A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S5Pt14 - "Pre-Game Ritual"

Carl and I were visiting an old couple called the Millers. They were in love with seeing Judith, and she loved the attention.
"It's been so long since we've seen a baby." Mrs. Miller said.
"Soon there's gonna be another one." Mr. Miller said and pointed at my belly.
They all started laughing, and I rubbed my stomach and chuckled. Carl took Judith out of the stroller and let them hold her. I looked across the street and saw Rick talking to one of the neighbors, who was a woman. They then looked over at us, we waved back, and Rick started walking towards us. He walked up onto the porch and started talking with the Millers. After a few minutes, we said our goodbyes and walked down the porch.
"Jessie said her kids really want to meet you." Rick told Carl. "Can you go now?"
"Yeah." Carl said and looked at me. "Come on."
I nodded and followed Carl over to Jessie's house. I was pushing Judith in the stroller and walked over to their porch. She greeted us and let Carl go inside. He looked back at me then inside the house.
"It's okay. Go." I said.
Carl nodded and I watched him go inside and start talking to her kids, two boys named Ron and Sam. I saw her husband staring at us through the window and I stared back.
"That's my husband, Pete." She said.
I just nodded and looked at her. I didn't get a good feeling from him, but that wasn't my business.
"Thank you for letting Carl come over, and you know spend some time with other kids." I said.
"Oh, it's no problem. He's free to come over whenever he wants." Jessie said.
She looked at my stomach and smiled. "When are you due?" She asked.
I laughed and rubbed my stomach. "I don't know. Soon I hope." I said. "Maybe just a couple more weeks. I don't think I can last any longer."
"Yeah, that's how I was too." She laughed.
I smiled and nodded, then Jessie looked at Judith. "Is she yours?" She asked.
"Oh, no." I said and chuckled. "Well, yes. I raised her ever since she was a baby. Rick's her father."
"What happened to their mom?" She asked.
"Uh.." I said and sighed. "She died giving childbirth. I promised her I'd look after her kids."
"Oh.." Jessie said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It's okay, really." I said.
She slightly smiled and I smiled back. I looked inside and saw Carl was playing cards with the boys. I sighed and readjusted Judith and rested her on my hip.
"It looks like Carl's just fine here, so I'm going to leave." I said. "It was nice meeting you."
"Are you sure you can't stay for a few more minutes?" She asked.
I looked down the streets, then at the houses, then at her. This was all too much. It didn't feel right, the world isn't supposed to be like this. You don't have neighbors, you don't get invited inside for iced tea and a barbecue or whatever. I just couldn't handle it.
"Yeah, I got a couple of things to do anyways." I said. "Thanks though."
I put Judith back in her stroller and started walking down the street. I wondered over to the pond and decided to take a break. I took Judith out of the stroller and let her crawl around in the grass. I sat down on the bench and watched the ducks swimming in the water.
It was nice and peaceful out here, and for just a minute I felt myself relax.
"Kelley. Excuse me." I heard a voice say.
I turned around and saw Deanna walking towards me.
"Hello Deanna." I said.
She sat down next to me and looked at Judith in the grass. She smiled and so did I.
"I assure you that they will be safe here." Deanna said.
I nodded and sighed. I rubbed my stomach and leaned against the back of the bench.
"I have some of my men setting up a house for you." She said.
I looked at her and tilted my head. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"The house next to your groups, I'm having them set up a nursery." She said. "So you and Daryl will have your own house for your family."
I was shocked and didn't know what to say. Was she saying that I literally have my own home.
"What about everyone else?" I asked.
"I talked to them already. They wanted to give you the house now, and once the expansion's done they will have their own homes too." Deanna said. "But Kelley, you deserve this house. You deserve to start your family."
I nodded and looked at my stomach. I shed a few tears but wiped them away.
"Thank you Deanna." I said. "We're very thankful."
She smiled and patted my back.
"That's not the only reason I came over here." She said and I looked at her. "I finally found a job for you."
