Thank you for all of the readers, my lovely girls who R&R'd on this story, I love you all! For those who has added this story on your alerts, follows, favorites, etc... you are freaking amazing! I love each and everyone of you! Your happiness is what I strive for! Don't hesitate to leave me a PM or review! I will get back to you! :) Again, thank you so much! -NormanReedus.
Dreams; noun- A series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep; also, Nightmares are classified as dreams.
I backed up into the corner, and watched as the elder walker bit into Daryl. Daryl was protecting me. After the bite, I triggered an arrow in the walkers head, dropping him in place. I looked over to Daryl, tears welling in my eyes. The look in Daryl's eyes; the pain, it was the most painful thing I've ever seen. I ran over to him, holding him into my arms, crying. I kissed him, if he was going to go, I wanted to go, too.
"You have to get outta here, baby." He breathed out. I shook my head.
"I don't want to, Daryl. You got bit protecting me." I cried, kissing his head, running my hands in his hair.
"You have to kill me." He started, but I put my finger over his lips.
"No, I'd never do that. I couldn't Daryl." I said, through hot tears.
"I love you Dev. I love you so much, I will always love you." He said as tears fell off his cheek. I bit my lip as his eyes started to close.
"I love you Daryl, always and forever. I love you with every fiber of my being, I love you." I kissed him once more before he 'died'.
I sat there staring at him, why couldn't it have been me? Why Daryl? Was it really God's wrath? Is that what happens when someone protects their own? I shook my thoughts, hearing the door open. I looked behind me, and Merle stumbled in.
"Dev, you have to get outta here." He said, holding his arm, before dropping to his knees. I shook my head, as he crawled over to Daryl and I.
"No Merle, not you, too." I said, running my hand over his face. He nodded, closing his eyes.
"I love you Merle. You are the best brother in law ever." I spoke, pretty much to myself. I closed my eyes, backing up towards the wall. Heavy breathing sounded the room, I opened my eyes, and my husband and brother in law were now the walking dead.
Daryl's white cloudy eyes connected with mine, as he started inching over towards me. Merle stood up, popping his neck. I got up, grabbed the flashlight, and headed towards the door, running into the dark. I ran from the ones that I loved the most, my brother, Merle, and my husband, Daryl. I couldn't put them down. I opted to run, I'd run forever if it meant that Daryl and Merle would be 'alive'.
I ran full force through the woods, dodging every tree the best to my ability. I looked back and see the moonlight on Daryl and Merle. Not paying attention, I tripped over a rock, falling down. The flashlight flew from my hands as I fell.
The sound of snarling and gurgling was right on my. I pushed myself over, seeing the two above me. I tried to get away, but I was frozen. Inches away they became, Daryl snarled before he bit into my arm.
I shot up, breathing heavily, tears falling from my face. I wanted to think that this 'apocalypse' was a dream. For the life of me, I fought to believe that this was anything but one. Though, sadly mistaken, this wasn't a dream; it was real. Every dead son of a bitch that came back wanting fresh food, every shot wound to the head, every fight we fought, pulled me into reality.
The RV door forced open, and the face of Dale shown through. He ran over to me, and helped me up, then helped me in the booth.
"Devi, what in the world?" He asked worried about my well-being. I shook my head, and started shaking.
"I need Daryl," I cried out. "I need to know if he's okay."
Dale's fatherly instincts kicked in as he wrapped his arms around me, rubbing my back. He tried his best to calm me down, but it wasn't working. I looked up to Dale for what he did, but I needed Daryl.
"What happened, Devi?" He asked.
"Dream…nightmare… Daryl and Merle got bit. I couldn't kill them Dale," I cried looking up to him. "I couldn't kill them. They died, and came after me. I ran as far as I could… I fell and Daryl caught me."
"Oh wow, Devi. I assure you Daryl is okay. He and Andrea should be on their way back. It's already 4AM," He paused. "Why don't I make some coffee, and you can come to the top of the RV with me. I just need you to calm down."
"Okay." I whispered. I got up and walked to the RV door. I lit a cigarette and stepped outside. I walked over to the Mustang and sat on the hood. I brought my knees to my chest, resting my arms on my knee caps.
