Dead Men Walking-Audrey Rhee (TWDXOC) Book 1

Chapter 6

Carl's POV

I sat in the kitchen next to Judith as Daryl and my dad carried the mysterious man to an unused room. Judith was eating her soup as I tried my best to do her hair. It had been a while since I bonded with Judith like this. Especially after Audrey came into the picture. The bandage over my eye did not help with aiming. My dad told me he would take me out for practice but I don't think it was necessary to waste bullets. The bandage over my eye didn't help my confidence, but Audrey did make jokes from time to time that cheered me up. Why? I don't know. But she always knew how to put a smile on my face.

Rick and the others came into the room. Everyone was in the kitchen. Chairs were scraping on the floor as people filled them. I stood next to Judith as I braided her hair and tied it in a small bun. I slid a bobby pin into her crown to keep her growing hair still. Daryl began to talk:

"This is bullshit. He doesn't belong here. In a second he could take us out. We oughta' get killed if he stays here." He argued. Rick turned to him as he glanced over at me and Judith.

"He had to make the effort of trying to take the truck from us. You said yourself he saved you, right?"

"Yeah.."

"Maybe we're looking at this the wrong way." Rick protested. The man they brought in didn't give me "creepy" vibes. He only looked as if he just needed stuff for his community. He looked clean, and from my understanding, he kicked both Daryl and Rick's asses. So he knew what he was doing. I stared at Rick as he continued to glance over at Audrey. Not in a-

"Just checking to make sure she's okay."

Kind of way. More like a-

"I gotta keep her away from my family."

Type of way. And that bothers me.

"On another note," Audrey emphasized.

"I kinda want some ice cream. Chocolate sounds good." She sighed. Licking her lips she turned in the chair. As her mind drifted off to the thought of ice cream, her legs dangled down from the arms of the seat.

She's adorable...

"Chocolate?" Rick scoffed.

"At least have some taste. Vanilla tastes way better." He corrected.

Audrey inhaled so deeply that she almost choked.

"EXCUS-" She started coughing because of the amount of air she inhaled. I ran to her and patted her back softly to help stop her choking. Her hand was out in front of me as mine was next to hers. She held it for support as her hair fell over her face.

"Ahem." She said, regaining her balance and standing awkwardly next to me. Abraham gave me a sly smirk when he saw how close we were.

"Thank you." She said and turned back to face Rick.

"Listen you intolerant shit, I DO have taste and it seems to me you balding-ugly-ass-dirty-rotten-no wife-no friend-no independence-stupid-ass-shit, don't have taste." She hissed. Rick's jaw fell to the ground as Abraham died in laughter. Everyone chuckled and laughed as Audrey mocked Rick's face. I felt a small snicker coming out as I looked over to Audrey who looked back at me. I stared into her eyes as the light shined on them. They were emerald green. It would be impossible to get bored staring at them for hours on end. They were the sweetest and kindest eyes anyone could look at. Yet, in just a few seconds, those emeralds could become poisonous.

Rick looked more deeply into Audrey. As he thought, he squinted, tilted his head, and parted his lips slightly. Then his eyes widened...

"I need to talk to everyone," Rick declared. Audrey began to walk over to the table as Rick stopped her; "Without. You."

Audrey looked up at Rick as she scoffed in annoyance. But she didn't say a word. Which was unusual for her to do. I didn't like how my father was treating her but she left before I could do anything. I sat there in silence as Rick left to grab a box under the couch. The box was around a 16 by 20-inch box with a small hole on the left side. It had a label that was framed around a silver frame made out of cheap metal. On the dirty old label, it said, "Emerson: Case 134"

Emerson... That was Audrey's last name.

"The hell did you get this shit?" Abraham asked. Lifting the top of the box off. He handed the dusty top to Judith. She absorbed the dust and let out a small "ACHOO!"

"DAMN GIRL," Abraham said. Everyone stared in shock, me included at the loud sneeze Judith had just let out. "You know how to sneeze?"

"I was in Deanna's office the other night, looking for any type of paperwork on the people here." Dad had said. He started pulling out files from the box. Each is labeled for different years. 1950, 1960, 1998, 2000... The list goes on and on. Rick pulled out bags of different objects with evidence written in Sharpie on them. Then, pictures started to come out. I grabbed one that looked around Daryl's age. He had a scruffy beard, a long witch-like nose, and a creepy smile that could haunt your dreams if you stared at it too long. The man had an all-black suit on with dark brown hair down to his ears. His eyebrows are just like Audrey's, a soft arch but thicker. And his eyes...

"That is H.J. Emerson. Also known as the Atlanta killer. This man was arrested 48 times for burglary, murder, assault, sexual assault on a minor, armed robbery, double homicide, arson, hate crimes, kidnapping, and more. This man has a gang of over 3,000 people who have 'sold their souls to the new and improved devil'."

As my father spoke, my jaw dropped, as did those around me. Eventually, he found a picture of a family in the box.

"This is the Emerson family." He pointed to the picture. It was a family of three. H.J. Emerson, a beautiful woman, and Audrey. I scrunched my eyebrows together as I looked at the picture more thoroughly. Abraham and Glenn were behind me as they looked at it as well.

"The woman you see in the picture is Elisabeth Alexañder Herañdez Diaz Emersoñ. She is the wife of H.J. Emerson and the mother of Audrey Octavia Emersoñ. Mrs. Diaz was an exotic dancer at a nightclub since the age of sixteen. This family is one of the most twisted and screwed up families I have ever had the chance to interview." He said. My mind wandered to the other day as I looked around the room.

"H.J. Emerson... Like Harold James Emerson?" I asked. My father turned towards me in utter shock when he heard those words.

"How do you know that?" He demanded.

"A-Audrey told me her father's name." I was worried about the look my dad gave me.

"So," Abraham continued. "If this girl belongs to Atlanta's number one dickwad... We are in some serious shit... Because if he's still alive... He's gonna want his daughter back. Because that bitch can fight."

"So what do we do now?" Glenn asked.

"We will find out the truth," Rick responded. "See what more this girl is hiding. But for now... Carl,"

I looked up at Rick.

"You are not to go near the girl. Do you understand?"

"Why? She hasn't done anything wrong though!" I explained in anger. Rick was only looking at Audrey from her past. I shot up from my seat and slowly walked over to Rick.

"Why are you only looking at her past and not right now?" I asked.

"Are you talking back to me?"

"No! I'm just saying... Why not give her a chance?"

"We are. If she messes this chance up, we will kick her out."

"What?" I yelled. The bluntness of my father's voice made me so angry. He didn't even seem like my father anymore. He was a heartless creature who had no sympathy for others. I just stared at him in complete hate and dislike as I walked back to my room.

The door slammed shut and I lay on my bed. I looked at the nightstand where I had my comic book collection. I grabbed one of them from the stack and started reading. I didn't understand my father, he was always a reasonable person. It just felt like the feeling had changed when we started getting deeper into Audrey's backstory...

I tried to get some rest, the sun was setting and it was already getting late...

Who is Audrey Emerson?