Chapter Eight
The day after Dale died marked the start of winter. Daniela's breath came out in clouds, stark against the afternoon light. She carried a box of camping gear up the front steps of the house, shivering in her borrowed jacket. Maggie was a couple inches taller so it fit awkwardly on her, but it would have to do until they did a run for clothing. A leather jacket and a hoodie would not get her through the upcoming winter.
At least Hershel was finally letting them move in into the house. They'd be living three to a room, but at least it'd be cozy. T-Dog held the screen door open for her and she gave him a small smile in thanks. The warmth from the house hit her like a wave, making her skin tingle as it chased away the chill.
"I can take those for you." Andrea said popping out of the kitchen, a smile plastered on her face. Daniela handed over the box carefully and Andrea grunted from the strain. She looked like shit, and Daniela didn't blame her. She didn't know what exactly Dale was to her… but it didn't matter.
"You put any thought into where you're gonna be sleeping?" Andrea asked. She started down the hallway to the basement.
"Glenn and Maggie offered up their room," Daniela said, following her down the stairs, "But I think I'd rather sleep outside."
Andrea smirked, "I know what you mean." She hefted the box onto a stack of others. All of their possessions packed into the gloomy basement. Daniela thought between them there'd be a little more, but in the apocalypse you learn to downsize. "Well," Andrea said turning to her, "You're welcome to take the living room with me and the boys. It'll be tight, but we'll find a way to make it work." Andrea sighed and her breath wavered, finally a crack in the façade. The smiling was more unsettling than tears would have been. Daniela wanted to say something to comfort her, but there was nothing to say.
"Thank you." she said instead and turned heel up to the first floor. An intoxicating smell wafted through the air and she followed it to the kitchen. "It that coffee?" Daniela gasped at the bubbling pot on the stove.
Lori turned around, elbow deep in sudsy water, "Help yourself." She nodded her head towards the clean dishes drying on the counter beside her.
Daniela grabbed a chipped blue mug and poured herself a steaming cup. She took a hearty gulp ignoring the way it burned on the way down and she groaned. It was real, not instant. Grief welled up in the back of her throat and she braced herself against the counter. Dale was always one of the first people she saw each day, she'd miss their morning talks. Lori watched her and Daniela pushed the feeling down and smiled.
"Look I…" Lori started and frowned, "I wanted to make sure there are no sore feelings over what happened the other night. With what happened to Dale and all, I just wanted to clear-"
"Lori," Daniela set her cup down on the counter and turned to face the older woman fully, "You were doing what you think is best for your family, I could never be mad at you for that."
Lori dropped a dish splashing soapy water down her front. "It's just that, we're all going to be in this house together, I'm afraid what might happen between Rick and-" Her voice broke on her husband's name. Daniela stepped forward and pulled her shaking form into a tight hug. Lori hugged her back, her wet hands dripping water down Daniela's back.
"Hey, if it comes down to it I'm with you a hundred percent." Daniela murmured and pulled back. "No matter what." She said giving Lori's shoulders a squeeze. Lori wiped at her eyes with the back of her wrist.
"Thank you." She said quietly. The floorboards creaked in the hallway and they broke apart. Rick walked into the kitchen and Daniela nodded at him.
"I came to tell you we're not executing Randall." Rick gave her a steady look. Daniela's shoulders sagged in relief as tension she didn't know she was carrying left her. "You're right, we are better than that."
"In that case I think I'm gonna bring him lunch. No point sparing him if he's going to starve." She said, a smile breaking out on her face.
Daniela's head felt like someone was stepping on it. A two-hundred pound someone, wearing cleats. She opened her eyes and her vision swam, someone crouched above her.
"-iela, you alright? Can you hear me?" T-Dog moved closer staring into her eyes. "looks like you might have a concussion." Daniela blinked and frowned. She shifted so she was sitting up and stabbing pain assaulted her head immediately. She touched her fingers up to her hairline and they came away with blood.
"¡Mierda!" She cursed scrambling to her feet in the open doorway of the shed. The bedding and post lay abandoned.
"Hey!" T-Dog yelled at Glenn walking down along the fence, "Go get Rick, Randall's gone." Glenn's eyes went wide and he took off. T-Dog smiled apologetically at her. She tried to shake the fog from her head and almost fell over.
"What's going on over here?" Rick jogged up, Andrea, Glenn and Hershel close behind him.
"Randall's missing." T-Dog answered.
"Missing?" Andrea asked.
Rick rubbed at his jaw, and looked at Daniela. "How? How long's he been gone?"
"I-" Daniela hesitated, "I don't know."
"She was unconscious when I got here." T-Dog nodded his head at her. Rick sighed and rested his hands on his head.
