𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

          "𝐖𝐄'𝐑𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐆𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐍𝐘𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆."

"No, you're not getting anything. I got three frogs and then you scared them away." Casey bickered with her arms crossed. Carl scowled at her as she sat there, staring at the quarry.

The two children were both frowning in disappointment. They were excited to catch frogs with Shane, and now they couldn't even get one. And whenever they (Casey) did catch one, someone (Carl) scared it away.

So now she was sitting in a rock with her knees to her chest, her arms wrapped around her legs. Her shoes were off on another rock to stay dry.

"Yeah. Being all wily, staying submerged. Little suckers, they know somethin's up. That's what's goin' on. Just gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way." Shane said, standing up from where he was sitting. He had his bucket in his hand and Casey stood up from the rock she was sitting on. She trusted Shane knew what he was doing because he said he was good at catching frogs.

"All right, you two, look. Y'all are the- y'all are the key in all this, okay? All I'm gonna do is I'm gonna go after one of them, all right scare the rest of 'em off. They're all gonna scatter. I'm gonna drive 'em your way. Okay?" He asked, showing them his bucket. Casey nodded her head, rocking back and forth on her feet.

"All right." Carl agreed, sure that this whole old fashioned way would definitely work!

"What y'all need to do is y'all need to round up every bad boy you see? All right? Are ya with me?" The two nodded, getting excited to catch frogs again.

"Yeah!" Carl and Casey exclaimed at the same time.

"Hell's yeah!"

"Gimme your mean face." Shane said, Carl started showing his teeth and helping, so did Shane. Casey started giggling at the two of them."Case, that ain't your mean face!" He exclaimed, she just kept smiling. "That's your Uncle Shane I want a toy face! Gimme your mean face, girl!" He joked with her, she started doing what him and Carl were doing, laughing as she growled at them.

"Atta girl! Y'all ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Are you ready? Here we go, boy. Here we go." Shane started smiling just as brightly as they were, and it was silent for a couple moments.

Suddenly, Shane started splashing around. The two kids started laughing as he egged them on. Carl had the big net in his hands, struggling to get any frogs.

"Catch those frogs! Catch those frogs!" He exclaimed, he stopped splashing around but he kept talking. "What do ya got in that bad boy! What d'ya got! What d'ya got! What d'ya got!" He yelled at them as Casey looked down at her socks, which had water all over them. And now they felt all gross and sloshy if she took a step. Anyway, Carl started to bring the net up to reveal nothing but dirt...

Dang it.

"Dirt." Carl was less disappointed than before, probably because Shane excited them more.

"Oh boy. All right, we've got to start over. Come on, let's find this bucket." They started laughing again.

Shane grabbed the big bucket, and got out of the water. He sat down on one of the big rocks next to them as Carl started rolling his jeans back down. "Uncle Shane, can I get a new pair of socks? They're doin' laundry over there, and mine are all wet." Casey told him, grabbing her converse from off the rock.

"'Course you can, Case. Don't wanna be walkin' around with wet socks." She smiled, nodding her head.

She walked over with just her socks on, the rocks slightly hurting her feet. They made a weird squishing noise every step she took. And right when she got over, she heard Andrea say. "I miss my vibrator." She furrowed her eyebrows, looking at them.

"What's a Vibrator?" Jacqui, Andrea, Amy, and Carol looked at the eight year old. Some of them laughed, while Andrea shook her head.

"Nothin' you need to worry about sweet girl." Jacqui told her, Casey nodded as she looked to see how she had no shoes on. "What are you doin' without your shoes on?" She asked with a small laugh.

"I got my socks all wet!" She smiled.

"Your bin's over there, it's the blue on. Should be a dry pair in there somewhere." Andrea told her, Casey nodded her head.

"Thank you!"

She walked over to the blue bin labeled GRIMES and opened it up. She saw a pair of socks right at the top, and she quickly put them on her feet.

"Hon, when you've got your new set on, just bring those over and I'll wash them!" Casey nodded her head as she put her shoes back on. They were slightly hard to get on since they were high tops.

"Thank you!"

She walked back over, careful not to trip over any big rocks or her shoe laces. She put her socks down next to Amy before kindly asking "Can I help you with anything? I can put more things on the drying rack!" She was rocking back and forth on her feet again.

"Thanks for the offer..." Amy slowly trailed off, looking behind the girl. Casey turned her head to see Ed Peletier standing there.

