Chapter 3: Headaches

I opened my eyes, blinking them a few times to try to focus my vision. I reached up to my face, rubbing my eyes with the palms of my hands. I looked down at them. They were clean. The light coming through the mesh of the tent indicated that it was the morning. Off in the distance, I heard what sounded like Shane and Rick arguing. What the hell has been going on with them lately? I sat up, trying to clear my mind. Bad choice. Starting somewhere in the back of my skull, sharp pains were radiating throughout my brain. Instinctively, my hand clasped the pack of my head to keep the pain from coming, but that only made it worse. My fingers ran over the huge bump on my head a few inches from the nape of my neck. I squeezed my eyes shut and gritted my teeth, holding back a scream. Taking deep breaths, I tried to get out of that damn tent. I felt seasick. The world was shifting under me, my head felt disconnected from my body, and I was forcing the bile rising in my throat back down. Before I could even put my hand on the zipper, the flap to the tent opened, and I came face to face with Andrea.

"Jesus, woman! You tryna kill me?" I said climbing out of the tent.

Andrea looked offended. "Excuse me for coming to make sure you're alive!" I could hear the sarcasm on her tongue.

"Why wouldn't I be alive? I'm fine!" My voice sounded unsteady and unsure. I hated that.

Andrea shifted her weight onto her right side and propped her hand on her hip. She gave out a small chuckle.

"Wow. You don't remember anything, do you?" Before I could answer, she said, "I'll go get Carol. She'll explain it better that I can." She was about to walk away when she stopped and said, "By the way, you owe her a thank you. She's been taking awfully good care of you." She stalked away from me, clearly pissed off.

I leaned against a tree, my head still thumping. I was so frustrated. What the hell happened? What is this bump on my head? Carol's taking care of me? Why do I even need to be taken care of in the first place? I'm a grown man. I can fucking take care of myself. Sheer terror followed my thoughts. My God. Did I get bit?

I started panicking. I checked myself for teeth marks, scratches, anything out of the ordinary. But there was nothing except that bump on the back of my head. I felt my cheeks and forehead. My blood ran cold. I definitely had a fever. I slid down the tree as a wave of nausea rolled over me. Whether it was from the pain, or from the realization that I could be infected, I didn't know. I fought to keep my stomach from churning. Looking up, I saw Carol emerging from the RV and heading towards me.

"Daryl," she whispered, kneeling next to me, "are you alright?" She led me to the tent.

"I don't know, why don't you tell me." I said, fighting the urge to vomit.

Her face was twisted. She looked hesitant to say anything. She took a deep breath.

"You looked over at me, when we were sitting by the fire. Your face lost its' color, your eyes rolled back and they closed. You fell backwards and you hit your head. Lori and I ran over to you, but we didn't know what to do. Lori ran inside to get Hershel so he could help you, but he wouldn't. He still insisted that we get off his land and that he can't help us anymore." Carol paused for a little while, giving me a chance to really absorb her words. "You scared me. I thought we were going to lose you. You kept staring up at the sky. You started ramblin' on about Merle and Sophia." She stopped again. "Daryl, I thought you were going to die." She looked at me.

I gave her a look of disbelief. Merle? Sophia? What? At the same time, I also felt strangely relieved that I wasn't turning into a walker. I almost wanted to laugh. But I was afraid. Why was I talking about them? Hallucinations? Heaven? Hell? I couldn't remember.

"Since Hershel won't help us, we have to keep a close eye on you. Are you hungry? Thirsty?" She said rummaging through her bag. Her motherly instinct was taking over.

"No, I'm fine. I told you already. I'm fine." I snapped.

Carol gave me a concerned look and pulled out a canteen from her purse. She unscrewed the cap and took a sip. Then, she offered it to me. Reluctantly, I took a sip. I gave it back to her.

"We buried her today." She said quietly.

A pang of pain and realization hit me. They buried Sophia without me? How could they? After how hard I'd tried?

Carol, seeing the look on my face, said "We waited as long as we could. I know you worked really hard digging and looking-"

"How long have I been out?" I nearly shouted.

"What?"

"How long has it been since the fire?" I asked, feeling my stomach flip again.

"I'm not sure. A few days. I'm so sorry." Her face was stained with pain and remorse.

I didn't look at her. I couldn't. She mumbled something about coming out when I was hungry. Carol left the tent, leaving me with my thoughts. Truth is, I'd never wanted another person's company more in my entire life. I felt so alone. I wanted to chase after that woman. Tell her everything was okay. I peeked out of the tent, watching her walk to the fire to start cooking. I saw her wipe her cheeks. My heart hurt when I saw her breaking like that.

Something snapped me back into reality. Andrea's screams. I turned to see what was happening. A herd of walkers was emerging from the forest.