Chapter Fourteen
"Son of a-" Daryl cut himself off, harshly, staggering in place before quickly finding balance against the nearest tree. The man hissed to himself in a grunt of pain and after hesitating briefly, I rushed forward to his side. "I'm fine." Daryl muttered when I placed a hand on his arm and he tried to shake my touch away. I glanced down at his feet, noticing how he was balancing himself on one leg at the moment and sighed to myself.
"You want to stop for a bit?" I suggested, softly. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sophia stood back, just watching the scene before her. Daryl's head turned and he met my gaze for a moment before his eyes flickered to the spot over my shoulder and squared in on the youngest member of our trio. He smiled a little at Sophia, almost in assurance, before turning away and attempting to straighten himself out.
"We can't stop." He replied, pushing away from the tree to steady himself. I stood back to give him some room to kept ready incase I needed to catch the man. "Gotta keep movin'." I didn't argue with the hunter and instead nodded once when he glanced in my direction again. Giving him some space, I allowed the man time to find his trail again and when he did, Daryl set off in front once more. I turned to Sophia, smiling warmly at the girl before gesturing that she follow the hunter so I could bring up the rear like before.
"Is Daryl okay?" She whispered to me before she went to him. I nodded in reply, hoping that I was convincing enough before gently urging her on.
We walked in silence for a considerable amount of time though Sophia and I quickly grew used to Daryl's hand gestures. He would halt us occasionally when he had lost the trail and we'd have to stop for him to pick it up again. Also, whenever a walker would pass by Daryl would stop us and usually gesture for us to hide somewhere so he could either deal with it or wait for the danger to pass. We worked effectively, even at Daryl's now limping pass. The man had battered down all of my requests for him to rest and continued to plough forward. We hadn't rested since leaving the others back at the warehouse and even though the sky was shielded with the leaf canopy above us, I could still make out the dimming blue between the cracks. It was getting late, I noted. We'd lose daylight pretty soon and getting caught out in the forest like this wasn't an idea that really sat well with me.
"Just like old times." Sophia's worded echoed then and I smiled slightly to myself. I wondered briefly if we'd be able to convince Daryl to sleep up in a tree that night and I had to bite back my own amused chuckle at the thought of his reaction.
Even though Daryl was insistent in not stopping, I kept a firm eye on the girl in front of me and couldn't help but notice the occasional stumble she'd make every now and again over the rough terrain. Sometimes I'd reach forward to catch her on instinct, though Sophia balanced herself just fine on her own and kept moving without a backwards glance. She was getting tired though, I realised. We'd been walking for a long time now and still there was no town in sight. At this rate, I realised we'd probably have to continue our search into the next day as we'd already lost a lot of daylight due to all the time we'd spent at the facility that morning before leaving. After Sophia stumbled once more, I found myself sighing and turned my attention to the man in front.
"Daryl." I called, softly. The hunter didn't stop or turn back, but I knew he'd heard me. A subtle incline of his head told me he was listening. "We should stop."
"We gotta keep movin'." Was Daryl's response, though it wasn't angered, more focused. I didn't relent though.
"Daryl." I said, a little more firmly. He turned back then, raising an eyebrow as he looked at me over his shoulder. Wordlessly, I nodded to the girl between us, hoping to convey my silent meaning to him. Daryl's gaze flickered down before his face softened and he stopped walking finally. His eyes travelled up the sky and he studied it thoughtfully for a short period.
"I can see somethin' up ahead, not too far away. Looks like it might be a cave, we can camp there for the night." The hunter informed us, turning to look at me again. I smiled, nodding gratefully before we set off once more.
Daryl's keen eyes hadn't failed him this time as we came out into a small clearing with a slightly elevated rocky cluster before us. It wasn't too high off the ground but we still had to climb slightly to get to it and Daryl went first to investigate the opening in the middle of the gathering. Sophia and I waited as Daryl shone his small flashlight inside and as he crept in to see if it would be suitable to spend the night in. As we waited, I eyed the sky again, which was a lot more visible now the trees were lacking in the clearing. It was dull and grey but seemingly clear. The air was starting to nip a little now night drew in and I sighed, thinking about the single blanket we had to share between the three of us. I was glad, at least, that we were all wearing jackets.
When Daryl returned, he informed us that the cave didn't go very far back and illustrated this by shining his light inside to illuminate the cavern for us. Satisfied, I let Sophia climb in first and the three of us prepared to settle for the night.
"Hand me that can, Sophia." Daryl said, gently, holding his hand out to Sophia as she sat cross-legged with the bag in her lap. She obliged, offering the can in her hand to Daryl and he got to work opening it with his knife. I sighed to myself, glad to finally be resting as I leant back against the wall of the cave. I glanced between Sophia and Daryl as the latter remained fixated with the task at hand and the former just watching him silently. "We'll save the other one for tomorrow." Daryl muttered, glancing up at me briefly before finally managing to cut through the can and get into our dinner for the day. I nodded in response as Daryl immediately offered the can to Sophia without a second thought.
"We should be at that town by tomorrow, right?" Sophia asked, tucking into the little food we had between us. Daryl nodded slowly.
"Should be." He replied to her, shuffling around to lay his crossbow down beside him so he could lean back against the wall opposite Sophia and I, observing us with a somewhat lazy expression. While I studied the hunter, I noticed the tension on his face had deteriorated slightly. While he still wasn't smiling, the worry lines on his forehead had decreased in size though I wasn't quite sure what this actually meant. When Daryl turned his gaze briefly away from Sophia to look at me, he held my eyes for a long silent moment as I frowned curiously at him before he nodded his head once and turned to count his remaining arrow bolts.
We ate our dinner in reasonable silence and I thanked Sophia with a smile as she offered the can to me so I could eat my third of it. Daryl busied himself with examining his crossbow still while I ate and grunted in response to my offering of his last third of the dinner. After eating her share, Sophia had emptied the single bag before her and without a word began to arrange the little we had, then began to sort through the ammunition. She sectioned it off into three piles; one for her gun, one for my sniper and one for my handgun. Sophia then counted each of the piles, occasionally using her fingers for aid, before darkness overwhelmed the cave and rendered her unable to see. When this happened, the girl carefully packed up everything again into the bag, leaving the blanket though in her lap.
"I don't mind takin' first watch." Daryl muttered finally, breaking the silence. I smiled to myself before shaking my head.
"You need to rest." I urged, already getting to my feet, keeping my hands out to steady myself and make sure I didn't bang into the walls of the cave. "I'll keep watch at the entrance while you two rest." I knew Daryl wanted to reply and no doubt argue this idea, but Sophia quickly spoke up, cutting him off.
"You'll be cold without a blanket, Ruby." Sophia pointed out, gently, and there was a rustling of fabric as Sophia unfolded the blanket in her lap. "We've only got one." I smiled, though Sophia couldn't see me, before attempting to clamber over Daryl's legs to get to the entrance. A rough hand thankfully reached out to steady me and I made it over without falling flat on my face, saving myself the humiliation. There was another rustling of fabric in the cave though, before something cold was thrown in my direction and ended up hitting me square in the face. I stumbled back in shock and Sophia's giggles could be heard as I held the offending object in my hands.
