This chapter has been the hardest one to write thus far, which is why I scrapped the original draft of this chapter and rewrote it, producing this second version. While I don't like the idea of switching from first person (as I have written the previous twelve chapters) to third person in this chapter, I felt that by doing so, it would remain truer to the show. With that being said, I have taken direct dialogue from the show, which I do not own. Also, I did not like the idea of just focusing on what is going on with Juliet's immediate surroundings and not including some of the other characters.
Juliet watched as the fire grew dim. Michonne cleaned her sword in silence.
"What's the plan?" Juliet asked.
Michonne didn't look up from the task at hand. "Find food and shelter."
"What about in the broader scheme of things?"
"There is no broader scheme of things. Not anymore."
"That's not true," the younger woman argued. Her golden brown eyes were filled with sadness as she waited for the other woman's response.
Michonne looked up. "We stay alive." Suddenly, she realized how harsh she was being. "We gather our wits and look for the others tomorrow. Tonight, we rest."
...
An unknown number of miles away, Daryl was also staring into a dimming fire.
"We should do something. We're not the only survivors. We can't be," Beth was saying as she ripped out entries of her journal to throw into the fire.
Daryl remained silent.
"Michonne and Rick they could be out here. Maggie and Glenn could have made it out of A Wall. Juliet could have gotten out."
Daryl stared into the fire and cringed at the sound of Juliet's name.
"You're a tracker, Daryl! You could track. Come on. The sun will be out soon. We should be tracking them instead of sitting here."
Daryl looks at her, but still doesn't say a word.
"Fine. I'll do it myself. I'm going to find them." She stands up and stomps off. Beth only gets a few yards away before a walker appears.
Daryl follows slowly behind Beth after he puts out the fire.
"Fine," he tells her.
...
The next morning, Michonne wakes Juliet. "We need to leave. Walkers are ahead."
Juliet scrambles to her feet and quickly grabs the few things that they made it out of the prison with. "How far away?"
"Not far enough."
The two swiftly and quietly make their way through the woods.
"Keep moving," Michonne says.
"I'm trying," Juliet responds. "I'm just so thirsty."
Michonne looks back at her. "We'll head this way to the road. Maybe they'll be a store ahead."
The two women switch directions, and the idea of food and water gives Juliet the necessary push to keep going. Once there were no walkers in sight, the two slowed down.
"Wait," Michonne says as she looked in the mud.
"What is it?"
"Footprints."
Juliet looks. "Not walkers," she says. "Maybe some of our people."
Michonne nodded. "That's the hope. Let's keep moving."
Not even an hour later, the two had stumbled onto a barbeque shack.
Michonne walks in first and looks around. "Clear."
Juliet walks in, who was keeping watch outside the door.
"Mike, I miss you," Michonne whispers.
Juliet watches in silence as Michonne begins to suddenly sob. She put her hand on her shoulder. "It's okay. It'll all be okay." Kneeling down in front of the crying woman, Juliet's eyes fill with tears as well.
"I missed him even when I was with him," she sobbed. "It wasn't Mike's fault… the death of our son. I need to let people into my life instead of shutting them out. That's the answer to all my problems."
"We can get through this, together. We still have each other."
Michonne momentarily stopped crying to nod.
Juliet wasn't sure why Michonne had all of a sudden decided to her in so emotionally. Maybe it was the fact that Michonne had grown to love another group of people and was now separated from someone she loved yet again. Whatever the reasoning, Juliet knew that she had real family in this group other than Daryl. That was both soothing and heart breaking since the only member of her family that she knew was alive with Michonne.
...
Meanwhile, Daryl and Beth stumble upon a different set of shoe prints.
"It could be Molly's or Luke's," Beth says.
"Doesn't mean they're still alive now. This could have been four or five hours ago."
"They're alive!" Beth argues.
The two follow the tracks until Daryl begins to circle them. "They got out in a hurry right here. Things went bad."
"It wouldn't kill you to have a little faith."
"Faith didn't do shit for us. It should as hell didn't do any good for your father." As soon as Daryl said that, he regretted it. Beth's face was somber, but she let the remark go.
"They'll be hungry when we find them," she said as she started to pick berries.
A few yards ahead, Daryl sees blood on a plant. "That ain't walker blood."
Unbeknown to the pair, a walker is right behind Beth. Daryl is quick on the draw and throws the walker down, giving Beth enough time to kill it.
Through all the death they had experienced, the next scene was hard to swallow. Beth recognized a pair of shoes that belonged to a member of their group. Next to the shoes was a dead body that several walkers were feasting on. And then there was Mike, but reanimated as a walker.
Daryl took out the walkers and turned back to see Beth crying. Daryl let his head hang low as he thought about the possibility of everyone else being dead. He thought about Juliet and he had to fight back a tear or two of his own. He was suppose to protect her. The thought of her being a walker's meal made him sick. He looked up into the sky, and closed his eyes. He wondered if he would ever see her again.
...
That night, Michonne and Juliet slept a little better having been fed and getting enough water.
"Did you see Daryl?" Juliet asked as she stomped out the fire.
Her companion shook her head. "No, but if anyone can make it out here, it's him."
"He's looking for me."
Michonne nodded. "I bet he is. It's just a matter of time before you find each other."
"You really think that?"
"I do."
"You ready to follow those tracks?"
"I am."
Again, the two women were back on task. The better part of the day had passed by the time they came across a neighborhood.
"We can stay here for the night if nothing else," Michonne said.
"That looks fresh," Juliet said as she pointed to a can of pudding.
They walk onto the porch and look in the window. Michonne looks at the sky and tears stream down her face.
Juliet smiles, realizing that they had found Carl and Rick.
Moments after Michonne knocked on the door, Carl opened it.