The thought of Daryl as a walker killed me; same as Merle, that's why I feared for finding him. I didn't want my dreams to become real. I wish I could turn back the hands of time, and prevent all of what happened, but I couldn't. I was only one person, plus I don't think they have time machines in the apocalypse.
"Daryl, please be alive. Please come back safely." I chanted to myself, before taking a drag of my cigarette. I sighed, leaning back on the Mustang. I watched as Carol walked out the RV and walked on top of the RV. Dale walked out with a cup of coffee. I sat up as he walked over to me. He handed the cup to me, and leaned against the Mustang.
"I had a wife before all of this." Dale started, a pang of hurt hit my heart.
"Did she…?" I wondered, he shook his head.
"No, she had cancer; that's how she died. She battled it for five years, and just gave up one day. I thought my life would never get better, but it has." He said, looking at me. I nodded to myself.
"Just knowing that she wasn't in this puts a lot to rest; I know she's safe and in heaven." Dale said, sighing aloud.
"Dale, I hate that happened to her. To you. " I muttered, looking at him. He nodded and smiled.
"I do, too, but in a sense I know she's not around this. That's why I do pity the ones that are here." He shrugged.
"I understand, Dale." I said, patting his back.
"When I see you and Daryl, I see my wife and I. I see nothing but love. I know yal had some problems in the past, I know of which yal have succumbed, but nevertheless the love is still there." Dale said nudging my shoulder. I smiled, and looked at him.
"Thank you Dale. You remind me of my father, and I will protect you as much as possible." I said with whole sincerity.
I head Carol's cries, as she got off the RV and ran inside. I looked at Dale and got off the hood. I saw a flashlight weaving through the cars. It was Daryl and Andrea. I put my coffee down, and ran to him, wrapping my arms around him tightly.
"She had a nightmare." Dale whispered to Daryl. I felt Daryl nod, as he squeezed me tighter. Dale began talking to Andrea.
"Baby, what happened?" He asked. Tears filled my eyes once again. Once he heard my cries, he took my head in his hand, thumbs running over my cheeks, wiping the tears off.
"Dream… nightmare…" I said, closing my eyes.
"Baby, baby, I'm here." He whispered, kissing my forehead.
"You and Merle were bit protecting me. You wanted me to kill you but I couldn't Daryl. I couldn't." I rambled in tears, not even taking a breath. "You and him both came back, and ran after me in the woods. I tripped and you caught me."
"Oh baby." Daryl said, kissing me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, gently squeezing. I needed this feel. I needed the closure.
"Please never leave me." I whispered, looking at him.
"I'll never leave you, baby. I promise." He said, squeezing my hips. He laid his forehead on mine.
"I love you so much, Daryl." I told him, running my fingers in his hair.
"I love you so much, Dev." He smiled, kissing me.
"If you ever go out again, please take me. I don't want to be away from you." I begged. He nodded, picking me up. I wrapped my legs around his waist, and he walked us over to RV. Dale and Andrea climbed on top of the RV, keeping watch.
Daryl walked us into the RV, setting me down at the booth. He took his crossbow off and laid it in the other seat. He found a can of Vienna Sausages and opened them up. I watched as he acted like he was sucking the sausage. I rolled my eyes and laughed. When I was sad, he always made it better.
"Baby, I'm here, okay? I'm fine." He reassured me. I nodded, pulling him to me. I hugged his stomach, feeling him inhale and exhale.
"I know you are, Daryl. And I thank God that you are." I said looking up to him. He gave me a sausage. I bit into it, missing our 'camping food'. It was always Vienna sausages, cheez-its and gatorade. I looked at saw Carol looking at Daryl, than crying. I rolled my eyes.
"You want to try to go back to sleep baby?" He asked me, giving me two more vienna's. I quickly ate them and nodded.
"Yeah, try at least." I said, getting up walking to our pallet. He laid down, pulling me on him. I slid to the side, making sure I wasn't hurting him. He held me close, pulling my chin so our lips met.
"I love you Dev." He whispered.
"I love you Dar." I whispered in reply. He turned to his side, facing me. I snuggled in his chest, listening to his heart. I ran my hand up and down his back, never going back to sleep. I couldn't, I was afraid that he would get up without me and leave.
Light snoring sounds filled my ears; I looked at Daryl in complete awe. I have missed him, I would always miss him, even if he walked away from me for only a couple of minutes. I laid awake watching him smile in his sleep. At least he was having a good dream, right?