"What is it?" I asked. "When do I start?"
"You're so eager." She chuckled at me. "But, I'll have you start once your pregnancy is over." She said. "I'm making you and Daryl my recruiters and scavengers." She said.
I nodded my head and she kept explaining.
"Just like Aaron and Eric, you guys would go out to recruit new people to join Alexandria. Or when we need a group outside of the walls, you'd guys would go."
"That's fine." I said. "Thank you for keeping us together."
"I told you I'd consider your words and I did." Deanna said. "I already told Daryl this and he's on board."
"Okay, good." I said. "Just you guys do your job here, and I'll do mine out there."
"Understood." She said.
I smiled and we shook hands.
"In a few minutes my main runners, my son Aiden and his friend Nicholas, are taking a group out. You are welcomed to go meet them, see how they work, and even tag along." Deanna said.
I smiled again and nodded. "That sounds great."
I got up, picked up Judith, and put her back in her stroller.
"I'll drop Judith off, and meet them over there." I told her.
She smiled at me and I walked down the street. Deanna wasn't lying when she said that I was getting my own house, because I saw men carrying a crib and furniture into the house next to the group. I walked over to the porch of the first house and saw Rick. He walked down the steps and we looked at my house.
"You've been through so much Kelley. You guys deserve a home." He said.
I smiled and slowly nodded. I looked back at Rick and put my hand on his shoulder.
"I wouldn't be here without your help, and everyone else." I said. "We all deserve this. Even you."
Rick nodded and I smiled. I then took one more looked at my new house and then walked down the street. I walked to the house where I saw them take our weapons and walked inside. Inside I saw Glenn, Tara, and Noah. Once I saw them, I opened my arms and hugged them.
"You joining us too?" Glenn asked.
"Deanna said I was free to tag along, see how things work." I said. "Once I'm done with this pregnancy, she wants me to be a recruiter and scavenger."
"I know you can handle it. You're badass." Noah said.
He playfully nudged my shoulder and I laughed. Tara smiled and I fist bumped her. Then, the door opened and two guys walked in.
"Glenn, Tara, Noah, and Kelley." They said.
We nodded and shook their hands.
"I'm Aiden, and this is Nicholas." He said. "You met him during gate duty." Aiden said.
"So you're Deanna's son?" Glenn asked.
"Yeah." He said. "And I heard you all have experience outside those walls, so let's get going."
We all grabbed our personal weapons and left Alexandria. We walked into the woods just outside the fences and started following a trail, and Aiden started explaining what they do.
"We split into two groups when we're out. If shit hits, we fire a flare, one group gets the other." He explained. "You're standing here because we lost four people last month."
"What happened?" Glenn asked.
"We were on a run and the dead came. They didn't follow the system." Aiden said.
"They were good people." Nicholas said.
"They were." Aiden agreed. "One thing though, I know I'm a hard-ass and a douchebag, but you do exactly as I say if you're on this crew."
"Sorry about your people." Tara said.
We nodded and they just kept on walking.
"We managed to grab one of the dead heads that took one of them down." Aiden said.
"Yeah. Strung him up over here." Nicholas said.
"What?!" I asked surprised.
"This of it as a pre-game ritual." Aiden said, and they laughed.
But I looked at Glenn, Tara, and Noah, and saw that they were skeptical too. We followed them into a clearing where there was a rope hanging from the tree, but no walker.
"Some of a bitch." They yelled.
"Help me find it." Aiden yelled.
They started shouting and making noise, trying to draw the walker to us.
"Hey! Hey!" I yelled. "It's gone man."
"The blood's still fresh." Nicholas said. "It's still around here."
We heard a rustle in the bushes and a walkers popped up behind Aiden. We aimed our guns and they yelled at us, blocking the walker.
"Don't shoot it!" Nicholas yelled.
The walker was about to grab Aiden, but he was in the way. It was too dangerous to do this, so I was going to kill the walker. I walked around Nicholas to get a better angle when they noticed. Aiden grabbed the walker and pushed it towards me. I began his new target and he grabbed my arms.
