The search team walked for hours of miles upon miles covering ground on the other side of the creek bed. Harli continuingly looked back to see Lori staring over her shoulder, worried by the gun shot that echoed an hour prior. Harli had wondered herself what the gunshot was about and whether or not it was associated with Rick, Shane, and Carl.
Finally, Lori stopped and stared out into the abyss of trees once again as if looking for something. Harli took notice and stopped next to her, "Still worried about the shot?" Lori sighed and nodded softly,
"Yeah… it was a gunshot…"
"We all heard it." Daryl called and came to a stop upon hearing the two women speaking. Lori continued to look through the trees as if to find her husband and son walking through the bushes towards them. She finally looked back at Daryl,
"Why one? Why just one gunshot?"
"Maybe they took down a Walker." Daryl shrugged his shoulders and offered a solution. Lori shook her head,
"Don't you patronize me we all know Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to take down one Walker... or Shane. They'd do it quietly."
"Shouldn't have they caught up with us by now?" Carol asked while taking a sharp breath. Taking command of the position Shane left him to, Daryl shook his head and walked up,
"Nothin' we can do about it anyway. Can't be runnin' round these woods chasin' echoes."
"So what do we do?" Harli asked with the shake of her head and Daryl stared over her, then back to the rest of the group,
"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sophia and work our way back to the highway."
"I'm sure they'll hook up with us back at the RV." Andrea reassured to Lori and Carol. Lori took one last look out into the woods and turned, her feet stepping across the crunchy ground to pursue on. Harli nodded at her and she followed in her wake. The feeling was mutual as they turned to Andrea and Carol exchanging words with one another. Andrea knew how Carol felt and she could understand that because of her loss of Amy. Carol's eyes began to water as she looked up at Harli and Lori,
"The thought of her, out here by herself. It's the not knowing that's killing me… I keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy." Her voice cracked as she shrugged her shoulders, shaking her head. Harli walked up to comfort Carol, but then Carol realized what she had said about Amy and apologized quickly to Andrea. She shrugged it off,
"It's okay. We're all hoping and praying with you. For what it's worth," Harli turned to Daryl walking up to the women,
"I'll tell you what it's worth, not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin'. We're gonna locate that little girl, and she's gonna be just fine." He looked back and forth from Harli, to Andrea, and then to Carol. He scoffed and shook his head, "Am I the only one who's Zen around here? Good Lord." Daryl walked off after Glenn, who quietly began to continue his way back to the highway. Lori looked back at them with a smile and Harli couldn't help but laugh to herself while Andrea and Carol held puzzled looks on their faces.
"Come on, we should keep looking. Got a lot of ground to cover." Harli put her hand on Carol's back, gently pushing her along with them. Carol nodded with a reassuring smile and they pressed on.
o.o
"We're gonna be losin' light here before too long." Daryl stated as the group stopped once again to take a much needed breather. Harli looked around the trees and saw nothing but green brush and fallen logs,
"We have a lot to cover, what do we do?"
"Let's head back." Lori stated with a sigh and Carol looked over at her,
"Pick it up again tomorrow?"
"Yeah, we'll find her tomorrow." Lori smiled and they all turned upon hearing Daryl whistling at them to get moving. He waved his hand at them to follow and they were quick to heed his movements and press on down his trail. Harli walked up next to Glenn,
"You alright Glenn? You haven't said a word since we've left the church." Glenn looked up at her briefly, then back down to the ground as he walked,
"Just tired." Harli knew he was lying just by the tone of his voice. She reached her hand into her backpack and offered him a water,
"You thirsty?" He shook his head in refusal and didn't say a word back in reply to her. Harli sighed and jumped over a log, catching up to Daryl's side as he lead the group,
"What's Chinaman's deal?" He asked while stealing a look at Glenn over his shoulder, Harli shrugging her shoulders with the shake of her head,
"I don't know. He won't tell me." She mimicked Daryl's movements and took a look back at Glenn over her own shoulder, seeing that he had slowed his pace somewhat. She looked back over at Daryl, "Probably all shaken up by the church deal. Maybe he's thinking we're not gonna find her." She said, staring out at the trees around her as if trying to catch some type of movement. She heard Daryl scoff,
"If he wants a swift boot the face then he shouldn't be thinkin' bout it. We're gonna find that little girl." Harli smiled once she looked into Daryl's determined face,
"I know, you've only said it a million times."
