Honestly I'm so greatful for the support you guys have been giving me, it makes my day. Well after leaving you guys on a cliffhanger I should apologise but if it keeps you on your toes then so be it! I hope you guys like Ashley Maria Greene, she is 21, inbetween Maggie and Beth. I should stop rambling. Enjoy the chapter! Disclaimer I don't own any of The Walking Dead just my Ocs.
Daryl's Pov
"We'll lose the light before too long." I pause and look at everyone. "I think we should call it. Let's head back." I announce to them and they al nod and look solemn.
"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asks us.
"Yeah, we'll find them tomorrow." Lori assures the woman.
We walk the direction back to the highway. God, I hope Emma is ok. Who knows what is happening to her right now. She will be ok. She grew up in Fairburn.
I know it is hard for Carol but it is hard for everyone one of us, they're family.
Emma's Pov
We walk and the sun starts to set. The sky turning a slight orange. I sure hope we get near the highway soon.
"I'm tired." Jamie complains to me.
I kneel down and touch the group's footprints we have been following for the past few hours since the church. They came through not long ago.
"Hop on." I tell him and hold out my arms ready for him.
He jumps on my back and wraps his legs around me and holds onto my shoulders.
"The group came through a couple of hours ago. We should get to the highway in the middle of the night." I tell them.
"But you said it is too dangerous to travel through the dark." Sophia points out to me. Touché.
"I did, but the group that are heading this way is ours. They are heading back to the highway. With this amount of sets, two people stayed behind at the RV. I should guess that is Dale and some other person." I point out to them.
"How do you know that?" Jamie asks me.
"Dale will never abandon that RV." I point out and Sophia giggles.
"Yeah, I know who else is going to be on the search." Sophia says cheekily with a grin.
"Who?" I look to her for a moment before carrying on walking.
"My mom, Carl, Rick, Glenn." She pauses and I look to her for her to continue. "And Daryl."
"Daryl?" I question her when I feel my cheeks get slightly warm. I mentally curse myself.
Her grin gets wider. "He likes you, a lot. Me and Carl both think he loves you."
"He doesn't like me. Not in that way anyway." I admit under my breath. I forgot Jamie was there until he spoke.
"You like him, don't you?" Jamie asks me. I curse myself again.
"Yeah." I mumble and I know the kids hear it because they both giggle.
Ashley's Pov
We walk out of the house to watch Otis and Shane leave to go to the high school for the medical supplies for Carl.
"Just get what you need and get out of there." Rick orders him. He nods.
"You stay strong, all right?" Shane looks to Rick and they nod. They give each other a quick hug before Shane gets in the truck.
Rick hands Otis his gun. A python.
"That's a fine weapon, Rick. I'll bring it back in good shape." Otis promises him before going into the drivers seat.
They wait for a few moments before driving off.
My dad looks to Rick. "Let's check on your boy."
He walks in the house and Rick follows. I look down the road once more before following. I hope that they will be ok.
Daryl's Pov
"How much farther?" Carol asks me from the back.
"Not much... Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies." I tell them.
"Too bad we're not crows." Andrea mutters loudly so she knows I can hear her. God, I'm hating her damn attitude. Just because her sister died doesn't mean she is different. Everyone has lost someone in all types of ways. My idiotic brother who cut his hand off, stole our truck and left the city.
It was quiet for a few moments when we hear Andrea screaming. We took off towards the screams and when we get there, we see a woman on a horse.
"Lori? Lori Grimes?" The woman asks Andrea who is on the floor.
"I'm Lori." Lori introduces to the woman taking a step forward towards her.
"Rick sent me. You've got to come now." The woman orders.
"What?" She asks the woman in confusion.
"There's been an accident, Carl's been shot." She tells her and we all look at the woman in shock. "He's still alive but you've gotta come now." She looks at a shock Lori. "Rick needs you, just come!"
Lori drops out of her daze and drops her bag to the ground and hops on the horse with the woman's assistance.
I step in. "Whoa... whoa... whoa! We don't know this girl. You can't get on that horse." I try to tell Lori but she doesn't listen. Damn it Queen bee.
