Just Survive Somehow『The Walking Dead』

Chapter 41

『Callie's POV』

1 year later….

A year has gone by now since we've completely taken over the prison, and the rest of Woodbury had joined us after The Governor disappeared. We haven't seen any signs of him, Michonne looks every day, and so do I sometimes.

Maggie and Glenn got married, and Judith was now learning to walk. She was fast for a baby. She was always keeping Bri,Beth, Lucy, and Carl on their toes.

I made my way outside the prison, backpack over shoulders, bat in one hand. It was now a red shiny one, I spray painted it red every day just to keep it from rusting. As I made my way outside, I made sure to go to the library where my mother would often do story time for the children.

I slowly crept my way inside as I heard her voice from across the hall. Patrick, Lizzy, Mika, Lucy, and a few other children were gathered around her. Only one missing was Carl, whom I often tried to get to join under Rick's request.

Lucy quickly caught sight of me, got up, and raced over to give me a hug. I couldn't help but smile and hold her tightly. Everyone else's attention soon turned to us. My mother paused her reading and joined Lucy and I.

“Sorry to interrupt story time, thought I would come and say goodbye.” I told her.

“We're just about to take a break.” my mother replied as she wrapped her arms around me.

“You will try and be safe, right? “ she asked, I could almost feel the waterfalls. She always hated it when I went out on supply runs, especially when they were more than a day.

“We will be back in three days.” I reminded her.

“Anything can happen in three days.” She reminded me, I've always done my best to not have her worry. Luckily, I got Bri, Thomas, and Daryl to look after her when I'm away. Of course, there are the others.

“And you will behave, right?” I asked Lucy as I peered down at her. She only nodded eagerly. “You'll listen to Thomas? Help Carl with his chores?” I questioned her, only to get a nod in agreement.

“We will keep her safe. “ my mother promised. “I know. “ I told her as we hugged one last time. Sometimes, I always hated to leave Lucy by herself, but there was nothing more that I hated than not doing nothing at all.

“I'll be fine. I have Merle.” I promised her.

“Hard to believe he stayed with us for more than a year. Huh?” She asked. Merle eventually rejoined the group after the last attack on Woodbury, which led to the governor's disappearance. But Merle had proved himself multiples to be a part of the group. Even if he was one of the dislikes.

After saying my goodbyes, I finally met Merle,Thomas, and Daryl outside near the gate. Bri had come running out to greet us.

“You sure wanna do this?” Thomas asked, I could see the worry in his eyes. He still hasn't learned to trust Merle yet despite it being a year. But it has come to the term that Merle's now family.

“I'll be fine. I got Merle with me.” I repeated myself.

“I know, but it's Merle.” Thomas whispered, causing me to roll my eyes at him.

“Don't worry, Farmer Boy. I’ll have good Ol’ Red back in three days. Safe and unharmed. “ Merle called out.

“See? Told ya. “ I told Thomas.

“If anything happens to her? “ Thomas told him.

“Nothing’s going to happen. The worst thing that could happen is I come back with ticks or lice. “ I teased. Everyone else always gave the Dixon Brothers bad rap for never showering, though they always claimed that it was to save water.

Once Thomas was reassured by Merle that I'd come back in one piece, we said our goodbyes. I gave Daryl a big hug. “You will take care of them, right? “ I asked him. Only getting a nod and a grunt from the older man. Daryl wasn't much of a talker. Sometimes, I wished he was more than Merle.

“Good. Better shower before I get back. “ I told him only to hear Merle shouting for me to leave. Clearly getting annoyed with how long I take to say goodbye.

“I’ll hose you down in your sleep! “ I called out to Daryl as I got into Merle's truck..

“Hey! Wait! “ Bri called out, causing me to roll down my window.

“By this time, we won't get any good deer. “ mumbled Merle.

“You and Maggie are still gonna help me with the thing when you get back, right? “ Bri asked in a whisper.

I gave her a nod before retrieving a hug in gratitude before Merle finally took off. Looking back at the prison as we left.

…………………………..

“So what's the thing? “ Merle questioned after a few hours of silent car ride.

“Hmm? “ I questioned.

“The thing you and Maggie are helping Bri with? “ Merle repeated.

“Oh. It's a girl thing.” I replied as I continued to stare at the window.

“Ah come on. You can trust good Ol’ Uncle Merle.” Merle slightly teased.

“No offense, Uncle Merle.” I started, a hint of sarcasm on the Uncle Merle part. “The last thing we need is Tommy finding out and then ruining the surprise for Beth.” I finished.

“Who says I can't keep a secret? Besides, isn't it your idea for me to tag along for this special mission of yours. ” he asked. “So doesn't that mean I get a little bit of an answer?” He added.

I sighed a tiny bit, knowing he was right. The truth is, Bri wanted to propose to Beth after getting the idea when Glenn proposed to Maggie at the beginning of the year. We just made everyone else think that Merle and I were going hunting so I could retrieve the ring.

“Find but Tommy can't find out. Maggie says he can't keep a secret, and it'll ruin the surprise. “ I told Merle.

“My lips are lock and sealed princess. “ joked Merle.

“Don't call me princess.”

………………………………

It didn't take Merle, and I long to reach our destination. We parked the truck somewhere safe and got out. Luckily, the place seemed to be quiet and no walker in sight. Though that doesn't mean we should let our guard down.

We made our way to the entrance of the small jewelry store and stood outside. The windows were boarded up, but the store itself seemed to be untouched.

Both Merle and I got into positions, I stood in front of the door while Merle tapped his blade on the window to attract any of the walkers that could be lurking inside. We could hear a few groans, and one of the walkers quickly lunged for the door.

“How many do you see?” Merle asked as I peeked inside. I only saw at least four there by the looks of it.

“Four. We can take them.” I told him quietly. Once more, we got into position. Merle had opened the door slightly just enough to let one out.

Once it did, I smacked it on the head with my bat. I'm watching as it hit the ground in one blow. I nodded towards Merle to let another one out, and one by one, we took all four down.

When we got in, I quickly looked around to find what I was looking for and found it while Merle kept watch. Not long until we left the place.