Feral Citizens

Triggerhappy

Josie had abandoned the tent before I woke up. She'd said nothing to me yesterday, when I had returned from the highway.

Carol was folding laundry outside the tent and humming to herself the entire time. It was some country song I vaguely recognised by the tune. "Mornin'"

"Good morning. You sleep well?" she asked.

"Not really. I'm sleeping in just the sleeping bag, so the floor is something I'm waking up to now."

"Why didn't you say? We've got a spare cot in the back of the car." She lowered her voice and put the laundry down with shaky hands. "it was Ed's cot."

"Ah, thank you, Carol. I'll come by and collect it later. You need help with anything?"

"Oh, I can manage just fine. I might need some help organising our little pantry, though. Shane wants everything stored away in the R.V."

"I can do that. Maybe we can get the kids to help out, might give 'em something to do." And it might just coerce Josie into talking to me. At this moment, I couldn't quite figure out why she was ignoring me like this. Had I said something?

The conversation became bigger when Lori, fresh from sleeping and sporting bed hair, wobbled to Carol's side. "Next time wake me, all right? Especially on laundry day. I don't want to leave it all to you, honey." Her eyes blazed with dedication; to what I didn't know.

Carol weakly defended herself. "I can manage." She put down an item of clothing she had in her hands and turned to us both. "I had an idea I wanted to run by you, Lori."

"What's that?"

"That big kitchen of theirs got me thinking. I wouldn't mind cooking in a real kitchen again. Maybe we all pitch in and cook dinner for Hershel and his family tonight." Suddenly, Carol's face turned red, and she ducked her head down, mumbling. "of course, if you don't want to help, that's fine, I don't want to force anyone into anything."

"After everything they've done for us, seems like the least we could do." Like me, Lori had spotted Carol's attempt to curl back into her shell, and she was having none of it. Carol perked up and accepted Lori's half-hug. "Might add some sort of normal to our lives."

"You mind extending the invitation? Would just feel more right coming from you."

"How so?" Lori questioned.

"You're Rick's wife. It sort of makes you our unofficial first lady." Lori accepted and asked if I wanted to help them. I considered my options. I was capable of cooking, but maybe my time would be better spent looking for Eliza and Louis. And then again, I wasn't sure I was ready to go out there and possibly find them bitten or turned. And Lori and Carol did enough around the camp on their own.

"Sure, I can lend a hand. Ya'll think Sophia and Josie would be able to sort out the supplies on their own?" I folded a pair of jeans.

Carol snorted. "Honey, I love my daughter, but Sophia couldn't tell the difference between a can of peas and a box of lentils. I think it's best we sort out the supplies, and then get started on dinner."

"You make a fair point." I left them to their work, focused on finding something to do. I could start sorting our supplies, but it would mean doing it alone whilst Lori and Carol were busy. But, then again, if Carol could do the laundry on her own, then I could do this. I turned on my heel and rapped on the door of the Winnebago, confident that Dale would be awake. Sure enough, the old man's face appeared in front of me, as gentle and kind as always.

"Here about the supplies?"

"Pretty much."

"Shane and Andrea piled them in boxes on the counters. I don't know exactly where they go, so I suppose that'll be your job." He allowed me to come inside and gestured to the five measly boxes sitting on the benches. God, was this all we had? I could have sworn we had picked up more from the highway. "Shane wants someone to make a run to the highway with Glenn tomorrow to scavenge more stuff. We didn't take it all because of the... the incident." It was like he could read minds; I was sure of it.