Dead Living (20 page)

Paul didn't keep track of the gossip that
floated around Lexington. Instead of sitting by the gate, he sat
next to Sam.

“What are you doing out here, girl?” he
asked. “Figured you'd be inside with your new friend. It's a hell
of a job he did with that library.”

“He left.”

Paul scratched his blond head. “Is that why
everyone is so sad running around today?”

“I guess so. It's, uh,
definitely got
me
down.”

“Hell, girl, you're always down. Everyone
here is scared to death of you.”

“Thanks, Paul.”

“Don't mention it. Yeah, that Aaron fellow,
he's a good guy. A little strange, but I like him. He actually
helped me clean up the chicken shit yesterday morning. No one ever
wants to help me with that.”

“Why do you say he's strange?”

Paul looked back at the pretty young woman,
trying to find the words. “Hard to say. He's just so . . . happy, I
guess. I hear he lived in Baltimore?”

“Yeah.”

“Right in the middle of all the walkers?”

She nodded.

“Well, that's fuckin' strange. Shit, isn't he
afraid of them? Just don't make much sense to me.”

Before Sam could say anything she heard an
engine off in the distance. She heard the sound many times over the
years, and recognized their truck.

“Unbelievable,” she whispered.

Paul didn't see the truck until it turned
into the school and stopped at the main gate. “Speak of the
devil.”

Aaron waited while Paul ran forward and
opened the gate for him. He drove the truck slowly next to the
other one, shifting it back and forth as he crept forward. He still
wasn't comfortable driving.

Sam didn't move an inch from the steps.

“Hey there, Aaron,” Paul called as Aaron
climbed out of the truck. “You have everyone here worried
sick.”

“Hi, Paul.” They shook hands. He ran a hand
over his head, which was slowly growing some hair. “I just needed
to get some stuff, that's all.”

“Gabe's pissed at you, you might want to
steer clear from him. Richardson gave him a tongue-lashing for
letting you leave with the truck.”

“Yeah, I'm sorry. But I had to leave, and I
knew Richardson would throw a fit. A little white lie never killed
anyone.”

Paul slapped him on the shoulder. “You got
balls, young man, I'll give you that.”

“I got supplies for you. Wood, nails, should
be enough to rebuild that second chicken coop.”

He raised the truck door so Paul could see
for himself. The older man's jaw dropped. “Aaron, this is . . .
wow.”

Aaron gave Paul a slap on the back and went
back for the truck keys. He almost ran right into Sam. She stood
there rigid with her arms crossed.

She wanted to reach out and hug him. She also
wanted to slap him across the face. She compromised, and did
nothing.

“Where did you run off to?” she asked, danger
in her voice.

He was confused. He had planned as much as he
could. He took the truck, knew he'd have to stay out overnight,
knew he'd have to face Richardson when he got back. He didn't think
Sam would be mad at him.

“Getting supplies,” he said. “Things we all
need.”

“You could have been killed. Why didn't you
take me with you? We go out, you see how dangerous it is, so you
decide to go out by yourself?”

“I don't want you to get hurt.”

“And I don't want
you
to get hurt. That's
why we go together. Do you see how this works? How are we supposed
to look out for each other if you do stupid shit like this? I'm new
at this friends thing, but I don't think this is how it
works.”

She walked away. She didn't even look in the
truck to see the many things Aaron brought back. He took a step
forward to stop her, but decided against it. He'd seen Sam's
temper, and figured it was best to let her cool down.

Hell, I'm lucky she didn't stab me with her
knife.

Paul shook his head and leaned an arm on
Aaron's shoulder.

“Girlfriend mad at you?”

“We're not a couple, but she is a woman,”
Aaron said. He gestured to Sam as she disappeared around the side
of the school. “I don't get it. I know she's had a tough life. I
can't even imagine the things she's had to go through, and the
people she's had to deal with. But she's pissed for not letting her
come with me to get supplies? She's mad at me for watching out for
her?”

