Chapter 7 - What Lies Ahead

Daryl covered Lylah with his body, as they barely reached the truck. The blast was intense and he could feel the heat through the body of the truck. He could also feel every inch of her as she lay beneath him. They were both breathing hard as they lay there, waiting for the blast to die down.

"Are you ok" he asked, still not quite ready to move.

"Yeah - you?" When he nodded, she continued.

"Thank you, for protecting me...for getting us out of there..." She started.

"Whatever..." he had to stop her... He was embarrassed to feel himself getting hard again as she fidgeted beneath him..

"No - not 'whatever' Daryl" she refused to let him dismiss this. " You don't like me - I get it. Believe me - it's not the first time I've been rejected - and good lord willin' , it won't be the last." she quipped, trying to sound more casual than she really felt. "But would you just please just accept my thanks, with the intent it's given" she pressed a soft kiss on his cheek, then scurried out from underneath him to sit on the passenger side.

The survivors hauled ass away from the CDC; stunned at what had just occurred. Daryl and Lylah rode together in silence, neither of them discussing what happened in her room. Their previous relaxed banter, vanishing.

A few miles down the road, they stopped the vehicles to regroup and plan their new route. Lylah was devastated to learn Jacqui hadn't made it - that she'd chosen to stay behind.

Daryl decided to abandon the truck and ride Merle's bike, leaving Lylah with nothing to do but transfer her meager belongings back into the RV.

Daryl hated the hurt look in her eyes when he ditched the truck. How come he always seemed to end up feeling like a jerk around her lately? That he even cared? But he needed some space from her and the bike seemed like the best answer. Rick quickly agreed with Daryl, realizing the advantages of the bike's mobility. They'd siphoned the remaining gas out of the old truck before they all headed towards Fort Benning.

Spending time with Amy, Glenn and T-Dogg in the RV after the uncomfortable silence of riding with Daryl turned out to be a pleasant change. They chatted and got to know each other more as they sat cross-legged on the bed in the back, while Shane taught Andrea how to clean the gun at the dining cubby. Lylah shook her head in disbelief when she found out Glenn used to deliver pizzas before the infection - CIA strategists had nothing on this brilliant pieman.

Lylah found Shane to be a bit too intense, but figured he meant well - he was just so used to being a cop it permeated everything he about him. Rick wasn't like that, though, she mused to herself.. Andrea didn't seem to mind Shane, as Lylah observed the two. Maybe there was something there, or could be?

"Lylah, were you living here in Georgia when this first started?" Amy asked her.

"Yeah...I had a little townhouse, just outside Atlanta. It was the very first place that was mine. My friend, Casey, helped me decorate it." she smiled as she thought back. " We painted every inch of that place ourselves. We had so much fun... going antiquing, flea markets..." as the memories flooded back, so did the sad haunted look.

"What about you Amy, what were you going to do after your road trip?" Lylah needed to change topic.

"I'd been accepted to University of Florida. Andrea was so proud I got in, ... that's where she got her law degree" Amy explained. "I couldn't believe it when she took off work for a month to spend with me" lowering her voice so Andrea couldn't hear.

T-Dogg explained how had been a logistics manager at one of the major super-store chains.

"I bet you got killer discounts", Lylah suggested. He smirked, "We did alright"

"You think those warehouses are still fully stocked?" Lylah asked thinking about future raiding opportunities.

"They were stocked pretty full when I took off... I can't imagine who could come and grab all that ... you'd need semis to haul that much stuff".

The RV slowed down as Dale navigated around the abandoned cars that blocked the road. The road was becoming to become impassable for the large RV. Dale slowly followed the path Daryl led through the maze of stranded cars.

All of a sudden, the RV lurched to a stop; a loud popping noise followed by steam erupting from the engine. They got out of the RV to assess the damage; to see if perhaps things weren't as bad as it had sounded.

"We're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of finding any parts" Dalekicked the RV tire Frustrated that he couldn't just run down to a Pep Boys, get whatever he needed.

Daryl was already off his bike, sifting through the abandoned belongings of the dead. "There's a bunch of stuff we can find ... food... water" he pointed out.