"Wouldn't say it so much if people would stop bein' clueless and have some damn confidence round here."
"Yeah I know…" Harli said, looking briefly at everyone over her shoulder. Daryl looked down at her, his eyes soft,
"Do you doubt that we'll ever find her?" Harli looked up at his deep blue eyes and contemplated on the question. She smirked and looked down, avoiding a large rock in her way,
"With you as leader, I damn well believe that we'll find Sophia." Daryl couldn't help but smile smugly to himself,
"Didn't expect to hear that come from your mouth."
"How much further?" He heard Lori call back behind him. Daryl broke his gaze from Harli and looked up around him, scanning his surroundings and trying to determine the proper distance they had before they reached the highway,
"Not much… another hundred yards, maybe. As the crow flies…"
"Too bad we're not crows…" Andrea mumbled out of sheer exhaustion more to herself than the others around her. Harli fixed the shoulder strap on her backpack and looked up at Daryl,
"Hey, can you teach me how to shoot that bow I found? I've never shot one before."
"Find any arrows for it?"
"…No…"
"Then you're shit out of luck as of now." Daryl said bluntly and Harli pouted while looking at him,
"But you have arrows. You can't teach me with them?"
"Don't want you to lose any if you miss the target. I only have two or three left. Their bolts anyways... too short for that bow of yours." Daryl looked down at her and she grew slightly irritated, avoiding his blue eyed gaze. He took notice and bit at his lip; he didn't want to disappoint her, "Tell you what, I'll teach you how to make your own arrows and you can go apeshit with that bow all you want." Harli smiled and looked up to him, but everything went to dust as they heard loud screaming. Everyone stopped and turned around, trying to pinpoint the location as it, once again, echoed through the trees. Harli then noticed that Andrea was missing,
"Andrea!?" They took off running after Daryl once he figured out where she had gone. Her screaming had continued and the group quickened their pace as much as their legs would let them. Her screaming then disappeared and the faulty rescue team stopped, staring in awe at Andrea's savior. A woman sat atop a large horse, a bat clasped tightly in her hand,
"Lori!? Lori Grimes!?" The woman called desperately, her green eyes darting back and forth from one strange face to the next,
"I'm Lori." Lori walked up, staring at the woman and wondering how exactly she knew her name. The woman shoved the baseball bat back in the makeshift holster on her saddle,
"Rick sent me! You gotta come now!" Lori's face grew confused, as well as everyone else's, at the sound of Rick's name, "There's been an accident, Carl's been shot! He's still alive, but you have to come now!" Harli watched as Lori's face washed over with fear and stressing anxiety, "Rick needs you, just come!" Without any more hesitation, Lori ripped the backpack off her arms and ran up to the horse. Daryl went after her, skeptical about her decision,
"Woah, woah, woah, we don't know this girl! You can't get on that horse!" He shouted in attempts to try and get Lori away from the strange woman. Lori ignored him completely and the woman on the horse stared down as Lori crawled up on the back of the saddle,
"Rick said you have others on the highway? That big traffic snarl!?" Glenn seemed mesmerized by the woman's sudden appearance and nodded at her words, "Back track to Farren road, two miles down. You'll see the mailbox, the names Green!" As soon as Lori latched her arms around the woman's waist, she yanked the horses head in the opposite direction and kicked it, riding off as fast as the horse's legs could carry. Harli looked over at Glenn and Daryl,
"What the hell just happened?" They looked back at her without an answer, wondering themselves the same question she had asked. Soft moans came from the Walker on the ground that had attacked Andrea, its body twitching with instinctual movement. Harli stood next to it and stared down, backing up as it rose its upper body. Daryl growled and walked up to it,
"Shut up!" He pulled the trigger of his crossbow, implanting a bolt into its brain. He walked off towards the direction of the highway and Harli looked at Glenn, Carol, and Andrea as she got back to her feet. Everyone was still completely dumbfounded by what had happened only moments before, not knowing what to say or do. Harli walked up and ripped the abandoned bolt from the Walkers head, pursuing after Daryl.