She took a few steps away, Jacqui grabbed her by the hand, and Casey sat down behind her.

Then it was quiet.

No one was laughing or talking, all because Ed was standing there all high and mighty like he owned the place.

Then he started talking. "You jus' gonna sit there, kid? Do nothin' 'cause your Daddy's back from the dead?" She turned her head, her eyebrows furrowed as she looked at the man.

He was surely one to talk about sitting and doing nothing. She turned her head, giving him a dirty look.

"Are you just gonna stand there and smoke cigarettes all day because you're lazy?" She snapped back quickly, Andrea laughed at the girl but still quickly stood up standing in front of the smart-mouthed child.

"Ed, tell you what- you don't like how your laundry's done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself. Here." Andrea threw a blue shirt at his chest lightly. Casey smiled up at her, knowing she wasn't at all afraid of Ed.

"That's your job, Missy."

Even when he roughly threw the shirt right back at her. "Andrea, don't!" Amy exclaimed.

"What is your job, Ed? Sitting on your ass and smoking cigarettes like the eight year old just said?" Carol kept her head down and just kept scrubbing the clothes. She didn't want to receive any punishment from Ed.

"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to some uppity smart-mouthed bitch. Tell you what—Come on. Let's go." Ed said, Casey glanced up at him.

When Shane said show your mean face, he didn't meant that one. Because the 'mean face' she now had on was looking a little to mean. Her head had slightly tilted, and her eyes were just glaring at him. If she weren't a scrawny little eight year old, Ed Pelletier would've had something to be afraid of...

"I don't think she needs to go anywhere with you, Ed." Andrea told him, stepping toward him.

"And I say it's non of your business. Come on now! You heard me." Ed commanded Carol like she was a dog. She slowly walked over with her head down.

Andrea put her hand on Carol's shoulder. Saying she didn't have to go with Ed. Jacqui was now standing next to Casey as she looked up at the man. "Andrea, please, it doesn't matter."

She didn't know why Ed was the way he was. She knew she was lucky to have a father like she had. She now knew why Sophia liked Shane so much, and why she thought he was her's and Carl's dad.

That was because he treated them in a good way, and he respected the Grimes children.

Sophia wasn't used to seeing that...

"Hey! Don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause you some college-educated close, all right?" Andrea scoffed, staring at him. "Now you come in now or you gonna regret it later."

"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them." Ed started laughing as if it was humorous.

"Stay out of this. Now come on! You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. Yall don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on." He grabbed Carol by the arm, and Casey looked up at her, feeling badly. Everyone tried to pull her away from Ed, convincing her to stay. Casey just stood there like a deer in the headlights.

"No, no. Carol you don't have-"

"You don't tell me what! I tell you what!" A hand went across Carol's face and Casey's eyes widened as the ladies started cursing at him.

Then another came right into an eight year old's face. Casey stumbled back holding her nose in her hand.

Why is it always me?

A few months ago she broke her wrist, then she got a black eye on her birthday, and then she sliced her hand open. Now she had a bloody nose from getting punched in the face by a grown man. What could get better? Maybe she'd get shot or something! Who knew with Casey Grimes...

She held her nose as tears spilled out of her eyes, but in her head two words kept repeating.

Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry.

She tried to think about how Carol probably had it much worse, she got this everyday. So if Carol could handle it, she should be able to as well.

Though she tried not to cry, tears just kept flowing down her cheeks at the pain she felt in her face. Suddenly, Shane had came to their aid, and stated to beat the absolute shit out of Ed as Carol begged for him to stop.

"You put your hands in your wife, your little girl, my little girl, or anybody else in this camp one more time I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?" Amy had come up behind the eight year old with a T-shirt in her hand. She sat down on a rock with her, and Casey was slightly on her lap.

She was also confused about what Shane had meant about My little girl. Casey was Rick and Lori's daughter, not Shane's. What would make him to say that? Amy just ignored it, and made her lean her head forward, blood soaking into the blue shirt.

"Yes." Ed slurred.

"I will beat you to death, Ed. I will beat you to death!" He punched him across the face again, Carol was sobbing at that point.

He stood up, kicking his side. When he got off of him, Carol launched herself onto Ed, crying about how sorry she was, even though it wasn't her fault.

When he saw Casey, he had immediately picked her up. She had been getting picked up a lot that day...He held the shirt on her nose as she profusely bled. "Lori!" Shane shouted, Lori looked over at her daughter and her eyes widened.

