The beginning

Chapter 63

Construction for the bridge that had been destroyed by the herd began later that week. It was important for us to get it up and running as soon as we could in order to make trading with the other communities as easy as possible. We'd set up a camp that had everything we could possibly need close by for those working on it full time.

On weekends I helped where I could, either by sawing timber to size or scouting out the herd movements as they roamed the area. During the week I continued my schooling lessons with the children. Even Judith had started attending with the younger kids. She was thriving at school and proving just how clever she was.

Everything had been going so well at first. People seemed to be getting along and construction had taken off faster than any of us could have imagined. Though, our relationship with those from the Sanctuary had become tense as the food situation grew even more dire. People were up and leaving without a word of explanation, never to be seen again.

The Sanctuary were the ones providing most of the workers for the bridge construction and in turn needed to be kept satisfied and full. Though Rick had tried to explain that to Maggie and convince her to deliver more than what Hilltop had already given, she was adamant they couldn't receive anything more until they delivered the fuel they had promised. Her decision had caused plenty of unrest, which made me more nervous than I had been in a long while.

One weekend, I had joined Aaron and Daryl alongside the construction crew by assisting in hammering down some support beams while they fitted and laid the planks along the base. Aaron was keeping us entertained by sharing stories about Gracie, the little girl he had adopted during the war when she had been found in a Saviors compound.

Despite being thrilled for him and enjoying listening to his daughter's antics, I felt a little sadness. Not only because of what had happened to my girl, but because Eric, Aaron's husband and one of my closest friends who had died during the war would have loved her so much. Both Eric and Aaron had wanted to be fathers for the longest time.

As Aaron finished his story about Gracie's diaper exploding all over him, Daryl and I laughed. The same thing had happened to me with Judith once before. "Sounds like good times," Daryl sarcastically reacted.

"Oh, it's the best!" Aaron insisted. "You'll see..." I watched as Daryl pulled a face. "What? You'd be a great dad."

I saw Daryl sneak a quick look my way, after Aaron's sentiment, which made my head drop immediately and refocus on hammering the next nail in. Aaron was right though, Daryl would make a great father, should he ever meet the right person and decide to start a family. I hoped one day he'd find someone who could give him that.

Henry, Ezekiel's adopted son began walking towards us with a portable watercooler in hand. I was grateful for the interruption as I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of being dragged into the "Daryl becoming a father" discussion. After I'd finished taking a drink, he moved on to the others. It was a hot one today, so any chance for a refreshing, cool drink was welcome.

He'd moved on to another group working further down the bridge when we heard a commotion break out. I glanced over and saw that Justin had taken the cooler from Henry, who had been knocked to the ground and was drinking greedily from the nozzle.

Henry got up off the ground and swept his stick across Justins legs, sending him and the cooler flying. He then picked up the cooler and began walking away. I spotted Justin trailing after Henry with malicious intent written all over his face. I managed to catch him and pull his arm towards me. "Leave it," I warned.

Justin scoffed and shrugged out of my hold, "what are you gonna do?" He looked me up and down, then sneered. "Only thing you're good for is lying on your back..." He turned away and continued after Henry. Infuriated, I stalked after him and tapped his shoulder. Before Justin had the chance to say anything, I'd swung my fist straight into his nose.