Harli finally broke out of the trees and climbed up to the highway, jumping over the guardrail and sighing in relief on being back to home ground. She put her hands on her hips and panted, trying to take in as much oxygen as her lungs would let her. Harli's eyes noticed the orange horizon brewing about the mountains, not realizing how long the trip had actually taken. Dale took notice to her appearance as she waited for the others to arrive, "It's about time you all came back. I was beginning to get worried."
She took a couple deep breaths and narrowed her eyes from the bright sun, "Carl's been shot Dale…" His expression and smiled dropped as he shouldered his rifle, walking over to her. By that time, the rest of the group had caught up with her,
"Shot? What do you mean shot!?" Glenn panted and moved his leg over the guard rail,
"I don't know Dale… listen, all I know is this chick came out of nowhere like Zorro on a horse and took Lori." Harli finally caught her breath and watched as the rest climbed out of the woodwork. Daryl stepped over and Dale looked at him accusingly,
"And you let her!?"
"Get the hell off my ass old man! Rick sent her, she knew Lori's name and Carl's." Daryl brushed past Dale towards his motorcycle, clearly irritated about the situation. Andrea crawled over the guardrail slowly, feeling the most fatigue out of anyone,
"And I heard screams, was that you?" Dale directed towards Andrea concerned. She completely ignored him and walked to the Winnebago, leaning on it briefly to catch her breath. Harli looked over at Dale,
"She got attacked by a Walker…"
"Andrea, are you alright!?" He called and she turned, staring back at him annoyingly and only shaking her head. She walked into the Winnebago without a reply towards him, the RV shaking from feeling her enter. After a few moments of catching their breath, everyone finally managed to regroup. Harli leaned on a car and stared at Daryl,
"So what do we do? Do we go regroup with Rick or what?" Daryl rubbed the back of his neck and looked at Dale,
"Best thing we can do now is try to regroup with them while we can. Keep the search for Sophia tomorrow mornin' from a new location." There was a moment of tense silence as Carol crossed her arms and shook her head,
"I won't do it. We can't do it… we can't just leave!" Dale leaned his arm up on the Winnebago, sighing,
"Carol, the group is split. We're scattered and weak."
"But what if she comes back, and we're not here!?" Everyone stared at her and she looked to each and every one of their eyes, "It could happen…"
"If Sophia found her way back and we were gone, that would be awful…" Andrea voiced as she finally came out of the Winnebago. Daryl nodded his head and looked over to Carol,
"Okay. We gotta plan for this. I say tomorrow mornin' we got enough time to pull up stakes. Give us a chance to rig a big sign and leave her some supplies. I'll hold here tonight, stay with the RV."
"If the RV stays, I stay." Dale volunteered, siding with Daryl and not wanting to leave his faithful Winnebago behind. Carol's mouth drew into a small smile as she nodded,
"Thank you… thank you both."
"You're gonna need more help and more feet to carry out what needs to be done, count me in." Harli said with a smile while placing her hands on her hips. They all looked to Andrea and she raised her hand with a smile,
"I'm in."
"If you're all stayin… them I'm gonna-"
"No, no not you Glenn… you're going. Take Carol's Cherokee." Glenn's mouth dropped and he scoffed,
"Me? Why is it always me!?" Dale put his hand up, not wanting to argue,
"You have to find this farm, reconnect with our people, and see what's going on. But most of all, you need to get T-Dog there. It's not an option."
"How's he doing Dale?" Harli asked with concern in her voice and Dale sighed, leaning back up against the Winnebago,
"Not good. That cut has gone from bad to worse…. He has a very serious blood infection." Harli looked over, seeing T-Dog leaned up against the back of the Winnebago, a blanket draped over his shoulders from the obvious chills that were riddling through his body,
"There's nothing I can do for him. I don't have any antibiotics or supplies to try and fix it."
