The Middle of the End

Chapter five

Chapter Five: Picking Up The Pieces

On Glenn's last run to Atlanta I asked if he could pick me up a small dri-erase board and a couple of markers so I could communicate with members of the group who didn't understand sign language. It was mainly for Daryl when he wasn't busy hunting or doing other things. We'd taken the notebook from Shane's Jeep and when he found out, he was beyond livid. I didn't care and began the process of emotionally detatching myself from him. This new world was bringing out the worst in him and I was the only one who could see it.

Early this morning, Glenn left for a supply run into the city with Merle, Andrea, Jacqui, Morales, and T-Dog. They hoped to find more guns and ammunition because we were running dangerously low and Shane wouldn't stop yammering on about it.

"I'll see ya when I get back, alright?" Daryl said goodbye and headed into the woods for fresh meat. Shane and Jim were chopping firewood. Lori, Carol, and the kids were playing school with a math and history books; it was a bit pointless but seemed to give Carl and Sophia a sense of normalcy. After lunch, Lori snuck off. Shane was nowhere to be seen and I put two and two together. Screwing around, no doubt.

Amy and I helped carol and Maria with laundry while waiting for the group to get back when Davie let us know that a very loud siren could be heard from the campsite. We followed him to the RV where Dale, Shane, and Lori were talking.

"What's going on?" Amy asked, "Do you think it's them?"

A red sports car pulled up, the blaring alarm hurting my ears. Glenn got out, and Shane was yelling at him. Amy interrogated him about her sister. I went back to sit with Carl and we watched as everyone was reunited with loved ones. It bothered him, because he missed Rick. Lori told him it was ok, and that's when I looked up. Rick was standing next to one of the vans in disbelief.

"Lori." I pointed, and watching Carl as he ran to his father almost had me in tears. Rick was crying, Carl was crying. Lori was in shock and kept looking over at Shane.

I searched for Merle and that's when Glenn told me what had happened. Merle was being Merle, and it got him handcuffed to a roof. T-Dog had tripped and the keys fell down a drain; there was no time to help him free so he was left there. Daryl was going to freak out when he got back from his hunt and everyone was dreading his reaction. Like his father, he was quick to anger and often unpredictable; compared to Will and Merle he was the calmer one.

After we'd eaten a meal around the fire, Rick began to tell us how he'd woken up in the hospital, and Ed tried making his fire bigger. Shane confronted him and Dale asked what we should tell Daryl, now that Merle had been left behind.

"We should tell him the truth." Andrea said, to which we agreed. The kids were soon put to bed, and I followed Andrea and Amy into the RV.

"Tomorrow should be interesting." Amy sighed and rolled her eyes.

And she had been right. Daryl's return was anything but quiet; a waker had gotten the deer he'd been tracking and from what Amy told me, it hadn't been pleasant. I stayed in the RV when Rick told him about Merle, not wanting to get caught up in the drama. When things quieted a bit, Glenn gave me directions to where Daryl was calming down. He was sitting on a large rock looking down at the quarry.

"Mind ya business and leave me the hell 'lone!" he growled and turned around to see who was there. "Sorry. Thought you was Andrea or Lori or someone." I sat cross-legged on the ground to give him space, not caring if I got my jeans dirty. "We're goin' back to get 'em first thing in the mornin'." he paused, "I have to. You know I do, he's all I got."

"Shane thinks it's a bad idea. That with half the men gone the group'll be in danger." I whispered. I'd overheard Rick and Shane discussing it with Dale and they did have a point; that I can't deny.