Spider Monkey

Chapter Forty - Alexandria

Hedley sat with Carl and Judith in the RV on their way to Aaron's camp.

They picked up Eric - Aaron's boyfriend and the one Aaron mentioned that was with him when watching the group. He got injured and was resting in the back with Aaron watching over him. Abraham and Rosita were up front with the map.

Carl held onto Judith with one arm, his free hand seeking Hedley's. The boys were nervous of this new place but didn't show it any other way except for the repetitive squeezes of comfort made by their fingers.

"How much longer we got?" Abraham asked the woman next to him.

"Looks like we're a little over halfway there. Why?"

"We can make it. We can make it." He smiled.

But that smile soon vanished when the Rv halted, battery dead.

"Can't win." Abraham growled, "Might as well paint it red, put a ladder on it."

Everyone got out of the Rv and waited in the open.

"All we need is another battery." Glenn said, going back into the Rv to show Abraham the spare batteries hidden in a compartment.

Hedley saw something in the trees and ran over to them and began to climb.

Merle spotted this and nudged Daryl, "What he doin'?"

The others in the group watched as Hedley went up high. He then began to shake the branches using his body, bouncing up and down. And suddenly, fresh green pears started to fall from the branches, hitting the floor with a small thud.

Daryl chuckled, going over to pick up a pair, biting into it before exclaiming in disbelief. The juices ran down his fingers. He looked up at his son smiling up in the tree, "Good eye, Spider Monkey."

Merle, Carol, Tara and Gabriel collected the fallen fruit, handing them out to the others with new found hope and small grins.

"I get it now." Tara said, "Why you call him 'Spider Monkey'."

Hedley had a pair in his mouth as he swung through the trees, bare feet grabbing branches.

The Rv revved with life and the group cheered and applauded, going back inside.

"Hedley!" Daryl called for his kid, who was still in the trees. Hedley poked his head out, listening. "Come on! Ya can climb later!"

Hedley groaned but made his way back into the vehicle, sitting beside Carl, who was eating one of the pairs, feeding some to Judith. Carl looked at Hedley with a smile, "Thanks for the fruit."

Hedley smirked, shrugging, taking out his flipbook. 'You're welcome'.

A few hours of driving and finally the group made it to the steel gates, a sign hanging from the top. 'Welcome To Alexandria. Safe Zone. Mercy For The Lost. Vengeance For The Plunderers'.

The group got out of their vehicles and went up to the gate. Rick held Judith as he went forward.

Carol went up to him, "Even though you were wrong, you were still right." She then made her way to Merle, who slung his arm around her shoulders.

Carl reached over for Hedley's hand as they looked up at the tall steel in front of them.

The gate opened and Aaron took Eric in and passed him over to someone else. Another man came into view. No one of the group moved.

A squeak of an animal made everyone reach for their weapons but Daryl quickly shot it with an arrow, picking it up by the tail. A dead opossum.

Daryl looked at the stunned man at the gate, "We brought dinner."

Aaron gestured for them to enter, "It's okay. Come on in, guys."

One by one, the group entered cautiously, carefully. They looked around for any threat to attack, like predators awaiting prey.

"Before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." Said the man, looking at the group like they were wild lions, "Stay, you hand them over."

"We don't know if we want to stay." Rick said, holding his gun and baby.

"It's fine, Nicholas." Aaron said.

Rick continued, "If we were gonna use them, we would have started already."

Aaron turned to Nicholas, "Let them talk to Deanna first."

"Who's Deanna?" Abraham asked, expecting an answer.

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place. Rick, why don't you start?"

A walker snarling echoed in Rick's ears. He turned round and saw one a few yards from the gate. "Sasha."

Sasha nodded, turned around, aimed her gun and fired. The walker's head exploded due to the impact and fell to the ground as the gate closed.

Nicholas looked stunned. And Rick saw it and said, "It's a good thing we're here."

****

Hedley was examining the bookcase in Deanna's office, tilting his head to read the spines. He spotted an Entomology book and hummed happily. He took it and started flipping through it, loving the drawings of insects inside.

"You like bugs?" Deanna asked.

Hedley nodded, rocking back and forth.

"Your father and uncle told me you don't speak." She said, "I brought this. I think it might help." She put a whiteboard and pen on the chair for Hedley to grab. "It'll probably be easier. You write on it then can wipe it away and reuse it."

Hedley took it and wrote his name before using his sleeve to erase it. It made him vocal stim in amusement.

"Can I ask you some questions, Hedley?"

He nodded, eyes roaming around the room as he rocked on his toes.

"How have you managed to survive?"

Hedley thought for a moment then wrote something and showed it to Deanna.

'Together. Family.'

Deanna smiled warmly, "Mm. Do you want to be here? In Alexandria?"

Hedley struggled to write an answer. Instead, he shrugged.

"How did you get those scars on your face? Did someone in the group do that to you?"

Hedley shook his head, writing on the board. 'Three men attacked me'.

"How did you escape?"

'I killed them'.

Deanna swallowed the lump in her throat, nodding then smiled. "That will be all, Hedley. I hope you and your family are happy here."

Hedley nodded, going out the door with the Entomology book in hand.