If today was not a crooked highway…
If tonight was not a crooked trail…
If tomorrow wasn't such a long time…
Then lonesome would mean nothing to you at all…
Yes and only if my own true love was waitin'…
And if I could hear her heart a-softly poundin'…
Yes, only if she was lyin' by me…
Then I'd lie in my bed once again…
Nicole tried to remember what she was going to tell Daryl. There was something picking at the back of her brain she just couldn't remember what it was.
Her and her fellow survivors were trying like Hell to get out of the city of Dallas. It was tough with their large convoy and walkers cutting them off at every turn.
Just when she finally remembered what she was going to tell Daryl he swore loudly.
"Nicole, take the wheel!" He threw open the truck door and stood calling out to Shane who was driving behind them. Nicole scrambled after Daryl to grab hold of the wheel and he yelled and swore at Shane to warn him about the herd of walkers about to overtake his vehicle.
"Oh my God," Nicole whispered as she witnessed the horde in the rear view mirror. She began honking the horn trying to get the attention of the rest of the convoy. Daryl hissed at her to knock it off, that they didn't need any more walkers coming towards them.
"Hey, slow down! He needs a ride!" Daryl shouted and Shane's car was overrun. He barely made it out and began sprinting to the truck. He hopped into the bed and Nicole gunned down on the gas, trying to get away from the herd as fast as possible.
"Scoot," Daryl demanded as he hopped back into the truck. She moved over and Daryl sped up, trying to get Shane to the RV. Once he was in he ran as Nicole covered him. He was pulled in through the door by Glenn and Dale. Once he was in, Daryl took his new position at the end of the convoy.
"It's good you saw those walkers," Nicole said out of breath without looking at Daryl. He turned to face her. "Shane would've died but you saved him." Daryl growled as he violently slammed his foot hard on the brake, causing Nicole's head to slam into the dash. "What the fuck?!" She yelled, looking at him with tearful eyes.
"Exactly, Nicole! What the fuck? You haven't been the fucking same since we left the CDC! What is going on with you?!" She just stared at Daryl, at the beautiful man who only wanted to help her. She looked at him and the more she saw, the more she was certain that she couldn't tell him the truth. She couldn't tell him that she wished she stayed at the CDC with Jenner and Jacqui. How could she tell him that she had no hope?
So she just stared at him tears pouring from her eyes, the bruise on her forehead growing and her head feeling like it was about to split open. She just turned away from him and hugged her knees to her chest. Daryl didn't say anything, he didn't have to. Nicole could tell by how he was struggling to keep the truck at a reasonable speed that he wasn't angry but hurt.
Once Nicole caught on to where the convoy was going, she mentally smiled. Rick must've remembered that Nicole and Rael and family in the city. Her cousin Guillermo and her abuelita would be more than happy to take them all in. She remembered how much her grandma loved cooking for a lot of people.
The convoy stopped a bit on the outside of Guillermo's compound and everyone got out of their vehicles. Nicole quickly ran to find Rael. He was carrying a sleeping Bubba and she slowed as she approached.
"Abuela is here," she whispered as Rick and Glenn began to lead the way through to the compound.
"Is that so?" He replied, looking down at her.
"Yea, when we came into the city last time we found them. They took us in and fed us and gave us shelter. We can be safe here."
"Oh, you mean when you and Officer Friendly and that asshole Dixon came into the city for no good reason? When you could've saved Ray but left to save Merle instead?"
Nicole was hurt and angry with her brother for saying that but she didn't know what to say. She just stood there looking up at her older brother, the only brother she had.
She remembered how they used to walk down to the school playground and just swing for hours, talking about things that they could never tell anyone else.
She longed for that relationship, she longed for her brother back.
He walked away from Nicole and made no inclination for her to follow him. She stood there by herself and fought to keep from breaking. She couldn't show weakness right now, she had to keep it together.
"Nicole," She turned to see T-Dog behind her. "Let's catch up with the group." She nodded and walked with T-Dog who put a reassuring arm around her shoulder.
When they all got inside, Nicole knew something was terribly wrong. There were no lookouts and the place stank of death.
She didn't wait for the rest of the group, she ran into the compound past everyone, dodging everyone's attempts to stop her.
She got far into the compound and the sight that greeted her was heart wrenching. All of her cousin's men where now walker fodder. She ran through them looking for any sign of her family. There was none.
Daryl was the first to reach her, followed by Rick and Glenn. Nicole fell to her knees and began to cry. She was oblivious to the walkers walking toward her as she admitted defeat and broke apart.
She began to wail in absolute anguish, she cried for her family and the friends she had lost and her dad. She also cried for her brother and how deep in her heart she knew he wasn't her brother anymore. The apocalypse had changed him and turned him into something worse than the walkers.