"Then that's the most important reason why he needs to get to that farm. See if they have any antibiotics… if not… T-Dog will die no joke." He said, plain and simple. Harli watched as Daryl turned, grabbing a rag off his bike and rummaging around through his saddle bags. A large blue back of pill bottles were yanked out by his rough hand and he turned back around to face the group, tossing the rag to Dale,
"Keep your oily rags off my brother's motorcycle." He slammed the bag of pills down next to Harli and the group walked over, staring down at them with curiousity. As Daryl opened it, he stared along with everyone else at the many different pill labels, "Why'd you wait till now to say anything? I got my brothers stash…"
"Jesus… not even I've seen that many pills prescribed to one person." Harli said as she stepped back once Daryl began to unload the bag,
"Crystal, Ecs, Ox… and some kick ass paint killers…" He tossed a bottle to Glenn and the young Asian man looked down at the bottle in his fingers. Daryl returned his hand to the bag, grabbing another bottle and tossing it to Dale,
"Oxycyclene. Ain't the generic stuff neither, its first class. Merle got the Clap on occasion." He shrugged and walked off, Harli scrunching her nose with slight disgust as Dale looked down at the pill bottles with a smile.
.:o:.
The darkness consumed the sky faster than Harli had expected, the sun dipping behind the mountains and leaving them for its ten hours of peace. Only an hour before had they had returned to the Winnebago from the search for Sophia, Harli still shocked about the woman on the horse. Even though Harli had reassured Daryl's question about locating Sophia earlier, she had her doubts now, and even then.
Daryl lied on the floor on the Winnebago, his hands behind his head as a rather uncomfortable pillow. He couldn't fall asleep and wasn't even tired because all he could hear was Carol's soft crying as she lied in the bed in the back of the Winnebago. He looked up and saw Andrea cleaning her pistol, clearly unable to sleep as well. He had wondered where Harli had gone off to; she hadn't been seen in the Winnebago.
Daryl then got up and grabbed his crossbow, shouldering it roughly over his arm. Andrea looked up at him with a confused expression, "I'm gonna go look for the little girl." He looked back at Carol, pitying her for her lost child. She cleaned the tears from her eyes and looked up at him, a soft nod reassuring her. He grabbed a flashlight and stepped out of the Winnebago, turning it on to illuminate his way. A pair of footsteps caught his ears and Daryl turned, seeing Andrea walking out after him and shutting the Winnebago door,
"I'm coming too." Daryl nodded and looked up to Dale on top of the Winnebago,
"Imma go for a walk, shine some light in the forest. If she's out there, it'll give her something to look at."
"Do you think that's a good idea right now?" He asked a bit worried and Andrea looked up at him,
"Dale?" She said in a low tone, shutting him up as she walked past Daryl. Daryl looked up to him and Dale sighed,
"Hey uh…. Harli ran off again… so if you see her, tell her to come on back since you two will be gone. I don't feel comfortable with her out there by herself." Daryl stopped and looked out into the midst of cars as if trying to spot wherever she went. He chewed on his lip, contemplating on whether or not he should venture out into the woods on his original mission or head out to find Harli to make sure she was alright. He swallowed a hard lump and looked back up at Dale,
"Don't worry bout her too much old man. She can take care of her own and she'll be back before you know it. She's just off thinkin' to herself and if she's not back by the time we are, I'll head out to find her again." Dale sighed and nodded in agreement, not having any more words to exchange with him. Daryl turned and Andrea began to walk towards the woods. Daryl gave one last look out into the cars before venturing into the unknown darkness of the trees, feeling a bit of anxiousness towards Harli's unknown whereabouts.
Harli wandered the graveyard of vehicles with her mind off by itself. She, herself, didn't even know why she had left the comfort of the Winnebago; she just felt she had to. It was like being a wolf straying from to pack in order to find itself. Harli toyed with the bolt she had pulled from the Walker's head, the bow propped on her back with the makeshift strap hanging it from her shoulder. She wanted to desperately to pull the bow off her back, load the bolt, and shoot it. But she had no targets and couldn't risk losing Daryl's bolt. But then again, he didn't even know she had it. He was right in one sense; the bolt did look a little short to shoot. The bolt twirled in her fingers, her eyes staring at the neon feathers that made a delightful spinning action.
Harli heard a snarl and a shiver went down her spine upon hearing the familiar noise. As her eyes looked up, they met a pair of Walkers approaching her with quickness once they spotted her figure. She froze for a mere moment and her mouth dropped in a dry gasp, not believing she hadn't seen them before. They growled and moved their arms up, charging at her once they cleared the obstacles of the vehicles in front of them. She quickly turned and frantically looked for a place to hide, her eyes darting back and forth from one false safe haven to another. Her guns, and even her knife, sat lonesome back at the RV and she cursed herself each step of the way for being stupid enough to leave them behind.