"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl?" The woman looks at Glenn.
"Uh-huh." He just nods at her. Glenn ran out of words. He likes her, Glenn now is not the time to drool over a woman.
"Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox. Name's Greene. Hi-yah!" She gallops off with Lori.
The hell just happened?
I see the walker get up with wheezing noises.
"Shut up." I mutter before shooting an arrow into its head.
Glenn's Pov
After informing Dale what happened he stood there in shock.
"Shot? What do ya mean shot?" Dale exclaims.
"I don't know Dale. I wasn't there. All I know is this chick rode out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." I explain to him. That girl is beautiful. She looked like she was a part of a video game.
Dale turns his attention on Daryl. "You let her?"
"Climb down out of my asshole, man. Rick sent her. She knew Lori's name and Carl's." He mutters before walking off. He loves Emma but he is too scared to admit it. It is painful to watch them both hang around and avoid their feelings and not say anything to each other.
"I heard screams, was that you?" Dale turns his attention on Andrea who just ignores him.
"She got attacked by a walker. It was a close call." I inform him, speaking for Andrea who is being slightly rude to Dale.
"Andrea, are you alright?" Dale asks her, concern laced in his voice.
She glares at him at the door way of the RV and slams it shut.
God, can she grow up? He saved her life. Even though it was her call... she shouldn't take her anger out on him. I look to Dale who sighs in frustration.
Rick's Pov
"This place is beautiful." I mutter to Hershel. We were on the porch looking at the land. It was peaceful. Like the apocalypse never happened at all. I wish it didn't in some ways. But if it didn't, me and Lori would've divorced. She was falling out of love. Plus, I wouldn't have met my new family.
"Been in my family for 160 years." Hershel admits to me.
"I can't believe how serene it is. How untouched... You're lucky." I point out to him. These people are lucky that the new world hasn't got here... yet.
"We weren't completely unscathed. We lost friends, neighbours. The epidemic took my wife, my stepson. Melanie can't find her daughter in this world." Hershel explains. Never mind then.
"I'm sorry." I apologise to him. How am I gonna tell Melanie that her daughter, Emma, is lost in the woods? Or alive at all?
"My daughters were spared. I'm grateful to God for that. These people here, all we've got left is each other. Just hoping we can ride it out in peace till there's a cure." Hershel vocalizes.
"We were at the CDC... It's- it's gone now. There is no cure." I tell the older man. I regret doing this, making someone lose hope. It doesn't feel right.
"I don't believe it. When aids came along, everyone panicked. One boy in town came down with it, and some parents pulled their children from school,so they didn't have to sit in the same room." Hershel looks to me.
"This is a whole other thing." I try to tell him but he doesn't listen.
"That's what we always say, 'this one's different."
"Well it is different." I mutter to him.
"Mankind's been fightin' plagues from the start. We get our behinds kicked for a while, then, we bounce back. It's nature correcting herself, restoring some balance." Hershel finishes his speech.
"I wish I could believe that." I admit to him and he nods. God, this man is wise.
We see a horse in the distance. Maggie is back. With Lori. I take a deep breath and walk down. She hops off the horse and goes to me.
"I'm sorry." I tell her and she shakes her head. Telling me there is no need to apologise.
We walk in the house and I see Ashley reading a book. A medical book, she looks up and sees Lori.
I walk her into the room where they are taking care of Carl. Lori gasps.
"My baby boy." She kneels down beside him. "Baby boy." She stroke his hair and I lean against the bed and put my hand on my wife's leg to comfort her. "It's ok. Mama's here. Mama's here. You're gonna be ok. You're gonna be ok." She repeats. "We're gonna make you ok."
Ashley's Pov
I see Rick's wife, who must be Lori help Rick out of the room.
"Slow... slow." She tells him. "How many transfusions?"
"Two... only two." Rick informs her and she sighs in frustration.
"You know he wanted to do the same for you when you were in the hospital. I had to talk him out of it." Lori admits to him.
My father walks out of the kitchen with a glass of orange juice and hands it to him.