"Ya can use that to keep you warm." Daryl muttered, his tone amused. As I ran my hand over the object, I realised pretty quickly that it was Daryl's jacket and was even more thankful for the darkness in the cave when my cheeks began to burn with redness.
"We'll have the share this then, Daryl." Sophia commented, happily, already moving around to attempt to settle for the night and I vaguely saw in the darkness how she began to flap the blanket around to spread it out over her and Daryl. The hunter grunted a little in response, one that sounded a little unsure. I knew he would be a little uncomfortable of the idea of sharing the blanket with Sophia, especially given the conversation he'd over-heard earlier that day. It probably wasn't because he didn't want to, but rather he was unsure as to what to do with the situation he was slowly finding himself in. Sophia didn't pick up on the man's awkwardness though and instead began to murmur cheerfully to him as the pair got ready to rest.
Smiling to myself, I left the pair to it, moving towards the entrance of the cave. I fumbled about with the item of clothing in my hands before finally managing to shrug the jacket on, relishing how nice it felt as I tucked myself into it. The jacket was bigger fit than mine but I could still feel Daryl's warmth from when he was previously wearing it, which definitely helped with the cold air. As I wrapped it around me tightly, I couldn't help but find myself overwhelmed with the scent of Daryl and inhaled in, without thinking. Glad that the hunter was otherwise preoccupied to see this, I quickly seated myself at the entrance to prepare to keep watch, feeling strangely more comforted than I was before.
Alone with my thoughts, I sat and began to reel about all that was happening right now, the situation the group had found themselves in. We had been split now. Originally we started out as fifteen, but then three left and now us three followed. We were weaker now, more vulnerable. While we'd managed being split like this before, during the separation after the prison falling, the potential threat that was hanging over us now certainly didn't do wonders to the fear we were already feeling.
That place was bad news and we had called it from the start. The bad vibes that came from it had not welcomed us when we first landed at that factory facility but we had stayed anyway. Then our tyres had been slashed, stranding us there, and our food had been taken, leaving us weaker, and yet we still stayed. We let three of our own leave to try and find some salvation as we weren't able to travel together given some weaknesses amongst us. We remained there even with the eyes that watched us, the sickening feelings that would strike us every time we left the warehouse. While initially, it could have just been passed off as our imagination, there was no getting away from that echoing clatter that sounded out across the facility. I could still hear Glenn's words echoing in my ear after him, Maggie and Merle went to investigate the sound; "Someone has been in that building... someone had been watching us". It had struck down on us all like a heavy weight of realisation. Rick was wrong to think that this group, whoever they were, had moved on. It seemed they hadn't done that at all. Whatever they were planning to do, if anything, terrified me as for the first time in a long time, we weren't quite sure what we were up against.
It was different with the Governor, heck, it was different with the walkers too. Both we knew what they were capable of. The walkers were mindless beings who would attack for our flesh, they were not calculating and were stupid in all those respects. That didn't make them any less dangerous, but at least we knew how to handle them. Even with the Governor, as disgusting a being as he may have been, we knew what kind of monster he could be and knew of the danger he posed. But this other group, if it even was a group, were unknown to us. What did they want from us? We hadn't even seen what they looked like and everything about them terrified me, despite not really ever seeing them. That figure I had thought I'd seen on the very first day was beginning to look a lot clearer than before now and the idea I'd actually seen them already, no matter how brief, and not spoken up sooner sickened me. The whole idea that they'd been watching us for so long sickened me even more.
As I began to tremble at the thought of this other group, I quickly turned my attention to the task at hand. Finding Rick, Carl and Abraham. Merle's taunts that the three of them were already dead struck a sore nerve and while I knew, painfully, that the possibility was indeed plausible, I didn't want to accept that fate just yet. It had been a rash idea to send out this little search party for them, but now that we were out here I desperately knew we needed answers. The urgency of the task was evident even with Daryl too as I read it through the constant insistence that we shouldn't stop throughout the day. He wanted to find them, fast. The tension was already mounted high enough so getting the job done quickly was top priority right now. We needed to get the answers as fast as we could, though I knew we may find some that we didn't want.
I was unsure how long I was sat there in the opening of the cave before a little rustling inside was heard. At first, I thought it was just either Sophia or Daryl moving around to get themselves comfy, but when the shuffling got closer and sounded more like footsteps, I turned my head to look up at the figure approaching. From the size of it, I knew immediately who it was.
"The cave floor not comfy enough for you?" I asked, quietly, as the man seated himself down at my feet, his back to the inside of the cave so his front was visible in the moonlight that shone in through the entrance. Daryl grunted a little before sighing.
"I've slept on worse." He muttered in return, catching my gaze with a smirk before looking away. I quickly noticed in the light that Daryl only had a, thankfully fully sleeved, shirt on underneath the jacket I was now currently wearing. Feeling guilty for taking the Daryl's warmth from him, no matter how much I'd relished it, I quickly began to shrug the item of clothing off. "Keep it on, girl. I ain't cold, don't worry." The hunter shot back when he noticed what I was doing. I paused before shaking my head and throwing the jacket at Daryl, snorting to myself when it hit him square in the face. Payback.
"You're just a stubborn bastard." I replied, feeling a little more barer now without Daryl's jacket to keep me warm. I shivered briefly, glad Daryl didn't see this before drawing my knees up closer to my chest to try and conserve what warmth I had. I smiled big when Daryl glanced at me and the hunter shook his head in disbelief before shrugging the jacket back on without more argument.
"Sophia's pretty much out cold." Daryl murmured to me, glancing briefly over his shoulder into the darkness where the youngest was sleeping. "She's a damn blanket-hogger though, I gotta say. Mischievous little mare, all for sharin' at first then stealin' the bloody thing when ya get comfy." Despite his words, his tone told me that the hunter was unbothered by the notion of letting Sophia take most of the blanket and I couldn't help but grin to myself. Daryl shifted awkwardly for a moment, his face thoughtful as he considered something with himself.
"You should probably get used to it." I said without thinking and I paused, wondering if 'getting used to it' was something Daryl wanted and I wasn't just talking about sharing the blanket. Daryl made a grunt of a sound before falling into a thoughtful silence once more. I sighed, unsure whether bringing the subject up was right just yet and instead decided to pick up another. "So, we're definitely going to reach this town by tomorrow then?" Daryl nodded slowly, looking more at ease.
"Yeah we should." He replied. "We'll try 'nd keep to their trail but if it runs cold, then we'll just start searchin' the houses, see if there's any sign of them stayin' there." I nodded to myself, thinking over the plan. It was something at least. "If we find 'em, we'll drag their asses back to the warehouse, get the others 'nd get the hell out of there. The sooner, the better." I noticed that Daryl had said 'if' not 'when' we find them and I found myself chewing my lip, feeling the tension.
"They can take care of themselves." I stated, suddenly, almost an own reassurance. "They should be fine. They will be fine." Daryl met my gaze with a raised eyebrow. He studied me for a moment before shrugging.
