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Kindred

Chapter 8


The college was ransacked, for some reason Heather had imagined it as untouched as the rest of the town looked. The corridor Thomas led them down was dark, the floor covered in rubbish and paper everywhere. Heather silently wondered how long Thomas had been here, and why he hadn't cleared the place. They walked through some doors that lead to what Heather guessed used to be a study hall/library. The bottom floor of the room had tables and chairs which still seemed to be in their original layout, a staircase led to a platform which overlooked the space, looking up Heather could see that books lined the walls. Heather smiled at Merle, trying to reassure him, Merle however was looking around himself, suspicious of everything as always.

"You're tellin' me you're the only one here...with all this room?"

"What can I say? I like my space." Thomas carried on down the corridor, not looking at his surroundings.

"Did you used to study here?" Heather asked, curiosity getting the better of her. Something about Thomas made her think he was still at college, maybe it was his unshakeable confidence, they must have been about the same age, give or take a few years.

"Nah, I went to MIT, used to live in Charlotte...had a girl who went here though."

"You came back for her?"

"Something like that..." he trailed off, Heather didn't push the subject and a quick look at Merle made sure he didn’t either.

They carried on walking, through desolate hallways, which were gradually growing dark as the sun set outside the building. They finally came to stop in front of what Heather assumed was a classroom. Pushing open the door Thomas motioned for them to walk in first. Cautiously poking his head round the door Merle walked in leaving Heather to follow after him. Heather didn’t know what she expected, but this wasn't it.

The classroom was as messy as the rest of the college had been, papers littered the floor and the room had dank musty smell. Looking at the textbooks piled high next to the doorway Heather assumed this used to be a biology classroom. Picking up the top book on a tower Heather was sure was about to topple she flicked through it, dust flying through the air as she did so. Something about this didn't seem right to Heather, Thomas was living here, if what he'd said was true. The room was filthy, no sign of order or supplies. In comparison to Merle and Heathers sofa and kitchenette seemed practically cozy.

Thomas had walked past Heather and Merle to the back of the room, he opened one of the cabinets lining the walls and rooted through it, pulling out the pack of M&M's he'd promised. Throwing the pack to Heather she caught it in one hand as Thomas opened more drawers.
Sitting down on one of the desks Merle put his feet up on another one, casually glancing around the room. Thomas had found what he was looking for, setting three dusty mis-matched glasses on the desk, pouring a dusky brown liquid into each one.

Merle grabbed it and cleared the glass in one swallow, banging it down harshly on the table.

"So Thomas? Glad to see you cleaned up for us."

Thomas laughed, another genuine one. "I'm not used to guests."

"How long have you been here?" Heather asked, willing to get the conversation going. She wanted to find out more about Thomas, sure there was a reason for all the chaos.

"About a month after the outbreak. Took me a while to get down here."

"Was she...were there a lot of walkers here?"

"A few...had to clear it."

"By yourself?"

"Nah, I had, my girl was still here, Tabby. Her and a couple of friends had holed up in one of the labs."

"Did she...?"

"I went on a run, tryin' to get some food. When I got back the doors were wide open. Nowhere to be seen."

Silence followed Thomas' story. Heather looked to Thomas, trying to see his face. He was staring straight out of the window, emotionless. She wondered if that’s how people had to survive now, close themselves off of all emotion.

"What 'bout the walkers that got em?"

"Walkers?"

"Yah there must have been walkers, hell they must have been when you got back."

"No...no there was no one here. Nothing, everything looked like how I left it apart from..."

"So they coulda just left your skinny ass?"

"Merle!!"

"What English? S'true! They coulda' just waltzed outta here."

There was that silence again, taking over the conversation saying more than anyone else needed to. Far from making Thomas sad or angry, there was that forced laughter, it made Heather feel worse than the silence before it.

"They could have...that's why I'm still here I guess. Hoping they'll come back."

Heather looked to Merle, who was in turn, looking at Thomas, both their faces unreadable. It wasn't long before the bottle of amber liquid was empty, Merle having finished off most of it. Thomas talked a lot, Heather was realising. He had a way of making stories last forever, detail was key. He was a student at MIT when all this broke out, studying Biomedical Sciences. He said it was chaos, but the only thing he cared about was getting back to his family. They lived in Charlotte, about a 15 hour drive from Massachusetts. He started by car, solo...battling the blocked highways and walkers. When he got home, two weeks later, now on foot, there was no one there. The City was practically overrun, he valiantly (Thomas' words) searched the town for his family. Battling walkers and spending a night locked in a removal van, he still found nothing. Another week or so on the road and he was in Oxford, banging down the doors to the college, sure that Tabitha was still alive.

"Been here ever since...what's it been now? Since it all went to shit? 3 months?"

"Eighty Five days." Merle...he'd been counting.

It was Merle's turn, his story was less detailed but more gorey. He regaled Thomas of when his group left him on the roof in Atlanta, sawing off his own hand and fighting his way through the city. At points in his story he looked towards Heather winking as he did. Then came their meeting, Merle described Heather in the water, the word siren barely passed his lips before Heather threw a well aimed M&M which bounced off his head. Heather was she was sure he'd only seen her dripping on the bank. Then came the walkers on the highway, he failed to mention the part where Heather saved his life.