"What happened?" Asked Dale, looking over at her. He was no longer on top the RV, che was now walking beside Shane.

He didn't give an answer and instead kept walking over to the Grimes woman. She ran over as Shane sat her down near a log. "I couldn't find her anywhere, where was she?" Lori questioned as she bent down in front of Casey. "What happened-"

"Ed punched her, I coulda killed him, Lori- I..." Shane trailed off, his hand taking through his hair. "Ain't no way her nose ain't broken." Shane told her as Lori slowly took the shirt on her nose away. Casey slightly whispered at the feeling around it.

Dale started to say "Alright, I don't think that's the best thing to say right now-" but then quickly stopped once seeing the eight year old's nose.

"Oh my God." Lori whispered, seeing the blood go down her face. It was everywhere, and her nose had swelled up quickly. "I don't even know what to do." She whispered, lightly touching the area around. Casey let out a small cry feeling how much it hurt. "I'm sorry, baby." She whispered, quickly moving her hand away.

The ladies from the quarry had ran up, seeing Casey there leant up on a log with blood all around her face. Lori was in front of her, and Shane on the side of them. Luckily, out of all three of them, Amy was in med school. She knew a few things. She grabbed the first aid kit from the RV and quickly ran over.

Everyone was around her and she was overwhelmed to say the least. Lori was behind her and Casey was meant up against her legs, Shane was crouched down next to her holding the T-shirt there. Dale was a few feet away offering any support he could. It was the same thing with Jacqui and Amy.

Casey was embarrassed by it. She didn't want all these people seeing her be a crybaby. "It's crooked." Amy commented, Casey furrowed her eyebrows.

"Crooked?"

"Honey, I need you to be really still-"

"My nose is crooked?" She only broke one bone before this, and that was her wrist. She actually broke it very badly. She had a distal radius fracture and she had to get surgery. She was in a cast for nearly 3 months and she still had screws in her wrist.

"What do you mean it's crooked? How bad?" She whimpered

Lori wrapped her arms around her quickly, making sure she stayed in place. "1, 2, 3"

"Crack"

Seven year old Casey Grimes was riding around the block with her friends. Even in February it was still hot enough to go out in ride bikes in Georgia.  She was with April, James, and Danny her best friends since they were in pre-k. Rick was home from work that day in February, which was new for the Grimes family. He was sitting on the porch finally fixing the screen door at their house. He did that also while making sure whenever they passed by the house he kept a close eye and checking in.

That was until two out of four kids showed up in front of the Grimes house, neither which were Casey. It was Danny and April, and they were both crying. "Mr. Grimes! Casey-she!" yelled April who was very much out of breath. She could barely put her words together. Rick had dropped his screw driver and immediately stood up and walked up to the two kids.

"Hey, take a deep breath." April did as he told her to, then further explaining what happened.

"We were ridin' our bikes over to the park even though we weren't allowed- it was Casey and James's idea, but- her and James were racing, and she went over the sidewalk ledge! She went on her wrist and it's all messed up!" April exclaimed, Rick sighed, rubbing the stubble on his chin. Casey was a klutz sometimes, she was always coming home with black eyes, bloody noses. She skinned her knees all the time, but she always got right back up. So when he didn't see Casey there, something was wrong.

"Alright, take me on over to her." They were lucky to live in a tight-knit neighborhood. King's County was small, and everyone knew everyone.

So, they quickly rode their bikes with Rick behind them. That's when they saw James throwing up in a bush and Casey crying and cradling her wrist.

Rick had quickly ran over dropping down to his knees next to her. "Hey, hey, what's wrong? Do I gotta cut your arm off?" He tried to make her feel better, or make her laugh.

It was tough to do that.

"Daddy- my arm, i-it hurts." She sobbed, holding it to her chest.

"Why don't you let me take a look." Slowly, she showed him her wrist and his eyes went wide.

He now saw why James was throwing up in a bush.

It was crooked.

The situation that just occurred reminded Lori of how Rick found her like that. So, when little Casey fell asleep in the tent with bruised eyes and a bloody nose with tissues stuck up it, she sat with her just like her and Rick had when her wrist was broken.

