Dead Living (30 page)

She smiled, then pulled the AR-15 off her
shoulder. She handed it to Charlie. “Take this. It's not much, but
hopefully it'll get you to your next stop.”

He took the rifle. “Thank you.”

Amanda tugged at Charlie's shirt. “Is it okay
if I stay with Aaron?”

“Me too,” Derek said. “I'd like to stay
too.”

Aaron saw a glimmer in Charlie's eye as he
fought off tears. Aaron knew Charlie had taken care of the two
children for a long time, and now it was time to say goodbye.

“Of course it's okay, guys,” he said. He
knelt down to look Amanda in the eye. “You take care of Derek here,
okay?”

Derek laughed. Aaron had never heard the teen
laugh before.

“I will, Charlie. I'll take care of Derek and
Aaron, and his girlfriend too.”

“What's this girlfriend shit?” Aaron mumbled.
He looked at Sam. “I don't know where they're getting this
girlfriend stuff from.”

She shook her head. “Shut up, Aaron.”

“Okay.”

Charlie gave Amanda and Derek a tight hug. He
said goodbye to everyone he'd spent so much time with. Gibbons gave
him a handshake and a hug.

“I'm sorry. For everything,” Gibbons said.
“None of you should have ever been in a cage.”

“Hey, when walkers were everywhere, you
helped get us out of there.”

Sam gave Charlie quick directions to I-95,
using as many landmarks as she could remember. He thanked her.

“Good luck,” Aaron said.

Charlie climbed behind the wheel of one of
the old prison trucks. “When I find my wife, maybe I'll swing back
through this way.”

Aaron nodded. “We'll be here. Just find
Lexington High School.”

He gave everyone a final wave before driving
away. Amanda and Derek cried as the truck disappeared down the
road.

Aaron was a little choked up himself. “Okay,
guys,” he said. “Anyone that can drive, pick a truck. Everyone else
just climb in back. But don't ride in the one I came in. There's,
uh, just a little bit of blood back there.”

Sam and Aaron climbed in the truck she took
from Lexington. Aaron was surprised to see Derek take the wheel of
a truck. He saved a spot for Amanda next to him. Aaron didn't know
Derek could drive.

Aaron leaned back and closed his eyes. It
felt good to just rest. He looked forward to getting back to his
library. He turned to look at the woman who had saved his life. She
wasn't the same person he first met, the woman who took pride in
only looking out for herself.

He felt ashamed. She was willing to risk
everything to save him. But Aaron still kept his secret to himself.
It didn't feel like a fair trade.

He knew the time was coming soon to change
that.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yeah. Thank you for coming for me.”

She put a hand on his shoulder. “We're
friends.”

He didn't believe that. He cared about her
more than any friend, and he had a feeling she felt the same way.
He squeezed her hand.

“You ready to go home?” she asked.

“Yes. Home sounds good.”

It was a whirlwind of activity when Sam
returned to Lexington with not only Aaron, but fourteen other
people. It took a few days for the new arrivals to acclimate.
Amanda wanted a room close to Aaron, but she also wanted to share a
room with Derek. They settled for an old classroom around the
corner from the library.

Some of the ex-slaves were full of surprises.
An older man named Tom turned out to be just as good a gardener as
Susan. Everyone worked hard to help out.

Sam wasn't ready for the attention she
received.

Everyone was happy to have
Aaron back. She expected that much. What she didn't expect was the
people of Lexington walking up to her throughout the day and
giving
her
a hug,
complimenting her for saving Aaron's life. It was attention she
wasn't used to, or comfortable with.

Sam hadn't seen Aaron in nearly a week.
Everyone was wrapped up in their own world, their own chores. The
week kept her busy, but there was so much she needed to talk to him
about. She also missed him. She was no longer afraid to admit it to
herself.

The sun was slipping away on a warm day. She
passed through the cafeteria, then the storeroom. Mary was on duty,
relaxing in a chair with her feet propped up on another.

“Hey, Samantha,” Mary said. “I'm so bored in
here. Would you please take something so I can at least write?”

“Don't need anything right now. Listen, have
you seen Aaron lately?”

