In The Bird Song | TWD

chapter 25 - Tied to a single moment

TW: dead bodies, murder, graphic depictions of violence

Harlow pov

The sun is beating down on me while I'm breaking my back working the fields. Annette has been fussing non stop for days and she's only quiet now because I'm softly singing you are my sunshine to her whilst I plough the fields alongside a thousand others.

Earlier today a woman who was working on my left smiled when she heard Annette cry and mused "that's the sound of a healthy baby." I smiled back at her but did not reply because the army members supervising us is a bitch that punishes people for talking.

I suppose the woman had a point in what she said, Annette crying means she is alive and has enough strength to fuss. However, I'm starting to grow increasingly more concerned about Annette's development. I'm not an expert but I think a one year old should be holding things and crawling properly however Annette cant grip anything in her hands and she doesn't crawl at all in the rare cases I get to put her down.

I think her strength and fine motor skills aren't developing properly because she is always in my arms or wrapped in her baby carrier. I don't know what to do about it because there's no point in the day where I feel its safe to let her down. This is the 7th day of living with the workers at the unit and despite working all day every day I have only managed to buy 3 cans of soup and 2 slices of bread. I gave Annette two of the three cans of soup and split the last can between me and posy. I gave posy one slice of bread and Annette the other slice which means all I have had is half a tin of soup in the last 7 days and my hunger occupies my thoughts every waking moment.

at the end of every work day I get given a payment card from whoever supervised the job I was doing and I then have to show it to the lady who deals out money in order to get paid. I would have been able to buy more food this week if it wasn't for the fact my payment card was stolen on my first day of work by a boy who looked to be 16. I let him get away with it because I was hesitant to start a fight with someone so much older but because I didn't fight back he must of deemed me an easy target as he stole my payment card the second day as well.

However, after he stole my payment a second time I no longer cared he was twice my size so I tracked the fucker down and beat him to a pulp. His blood is still on my arms and cloths because I refuse to wash myself and risk becoming desirable to rapists.

Posy is lying on the dirt like a sack of potatoes a couple meters away from me and I keep catching the supervisor eying her with disgust. It is something I've wondered about since I arrived at the unit, why did they let me keep posy?

It doesn't make sense that they diddnt just kill posy and eat her when I arrived at the unit and what is even more baffling is that they seemed to have bathed her whilst I was unconscious.

I'm snapped out my thoughts when I hear the familiar clangs of the bell that signal the end of the work day. Annette who was finally nodding off starts screaming again at the loud noise and I groan in exhaustion. "It's okay princess, you're alright honey. It was just the bell which is good because we can go in the shade now." I tell her in a voice typically used for babies. She starts to calm down and I kiss her on the head before walking over to the supervisor to collect my payment card.

I'm walking to the payment station when I hear growling coming from my left, I turn around in time to see a walker heading straight for me. I grab my dagger that is stained red with the blood of the boy that robbed me and stap it through the walker's skull. Warm blood runs down my arm and coats my hand meaning this walker was fresh as the blood hasn't clotted yet.

"Lucky bastard" I mumble as I kick the still corpse to the side.

***

I'm doing everything I can not to cry and show weakness but my emotions overpower me and a couple traitorous tears run down my face. "Please Annette calm down." I beg but the baby only wails louder.