The end of this chapter is for DarylDixon'sLover and the next one even more so! xo
Morgan and I must look like an odd team, but that part aside our first day and night haven't been bad at all. So far we have stuck to our plan, follow the map and switch from the road to the woods every so often. We've encountered a few walkers here and there and in some areas more frequently than others. This actually makes me feel better and no it's not the bullet wound talking. Maybe there are more in certain areas because we're the second set of walking lunch to come through here, maybe we are on the same path as the group. Even if we haven't found one clue to lead us to believe that. I'm trying my best to remember everything Daryl taught me about tracking but so far there's either nothing to find or I suck at it.
I'm trying my damnedest to stay positive but by the second morning it's becoming a lot easier said than done. So, I allow myself to think of firm biceps, tanned skin and deep stares over candle light, even if it hurts it keeps me going. HE keeps me going. Of course these thoughts swerve in a different direction after a while, been doing that a lot recently. Am I a bad person and sister for barely even thinking of seeing Maggie yet? She's my blood, I know she's alive cause if she wasn't I would've felt a part me go away with her. My sister, my only living relative is alive but, she was nowhere to be seen at the hospital. Or Glenn for that matter. I know if both were alive and in the area with the group, one if not both would've been inside that hospital. But neither were….Fine maybe I'm jumping to conclusions but there's a nagging inside me that says Maggie was nowhere near me or that hospital. I'm starting to think she never was looking for me in the first place. I will confront her and talk to her about it, make her admit the truth and work through it from there. I know there must some sort of a reason if this is the case and I love her so much even if she wasn't my only kin left I would work through this issue with her. Another part of me, a selfish part of me I've never indulged in before is kind of okay with that scenario. It will give me a perfectly understandable excuse to spend time with Daryl at first. I know, I know stupid and immature but I will miss it being just the two of us. Don't get me wrong I can't wait to see everyone that survived, but Daryl and I against the world well that was more than okay with me.
My thoughts are interrupted by a small piece of cloth or something in the road. I have to inspect anything we find, check all our surroundings. I bend down to pick it up and my breath catches in my throat. It's a sock. A once white frilly sock that is now greyish and has a tiny hole in it. What stands out is the fact I can fit about three fingers inside of it because it's a baby sock.
There is a slim chance that my Judy isn't the only baby out there but another baby, in the same area going the same way the group is going? I doubt it and I also never thought she was….gone. I still feel immensely guilty about losing her and will never forgive myself. But, I felt like her second momma. Lori will always be her momma no matter what but I tried my best raising her and loved her as my own. And just like with Maggie if she was gone a part of me would it feel, dying with her. This is just a tangible piece of hope that they're out there, heading this way. During my few seconds of reflection, Morgan has stopped and is watching me inspect the sock, clutch it to me and then smile widely while tears roll down my face. Poor man. I gather my bearings and explain it to him.
"Morgan, I don't know if Rick told you but his wife had another baby, while we were at the prison. She died giving birth but the baby, she survived and she was doing just fine. I took care of her but lost her when we were attacked and I know this sock ain't got her initials on it or nothing but I know it's hers. We have to be on the right track." I finish, finally feeling slight hope and happiness again.
He looks at me, a tad skeptical but responds. "Well, I don't imagine there's many babies out there these days so I have to think you're right."
I give him a warm smile, tucking the sock away safely and then start thoroughly inspecting our surroundings. The road, the tree line and even inside the woods a little ways behind and ahead of us. Just before where we found the sock is a well concealed patch where a fire once was lit. The group put it out properly and tried to disguise it. If it weren't for the beginnings of my training I never would've seen it. I tell Morgan about the fire and bones of a small animal a few yards away.
"They must've set up camp, cooked something and made their way along the road. I think we should follow the road for a while and then start switching back and forth more frequently between the woods." I hope I don't come across as bossy, I just want to make a good decision and he don't say much in regards to the decision making process.
"Okay little miss, sounds good to me. This is good lead, I can feel it." He looks at me seriously, no joking or malice in his voice, I felt a lot more comfortable calling the shots now I know he doesn't take offense.
