Sightless

Amy Harrison

~ Today ~

It was getting dark, and the guys who left still hadn't come back. 

It had been a long day honestly. Shane got into it with Ed, who apparently hit Carol in front of the other women down by the Quarry. Andrea and Amy managed to catch a heap of fish for us to eat tonight, and Jim went heat crazy. 

But none of that even seemed to matter to me, as all I could focus on was the fact that Daryl was out there, and not here where he was safe. 

"Pass the fish, please." Carol murmured from across the fire, and that noise snapped me from my thoughts. We had cooked up the fish when it started to get dark, and we had a good, old fashioned, fish fry. Everyone was sitting around the fire, except for Ed who was pouting in his tent. 

"I've got to ask you man. It's been driving me crazy." Morales said from somewhere to my right, and when Dale spoke up from his seat at my left I realized who he had been talking to. 

"What?"

"That watch." Morales said simply.

"What's wrong with my watch?" Dale asked, not bothered at all with Morales' line of questioning and I noticed that the rest of the group had gone silent to listen, including Max who was sitting to my right, who already knew why Dale winds his watch every morning. 

"I see you every day, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass." Morales joked, and I heard a few chuckles. 

"I've wondered this myself." Jacqui added, and Dale let out a laugh. 

"I'm missing the point." 

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while." Jacqui explained, and Morales jumped in when she paused for a breath. 

"But there's you, every day, winding that stupid watch."

"Time... it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least. Don't you think, Meg? Andrea? Back me up here." Dale begged, but Andrea and I, having both claimed seats on either side of my father figure, just laughed. 

"I like... I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it.'" Dale finished explaining, and I didn't bother trying to hide the soft smile that had crept onto my face during his story. 

He had told it to us before, when Max asked him when he was about seven, why he had to wind his clock. It was still just as touching now as it was then. Perhaps, even more so now. 

"You are so weird." Amy said, laughing, and everyone else joined in. 

"It's not me! It's Faulkner. William Faulkner? Maybe my bad paraphrasing." Dale explained, but no one else seemed to be in a sentimental mood as no one seemed to be as touched as me. I heard a rustle, and then Andrea's voice rang out. 

"Where are you going?" 

"I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here." Amy said with a sarcastic tint to her voice, and laughter rang out again. It wasn't until a few minutes later, when Amy came out, asking for toilet paper and a scream rang through the air, that I realized that maybe, just maybe we should have been more conscious of the noise we were making. 

Maybe it could have saved her. And Ed, and the others. 

Maybe it could have saved all of us. 

But we weren't, and our laughter is what sealed our fates. 

Our laughter is what pushed us to the CDC. Pushed us into the hands of the dead. 

Our laughter is what in the end, kills us. 

A/N: Just in case there's any confusion, y'all it's not done. I just wanted to transition a little differently than usual. Anyway! Sorry for not updating, but hopefully I'll update more over the next several days, and I will try to update again tonight!

Let me know if there's anything you all want to see, or want to see more of, or if you think something is weird/wrong please let me know!

I love you all

M

P.S.: Happy Holidays to all of you around the world. I know that for a lot of people this is a very happy time of year, but for some of you this could be your worst. For me, this is my second Christmas without my Dad, and it is still just as heart wrenching as the first. For all of you joining me in mourning a loved one this Holiday, remember how much they loved you, and enjoy the time you had with them. Again, I love you all so much, Happy Holidays!