Daryl crossed the field and jumped over the fence. He looked at Daniela, the open shed and empty cuffs, then frowned. "What's goin' on?"
"It's hard to say." Andrea said, from the shed, "The cuffs are still hooked. He must' slipped 'em."
"Is that possible?" Glenn asked.
"It is if you've got nothing to lose." Andrea said.
"What's happened?" Lori called as she ran up, Victoria and the rest in tow.
Victoria's face took on a dark look, "Who did that to you?" She asked gesturing to her head.
"I got knocked out and Randall escaped. Everyone caught up?" Daniela snapped. Lori looked taken aback and she felt immediately felt guilty. Not enough to apologize though, they had more pressing matters to tend to than hurt feelings.
"So you don't remember anything before you were hit?" Rick asked getting closer to Daniela. She resisted the urge to back up against the barn wall. Getting defensive would only make her look suspicious. She didn't remember, nothing useful anyway.
"I brought him some food and told him we weren't going to kill him. I don't understand why he'd try to escape after-"
"RICK!" A voice boomed over the others. "Rick!" Shane yelled again emerging from the woods. Blood smeared down his nose, his face a mask of fury.
"What happened?" Rick called out.
"He's armed! He's got my gun!"
Daniela's hand flew to her belt. "My knife's gone too."
"Are you okay?" Andrea asked.
"I'm fine. I was on watch and saw the door open. Came across that one in the dirt," He said gesturing to Daniela, "Figured he flew the coop, I went after him but he ambushed me, clocked me then took off."
"And you just left her there?" Victoria snarled.
"Didn't think she was in any immediate danger, 'sides you ain't got a leg to stand on, she's probably the one who set him loose in the first place." Shane drawled.
Daniela's blood boiled, "You of all people shouldn't be making accusations about-"
Shane stormed over to her, "Me of all people what?" his face was inches from hers, daring her to call him out in front of everyone.
"Hey, hey, hey," Rick said placing a hand on Shane's chest to push him away. "None of that matters now. Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. That means you too Daniela. Glenn, Daryl, come with us."
"Can't we just let him go? That was the plan right?" Carol chimed in, her brows furrowed in worry.
"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun. Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!"
"I'm going with you." Victoria said, and Rick assented. She nodded to Daniela before running off into the woods.
Victoria followed Rick and Shane into the woods, the sun was starting to set and the thick canopy bathed them in darkness. Shane wasn't limping, he didn't seem hurt beyond the busted nose. She scowled at his back and the skinny Asian guy gave her a curious glance. She ignored him and focused on the task at hand, now wasn't the time to cause a scene. If that kid was really out here they needed to be on their guard.
"He was heading up that way 'fore I lost him." Shane said pointing through the trees.
"Couldn't have gotten far. He's hobbled, exhausted." Rick reasoned.
"And armed." Glenn added.
"So are we. Can you track him?" Rick looked to Daryl.
Daryl scanned the dry leaves and dirt, "No, I don't see nothin'."
"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way. We need to split up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it." Shane urged.
"Kid weighs a buck twenty-five soaking wet." Daryl said slowly, "You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?"
"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?"
"Maybe, if he wasn't already crippled." Victoria cut in, she raised her eyebrow and Shane scowled.
"Alright, knock it off." Rick ordered, "You, Daryl, and Glenn start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane'll take the left. Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other." Victoria watched Rick and Shane walk away together and she got the keen sense that was exactly what Shane wanted.
Night settled around them, and Victoria tried to shake disquiet she felt at the near silence of the woods. Places like this used to be filled with life, now it was only them. Glenn and Victoria crashed through the brush while Daryl led, silent, like a ghost. He sighed heavily, "This is pointless, you got a light?" Glenn passed over a flashlight and Victoria was temporarily blinded. "Sorry." Daryl shrugged, redirecting the beam out of her eyes to the ground. He scanned the ground, following something invisible to her.
She was beginning to lose her sense of direction when Daryl stepped over a familiar log. "We're just back to square one." Glen groaned. Great. they'd been walking in circles.
"If you're gonna do a thing, you might as well do it right." Daryl said. they followed closely behind him as she picked his way over the trail. Victoria was envious, tracking was a practical skill to have. Most of the useful skills she had that carried over were from her fiance. Which boiled down to how to shoot straight and how to change a flat tire. She wondered what Daryl was before, Andrea said his brother was a professional racist and drug-addict, but she didn't get that vibe from Daryl. Or maybe he was just smart enough to keep his racist comments to himself around brown people.
"There's two sets of tracks right here." He gestured to impressions on the ground that looked the same as everywhere else to Victoria. "Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said."