I tried to push the walker back, but it's rotting skin just ripped off of it. My arms got covered in blood and I got pushed against a tree. Glenn ran over to me and stabbed the walker, and Noah checked me for any scratches.
"What the hell?" Aiden yelled.
"Yeah, what the hell!" Tara yelled. "You almost got her killed."
I tried wiping the blood off my arms, but it only smeared it and made it worse.
"I'm fine." I sighed, but Noah kept checking my arms.
My stomach cramped in pain and I held it. I took a deep breath and the pain went away.
"Do you know what would've happened if she got bit. Daryl would kill you." Glenn yelled. "We all would."
They started yelling when I grabbed Glenn's arm.
"Let's head back." I said. "We're done here."
Glenn nodded and we all walked back to Alexandria. Aiden and Nicholas followed and kept complaining, but we didn't give a shit.
"Fuck that." I muttered, and they nodded. "Pre-game ritual, my ass."
We arrived back at Alexandria and they opened the gates up for us. We walked inside, went to return our weapons, and they were still yelling behind us.
"Hey!" Aiden yelled and grabbed Glenn's shoulder.
Glenn turned around and pushed Aiden. "Don't touch me." He threatened.
"We got a way of doing things around here." Aiden said.
"You tied up walkers." Glenn said.
"They killed our friends!" Nicholas said.
By this time the rest of the group showed up, along with Deanna and a few neighbors.
"And it almost killed me, you fuckers!" I yelled at them.
They looked at me and I saw they were pissed, especially Aiden. Nicholas was just following his lead.
"You obey MY orders when we are out there." Aiden yelled.
"Then we are just as screwed as your last crew." Glenn said.
He turned around and was ready to walk away when Aiden grabbed him again. He pushed Glenn onto the ground and they started punching each other. Our entire group freaked out, and there was only yelling and fighting going on. Nicholas tried to join the fight, but I refused to let that happen. I grabbed his arm and pulled him away then pushed his chest. He tried to punch me and I was ready to take the hit, when Daryl jumped in and tackled him.
"You motherfucker!" He yelled.
He punched Nicholas in the face a good couple times and wrapped his hands around his neck.
"Hey!" I yelled, and so did Rick.
Daryl was too lost in suffocating Nicholas. I tried to push Daryl off of him, but he was too strong for me. Rick ran up to him and wrapped his arms around Daryl's shoulders.
"Let go of me!" Daryl yelled and tried to shake him off.
"Daryl, not now." Rick said.
I saw Nicholas was turning blue and Daryl was about to kill him.
"Daryl, please. Stop." I said.
He then let go of his neck, punched Nicholas in the face on last time, and stood up. Rick pulled him back and Daryl shook loose. Nicholas rolled over and held his throat, and wheezed as he tried to talk.
I instantly ran over to Daryl and pushed him farther away. I grabbed his face and made him look at me.
"Babe, I'm okay. It's fine, calm down." I pleaded.
He looked at me and then saw the blood on my arms. I saw the fury in his eyes and he was tense.
"What happened?" He growled.
"Stupid guys tied up a walker. It got lose and came after me." I said. "But it's fine. I swear I'm okay."
He looked over my shoulder and pointed at Aiden and Nicholas. "Them?!" He yelled.
I tried to calm him down, but I was scared Daryl would lose control. I grabbed his face and made him look at me. He cupped my face, looked me in the eyes, and I caressed his cheek.
"You could've died." He said quietly. "He almost punched you."
"But I didn't. I didn't okay." I said and put my hands on his shoulders. "And I've been punched before, I can handle it."
Daryl just sighed and I kissed him lightly. He nodded and pulled me into his embrace, and I touched my forehead to his.
"Let's go home." I said.
He nodded and I kissed his cheek. I then grabbed Daryl's crossbow and slung it over my shoulder. Daryl wrapped his arm around my waist, keeping me close to him, and we left the group to sort out that mess of craziness and stupidity.