"Abraham's one tough son of a bitch, I'll give him that." He began slowly. "Carl's a pretty good shot too, not to mention he's doin' well with that trainin' you 'nd Rick give him. 'Nd Rick-" Daryl trailed off before sighing. "Officer Grimes has battled through his fair share of demons, so I'm sure a few more wouldn't hurt. Yeah, I guess they can take care of themselves just fine. Rick 'nd Carl did fine enough when they were with you, 'nd Rick had been shot then too. Plus the happy-go Sergeant is with 'em 'nd he's so damn motivated to 'finish the mission' that I doubt any geek or human will get in the way of that." I wasn't sure whether Daryl was trying to reassure me or himself, but I took his words anyway and smiled to myself.
"We'll be fine too." I added, softly, and Daryl met my gaze. His eyes were appraising for a moment, many emotions flitting through them, before he offered a one armed shrug in response.
"Course we will." He agreed, his tone just as gentle. "Ya with me, ain't ya? 'Nd I won't let anything happen to either you or Sophia."
As the warmness settled over me, I quickly recalled Sophia's words from earlier that day; "We have Daryl now too. He won't let anything happen to us". Taking in his imploring gaze and his near repeat of her words, I smiled at Daryl once more, holding my hand out towards him. While he may not be sure of whatever situation he was finding himself in with Sophia and myself, I knew that he meant every word. I felt my heart pick up a little when Daryl took my hand in his almost immediatly and I was a little surprised when Daryl raised it to his lips and kissed my knuckles gently. His lips felt chapped against my skin, a little rough in contrast to his words. While Daryl had never been open with his affections, I knew he was growing slowly used to it and I was more than happy to wait. Before I could think, I found myself reaching towards Daryl's face as he began to let our clasped hands drop and without a thought I cupped his stubbled cheek. I could feel Daryl's hesitant eyes scanning my face as I traced my thumb carefully along his bottom lip, he was no doubt unsure as to what I was doing but the hunter's lips still parted slightly at my touch. His warm breath tickled my face as I leant closer, my thumb almost attempting to sooth Daryl's chapped skin with a gentle touch. He never once made to pull away, despite the many openings he had.
I could feel my heart thumping loudly in my chest as my face began to heat with a blush. I wasn't being particularly bold, but this was Daryl and I couldn't help this reaction I got from being so close to him and feeling his skin under my touch. While I wasn't looking at his eyes, I could feel Daryl's eyes on me and I remained staring at his mouth, unsure whether I wanted to look up into his blue gaze just yet. His lips remained agape as my thumb trailed back along them before re-joining the rest of my fingers splayed out across his cheek. His face was rough beneath my touch, but I had grown used to the ruggedness. I welcomed it, just as I welcomed this overwhelming feelings I was getting for being so close to the hunter. We had never been able to have much of these moments, but when we did, each seemed just as special as the last.
When I finally did gather the courage to meet Daryl's gaze I was a little taken back by the intensity behind them. There were a few familiar emotions there and, namely the longing, they sent a flutter of warmth through my body and a chill rushed through my spine. For a moment, I just basked in the dark orbs of Daryl's eyes, unsure almost as to what to do. My head was swimming slightly and I couldn't think of single thing to say or do then. Thankfully, that was when Daryl decided to take some action and before I knew what was happening, the hunter had claimed my mouth with his with a very much desperate kiss.
Sometimes, Daryl's kisses were gentle and so full of what only could be described as love. They would be simple and soft, but that didn't take away any emotion displayed. They spoke enough words without needing to hear any and sometimes, they would be enough. This kiss, however, was very different. It was rushed and needy and I couldn't help but yelp a little at Daryl's force as the man pushed me back against the rock behind me, his hand catching the back of my head before I hit the cave wall. Our mouths met in a clumsy fashion, Daryl's lips attacking mine almost hungrily. I responded, after a moment of brief uncertainty, in just as much desperation and my hands worked their way quickly onto his chest and latched onto his shirt to keep me grounded. Daryl's hands, in turn, knotted their way into my hair, keeping me from hurting myself against the wall, but also so he could tug my head as he pleased for better access to my mouth. I didn't think, I couldn't have even if I wanted to. All I could focus on right now was the man before me and I, just for that brief moment, forgot about everything else going on around us. For a moment, it was just Daryl and myself.
Daryl's scent overwhelmed, more so than wearing his jacket could provide, given he was hovering over me. I relished his scent, his taste, the feel of his skin beneath my fingertips. While Daryl may not have been a man of many words, his kisses spoke a lot more than he could ever say. While I had never gotten a confession from him, his gentle kisses provided enough love to keep me strong. This kiss however, only reflected his desperation, his need. It over-whelmed me, over-powered me and it was certainly something I'd not had to deal with yet with Daryl. He needed this, I realised through the wish-wash of my thoughts. Whatever this bullshit was that was going on around us, whatever would happen to us in the end, Daryl needed this moment. He needed me. And that was certainly something that made me shiver weakly and go numb. It was a powerful sentiment. Daryl needed me.
As the man pulled away to take air, his panting breaths matching my own, I couldn't help but take in the position we had found ourselves in through the sudden rush. While I remained pressed back against the wall of the cave, Daryl had worked his way forward and somehow slotted himself between my legs, kneeling between them, a position that certainly sent a warm feeling fluttering down my body and spine. I opened my eyes, wearily, eyeing the face above me and taking in Daryl's now battered-kissed lips. I ran a hand over his cheek again, almost afraid he'd disappear beneath my touch, meeting his gaze and holding it there. For a moment, neither of us said anything and despite all that was happening around us, all I could feel right now was the love I felt for the man before me.
"I fucking love you, Daryl Dixon." I breathed, surprising myself with how harsh my tone was. Daryl didn't seem to mind though as he lips pulled up slightly in a smile before his lips reclaimed mine once more. I ran one of my hands through Daryl's hair now, relishing the way it carded through my fingers. The second kiss was just as rushed as the one before and when Daryl's teeth surprised me by biting down on my bottom lip, I couldn't help but moan desperately into Daryl's open mouth at the feelings that shuddered my body. Daryl hummed a chuckle before, much to my dismay, pulling back.
"Ya gotta be quiet." He whispered, reminding me instantly that we weren't quite alone right now. My gaze wandered instantly towards the inside of the cave and I was thankful to hear the sounds of Sophia breathing sleepily within. I had pulled my face away from Daryl's, turning away from him then. Uncertainty for our situation came to me then and I debated on whether stopping things now was the best thing to do. Sophia was right there. Only a little distance away. It didn't help that the on-going situation around us now came to the forefront of my mind, now my head was a little more focused. The group could potentially be in danger and here Daryl and I were- "She's out cold, I told ya. But we gotta be quiet." Daryl murmured, studying me thoughtfully. He seemed to understand the whirlwind in my mind just then and he exhaled a sigh, his breath brushing against my face. "Just forget 'bout it. All of it. Just for now." When I met Daryl's eyes once more, I swallowed hard, still not quite immune to the darkened orbs that were imploring mine. There wasn't a whole lot I could say or and do and Daryl seemed to know this, surprisingly me yet again by claiming my mouth with a series of soft kisses, much gentler than the previous two, before trailing his lips, like a butterfly touch, along my cheek. The feelings I got from this were not unwelcomed and I found myself submissive to Daryl's touch once more, my previous thoughts flying away just for a little while. Yet again, it was just Daryl and I; nothing else. One of his hands remained behind my head, while the other touched my leg, though I barely registered it due to the way Daryl suddenly began to kiss my neck.