Something caught the light, "Look." Victoria pointed to the tree smeared with dark blood. She walked over and ran her hand over it. "It's fresh."
"There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem." Daryl said. Wariness crept up on Victoria, something wasn't right. A twig snapped in the woods and Glenn jumped bumping into her.
"Sorry." He said sheepishly.
They all waited for any more noise, then Daryl continued. "Yeah, there was a little dust up right here."
"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.
"I mean something went down."
"Alright this is getting weird." Glenn said.
Victoria opened her mouth to ask him if it matched Shane's story, but another branch snapped. They jumped scattering to take cover behind trees. Victoria peeked around her tree and she saw Randall, just casually strolling through the woods. Not at all looking like a man in fear of his life. As the footsteps neared Daniela braced herself. Glenn swung out from behind his tree and Randall snarled.
Victoria lunged shoving Randall's reanimated corpse away from the stunned Glenn. Unfortunately, she pushed him right into Daryl. He cursed and jumped backwards falling against a tree. She grasped at Randall's clothes to pull him off and stumbled over a root, falling and pulling Randall down with her. "Mierda!" She struggled under his weight. Daryl aimed at them but they were both moving too much for a clean shot. Glenn rushed them and wrenched Randall off her burying his machete in his head.
"Nice." Daryl said patting Glenn on the back. Victoria raised her eyebrows at him in surprise, she didn't figure he had it in him.
Daryl held out his hand and Victoria grabbed hold of it pulling herself up. Daryl walked over to the body and crouched beside it. "Got his neck broke." Daryl said moving its head around. He pulled at its clothes to examine its skin more closely. "He's got no bites."
"Yeah, none that you can see." Glenn said crouching for a better view.
"No, I'm tellin' you he died from this." Daryl pointed.
"How's that possible?" Glenn asked.
"No," Victoria said, "It makes sense. My mother was done in by a scratch."
"You sure?" Daryl asked meeting her eyes. She nodded. Glenn swallowed loudly.
"You find my sister's knife?" She asked.
"No." Daryl said rising from his crouch.
"This whole thing reeks." Victoria stood and kicked at the body. "You know I've never been able to sneak up on Daniela. Ever." Daryl raised his eyebrows. She continued, "She always heard me a mile away, knew it was me by my footsteps too."
"What are you saying?" Glenn asked.
"It wasn't a stranger who knocked her out." She said, letting the implications sink in. Daryl looked at her, the conclusion he'd already been putting together dawning on him.
He stood, "Best be gettin' back now."
Daniela looked at herself in the mirror, a dark bruise was forming in her hairline. After cleaning it up, the cut looked much smaller than before. She winced and lowered her hair, it was still tender. She walked back into the living room just as the front door swung open. Victoria, Glenn, and Daryl strolled in. "Gracias a Dios!" She breathed and brushed past Daryl and Glenn to pull her sister into a hug.
"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked.
"No." Lori answered, her face tight.
"We heard a shot." Daryl said.
"Maybe they found Randall." Lori suggested.
"We found him." Victoria said.
"Is he okay?" Daniela stepped forward unable to keep the relief out of her voice.
"He's a walker." Daryl said, glancing towards Daniela. She felt the breath go out of her as she slumped into the sofa. She stared at the worn carpet. She tried to save him from the moment she met him, and he still died. Maybe some people were just doomed.
"The thing is, Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. No, they were together." Daryl said carefully.
"Dani," Victoria said gently, "Are you sure you don't remember anything?"
Daniela sighed, "I think I remember hearing someone, maybe someone from camp?" She tried to imagine exactly how the footsteps sounded, but it was harder to tell who it was when they were sneaking.
"Is it possible it was Shane?" Victoria asked and everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably.
"I don't know," She answered honestly, it was all still fuzzy to her, "Maybe." She didn't understand why Shane would make a big stink about finding Randall when he knew he was dead. Hell, he wasn't really the sneaky type to begin with. He was more the type to shoot you in the face rather than the back.
"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori pleaded.
"You got it." Daryl nodded giving Lori's arm a reassuring squeeze.
"Are you going to be okay?" Victoria asked pausing in front of Daniela.
"Yeah don't worry about me. Be safe." She waved her off.
Glenn burst back into the room, "Walkers!" He cried, "Hundreds of them coming for the farm!"
Victoria gripped the doorway of the RV firing shots of from her pistol taking out walkers. The wheels went over an uneven patch nearly throwing her out of the door into the hands of half a dozen walkers. Jimmy slowed down and one of them grabbed a hold of the door frame.