"Lori, I need you to get the car and drive to Sycamore Street, we gotta get Casey to the ER." He said into his flip phone trying not to alarm his daughter. He told the other three kids to get home, and thanked them for getting him. "Lori, I'll explain it to you when you get here- No, Lori she- Her wrist... No, it's bad....Drop Carl at Shane's on the way here. Okay..." He quickly brought Casey onto his lap and made sure she stayed still. She couldn't mess up her wrist more than she had.

Lori showed up, and Rick carried her into the car.

When they got to the ER, they found out Casey had a type four distal radius fracture and a scaphoid fracture. She got the surgery within one week.

In that one week Casey felt like the Grimes were a real family again. Her parents didn't dare to fight each other in front of her. They only fought in the car on the way to the ER because apparently Rick wasn't watching her well enough.

After surgery they didn't fight either, and that was the worst part. Her dad got to stay home a bit more than usual, and when he was home, his focus was on his two children.

Casey wished it could still be that way.

                       𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐄𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐊𝐄 𝐔𝐏 with a throbbing feeling in her face. She was on her back with her father's jacket halfway on her body. She looked around the tent seeing plenty of bloody tissues. She rubbed her eyes, feeling a throbbing pain in her face.

She slowly got up and started pulling her blue converse onto her feet and she grabbed her shark. She then walked out of the tent and looking around for her mother.

She finally found her sitting on a log and folding up laundry. When Lori saw her, she immediately stood up and walked over to her daughter. "How are you feeling, baby?" Lori questioned, the little girl only shrugged her shoulders.

"My nose hurts." Her voice was nasally. Lori looked down at her face, sighing. Her nose was swollen, and her eyes were bruised up. Her nose wasn't crooked because Amy popped it back into place. Thank god they had a med school student there.

"I'm sorry," She apologized, Casey only shrugged her shoulders.

She looked around seeing everyone in a slightly better mood. "Why is everyone so happy?" She asked, Lori laughed a little bit as she started walking back over to the log with her.

"Because we got some fish for dinner."

"We can't have fish mom, I'm a Carnitarian and I'm allergic to shellfish and seafood." Casey refused to eat fish and she was allergic. She liked the creatures underwater way too much for that. Ever since that trip to the aquarium when she was younger, she always loved the ocean and everything to do with it, especially the animals. So, even if she weren't allergic, she probably wouldn't even eat the fish.

"I know, you can have something else. I didn't forget." She laughed, kissing the top of her head. As they spoke about the fish, Andrea talking to Dale about it, Lori crouched down in front of Casey.
"Honey, did Uncle Shane say anything weird to you?" Casey shook her head no.

"No, he kinda just beat Ed up. Well, not kinda, he literally beat Ed up." She corrected herself as she rocked back and forth on her feet.

"While he was beating him up, or after. Did he say anything about you being his little girl." She furrowed her eyebrows. She wasnt exactly listening at that point, she was more getting taken care of by Amy and Jacqui. So, only Amy, Carol, Andrea, and Jacqui would know. She was stuck bleeding.

"I didn't hear anything, I'm sorry Mom. Amy and Jacqui were helping an-"

"Don't be sorry, I just heard something, no worries." She reassured her, rubbing her arms up and down.

"I'm not his little girl, I'm yours and Daddy's." Casey sweetly said to her mother. It tugged at Lori's heartstrings when she said it.

"I thought you weren't little. You're a big eight year old now." Lori teased her, Casey shrugged her shoulders.

"Daddy said I was always gonna be his little girl, and yours." Lori quickly pulled her in for a hug.

It was times like these where Casey was a sweet kid. A lot of the time she came off as sarcastic, stubborn...in simpler terms, she was a little shit. "You're our baby." She whispered, then peppering kisses on her daughter's face, avoiding her nose.

Casey giggled, moving her face away. "Stop it," She laughed as one more was placed on her forehead.

The two turned back to everyone, now seeing Dale standing there with an uneasy look in his face. "I don't wanna alarm anyone, but, we may have a bit of a problem." He said. He turned around then pointed at Jim, who was digging holes on top of the hill.

He'd been digging holes all day.

Casey wondered why he was digging. Was he going to grow something? How could you grow something without seeds, though?
"Why'd he digging holes?" She asked curiously, looking up at Lori.

"I don't know, honey."

Everyone ended up walking up to the hill, kids included. There they saw him digging as hard and as fast as he could. He was sweating and was clearly out of breath. "I think he needs some water." Casey whispered up, Lori put her finger to her lips and Casey looked down at the ground, muttering an apology.

