DISCLAIMER: I do not own any part of The Walking Dead. This is for entertainment purposes only.
A/N: I need to get back on track with updating. I'm working on that the best I can. Things were a little hectic and they're about to go there again with upcoming tests and projects. But over the weekend I got to meet Norman Reedus, Michael Rooker, Chandler Riggs, Sarah Wayne Callies, Jon Bernthal, Scott Wilson, and Lew Temple. They were all such sweethearts. I also got to meet a certain somebody from off of this website, making a new best friend (PrintDust). Needless to say, it was one of the best weekends I have ever experienced.
Maggie sat on the floor between the driver and passenger seats staring down towards her feet, her knees pulled up to her chest. She couldn't sleep—her mind wouldn't rest. Carl had claimed the top bunk and seemed to be sleeping peacefully, or at least as peacefully as he could. Daryl fell asleep on the bottom bunk, Judith curled up with him. Judith was on the inside tucked between the wall and Daryl as he had his arm around her. She forced a smile at the scene displayed before her. She knew Daryl hadn't planned on falling asleep. He had told them that he was just lying down and that he'd most likely stay up for a while just to be on the safe side. But Maggie was glad he ended up passing out because he looked like he needed it.
Maggie figured she would let her mind win this one. If she got it all out of her system now, she figured it'd be better than keeping it bottled up and ignoring it.
Her dad crossed her mind and how she prepared herself for the worst when Rick cut off his leg after he got bit, how she was practically ready for him to die then. She didn't expect for him to die now, and not the way he had either. She could only hope that Beth was still alive and doing okay. She knew Beth relied on their dad more, being the youngest.
No matter how well Maggie tried to keep herself composed, she couldn't help but cry when she started to think about Glenn. She managed to stay quiet, only allowing the tears to travel down her face as she avoided any obnoxious sobs that threatened to escape. She truly loved Glenn and she couldn't picture him not making it out of that house. Surely he would have grabbed Beth and gotten out of there.
It pained her even more to think about the others—Rick, Andrea, Michonne, Carol, Tyreese. They had to have made it out okay. She couldn't picture losing anyone else. They were all family now. They had been through everything together. Maggie had her mind set that they were going to find the others eventually, that they were still alive. They had to be. Just the thought of it all made her stomach churn.
Maggie took a deep breath and let out a shaky sigh, wiping her face. She looked at Carl, Daryl, and Judith again and smiled to herself. She was thankful that they were all okay. She was the most thankful for Daryl, holding them together like glue. But she knew he needed them just as much, even though he always played the tough guy. She could see through it now. After all, she had been there with him when Merle was killed. She had seen that other side of Daryl, the vulnerable side, the side she really didn't want to think about. He still kept himself so well composed and Maggie tried to draw strength from that. Daryl had been through a lot and he was still here—so she could do it too.
Maggie tried to push it all aside as she lowered herself to the floor and curled up. There was no way she was going to crawl into bed with Daryl or Carl. She'd be just fine to sleep on the floor.
The abrupt sound of the passenger side door slamming jolted Daryl awake. He immediately noticed Maggie was missing before he looked up to see Carl peeking down from the top bunk. Judith had awakened but she stayed curled up on the bed.
Daryl jumped to his feet and threw the passenger side door open. He felt relieved to see Maggie right there, leaning against the side of the semi with her right hand, her back facing him. "You alright?"
Maggie slowly nodded her head. She was slightly doubled over and it was only obvious that she had gotten sick.
"It wasn't the Spaghetti-O's, was it?..."
Maggie turned to face Daryl now with a faint smile, "No, I just… I didn't sleep very well. I stayed up for a while thinking about things. But I'm okay."
"I didn't mean to doze off. Ya shoulda woke me up. I coulda slept on the damn floor." Daryl stepped back once Maggie started to move forward, giving her room to come back into the cab. She shut the door behind her.
"It's okay, really. Don't worry about it," Maggie replied.
Daryl grabbed a bottle of water from the backpack and handed it to her. She smiled as she took it from him and allowed herself a drink.
After everyone was fairly wide awake, Judith had picked out peaches for breakfast again. It received a slight groan from Carl and Daryl but they split what they had and made do. The plan was to scout the cars and see if there was anything worth taking.
