Daddy's Little Girl

Uncle Earle - 6

Reginald’s P.O.V 

Kathryne doesn’t even bother waiting for an answer as she jets passed me, taking the stairs three at a time. Did... did we just find her father? As easy as that?  

“Come on, let’s go!” David shouts, snapping my thoughts back to the present and the fact that this city has fallen to the dead. I follow David and the others put the stairs, keeping an eye on the glass doors. Gunshots firing off at random as we all climb to the roof. He must be trying to kill the Walkers while they’re here... I hear the door burst open, sunlight filling the small dark space for a moment before it slams shut. When I reach the top of the stairs, I find Kathryne on her knees, tears slipping out of her eyes but she doesn’t make a sound or make any effort to move.  

“Hey! Dougherty! Are you crazy?!” Moe yells at the man I would never guess to be Kathryne’s father. Caucasian, late forties, overweight, bald, Or maybe it’s not her father. I would expect a different reaction out of her than his. Dougherty laughs mockingly, not even bothering to look at Moe as empties his clip.  

“Oh jeez. Hey!” He mockingly greets, jumping off the ledge. “Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh?” He threatens, lifting his rifle in the air as if examining it. “Ah! Only common sense.”  

“Man, you wasting bullets we ain't even got!” Tre yells, “And you're bringing even more of them down on our ass! Man, just chill!” 

“Eh, Bad enough I got this taco-bender on my ass all day. Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro. That'll be the day.” Dougherty spits harshly.  

“Yeah, ‘That'll be the day’? You got something you want to tell me?” Tre questions, getting closer to Dougherty with every word. 

“Hey, Tre man, just leave it.” Moe says, trying to calm him down.  

“Naw!” Tre exclaims, eyes nearing popping out if his head.  

“All right? It ain't worth it.” Moe tries to mediate. “Now Earle, just relax, okay? We've got enough trouble.”  

“You want to know the day?” Earle Dougherty challenges, antagonizing Tre more.  

“Yeah!” Tre raises his voice and chest, a visible vein twitching under his left ear. 

“'ll tell you the day, Mr. Yo, it's the day I take orders from a n*****.” Earle shouts. The crowd around the two visibly tenses from the word. Peoples’ shock quickly changing into anger. 

“You motherfucker…” Tre sighs under his breath, going in for a jab but Earle is much quicker and has probably been in this situation one too many times, easily dodges it before hits Tre in the face with the butt of his rifle.  

“Hey, come on, Earle. That’s enough.” I speak up, going to grab the gun from him, intend I get punched in the face. He lines himself up from another but stops dead in his tracks as Kathryne jumps to her feet, shouting his name.  

“EARLE!” They stand still for a moment, a dark look in Earle’s eyes as he lowers his fist.  

“You little son bitch.” He hisses under his breath, walking up to her, a good foot and a half taller than her. “I-I thought you’d be dead by now.” He chuckles lowly, placing a hand on her shoulder. Next thing I know he’s got a fist full of her hair, holding her up as he punches her with all this strength in the stomach. Blood splattering out of her mouth before he drops her, she collapses on the ground, gasping and coughing and wheezing.  

“Dougherty! Whoa, cut it out, man! Stop it!” Everyone yells, including me as we try to pull him away from her.  

“You! You’re why Deacon stopped listening to me! Then you went away and I made sure you didn’t come back!” He laughs sinisterly, all the while punching and kicking Kathryne anywhere he can. “Then he came crawling back to me like the weak, spineless fool is he!” Moe tries to get a hold of Earle but gets elbowed in the stomach, falling to the ground.  

“Where is my daddy!?” Kathryne struggles to ask between hits. Earle climbs on top of her, pinning her down as he pulls out a pistol from behind his back, c*****g the gun and placing the barrel in-between her eyebrows. My heart drops but Kathyrn doesn't even flinch.  

“Wouldn’t you like to know...” He sneers, pressing the barrel into her skin, sure to leave a mark. Earle looks around the group of frightened women and wounded men, a grin the size of Texas spreading across his face, “Yeah! All right! We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge. I vote me. Anybody else? Huh? Democracy time, y'all. Show of hands, huh? All in favor? Huh? Come on. Let's see 'em. Oh, come on. All in favor?” Everyone raises their hands; you’ve got to be kidding me?! I think as I rush to help Kathryne. 

“I’m alright, I’m alright.” She says between breaths as I help her to her feet.   

“Yeah. That's good. Now that means I'm the boss, right? Yeah. Anybody else? Hmm? Anybody?” He asks mockingly.  

“Yeah.” I call out, walking up behind him and swiftly butt him in the center of the face with my snipers' end, he falls to the ground clutching his nose and yelling in pain. I take the opportunity to cuff him to a nearby pipe. I pike him up, moving him closer, leaning him against the piping and HVAC. 

“Who the hell are you?” He asks with disgust. 

“Officer Friendly.” I say as I take his guns from him, “Look here, Earle. Things are different now. There are no n****** anymore. No dumb-as-s**t, inbred w*********h fools either. Only dark meat and white meat. There's us and the dead. We survive this by pulling together, not apart.” 

“Screw you, man.” He spits. 

“I can see you make a habit of missing the point.” I say. 

“Yeah? Well, screw you twice” He retros unintelligently. 

“Ought to be polite to a man with a gun. Only common sense.” I recite his words.  

“Reginald,” Kathryne calls, voice scratchy. “It’s alright, not the first time he has a temper tantrum.” She clears her throat, voice stronger. “Won’t be the last.” I reach into his pockets and pull out a rolled-up joint and a tube of fine white powder.  

“Got some on your nose there.” I comment as I flick it off a bit of white power.  

“What are you gonna do? Arrest me?” He laughs, but when I throw his joint off the build all his laugh come to an end. “Hey! What are you doing? Man, that was my stuff! Hey! If I get loose, you'd better pray Yeah, you hear me, you pig?! You hear me?!” He yells as he squirms and trying to get lose from the hand-cuffs.  

“Yeah, your voice carries.” I say as I walk back to Kathryne. She gives me a hug and I give her one back. 

“Thank you.” She whispers into my chest.   

“Do you hear me, you filthy pig?!” Earle’s still yelling as I walk over to the edge of the building. 

“You're not Atlanta P.D. Where you from?” Moe asks, joining me.  

“Up the road a ways.” I answer.  

“Well, officer friendly from up the road a ways, welcome to the big city.” He jokingly greets as we look over the side of the building, overlooking the overflowing Walkers with the sound of thunder rolling in.