His breath was hot against my skin and his kiss started out hesitant, his lips barely touching my neck at first. I couldn't help but shudder when he began to mouth into my skin and absently, I ran my hand back through Daryl's hair. The hand that was on my leg began to move, almost without thinking, up and down the outside of my thigh and I couldn't help but grasp at the hunter's locks when he seemed to get over his uncertainty and start kissing my neck in the same fashion he had kissed my lips. This was certainly something we'd never done and while I wasn't going to complain, this sudden confidence from Daryl was a little surprising. Briefly, I wondered whether it was the current danger lurking that drove the man or may our more isolated situation. Which ever it was, I couldn't help but admit I was enjoying it. I kept my eyes shut tightly, keeping my lips so tightly locked together in fear of making a noise and ruining whatever moment we had. Daryl's quick lips were making the job difficult though and when I felt Daryl's cold fingers suddenly slide under my t-shirt, by accident or by intention I didn't know, and touch the side of my abdomen, I couldn't help but gasp softly.
When Daryl chuckled quietly, his breath vibrating my throat as paused in his actions, I shuddered yet again at the feelings that overcame me. Closing my eyes, I considered the situation we were in and tried my hardest, over the rapid beating my heart, to focus on the sounds of Sophia's breathing. Thankfully, she was still out cold, as Daryl had said. I couldn't imagine the horrified situation of her waking up to this anyway and slowly, my more rational side was coming forward once more. This certainly wasn't the time to be fooling around, whether we wanted to or not. Thankfully, Daryl seemed to realise this too. For a moment though, neither Daryl or I moved. Daryl didn't move away or make to start kissing my throat once more and instead he remained with his face tucked against my neck, his breath still hot, panting against my neck. His hand remained on my thigh, still in a position that sent shivers down my spine. In turn, my hand stayed locked in the knots of Daryl's hair, the other resting on Daryl's shirt against his heart. I could feel the beat beneath my palm and for a moment, I just focused on the rhythm, mixing it in with my own. Daryl's pace was just as quick as mine and I opened my eyes slowly, when Daryl's hand began to move up towards my knee.
Daryl pulled away from being tucked into my neck and I met the hunter's gaze once more. My breath left me though when I took in his face in the moonlight and the look behind his gaze. His smile was beautiful and his eyes were so loving that I almost felt the tears prick against my eyes. While I still hadn't gotten a confession from the man, just taking in the look he gave me was enough for now, it certainly did the job at batting away any insecurity I may have felt. I didn't have enough time to bask in his expression though as Daryl slowly leaned forward to kiss me once more. This time, his lips were gentle against mine, almost like he was trying to sooth me, to kiss away all my worries. My head swam with some many thoughts and it took me a moment to pick myself up consciously again as Daryl's previous affections had rendered me completely dysfunctional. When Daryl pulled away for the last time, he kept his forehead resting against mine and his eyes open in a lazy fashion. I drank all I could of him in, his almost carefree expression that was so rare to see. This was surprisingly to see him so bold and I still couldn't get over it. We were taking steps, I realised, in our relationship and I was glad to see it was slowly beginning to work. Almost hesitantly, I brushed the hair that lay obscuring his face so nothing in his expression was left hidden. I wanted to see him. All of him. Daryl smiled slightly at the gesture before sighing softly, exhaling and tickling my face with his breath once more.
"Go sleep." He murmured, his voice a little husky. "I'll take over on watch." I didn't move to obey but Daryl pulled back a fraction so he could lean up and press his lips to my forehead. It didn't feel like a kiss though and like I had done with my neck, I felt Daryl mouth something into my skin. I smiled to myself, despite the mystery, and allowed Daryl to retract himself from me, providing me with room to move again. He sat back and with the absence of his touch, I could feel myself shiver at the cold. Daryl's eyes watched me as I struggled to stand, a little disorientated still from our activities. In the darkness, I swore I saw a smirk grace the hunter's face, but I didn't call him on it. I didn't have the energy for it just now.
"Goodnight." I whispered, without thinking, laying a hand on his head and patting it in a playful manner. A hand caught my wrist before I could move further inside the cave though and Daryl's lips placed a chaste kiss on my fingers before letting me go completely. While I made my way towards Sophia's sleeping form, my head spun a little from all the affection Daryl had given me. It would certainly take time to get used to, given previous experiences with the man. My cheeks burned hot with a blush as I sat myself down beside Sophia, the feeling of Daryl's gaze burning into the back of my head as I did. My fingers gripped the fabric of the blanket and while the floor wasn't overly comfortable, I settled myself down on it, curling the blanket over me as much as I could. Daryl was right about Sophia hogging the blanket, I noted vaguely, though I found myself uncaring. The memories of Daryl's touch were enough to keep me warm anyway, for the night.
My sleep was without any nightmares. No screams filled my ears, no gunshots echoed in the darkness, no blood covered my vision. I didn't remember dreaming about anything though, whether it was nice or horrible, and it was a strange contrast to what I was used to. I had been plagued every night with my nightmares since the fall of the prison and had almost grown used to them by now. They were never too dissimilar, though that didn't make them any less awful.
When I woke the next morning though, I didn't remember actually falling asleep. I was greeted instead by a sudden blinding light and I shied away for a moment, ducking my gaze behind my hand. When they adjusted though, I scanned my sights around the cave, finding that strangely I was alone. Memories of the night before burned in my mind and I knew my face tinged a little with a healthy blush as I recalled the feeling of Daryl's lip against mine, against my neck, his hand against the skin of my abdomen. Swallowing the sudden thickness in my throat, I stumbled to my feet, rubbing my head and trying to rid the daze of sleep from my mind. A shiver ran up my spine at the memories but a sound approaching the entrance to the cave caught most of my attention.
Sophia's head appeared suddenly and she smiled at the sight of me. It was strained though, I noticed, not quite as strong as I was used to. Worry, I noted. Worry for her friend. Worry that we'd stumble across a horrific answer to our burning questions. Despite Daryl's affections the night before, I certainly hadn't forgotten about the task at hand, those we were looking for. My mind wasn't so disorientated anymore and I smiled in return, hoping mine was strong enough to provide a little comfort for the girl. I gathered up the blanket that I had slept under, glancing around to see the cave had been emptied, before clambering towards the entrance when Sophia beckoned me out.
"You looked peaceful so we thought we'd leave you a little while longer." She told me as I left the cave. I hooded my eyes with my hand as the sun was a little intense at first, grumbling a little to myself as I did. Sophia's hand took my free one without a word and she guided me down the slightly rocky hill to the clearing below. When I reached the bottom, I had adjusted my sight and I eyed the area around us. Daryl was nowhere in sight, I noted, and I frowned strangely at that. "Daryl's gone to find the trail again. He said he's be back soon." I nodded before smiling down at Sophia, .
"Sleep well?" I asked, feeling a little awkward at the memories of what Daryl and I had been up to while she had been slumbering. Sophia didn't pick up on my sudden un-comfortableness though and nodded firmly in answer to my question.