Daylight came fast; I found myself dozing off here and there, but once the sun shone through the RV windows, I was already woke up. I nudged him awake. He smiled, pulling me on him, kissing me passionately.
"Morning baby." He whispered. I smiled, laying my lips on his.
"Morning my love." I said, biting my lip.
"How'd you sleep?" He asked, I shrugged.
"I didn't, I watched you sleep all night." I smiled.
"What a stalker." Carol sneered. I looked at her and rolled my eyes.
"Grown-ups these days, nothing but big children." I said, smiling to her. She turned away and sat on the bed.
"Want to try for the farm?" Dale asked walking in the RV. I looked at Daryl and nodded. I pushed myself up and helped Daryl up as well. We straightened our clothes, picked up our crossbows and walked outside. We rummaged through as much as we could to find something of some sort that would stick to glass or windshield.
We finally found some paint and wrote, 'Sophia Stay Here. We Will Come Every Day.', on the yellow Mustang. We left her food and drinks, just in case she did turn up. Dale and Carol got in the RV, Andrea was in the SUV, and Daryl and I both found ourselves on the motorcycle.
We began our way to the farm. Just to tease Daryl, my hands roamed his body, stopping at his crotch. My fingers danced over one of the two fabrics that separated his member and my hand. He looked back at me biting his lip. I gently squeezed him, almost causing us to wreck, thank god we were turning.
"You can't do that, baby." He yelled. I winked at him, doing it again. After a few times, he was rock hard. Being the hardheaded person I was, I kept on fucking with him, right to the time when we pulled up to the farm.
He grunted getting off the motorcycle. He grabbed me off, pulling me behind the RV. He pushed me up against it, lips attaching my neck. I moaned aloud, tugging his hair.
"You think you can play with me and make me hard, and not do anything about it?" He gritted in my neck, biting the spot. I nodded.
"Yes, oh yes!" I moaned, before his lips attached mine. He picked me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist. He started grinding against me, making me arch my back. Then, he just put me on the ground, and walked away. I ran after him, and pushed him playfully.
"Ass. That was wrong!" I gritted. He laughed and wrapped his arm around my neck, kissing my temple.
"I love you Devi Dixon." He said, looking down at me. I looked up at him and kissed him.
"I love you Daryl Dixon." I smiled.
"Pathetic. You can't even help find my child because your so into each other." I heard Carol call out. I stopped in my tracks and looked at her.
"Excuse you Grannie, who was looking for your child during the night? Andrea and Daryl. Who sat in the RV crying like a pathetic bitch she is? You. Who ran after her after she ran? Rick and I. Who sat behind crying their eyes out NOT trying to look for her daughter? You. Who went to tracking her? Daryl, Rick and me. Who didn't? You," I gritted, walking up to her. "So in ratio, who's been doing the work to finding YOUR daughter? None of it was you, so I'll let you decide."
"You're just a bitch. Daryl was better off when you weren't here." She sneered. I laughed, looking at the others before I punched her, knocking her to the ground. I squatted down looking at her.
"Baby no!" Daryl called out, grabbing me.
"Next fucking time, I'll kill you if you EVER decide to say anything about Daryl or me, or Rick, or anyone else for that matter, like we're not trying to find Sophia. We are… you're not." I breathed, "You got that?" I questioned, she nodded. I got up and retreated myself back to the bike. I grabbed my crossbow, and started my own trail in the woods. I was so angry tears fell down my face.
"Dev, wait!" I heard behind me. I stopped, and saw Andrea, T-Dog and Daryl. I wiped my eyes quickly, as Daryl ran up to me. He wrapped his arms around me. I cried in his chest. How could someone not help find their own child?
"Dev, you okay?" Andrea asked, running her fingers through my hair. I nodded in Daryl's chest, looking at her.
"I don't get her! She wants to play the fucking blame game, when we're looking for a child that ain't even ours. If Sophia was mine, if Daryl didn't know how to hunt or track or anything, I would be out here looking day in and day out looking for them! I'd be making sure that they were okay, but noo, not her!" I said crying again. "The bitch wants everyone to do her dirty work! I don't work like that!"
"Baby, calm down." Daryl said, rubbing my back.
