Hey there, darling readers! I have a new chapter for you. This one doesn't have all that much action, but i promise you, the next one will! I would have written it earlier, but some unexpected guests came over last night and, well... But it's here now and i hope you'll enjoy it.

FanFicGirl10 writergrrrl: thank you very much, i'm really glad you like it :)

I don't own anything related to the walking dead but i do own May and Kiba.

Chapter four: The Aftermath

That night, May just couldn't fall asleep. She kept tossing and turning, trying to get comfortable, but she felt like her sleeping bag was stuffed with needles and nails. Kiba looked at her as if asking her what's wrong. "It's nothing, boy. I just can't sleep." I'm talking to the dog now. Great! The camp had just been attacked and Amy was dead. Amy is dead. The feeling of dread came over her: Amy was such a young, pretty girl. She was so kind. Amy was my age.

She couldn't handle being in the tent any longer so she picked up her bow and quiver and went outside followed by Kiba. Some fresh air would do her good. And a stroll through the woods shouldn't be dangerous, she has both her bow and arrows and he hunting knife with her, plus Kiba. As soon as she went between the trees she felt a sense of relief come over her. In her core she knew she was meant to live in the wilderness, her entire life has been preparing her for this.

"Where d' you think you're goin'?" She swiftly turned around, her arrow pointed in front of her, just to see Daryl standing on the edge of the forest, eyeing her with disapproval. Kiba immediately started wagging his tail, happy to see Daryl joining them. For some reason, he liked Daryl a lot.

"Couldn't sleep." She answered simply. "What are you doing up?" May was annoyed that he followed her around. What, does he think I can't take care of myself?

"I heard someone sneakin' 'round so I got up ta investigate." He said like there's nothing else going on. But May could sense that it was more than that. With all that's happened, everybody forgot that Daryl had just lost his brother and it was their fault. She felt bad for the bitchy tone she had on a moment ago.

"Wanna walk with me?" she asked much more softly, offering a small but warm smile. Man this girl was annoying. Does she want to get killed? He couldn't just let her wander through the forest by herself. "Fine, but a short walk. Then you and your mutt go back ta sleep. I can't be spendin' all night takin care of you two."

"We don't need anyone taking care of us; we can do that ourselves just fine." She said both proudly and defensively. But then she realized the look on his wasn't the mocking kind, but rather a worried one. He was worried about her. "But still, you're probably right, we should go back soon." She added quickly.

He just grunted back at her. They walked for while without saying anything, but it was a pleasant silence, the kind that lets you gather your thoughts but still feel the comforting presence of another human.

When they were approaching the camp again she made a decision. "I think I'll stay with you guys. Last night would have turned out quite differently had I been alone."

"Whatever" was all he said, but what she didn't know was that he smiled when he turned his head away. They reached their respective tents and before he could turn around and go to sleep she stopped him to say "Daryl… Thank you." When he looked at her quizzically she added "For saving my life. I would have been eaten if you hadn't killed that walker." He hoped as hell that she couldn't see him blush. Of course he saved her. She was the first one he looked for when they realized the camp was attacked. "You did the same for me." He muttered turning to his tent.

"Good night, Dixon!" he heard she was smiling while saying that, but said nothing in return. He just disappeared behind the zipper.

"Let's go boy, we should get some rest." She said to Kiba, a smile still lingering on her lips. Daryl was definitely different than anyone she ever met. She felt so tired and realized that now she'll have no trouble falling asleep. And she was right; as soon as her head hit the improvised pillow, she fell asleep. This night, she didn't have the usual walker related nightmares and she didn't have to relive her parents' death but instead, she dreamt of a certain blue-eyed, redneck hunter she met in the woods.

She woke up to the smell of burning, rotting flesh. People around camp were smashing the heads of the people who died, and throwing walkers on to a fire. When Glenn saw her, he waved hello, and she waved back. Lorry, Shane, Carol, Rick and Dale were sitting around a small camp fire, looking at Andrea who hasn't moved since last night. The woman was just sitting over her sisters' body looking at her face. "What's going on?" asked May with a worried expression.

