Chapter 44
The next morning brought bad news: Karen and David developed coughs and were admitted to the quarantine area.
Lina glanced at Carol, hoping she wouldn't make the wrong decision.
Because of the unexpected situation, the committee resumed its meetings.
Lina didn't join in the fun; she was still figuring out where she could get medicine nearby.
"Lina? Lina!" Amy shouted in Lina's ear, startling Lina.
When she came to her senses, she saw Amy holding a mask and looking at her helplessly.
"These are all we have left. The others will have to make do with cloth." Amy waved the mask in her hand. "Are you alright?"
"It's nothing," Lina said, pinching her brow in annoyance.
Amy shook her head helplessly. "I heard someone caused a scene at the committee last night? You know, weren't you supposed to join the committee as a youth representative? You just wouldn't go." Amy said jokingly.
"Hey! Who wants to be a youth representative!" Lina was angry just thinking about it. "I really hate it when everyone treats me like a child. I may look a bit young, but I'm no less than anyone else. As soon as things settle down, they wish I were in prison, listening to story time every day. Are you kidding me?!"
Amy echoed this sentiment, "Andrea is the same. Nine out of ten of my requests to leave the house are rejected by her. I'm tired of killing walkers through the fence."
“They’re so hypocritical, it’s unfair,” Lina said angrily.
“Be grateful you can still sneak out,” Amy said sourly. She wouldn’t dare sneak out; Andrea would go crazy.
"What do you mean by sneaking out? There's always someone following behind you," Lina scoffed. Did he think she didn't know?
“…Don’t mention him,” Amy wrinkled her nose, equally annoyed. Daryl was nice, but when he argued with Lena, he became unpleasant. Amy was a staunch Lena supporter.
“…Amy, do you think I…” Lina hesitated, wondering if she was really being too selfish.
"What?" Amy looked at Lina in confusion. She couldn't see Lina's expression through her mask, but Amy had a feeling that Lina was thinking about something that would make her angry.
“They always say I’m committing suicide. Am I?” Lina looked at Amy with a blank expression.
"Well..." Amy awkwardly looked away. How could it not count?
“But,” Lina looked at Amy’s expression and realized that she thought so too, which made Lina a little unconvinced. She clearly didn’t think so!
“Okay, about that time on the highway, right?” Amy took off her mask, rolled up her sleeves, and started arguing with Lina.
"...That was an emergency!" Lina retorted immediately, her conscience bothering her for a second.
“Tsk, look, you still won’t admit it,” Amy glared at Lina with disdain. “And then there was the time you went to chase the governor, right? You chased after a whole convoy of people, but you did it all by yourself, quietly.”
That's because she knew the governor would go crazy anyway, so in the end it was really just one against three!
But Lina couldn't explain it, so she could only look at Amy with a frustrated expression, as if to say, "See? That's how it is."
"...Well, the governor himself killed everyone, and I only acted when there were only three people left," Lina said indignantly.
“But you weren’t like that when you caught up. You were just lucky. Besides, one against three? Are you Superman?” Amy said, dissatisfied.
"...How did things turn into you scolding me again?" Lina said angrily. Everyone was either scolding her or on their way to scolding her!
"Because you're so annoying," Amy really wanted to pinch Lina's cheek, but the situation wasn't right now.
"Anyway, Lina, there's no right or wrong in this matter. They just want to make sure you make a more prudent decision. Of course, their distrust is also hurtful," Amy wasn't there to hurt Lina. After poking Lina's heart, she quickly smoothed things over and prevented her from becoming childish and depressed.
“I remember Andrea had a map, didn’t she?” Lina tentatively reached out her little paw.
Amy paused for a moment. Although Lina couldn't see Amy's expression under her mask, Lina felt a chill run down her spine for no reason.
“Maggie! Lina’s trying to sneak away!” No one from the committee was there, but Maggie was, and Amy shouted at Lina in disbelief.
"You! Traitor!" Lina jumped up and down in anger. Amy snorted coldly, grabbed a mask, and went to distribute masks to the others. As for Lina?
"Lina Lee!" Maggie's roar from behind made Amy's eyes crinkle with laughter. Daryl had been very busy lately, and Moore had also taken his squad out to search for supplies that morning. It would be troublesome if Lina really went out alone.
Lina was cornered and scolded by Maggie. Lina squatted dejectedly in the corner while Maggie above her continued her tirade.
With so many siblings, Maggie, as the eldest sister, was extremely familiar with this job.