"It was better than I thought it was going to be!" She told me and I smiled slightly.
"Better than sleeping in a tree?" I countered, lightly, and Sophia grinned widely at me in return. Before she could answer the question though, the sounds of leaves rustling caught our attention and across the clearing, Daryl appeared between the bushes. He glanced between us before squaring in on me. My head spun a little as yet again I was reminded of what had gone on the night before. As I studied the hunter's face, I could almost feel his lips against my skin still and I shuddered once more at the thought. As if sensing my thoughts, a slight smirk lit up Daryl's face.
"You're up." He observed with a nod, his eyes dancing with amusement. It was strange to see Daryl so carefree especially and also so bold with his affections as exhibited the night before. Glancing down at our company though, I knew his easy attitude was no doubt due to the easiness of the situation. He seemed almost at ease with Sophia and I and the thought battered down all the awkwardness I had initially been feeling and I smiled to myself. I guessed we were a couple now after all anyway and I guessed it was what couples do, even Daryl and I who weren't exactly the most conventional when it came to romance. "I found the trail again. We might as well make tracks now, pick up the pace 'nd hopefully we'll reach that town soon enough." Sophia jumped into action immediately, shrugging the bag off her shoulder and opening it, holding it out towards me. I took the blanket that I had thrown over my shoulder and shoved it inside the open bag and immediately the girl strapped it back up again and threw it over her back. She marched towards Daryl with meaning and I followed behind her, smiling at her determination.
"Good morning." I muttered when I passed the hunter and Daryl tipped his head in an almost greeting. "How's your foot?"
"Morning." He responded, chuckling slightly, before offering the sniper that he had hung over his shoulder. "'Nd my foot's fine." I took the weapon back from him, smiling thankfully. And just like that, the air cleared once more.
Daryl remained in his previous position up front, Sophia behind him and myself a few paces back. I tugged at the strap over my shoulder, feeling the ache of the weight of the weapon that hung there. Occasionally, I would switch shoulders to even out the pressure and would rub the other one when it was free. Sophia didn't seem to have any problems with her bag and the item bounced happily on her back as she walked. Her paces were a lot more steady today, I noted, and she hadn't stumbled once since we left the cave. The rest had perked her strength and I was glad for it, wondering what the day would bring us and knew that we'd need all the strength we could get. Daryl, up ahead, continued his normal tracking, his attention never wavering. I eyed the back of the hunter's head as he glanced between the trees, a rush of feelings overwhelming me as I did. His hair was spiked up awkwardly at the back, I noted, and I wondered with a bite of my lip if I had been the one to mess his hair up.
We didn't speak very much, apart from Daryl's occasional orders, but the air didn't need filling just yet. We were all too preoccupied with our thoughts and up until we needed to talk, the silence was welcomed. I thought of the others back at the warehouse and hoped they were alright. I could imagine how tense they must all be feeling, how the fear mounted between them. I could imagine their gazes fixed at the spot we left from, just waiting for our return as we had waited for Rick and the others before. I could imagine they were expecting us to come back, either alone or empty-handed and I knew they would be preparing themselves for the worst possible outcome. Would they expect we'd return too? How long would they wait for us?
When Daryl's pace began to slow down, I wondered if maybe his foot was playing up again and I made a move forward to ask if he wanted to rest. However, something between the trees caught my eyes before I did. A house. The white painted exterior was a contrast to the greenery around us and I knew immediatly what this meant. We had found the town. Daryl's pace slowed down completely until the man reached a halt and he glanced back over his shoulder to the pair of us. With a jolt of his head, Sophia and I moved to stand beside him.
"The tracks seem to lead through this way." He breathed, eyes fixed ahead of him. "I reckon they came through 'ere 'nd I'm guessin' that house will be the first one they came across."
"They weren't looking for houses though, they were looking for cars." I pointed out, quietly, and Daryl grunted in agreement. His head turned briefly down to the side of him and his attention turned to Sophia then.
"You keep ya eyes open, girl. Do as Ruby 'nd I say, alright?" Daryl muttered, his voice firm. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sophia nod, furiously. "Don't go runnin' off neither. Stick with us 'nd keep quiet. Try not to use ya gun unless ya absolutely need to. We don't know what we're gonna find so we gotta be careful."
As we approached the town, my gut fell with horrid expectance. So many possibilities mused in my head, none of them good, and glancing down at Sophia, I wondered if bringing her along was such a great idea now. What if she saw her best friend dead? While it wasn't a pleasant possibility, it still was one. I certainly couldn't shield her away from that pain and I swallowed down the lump in my throat quickly as we followed Daryl onto the silent street.
The part of town we had walked into wasn't very big, in fact it almost seemed like the outskirts. Just a cluster of houses and an empty, deserted street winding through them. I was thankful no walkers stumbled along the cobble though, that was more than what we needed. We were able then to scan our surroundings for a moment, just to figure out our next move. I glanced briefly at Daryl to see his face thoughtful and calculating. Sophia merely stood close by the man, an almost fearful expression on her face. What hadn't failed to bypass my notice though were the lack of vehicles on the street we stood on. While I knew that Rick and the others could have easily taken the vehicles on this street, they would only be able to manage two cars tops and I seriously couldn't imagine there only being two vehicles on this street alone. When I glanced at Daryl again, his gaze was on the ground.
"I can't seem to pick up their tracks again." He told us, his voice a mutter. "Easier to track in the forest anyway, but-" Daryl trailed off, a strange frown on his face then when he appeared to discover something. I stepped forward, curious to the tense expression that suddenly fell on his face.
"What?" I probed, quietly and slowly, Daryl dragged his gaze up to mine.
"There are more tracks 'ere." He said, quietly, before turning around in a spin, his eyes darting around. "Others passed through 'ere, that's why I can't find Rick's and the others' trail anymore." The statement sent my stomach plummeting with dread and I saw Sophia's expression tense too. More people had come through here, could these people be the same ones that have been watching us at the warehouse? Were we right in thinking they'd come after Rick and the others? My heart beat began to pick up again now and I swallowed the thickness in my throat.
"What do we do?" I breathed, uncertain now. My eyes scanned the houses around us, wondering if we were being watched right now too. My hand rested against the gun at my belt almost unconsciously and I was thankful Sophia was prepared with her own weapon out before her. Daryl stood thoughtfully for a moment, before his gaze fell back to the ground again. An expression of dread crossed his face before he met my gaze once more.
"We can follow these other tracks? See where they lead?" Daryl offered, uncertainly. Did we really want to know where they led to? After a moments pause, I found myself nodding. We came here for answers, so we had to find them. Even if they weren't the ones we wanted. Studying me silently for a moment, Daryl sighed before nodding too. His attention turned away again and his quickly set about picking up the direction of these new tracks. When he finally got the grasp on them, he gestured for us to follow and slowly the three of us made our way down the street, an unhealthy feeling between us now.
The first thing that struck me was that everything was awfully quiet. The lack of walkers too was a little unnerving and for a moment, I wondered if their absence was such a good thing. The three of us seemed so small as we wandered down the street at a steady pace, Sophia and I keeping an eye on our surroundings, while Daryl kept his gaze on the ground. The houses on either side of us seemed very much deserted, though the same could have been said about the factory facility when we first arrived there too. While I didn't feel like eyes were watching us now, that didn't shake away the tense feeling that struck my core.