She saw her opportunity and took it. Rounding to her left, she quickly jumped inside a car and closed the door behind her. The Walker's weren't easily tricked by her movements and they slammed up against the car, their hands beating against the shabby window. Harli lied in the back seat, staring with full fear in her eyes as the breaths of their thirsty mouths fogged up the windows. Harli crawled to the other side of the car and opened the other door, wanting to make a quick escape. Her bow tugged against her chest as the cam got caught on the seat next to her, Harli turning quickly to unhook it.
A pair of hands grabbed her legs and she yelped, turning to see one of the Walker's snarling loudly as it tried to bite down on her pant leg. She kicked its head and it stumbled back, but not too soon did it recover and jump in after her. Her legs frantically kicked at the Walker's face, but it didn't put a dent in its actions. Drool dripped from its mouth as it growled, staring at her with its bright silver eyes and not wanting to wait a second longer to feel her warm blood in its mouth. She could hear the Walker pounding on the window behind her as she struggled against the other. Harli gasped as she then saw the glass cracking as the Walker continued to pound on the window to try to get its prey.
Harli gritted her teeth and reached down on the floorboard where she had remembered dropping the bolt. It fumbled around under her fingers, but finally, she managed to grab it and clasp it tightly in her hands. Panting, she gripped it in her shaking hands on her chest and halting her legs to let the Walker get a good distance back into the car. The bolt's edge slammed into the Walkers decaying eyes, its mouth letting out an escaped hiss. With its brain destroyed, the Walker's body went limp and its chest rested on Harli's legs. She let out a brief sigh of relief but soon struggled to move from under the Walkers dead weight. Her boot rammed against its head in attempts to get it off, but the body barely even budged.
Harli neglected the fact that there was one more Walker to deal with. With one last heave, the Walker's hands shattered the glass and lustfully latched onto Harli's shirt. She screamed and tried to pull away from its grasp, but its hand clung onto her like a deadly vice grip and she knew there was no way she was going to get out of it. Her elbow rammed against the face of the Walkers as she felt its head lean in to bite her warm neck. It lifted its head out of the car and let out a discontent grunt, its hands pulling at her to try and get her out into open air. She was utterly shocked at the Walkers brute strength as it began to pull her out, Harli feeling a stinging sensation break into her body. As she was constantly being pulled out of the car, her neck fell against the broken window frame and a deadly shard of glass cut through her skin like paper. She felt the warmth of the crimson liquid dribble down her neck and chest as she gasped out in pain.
The smell of her blood made the Walker even more ravenous and his grip tightened around her clothing. She looked up to see its head trying to graze in through the window once again, its mouth not waiting any longer to taste her blood. Her fight or flight response kicked in and she reached down for the bolt once again, feeling it bouncing around on her lap. She had no way of getting the Walker in the head, but she took the bolt and jammed the head of in its hand. The Walker let out a louder snarl and the tendon in its hand broke, Harli taking the chance to get from its faulty grasp.
A gunshot exploded through the air, causing Harli to jump as she moved away from the Walker, seeing its body disappear behind the car door. As she heard the body thump against the concrete, Harli panted heavily and desperately tried to look through the windows, but they were then too foggy to see who her savior was. The car door shoved open by the influence of Harli's hand and she stumbled out, her eyes groggy with fear and fatigue. Her eyes softened at the sight of Dale jogging towards her with his rifle in his hands, his eyes full of shock and fear. Harli gasped and put her hand to her neck as it continued to bleed, feeling it throbbing uncontrollably,
"Dale…" She stumbled forward, her adrenaline still pumping from the dire moments before.
"Harli… Harli are you alright!?" He asked frantically while tossing the strap of his rifle on his shoulder, his hands gripping her shoulders tightly. Harli let out a sharp sigh with the nod of her head,
"Yeah…. I'm fine." She reassured and he stepped back, his mouth open in suspicion at the sight of seeing the blood all over her neck. Her hand continued to desperately clasp onto her bleeding wound,
"Did you get bit…?" He asked with caution, hoping her answer was the one he wanted to hear. Harli stared him in the eyes and shook her head calmly,
"No, when the Walker was pulling at me my neck got caught on a piece of glass."