When everyone returned from the meeting, Lina was still being scolded.
Maggie, however, stopped saying anything after seeing the person return. She wasn't a malicious older sister who would scold Lina in front of so many people; teenagers have a damn strong sense of pride.
Maggie glared at Lina, then turned and went back to work.
"...What is it now?" Rick asked, puzzled, but he just stood there muttering to himself and didn't dare to chase after Maggie to ask.
It feels like he'll get scolded even if he goes there.
Everyone looked at Glenn, who gave an awkward smile and helplessly shrugged; he knew he would be scolded even more severely.
Herschel smiled, but then a look of gloom washed over her. Karen and David had likely contracted the virus, which was not a good sign.
Once it starts appearing, it means that many more people have already been infected.
"Lina wanted to sneak out," Karl, who had been hiding in the corner reading comics, told everyone the whole story, very 'kindly' explaining the cause of the matter.
"..." Everyone looked at Lina, who was huddled in the corner and looked pitiful, with mixed feelings.
It's not unfair at all.
Lena was still grumbling to herself, "Why can Michonne go about her own business while I can't? Age discrimination! This is age discrimination!"
“I’ll take care of this,” Daryl said.
“Uh,” Rick quickly grabbed Daryl’s arm, “Can we not start arguing?” Rick said worriedly.
“…Do you think that’s possible?” Daryl was speechless.
“You two had a really big argument last time,” Glenn complained in a low voice.
“Correction, it was you and her who had a big argument, and I only said one sentence,” Daryl said. Not last night, but the night we brought Lina back.
"..." Glenn glanced away guiltily. "Losing a girlfriend with just one sentence, a high-level skill," Carol said, raising an eyebrow.
"..." Everyone looked at Carol in silence. Carol shrugged innocently. She really wanted to know what Daryl had said.
"..." Daryl felt wronged. He only said one sentence, and then Lina got angry and ignored him. Her self-centered attitude made Daryl unable to hold back his anger, but he was not the kind of person who would randomly grab Lina and start a fight, so he could only keep it to himself.
In the end, it all came to the point where neither of them spoke to the other.
Herschel patted Daryl on the shoulder. Daryl sighed and walked to the wall. Lena was squatting alone in the corner pretending to be a mushroom. She seemed a little embarrassed, or maybe she was just feeling guilty. She didn't move for a long time.
Daryl squatted down in front of Lina, who glanced at him and quickly looked away.
Daryl opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. In particular, he glanced back at the group of people in the room who were staring at the ceiling, the table, Karl, and Lina, and turned his head away helplessly.
Don't they have anything better to do?
Daryl thought for a moment, then picked up Lina, who was squatting in a small ball.
Lina was stunned for a moment, seemingly not yet realizing how Daryl had picked her up like she was carrying her grandmother's pickle jar.
She stared blankly at Daryl's chin. How long had it been since he shaved? He already looked old, but now he looked like he could have given birth to her.
Once Lina was back on solid ground, she was placed in a secluded room.
Daryl stood there like a saw-off gourd, staring blankly at Lina, making Lina feel extremely uncomfortable.
"What?" Lina asked rudely, though she regretted it as soon as she spoke. She didn't want to be so rude, but she just couldn't help it when facing Daryl, and her emotions always controlled her reason.
“Herschel mentioned West Peach Institute of Technology; their veterinary clinic might be able to get antibiotics.” Daryl was somewhat annoyed; that wasn’t what he came to say.
"Can I come with you?" Lina's eyes lit up.
“…Of course.” Darryl paused and said, looking around the room, which was empty and devoid of any place to sit or lean against.
Daryl cracked his knuckles in annoyance; he wasn't good at saying anything mushy.
"Then I'll go pack!" Lina excitedly tried to rush out, but Daryl quickly grabbed her.
Lina looked at Daryl with a puzzled expression. "Before we go, I think we should sort out our issues."
Lina didn't want to talk about it. "Let's talk about it when we get back," she said.
“No,” Daryl said, holding Lina tightly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have called you selfish before. You are one of the most selfless people I’ve ever met.”
Lena's thoughts drifted back to that night. As soon as they met, Lena was stunned by the barrage of accusations and scolding from the two men. Glenn was practically crying as he yelled at them.
Daryl looked like the kind of person who would commit domestic violence, and his expression that night was exactly that. He hardly said anything, but his fist and the bulging veins on his arm were both sexy and frightening.