She nodded. “Yeah. I saw him heading out to
the Pit. I have no idea why. Who the hell wants to spend time with
a bunch of walkers?”

“Yeah. Just plain weird, isn't it.” Sam
almost left the storeroom when she had an idea. “Uh, Mary, do you
still have any of those makeup kits I found for you a while
ago?”

“Yeah. I keep them over with some of the
bathroom stuff. Do you want one?” As soon as she asked the
question, Mary knew what was going on. “Oh, Samantha? Really?”

Sam tried to hide her embarrassment. “I just
want to try some.”

Mary smiled. “You want to impress Aaron.”

She knew there was no sense in hiding it.
Whether she wanted to or not, she had feelings for Aaron. She
wouldn't be surprised if everyone at Lexington knew by now. “Yeah.
What's the word you used? Crush?”

Mary knew it went far beyond a crush. “You
went through town and busted him out of a cage. Sounds like more
than a crush, and I'm sure you have no problem impressing him. But
sit down, let me work some magic.”

“Uh, thank you.”

Sam felt silly and strangely vulnerable as
Mary applied a small amount of eyeshadow and lip gloss. She almost
told Mary to stop a few times, but Mary seemed to be enjoying
herself.

“Good choice, wearing some jeans with holes
in them. Interesting way to show some leg.”

Sam's clothing choice wasn't on purpose.
“Everything else is dirty right now.”

Mary tried not to laugh. “I'll put some
clothes aside. Just stop by later to pick them up.”

Sam tried not to fidget.

“Okay, just relax,” Mary said. “You're
nervous, and it really shows.”

“I don't even know how he feels.”

It was strange to share her feelings with
Mary. The two seldom talked, except when they worked together in
the storeroom.

“You don't see how he looks at you, do you?”
Mary asked.

Sam shook her head. She had a good guess
Aaron had feelings for her, but was too afraid to believe it.

“He cares about you, Samantha. It's easy to
see, trust me.” She held up a mirror. “What do you think?”

Sam was amazed. She knew men found her
attractive. Looking at Mary's work, she could see it for herself.
Just a light shade of purple lip gloss, with some purple eyeshadow.
She liked it.

“Wow, Mary.”

“Thank you. Now, go and get him, before the
light goes away.”

Sam stopped and turned around before leaving
the storeroom. “I, uh, know I haven't always been the friendliest
person.”

Mary laughed. “What? You? No way.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Thank you for helping
me.”

“Hey, we ladies have to look out for each
other.”

Sam gave her newest friend a smile.

*****

Sam pushed the dread aside as she left the
storeroom and crossed the field. She was thankful that most
everyone was already inside. She didn't want anyone except Aaron
seeing her with makeup on.

She stopped as she drew closer to the
Pit.

Aaron was there, but so was every child in
Lexington. She recognized the two newest arrivals, Amanda and
Derek, keeping a safe distance from the fence covering. Nikki stood
next to Aaron, and Sam thought for sure she saw her youngest friend
stare at Derek.

She was one second from turning around and
walking away when she heard her name.

“Sam? Is that you? Get on over here.”

She gave a sheepish wave, then half the
children ran to her and swarmed her. They grabbed her by the hands
and slowly dragged her to the Pit. She already felt embarrassed and
mortified. They spoke all over each other.

“Samantha, come with us.”

“Aaron's teaching us all about corpses.”

“What's that stuff on your face?”

Aaron wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulders.
Goosebumps danced across her skin. She was a survivor all her life,
but standing next to Aaron with so many eyes on her, she thought
she would fall over dead.

“Everyone knows Sam here. When you all get
older, we'll see if we can talk her into having a little gun
class.”

Everyone cheered. Sam laughed at their
enthusiasm.

“Okay, guys, we're losing light, but there's
one last thing I want to show you. I want everyone to look at that
one corpse there near the back, with the dirty torn sweatpants.
That one's very dangerous, and you need to watch how she acts.”

Amanda gripped Derek's hand tighter. “Those
noises they make are scary.”

“I know. Just don't let it get to you. Now
keep your distance, but watch old Sweatpants there.”