"My God… you're bleeding all over the place! It must've got one of your arteries; you can pass out in minutes if we don't get it cured up here soon!" He said with concern, his eyes frantic as he stared at her. Harli knew he was worried and there was no reason for him not to be. She understood. The only way to figure out if the cut was deep or not, at that moment, was to physical pierce it. Harli's jaw tightened as she stuck her finger into the wound, feeling the grittiness of the searing pain burning through her muscles. To her avail, the wound wasn't as deep as she thought,
"It's not deep, Dale. I'll be fine…" She choked out. Dale put his arm on her back and softly pushed her along while guiding her back to the Winnebago,
"That's still a lot of blood lost and that's the most important area for getting blood flow to the brain! Let's get you back quick, Carol's waiting by herself."
"By herself? But aren't Daryl and Andrea there, too?" Her raspy voice asked while her weary eyes looked over at Dale. Dale shook his head,
"No. Daryl and Andrea couldn't sleep so they went out to look for Sophia, I came out here to see if I could find them, and then I saw the Walker trying to get at you in the car." Harli's eyes narrowed at the sound of Daryl and Andrea's plan to go out into the woods to find Sophia, together, alone. A slight wince of jealousy struck at Harli's heart, causing her to look back forward and avoid Dale's stare. Her feet stumbled along to keep her going and a hard lump of air slowly rolled down her sore throat. She coughed and felt hands grab her arm once her torso doubled over. Dale slipped her arm over his neck and put a hand around her waist, helping her along as they neared the Winnebago, "This is the last time you run off by yourself. You could've gotten yourself killed!" She heard the concern mixed with venom in his voice. She looked over at him and smiled,
"I'm sorry Dale, it was stupid of me." He sighed and shook his head,
"I should've just kept an eye on you."
"Stop beating yourself up Dale. I know you care about my well-being, but it's not going to help what has already happened." She only felt him shake his head and heard him sigh to himself. She knew he was beyond reasoning at that point, so she kept her mouth shut and continued towards the RV. Carol saw them and stood on top of the Winnebago, putting her hand to her mouth.
"Stay here and don't move, I'm gonna go get the medical kit."
"What happened!?" Carol asked from above, staring down at Harli's bloody neck and chest. Harli looked up, but was too exhausted to say anything to the meek woman. Carol climbed off the top of the Winnebago and ran to her side, "What happened? You have blood everywhere!" Carol asked once again, alarm by Harli's demeanor. Dale walked out with the kit and calmed Carol,
"She just got cut by glass, Carol. She was attacked by a couple Walkers." Carol stepped back as Dale began to clean up the wound around Harli's neck. Dale looked over at Carol, "Carol, I'm going to need you to cover her mouth, because when this alcohol hits her skin, all hell's gonna break loose."
.:o:.
Dale and Carol sat atop the Winnebago quietly, waiting for Daryl and Andrea to return. Harli was sitting in the Winnebago, resting after her tough and stupid ordeal. Her neck throbbed, but the painless medical ointment Dale had put on it eased her pain for only a little while. With her eyes closed, Harli could hear and feel her heart pounding in her ears. But miraculously, Harli picked up the sound of footsteps on top of the Winnebago and looked up curiously. Someone began to climb down the ladder, Harli looking over the side of the seat while narrowing her eyes. Carol ripped open the door and Harli heard stray gasping coming from her, watching as the stray mother jumped on the bed and began to cry.
"We heard a gunshot…." Daryl voice became audible from the outside, "What the hell? Why you got blood all over you?" Harli's legs pushed her up out of the seat and Harli noticed the door was already open, half the hard work already done. Her wobbly legs stumbled down the stairs and she practically tripped, her hand reaching out and grabbing the doorframe at the last second. The green eyes that occupied her face finally found Daryl in her tired gaze, Harli stumbling sideways against Dale,
"You're back…" She breather and Daryl's eyes narrowed as he saw the bright, white bandages wrapped around her neck,
"What the hell happened to you!?" He asked rather loudly, Dale putting his hand up andvstanding in front of Harli defensively,
"Calm down now Daryl." Daryl only kept his eyes focused on Harli, concern and irritation washed over his face with his breathing slightly unsteady. Harli watched as his jaw muscles tightened and he gritted his teeth, now staring at Dale with his eyes ready to kill. Dale put his hands up with reason, "She was attacked by a couple Walkers… I got to her before things went sour. Now let's be civilized here and don't start your shouting. More Walkers could be nearby." Dale looked back at Harli and saw the fatigued, solemn look on her face. He sighed and nodded, "I'll give you two some privacy…" He brushed past Daryl, who stared Harli with nothing but a hard look. She could see the tension in the muscles of his face, as well as his thick set of shoulders. She wondered if he was mad at her personally, or if he was mad at his own self. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Dale put a hand on Andrea's shoulder and they both walked into the Winnebago, closing the door behind them.