"Hey, Jim?" Asked Shane, Jim didn't look up, or even stop digging. He simply ignored Shane still shoving the shovel harshly into the dirt. "Jim, why don't you hold up, all right? Just give me a second here, please." Jim huffed, rolling his eyes at Shane. He stuck his shovel into the ground, looking up at the crowd of people in front of him.

"What d'ya want?" He asked, his breathing was heavy and he looked exhausted.

"We're all just a little concerned, that's all," Said Shane, his hands on his belt. Casey looked down at how she was standing and quickly mimicked him to seem tougher, just like Shane. Her father and Shane both did that.

Morales spoke up, standing behind Shane. "Dale says you've been out here for hours." He told him as Lori wrapped her arm around Casey, holding her close next to her.

"So?"

"So, why are you diggin'? Are you headin' to China, Jim?" Shane asked, laughing at the question he had asked in a joking manner. No one found him funny because everyone was very concerned about Jim and Shane was making jokes...

"What does it matter? I'm not hurting anyone." He stated blankly, desperately trying to get back to digging. He was obsessive over it. So, he started to dig again.

"Yeah, except maybe yourself-it's one hundred degrees today. You can't keep this up." Dale told him, concerned for his friend.

"Sure I can! Watch me!" He yelled, Lori quickly held Casey in closer, worried for her daughter's safety.

Lori, being the only one to be real with him told him why they didn't want him digging. It was plain and simple. He was scaring people."Jim, they're not gonna say it so I will. You're scaring people. You're scaring my kids, and Carol's daughter." She asserted herself into it, having her son and daughter both at her sides.

"I'm not scared-" Lori pinched her on the arm telling her to shut her mouth.

"They got nothing to be scared of. I mean, what the hell, people? I'm out here by myself. Why don't you all just go and leave me the hell alone?"  Jim questioned.

Shane took a step closer, trying to convince Jim to quit it. "We think you need to take a break, okay? Why don't you go and get yourself in the shade, some food maybe? I'll tell you what maybe in a little bit I'll come out here. I-I'll help you myself. Jim, just tell me what it's about. Why don't you just go ahead and give me that shovel?" Shane requested with his hand out for the shovel. This situation was annoying Jim. So, he stuck the shovel back in the ground.

"Or what?"

"There is no 'or what' I'm asking you. I'm coming to you and I'm asking you, please. I don't wanna have to take it from you." Shane threaded him as if he were a child.

"And if I don't, then what?  Then you're gonna beat my face in like Ed Pelletier, aren't you? Y'all see his face, huh? What's left of it!" He said, Carol looked down at the ground, bringing Sophia closely in. Casey looked down feeling a little badly. "See, that's what happens when someone crosses you." He said.

"That was different, Jim."

It also shouldn't have gone that long, in my opinion...

"You weren't there. Ed was out of control. He was hurting his wife, and he popped Casey's nose out." Amy defended pointing at the eight year old with a swollen nose and bruised eyes with a bandage over the bridge of her nose.

"That is their marriage! That is not his! He is not judge and jury. Who voted you king boss, huh? Who's to say Casey didn't run her mouth like usual?" He asked, Casey stared at him with a pissed off look on her face.

"I don't run my mouth." Casey stated, Carl looked at her nodding his head.

"Yes you do."

"Do not-"

Lori pinched their children on the arms, and they stopped fighting. On top of this Jim situation, she didn't need her kids fighting.

"Jim, I'm not here to argue with you, all right? Just give me the shovel, okay?" Shane managed to keep his cool, though he was so angry for him bringing an eight year old kid into it. He started walking towards him to grab the shovel and Jim stepped away, keeping it away from the man.

He pushed Shane and then tried to hit him with the shovel. Shane tackled him to the ground, and Jim began shouting."You got no right! You got no right!" Shane tried to shut him up, also being comforting to him.

"Jim, nobody is gonna hurt you, okay?"

"That's a lie. That's the biggest lie there is. I told that to my wife and my two boys. I said it one hundred times. It didn't matter. They came outta nowhere. There were dozens of 'em. Just pulled 'em right outta my hands." Jim sobbed, his voice very shaky as he said it all. Shane was cuffing his hands behind his back, making sure he couldn't hurt anyone. "The only reason I got away was 'cause the dead were too busy eating my family."

His words put a sudden guilt through Casey Grimes. She was feeling bad for him. No one knew what to say. Lori hugged her kids closer as they both looked down.