"A radiator hose..?" Dale hoped.

"We can siphon more fuel from the cars for a start", T-Dogg grabbed the plastic hose and polyethylene gas cans and headed towards the cars. T-Dogg was the gas siphoning expert.

"This is a graveyard . . . I don't know how I feel about this?" Lori somberly reminded them all as they looked out over the expanse of cars and dead bodies that littered the side of the road.

Lori's remark temporarily halted them; until they all decided to unanimously ignore the ludicrous statement. These people were dead - they were alive... and wanted to stay that way.

"Come on yall, just look around... gather what you can" Shane commanded

Carol and Lori were going through the nearby truck, rummaging through the suitcases, sifting through clothes - Carol held up a red blouse she obviously wanted.

Lylah went with T-Dogg to help him siphon gas. She'd never actually done this for real, had only done it in college as part of physics lab. She grabbed another can and hurried to catch up. Glenn worked with Dale to try and repair the hose, as the rest of them continued their search for supplies.

"T-Dogg... Look at Shane,", Lylah grinned as she pointed to the man who was presently showering himself in 5-gal jugs of bottled water. "I think he's baptisming himself." T-Dogg laughed with her.

She was draining the remaining fuel from the abandoned minivan while T-Dogg did the same to the nearby Camry. Suddenly T-Dogg became super still and stopped what he doing. He saw Rick running towards them, motioning for them to get down. T-Dogg nodded to her to be quiet. Petrified, Lylah nodded - desperately wanting to scream and run back to the RV.

That's when she heard the moan and shuffle of the walkers approaching. There had to be a lot of them to be making this much noise. She felt her legs shake and threaten to give way - the fear , threatening to paralyze her. Why the hell didn't she bring her gun with her? Careless and Stupid!, she admonished herself.

T-Dogg stepped away from the Camry to try and get a better look - see how bad it was. Lylah watched in horror as T-Dogg, obviously terrified by what he'd seen, suddenly jerked his forearm down along the sharp rusty vehicle door. Bright red blood began spurting profusely out of his arm.

She screamed, but stifled it with her fist so the walkers didn't hear. T-Dogg was able to make his way back to Lylah while she searched desperately for something to wrap around T-Dogg's arm - staunch the bleeding. The walkers were approaching fast. They would smell the blood - hell, even she could smell the blood.

She yanked her cotton T-shirt off, folding it over multiple times then tied it around T-Dogg's arm. The makeshift bandage helped control the bleeding, but there was still a trail of blood leading straight to them.

A walker approached them as they tried to retreat from the blood pool that had been created. She prayed for her knife, for any weapon at all, as she bargained desperately with God to help get them out of this mess.

Suddenly, Daryl jumped the approaching walker from behind - shoving a thick knife blade through the base of it's skull. He threw the walker to the side, motioning to Lylah to continue her silence. T-Dogg was quickly weakening from blood loss and his eyes had glazed over. Lylah squeezed his hand and got a weak squeeze in return.

Daryl swiftly dragged T-Dogg down to the ground and covered him quickly with the dead walker nearby. Realizing his plan, Lylah cooperated as Daryl quickly did the same to her before covering himself with another rotting corpse.

He could read the terror in her eyes over what he'd just done to protect them. He soundlessly whispered to her it would be ok. She remained silent, but her eyes were moist and her mouth was trembling. He looked into her eyes the whole time, convincing her it would be ok... And she believed him.

She remained calm as the walkers trodded right over top of them so close she could smell their decomposing rotted flesh as they dragged along the pavement. She thought she heard screams in the distance, but kept silent, praying this worked

As soon as it was clear, they shoved the disgusting creatures off and raced to get T-Dogg. Daryl reached him first and cleared him of the dead body, before pulling him to his feet.

That was when they heard Sophia scream! Lylah's heart jumped into her throat at the thought of harm coming to the little girl.

Lylah said she could get T-Dogg back to the RV by herself - "Go get Sophia, please". Daryl ran off and Lylah wrapped her arm around T-Dogg helping back to the RV so they could clean that cut.

