Ellie Dixon

Moving In

We'd buried Dale next to Jacob, everyone stood around to pay their respects as Rick gave a speech in Dale's honour.  "Dale could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look to Dale, and he'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us, the truth, who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honour him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety. Our future. We're not broken, we're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we're gonna do it his way. This is how we honour Dale."

Hershel had decided that with a cold winter coming, it was time to move us into the house. I was standing with Rick, dad, Hershel, Maggie, Beth and Shane. Most people were moving the communal stuff into the house. "It's gonna be a tight fit. Sixteen people in one house." Rick pointed out.

"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..." Hershel trailed off.

"With fifty head of cattle on the property we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." Maggie added.

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Hershel smiled down at me.

"All right let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out towards the road. We'll build a lookout in the windmill and another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines, both side of the property. T-dog, you take the perimeter around the house, keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick said to a passing T-dog.

"What about standing guard?" T-dog asked.

"I need you and Daryl on double duty." Rick answered.

"Gotcha." T-dog nodded before walking away.

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive down there for a few days if need be." Hershel said, before walking away.

"What about patrols?" Andrea questioned.

"Let's get this area locked down first. After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall off site and cut him loose." Rick replied.

"I wanna help." I told Rick.

"I know you do, sweetheart, how about you just move yours and Sophia's stuff into the house for now? She can't exactly do that by herself now can she." Rick smiled.

I sighed. "Okay, fine. I'll do the boring stuff." I grumbled causing Rick and dad to laugh before I walked away.

I started setting mine and Sophia's stuff up in the corner of the living room with her help when Hershel walked over to us. "There's a spare bedroom upstairs. You girls can take that room, Carl too if he wants. Children shouldn't be sleeping on the floor." Hershel said to us.

"Really, Mr Greene?" I asked.

"I said you can call me Hershel." He smiled. "I said what I said, now go on now. Take your stuff."

"Thank you, Hershel." Sophia smiled.

"Thank you." I agreed, he smiled back, nodding before he walked away.

I took mine and Sophia's stuff upstairs, to the room that had previously been the medical room. Teddy and Dolly, we placed on a chair in the corner while we dumped our backpacks full of clothes in the wardrobe. We'd eventually unpack. Sophia was helping move clothes and food downstairs, but I got bored. I got the wheelbarrow from round back, a hammer and a bunch of nails from the shed before heading over to the windmill. I knew how to handle tools, living in my neighbourhood, when every spare dollar went towards my mum's habits, the house would fall apart a lot, so I quickly learnt how to take care of it