She closed her eyes and began to allow the darkness to overtake her. She was aware of the walkers but at this point she didn't care. She waited for death to greet her and fell into darkness.
Nicole…
She could hear something, a voice calling her name.
Nicole…
She began to see a light penetrate the darkness. She found that odd, how can any ray of light enter her void.
Nicole…
She suddenly recognized the voice calling out to her. It was Daryl. She had been so unfair to him. Ever since she had known him he had hid in the dark shadow of his brother Merle, unable to be the person he really is.
Nicole!
She knew he didn't deserve this, not from her. All of a sudden, she felt herself being ripped from the darkness and into the light. She opened her eyes and saw Daryl, looking at her with an angry face, but scared eyes.
"Nicole! Sweetheart, are you okay?" He was holding onto her like he was afraid that if he did, she would just slip away again. He pulled her to him and made sure he could feel her breathing against his chest. It was shallow and labored. He held her tight and whispered into her ear so only she could hear him. "I love you Nicole, I love you and I can't lose you. You have to be strong. Not just for me but for Bubba and Rick and everyone who cares about you."
Nicole hung limp in Daryl's arms before slowly raising her arms to hold him back. She was weak, after all this time thinking she was strong, she wasn't. She had to become strong if she wanted to survive. She slowly began to get to her feet. Rick offered her a hand and she took it. He also gave her a hug.
"Nicole, I'm so sorry but it doesn't look like anyone survived." She felt a painful throb in her head and Rick placed his hands on her shoulders to steady her. "I'm so so sorry."
She looked into Rick's eyes and tried to be strong.
"Let's get the kids inside," She said softly. She walked through the compound aware of everything. She could hear the whispers of Lori and Carol, she could feel the eyes of everyone else. She passed her brother and locked eyes with him. Surprisingly, they were soft and had tears in them. She didn't acknowledge him, she just walked into the compound and looked for a place that the children could feel as comfortable as they can.
Nicole was standing watch on a staircase. They had cleared the top floors and barricaded the entrances from walkers. She sighed as she grabbed her backpack and pulled out her bong. She saw the huge crack from when Daryl knocked it to the ground. She couldn't make his name out anymore. She looked back to that night that she had first met Daryl. He only took a small hit but was still eligible to sign the bong. He had a very rough signature, like that of a young adult.
She grabbed her bag on weed and almost yelled when she saw how much there was. There was only a bowl left. She put the bong away and grabbed a small pipe instead. She loaded it up and lit it up, inhaling as much as she could and exhaling all of the bad she had accumulated these past few days.
After all of her weed was gone, she lit her second to last cigarette and sighed. She was greeted by Shane, Rick, T-Dog, Glenn and Daryl. T-Dog handed her a plate of food and she ate as she listened to the guys formulate a new plan.
"So, where are we headed now, Rick?" Shane asked as he leaned against the wall next to Nicole. "What's the plan?"
"I'm going to say Fort Benning. We should've just went there from the jump." He looked down at his hands, probably thinking of the people we lost on the way. Nicole put her hand on his and gripped it. He gripped back and sighed.
"We should probably lose some of the cars. We need the fuel more than the vehicles." Nicole chimed in as she blew smoke out of her nose. Daryl scooted a little closer to her and carefully grabbed her injured hand. The bruises were now a yellowish brown and the scabs were thick and fat.
"Okay, so first thing tomorrow we're going to set out, try to scavenge some supplies and try to make it out of here." Rick stood and left, slowly followed by the others. Shane stood and told Nicole he would be back in a little bit to take over watch.
Daryl stayed with Nicole and after everyone had left he wrapped his arm around her and placed his head on her shoulder. She grinned at the typical Daryl, not wanting to show his soft side in front of people. She took his other hand and held it. She couldn't believe she had almost wanted to die and never see this man again.
She needed him and he needed her.
"Are you okay?" He asked, his head still on her shoulder.
"Yea, I am now," She turned to face him and was about to confess what she had been holding in.
"You wanted to die didn't you?" He asked. Nicole looked into his eyes and sighed.
"Yes. I gave up. I didn't believe in hope anymore." She began to cry and she hugged him tightly. "I am so sorry Daryl. I didn't think you would be enough but I was wrong. You are all I need."
"It's okay, sweetheart. I understand. Shh, don't cry. I'm here." She cried in Daryl's arms until it was time for Shane to keep watch.
Nicole awoke with a start. It was not yet dawn and she was shaking due to the nightmare she woke from. Daryl was at her side in minutes, giving her words of comfort.
"It's okay, Nicole. Don't worry okay?" She slumped into his arms and sighed. When she looked up at his face she was a little bit angry.