Lorry was the one who gave her the answer "Andrea won't move and she won't let us make sure Amy doesn't come back. She just sits there. When Rick tried to talk to her, she pointed a gun at him." Lorry was obviously sad for the woman but also didn't feel right having her point a gun at her husband.

Daryl walked over and didn't even look at May. He, instead, looked at Rick and said "Y'all can't be serious. The dead girl's a time bomb!" Rick turned to him "What do you suggest?" he asked, seemingly hoping for a solution. "Take the shot." Daryl was always practical. "Clean, in the brain. From here. Hell, I could hit a turkey 'tween the eyes from this distance."

"No." it was Lorry who interfered "For God's sake, let her be." Shane and Rick exchanged glances, it was obvious Shane was agreeing with Daryl on this one. Daryl just spat on the floor, angry, and walked away.

May decided not to get involved and to, instead, help Glenn. When she reached him, he saw Daryl and Morales dragging one of the camp victims to where they were burning walkers.

"What're you guys doing? This is for geeks! Our people go over there." He gestured to a line of dead bodies lying next to each other. Daryl tried to argue but May just gave him a deadly look and he gave up. "Our people go in that row over there." Glenn continued. He seemed like he was about to break apart. "We don't burn them! We burry them. Understand? Our people go in that row over there." Daryl and Morales just moved the body to where he pointed without argument. May saw how distraught Glenn was and hugged him. He hugged her back, obviously relived to feel support from someone. They let go of each other and he smiled at May gratefully. She was about to smile back but she heard Daryl say "You reap what you sow." Morales tried to shut him up "Oh, shut up man!" but Daryl continued "Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" and he walked away pissed off at all of them.

To everybody's surprise, May went after him. When she caught up with him, she put a hand on his shoulder and he flinched and turned around ready to punch whoever it was behind him. When he saw it was her, he froze. "What, you're gonna punch me now?" she asked halfway amused, halfway annoyed. He lowered his hand, not breaking eye contact. "I'm really sorry about your brother. You deserve more than that." For a second he seemed surprised and like he was trying to figure out what to say but Jacquie's voice interrupted him: "A walker got him! A walker bit Jim!" she shouted, backing away from the man. May jumped at the words in disbelief. Jim was such a nice man. She hadn't talked to him a lot, but he was always so pleasant to everybody and tried to help whenever he could. And he got bit. Shit. Everyone was forming a threatening circle around Jim. She felt Daryl walk past her with the pickaxe still in his hands. Jim practically whispered "I'm ok." but Daryl shouted "Show it to us! Show it to us!" Jim grabbed a shovel to defend himself repeating the whisper-like "I'm ok" but T-Dog grabbed him from behind and Daryl lifted his shirt. There was a fresh, bloody, yellowish bite mark just bellow his ribs. They let him go and backed away while Jim kept repeating "I'm ok. I'm ok…".

"I say we put a pickaxe in his head, and the dead girls', and be done with it." Daryl said, looking at the group. Shane didn't agree. "Is that what you'd want? For you?"

"Hell yeah, and I'd thank you while ya did it." Dale, the moral center of the group then pitched in "I hate to say it, I never thought I would, but maybe Daryl's right."

May then zoned out. She didn't want to be a part of this discussion, not like this. They were talking about the man as if he were already a walker. She noticed Rick and Shane got in to one of their arguments again but she wasn't sure what they were arguing about. Jim was looking at them, he could hear them, that much was obvious. When he looked at her, she locked eyes with him and tried to give him a look that said "Everything will be ok." but she wasn't sure of that herself. Daryl's angry voice brought her back to reality. "Y'all go looking for aspirin, do what ya need ta do, but somebody's' gotta have some balls 'round here!" He yelled while he lifted his pickaxe and went for Jim. May jumped in front of him and Rick pulled out his gun, pointing it in Daryl's' head. "Daryl, come down. Please." May looked at him with her big, amber eyes and he was ready to put the pickaxe down when the sheriff spoke. "We don't kill the living." he stated threateningly. Daryl turned to him and said "That's funny, comin' from a man who just put a gun to my head."