The children talked amongst themselves and
studied the walkers while Aaron grabbed Sam and pulled her aside.
They gave each other a quick hug. Sam pulled away when he winced in
pain, still a little sore from the slave camp. He had the look she
had grown used to, having shaved his head and face a few days ago.
His bruises were almost healed.

“Hey, where have you been?” he said. “I've
been looking for you.”

“Yeah. We keep missing each other. So, you're
teaching the kids now?”

He nodded. “They're a little scared, but they
need to know.” He noticed her face in the setting sun. “Is that
makeup?”

“Yeah. Just something I'm trying. Mary helped
me.”

“It looks nice. Very
pretty. But you're
always
very pretty.”

More like
beautiful
, he thought. He had never seen
her looking so good. He remembered telling her before that she was
beautiful without even trying. She even made jeans with holes in
them look good. He wondered why the sudden desire for
makeup.

“Thank you.” She looked at the ground for a
moment. “Listen, when you're done with the kids here, do you want
to get something to eat?”

“Sure. I want to talk to you about some
things.”

“Me too.”

Aaron tried to control his nerves. He didn't
know where to begin. Did he tell Sam about his secret? Did he tell
her he missed her when she wasn't with him? Did he tell her that in
a world full of the walking dead, that he was falling in love for
the first time?

Nikki kept a close eye on Aaron and Sam. She
smiled as she watched them look into each other's eyes.

“Okay, guys,” Nikki announced. “The sun is
almost gone. Let's get to the cafeteria and play some games.”

The children cheered as she led them away.
Sam gave Nikki a smile. Aaron and Sam were alone at the Pit. He led
her away a few steps so the walkers would quiet down.

“Okay, listen,” he said. “I have to get this
out of the way before I lose my nerve.”

“No, me first. Aaron, when
I thought you were dead, I, uh-” Sam didn't have words. She'd been
waiting to see Aaron, and she didn't know what to say. “Do you know
what a
crush
is?”

Aaron shook his head. He'd read plenty of
books, but didn't know what she was talking about. “You mean like
to squeeze something?”

She laughed. Aaron felt his heart melting. He
missed her laugh so much.

“No. It's something Mary told me-”

She didn't get to finish. Neither Aaron or
Sam saw them coming.

Garrett swung the broken table leg as hard as
he could. He connected with the back of Aaron's head, dropping him
to the ground. Sam was surprised for a second, then charged toward
Garrett. She meant to tackle him, but Ray got to her first from the
side. He forced her hard to the ground, just a few feet away from
the Pit.

Ray knocked Sam unconscious with a few
punches to the face. He tied her hands behind her back while
Garrett continued to beat Aaron.

“You just couldn't stay
dead, could you?” Garrett said. He gave Aaron a kick in the ribs.
“You take Samantha all for yourself, then bring
more
people back here? More people
we have to feed? Are you fuckin' crazy?”

“Careful, Garrett. Don't kill him. We don't
need to deal with a walker.”

Garrett smiled at the idea Ray gave him. He
pointed at the fence covering the Pit. “Open that up.”

Ray did so, peeling one corner of the fence
back. The corpses reached upward.

Garrett kicked Aaron one more time, then
slapped his head as a final insult. He shoved him into the Pit.

Aaron smacked the ground hard. He was still
hurt and disoriented, but he had enough sense to know Garrett
expected a scream. He let out the best fake scream he could. He
grabbed two walkers and pulled them on top of him to help with the
illusion. Their struggle to stand up and get away only helped make
it look like an attack. It was dark now, but he could see Garrett
leaning over to stare into the Pit.

“I should have killed you when you first got
here.”

Aaron kept still and was as quiet as his
aching body would allow. The stench and filth of the two walkers on
top of him almost made him vomit, but he somehow held it in. Ray
stood next to Garrett with Sam slung over his shoulder. He thought
for a moment Ray would dump her in the Pit, but he saw her bound
hands, and knew they wanted her alive.

“Is he dead?” Ray asked.

“Yeah, they're having a nice little meal down
there. Let's go pack our shit and get out of here. Cover this thing
up, they'll never even find the bastard.”