KAIYA'S POV:

I woke to the sound of barking in the middle of the night. Donkey.

I shot straight up and ran outside, dropping to my knees in front of the dog. I tried to calm him down, knowing that if he didn't, there would be walkers raining down on us.

"What the hell is that?" someone behind us boomed.

"Donkey, shut up, you stupid mutt!" I whispered frantically to him.

Glenn came up behind me and tried helping me with coaxing the dog into silence.

Shane ran up, Dixons flanking him, which was an odd sight; they hated each other. T-dog crept out of his tent, as did most of the other campers.

"Shut that damn thing up!" Shane yelled.

"I cant!" I yelled back. "Something's wrong, he doesn't usually do this!"

Daryl had his crossbow in his hand and Merle had a shotgun. What, did they think walkers started barking?

"Donkey shut up!" I yelled.

"We're gonna have to put him down!" Shane yelled over Donkey's barking.

I stood. "What?"

All three men held their weapons up and leveled them at Donkey, who was still barking like crazy. Shane heard Carl crying over by Lori and rushed over to him. Daryl and Merle stepped up.

"C'mon, Daryl! Shoot that mutt!" Merle had dropped his weapon and was relying on Daryl to carry out the deed.

I ran up to Daryl and grabbed his arm, hoping to persuade him not to.

He kept his face pointed toward the dog, but his eyes flicked down to me. He looked kind of nervous, as though he didn't know what to do, whose side to take.

"Shoot boy!" Merle shouted, cackling evilly.

"Daryl-"

Before I could get my plea out, his finger had jerked the trigger back and a bolt was sent through Donkey's head.

"No," I mumbled, shaking my head and trying to force the tears down. Unfortunately it didn't work. "Donkey! No!" I started to run to my dead dog, but Glenn wrapped his arms around my midsection and tried to pull me back.

Merle was still howling and Daryl was just standing, crossbow in hand, eyes averted guiltily.

"Hoowee!" Merle yelled. He was making more noise than the dog, why not shoot him? "There ya go, short round, dinner is served!" He gestured to the dog.

I growled and struggled against Glenn's grasp, finally slipping through. I rushed up to Merle and before he knew what was happening, my fist was flying through the air and into his face with as much strength as I could muster.

He gave an "oomph" sound and clutched at his face.

"Shut the fuck up, Merle," I snarled. I wiped my face with the back of my hand and stormed off to the tent, glaring at Daryl on the way. I flung myself down onto my pillow and sobbed, grieving for the loss of one of my constants.

Donkey was gone. Donkey who had woken me up every morning for school with a loud bark. Donkey who had snuck cupcakes out of the kitchen with me when I was 8. Donkey who had let me ride on his back when I was small enough for him to carry.

"Kaiya? You alright?" Glenn asked, standing near me.

I knew he was sad, too; that dog had been part of his past, too, with as much as we hung out when we were littler. Me, Glenn, and Donkey had been like the 3 Musketeers.

I sniffed and wiped my eyes, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Glenn leaned down and rubbed my back, soothing me and making my sobs subside slightly. Glenn hugged me and moved the hair back from my face, holding me as I cried. Glenn might have been a guy and older than me, but I knew he let a few tears slide, too.

This is another really short chapter, so I'm going to put up another chapter right now for you :)