"Daryl Dixon were you watching me all night again?" He merely shrugged and stood helping Nicole to her feet. She shook her head at him and slowly stepped around the other survivors, being careful not to step on anyone.
They walked out to the staircase and saw Shane keeping watch.
"How much longer until dawn?" Nicole asked him and she sat on the stair.
"I'd say a couple hours," He tiredly replied. He ran a hand over his face and exhaled sharply.
"You can sleep Shane." Nicole told him. "I'll take watch."
"Are you sure? I can hold out for a little while longer."
"Don't you dare," She insisted. "Once we begin to head out, we're going to need you alert." She then turned to Daryl. "Both of you."
"Yes ma'am," Shane grinned as he stood and walked back into the room Nicole and Daryl had come out of. Daryl sat on the step below Nicole and placed his head in her lap. She smiled as she heard his soft breathing only minutes after laying his head down. She ran her hands through his hair and kept a vigilant eye on the stair case and alert ears on the noises outside.
Occasionally she would hear walkers bang against the door they blocked but without anything to hold their interest they would wander off after a few minutes.
Nicole began to see the sky turn from black to a dark gray and sighed. Dawn was approaching and soon they would be on the road again heading towards another pipe dream.
She looked down at Daryl and had a song suddenly come to her mind. She cleared her throat and began to sing soft enough for only a sleeping Daryl to hear.
"As she watches me while I sleep, I dream of her leaving tonight. As she watches me while I sleep, I dream of her leaving tonight. Ohhh. Do you look at every boy that way? Why do I feel I shouldn't wait, I shouldn't wait for you? I'm not getting any younger, sick of wasting all my time, so if you're down then stay with me, surrender yourself to me."
She stopped when she heard the stirring of the other survivors in the room. She gently shook Daryl awake and they all began to start their journey completely unaware of what lies ahead.
Nicole hesitantly reached for her bag and fished out her last cigarette. She wouldn't get a chance to smoke it on the back of Daryl's motorcycle so she figured she may as well smoke it now. She lit it and watched everyone around her move their bags and other stuff around. She looked off in the direction Daryl and T-Dog went off and fell into a daze. She was pulled out of it when she saw Lori and Carol walking up to her.
She took a hit of her cigarette but didn't put it out. She merely hid it behind her back.
"Hey, Nicole, Carl and Sophia were wondering if maybe Bubba could ride with us for a little bit. They kind of became friends." She grinned and I smiled back.
"I don't have a problem with that, did you ask Rael? He is Bubba's dad."
"Well," Carol started. "We were hoping you would do it for us. He's become a little unhinged and it's just worrying me." She looked over in the direction of her brother who was waiting next to him Camaro watching over Bubba who was playing with a little toy car with Carl and Sophia.
Suddenly, Carl and Sophia got up and asked Rael something. At first it seemed like he didn't hear them and they were about to answer again when he said something without looking at the children. They got really excited and turned to Bubba. He also got excited and he ran to hug his dad's legs. Rael just put a hand on his head and then Bubba flew after the two bigger kids. Sophia slowed and took his hand as they ran in Nicole's, Carol's and Lori's direction.
"Mom! Mom!" Carl quietly shouted as he got closer to Lori. Rael said that Bubba could ride with us in Carol's car!" Nicole couldn't help but smile at Carl and Sophia. They had become such good friends for Bubba and it was seeming he was going to need those more if his dad didn't straighten up.
After Lori and Carol thanked Nicole and walked back towards Carol's Cherokee, Nicole quickly finished her cigarette and went to meet Daryl as he walked toward his bike. They looked around and saw that the convoy was ready to move.
Nicole hopped on after Daryl and he started it up. The roar of the engine signaling the time to depart and leave the dead burnt out city of Dallas behind. Daryl started to move forward and Nicole turned around to make sure everyone was following. Once she gave Daryl the all clear, he picked up speed and wove his ways through the cars and dead bodies that were piled everywhere. Once the outskirts were in view, he went faster. Nicole wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and shielded her face behind his back.
Nicole occasionally looked back to make sure they convoy was still there, she didn't want to lose anyone now, after everything they had gone through together. She also thought about Amy and Jim and Jacqui and her family who was murdered. She thought about how in a way they were lucky because all the pain and anger and sadness was over for them. They didn't have to live in this world anymore. However, she also thought that they didn't have a chance to see what this world could become. She held onto Daryl tighter and rode right into the tomorrow she wasn't even sure was going to be there.
Author's Note
Hello lovely readers! Here is the first installment of Season 2 of my TWD fanfic! I really hope you guys enjoy and please feel free to review and message me what you guys think and if I could do anything to improve this story! I really look forward to hearing from you all!
Love Rocky Char!