A sudden groan, however, caught all of our attention and I found myself almost sighing with relief when a couple of walkers staggered out from down a side road. I took a moment to scan them quickly, thankful that they weren't familiar to us and instead just a few more nameless dead people. As heartless as the sentiment was, I smiled at the sight of them, glad they weren't the deceased versions of the trio we looked for.
Daryl moved silently, holding a hand out to Sophia and I to keep us stationary. I noted, out the corner of my eye, that Sophia had raised her gun but I was thankful she hadn't pulled the trigger. We didn't need the sound drawing any unwanted attention, that was for sure. Instead, she and I stood back as we watched Daryl approach the stumbling geeks, his crossbow posed at the ready. The silent street echoed as the crossbow strung out and as an arrow bolt took out the closest walker in one fluid notion. The one behind it staggered over its fallen companion, still making an attempt for Daryl, though the hunter didn't waver. Rather than reloading his crossbow, he flung the weapon back over his shoulder by the strap and in the same motion, took out his knife. Without a second pause, the hunter leapt forward and forced his blade into the walker's skull, grunting as he did. With a harsh shove, he retracted his knife and let the body fall to the floor.
I met Daryl's gaze when he wiped his blade clean on his trouser leg and nodded once. The hunter returned it before moving to pull the arrow bolt from the walker's skull to replace it back again into his crossbow. Once satisfied, Daryl's gaze turned downward and instantly he picked up the trail again and we were back to the hunt for our friends. Not a word was spoken.
We kept going for a few more paces before Daryl's slowed again. His eyes remained downcast before slowly, his head turned as if he was following some lead. Realising he was probably was, I followed his gaze before squaring in on a house to the right of us. While it didn't seem anything out of the ordinary, I knew exactly what this stop meant. The tracks led up to this house and therefore whatever made these tracks led here too. Swallowing hard, I merely studied the house, eyeing the way it stood tall and almost intimidating. It was no different visually from the others around it, but the feelings received from it were in a different league. Hesitantly, I turned to the man beside me. He too was eyeing the house, though his expression was thoughtful. It was Sophia who spoke up first.
"They went in there." She observed quietly, quicker than I imagined her to be. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Daryl nod. He then, after a pause, unslung his crossbow from his shoulder and held it out in front of him. Daryl's eyes never wavered from the house before us. "Are we going in too?" We; her inclusion made me tense and I immediatly wanted to batter down her expectancy to join us. Daryl, however, met my gaze briefly and silenced me before I could say anything to her.
"She'd be safer with us than out 'ere." He murmured, quietly. I wasn't sure whether Sophia heard him but she stared up, expectantly, at the house as if she hadn't. I didn't like the idea of her joining us, but I knew that Daryl wouldn't want to take her in with us unless he was absolutely certain. Daryl's gaze softened briefly. "She can stick with me. Ya can cover the top floor, we'll cover the bottom. I'll keep her safe. Sound good?" His tone was reassuring but it didn't seem to do the trick. Seeing no alternative as the idea of leaving her out here also scared me too though and I found myself nodding. Daryl sighed at my response. "Sophia, ya stick with me. No wanderin' off, I mean it. No funny tricks 'ere, girl, ya do as I say. Promise?" He turned to the girl, eyeing her with a raised eyebrow. Sophia's expression was a little fearful but she nodded anyway.
"I promise, Daryl." Sophia whispered and it was good enough for the hunter.
Obviously, he led the way up onto the porch., Sophia and I trailing behind him Before we entered the scarily perfect-looking house, Daryl paused to press his ear against the wood to listen. I held my breath, in fear of distracting him. After a few minutes of silence, Daryl glanced over his shoulder with a nod. Wordlessly, Daryl took the red cloth that remained constantly hanging onto his trousers and held it out to the girl beside him. Sophia eyed it strangely, unsure why he was offering her the item still attached to him, but took it anyway in her shaky grasp.
"Ya keep hold of that." Daryl finally muttered, his voice barely a breath. "Don't let go, ya stick with me, little girl." I understood then the meaning of this gesture, to keep Sophia with him and I smiled at Daryl, thankfully, when glanced up at me. He reached for the door handle, briefly gesturing to me before pointing up and gesturing to himself then doing a circle with his finger. I got the meaning; I check upstairs, they'll check downstairs. I nodded and Daryl seemed satisfied before he turned to the closed door he now held onto. After a brief breath, Daryl slowly turned the handle and the door slowly creaked open. The fact it wasn't locked worried me slightly and as Daryl and Sophia entered the house first, I noticed the broken lock as I passed inside, realising that someone must have forced their way in here.
Tense, I eyed the immediate room before quickly squaring towards the stairs. As Daryl and Sophia remained down here, I obliged to my assigned job and quickly made my way over to the stairwell, as quietly as I could. I kept my gun out before me, ready to fire, as I crept up the stairs. While there didn't seem to be any signs of anyone here, I wasn't going to let that fool me just yet. We weren't sure what we would find here, but one thing was certain; the tracks had led here. With that thought in mind, I reached the top step and I paused for a moment to listen for any sounds.
Distantly, I could hear the sounds of creeping footsteps but immediatly realised it was Sophia and Daryl, more so Sophia as she wasn't quite elite in sneaking as Daryl was yet. Swallowing hard at the thought, I ventured towards the first door and braved taking a look inside. It was a bedroom, I realised straight away. Perhaps a guest bedroom once upon a time. The door hadn't been closed properly and I checked behind it before going further in. The blanket on the bed seemed a little tussled, I noticed and I frowned at the sight of it. It looked like someone had laid on it and I wondered if maybe it had been recently, given the trail that led to this place. Other than the apparently used bed, nothing else struck out as extraordinary and I quickly moved on to the next room.
When I came to another bedroom, I realised that it must have been a teenager's room, namely a boy's, in the old life. The large flat screen TV and stack of games and DVDs were a giveaway and I smiled slightly, knowing this would have been one boy's paradise a long time ago. My thoughts mulled over Carl then, wondering if he was the type of boy to play with videogames and hesitantly, I wandered over to the bed. Like before, it looked like it had been slept on and I frowned again to myself. An item on the floor by the bed caught my attention and I wandered closer before bending down to pick it up. Holding it in my hands, I studied it with a frown. A book. There was a dog-eared corner folded over, I noticed, and I flicked through the pages briefly before sighing to myself. We never really had time to read books anymore and as I held one in my hand now, I couldn't help but miss the feeling of sitting down and immersing myself in a good book. Studying the item one last time, I let the book fall back onto the bed before turning away and walking out of the room.
The third bedroom I entered was definitely the main bedroom, given the size of it. Studying the tussled sheets I sighed. This room was just as empty as the previous two and yet that just added more questions to the ones we already had. Just when I was about to leave the room, something on the ground caught my eye. Slowly I crept slower before I kneeled down at the foot of the double bed to look at what stained the carpet. It wasn't too drastic in size, but the colour was something that certainly wouldn't go amiss. Red, blood red to be exact. It was only a tiny patch that stained the carpet rug but it was enough to catch my attention. Hesitantly, I reached forward with my hand and slowly touched the stain with my finger. When I drew it away, I stared down at my hand with a horrible feeling.