“She's protective of you, that's all.”

“That's a weird way of showing it, getting
mad and walking away?”

Paul nodded. “It's refreshing, I think. The
world has changed, damn walking corpses everywhere. I know you
don't remember any of the old world, but women were a mystery then
too.”

There was a voice behind them.

“Aaron.”

They turned to see Richardson peering into
the back of the truck. Aaron tried to read his face, pick up on
what was going through his mind. His expression was blank.

Richardson had trouble believing what he saw.
Garrett and Ray, in supply runs covering their last six months,
couldn't get as much as Aaron did in a single day.

The truck was almost completely full. Wood,
tools, drums of water, blankets, clothes, soil. There was a little
of everything.

“How the hell did you get all of this?”

Aaron didn't just stop at Home Depot. He hit
a few other places, including a Target and Walmart.

He was anxious to get started on his
project.

“A lot of luck,” he lied.

They locked eyes. Aaron could see a spark of
anger.

“Would you mind walking with me a
minute?”

Shit. Here it comes.

Aaron turned to Paul as they walked away. He
knew supplies wouldn't stay on the truck long.

“Hey Paul, I have some things near the front
covered with a blanket. That's all my stuff, something I'm working
on. Watch it for me, okay? Don't even let anyone see it.”

Paul nodded. “Will do.”

As soon as Richardson and Aaron were away
from the front gate, Richardson blew up.

*****

Sam navigated the halls of Lexington with a
candle. She didn't see anyone at all until she made it to the
cafeteria. Two people she didn't know were sitting by themselves,
enjoying a quiet conversation. She passed through the cafeteria and
headed for the library.

It had been a few hours since she fought with
Aaron at the front gate. She was calm now, and felt some guilt. She
couldn't help being angry at him, but she knew she didn't handle
that very well. She needed to talk with him, clear the air.

She was surprised at what she saw in the
library. It was late, so she didn't expect to see anyone. She
thought Aaron would be asleep in his bedroom that was once an
office, and would take pleasure in waking him, like he always did
her. Instead, he was sitting in his living area on the couch. There
was a single candle on the end-table and a book in his hand. There
were children gathered on the floor around him, half of them
asleep. Sam recognized Nikki in the crowd.

He was reading to them.

Sam walked close enough to hear and quietly
leaned against a bookshelf. She watched him for a few minutes as
the children hung on his every word.

Aaron noticed her, just barely in the
shadows. He flashed a smile and closed his book.

“Okay guys, let's take a little break,” he
said. “Hell, maybe we should call it a night. Your parents would
kill me if they knew you were here this late.”

There were a few protests, especially from
the ones that didn't have parents. But in a few minutes the kids
were ready to go. Not all of them brought candles. He motioned for
Nikki. ”Do you mind helping the kids get to their rooms?”

Aaron planned to give Nikki a lot of chores,
maybe even bring her in on his project. He wanted to help get her
mind away from her recent tragedy.

“Yeah, I can do that,” she said. She leaned
in close to his ear. “Samantha's been mad at you all day. Watch
yourself.”

“Yeah, so I hear.”

Nikki rounded up the kids and lit a candle.
The ten or so children left as a group.

Sam and Aaron were alone.

“Looks like the kids really liked that,” she
said. She sat on the couch.

“Yeah. Something
called
Harry Potter
.” He took a seat in the chair. “It's actually really
good.”

There was silence. Sam thought she knew what
she wanted to say, but now her mind was blank. Aaron spoke
instead.

“Listen, me and you, we're okay, right?”

“Yeah. I said my piece. I didn't like you
going without me.”

“It's just that, you're my best friend. So
I'll come to you before anyone else here, but I'm gonna keep you
out of danger.”

Sam leaned forward and held his gaze. “Look,
we're a team. It's sweet you want to keep me safe, but this isn't a
safe world. That's not what I need. Next time, you take me with
you. Okay?”

“Yeah, Richardson already gave me the
lecture.”