More horror waiting when they entered the RV!

Andrea was covered in blood and Amy was dead. Her throat had been ripped apart, blood and tendons visible. Andrea was sobbing as she cradled her sister in her arms - the walker in the hall had a screwdriver stuck in it's head.

"I was too late... Baby, I was too late... I don't know how to do this..." Andrea sobbed over and over as she cradled her younger sister. Lylah wrapped her arms around her and sobbed with her, running her fingers through Amy's blood soaked hair; still not believing she was dead.

Dale and Glenn eventually helped Lylah carry Amy outside where Andrea continued to hold her, as she lay on the pavement. She wouldn't let anyone near her, knowing the turn could be at ant time.

Lylah busied herself by cleaning the RV - Andrea didn't need to be reminded by this mess. Dale and Glenn periodically gave her updates on the search for Sophia. But the losses were taking their toll on Lylah; she wondered how much more she could take, her grip on her emotions was hanging by a thread.

'What would they do when Amy turned? Would they get Andrea to leave Amy's body long enough to do what needed to be done', Lylah pondered. Andrea was losin' it, but she couldn't really blame her. Anyone could see how much love she had for her sister - this loss might be too much... Lylah couldn't stop worrying..

She wished they would return with Sophia soon. Carol was a wreck herself and she wasn't sure this group could handle any more losses. At this rate, they wouldn't make it through the week.

That's when Lylah heard the pop of a muffled gunshot. She ran outside to see Andrea holding her gun and a pillow - she'd shot a bullet straight into Amy's brain. Andrea merely stood up and walked into the nearby woods, needing to be left alone.

T-Dogg was in no condition to help, so Glenn, Lylah and Dale began digging a grave for Amy in a shady spot nearby. It took some time, but it was finally deep enough. They wrapped Amy up in a sheet and laid her to rest in the freshly dug hole.

Lylah's hands were raw and bleeding and her back ached from the exertion. When Rick and Daryl finally returned, Carol ran over to them to get the news on her daughter.

"You didn't find her?", the hope on Carol's face vanished when she didn't see her daughter.

"The trail went cold . . . We'll pick it up again at first light", Rick explained to the grieving mother.

Carol couldn't accept that they wouldn't keep searching for Sophia in the dark, risking more people. Lylah ached for Carol, she ached for them all.

The meager evening meal was a somber event. Andrea and Carol retreated to the RV when they finished burying Amy. Lylah was glad she'd cleaned up the RV... neither of them needed to be reminded of the bloody mess from earlier.

Lylah couldn't go back into the RV - she wasn't ready to face all that tragedy just yet; all that raw emotion. It was too much - was too painful and she was all out of comforting words.

Her hands were a blistered, bloody mess and now that the adrenaline was wearing off, the pain was really setting in. She grabbed one of the water bottles, rested her weary body against the guard rail and slowly poured the clear water over her hand. She knew it needed to be done, even though it burned like hell. She softly yelped in pain as she forced herself to continue.

"What the hell's wrong with yer hands", Daryl marched over to see what was causing her to be in such pain.

She wasn't really in the mood to deal with Daryl's criticism now. It had been a supremely shitty day, and she was exhausted; physically and emotionally, not to even mention the pain.

"None of your ... business", Lylah didn't say the F-word in front of him. She decided to ignore him and walked further down the road to get some distance from him. She never even heard him walk up behind her as he grabbed her and quickly spun her around, sloshing the bottled water everywhere.

"Now look what you've done" Lylah accused.

"Gimme your hands" and with that Daryl grabbed her hands. "What the hell did you do" he demanded to know as he saw the bloody mess.

"What the hell do you think I did, dumbass?" he'd never heard her talk this way. Not to him, not to anyone.

"How do you think Amy got into that grave? We couldn't just leave her there... and there was no one else but Glenn, Dale and I - so we did what needed to be done... Suppose you think the RV just cleans itself also?", she snapped. Then she went back to pouring water on her hands, trying to ignore him.

Daryl grabbed the bottled water from her and the cotton bandages as he took over the task.