The blood was still wet.
Rising to my feet, I kept my eye on the small blood stain, gripping my gun tighter than I was before. Swallowing hard, I thought of the final room I had to enter and wasn't sure whether I was feeling overly up to investigating it. I guessed it must have been the bathroom though and with a sigh, I urged myself out of this bedroom and towards the closed door at the end of the landing. Creeping towards it, I got my gun at the ready before me. Downstairs, I heard nothing and I didn't let that bother me just at the moment. I had a job to do, after all. Instead, I focused on the closed door and reached towards the handle, hesitating before opening it. Thinking of Carl, Rick and Abraham, I knew that I needed to check inside this room, no matter what and despite the shaky feeling I got from this place. Slowly I pushed the door open.
The first thing that happened when I tried to open the door though was that it wouldn't open. It did, but only slightly, and I realised that something was in the blocking it from the other side. Glancing over my shoulder, just to check nothing was going to sneak up behind me, I turned my full attention to the door and after a brief pause, I paused my weight against it, forcing my way in. When I stumbled into the bathroom, I grunted a little after my achievement. Though my celebration was short-lived when my eyes drew to the thing stopping the door from opening. My gaze squared in on the still body of a man and I yelped slightly before stumbling back. The back of my knees hit the toilet seat and I found myself falling back onto it in brief shock, quickly steadying myself to sit down. I eyed the body from my position on the toilet seat and I swallowed hard, examining the dead man's back quickly as he lay face-down.
He wasn't one of ours.
He was too grown-up to be Carl. He wasn't ginger enough to be Abraham. And he wasn't skinny enough to be Rick. Sighing, I found relief wash over me, though another thought occurred to me then. Who the hell was he then? Was he part of this group that watched us? I studied the man for a moment, unsure of what to do, before my eyes were drawn to the left. The window was wide open, I noticed, and I frowned curiously. An escape route, perhaps? Slowly, I pushed myself up off the toilet seat and crept over to the open window. Peering out, I noted that it led out onto a low roof and back out into the yard. This may have been our next lead, I thought to myself.
A hand grabbing my ankle caused me to yell in shock again, this time a little louder, though I didn't waste any more time screaming as I quickly grabbed a pair of scissors that lay on the counter in reach. Without a pause, I pinned the walker down with my free leg and plunged the scissors into the back of its head before it could latch its teeth into my ankle. Of course, it fell still immediately and I was thankful when its grip loosened. With a sigh, I realised I probably should have checked the dead man was dead first before venturing to the window. The sounds of rushed footsteps and a worried shout of my name made me jump slightly though I quickly called out to my other companions and Daryl soon stood in the doorway of the bathroom.
"Ya alright?" He breathed. I merely nodded, gesturing down to the body at my feet. Daryl shoved his way inside, the man's weight still preventing the door from opening fully, before coming to my side to look around the room. Sophia remained in the doorway, though smiled when I met her gaze. Wordlessly, Daryl knelt down and quickly began to examine the dead man.
"It's clear downstairs." Sophia told me while Daryl worked. "Though Daryl thinks that someone has definitely been here. There's a lot of mess around the place." I nodded slowly, thinking of the messed up bed sheets I had seen and the blood stain on the floor. A quick breeze on my back also reminded me of the open window and I waited for Daryl to finish his examination of the man before bringing my findings up.
"He weren't bit." Daryl muttered finally, pulling out the scissors that I had left impeded in his head. When he turned to look up at me, I raised an eyebrow. "Looks like he was strangled to death. Not sure what with, but it's left marks on his neck." This certainly was a development.
"There's blood in the bedroom next door." I told them both. The hunter slowly got to his feet. "Not a lot, but it's still wet." Daryl nodded slowly, eyeing the body with a frown.
"Someone's been here recently." He murmured.
"Do you think it was the others?" Sophia quickly piped up. She eyed the body at our feet. "Maybe they killed this man. In self-defence." Meeting Daryl's gaze, we couldn't deny it was a possibility. The fact there was blood, no matter how small the stain was, didn't provide much comfort though. Was it from our side or theirs? Hesitantly, I gestured to the open window behind us.
"That was open when I came in. Maybe someone climbed out of it?" I suggested and Daryl moved to lean out of it. After a thoughtful pause, the man nodded.
"Lets go check 'round back."
We soon found ourselves stood out on the back porch of the house, looking up at the floor above. The bathroom window led out onto a small level of roofing before dropping down onto the back veranda. Daryl had told us, firmly, that it would be easy enough for someone to jump down from it without hurting themselves too much. He also added then there wasn't any signs of blood so if someone had climbed out of the window, they hadn't been the ones to bleed on the carpet. This was mildly comforting for a little while. The hunter then turned to eye the grass yard behind us and Sophia asked, timidly, if Daryl was able to see any more tracks. Silently the man grunted before trundling down the wooden steps to the grass level. Silently, the two of us followed.
Daryl made his way around the side of the house, not saying a word as he did. Sophia and I followed behind him and I kept my gaze wandering around, just incase someone was lurking in the bushes; dead or alive. When the hunter nearly did a full lap to the front of the house, he pause at the start of the front porch and his gaze was directed upwards slightly. Slowly, Daryl reached up towards an item that sat on the wooden railing and he brought it down for us to see. It was an opened can with a metal fork still sticking out of it, almost like it was ready to eat. Someone had left this and I quickly began to rack my brains to think if this was one of the cans that we had remaining after most of our supplies had been stolen from, one that Maggie may have given to Rick and the others to take with them. It didn't look familiar, but I couldn't be sure.
"Someone's been 'ere." Daryl finally sighed, throwing the can to the floor. "'Nd from the looks of it, Rick 'nd the other two may have passed by 'ere too." Swallowing hard he scanned his eyes around us. "There ain't any of their bodies, so we should consider that a good thing."
"But there is a body." Sophia added, suddenly. Daryl turned to her with a frown.
"Ain't our people, girl, ain't our problem." He murmured, softly. Sophia frowned at this, but didn't say anything else. I eyed the girl, curiously before glancing up at Daryl again. My head was just spinning right now with all that was going on.
"Okay." I began. "Say Rick and the others were here. Say they were the ones that climbed out that window. Can you pick up where they went from there?" Daryl scanned the floor before shrugging.
"It's hard to tell." He admitted. "There are some tracks but I ain't sure if they're just geeks or them. Plus it's been five days since they left. These trails ain't as clear as they would 'ave been five days ago." I swallowed hard, understanding what he was saying, but unsure what our next move was right now. "Lets head back to the road, see if I can pick up anything else."
When we made it back to the road, Daryl instantly fell back into tracking mode once more. And yet again, Sophia and I were to remain silent and wait until he had found something. I tugged at the strap on my shoulder, absently, as I scanned my eyes across the houses along the street. We had walked quite a few paces away from the house was had just investigated now, in hope of finding some more tracks further down. So far, we hadn't been so lucky, but Daryl kept at it. Soon we came across a more populated part of town as an abandoned corner shop came into sight as well as a bar across the street opposite it. I eyed the two buildings with a frown, wondering if there was anything worth salvaging in there while we were here. Though also the thought of them being occupied too sprung to mind and I swallowed back the nervous lump in my throat.
