Consumed | 𝐃𝐚𝐫𝐲𝐥 𝐃𝐢𝐱𝐨𝐧

nineteen.

Pushing the car door shut, Maggie and Glenn stand next to each other and talk quietly as they wait for me. They exchange a few kisses and I pretend gag at them causing them to look at me weirdly. "Don't be jealous." Maggie replies, looking back at me. She squints in the blinding sun.

"Not jealous." I reply, "Just repulsed by love." Okay maybe I was jealous but no way would I ever admit that. It was like admitting my biggest secret in the world. Maggie and Glenn were young and in love. It was no surprise they couldn't keep their hands off each other. Grabbing the bolt cutter from the car, I snap open the chain bolting the door closed before gently opening the door. Something crashes and then birds come flying at us. Instinctively, I swing at them with the bolt cutters as Maggie yelps. We all take a relieving breathe before Glenn walks into the building holding his torch.

Maggie shines her torch into the building as I take watch beside her. "Glenn, get that duck." Maggie tells him.

"What?" He gasps.

"Get that duck." She tells him again.

"You serious?" He asks in disbelief.

"Kids growing up in a prison could use some toys, numbnuts." I roll my eyes as I pace down the road a bit.

"Numbnuts?" Maggie asks, looking at me dumbfounded.

"Yeah." I nod and she raises her eyebrows, "Means stupid. You know idiot, slow, dumb..." Maggie widens her eyes and nods at me before entering the establishment as well. I stay outside taking watch of our surroundings just to be sure we don't get cornered by walkers or worse, people. Looking around the coast seemed clear but it felt like someone was watching me. My curiosity got the best of me as I pace down the street looking between cars as I do so. I pull my gun out, just in case. Creeping up along a dirty, grey car, Maggie and Glenn retreat from the store as they discuss what they got. I snap my head back towards the car as I spot something move from the other side.

"Gotta get back home." Glenn calls, "Probably make it back in time for dinner." My stomach gurgles at the word and I look back at the car before walking over to Maggie and Glenn.

"I like the quiet." Maggie passes the shopping basket to Glenn, "Back there, back home. I can always here them outside the fence no matter where you are." My stomach still rejoices from the word 'dinner' but I couldn't stop the feeling of being watched. Someone was here. I had to tell them before it's too late...

"And where is it y'all good people call it home?" A southern man pulls his gun out at us. His right arm was amputated and had a metal glove type thing on the end of his stump with a large, lengthy knife on the end. Pretty smart to make use of that. Pulling our guns out, we aim them straight at the man as he take up defensive stances.

"Merle?" Glenn gasps. The madman laughs. Merle? So this was the infamous Merle. And somehow he was a lot worse than what I imagined Daryl's brother to be. He had a thicker southern accent and was more unhinged from what I could tell. The great stories of Merle Dixon could not sum him up like actually meeting him in person. He puts his arms up as he walks over to us slowly.

"Back the fuck up!" I order him, stepping forward.

"Ok, Ok, honey." He exclaims, "Jesus." But I don't stand down.

"You made it." Glenn states the perfectly obvious.

"Can you tell me," He steps closer by one step, "Is my brother alive? Huh?"

"Yeah." Glenn replies.

"Hey, uh," Merle schemes, "You– take me to him and I'll call it even on everything that happened up there in Atlanta. No hard feelings? Huh?" Glenn stares at Merle's stump coverer.