"She had no right to say what she did." T-Dog intervened.
"I agree. What she said was out of line. Everyone but her is looking for her." Andrea said, rubbing my arm. Daryl kissed my head.
"She'll get hers baby, don't worry." Daryl whispered. I looked up at him and nodded. He leaned down and kissed me.
"I love you." He whispered.
"I love you, too." I replied, hearing leaves rustling behind up. In instinct, I turned and hoisted my crossbow up. It was Rick.
"Dev, are you alright?" He asked. I nodded.
"Are you? Is Carl? What about Lori?" I rambled. I nodded.
"I'm fine, Lori is fine, Carl is making it. He got shot." Rick said wincing at 'Shot'. I bit my lip.
"Does he need anything?" I asked. Rick shook his head.
"No, I gave him blood. Hershel had to pull the fragments out." He spoke. I nodded.
"Can I see him?" I wondered. Rick smiled and nodded.
"Of course, Devi." Rick smiled, and then sighed. "We are going to have a remembrance for Otis. He was with Shane on the run to get supplies for Carl. He didn't make it. He saved my boys' life."
I looked up at Daryl and closed my eyes. I laid my head on his chest, as he wrapped his arms around me. His heart was racing, which was unlike Daryl, but I knew why. He never liked funerals. Not since after his mama passed.
"Well, let's go and get this part over with." Andrea said, letting go of my arm. I freed myself from Daryl's arms and ran to catch up with Andrea. The guys were not even five feet behind us. They were talking amongst themselves.
"Have you ever thought about renewing yal's vows?" Andrea nudged me. I laughed, looking over at her and shook my head.
"We always said we never needed them. I would love to though… but maybe one day." I said smiling. I looked back at Daryl and smiled as he did.
"You really love him, don't you?" She wondered. I looked at her, entwining my arm with hers.
"I never stopped." I said biting my lip. She grinned and squeezed my arm.
"That's love." She said sighing, "I wish I had that."
"Aw, come on now Andrea. You will. I promise. There is a special guy for you." I said, winking at her. She smiled.
"I hope so." She winked.
Andrea and I kept quiet overhearing the guys' conversation. They, for one, were talking about our asses. I shook my head at the things they were saying.
"Yo Daryl, what kinda girl is Dev in bed?" T-Dog asked. "Is she the shy type? Is she the slow but sweet type? Is she the wild and kinky type? Or is the 'I'll do everything I haven't done before once' type?" He finished. I stopped and laughed.
"T, only a redneck can keep up." I said winking. Daryl wrapped his arm around my neck.
"She ain't shy at all. Makin love is different than fuckin. She is wild and kinky… and bits and pieces of the 'I'll try everything I haven't done once'." Daryl said kissing my head. I shook my head and rolled my eyes.
"Guys... I swear, ya can't live with them, and you can't live without them." I said dramatically, flailing my hands, making everyone laugh.
We hit the tree line, seeing the others in a distance. So much for fun talk, all of us walked in a silence. It was not fun at all. Not much of five minutes we were there at the others. Lori and Glenn gave me a hug. I looked at Carol and rolled my eyes.
"Hi, I'm Beth." A blonde haired teen smiled.
"I'm Devi-Kayah… or Devi, Dev… whatever you want to call me. It's nice to meet you." I said, hugging her, rubbing her back. "I'm sorry for your loss of Otis."
"Thank you." She replied, as we broke apart. I walked over to a crying woman, my guess would've been Otis's wife.
"I'm Devi. I'm very sorry for your loss." I said, engulfing her in a hug. She clenched onto me tightly. I just let her cry.
"I miss him. He died saving another's life." She cried, pulling away. I nodded.
"That was a hero thing to do, mam. I know it's hard, but I will be here for you anytime you need to talk and such." I said, brushing the hair out of her face.
"Thank you so much, Devi. I'm Patricia. I wish we would've met on better circumstances." She sadly smiled. I nodded.
"I do, too, Patricia." I said, kissing her cheek. I looked over and saw the brown head that was on the horse. I walked over to her and smiled.
"I'm Devi. Thank you for killing that walker." I introduced myself.
"No problem. I'm Maggie. I heard what they lady said to you. What's her problem?" She wondered. I shook my head.
"You and I can talk about that later." I smiled, winking.
