Untold Secrets

Chapter 2- Meeting Daryl

I woke up to hearing chatter around the camp. I unzipped my tent and crawled out. The air was chilly, and it looked like it was going to rain soon. "Good morning!" Dale called out to me from his RV. I gave him a smile and I saw the woman named Lori coming towards me with a plate of canned peaches in it. "Here, come sit down, you must be starving." She said and led me to a log around the unlit campfire from the night before. I sat next to a young boy with long brown hair and freckles, who seemed very friendly. "I'm Carl. What's your name?" He asked sweetly. "Casey." I answered him, eating the peaches his mom Lori had given me. "How old are you? I'm 10." He said proudly, making me chuckle a bit to myself. "I'm 12." I said to him.

Lori told me everyone's names and then the man, Shane, who had found me last night sat down in a lawn chair and asked me "So? What were you doing by yourself last night?" I sighed as I said "When it first happened the other day, I was at school and locked myself in the room, I had an anxiety attack and passed out. I woke up the next morning and ran to my house, only to find my mom.....eaten." I choked, feeling the tears wanting to pour down my cheeks. "She came back to life as a.." I stopped, not knowing what to call it, and Shane interrupted me saying "Walker?" I nodded and kept going. "I had to kill her." I said, and now the tears were out. Lori wrapped her arm around me and Carl patted me on the back as I continued. "There was a note in my stepsisters' room saying they came into the woods and so I packed some things up and then after about an hour, you found me." I concluded.

"I'm so sorry." He said, rubbing his fingers through his hair. "It's ok." I said, rubbing tears off of my cheeks. "What about your dad?" Carl asked suddenly. Lori and Shane leaned in to hear and I said "My parents weren't married. I was an....accident. My mom didn't want me to know him, since they didn't get along. I can't even know his name." I said to them. "My mom got married when I was 3 and thats when my 3 step sisters were born, they are triplets." I finished. "Do you know anything about your dad?" Shane asked. "My mom says he was kind of a redneck, had a lunatic brother, and that he was a great hunter and tracker, but that was pretty much it." I said. They nodded and Lori said "You have beautiful hair." and ran her fingers through it. I had long, brown hair. It was almost to my butt, but stopped at the end of my back. I had my dad's hair, my mom was a blonde. "Thanks, but it could use a trim." I said. "I was about to give Carl a haircut, would you like one too?" My face beamed in delight. "Yes please!"

Lori gave me a nice trim and after she was done, she gave Carl one. Once she was done, there was a noise coming from the road, across from the quarry. "What is it Dale?" I heard someone ask. "Looks like a stolen car to me." He said, looking out through his binoculars. The car came pulling into the camp and a Asian guy came out of the car with a big smile on his face. Everyone came rushing towards him and I heard Amy argue with him, asking if her sister Andrea was ok. He said everyone was fine, but Merle, not so much. But then, a big loading truck pulled up. "How did you guys get back?" Shane asked. "New guy. Got us out." He said, pointing to the other truck behind him. Everyone came out of the truck, and Lori told me everyone's names as Amy ran to her sister, Andrea.

As everyone was reuniting, I heard Morales yell "Hey! Helicopter boy, come on out!" I saw Carl crying, and Lori trying to comfort him. I saw another man come out of the truck as Morales said to Shane "He's a cop, just like you." I saw a surprised look on his face as I heard Carl yell "Dad!" He ran towards the man. And they reunited. I teared up, wishing that I had a dad to turn to during these crazy times. I saw the man and Shane, smiling at each other as he held onto Lori and Carl for dear life. I assumed they must know each other.

*******

Later that day, Shane went to the woods with me to look for my sisters, but I had no luck. I was disappointed, and I spent that night in my tent, crying, while everyone else was around the campfire. I just needed my space. I listened to what people were saying outside. Shane had an argument with Ed about the fire, and Morales asked about Dale and his watch.