Playing For Brains

Chapter Thirty Two

"So, you crave flesh?" Rick questioned slightly tilting his head to one side in confusion "like them!" he was taken by surprise by the sudden influx of information. The whole situation was crazy. He could understand the lack of pain, as her body was technically dead, but the whole flesh-eating aspect wasn't as easy to digest.

The thought slightly terrified him. She was different to them. She could remember their names, appear normal, but she wasn't. She was a walker in disguise.

Arlie could see the glint in Rick's eye. He was beginning to spiral, and she could feel herself regretting letting those words out of her mouth. He saw her as a monster now. Just as she feared. Beth stood there, trying to put on a smile but she could see the hurt from not knowing pushing through.

"I didn't know until the deer in the woods with Daryl, I promise. I still don't know what this all means. I'm not one of them, I can control it" Arlie begged, tyring to plead her case before their leader snapped and lost it. Would he tell everyone else out of fear? There would be a witch hunt at hand.

"How long have you both been keeping this from us?" he asked, hurt evident in his voice. He knew his bond with the woman in front of him wasn't much, but with Daryl it was different. They were brothers. How could he have kept something this big from the group?

"It's been a week at most, we agreed to see what it meant first before we told everyone. I promise we were going to mention it when we knew more. I wanted to avoid a conversation like this, but I had to tell you so here we are" she spluttered back, wanting to hide away somewhere nobody would find her.

"I think it's best if you stay in here. I don't want you going out there alone right now, especially out of those gates. Not until we know what all this means. It's safer that way. God knows what would happen if the wrong person found out about what you are now" Rick finished his speech, slowly beginning to pace the living room, continuously running his hand through his hair.

He didn't truly know how to process this news. Was Arlie safe to be around. What if she couldn't control this new hunger for flesh. The constant pacing was making Arlie feel uncomfortable. He was going to wear a hole in the carpet if he kept it up. Doubt once again taking up residence in Arlie's mind.

"Hide me away right. Away from everyone. Make sure that I don't hurt anyone and nobody else finds out about the monster that I am now" Arlie shot back beginning to get annoyed, as the hatred she held about herself began to bubble up once more.

She was glad to be alive, but a part of her knew that death would have been an easier option. Maybe being one of those mindless monsters would have been better, less emotional trauma than she had endured the past few months. This being part of the not so dead undead club was beginning to grow old.

"Hey... hey" Rick began taking a step closer to the young woman, lifting her chin up to look at him rather than the carpet "It isn't like that okay? I just don't know how other people might react to this news and treat you. I just want you to be safe. Your part of our family now and we all look after each other right" a small smile crossed her face as Rick reciprocated it. He was glad that she was finally letting people in and building relationships amongst the group, he had to admit she had been cold and kept her distance from most of the group since they met in that awful place months ago. But maybe this was why, getting this out in the open would help.

"I trust you with my family's life. I know you would never put them in any danger. I just hope that you know you can trust us, trust me, to keep you safe" Rick gave her a nod as their gaze met. Rick rubbed his hair nervously as he began to peel away and make his way over to the door.

Arlie's gaze fell from the now empty doorway towards her best friend in this new world. Her young friend offered a loving and supportive smile before heading back towards the sink to finish the dishes.

Arlie followed awkwardly taking the tea towel and drying the remaining pots. A wave of guilt and regret hitting her in the chest. For being the undead and not feeling any physical pain, she sure felt too many emotions.

"I'm sorry" she whispered, afraid to raise her voice any louder in fear she would break. She stopped drying the mug she was holding to look at her friend "I wanted to tell you, but I really wasn't sure what it meant. I didn't want you to be scared of me" her eyes began to well up.

"I didn't want to lose my sister" she whispered making eye contact with Beth, an understanding look being shared between the two.

...

As the two girls were packing away the plates, the door suddenly barged open, as an angry redneck came storming in followed by Rick, Glenn, Maggie and Carol.

Daryl came rushing into the room, throwing his bag and crossbow onto the floor. He was covered in blood, sweat pouring down his face. He paced the living room as they watched on, questioning what had brought on such behaviour.

'I'm gonna kill him' he muttered under his breath.

"What happened out there?" Rick began "Where is Denise?" he began to rub his hand through his hair and pace the room like he had done earlier, mirroring the redneck's anxiety.

"She's dead because of that prick, I'm going to kill him" he shouted, balling his fists.

"Hey, hey, hey, you need to calm down. Tell us what happened, and we can sort this" Arlie tried to get through to the angry redneck pushing her hand up against his chest. He whipped his head to look at her, fist raised before his eyes found hers. He saw the way she flinched and quickly unclenched his fists. He stopped pacing and stood staring at the girl in front of him.

"The guy from the forest when we led the heard away. We ran into him on the way back. He shot Denise. She died because of me" his voice broke a little at the end, but he quickly corrected it.

"Hey, it's not your fault" Rick began getting the rednecks attention "we should have a meeting, all of us. All our family. I think there is a lot we need to discuss" he glanced behind the redneck towards the young blonde.

"I want a family dinner tonight at 7. Is that enough time for you to prepare something?" Rick turned towards Carol who nodded before making her way into the kitchen grabbing the freshly washed saucepans.

"Right, I will let the others know. See you back here at 7"