Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

The Clothes Predicament

The sound of a horn honking made Parker jump. Daryl was standing in the truck Rick brought back with him, impatiently waiting for the rest of the rescue party. "Come on! Let's go!" Daryl shouted. Parker grabbed Rick's arm.

"Be careful."

"I will," Rick responded. "Take care of Lori and Carl."

"I will," Parker said. "And for the love of god, don't let Daryl do anything stupid."

"I can't promise that. We'll be fine, Parker."

"You better be," Parker pointed a finger in his face trying to sound stern, before walking towards the van where Lori and Carl were sitting. When she saw Lori's expression she offered her a comforting smile, "It's going to be okay, Lori."

"How do you know that?" Lori asked. "He just came and now he's leaving again."

"He'll be back," Parker promised. "I mean, he found us after he was dead, right?" Lori didn't seem to be convinced.

"Although he wasn't really dead."

"Yeah, but we thought he was and he's still here, right?" Parker asked. "He entered that city alone and came out alive. I don't know many people who have done that." Lori sighed knowing that she was right.

"I'm still not happy about this."

"You don't have to be. I just know that when Rick says he'll be back, he'll be back." Later that day, with the sun high in the sky, Parker finally joined the women by the lake to help wash their clothes. Amy had convinced her that it wasn't as bad as it seemed. "I'm leaving." She already hated it, she stopped in her tracks, going to turn around.

"No, don't." Amy spun around, grabbing Parker's hand and pulling her along. "You'll miss all the fun."

"I'm fine with missing the fun if it means I don't have to do that," Parker whined, pointing at Carol washing clothes on a washboard.

"It's not that bad" Carol chuckled, shaking her head at how she was acting. "I do miss my Maytag."

"I miss my Benz," Andrea added, "My sat nav."

"I miss my coffee maker with its double drip filter and built-in grinder, honey," Jacqui said, wringing out a wet shirt. Parker now just wanted coffee. Parker stood next to Andrea and picked up a shirt that had not been washed, dipping it into the bucket of water. 

"I miss the food. I miss the pizza and even the vegetables."

"My computer," Amy said wistfully, "And the texting." Andrea smiled at the thought she had in her head.

"I miss my vibrator." Everyone slowly turned to look at Andrea. Carol looked back awkwardly, searching for her husband, who was watching from afar. 

"Me too." The group started laughing at Carol's revelation, and their laughter attracted Ed, who approached them with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"What's so funny?"

"Just swapping war stories, Ed," Andrea called back, the laughter quickly dying down. After that, silence fell over the group. Parker turned to look at him

"There a problem, Ed?"

"Nothin' that concerns you," Ed replied. "You ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club."

"Comedy club?" Parker repeated.

"I'm just saying, with all the laughing, you're not working hard enough," Ed said, lighting another cigarette. "Those clothes don't clean themselves.

"Ed, I'll tell you what, you don't like the way we wash your clothes?" Parker asked, standing up. "You're welcome to do it yourself. Here." Parker threw the wet shirt at Ed, who threw it back at her face.