She laughed. “What did he say?”

“Eh, something about trust, and teamwork, how
I was irresponsible. Then he offered me Garrett's job of supply
runs.”

“You're joking.”

“Nope. It was pretty funny. I told him
no.”

“I don't blame him. I've never seen anyone
get around the corpses like you.”

I should just tell her.

He pushed the thought away quickly. He never
told anyone his secret. He was afraid of how they'd react. Would
people push him away for being different? Would they try to study
him to figure out why the undead ignored him? He didn't think
anyone at Lexington would try to hurt him, but he learned something
over the years.

Human behavior was unpredictable.

“While I was out, I got you some stuff.”

She said nothing. She watched him get up and
disappear into the darkness, in the area of his bedroom. There was
some rustling around, then Aaron reappeared dragging a box behind
him.

Aaron pushed the box in front of her. “Go
ahead. Check it out.”

She pulled out a medicine cabinet. It looked
brand new. Aaron had no trouble finding one that had never been
used, still wrapped up, at Home Depot.

“We can nail that up on your wall somewhere,”
he said. “I see you have that small mirror in your room. Well, this
is better.”

Sam looked at him. She was speechless.

“There's more in there,” he said. “Keep
digging.”

She pulled out some curtains and a chess
set.

“I saw your curtains were
getting nasty. And the chess set's for us. I'll teach you to play
sometime. Then we can play checkers
or
chess.”

She didn't know what to say. No one had ever
been so nice to her before. She knew part of that was because she
kept people at a distance. She tried to keep Aaron at a distance
when they first met, but that was useless now.

She really liked him. That terrified her.

“Uh, Sam?” Aaron said. She just stared at the
chess set. “You alright? I mean, we don't have to play chess if you
don't want.”

“I'm going to bed,” she announced. “Thank you
for everything. Really.”

She packed up her presents and left without
another word. She didn't even bother lighting a candle. Aaron
watched her go. He was too confused to say anything.

“Just remember, women are a mystery,” he
reminded himself.

Four days passed. Sam saw Aaron in passing,
but they hadn't spent any time together. She missed him. Aaron was
learning more about Lexington, while Sam was asking people what she
could do to help. In the past few days, she helped Susan plant more
seeds and pick vegetables off the vine, and helped Larry clean out
the spring-house.

It was a good feeling, earning her keep.

It was the middle of the day. Sam was working
with Mary Taylor in the storeroom. They were cleaning up, moving
things around, still trying to organize the supplies that Aaron had
brought in.

Sam didn't talk much. She took direction from
Mary, and gave any kind of help she needed. They were dragging a
mattress across the old gym floor when Mary spoke.

“So, you pretty much know Aaron Thompson
better than anyone, right?”

Sam rolled her eyes. Everyone was still
smitten with Aaron, even more so since his return with supplies.
The only person she knew of that hated him was Garrett.

“I guess so.”

“What's the meeting about then?”

They stacked the mattress against the wall
and went back for another.

“Meeting?”

“Yeah. He's called a meeting for tonight in
the library, at sunset. He wants everyone there, even kids. I
thought Richardson called all the meetings. Hell, when's the last
time we even had a meeting?”

Sam had to think. “Not too long after I first
got here. I didn't go.”

“You don't know what it's about?”

“Nope, not at all.”

Sam was curious. What could Aaron possibly
want to say to everyone?

“You'll show up to this one, won't you?” Mary
said with a smile.

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“It means you got a thing for Aaron.”

“What the hell is a
thing
?”

“You know, a crush.”

“What's a
crush
?”

Mary shook her head. Expressions some of the
older people used were lost on her too, but she at least knew what
a crush was.

“You like Aaron more than just a friend.”

“You mean like bunk-mates?” She laughed.
“No.”

Sam was quiet. In the past, she would have
been content to let the subject drop. But she needed to convince
Mary, as much as she needed to convince herself.

“Even if I did,” she said. “I'm not exactly
the girlfriend type.”