"Gimme that..." she reached for the bottle, but then Daryl began pouring the water on her hands - slowly, tenderly, cleaning each hand. She stared up into his face. Would she ever figure this man out? Yelling at her one instant, gently washing and bandaging her hands in the moonlight the next? He'd made his position clear - she refused to humiliate herself further by forcing her attentions where they were not wanted. But why the hell did he have to make it so hard?

He down into her confused eyes for a moment, then quickly averted his gaze back to the task. After he cleaned her hands, he gently slathered the antibiotic cream onto them - rubbing the cream delicately onto her hands, before wrapping her palms gently in bandages.

"Rick left you in charge of finding Sophia! " she complimented him, somehow sensing the fact that Rick entrusted Daryl with the responsibility of locating Sophia was something he was proud of. She'd noticed he behaved a little different since then.

"Yeah, it's just cause I know the woods", he tried to minimize it.

"It's more than that", Lylah insisted, not letting him make light of it.

He paused for a moment. It felt good to hear her say these things. The fact that Rick had placed him in charge rather than Shane - he couldn't explain it, but all if a sudden he found himself questioning a lifetime of Merle'isms. But it also made him uncomfortable, he wasn't sure what to do - how to act when she looked at him like that, so he just said "Whatever"

"Ya need to be more careful" he scolded her - still upset over what she'd done to her hands.

"What should I have done Daryl? Sat on my behind? Waited for someone else do it? If you recall, everyone was pretty busy today?" now she was getting irritated again, as exhaustion and emotional pain pushed her over the edge. It wasn't like she'd done it on purpose.

"Nah, I didn't mean that", now he didn't know what to say, "just that I hate to see your pretty hands looking like that". He just stared down at the ground trying to make sense of it all.

"I accept your apology", she simply stated, trying to set some ground rules between them.

"What apology? What I got to apologize fer? I just cleaned up yer hands fer you?" He stared at her , shocked. She confused the hell out of him.

"For being so mean to me about it. I didn't deserve it" and then she smiled up at him, her tone letting him know she was teasing him.

"Daryl?" she looked up at him as they stood so close, "Thank you... for my hands". She gently grabbed his arm to drag him back towards the RV.

'What the hell she had to go ruin her pretty hands fer?' he thought to himself as she dragged him along. 'Why didn't she just wait, we would've done it when we got back?' But if he was honest, he had to admit he was proud of her. He didn't want to speak ill of the dead, but he doubted Amy would have scrubbed a bloody RV, then dug Lylah's grave 'til her hands bled... He then sickened at the thought at anyone digging Lylah's grave.

There wasn't much room in the RV, but everyone crammed in there nonetheless, still spooked by the walker 'herd'. Lylah lay on the folded down dining table while Daryl attempted to sleep in the aisle on the floor.

Carol's weeping in the RV bedroom was incessant. Lylah couldn't imagine the pain she was going through, so couldn't blame the poor woman. She missed Sophia desperately - hated thinking about her out there alone, trying to survive, stay warm. But she knew it wasn't anything like the pain Carol was going through. Still, it was impossible to sleep listening to the mother's heartbreak.

Lylah felt Daryl stir beside her. He finally couldn't take it anymore and pulled himself up and grabbed his crossbow. "I need my clip" he told Andrea when he stood up . "I'm gonna walk the road, search for the girl". Lylah was exhausted but didn't want to let him go alone. They'd lost enough people already. She quickly grabbed her knife and shotgun and followed Daryl out of the RV.

After a couple of minutes of walking the edge of the woods, Lylah finally got the courage to ask the unthinkable, "Do you really thin k we'll find her?"

Judging by his body language, she quickly realized it was the wrong thing to say. 'Take It Back, Take It Back, Rewind' she thought to herself, but the words had already left her mouth.

"You got that look on your face, same as everybody else. What the hell's wrong with you people? We just started looking?", she hated how he lumped her in with everyone else, but let it go. "It ain't the mountains of Tibet - It's Georgia. She could be holed up in some farmhouse somewhere. People get lost, they survive, it happens ALL the time." he said with such complete confidence.