Carl still carried the backpack with him as they split up to search. Judith stayed with Carl as Daryl and Maggie went their own separate ways. Daryl moved forward and gave himself quite a bit of distance between them. He figured if he went ahead and checked further down the road that it might prove to be a good thing, that maybe he'd see any sign of danger approaching before it could sneak up on them… Though walkers didn't exact walk straight down the road.
Daryl glanced around the few abandoned vehicles that were surrounding him and decided to check the red BMW. Luckily, there were no decayed bodies within the car as he tried the passenger side door. It was unlocked as he ducked into the automobile and managed to get on his knees on the passenger seat to search the backseat. He shifted everything around and tossed the useless items aside, sighing. Nothing they could use.
Giving up for a moment, Daryl sat back in the passenger seat and tried the glove box. He slightly grinned to himself once he realized what he had found. He grabbed the pack of Marlboros and out of curiosity checked to see how many were left. Just as he suspected by the weight of the small box, the lighter accompanied five cigarettes. It wasn't that he missed smoking by no means but he figured it would be something to help take the edge off when need be. If he was going to be stuck trying to keep everyone safe, he'd need something to calm his nerves.
Well, hell… One cigarette now wouldn't hurt.
Daryl took a cigarette from the package and set it between his lips as he gave the lighter a try. It took a few flicks before a small flame burst forth as he brought it to the tip of the cigarette and lit it. He stuffed the lighter back into the package and took a short drag. It was a little stale and strong for his liking, but at least it was something.
He got back to his feet just outside the red Beamer and shut the door, sliding the remaining cigarettes and lighter into his back pocket while still balancing the lit one on his lips. As he glanced around, he noticed the others were out of sight. He figured it wouldn't hurt to maybe just keep this a secret. He couldn't imagine Maggie giving him a lecture over smoking—the world had gone to shit years ago, what harm could a few damn cigarettes do on top of being infected?
As Daryl decided to walk a little farther forward, glancing into the cars that he passed, he could hear Judith giggle from somewhere behind him. Whether the nicotine was really helping or it was the fact that they weren't in any immediate danger, the sound of Judith's giggle brought the slightest smirk to Daryl's face. Of course she was being rather loud in order to be heard from that distance but at least they were okay. Carl must have found something entertaining to share with her.
Daryl took another drag of the cigarette before he flicked the ashes off of the end, coming to a halt. He froze at the sound of tires on pavement, the hum of a running engine belonging to that of a motor vehicle. He focused his attention towards the noise and spotted the old Ford Explorer coming to a halt just down the road towards the end of the car jam. He slightly ducked down and watched as four men exited from the SUV. Their voices were loud enough to be heard from where Daryl stood, but not loud enough to understand what they were saying to one another. It was when the four men began to walk into the graveyard of cars that Daryl cursed under his breath.
Where the hell are all these people coming from and how are they still living?
Daryl quickly dropped the lit cigarette and smashed it out with his boot. He stayed low to the ground as he made his way back towards where he left the others. He spotted Carl and Judith in no time at all, grabbing Carl by the back of his shirt and yanking him down. Carl whipped back to look just as Daryl put his finger in front of his own lips. Daryl could see the level of concern sink into Carl's mind as he stared back at him.
"Where's Maggie?" Daryl jumped right to it with no time to waste.
Carl shook his head, "I don't know. I think she went over that way." He pointed across the road and closer towards the approaching men that he was oblivious to. "She went up ahead like you did to check the cars. What'd you see?"
"Four men heading this way, most likely armed. Keep low and stay quiet. Keep an eye on your sister." Daryl took off without another word, weaving in and out of the cars in search for Maggie. He had his crossbow out and ready truly hoping that he wouldn't have to use it, though he knew better than that.
As the four men moved further into the car jam and Daryl moved towards them on the opposite side of the road, he could begin to make out what they were saying.
"You really think we should be wasting the gas to come all the way back here? They're probably dead anyway. Which means more supplies for us and less faces to feed."
"Yeah, but what if they found more supplies? You know it can never hurt to have too much."
"Greed's not the answer, my friend."
"Oh well. It might be worth coming back here."
"There wasn't much left last time. What makes you think it'll be different?"
Daryl started to panic as their voices grew louder and more audible with each closing step. Maggie was nowhere to be seen as he kept glancing over all of the abandoned vehicles. She couldn't have gotten too far and surely she could hear those men. That still didn't mean she was safe, wherever she was. As much as Daryl wanted to be pissed off at the circumstances, he couldn't get over the fear that those men would find her before he did.
No more splitting up. Fuck.