"Thank you." Rick says to him.
I walk over and stand next to my dad.
Lori looks to us "Ok, so I understand, when Shane gets back with this other man -
I interrupt her. "Otis."
"Otis." She repeats. I nod my head at her. "The idiot who shot my son."
"Ma'am, it was an accident." My dad tries to calm her down. Never tell a woman to calm down.
"I'll take that under advisement later. For now, he's the idiot who shot our son." Rick's wife says pointing between them both.
"Lori, they're doing everything they can to make it right." Rick calms her down.
She nods and looks at my dad. "Ok, as soon as they get back you can perform this surgery?"
"I'll certainly do my best." He points out. I guess he doesn't want them to get their hopes up too high. He is a vet after all, but they don't know that... yet.
"Ok... I mean, you've done this procedure before?" She questions him. Here comes the kick in the gut.
"Well, yes, in a sense."
"In a sense?" She snaps, obviously getting stressed out with my dad.
"Honey, we don't have the luxury of shopping for a surgeon." Rick looks to his wife.
"No, I understand that. But, I mean, you're a doctor, right?" She looks to him with pleading eyes.
"Yes, ma'am. Of course. A vet." He answers Lori.
"A veteran. A combat medic?" She asks him.
"A veterinarian." He informs them and they look at him in shock.
"And you've done this surgery before on what? Cows... pigs?" She looks to him with a slight glare.
I look to Rick and he starts to sway. "I... I have... I have to sit." He spits out falling onto the chair and tipping the orange juice out.
We quickly go out qnd I take the glass. Lori and Hershel go to Rick to help him sit up properly.
She looks to my dad. "You are completely in over your head, aren't you?"
"Aren't we all?" He questions her and she sighs.
"That's why I'm here." Melanie steps in. Lori looks to her with narrowed eyes.
"I'm a retired doctor. I use to work in Fairburn hospital. I have done this surgery before." She says and both Lori and Rick look at her with a slight bit of hope in their eyes. "It is risky as Hershel explained to you. But, it is a lot more dangerous without the equipment or in a hospital. So, i'll try. We'll try." Melanie points between herself and Hershel.
They look to her and nod. Thank God Melanie is here.
Daryl's Pov
"We can't just leave." Carol tell us in tears.
"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak." Dale explains to the distraught woman.
"What if they come back and we're not here?" Carol asks us.
"It could happen." Glenn points out.
"If Sophia and Emma found their way back and we were gone, that would be awful." Andrea huffs out.
"Ok. We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow morning is soon enough to pull up skates. Give us a chance to rig a big sign, leave them some supplies. I'll hold her tonight, stay with the RV." I tell them amd Carol nods at me appreciately.
"If the RV is stayin', I am too." Dale offers.
"Thank you. Thank you both." Carol smiles.
"I'm in." Andrea offers with a raise of her hand.
Glenn starts "Well, if you're all staying then I'm -
Dale interrupts him. "Not you, Glenn. You're going. Take... take Carol's cherokee."
"Me? Why is it always me?" Glenn exclaims, clearly fed up of being picked on for everything. I feel sorry for the pizza delievery boy.
"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people and see what's going on." Dale points to T. "But most important, you have to get T-Dog there. This is not an option. That cut has gone from bad to worse. He has a very serious blood infection. Get him to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics. Because if not, T-Dog will die, no joke." Dale reasons with Glenn.
I go into Merle's motorcycle and found his stash. I took Dale's oily rag off of it. I threw the rag at Dale who caught it easily "Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle. Why'd you wait till now to say anything? Got my brother's stash. Crystal X... don't need that. Got some kick ass painkillers." I say and throw the bottle at Dale. "Doxycycline. Not the generic stuff neither. It's first class." I throw the bottle to Glenn who caught it. "Merle got the clap on occasion" I admit to them and their faces scrunch up in disgust.
Emma's the kids Pov
I have to keep adjusting Jamie because I have been carrying him for hours now.
"I have to stop." I huff out, I'm out of breath since I'm carrying the supplies and Jamie. I set Jamie down who woke up.
