten by a sick person, he became sick and died. Though back then we hadn't known the extent of what was going on.