Poor Jim...

                       𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

"𝐈𝐅 𝐉𝐎𝐄𝐘 𝐇𝐀𝐒 𝟑𝟔 apples, and he wants to divide them equally into 6 baskets, how many apples are going to be in each basket?" Casey Grimes was leaning back in her chair, her hand over her eyes. While there was no more school, Lori and Carol made it that the kids learned still.

"Joey doesn't have 36 apples, Mom. You can't even get apples anywhere." She grumbled as Lori let out a small sigh at her daughter's attitude.

"Honey, just do 36 divided by 6."

"It's 6." She told her in an obvious tone. Covering her eyes with her hands. "How come I have to do this if I'm never going back to school?" She questioned, sitting up with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Because I said so, next problem."

The annoyed eight year old put her head on her hand and at least pretended to do work. "Daddy wouldn't make me do math problems-"

"You can't pull that card anymore." Casey sighed, slumping her shoulders.

"Son of a bitch." She mumbled, Lori looked at her with raised eyebrows.

"Excuse me, young lady? I know your father would not let you curse, so don't even think about saying it." Lori scolded the girl who was starting to grin.

"Casey's in trouble." Carl mocked her and she looked over at him.

"Carl,"

"Shut up!" Casey threw a crayon at him, hitting him in the eye.

"You run your mouth, so you shut up!" Carl exclaimed throwing a crayon back at her, she dodged away from it looking at him.

"You missed."

"Both of you shut up, how about that." Lori ended their quarrel, looking at Carol who was grinning.

"Sorry, these two never stop." Carol laughed, shaking her head.

"I always wanted Sophia to have another sibling, Ed didn't want another kid..." She sighed, smoothing down Sophia's short hair. Casey looked down at her paper and continued to keep writing. "Casey, I'm sorry about your nose." She looked up, shrugging her shoulders.

"It's ok, it's not your fault."

"Ed didn't mean to..." Casey didn't understand why Carol constantly wanted to defend Ed. He was a bad guy! He hurt and Carol and Sophia.

Nobody said anything after that, Lori helped her kids with their work and everyone was just pretty quiet. That was until Jim spoke up.

"Sorry if i scared your boy and your little girl, and your girl." Jim made everyone look up from their work. Casey and Carl didn't say anything, neither did Sophia. "And Casey, you don't run your mouth, you just speak your mind. Nothin's wrong with that. I'm sorry for saying that." Jim told her, she gave a smile as did Lori.

"You had sunstroke. Nobody's blaming you." Was all she had said, she looked back at the kids, continuing to help. She expected the conversation to be over, but, Jim spoke up again.

"You're not scared now, are you?" He asked the kids.

Casey was the first to answer, shaking her head. "Nope."

Sophia answered, Carl stayed quiet. "No, sir." Casey started tapping her pencil on the table, leaning back in her seat.

"Your mama's right, you know. Sun just cooked my head is all." He tried to reassure Carl, who didn't answer him.

"Jim, do you know why you were digging? Can you say?" Dale suddenly asked him, Jim looked up at him, droplets of water and sweat coming down from his shirt and his skin. He had a small look of distress and worry, and it made everyone wonder why he was digging after all again.

"I had a reason. Don't remember. Something I dreamt last night." He said, Lori put her hand on Casey's shoulder, giving it a squeeze as she looked down at the work on the page. Casey was smart, but ever since Rick "died", she stopped applying herself. "Your dad was in it. You two were in it too. You were worried about him. Can't remember the best." He told both Casey and Carl, looking at them. Casey now felt a little nervous because she was wondering why she was in his "You worried about your dad?" He asked, Casey shook her head no.

"They're not back yet." Carl stated, Casey looked at him.

"He'll make it back." She said firmly, closing her math book since she finished the page. Math was something she was good at, she was good at most things at school. It just sucked she wouldn't be getting past second grade...

"We don't need to talk about that." Lori tried to stop the conversation so her kids wouldn't be worried.

"Your dad's a police officer, he helps people. Probably just came across some folks needing help, that's all. That man, he is tough as nails. I don't know him well but...I can see it in him..." He looked at Casey who was resting back in her chair, bringing her knees to her chest. "See it in her to, am I right?" He questioned, looking up at Shane.

"Oh yeah." Shane sighed, looking at Rick's youngest, who was honestly kind of the spitting image. With his hair and eyes, and her attitude was like him. He was realizing it more often than not.

