Shattered

Chapter Twenty-Five: Settle In

I woke up to the sound of knocking at the door. I looked over at Daryl who was still fast asleep. I tossed his shirt on and put my hair in a bun. I opened the front door to see a group of people. I was immediately embarrassed about the way I looked. I was expecting Andrews or Greene not half the town. "Can we come in? We brought you some things." "Yeah come on in. Let me just go get Daryl." They all went into the kitchen just as I ran up the stairs. I opened the bedroom door and grabbed some clothes from my bag putting them on. "Daryl wake up!" "Grace just come back to bed." "No. We have half the neighborhood downstairs. Get dressed." He rolled out of bed and threw on his shirt. I hurried back downstairs with a pair of shorts on and a black t shirt. I tucked my rosary under my shirt and stepped into the kitchen. "Sorry about that. Daryl is on his way down." "You're very lucky to have your husband with you." "Oh he's not my husband." She smiled and nodded. "Well I'm Sarah. Head of the welcoming committee." Explains a lot. I shook her hand and was introduced to a lot of people that already knew who I was. The table was filled with fruit, sweets, flowers and so on. It was odd.

Daryl walked downstairs surprised by the people in the house. They all introduced themselves to him and he tried his best to stay away from everyone. No one seemed to care really. After about an hour they all left leaving us on our own. "That was interesting." "Why were they here?" I shrugged and started looking at what they brought over. I put flowers in every room of the house making it instantly brighter. Daryl stood off to the side eating an apple watching me work around the house. It would've been nice for a heads up about them coming over. I would've been dressed instead of being in Daryl's shirt.. I walked outside and pulled the garage door up. Daryl came out and helped me get the motorcycle into the garage. I didn't want to get comfortable here knowing what happens when you get comfortable somewhere. I grabbed our guns and walked inside. Daryl followed after me with two other bags. "Go ahead and put mine in my room. Pick which room you want." "I figured we'd share one." I nodded and started cleaning one of the guns not bothering to look up. The moment he went upstairs I let the smile shine bright on my face.

The door opened and Andrews walked in with Dacey. I caught her before she made it to the table and shut the kitchen door. "That's off limits today." "Grace I was wondering if I could talk to you." "Sure. Let me just have Daryl watch Dacey." He walked back outside and I carried her up the stairs. "Daryl do you mind watching he while I go talk with Andrews?" "You sure? I don't know nothing about kids." "You'll be fine." I let her down and hurried out the door. I walked down the street with Andrews listening to him talk about how when he first got here it was only half this size. The people seemed really supportive in expanding. A man opened the back gate and let us out. The street went on to show more houses. Apparently they knocked down a few of them to make room for the gate itself. "I want to expand even more. Get your group down here as soon as possible." "I don't know if they'll come." "I need your help."

We walked back inside the gate and I got on top of it for a better view. "Those trees will need to come down. If we started taking apart old semi trailers we could use the metal for a temporary gate while we expand this one." "I'll give you the man power to do it. When can you start?" "As soon as you get me men." I got down and walked back to the house. Daryl was in the living room laying on the couch with Dacey. I grabbed a few guns from the kitchen. "I'm helping Andrews expand the town. I'll be gone for most the day today to start." I left the house and went to Town Hall. People were already starting to gather up. "These are the best people I have." "Do you have a box truck and some rope?" "Uh.. yeah." I nodded and we walked down to where the vehicles are kept. "I need two trucks and the box truck." He nodded and handed me keys.

"So how did you come up with this idea?" "There was a town back in Georgia, had the same idea but used different metal. Walkers got in too easy." "Walkers?" I nodded and put on gloves. "You know the biters." "I haven't heard them called that." I shrugged and helped roll up the metal and put it in the truck. I walked around the highway catching everyone's stares. I took out a few walkers and stopped in my tracks. A small doll laid on the ground. I bent down to get a closer look and remembered Sophia. She always carried around a doll that looks like this. "Ma'am? We're ready." I nodded and followed them back to the truck. I hopped in the back of one and hit the side. It was almost sundown by the time we got back. I drove the box truck to the back gate and left it there for the night. I walked back to the house and shut the door behind me. I took off my gloves and looked at the damage done to my hands. I walked in the bathroom and opened the cabinet. "Grace?" "One minute." I bumped the glass on the sink and it went crashing to the ground. Daryl walked in and I just started picking up the glass. I put it in the trash and ran my hands under the water. "Let me see." "It's fine Daryl." He took them in his hands and I sat on the toilet. He grabbed the bandages and helped bandage the wounds. I reached up and brushed some of his hair out of his face. "How are you?" "Fine I guess." I nodded and he left the bathroom. I sat there for a few minutes just looking at my hands.

"I'm going out." "Why?" "I want to go for a walk and see what's around. You can come up if you want." He shrugged and followed me out of the house. We walked through the darkening streets and I was just happy to be out without worrying or looking over my shoulder. I stopped at the store windows and just looked through the glass. I smiled when I saw Daryl over at a hunting store. He disappeared through the door and I walked into the clothes. I ran my hand along a silk nightgown and smiled. "Evening Miss. Want me to ring that up for ya?" "No I'm just looking." He smiled and walked away. I looked over my shoulder and saw him looking at me. He winked making me turn around with a bit of a blush. He looked like he was my age and was very handsome but my heart was somewhere else. I got a few things and ended up going back for the nightgown. "What will ya take?" "I like your gun." I smiled and laid it on the counter. "You serious?" "Don't see why not.." I smiled and he handed me my bag.

"Grace! Wait up." "Hey Andrews." "I wanted to tell you about our Halloween celebration." I sat on a bench which he happily joined me on. "Its in a few days and the whole town shows up. We have food, candy, games. It's a lot of fun." "You sound like a child." He shrugged and looked around. "Maybe that's not a bad thing sometimes." He walked away leaving me thinking. Maybe it's time to take down a wall or two from around me. I found Daryl in the hunting store arguing with the shop owner over a thing of arrows. I smiled and started looking around myself. It just feels weird to me how people are so calm. Daryl brushed against my shoulder gaining my attention. I walked out with him and went down the street telling him about the Halloween celebration. He didn't seem too interested but I was going to go. We walked in the house and I kicked off my boots. I kissed Daryl's cheek and whispered a good night. I walked by the room we slept in and went to a different one. I locked the door behind me so I'd be alone. I collapsed on the bed crying into my pillow. Guilt overcame me once again.