Let the awkward silence begin.
"What the hell did you do? Goin' out by yourself without any protection at all, you tryin' to get yourself killed!?" His tone continued to voice his anger and she crossed her arms while looking at him; his blue eyes grew darker by the second,
"I didn't know that I was going to be attacked. Besides, I was on my way back to the Winnebago anyways."
"You're supposed to be ready for anything! You know… for some educated girl, you sure are stupid." By this time he began to slowly pace, chewing on the inside of his cheek anxiously. Harli sighed and put her hands down on the car behind her, leaning on the hood. Her arm and clothing were lightly covered with dry blood,
"Yeah I know… I wasn't expecting you to go off with Andrea to look out for Sophia, or I would've stayed here." She admitted and he stopped, watching her as she uncomfortably shifted on the vehicle, now sitting on it. She leaned over her legs and clasped her hands together, "I don't even know why I was walking off away from here. It's just like my legs carried me without me knowing. I wasn't even paying attention and when I finally realized I was around them, I hid in a car and managed to kill one. But the other broke through the window and pulled on me. A big piece of glass from the window cut me open." She rubbed the bandages around her neck, feeling her wound pulse from her touch. Daryl's mood shifted and he calmed somewhat, but not completely. He walked up to her,
"You're not gonna be goin' off on your little depressed walks no more, that's my only say on the matter. We can't be losin' people no more and I can't be losin' you neither!"
The two only stared at each other in the moments of silence.
Daryl felt it was partly his fault for her being attacked. When he had decided to leave and go off for Sophia, after what Dale had told him, his mind was split in two. Pure instinct told him that he should go find Harli and he had felt completely uneasy as he walked to the forest, but he ignored it mostly. During that time, his mind told him that she wouldn't need him anyways and he should just keep at his search with Andrea. He felt bad, and he knew that the choice he had taken was wrong and could have very well been devastating if Dale wouldn't have gotten there when he did.
"I'm sorry…" He heard her soft voice beat through the air and into his ears. His mind drained and he looked up to see her staring at the ground, her face glowing softly in the dull moonlight above them. She had a grave look on her face after she finally realized she could have died that night, easily because she couldn't protect herself without her weapons. Daryl huffed,
"No need to apologize anyways, it's over and done with, and you're alive, aren't ya?" He asked, glancing over at her. She nodded and stepped onto the pavement below her, walking up to Daryl a bit wobbly. She smiled softly and looked up at him,
"I know you probably don't get this much… but I'm really glad I met you." She laughed to herself, looking shyly down at the ground. His eyes narrowed,
"Why? Just some asshole tryin' to survive like everyone else." She looked back up at him,
"Yeah, but… I'd be dead without you. And I wouldn't want to be in any other group but this." She saw the confusion and cloudiness in his eyes. He didn't know what to say, what to do, or react to the words that she had said to him. No one was nice much to him and he could return with the same hate and anger that was thrown at him. But he was completely indifferent to the kindness, gentleness, charisma, and loyalty she had displayed towards him. She never got angry easily, at him for that matter and only showed her mental and emotional strength when times were tough. She didn't care much for herself or her safety; she only displayed compassion for others. But like him, he had nothing to lose and nothing much to fight for but survival.
He didn't understand why she was so interesting.
He was caught completely off guard as she walked up closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him in with a soft, but tight grip. He had never been hugged in that manner before in his entire life. She rested her chin on his shoulder and took a breath, letting it out slowly as she took in his warmth. He didn't move and he looked down at her, not knowing what to do in the certain situation. Even though they had been through hell, her hair still smelt oddly sweet. He lightly flinched when she put her hand on the back of his head, but his muscles relaxed when he felt her soft hands run through his hair. She smiled when she could hear his heartbeat, and it was beating fast.
"Thank you for everything."