The Deals We Make

2: Settling In

A few hours later, Edward and Redrum returned with no luck. Maggie and Melissa greeted them at the gate.

"Hi, Dad!"

"Hey there, Gumdrop. Did you have fun with Maggie?"

"Yeah!"

Maggie opened the gate and let them in. Once in, Edward got off of Redrum and Melissa immediately grabbed his hand.

"Hey, want to help me feed and water Redrum?"

"Yeah!"

"I'll show you where the horse feed is at." Maggie said.

"Thank you."

With his free hand, he grabbed the horse reins and followed Maggie.

/

Once back inside, Edward put his hat and overcoat on a coat rack and went outside with Melissa. He wanted to meet the others who were on the farm. They got to know T-Dog, Andrea, Dale, and Glenn. Melissa really liked T-Dog's name because it had 'Dog' in it.

"What kind of guns are those?" Andrea asked.

"Rough Riders."

"And the whip?"

"One of the few things I saved on outbreak day."

Andrea nodded along before getting on top of a RV with a rifle.

Eventually Rick and Shane returned as well. Everyone was back except for Daryl.

"So, you mind telling me what happened to you two?" Rick asked.

At this point, Melissa was hanging with Lori and Carol.

"We survived. On the day everything went to shit, I mean before the dead started walking again. My girlfriend was having a long day, so to ease her nerves, I decided to take our infant child to the store. Some father daughter bonding time and allow mom to get some rest. When I returned, all of her stuff was gone with only a note saying she couldn't do it anymore. I knew she had questions while pregnant on whether she was ready to be a mother. I was all for it, I couldn't wait to be a dad. But I told her that I would stand by her decision whatever it would be. She obviously decided to keep the baby in both senses. But then she just left. I was pissed. I was so pissed. But I took a minute to calm down and doubled down on caring for my daughter. I never blamed her, I blame the woman who gave birth to her. After a while, bills were harder to keep up with. So my parents offered their place and offered to help care for her. I accepted their offer and it was a huge weight off my shoulders. They gave her all the love she could possibly need. Melissa grew and grew and suddenly she was 10. She loves animals, even told me she wanted to be a vet one day. But everything came to shit one day, on her 10th birthday, the day the world ended. The day the dead walked once more. They came into the house and killed my parents, the house caught on fire. I grabbed Melissa and any weapon I could find. I got my dad's rough riders and whip. We got on Redrum and we rode off. Finding new problems along the way. I've done some questionable things to keep her alive and safe. But I don't regret any of it."

There was one part of the story he didn't tell. The part when he made the deal with the devil.

"Wow. You-"

"Walker. Walker!" Andrea yelled.

Everyone bolted up and saw something in the distance. Rick, Shane, T-Dog, and Glenn grabbed some melee weapons and Rick's revolver and ran over to the supposed Walker.

"Dad?"

"Melissa, get inside."

"Dad?"

"Get inside now." Edward ordered.