"Who's that other guy with the crossbow?" She grinned.
"That, Miss Maggie, is my husband Daryl." I smiled.
"Mmhm, and the Korean beside him?" She wondered.
"That would be Glenn. He's very nice." I replied, with a laugh. She laughed as well.
"My daddy's coming. We have to do this, later we need to get together and talk." She said winking. I nodded, and walked over to Daryl. He wrapped his arms around me. We watched Otis's family place rocks up. Our group, minus Carl was surrounding the family of Otis. I wrapped my arms around Daryl's waist. I leaned up and kissed his chin. He turned his head and planted a small tender kiss on my lips.
"I love you." He whispered.
"I love you." I whispered in reply, looking at Hershel, who walked up to the mound of rocks with a cane and bible.
"Blessed be God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." Hershel started, as Jimmy, Beth's boyfriend walked to the wheelbarrow and put a rock on the mound. "Praise be to Him, for the gift of our brother Otis. For his span of years, for his abundance of character; Otis, who gave his life to save a child's, now more than ever, our most precious asset." Hershel gave a pause; I looked around, stopping on Shane, who looked guilty.
"We thank you, God, for the peace he enjoys in Your embrace. He died as he lived, in grace." Hershel spoke, looking over at Shane, pulling him out of his daydream. "Shane, will you speak for Otis?"
"I'm not good at it." Shane said, hanging his head, "I'm sorry."
"You were the last one with him. You shared his final moments." Patricia cried, "Please, I need to hear. I need to know that his death had meaning."
"Meaning." Shane breathed, "We were about done, almost out of ammo. We were down to pistols by then. I was limping it was bad, ankle all swollen up. 'We've got to save the boy.' See, that's what he said."
I looked up at Daryl and shook my head. He nodded in response. I knew something wasn't right.
"He gave me his backpack. He shoved me ahead. 'Run,' he said. He said, 'I'll take the rear. I'll cover you.'" He reminisced. "And when I looked back." He said, walking towards the wheel barrow. "If not for Otis, I'd have never made it out alive. And that goes for Carl, too." He fumbled with the rock in his hand, looking at Patricia, Beth, Hershel, Maggie, Lori and Rick.
"It was Otis. He saved us both." He said, turning back, but pausing and looked back at Patricia. "If any death ever had meaning, it was his." Shane turned and placed a rock on the mound for Otis.
I sighed looking up at Daryl, biting my lip. He held me close, kissing my forehead. I looked at Dale, and caught his eye. I shook my head, letting him know that I didn't believe Shane's story. He shook his head as well.
The group dispersed. Daryl, Dale and I stayed behind, while the others walked away. I stared at the mound of rocks.
"Baby, what you think?" Daryl asked.
"Shane's lying." I said, looking at him.
"I don't believe him either." Dale said lowly.
"His voice changed too much during his speech." Daryl collected. I nodded.
"Yeah, I was going to say that. It changed way too much, like he was needy." I said, grabbing Daryl's hand. He gave me a squeeze, and brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it.
"Devi, mind going to the RV and getting the rifles ready?" Dale wondered, I nodded to him. "I need to talk to Daryl for a minute."
"Oh yeah, sure Dale. Thank you for early this morning. I needed to be calmed down and you talked me down. I appreciate that." I said smiling to Dale.
"No problem Devi. I knew if Daryl was there and you were losing it, it'd be my ass." He said nudging Daryl. I laughed, leaning up and kissing Daryl on the cheek, as he made a face.
"I love you Daryl!" I yelled, as I began to run through the trees to the RV. I walked in and Lori was in there. I looked at her and smiled. She ran to me and threw her arms around me.
"I'm so happy that Carl is okay." I said by her ear. I felt her nod.
"Thank you so much. He's been asking about you." She said, pulling away and looking at me.
"Can I see him later?" I wondered, looking at her, she nodded. "I don't want to crowd him so much right now."
"Devi, you can see him any time you want." She smiled.
"I wish Carol would quit with all the hatred towards me. What have I done to her besides look for her own daughter?" I asked, sitting in the booth.
"Sweetie, I don't know. She's just off. And it's taunting her, because you're telling her the truth. Something she doesn't want to hear." Lori explained. I nodded to myself.