"She's only twelve you know?", why couldn't she just stop herself - but for some reason felt compelled to state the obvious.

"Hell, I was younger 'an her and I got lost Nine days in the woods eatin' berries, wipin' my ass with poison oak. My old my man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in juvie. They didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back though", she recognized pride in his voice. "I went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear... Except my ass itched something awful" he stated with a straight face as they continued along the road, shining the flashlight into the treeline.

Lylah couldn't hold back the laughter any longer; the image of Daryl wiping his ass with poison oak was perversely funny. "Sorry", she tried to contain herself, "Sorry, that is terrible." But she couldn't hold it in any longer and laughter bubbled out, Daryl actually chuckling along with her. Oh god, how could anyone treat that poor little poor like that... she ached for the little boy.

"Sophia actually has people looking for her. I call that an advantage" ... and Lylah realized she had fallen in love with Daryl; she was hopelessly sunk, terrified of what she was going to do about these feelings she had for this redneck who would never return them.

They continued searching for another hour Lylah estimated. They came up upon what looked to be an abandoned campsite - a perfect place for a little girl to hide.

Daryl led the way, while Lylah shined the flashlight. That's when they heard it. They shined their lights on a mutilated walker hanging in a tree. He had a note pinned to him, "Got Bit, Fever Hit, World Gone to Shit, Might as Well Quit".

"Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head", Daryl mocked him. "Turned himself into a big swingin' piece of bait. What a mess", he just couldn't comprehend this man's stupidity.

The stench was overwhelming and Lylah needed a minute to catch her breath. She bent over to try and gain control. She refused to puke in front of Daryl!

"Ya 'alright?" he asked, obviously concerned as he noticed her struggle.

"Just gimme a second... Can we talk about something else, I just need a minute?" she asked desperately trying to think of another topic. "How did you learn to shoot?"

"Ya gotta eat. It's the one thing these walkers and us have in common - 's'eatin". Looks like we're the closest thing this thing been to food since he turned. Look at 'im up there like a big pinata. The other geeks (using that term she hated) came and ate the flesh off his legs", the hanging walker had roused and was reaching and growling for them.

It was too much, she had thought she could hold it in but... Lylah tossed her cookies, right there in front of him - painfully wretching. "Oh god!" she moaned "Shite Daryl, I thought we were changin' the subject?' as she wiped the spittle off with her sleeve.

"That's payback for laughin' about my itchy ass", but he was obviously concerned she'd gotten sick, the way he rushed over to check on her. He really hadn't meant to take it that far.

"Let's head back", he marched back towards the RV wanting to get her back quickly, get her some water - feeling guilty.

"You're not just gonna leave him up there like that are you", Lylah asked.

"Sure I am, I ain't gonna waste an arrow - he ain't hurtin' nobody up there. He made his choice, "opted out". Daryl remembered Jenner's terminology as he headed back.

Lylah wouldn't leave it alone though. She wandered up to the 'dangler' feeling sympathy for the man that had taken his own life - felt that was his only option..

She stared at Daryl, imploring him to shoot an arrow in this guy's head.

"Shit - waste of an arrow", he grunted as he ended the walker's movements for her. "You owe me!" he insisted. After a minute Daryl told her what he wanted in return. " I wanna know about the guy... you know what 'I'm talkin' 'bout?" he told her as they marched backed to the RV. He seemed to accept she wasn't ready to tell him right now, so he didn't press it further.

Carol had finally fallen asleep when they got back, so Daryl and Lylah quietly crawled back into their spots in the RV.

"You did a real fine thing today, Dixon, looking for Sophia" she specified. "G'night" and she lightly touched his shoulder before she curled up and closed her eyes - knowing it was only a matter of time before she would have to tell him the truth.

He didn't say anything, just softly gripped her bandaged fingers; caressed them gently before letting her hand go.

How could something so simple be so hot, turn her on so much?, she wracked her brain.

When she opened her eyes a few minutes later to retrieve her hand, she glanced down at him to see him sleeping soundly.