I'm not trying to tiptoe around his feelings or put a friendship with him first or anything. It's just that, I was spoiled being with Daryl and I don't want to be biased or closed off to others because I truly only want one man. Daryl and I were more than partners, more than halves to a whole team. He was my other half, no matter how corny it sounds I could feel him clicking into place with me. Filling gaps and voids I didn't know existed. What it was is that I had fallen in love for the first time. I cared for Jimmy and Zach, loved Jimmy even but it was more infatuation. It was kid love that even under normal circumstances wouldn't have lasted. Throw in the whole we are living through a zombie apocalypse together and yeah kind of changes the stakes. They were amazing boys who grew into brave men and I was hurt beyond belief when they both were taken away too soon but they were not "the one" for me and I know in this world we could all go at any moment. When I was with Daryl it was different from the start. And I mean besides the brooding, grumpy silent, snake eating treatment. I found myself being more open with him than with anyone else besides my journal (wow, sexy Beth) and I never felt nervous or awkward, I knew he'd never judge me. He might not say much back but he listened and cared. When these feeling first started to be so prominent in my mind and heart I was a bit taken aback by them. I knew I felt things for Daryl I hadn't felt before, physical and emotional urges that were new and exciting but wasn't this sudden? And I then I told myself, no, it's not. Yeah I won't be ripping off his clothes –even though that thought crosses my mind a lot- as soon as I see him or make him marry me tomorrow BUT I will not hold back. I will not let him shut down or talk himself out of this. We almost lost each other and I do not want that, probably can't handle that ever happening again, however if it does he will know I care. He will know to be honest with me and that he can safely express anything and everything to me. Cause life is too damn short to court each other holding hands and beat around any damn bushes. I'm in love and falling harder every day and why the hell should I keep that to myself? I know it'll be a lot for him but it's a lot for me too, we can do this together, everything is easier and better together.
Back to Morgan, we won't mesh like Daryl and I, we won't communicate or get along the same way and I do not want that knowledge to ruin this. He could've murdered me twenty times over by now and he hasn't. He could've run, stolen my supplies or turned out to be like Gorman. But he didn't and he's not. He's a good man and I want to make this agreement work so I must be kind and cautious.
We keep walking until dusk, until we both feel the change in the air. Rain. If you live in the south you know when bad weather is coming and we both give each other a look that says "Oh shit."
We have to venture off the road and find shelter, fast. We've been wandering for over an hour now and I'm getting seriously worried, there's nothing but fields and trees. The weather is picking up, there won't be too much more than rain tonight but still we need cover. And then, I'm so thankful for Morgan. I have been all along but right now it's tenfold. I get the sense he was looking into doomsday prepping close to the time of the turn so he's the one to see the small patch with no grass and a small yet sturdy handle attached to the wooden door. It would've been a storm cellar way back when, and there's no house nearby and these cellars aren't too common around here but we need to look inside. It was definitely a storm cellar but it had been updated. There wasn't anything in it really, couple canned goods on a small set of shelves and small bottles of water but there are a couple solar lights and until tonight sun is all we've been having so there's a dim glow inside. They must've been preppers or organized regular folk who cleared this out ages ago. It smells musty and has dust everywhere, thank goodness. An empty storm cellar with light and a door that closes? Maybe luck does exist.
We spent that night, the whole next day AND night in that cellar. We couldn't even wait for sunrise the following day to emerge from our bunker. The sun was barely tickling the horizon as we made our way back to the road we were on. I'm so thankful to God, daddy, luck and whatever else for the fact we were safe from the howling brutal winds and torrential rain outside, but locked in a hole in the ground with a stranger? Let's just say we both caught up on a whole bunch of lost sleep.
We find the road easily and continue on our path. It must be close to noon when I see something on the side of road. An old plastic bag, full of water. Them, it has to be…I start checking the woods for another fire or animals remains but what I find is even better, tracks. They're smudged and not as clear thanks to the storm but they're there and they lead into the woods.
"Morgan, come here." I say quickly, my heart racing. I point at the gloppy looking boot tracks trailing into the woods. "It must be them, we can follow but veer off when they start to end, just in case." I do not need any more reminders that the living are worse than the dead, we will circle around where they went to be safe. I can't let hope and thoughts of Daryl get us killed now.
Morgan looks apprehensive, but that makes sense. Either way it's people. New ones who could be like Dawn or Gorman. Or it could be my group, who may not accept the man Rick met so long ago. After pausing for a moment he seems to collect himself, straighten his shoulders and then say, "better to be safe than sorry. Let's keep tracking."
We follow the almost ruined tracks forever. Well it feels like it at least but in reality I know it hasn't even been an hour yet. Once the tree line comes into view we go to the left to circle back to where the tracks will lead. There is a huge field that took a horrible beating from the storm. So many trees are down or broken in half. Mother Nature you bitch.
A second later I'm fixated. Not on the trees, not on the dozens of dead or mangled walkers trapped beneath them or even the huge barn not too far away that has been untouched by the wrath of nature. No, my eyes are stuck on the back of a person crouched down in the midst of this madness, they look deep in thought.
Suddenly, my heart stops beating for a split second before starting back up in double time, I can feel and hear the blood rushing through my veins. Then I hear the strangest sound and realize it's me.
The sound bubbled out of me without my knowledge because I'm staring at angel wings on the back of a worn leather vest.
Ahh my first sorta cliffy?! Don't worry I'll post tomorrow. xo