"There ain't nothing gonna stop him from getting back here to you two and your mom, I promise you that." Nobody said anything, Casey just nodded her head looking at her mother.

"Alright, who wants to help me clean some fish, huh?" Shane asked, putting a scowl on Casey's face.

"I'm a canatarian." She told him.

"You're also allergic, sweetheart." Lori looked at Shane, noticing his mannerisms towards his kids. He called Casey sweetheart, it's usually Casey, Case, Casey Q, the occasional kiddo. Never sweetheart. Usually Rick was that kind of Dad who called Casey things like sweetheart or something.

Now Shane was...

"I also don't take lives of fish, Uncle Shane." She crossed her arms, staring at him. A grin formed on his face as he nodded his head.

"Fair enough, now who's comin' to clean the fish?" Carl got up from his seat, grabbing Sophia by the hand.

"Sweet. Come on, Sophia!" Carol followed after them.

"Stay with Carol, alright? Dale can you take Casey down?" Lori asked him, Dale smiled, waving Casey over.

"Of course." Casey walked up to Dale, right up next to him. "I've got some candy in the RV, don't tell the others." She smiled, looking up at the older man.

"I won't, I promise. I'm a good secret keeper."

Lori stayed back for a moment. She walked up to Jim, crouching down in front of him. Before she said anything, Jim spoke up first. "You keep your boy and your little girl close. You don't ever let them out of your sight." Jim told her, Lori gave a firm nod then standing up.

Jim was scaring her...The look in his eyes; it was just scary.

"And Casey...she's a little spitfire, but from what I've seen, she's like her Dad. Kid's made for this kind of world."

Lori's heart skipped a beat before she walked away with tears in her eyes.

                       𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟
                                  
         "𝐘𝐎𝐔'𝐑𝐄 𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐂 to fish?" Casey nodded at Amy as she took another bite of her rice that was in her plate.

"And shellfish, but I wouldn't even eat fish if I wasn't allergic." She told her, Amy and Andrea both laughed as she sat next to them.

Her shark was sitting on her lap as the group sat around the fire. Rick and everyone still weren't back...Lori was on edge, Carl was nervous, and Casey still had hope. He made it back once and he'll make it back again.

Casey looked up at Andrea, who was taking a sip of her beer. "Can I try it?" She asked, Andrea looked down at her laughing a little bit.

"Ask your mom."

"Nevermind." She mumbled, making her laugh harder than before.

"Case, you get enough?" Lori asked, looking at her daughter.

"Uh-huh," She said with a thumbs up. Lori smiled as Casey looked back over at Andrea, who had placed her beer down.

"What's it taste like?" She asked, Andrea didn't know what to say.

So, she lied. "Apple juice."

"If it tastes like apple juice I think I'd like it."

"Well, Miss Casey, it's adult apple juice." Casey took another bite of her dinner before Morales made a collective conversation including Dale.

"I gotta ask you, man. It's been driving me crazy." Morales had started talking, looking at Dale. He was playing with his watch, as usual.

Dale looked over, giving a small grin, though he had looked slightly sad."What?" He asked, confused as of what Morales was 'driven crazy' over.

"That watch." Morales said, Dale looked down at his watch.

"What's wrong with my watch?"

"I see you every day, the same time,  winding that thing like a village priest saying mass." He joked, Dale had put his head on his hand, and it seemed as if everyone had the same question about Dale's watch.

"I've wondered this myself." Jacqui said, a large grin on her face.

Dale looked confused as of why everyone was asking. His hands went out to the sides of the chair, a questioning look on his face. His eyebrows slightly furrowed together. "I'm missing the point." He chuckled.

"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while." Jacqui said, Dale smiled more at that. Casey slightly grinned, looking at his watch.

"But there's you every day winding that stupid watch." Morales stated, Casey looked over at him with a small shake of her head.

"His watch isn't stupid." She defended Dale, who smiled at the young girl.

"Time- it's important to keep track, isn't it? The days at least. Don't you think, Andrea? Back me up here." Andrea awkwardly chuckled, then taking a sip of her beer making sure to keep it away from the eight year old next to her. "I like-I like what, um, a father said to son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations." Dale started, he was staring off into space, thinking of what to say. "He said, I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire; which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you might forget it now and then for a moment and not spend all your breath trying to conquer it." He quoted, Casey furrowed her eyebrows trying to figure out what that meant. Whatever he said was a bunch of gibberish to her.

