The Walking Dead

Chapter 6

Diamond's eyes were getting heavier and heavier, though she was only riding on Bessie's back. Somehow they had decided to put her in Sloane's place on the horse again, though she didn't complain. Honestly, her feet had started to hurt. Willie Mae was already leaning back against Diamond, snoring softly. "Maybe," she yawned. "We should stop for the night."

Ellis looked up at Willie Mae, and smiled. "Yeah, okay. Look up there -- there's a little clearing. We can rest there for the night."

They made it to the clearing, and Diamond helped Ellis take Mae down. When he had placed her lightly on a blanket, he came back and held out his arms. "I'll help ya."

She was blushing furiously, lucky that it was so dark out. She slid down the horse's side, and Ellis grabbed her hips. He lifted her up and then sat her down, her feet lightly brushing the ground. "Uh, thanks," she said breathlessly, and walked off toward Sloane and Henry unloading Dannie. "Need any help?"

Sloane didn't even glance back. "No, its fine, Di. Go get some rest."

Diamond frowned, but complied. She made her way near Willie Mae -- she was becoming quite fond of the little girl. "Hey, you want this again?"

She turned and saw Ellis holding up the ratty blanket that had been strewn over her. "You.. put that over me?"

He struggled nonchalantly. "Sure. It gets pretty cool at night, and you looked cold."

She smiled to herself. "Yeah, I'll take it." She fell asleep happily, curled up between him and Mae.

Diamond woke up well before the others, so she grabbed her bag and headed toward the trees. She stepped over Sloane and Henry, who had been well apart last night, but it seemed Sloane had rolled toward him. Her arm closed the space between them, but Diamond thought nothing of it. She'd had enough sleepovers with Sloane to know she was a rough sleeper, always moving around. She went into the woods, but not too far.

When she had gotten far enough, she almost stopped. But ahead of her, saw something sparkling in the close distance. "Please don't be a hallucination," she prayed. When she got nearer, her heart leapt with joy. It was a glistening pond! "Water!"

She stripped out of her now dirty outfit, giving the two thousand dollar ensemble a moment of silence. Then she jumped in, using the mini shampoo, conditioner, and body wash she had in her bag. She was also lucky to have brought her razor. It felt amazing to get the two day grime off of her body, and wash the grease out of her silky blonde hair. She wanted to stay in forever, but eventually she got out and dried herself with a cardigan.

She replaced her old outfit with pastel pink leather drawstring shorts and a Dolce and Gabbana floral printed bralet. She kept the same shoes, and added her 14K white gold diamond bracelet. It matched her favorite pendant perfectly. Her hair fell in pale, wet locks at her shoulders, and she used her handheld mirror to put on eyeliner and mascara. She didn't really need coverup, after all, her skin was flawless.

She ran back to camp, prepared to gloat about her important findings, but there was already a commotion. "Why were you so close to her? What were you doing while we were all asleep?"

Diamond stopped. "Shit," she breathed. Dalton was pushing a confused Henry, snarling in his face. Diamond remembered how close Sloane had been to Henry this morning, and sighed inwardly. Of course her twin would jump to this conclusion. "Dalton, stop! It was an accident."

He didn't even look at her. "Accident!" he scoffed. "This dick has been after Sloane this whole time."

Diamond could see the fury flaming in Sloane's dark eyes. "You're the dick!" she yelled.