"Well, I ain't gonna butter it up. You've known me for a little bit, you know by now how I am. Hell when I first came, I slapped Daryl." I said, with a small laugh. She giggled.
"That was great. And Rick told me how you handled that Miguel kid, calling him a wetback and telling him how it really was." She threw in. I nodded.
"Yeah, you should've seen T's and Rick's face. It was like the best thing ever." I said laughing. She nodded and smiled.
"I'm glad you're here. Daryl's attitude is a lot better, and you're a big helper with our group. I appreciate everything you have done, especially connecting with Carl and Sophia like you did." She smiled.
"I love kids, Lori. I wish I had the baby, and didn't miscarry." I said, a stray tear fell out of my eye. I wiped it away quickly.
"Maybe one day, when this is all over, you and Daryl can have one." She smiled, leaning over the table hugging me.
"Thank you, Lori." I smiled.
"Yo, Dev!" I heard being yelled from outside.
"I believe Mr. Dixon is waiting for you." She said, winking. I chuckled, getting up and popping my head out of the RV door. When Daryl saw me he smiled, walking over to me. He picked me up and we walked over to the Cherokee. He sat me down on the truck. He put his arm on my legs, standing beside Shane. Andrea was at the end. Rick walked up, as did Hershel on the other side of the truck.
"How long has this girl been lost?" Hershel asked.
"This'll be day three." Rick answered. I nodded, watching Maggie walk up with a map.
"County survey map." She began, as she rolled the map out, between Rick and Andrea. "Shows terrain and elevations."
"This is perfect. We can finally get this thing organized." Rick said, looking over the map. "We'll grid the whole area, start searching in teams."
"Not you. Not today." Hershel looked at Rick. "You gave three units of blood. You wouldn't be hiking five minutes in this heat before passing out."
"And your ankle—push it now, you'll be laid up a month, no good to anybody." Hershel adverted looking at Shane.
"Guess it's just me." Daryl started. I slapped him on his arm and gave him a stern look.
"You're not going alone." I said looking at him.
"I'm gonna head back to the creek, work my way from there." Daryl said, ignoring what I just said.
"I can still be useful." Shane called, "I'll drive up to the interstate, see if Sophia wandered back."
"Alright, tomorrow then." Rick hesitated, looking at all of us. "We'll start doing this right."
"That means we can't have our people out there with just knives." Shane started, "They need the gun training we've been promising them."
"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property." Hershel piped up, "We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp."
"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here.." Shane said, but been cut off by Rick.
"Look, we're guests here." Rick stated, looking at Hershel. "This is your property, and we will respect that."
Rick took out his gun and laid it on the hood of the Cherokee, followed by a livid Shane.
"First things first; set camp, find Sophia." Rick said.
"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to." Shane said, propping up on the hood. "What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that."
I looked at Daryl and rolled my eyes. He rubbed my leg, but I pushed his hand off. He pissed me off. He wasn't going alone.
"You do what has to be done." Rick said, hanging his head.
"And her mother? What do you tell her?" Maggie asked, looking at Rick.
"The truth." Andrea and I said in unison.
"I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout." Shane said, looking at Hershel. "Dale's got experience."
"Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Rick said looking at Hershel. Hershel nodded, and looked at me.
"Thank you." Rick said. I moved Daryl out the way, and slid off the hood. I started walking away from the Cherokee. Carol looked at me and sneered. I rolled my eyes, wiping the tears away from my face. I found a lonely oak tree, on the other side of the Greene house and propped up against it.
"Stupid." I said to myself. I heard Daryl walk up behind me.
"Dev, what's wrong baby?" Daryl asked, walking to my front. I bit my lip and closed my eyes.
"Nothing, Daryl. Don't worry about it." I gritted, wiping the tears that fell.
"No, tell me." He said, bringing his hands to my face.
"I don't want you going alone! You fucking ignored me back there!" I yelled, tears freely flowing.
"Baby, I don't want you to get hurt. You hardly slept last night." He tried to reason. I shook my head.
"No, don't try that with me. I want to make sure you're safe, Daryl. Do you understand me?" I asked, removing his hands from my face.
"Yes, but I don't want you hurt, baby!" He retorted. I rolled my eyes, turning away from him. I began to walk away, but I stopped and looked at him.
"The only way I'll be hurt is that if you get hurt and never come back to me." I cried, turning back and beginning my walk.