There was a short silence. The only thing anyone could hear the wood from the fire cracking, and the crickets off in the distance. It was happily interrupted by Amy saying "You are so weird," Everyone laughed, including Dale.

"It's not me. It's Faulkner, William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing."

Suddenly, Amy stood up. Andrea was concerned as of why she was getting up. "Where are you going?" She asked, Amy looked down at her, not knowing why she was so concerned about it.

"I have to pee. Jeez, you try to be discreet around here—" The kids laughed at her before she walked away to the RV to use the bathroom.

"Mommy, I'm full." Casey told her, showing her plate.

"Can you have a little more, honey? I feel like you didn't eat enough." Casey sighed, slumping her shoulders.

"I feel full, though." This was the most she had eaten in a while. It was no doubt that she had gotten much skinnier, Lori noticed, Shane noticed, Rick noticed when he lifted her up.

"C'mon, finish your food." Casey looked over at him with a judging face.

Why was he telling her what to do?

"But I'm full."

"Just finish the damn-"

"I'm not hungry." She argued back with a glare.

Shane had to blink a few times to know it wasn't Rick...

"We're out of toilet paper," Amy walked out of the RV. Casey turned her head over to see Amy standing at the RV.

With a walker.

"Amy!" Casey yelled, she turned her head seeing the Walker biting into her arm.

Andrea started screaming, sending a shiver down Casey's spine. Tears formed into her eyes as she quickly got onto her feet. She just went sprinting. "Casey! Carl!" Lori was yelling as Carl jumped into her arms.

Casey just kept sprinting, her mother was screaming for her yet she never looked back. She was near the Dixon's tent when she skidded to her knees, getting next to the log where she was skinning squirrel weeks before.

a pocket knife.

She put the blade out like how they told her to when she was learning how to skin the squirrel. She stood up quickly, looking around her.

"CASEY!"

She still never looked back...

When a walker came toward her, she stabbed it right in its stomach, breathing shakily. Tears kept falling down her face as she crippled from her fear. It had fallen back and it fell on the ground. Her knife went through its head. By that time there was blood all over her, in her arms and her legs, her face, her clothes. Everywhere.

That's when a hand went on her shoulder.

Another walker.

Her blade went through its knee but it didn't fall over.

She let out a high-pitched scream, and another gunshot went through the air.

The walker fell down and blood fell all over her.

Gunshots fired and screams were still being  heard. All Casey knew was that she had never been so terrified. Her hands were shaking, and her skin had went pale and her eyes had went red from her tears.

"Casey!" The gunshots had stopped by the time Rick Grimes skidded to his knees for his little girl. "Bites, scratches, anything?" He questioned, staring at her with eyes just as scared as hers. "Baby...look at me." His hands went on her cheeks, and she looked at him.

Before he knew it she had collapsed in his arms quickly, sobbing in his shoulder. He picked her up off the ground, walking over to the rest of his family.

When Lori saw them, she was relieved. "Oh my God!" She cried as Carl went running toward them, Rick dropped to his height, pulling him in. Lori did the same.

Jim's voice interrupted everything. He looked at everyone, taking a step back.

"I remember my dream now, why I dug the holes."

                       𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

A/N:

schools finally out (thank god) soooo yeah. Bear with me on szn1 it's hard as shit to write because yeah. ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm HDSJAII. Anyway, sooo follow my flipping tiktok guys. I have like 3 likes lmao. (florencepughismine0) SHSJSJSJZJ okay so. yeah that's that.

Also this is like a Carl Savior book because why tf not. I got the idea and I was like HOLY SHAT. and just so everyone knows, CASEY IS NOT GONNS HSVE CARL's LINES SHES GONNA HAVE HER OWN STORYLINE LIKE THE BAD BITCH SHE IS. But also I don't normally like having to use other characters like storylines but yk what i mean, i shouldn't t say storylines but situations ig. But sometimes i do because why tf not. I don't do it often, just sometimes to add some pizazz. also i think i MIGHT write a supernatural book at some point, even tho schools out im a lil bit busy since I have basketball and soccer😫😫. BUT ON THE PLUS SIDE ILL BE LIKE MUSCULAR SINCE ITS A LOT OF WORKING OUT YK???? jkjkjk (no im not)

anyways yeah so have a good day guys love you all soooo much😗😗😗😗

-Abby💕