With the four friends reunited with one another, hope was renewed. They actually were beginning to have faith that they could find the others and start a new life in a safe location.
...
That night, Daryl and Beth made another fire to sit around. Daryl had managed to kill a squirrel, which they were now both eating. Beth, usually upbeat and convinced that the others were still alive, didn't say anything.
Daryl thought he would have appreciated the quiet was concerned for the young girl. "How is it?" He asked.
"Good."
"I'm sorry we haven't found Maggie yet."
She looked at Daryl, realizing what he was trying to do. "I'm sorry we haven't found Juliet."
He cleared his throat. "Ya know, I met Jules when she was a year younger than you."
"She was seventeen?"
He nodded. "I didn't know it at the time. By the time I did… it didn't matter."
Beth smiled. "Love at first sight?"
Daryl chuckled. "Not exactly love. But I was pretty fond of her."
"Was?"
He looked down at his hands. "What's the chance she made it? I ain't holdin' my breath."
"Don't do that. Do be afraid to hope. Without hope, life isn't worth living."
Daryl grew silent, which Beth took it as he was finished talking. "I am hopin'. I hopin' hard that she got out with Rick or Michonne. Someone who can look after her."
"She handled herself well. I'm sure even if she's by herself, she's managing. And she's looking for you, just like you're looking for her."
Daryl looked surprised at the last part.
"I've seen you Daryl. Check out every female walker and corpse we've came along, making sure it isn't her. But you're looking in the wrong places. Juliet's alive."
Daryl and Merle Dixon drove down the road in Daryl's old truck. The mid afternoon winter air brought a chill to the school children walking home.
"Nice asses," Merle said as they watched a group of teenage girls in Catholic uniforms cross the street.
"Merle, they're kids."
"Old enough to bleed, old enough to breed little brother."
The light remained red after the high school girls walked past.
"Juliet!" One of the girls yelled across the street.
Then Daryl saw her, Juliet, in a plaid shirt, white button down, black knee high socks, and a black peacoat. "I'm coming!" She yelled cheerfully as she too crossed the street.
Juliet looked to her left and stopped when she saw Daryl watching her.
The light had turned green, and that's when Merle blew the horn, though Daryl was driving. "Get the fuck outta' the way!" Merle yelled.
Juliet stepped aside so that Daryl could pass her. When he drove by, he looked at her and shook his head. How did he not know the girl he had been sleeping with on the regular for four months was still in high school?
"Jeeze, brother, if I didn't know no better, I'd think little bitch you've been bringin' around was that kid in the uniform." He cleared his throat. "Yeah, but be her sister."
"Must be," Merle responded, though not believing him.
A little after ten that night, Daryl stepped out on his porch to smoke a cigarette. With a beer in one hand, and a cigarette in the other, Daryl breathed in the cold air. He hadn't heard from Juliet, making him think that he dodged a bullet. If he was being entirely honesty with himself, though, he was disappointed.
"Daryl?"
Daryl looked in the direction of the voice and saw Juliet, this time wearing a pair of jeans with that same black peacoat. "You got some nerve showin' up here."
"Let me explain," she said propping her bike against the trailer.
"Where's your car?"
"It's my mom's car. She needed it today."
He couldn't help but laugh. "That's… yeah. I ain't got no words for that." "I never said it was my car." "Just like you never said you're in high school."
"But I didn't say that I wasn't in high school." Daryl took a big swig of his beer. "How old are you anyway?" "Seventeen, I swear." "Still makes you jail bate."
"Just for four more months." "Call me then, kid."
Juliet walked onto the porch. "I like you." "Do you like-like me?" Daryl asked in a mocking tone. He had obviously been drinking.
"Oh fuck you. I'm not a child. I sure as hell don't fuck like one."
Daryl didn't say anything.
"I like your cock in my mouth. I like riding your dick until you bust your load." She was a few inches from his face now. "I like it when you bite my clit."
Daryl threw down his cigarette and stepped on it. "Go home."
"Do you really think in four months I'll blossom into a woman? If you haven't noticed, and I know you have, I'm already a woman." "No, but I ain't gonna go to jail if I fuck you in four months."
"That's all your worried about?"
"Yah." "Then we don't partake in sexual relations for four months," she said as she sat down on the steps.
Daryl didn't say anything, but stared at her. He didn't know what to say to this girl. For as long as he's known her, she had always done what she wanted.
"Want to play cards?"
Daryl looked at her and drank the rest of his beer in one gulp. "What are you doin'?" She looked up at him. "I don't have any cards. Do you?" "We're not gonna' play cards." "Then what? Are you more of a bingo kind of guy?"
Daryl sighed, giving up. "I got some cards inside."
In had been two weeks after the agreement that no sexual relations would occur between the two.
Juliet stretched out on the Dixon's couch as she thumbed through a book while Daryl sharpened his knife set, preparing for a hunting trip with Merle scheduled for later in the week.
"A boy asked me to prom today." Daryl continued with his task. "That's nice." She stood up and walked over to him. Kneeling in front of him, she watched him sharpen a knife. "You're hands are really strong." He looked at her. "Don't you got homework to be doin'?"
"No."
"Ain't your momma wonderin' where you are?" "No." She stood up. "Do you not want me around?" "I ain't sayin' that." "Do you have someone coming over? Someone "No." "Then what?" He put the knife down and leaned back in his chair. "You're drivin' me crazy." She stepped back, her face somber. "I'll get out of here then." Daryl stood up. "Except I don't want ya to." "Oh," she said with a smile.
"I ain't takin' ya to prom." She laughed lightly. "I know."
"But I will fuck you after."
"You can fuck me now," Juliet said as she unbuttoned her jeans.
"I plan to," Daryl groaned as he scooped her up in his arms.