Lena was exhausted from her constant arguments with Glenn. She thought that at least Daryl would understand her, but Daryl casually remarked that she was selfish.
Is she selfish?
How dare he say that?
Lena admitted that there was an element of venting involved. Daryl was verbally abused by her, and she had forgotten the specifics of what she said. She was sure that it was all angry rambling and not her true feelings at all.
But the more she acted this way, the more hurtful her words became. It was too late for regrets later. Every time she tried to make amends, Daryl ignored her, and then…
Lena pouted. She knew that she was in the wrong in the end, but she had given Daryl a way out, and he still gave her the cold shoulder!
Then it was his fault.
Daryl looked at Lina, who seemed lost in thought. Seeing her like this, Daryl sighed helplessly. It was clearly her ignoring him that had turned into him ignoring her.
Who can he turn to for justice?
He was glared at by Amy for a long time, and everyone took turns advising him to be more magnanimous and not to give his girlfriend the silent treatment. He felt utterly wronged.
Daryl pulled Lina aside. "Are you still angry with me?"
"You're the one who's angry with me," Lina muttered softly.
"Shouldn't I be angry?" Daryl raised an eyebrow. Didn't she know how infuriating she was?
“No, that shouldn’t be,” Lina scoffed.
Daryl was speechless. He was amused by Lina's self-righteous attitude. "You're being completely unreasonable."
"Then go find someone reasonable! I'm unreasonable, did you just realize that today?" Lina glared at Daryl and angrily began to break free from his grasp.
Daryl immediately snapped at Lina and quickly grabbed her, complaining, "You're the one who's avoiding me. Every time I walk past you, you run away, and then you tell everyone I'm ignoring you."
"Why did you ignore me when I asked you to!" Lina struggled in Daryl's arms.
"How did I ignore you?" Daryl asked, looking bewildered.
"After we had our argument, the zombies surrounded us. After we fought them off, I asked you, 'Are you alright?' and you ignored me!" Lina said angrily.
“I nodded! I need to check on Glenn!” Daryl paused, Glenn was currently fighting a walker! And there were two more nearby that were about to approach him—no, because of that?
“You skipped over me without even nodding,” Lina objected.
“…” Daryl looked at Lina helplessly.
Lina paused, feeling a little guilty. Well, maybe he nodded? "Anyway, you were the one who ignored me first."
“…Okay, it’s all my fault.” Daryl admitted defeat. Thirty years of life experience had taught Daryl not to take things too seriously with women in this kind of matter.
Lina felt a little embarrassed. Seeing Daryl admit it so readily, she started to feel ashamed. Maybe it really was her fault. Thinking this, Lina felt her face burning...
“But later when I tried to talk to you, you ignored me. When I offered you food, you threw it to Moore.” Daryl was also full of grievances. “You clearly saw me, but you turned and walked away.”
"...Then who told you to call me selfish and ignore me? Can't I be a little sullen? Besides, when I saw you later, you turned around and left." Lina said, equally aggrieved.
“I thought you wanted me to leave. Didn’t you not want to see me?” Daryl said.
Lina and Daryl looked at each other, and after a long while, they both burst out laughing. What a mess!
Daryl looked at Lina and hugged her tightly. "Don't ignore me when you're angry in the future."
"...Then why did you criticize me last night, saying I was acting like a hero?" Lina complained in a muffled voice.
“You are,” Daryl said.
"I'm not!" Lina punched Daryl in the chest angrily. "You're the one playing the hero."
Daryl paused for a moment, then said, "It's all the same."
Lina curled her lip. "You're just being ageist."
“We just want you to think about your own safety first,” Daryl said, releasing Lina and looking at her helplessly. “But you never listen.” She always puts her own life last, which is wrong.
“This is who I am,” Lina said earnestly. “I won’t change.”
Daryl looked at Lena with a headache. Her serious expression was genuine, and Daryl, unusually vulnerable, asked, "What should I do if something happens to you?"
Lina paused, looking at Daryl with disbelief at his reddened eyes. To be honest, she had never worried about this. Everyone would die, everyone would leave, but Daryl wouldn't. He wouldn't. He would be strong and carry on with everyone's will.
But she forgot that Daryl also feels sadness and pain. He is not truly an impenetrable fortress; he is also a vulnerable big cat who cries his heart out after losing his brother and companions.
“I’m sorry…” Lina said apologetically, as if she suddenly understood what Glenn had said on the farm: he was terrified.
However, Lina felt sorry, perhaps it would have been better if Daryl had never met her.
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