Episode 6

Bella looked at Abraham, and he sighed.

"Come here."

He hugged his daughter, and Bella pressed her face against his chest.

"I just want to find Mom and Charlie," she whispered.

"Listen, we're gonna be nice, say hi, and head out in the morning," he said, and she nodded.

"At least we're together," Abraham added, and Bella looked at her dad, smiling.

"Yeah."

Abraham chuckled and rubbed his daughter's back.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Hey, you two, why don't you come out and say hi?" They heard Edmond call, and Abraham smiled at Bella.

"Ready?"

She nodded, and they walked arm and arm around the box truck.

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Steve gasped and stared with wide eyes at the man and girl standing in the parking area. Abraham and Bella stopped, and Bella huffed a sob, seeing Megan and Charlie.

"Mom? Charlie?" she breathed.

Megan and Charlie turned their heads, and Megan inhaled sharply. Abraham huffed a sob as he and Bella stumbled toward them, and Charlie ran to them.

"Dad! Bell!" he cried and jumped in their arms.

Bella and Abraham collapsed to the ground and sobbed.

"Abe! Bella!" Megan breathed and ran to them.

Everyone in the camp stared at them in awe. Teresa smiled, and her smile faded when she looked at Steve. She could tell by the look on his face he was shocked and not happy about the return of his dead partner.

Abraham looked at Steve with tears, and Steve smiled, nodding, knowing that his dreams of him, Megan, and Charlie becoming a family were shattered. Megan looked at Steve, and Bella immediately knew something had happened between them, but she didn't care. She and her father found their family.

*******************

"So, what happened? I saw ya'll lying on the floor, dead with my own eyes?" Steve asked, seething inside.

Abraham, Megan, Charlie, and Bella were huddled together, sitting against a log, and the campers were putting away the dishes. The sun was setting, and soon it would be time to start the fires.

"When we woke up, there was no one around, but Bella knew what to do every step of the way," said Abraham, and Bella blushed.

"How did you know what to do?" asked Mike, and Bella looked at him oddly.

"Haven't you ever heard of Night of the Living Corpse, Dead Alive, or The Night of the Reoccurring Undead?"

Everyone shook their head, and Terry chuckled, sharpening his knife.

"I think my baby brother was into those comic books, might explain why we've survived this long. I'm more of a hands-on out in the open range kind of guy, if ya know what I mean, darlin," he said, and Abraham rolled his eyes.

He knew what kind of guy Terry was. He dealt with people like him all the time and figured his brother didn't fall far from the family tree.

"Where is Dale?" asked Andy, looking around.

"Hunting, but since it's getting dark, he should be back soon."

Bella looked at Terry for a moment.

"How old is he?" she asked, and Abraham squeezed her shoulder as if to tell her to stop asking questions.

"Nineteen, maybe twenty now. You know you lose track of things like that nowadays," he said, and Bella sighed, running her fingers through Charlie's hair.

Bella looked at Steve suspiciously and scowled, feeling anger and hurt rise. She thought about what Steve said, and his tone rubbed her the wrong way. He seemed different. Not the Uncle Steve she grew up to love. He seemed distant, cold, and angry. Did he have anything to do with her and her father being left behind?

"Did you really think we were dead? Did you check for a pulse or if we were still breathing? Or were you the one that drugged us and bashed us on the head?" she snapped, and Abraham looked at his daughter.

"Bell, this isn't the time nor the place."

Steve glared at her, and Bella searched his eyes. She saw anger and resentment flicker in them and realized it was him. She knew he always had a thing for her mother, but she didn't realize how far he would go to make it a reality.

Bella scoffed, carefully moving Charlie, and got to her feet. Megan looked at Abraham and then at their daughter.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"Out to the truck."

Abraham blew a breath, watching his daughter storm off, and Steve looked at him in question.

"What the hell is her problem?" he asked, and Abraham raised his hand.

"Just give her some time. It's been one thing after another since we left, and she needs to process everything. Hell, I still need to process things," he said, and Megan looked at her husband.

"I'll go talk to her."

Bella's father sighed, giving his wife an unsure look, and Megan looked at him in question.

"You might want to wait a little bit. You're not going to like what you find. I'm still trying to wrap my head around it," he said, and Megan reared her head back.

"What will I find?"

"Her newest coping skills. Drinking and smoking cigarettes and weed. Apparently, she has been doing it behind our backs since she was fifteen. I never could tell. Her grades never changed. Her attitude never faltered, and she never came home out of her head," Abraham explained.

Megan thought for a moment, letting everything sink in, and inhaled.

"And you're just going to let her?" she asked, and he sighed, shaking his head.

"I plan on talking with her about it, but for now, for tonight. It's not a big deal. I'm sure she will sleep out there tonight."

Megan searched Abraham's eyes, got to her feet, and walked toward the truck.

"Megan!" he called, but she ignored him.

**********************

Bella hooked her mp3 player to the radio and played the music softly. She lifted the backseat and pulled out a bottle of rum, a pack of cigarettes, and a joint. She took a couple of big gulps of the light brown liquid, feeling the burn down the back of her throat, and lit the joint. Bella swayed to the music, swaying her hips and drinking more liquor, and felt a nice buzz. She put the bottle on the seat and danced, feeling the beat and getting lost in the chords.

Music was her go-to when she felt anxious or stressed. Bella listened to everything from country music to old-school rock, and her parents thought some of her music was strange, but she didn't care.

The fun dancing music shuffled, and a sad song came on. Bella lit a cigarette, thinking about Jason, her neighbor and friends from school turning into those things, and her Uncle Steve wanting her and her father gone. They were dead, and there was nothing she could do about it. She slid to the ground, sobbing, and didn't know someone was watching her from the bushes.

Bella hugged her legs and put her cheek on her knees, continuing to sob, and the man in the bushes felt sorry for her. He sighed and was about to come out and talk to her when he saw Megan walk around the box truck. The man decided to stay where he was, wondering who the beautiful girl was, and watched her and Megan.