"Did I fall asleep?" Jamie looks to me with tiredness in his eyes.
"Yeah, you did. We'll stop for 10. We need some rest." I inform them and they lean against me to sleep.
'God, I hope you're listening. I know I'm not religious but right now I need to do this. I have two kids with me. Sophia is 12 and Jamie is 8. I hope you watch over us. Carol needs her daughter. Jamie needs to live for David. I need Daryl. I finally can admit it to myself, I love Daryl. I know I basically just met him but it feels right being around him. I hope he feels the same way. Watch over the group too will you? I need them. We need to find them. Watch over my mom too, I'm not sure if she is alive right now but if she is... look after her. I know I won't see her. There is a slim chance that I will. Look after my best friend Maggie and her family. I don't know if they are alive, but, look after them. They helped me when they didn't need to. Look after them all. Please.'
I nudge the kids awake.
"Come on. We're almost there." I tell them and they nod. This time Jamie is walking.
Daryl's Pov
I hear Andrea putting ammo in clips and Carol sobbing from the back of the RV. My God, I'm gonna go insane.
I stand up and walk over to Andrea. "I need my clip now."
She looks to me for an explanation.
"I'm gonna walk the road, look for the girl and Emma." I inform her. She nods and hands me my clip. Before I leave the RV she speaks up.
"I'm coming too."
I nod and walk out with her. I look up to Dale who is on top of the vehicle, keeping a look out.
"I'm going for a walk. Shine some light in the forest. If they're out there, it'll give them something to look at." I tell him.
He looks to Andrea, then me again. "You think that's a good idea right now?"
"Dale." She warns before walking off. I follow her.
We walk for a while in silence. The only person I can start an actual conversation with is Emma. She doesn't make it awkward, not like everyone else.
"You really think we're gonna find Sophia and Emma?" Andrea speaks to me.
I lift up the flashlight so I could see her facial expression. There is one. Doubt. If it was someone else out there and not Emma. She wouldn't give up until she found her.
"You got that look on your face... same as everybody else. What the hell's wrong with you people? We just started looking." I point out to her.
"Well, do you?" Andrea pushes me for information.
"It ain't the mountains of Tibet. It's Georgia. Emma knows the area well. They could be holed up in a farmhouse somewhere. People get lost and they survive. It happens all the time." I inform the blonde.
"She's only 12. Plus if Emma knows the area, then why hasn't she shown up yet?" She looks to me with her eyebrows raised.
"She probably has found a safe route to travel. Hell, I was younger than Sophia and I got lost. Nine days in the woods eating berries, wiping my ass with poison oak." I tell her.
"They found you?" She questions me.
"My old man was off on a bender with some waitress. Merle was doing another stint in juvie. Didn't even know I was gone. I made my way back though. Went straight into the kitchen and made myself a sandwich. No worse for wear. Except my ass itched something awful." I admit and Andrea laughs. Bitch.
I glare at her and she stops. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, that is a terrible story."
We both laugh.
"Only difference is Sophia has someone with her and they've got people looking for them. I call that an advantage" I mutter to her and she nods.
"You like her don't you?" She looks to me.
"Like who?" I act dumb, knowing exactly who she's on about.
"Carol." She answers sarcastically. "No, Emma you dumbass." She snaps and I raise my eyebrows at her. "Sorry for the attitude. But, you like Emma. She likes you."
"She doesn't like me." I murmur and she scoffs.
"Please, I seen you guys at the CDC."
"Does everyone know about that?" I ask her.
"Yeah. She kissed you infront of everybody." She points out.
"Didn't know anybody was watching." I mumble.
Melanie's Pov
We were sitting in Carl's room waiting. Me, Hershel and Ashley at the other side of the room and Carl's parents next to the bed. We were here in case anything happens.
We hear Carl cough and we all rush to the bed.
"Where are we?" He asks looking frightened.
"Hey, little man." Rick says to him, he points to us. "That's Hershel, Ashley and Melanie. We're in their house. You had an accident. Alright?"