"Devi." He called, I shook my head and walked away quickly.
"Baby, stop!" He yelled. I turned around and looked at him.
"What?" I asked, as he got in my face.
"You shouldn't have to go! You don't even like Carol!" He gritted out. Rick caught my eye.
"This ain't got any fucking thing to do with Carol! This is about Sophia!" I yelled, slapping him. Rick ran over and got between us.
"I want to find her! I do! I don't give a fuck about Carol! This is about Sophia, not Carol! I'm being more of a fucking mama to Sophia than Carol is because she won't even fucking look for her own daughter! Sophia's not even mine and I'm bound and fucking determined to find her." I spat, turning away.
"Don't fucking walk away from me!" Daryl yelled, pulling me back.
"Daryl stop it!" Rick yelled to Daryl.
"Carol may have given up hope, but I haven't." I gritted, turning away and walking towards the RV. I grabbed my crossbow, and walked out into the field, into the pine thicket. I walked all the way till I found the creek.
I heard a snarl behind me, I turned around and hoisted my crossbow up, shooting the walker that had come up on me. I walked over and snatched the arrow out of his eye, wiping it on my pants. I squatted down, getting my crossbow ready. I stood up and walked the creek.
"Sophia!" I yelled out, but nothing. I looked in the creek and found a small shoe that belonged to a little girl… Sophia. I walked a ways, coming up on a small piece of land that a house sat on. I walked up to the house, crossbow ready.
"Sophia?" I asked, climbing the steps of the house, walking into it. I looked around and saw signs of somebody being there recently.
"Sophia?" I wondered, walking up the stairs of the house to the top level. I looked around in the two bedrooms, but nothing. I walked back down and heard a shuffled sound. I quietly walked down the stairs, crossbow ready to fire.
"Sophia!" I heard a familiar voice call. Daryl. The stairs creaked under me, and Daryl aimed his crossbow to me.
"Dev." He asked, walking quickly to me. He threw his arms around me, hugging me tightly.
"I'm sorry." He whispered. I nodded, pulling away.
"I walked up the creek… I killed a walker, and found something of Sophia's." I said, showing him the shoe. He smiled and kissed me.
"I love you, Devi." He said.
"I love you, Daryl." I said, kissing him once more. I stepped foot on the floor, and motioned for Daryl to follow me. We walked outside, and saw nothing. Something caught my eye. Cherokee Roses. I smiled, looking back at Daryl, and then walking over to the roses. I picked them both. I turned and looked at Daryl holding them.
"One for Merle, on for Sophia." I whispered, looking at him. He nodded, taking the roses from me.
"When we get back, tell Carol the story that my granddaddy told you." I said, looking away. "Do you remember?"
"Yes, it's something that I'll never forget, Dev." He said, smiling softly. I nodded.
"Okay. You can relay the message to Carol then." I said, walking my way back through the woods. The wind started blowing around us. The rustling of the Georgia Pines were like songs to my ears. I started singing an old hymn, one that my grandmother always loved to sing, 'Fly Away'.
"Some bright morning when this life is over, I'll fly away. To that home on God's celestial shore,
I'll fly away. I'll fly away, oh glory, I'll fly away, in the morning, when I die hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away." I sang out loud.
"Devi, watch out!" I head Daryl yell. The rattles bound my ears, a pain shot up through my leg. I looked down and saw a rattle snake. I started hyperventilating, trying to catch my breath.
"Daryl… Daryl." I yelled, falling down, my leg on fire. He ran to my aide, killing the rattle snake quickly. He pushed my jean leg up, looking at my leg.
"It hurts, Daryl." I cried, shaking. I started coughing. He took my leg in his mouth, sucking as much poison as he could out.
"Ahh!" I grunted, feeling my body become numb.
"I love you, Daryl." I whispered, slowly.
"No, no, baby, stay awake!" He yelled, holding my head.
"I'm sleepy, Daryl." I slurred. He shook his head and began to cry.
"No! No! Devi, please! Stay awake for me! Please! I need you!" He cried, holding me closely, than picking me up.
"I can't Daryl." I whispered, coming in and out of consciousness. Everything in my body hurt. I closed my eyes, feeling the overpowerment of the venom that Daryl didn't get to get. Slipping into a black abyss, was all I could do.