"Keep it moving!" Victoria called to Jimmy behind the wheel of the RV. He sped up and she kicked the thing off. He pulled the RV to block the gap in the fence where the driveway was. She slammed the door shut and opened the emergency hatch to the top. She pulled herself through and took the rifle off her back. She could hear the crack of Jimmy's shotgun below. Daryl's bike roared nearby, she picked off the few walkers that followed him too closely as he pulled up.
"Yo!" He yelled to the two of them, pausing to shoot a walker coming up under the RV. "Must've been Rick or Shane who started that fire. Maybe they're trying to get out back! Why don't you circle around?"
"Got it!" she yelled back. She laid down on her stomach and grabbed the edge of the open hatch. She banged on the roof and Jimmy floored it. As they neared she could make out two figures on the top level of the barn, back-lit by the fire.
Rick yelled and waved his arms, directing Jimmy to pull up alongside the barn. The RV shook from the force of all the bodies piling against it. "Go, go!" Victoria helped Carl across the gap and he and his dad clambered down the back of the RV. Jimmy screamed and Victoria halted. She could see him being torn apart through the hatch. She aimed for his head while a walker bit down on his neck, and pulled the trigger. His body was pulled out of the RV and it rocked almost throwing her off.
She jumped off the back as Rick cleared a path for them. She pushed Carl, "Go now!" she called. Rick and Carl sprinted and Victoria did her best to ignore Carl's fearful whimpers, getting caught up in it wouldn't help them now. They ran around the back of the barn only to face another mob head on, while another on their right was quickly closing them in. The three of them weren't going to make it. "Go for the woods, now!" she commanded.
"Wait!" Rick yelled, but she started running for the smaller mob to the left. If she stopped to think, she might not carry through.
She fired her gun into the crowd, "Venga! Venga!" The walkers started taking notice going for her instead. Rick glanced back as he ran. She looked at him, urging him on. Victoria changed direction suddenly pushing one into the others behind it. She leaped through the gap it created. Every way she turned she was met by more and more of them, there was nowhere to go.
She crossed herself and prayed, "Santa María, Madre de Dios, ruega por nosotros pecadores," A walker grabbed her by the front of her jacket and she fired her gun into the underside of its chin. "Ahora y en la hora de nuestra muerte." She was only a few yard from the tree line now, shots rang out from all over the farm. They were overrun. She fired and her gun clicked uselessly. As she crossed the first tree she felt hands on her.
An image of Daniela smiling in the passenger seat beside her filled her mind. Daniela tossed her head back in laughter, the wind whipping her hair around her face; a breif moment of happiness amongst all their suffering. Then she thought of Michael, his smell overwhelming her as he wrapped her up in his arms. Then as he disappeared up the airport escalator; the last time she saw him. A lifetime ago.
She breathed out.
"Amén."
Daniela fired at the walkers encroaching on the house, the sound of all of them and the ringing in her ears blended together until it was nothing but static. She counted down her bullets. Three; in a woman, two; a man, one; a miss. She glanced towards the barn as she reloaded, the RV was stopped alongside it. A walker came up on the side of her and she kicked it back where Hershel could turn its brain to mush with his shotgun.
She looked back up and the RV was surrounded on all sides, "No!" She ran, dodging though the called after her but she pushed on. She needed to make an opening for her sister, give her a chance to get out. On the far side of the farm headlights bobbed and disappeared down the driveway away from the farm. She couldn't see anyone else after that. She focused on her breathing.
Victoria, Rick, and Carl appeared from behind the barn and ran for the tree line, and she allowed herself to change direction. They were safe for now at least. A walker lunged for her and she barely dodged it's grasping hands. All around her they snarled and grabbed for her, her heart thrummed so loudly it drowned out everything else. Or maybe the gunfire had really stopped. She vaulted over the fence into the drive way, but they were close behind her.
Her lungs screamed but the walkers at her back kept her moving. Her worn sneaker thumped against gravel and her chest screamed in pain. She looked around herself and as far as she could see were walkers. No one left. Her legs faltered. Hands grabbed the back of jacket.
She would die alone.
She heard a thwump and the walker holding her collapsed. She dared a glance back and a single headlight came speeding down the road at her. Daryl slowed just long enough for her to hop on the back of his bike. The engine roared as they raced over the gravel. Walkers flew by grabbing for them and getting left in the dust. She wrapped her arms around Daryl's middle and tears flowed down her face as she watched the home they all built together collapse.
Gracias a Dios – thank god
Venga - (in this context) come on
At the end of Victoria's scene, she's saying a shortened version of the Hail Mary prayer
"Santa Maria, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and in the hour of our death. Amen."
Next chapter is going to get into winter, to give you a glimpse of the survivors journey in between season two and three. There's also going to be a lot of relationship building between characters, so be on the lookout for that. Anyway I hope you liked it!