"It hurts... a lot." He wheezes.
"Oh baby, I know. I know." Lori comforts the boy.
"You should have seen it." He looks to his mom.
I lean closer, interested in what he has to say. Ashley does the same.
"What?" Lori looks confused on why he was happy, especially after getting shot.
"The deer." He breathes out. "It was so pretry, mom. It was so close. I've never been...
He stops talking and just lays there.
"Carl?" Lori looks at him with wide eyes.
His body starts to shake. I look to Ashley seeing her cover her mouth and sob.
"Ashley out. Now." I order her and she nods frantically and runs out. Hershel takes the pillow away and removes the blanket.
"What is happening?" Rick asks us both.
Lori tries to hold him.
"Don't. It's a seizure." I warn her and she looks to me with a glare. She was about to snap at me but Hershel steps in.
"If you hold him down, you could hurt him."
"You can't stop it?" She asks in a high pitched voice and in tears.
"He has to just go through it." Hershel tells them and they nod.
Lori sobs and Rick brings her into his arms to comfort her or himself, I'm not sure.
Carl's seizure stops. Hershel immediately goes to him. He shines a light into his eye.
"His brain isn't getting enough blood. His pressure is bottoming. He needs another transfusion." Hershel tells them.
"Ok, I'm ready." Rick tells him and sits down in the chair ready.
"If I take any more blood out of you, your body could shut down. You could go into a coma. Or cardiac arrest." He informs them.
"Dad, you're wasting time. Take my blood." Ashley orders him.
Hershel looks to her. "Ash, no."
"Yes. He's A positive, right?" Ash looks to Rick and Lori and they both nod. "I'm A positive too. I can save him."
Daryl's Pov
Me and Andrea hear rustling coming from up the tree.
"What the hell?" I mutter and shine the torch up it to see a walker dead, hanging from the tree.
Andrea gags. I shine the light to a note, hammered into the tree.
" 'Got bit. Fever hit. World gone to shit. Might as well quit.' Dumbass didn't know enough to shoot himself in the head. Turned himself into a big swinging piece of bait. And a mess." I announce and hear Andrea groan. I turn around and see her bent over with her hands on her knees. "You alright?" I ask her. Even though I know she ain't.
She nods. "Trying not to puke."
"Go ahead if you gotta." I mutter to her.
"No, I'm fine. Let's just talk about something else for a minute. How'd you learn to shoot?" She asks me but I ignore the question and carry on about the walker.
"Gotta eat. That's the one thing these walkers and us have in common. I guess it's the closest he's been to food since he turned. Hanging up there like a big pinata." I inform the blonde. "The other geeks came and ate all the flesh off his legs."
I hear Andrea vomit and cough. Payback.
"I thought we were changing the subject." She looks to me.
"Call that payback for laughing about my itchy ass." I inform her.
"That was the laugh that came up." She admits.
"Huh. Let's head back." I mutter and start to walk.
"Aren't you gonna..." Andrea points to the walker pinata.
I shake my head. "No. He ain't hurting nobody. Ain't gonna waste an arow either. He made his choice. Opted out. Let him hang." I look to her. "You want to live now or not?" She glares at me. "It's just a question." I surrender myself.
"An answer for an arrow. Fair?" She looks to me and I nod. "I don't know if I want to live or if I have to or if it's just a habit."
"Not much of an answer." I mutter and shoot it in the head. "Waste of an arrow."
I turn and walk away, we hear a twig snap behind us and I turn and aim my crossbow at the direction of the noise. I see a figure come out with two little figures on either side.
"Show ya'self." I order them.
"Daryl?" A familiar voice comes out from the person in front of me. I shine my light at the face slightly and see one of the people we've been looking for. Emma. I shine the light at the other figures and see Sophia and a little boy I didn't recognise but I didn't care. I only had eyes for one person and that was Emma. She is ok.
I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Emma and Daryl are finally reunited. Yay! Obviously Sophia is alive so a lot of things in this season are not gonna happen but I'll make it work. Another cliffhanger. I feel horrible but oh well. Please review! I love reading them!