PHOTOGRAPH

Chapter 25

After the decorating was done, Tim and his friends head to the cafeteria for supper. As they walk in, they see Daryl sitting at a table alone as he slowly eats his dinner.

"Should we go talk to him?" Avi asks. "I feel like I should thank him."

"Let's go talk to him." Tim says with a shrug and starts to take a step but is grabbed by the arm by Austin.

"No. He'll kill us." Austin says in a whisper.

"He's not going to kill us, Austin." Tim chuckles and rolls his eyes as he shakes his head.

Tim leads the way over to the loner at the table.

"Hi, uh, Daryl." Tim says, suddenly getting nervous as the older man slowly looks up from his plate, eyeing the group through his dark shades.

"Oh, good Lord. We're dead." Austin mumbles.

"Uh, Avi has something he wants to say to you." Tim says as he grabs the shorter man by the arm and pulls him around in front of him.

"Gee, thanks, pal." Avi mumbles over his shoulder. He turns his attention back to the man that was staring up at him. Avi forces a smile. "Ummm, I just wanted to thank you for coming to my rescue earlier."

"No big deal." Daryl answers with a shrug. "I can't stand the guy."

Daryl turns his attention back to the food in front of him.

Adam suddenly steps around the group with his tray and sits down at the table across from Daryl. The older patient slowly looks up at the uninvited guest.

"Adam? You trying to get us killed?" Austin asks as Tim and Avi watches in horror.

"No, he just looked lonely." Adam says. Daryl opens his mouth to say something but of course the blonde continues. "Besides, I want to know more about these zombies."

"They're out there." Daryl answers quietly as he begins to eat his food.

"How do you know?" Adam asks.

"Because I've seen them." Daryl answers.

"You've actually seen a zombie?" Tim asks as he slowly sits down in the chair next to Daryl. Since Adam wasn't dead yet, he thought it was safe enough to sit down.

"I've seen a lot of zombies." Daryl answers as he takes a bite of his dinner. "It's just that no one believes me."

"I guess that's why you're in here with the rest of us." Avi says as he too sits down.

"Yep, there are too many non-believers. My wife was one." Daryl says. "They'll regret it one day. They'll see that I was right."

"So you're married?" Tim asks as he takes a sip of his tea.

"Was." Daryl answers.

"Oh, sorry." Tim says as he hangs his head. He was silently praying that he didn't cross the line.

"I'm, uh, I'm going over here to sit with Virgil." Austin gives a nervous smile as he backs away.

Everyone at the table watches him as he sits down at an empty table with the two trays he had been carrying.

"Am I the only one that doesn't see this Virgil?" Daryl asks as he strokes his chin whiskers.

"No one sees him but Austin." Adam answers.

"Oh, good. I thought I was going crazy." Daryl says with a slight smirk.

"You oughta try taking pictures of someone that doesn't exist." Tim chuckles quietly.

"You're the one they call Photograph, right?" Daryl asks.

"Yeah. My name is Tim but most of the patients call me Photograph." Tim answers with a nod.

"Photograph used to not talk. He would write notes instead. He always thought he would get in trouble if he talked. His dad wouldn't let him talk. He's was really a mean man. But he's in jail now. So Photograph is free to talk without getting into trouble. Why do you stay by yourself all the time? Do you enjoy being lonely? We'll be your friends. Everyone needs friends. It's sad to be alone." Adam says as he crosses his arms on the table and stares at the man before him.

"Well, I see that you definitely don't have a problem talking." Daryl says, tilting his head.

"You don't know the half of it." Avi chuckles. "That was just a short sample."

"You didn't answer my question. Why do you like being alone?" Adam asks.

"No one likes being alone." Daryl states. "But when everyone thinks you're weird for believing in something, they tend to distance themselves from you. You guys are the first to ever attempt to even talk to me."

"That's because everyone is scared of you." Tim says quietly, looking down at his plate. "We were even scared to come talk to you."

"But why? I've never hurt anyone." Daryl says with a shrug.

"You look like you could." Avi replies.

"I guess figured that being alone was safer. Less chance of getting hurt or stabbed in the back by a so-called friend." Daryl says as he pushes away his empty plate. "I've had that happen one too many times."

"Listen, I have friends that never come out of the tv set, so does that tell you anything?" Avi says with a raised brow. "I have major trust issues. But then I met these guys and it was nice to actually have friends to hang with."

"So what's his story?" Daryl nods over in Austin's direction.

"Austin was bullied a lot growing up. He had no friends. He was so desperate to have friends that he created one in his mind. Virgil became his childhood make-believe friend. Even though he grew up, his mind never turned loose of Virgil." Tim explains.

"And you?" Daryl asks as he looks around at Adam.

"People just thinks I'm weird because I talk a lot. My mind tends to jump from one thing to another. I can't focus on one subject for too long. One minute I'll be talking like we are now and two minutes later my mind will jump to something off the wall like what flavor ice cream do you like. Whenever I get excited or upset about something, I start yelling and cussing and I can't stop it." Adam says with a shrug. "So what kind of ice cream do you like?"

"Butter pecan." Daryl answers before quickly turning his attention to Photograph. "And you?"

"After my mom died, my dad became very abusive. He'd hit me. Lock me in the closet. He hated my voice so he didn't want me talking. If he heard me speak, he would beat me. I wasn't allowed any friends. When he found out that I was gay, he beat the sh*t out of me. After I healed up a bit, he brought me here and claimed that I was possessed." Tim says as he turns his glass of tea around in circles. "I still had a fear of talking, thinking I would get punished so I kept my mouth shut. I have other issues too. Like seizures, anxiety attacks, flashbacks. Things like that."

"We all had friend issues growing up. Being a Jew, I too was bullied. No one wanted to be a friend to a Jew. So, I made friends in my own way. My friends were tv characters. They brought joy into my life. They still do." Avi says with a slight smile.

"D*mn. And people think I'm crazy." Daryl chuckles and shakes his head in disbelief at what he had just heard.

"Well, you should fit into our group just fine then." Tim laughs. "Cause we're all crazy but at least we have friends now."

"I have a question." Adam says suddenly.

"Oh, Lord." Avi chuckles and shakes his head. "Here we go."

"Why do you wear sunglasses all the time? Are they special sunglasses that help you see zombies? If so, where can I get a pair?" Adam asks.

Tim stands with his tray and motions for Avi and Daryl to follow. Adam, seeing his friends were fixing to leave, stands with his tray but continues to talk as he follows them.

"Actually, if we are going to have a zombie apocalypse we all need some if we're going to survive." Adam continues to talk as they leave the cafeteria.

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