Glenn drove way ahead of us but the noise travelled. Morales, Andrea, Jacqui and T-Dog got out while Ana, Rick and I waited.
"What are you waiting for?" I asked Rick
"I don't want to get here and still not be with my wife and son. Or worse, be told their fate" he said "you guys go ahead"
"Who said I'm not looking for someone?"
"Who are you looking for?"
"My step dad and sisters"
"Come on out helicopter boy!" Morales yelled to Rick and Rick hesitantly got out
"Now it's our turn, Isabelle" Ana told me and climbed out of Ricks side of the car
I took a deep breath and stepped out. I saw Rick hugging his family and the only thought ok my mind was my family. I looked for any familiar faces but there were none. I had the feeling they wouldn't be there but it was still upsetting.
"Is-" Ana started
"It's fine" I lied "let's just. Get to know everyone and then we can set up camp"
•••
When dinner rolled around, everyone sat around for story time with Rick. Ana and I set up our tent, which I sat in.
"Isabelle. You should come" Ana said walking to me
"I'll be fine. You go. Have fun" I tell her and she reluctantly walks away.
I took this time to go into the woods. They gave me ammo but I should still stay quiet. I walked to a pine tree, liked I used to climb when I was younger, and sat up there. I could see everything. I took in a deep breath, breathing in the air. The quarry had water the color of the plates that I owned back at home, a bright blue. The trees were thick and no one would see me from up here and I liked it.
I decided to stay all night. Ana probably assumed I was in a tree, it wasn't uncommon. I saw a deer cross under the tree I was in and I climbed down to follow it. I heard footsteps behind me and raised my gun to be met with a
man pointing a crossbow at me.
"Who are you?" I asked
"Who are you?"
"I asked first"
"Daryl. Now who are you?"
"Isabelle"
"You got a camp?"
"Yeah. Just around here"
"Then we're on the same team, ginger" he lowered his crossbow and I lowered my gun.
We heard screaming and we started to run. We made it to a clearing with a dead decapitated walker and a chewed up deer.
"God dammit, that's my deer. I was trackin it for miles, I was gonna drag it back to camp to cook us up some venison. Now it's all gnawed on by the filthy, motherless, disease-bearing poxy bastard" he said kicking it in between every word. "Think we could cut around this chewed up part here?"
"Wouldn't take that chance" Shane says
"Thanks a lot ginger, we're gonna be eatin squirrel another God damn night"
I took every word and didn't fight it.
The walker head mouth opened and it's eyes opened.
"It's gotta be the head. Don't y'all know that?" Daryl says and shoots an arrow in his head.
"That's the farthest they've come up the mountain" Dale says and we start to walk back to camp.
Ana came back to walk with me.
"You okay? Where were you last night?"
"In a tree"
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Always am"
"Merle. Get your ugly ass out here, got us some squirrel to stew" Daryl yells as we enter the camp
"Daryl. We got something to talk about" Shane says
"About what?"
"Merle"
"Is he dead?"
"Maybe"
"I'm sure that it's a yes or a no"
"Listen. He was a threat to our group" Rick says starting to reason with him "we had to handcuff him to the roof and-"
"You handcuffed him to a roof!?" He yelled and swung at Rick.
Rick ducked and Shane pushed Daryl over. Daryl then pulled out a switch blade and swung at Rick again before being put in a choke hold by Shane.
"Choke holds illegal" he said while behind held down.
Rick crouched in front of him. "I'd like to have a calm discussion"
"Fine" Daryl grunted and Shane let him go
"He was a threat to us and we had to handcuff him" Rick says again in a calm tone
"I dropped the key" T-Dog says trying to take the blame
"You couldn't pick it up?"
"I dropped it down a drain"
"Well, Rick will take you to look for him" Lori says
"Yeah" he says acting like he knew Lori would say that.
"Well what are we waitin for?" Daryl says walking to the car
•••
Rick left with Glenn and Daryl to look for Merle. I wanted to go but I knew they wouldn't let me go. It was dark and the group had a fire going.
"Ana and Isabelle. Come join us!" Andrea says to us as her sister, Amy, stands up. She goes into the RV for something.
"Hey. Next person who finishes the toilet paper can change it!" She calls from the door.
Then a walker is at her arm and takes a chunk of it. I kill it but another bites into her neck and we realized that a herd is sweeping through the quarry. I felt like my world was falling apart. Just when we found a group, our safety had been compromised again. I couldn't lose Ana. I couldn't let either of us die until we found my family, because without her, I'm not sure if I could make it. I was pulled up off my chair by Ana and I realized I had to help. Rick had left guns in the city and when we needed them we don't have them, or so I thought. Soon there is more gunfire as Rick, Glenn and Daryl rejoin our group to help us fight the walkers.