There was a few moments of silence after Merle finished his story, which covered all the way up to Thomas finding them outside the Library. Heather caught up in her own thoughts didn't realise that the two men were staring at her. Expecting her to carry on tradition and tell her tale.

"Not much to tell...came over here to do Camp America, was at camp about 3 weeks before it all broke out...I think we got it a lot later than the Cities, we tried to hide in the cabins for weeks but supplies, they ran out fast...Me, Craig, Sarah and Tracy escaped with one of the kids, Daniel. Tracy and Dan got bit on the first night, attacked by a walker, one of the kids from camp. I think Tracy thought she was still alive...The next week, maybe it was longer than that, two weeks? Were a blur. We were sleeping in trees and surviving off the trail mix we snatched from camp. We were trying to find a way out of the woods when Sarah got bit. Craig, he slit his wrists two days later while I was asleep, he was supposed to be on watch. Must have got bit in the night or something as well. I woke up and he was...I had to kill him."

Merle was looking at her, surprised. He hadn't heard this story before, just the watered down version.

"I think we need to be headin' back sugar." Merle said after a stretch of silence.

"So soon? Don’t wanna spend the night?"

"No. Heather, lets get going. Why don't you swing by the shop tomorrow?"

Thomas nodded as Heather got up out of her chair.

"Thanks for the M&M's...yeah."

They left without another word, Merle leading Heather through the abandoned corridors, perfectly remembering the route they had taken. Slipping out of the front doors it wasn't until they were in the van that Merle said anything.

"Well sugar, you sure know how to pick 'em."

"Fuck off Merle. Shouldn't I be driving? You polished off most of that whiskey."

"Be my guest!"

He stopped the van in the middle of the road, putting it into park and shuffling across the seat. Heather pushed open her door and ran round to the drivers side She'd driven a van at camp a few times and sure it couldn't be much different to this one. Pulling away she glanced at Merle who was practically laying across the rest of the seat, giving her an amused look.

"What?"

"Well...what do you think of our stalker?"

"I can't tell...he's...he's weird."

"Weird doesn't even cover it sugar...you've passed the road we need ta take."

"Whatever."

They drove the rest of the way home, not talking. Merle fell asleep, it was a five minute journey, if that.

Waking him up proved difficult, no amount of shaking seemed to work. In the end Heather decided a nice slap to the face might, which Merle obviously agreed with.

"What the fuck English?!"

"You wouldn't wake up." Simple, yet effective.

They wearily made their way to the building, pushing aside the plank they'd used to cover the gap between the floor and shutters Heather shimmied underneath. Cranking the shutters just high enough for Merle to duck under, she made sure they were securely down before following him up the stairs.

"So?" Merle said, throwing himself down on the sofa.

"What are we gonna do?" Merle just shrugged and made himself comfortable, it was obviously

Heathers turn to take the floor tonight. Laying down Heather realised she didn’t feel tired at all, the days events had left her already busy mind whirring.

"He doesn’t seem dangerous at least?"

"You don't know that Sugar."

"Well he hasn’t attacked us yet?"

"That I'll give him."

"He knows the town, as long as we stay here he could come in useful."

"That as well..." Merles eyes were shut and his speech had started to slur. His hands behind his head Heather could see him shifting his weight, getting comfortable.

"Maybe he's just like us Merle...trying to survive. I dunno, I think we should give him a chance?"
Merle didn’t answer, looking over at him Heather saw that his mouth was slightly open and his chest was rising and falling rhythmically.

Getting up from her makeshift bed on the floor Heather moved towards the window, lifting the flap in the cardboard so she could see out. The sky was a watercolour of blues and greys, full of clouds making it seem so close to the ground. Looking over to where the college must be she saw nothing but random shapes of buildings. Unsure which one marked the place they'd spent the evening. Wondering if Thomas was asleep or still thinking about the two strangers he'd met that day she sighed letting the flap fall back into place. Laying back down in her sleeping bag images from the church haunted her when she closed her eyes. The idea that everyone there was so desperate, that they couldn't find a way to survive was almost as terrible as the scene itself. Rolling over onto her side she stared at Merle, his breathing heavier now he obviously had little trouble falling asleep. When Heather finally did manage to, she dreamt of Merle, holding a gun to her forehead as she silently nodded.

Notes

Comments

Omg. I bet its Rick! Can't wait to find out!!!!

Xxjerr19xX Xxjerr19xX
6/5/15

Merle and Heather need to get there, they've waited long enough :-)

gneebee gneebee
6/4/15

@HangerLane
Another good one! The dream Heather had - that was just amazing writing once again!!!! I was laughing at how you fooled me. LOL - can't wait til the next update :)

merlesgerle merlesgerle
6/2/15

@merlesgerle
Thank you so much! I always find it hard and I sometimes think I'm making Merle too nice...I think that's very easy. I feel like maybe this is how Merle would be BECAUSE of Heather?

I will try my best to make all your Merle dreams come true...or at least make Merle as true to character as I can.

Thanks agian!
xoxo

HangerLane HangerLane
6/1/15

@Xxjerr19xX
I'm reallllllyyyy not sure. I have a plan but it keeps changing.
There are some surprises I have planned but I think Heather and Merle (for now) are still gonna be very will they won't they...just to annoy you all lol!!!

Hope you enjoy the new chap!

HangerLane HangerLane
6/1/15