Don't Fade Away

Chapter 9

For the next few days, everything worked as it always did. We had our shifts, we did our part to help out, we got along. That is, until the walkers started to wander in camp.
"What do you mean we should stay? There are walkers everywhere, and if we don't leave, we're going to be their next meal!" Luke shouts at Max, trying to get his point across.
"We need to stay! We' re safest here, and we know the area!" Max shouts back, with just as much force.
Luke and Max had began butting heads after Linda was almost attacked by walkers, and they couldn't agree on anything. It had gradually began to get even worse, to the point where they would just sit there and scream at eachother.
"What about your family, Max? You just gonna sit here and let them die? You have an opportunity to stop a tragedy before it happens, and you're not doing anything about it." Luke's eyes had grown darker and darker with each word, venom and hatred spilling out of his mouth. I know that he was just trying to get his point across, but he was being too harsh.
I step in between the two men, placing one hand on their chests. I was seriously over this fighting, and I was sure that Linda and Lisa were too. Not to mention Linda's child. "Hey," I yell over their useless argument. "We will all make a decision, as a group, tonight. So until then, can you just chill your tits please?"
Max looked astounded at the words that had just came out of my mouth, and he was looking at me as though I had just told him the cure for the infected. Luke, on the other hand, glared past me, and right at Max. Max, of course, noticed and glared back with just as much ferocity.
That's when Max heated things up a little. "Hey, why don't you worry about your own group, huh? I know how to take care of my family, but I'm not so sure you know how to take care of yours."
By now, we had the whole camp circled around our little 'misunderstanding', but nobody quite knew what to do.
Before anybody could react, Luke punches Max upside the jaw. He falls back, crying in pain. I can tell that nobody knows how to react. Linda was cradling her baby, while side-hugging Lisa. Grant had this disappointed look on his face, clearly not pleased with the sudden turn of events. And me, well, I was standing in the middle of it all.
Max makes his was back on his feet and charges towards Luke. I try to push him back, but he shoves me to the ground. This makes Luke very angry.
Max is beginning to get on my last half nerve. He keeps picking fights with everyone, causing trouble, and making a mess out of things. I wasn't mad that he pushed me, I was mad that he was fighting with Luke.
"Who the hell do you think you are? Don't you ever fucking touch her!" Luke shoves Max back to the ground and gives him a good kick to the ribs. Max grunts in pain before standing back up and punching Luke in the nose. Luke stumbles back from the impact, tripping over his own two feet.
I can see Grant in the corner of my eye, trying to get in between the two. I thought about asking Linda to look on my head, considering the fact that I cut my forehead on a rock. That is, until I see Max punching Luke repeatedly in the face. Oh god I'm gonna regret this.
Three seconds of courage, I think to myself, that's all I need. One, two, . .three.
I slowly make my way back onto my feet, still feeling dizzy from the head injury. Max was still hitting Luke, so I do the only reasonable thing I can think of. I jump on his back.
Max, of course, wasn't expecting this, so he goes tumbling to the ground face first. When he rolls over, I punch him directly in the eye. "Oh, not you," he grunts.
Before I can get another punch in, Grant suddenly lifts me off of him and steadies me on my feet. "Go take care of Lucas." It wasn't a request, it was a command.
This was the first time I had ever seen Grant serious like this, and it freaked me out. Too scared to say otherwise, I nod.
Luke was sitting on the ground, head in hands. He clearly wanted to go after Max, but I could tell that he was contemplating on it. He knew that he shouldn't, but he wanted more of Max's blood to be shed. But, right when he looks at me, I can see his eyes lighten up. He's getting calmer.
The next thing I know, I'm being engulfed into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry," Luke says.
I wrap my arms around his neck and hug him back with just as much force. "It's okay, I'm fine. Thank you for standing up for me, for us," I motion to Grant, who was currently helping Max up.
Luke kisses the top of my head, "No, it's not fucking okay. That prick pushed you! You-"
I grab his chin and force him to look at me, "We'll talk about it later. Let's go get you cleaned up, yeah?"
He gives me a slight nod. I grab his hand and lead us back to camp, hoping that Max doesn't follow to start something else. I don't know where Linda, Lisa, and Clayton have gone off to, but I'm pretty sure they have enough common sense to stay away from the woods unprotected.
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Once we hit camp, I make Luke sit down, even though I know by now that he hates to be babied. I find a dampened washcloth and set it against his jaw, hoping to get the blood out. The second the cold water reaches his skin, he sighs in content.
I gingerly move the cloth to his right eye next, which got hit a few times in the fight. I dab the fabric over his nose, careful not to push down too hard.
Once his face was cleaned up, (he somehow managed to still look hot and intimidating), I placed a bandage under his lip, right where Max had scratched him. After that, I couldn't do anything, because he didn't need stitches. So, the rest of him would just have to heal on its own. In the end, he had a black eye, a swollen nose, and a busted lip. I couldn't imagine what Max had.
Lisa walks up with baby Clayton in her arms, feeding him a bottle. He had begun to grow red hair on the top of his head, making him even more fucking adorable. But, he was beginning to get fussy. We have had several incidents where he would be crying to loudly, and walkers would come. I'm not talking about a couple, either. More like 10 to 15 at a time.
"Hey," Lisa breathes out.
"Hey, how's Max?" Even though I wasn't too fond of him, I still didn't want him getting too hurt.
Luke growls at the sound of his name, clearly still majorly pissed off. I understand why he would be mad, but he should be cooled off by now. In complete honesty, men in general are getting on my nerves. If I didn't care about Luke as much as I did, I would have left a LONG time ago.
Lisa drops her eyes, "Oh, he's okay. Nothing life threatening or anything. But, h-he wants to leave. Like, right now." Her voice cracks.
"What? Why?" Luke roars, "What the fuck is he trying to accomplish here? He's making stupid prick mistakes that'll get somebody killed!"
Lisa nods her head, clearly upset. I can see that she's trying to hold back her anger, trying to let it diminish. "Yeah," she says, "I know. I don't want to leave, but I can't leave my mom and Clayton alone. We're a family, and we have to stay together. I'm sorry."