"We may disagree on some things, but not on this. Put it down." Shane said, siding with Rick. May wasn't gonna stand for all that, it was the third time Rick had put a gun to Daryl's head in two days. "Why doesn't Rick put his gun down instead. Seems to me like he'd like to use Daryl for target practice." She was clearly very angry and wasn't going to let up, so the two men put down their weapons. "Now stop talking about Jim like he isn't here." Then she walked away from the scene.

As she walked towards the woods, she saw Dale talking to Andrea and she didn't seem like she was going to shoot him so May carried on. She saw Daryl give the pickaxe to Carol, and then saw Carol smash in her dead husbands' skull. Daryl stood by and watched as the woman let out all her anger and frustration with every blow she took. He then lifted his gaze and saw a tall, lean figure disappear between the trees. She's wondering of on her own again. Damn it.

May wasn't sure where her dog was. She guessed he was playing with the kids, though she hasn't seen him since this morning. She let out a sound, like a howl, that they used to find each other and in a few seconds she felt a cold, wet nose on the back of her neck. She turned around expecting to find only Kiba and was surprised when she saw he wasn't alone. Daryl was right behind him, looking at her amusedly.

"You tryin' to git yourself eaten again?" He smirked. May wasn't in the mood to talk to him. She was still pretty pissed about the whole trying-to-pickaxe-Jims'-head incident. So she just sat in silence and scratched Kiba behind the ears. He kept standing there, looking at her and waiting. He wasn't sure why he came after her, he never gave a rats' ass about what other people are doing, but for some reason he had to be sure she was alright. It was an annoying feeling, one he'd rather be rid off, but it was there. His train of thoughts was interrupted by a sound of a gunshot. They both jumped up and fully alert, but then realized it was just one gunshot. Kiba was calm which meant he didn't smell the walkers nearby and then they realized that Amy must have woken up and that they put her down for good.

In silence, the three of them started walking back to camp when May remembered something. "What were Rick and Shane fighting about before you went all-Hulk?" she asked boldly, waiting to see his reaction. I probably deserved that he thought, so he just explained to her that Rick wanted to go to the CDC to try and find a cure for Jim, while Shane wanted to go to Forth Benning and seek military protection. "But the military was in the front rows when all this started and they were overrun." May said, thinking that Fort Benning isn't even an option."That's what Rick said." Daryl explained. "But surely they realize we won't find a cure for Jim. If there was a cure, people would know about it. Whatever is behind this, whichever government, I'm certain they didn't think it would turn out the way it did." She was exhausted. They came to camp and she helped Daryl and Glenn load the bodies in Daryl's truck to be taken to the hill where they were to be buried. Daryl drove the truck, with Kiba who jumped in the empty seat while May and Glenn decided to walk.

"May, I have to ask: how can you be so friendly to Daryl?" Glenn asked with genuine curiosity. "Why wouldn't I be? I mean, he's rough around the edges and most of the time doesn't really know how to express any feeling except anger, but he's a good man. That much is obvious."

Glenn wasn't convinced. "Are you sure? I mean… Sometimes he seems ok, but sometimes I'm just plain scared of him." May looked like she was thinking about what he said. "I don't think he would ever really hurt anybody from our group. Except maybe Shane, but I'd like to hurt him too, sometimes." She added jokingly, and they both laughed.

That afternoon they buried their dead, packed up their camp, said goodbye to the Morales's, who decided not to come with them, and were ready to go to the CDC. Jim was in Dell's RV and everybody seemed to have a seat except for May and Kiba. "Hey, Daryl, can we drive with you, it seems nobody else has room for us." She asked as a formality, assuming he'd say yes. "Nope."

"What?! Where are we supposed to drive?" she asked angrily. Why does he have to be that much of a jerk? "Fine, you can drive with me, but no talkin', no barkin' and no mutt-drool! It's ma alone time, and it's gonna stay that way, got it?" The truth was he couldn't say no to her amber eyes and he hated it so, naturally, he took it out on her. "Well thank you for being so generous and kind." May said sarcastically, loading her backpack to the back of the van. Last time I ask him for a favor. And with that, the caravan of Atlanta survivors was on the road to the CDC.

That's it, folks! Hopefully, i'll have another update soon, so enjoy and review :D