I suggested we take a look inside them both while we were here, just incase the others were maybe holding up inside them or perhaps we could find any supplies to keep us going. Daryl affirmed the suggestion with a grunt before continuing to say that we'd check the store first. Neither Sophia or I argued this and once more, we let the hunter approach the door first. He opened it slowly, pausing to listen for any sounds, before entering further. Sophia trailed close behind him, holding the red cloth on his belt tightly in her grasp as I stopped to close the door behind us all. As the two of them moved to check the back, I happily took to scanning the front and hoped vaguely that we'd find something to eat.
However when I found nothing, I literally meant nothing. The shelves were bare completely from any salvageable food and I couldn't help but curse as I paced the aisles, just hoping to find something to take with us. When I finally reached the cashier at the back, I could only place a junior-size box of dried cereal on the counter and I eyed the item with a frown. This was all I could find. Absently, I thought of a time when me placing an object on the counter would be shortly followed by "that will be ninety cents please" or something similar before the till ringing out would sound. I smiled to myself, thinking of how meaningless this act would have once been before sighing. Back in the day.
I couldn't reminisce much more though as a single gunshot rang out, too close for comfort. Without a second pause, I rushed towards the door that led into the back of the store in quick search to find the other two. I didn't have to look very long though as I found the pair of them stood in what looked to be a small work-room kitchen with a body of a walker at their feet. I turned to Daryl first, expecting to see a gun in his hand, only to find his crossbow there instead. When I turned to Sophia, I was a little shocked to find her gun raised, poised before her, in her trembling hands. Glancing between her and the body on the floor, I quickly put the pieces together and swallowed hard at the revelation.
"What did I say 'bout using ya gun?" Daryl slowly strung out, his tone quiet, and his attention fixed on the girl beside him. The terror instantly fell onto Sophia's face and she lowered the gun before turning to look up at him with wide eyes.
"I'm sorry!" She gushed out, her tone equally as frantic as her expression. "I didn't think- I forgot- I'm so sorry!" I watched as the previous anger on Daryl's face slowly began to disperse and instead sadness replaced it as he studied the terror Sophia held in her eyes for him. "Please don't be mad at me, Daryl!" Her words struck a core in my heart and I remained silent as I studied the pair of them. Daryl seemed lost for words for a moment, the sadness still lingering.
"I ain't mad." He muttered, his voice unsure. "Ya just gotta be careful next time, that's all. Don't worry about it, kid." Sophia didn't say anything more, though she seemed a little surprised by Daryl's lack of reaction. Instead she nodded and bowed her head. I was unsure as to what to say then and I glanced again between the pair of them, the tension over-whelming the room we stood in. Clearing my throat, I tried to get their attention.
"We should head outside." I suggested. "Maybe try that bar across the road next?" Daryl nodded, numbly in agreement while Sophia made no reaction whatsoever. This time, it was me that led the way out of that store, hoping to leave the tension that had suddenly developed behind us there too.
I scanned the empty street before us when we got outside, a little unsure as to how I was going to break the silence now. Sophia sure didn't seem like she was going to say anything and Daryl had appeared to have fallen into non-talking mode. It certainly didn't help matters, that was for sure, but we still had a job to do regardless. A long way down the street behind us, I noted the staggering forms of a small group of walkers coming towards us, no doubt herding towards the sound of the gunshot. Thankfully they weren't too close to be a problem just yet so I instead focused on the bar across the street, our next heading. Just when I was about to start walking towards it though, a noise suddenly began to echo out around us, stopping me mid-step. Frowning, I instantly recognised that sound and for a moment it drew back some distant memories.
A car alarm.
Glancing briefly at my shoulder at Daryl, I saw the look of understanding cross his gaze and I was glad to see the previous tension gone. For now anyway. After the moment pause, Daryl had suddenly broken out into a hobbled sort of sprint, due to his foot, down the street, towards the noise. I urged Sophia quickly on after him and together we rushed towards the sound. It didn't sound too far away, but I could have been wrong. I trusted Daryl's judgement at least, it had gotten us so far, and we followed the man as he weaved his way amongst the obstacles.
Finally, we had reached the end of an alley way when Daryl drew his pace to a halt. Sophia and I came up beside him, panting as we did. Vaguely, I saw Daryl limp slightly on his injured foot, hopping a little as not to put too much of his weight on it. The running probably hadn't done him much good, I realised, but Daryl wouldn't be one to complain. The sound of the alarm was much closer now and I realised that perhaps round the corner the source would be there. Would we find someone else there too? Friend? Foe? Daryl turned to us and began his gestures and plan of motion. Though before he'd gotten too far, the noise of the car alarm suddenly ceased and Daryl froze in his gestures. The echoing of the alarm still rang in my ears though as it began to die down, something else took its place.
The sounds of voices.
"-Nice one, asshole-" One voice was saying, though I couldn't quite make much more out or even if I found the voice familiar. It sounded male, I concluded. Daryl glanced between us, awkwardly, before gesturing to our weapons. I noticed Sophia's gun trembling in her hands and for the first time since our trio had set out, I pushed Sophia behind me. I made sure my body blocked her from harm before turning to Daryl and nodded a silent affirmative. My heart began to beat rapidly in my chest, droning out most noise in my head and I swallowed down my suddenly thick throat.
"C'mon." Daryl muttered, before leading the way out of the alley way slowly, his crossbow out before him. I followed behind him, my own gun raised at the ready. Daryl walked with a limp now, I noted vaguely, and that would have to be something we'd address later. If we had a later, that was. Though when we rounded the corner, we found a scene we weren't quite ready for.
There was a little bit of black smoke immersing itself around the front of the car, obscuring the people before it from view slightly. It didn't matter much as they had their backs to us as we approached so we were unable to see their faces. Three of them in total, I counted, though as the smoke began to clear from the bonnet and the trio became more visible to see in sight, my heart dropped immediately.
Red hair, lean frame, sheriff hat.
A stupid grin had picked up on my face before I could help myself and I found myself lowering my gun, realising that the danger wasn't to be. Out of the corner of my eye, Daryl's crossbow had lowered too. Sophia stepped up to my side and I grinned down at her, happy to see the receiving grin I got in return.
"-Next time, leave this to me, alright?" The red-headed man was saying. The lean-framed man beside him ran a ragged hand through his hair. A gesture I knew so well.
"I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking straight to figure out how the hell to turn the God damn alarm off! My mind is a little bit preoccupied with all the shit that's been going on right now, I'm afraid!" He returned with a hiss, though the red-head wasn't so bothered by his tone.
"Next time, don't fuck up the engine while you try, at least. Jesus, man, this thing is beyond bloody fucked now!" A pause. "Sorry, little man, for the language."
"Should we really be out here this long? What about the others, what if they find us here?" The sheriff-hat said, from his place beside the lean-framed man, his voice worried.
"Don't worry about it right now, kid." Red-head replied. Daryl snorted then, apparently feeling the need to intervene now.
"Maybe ya should worry!" The hunter called out and immediately the three before us visibly tensed. "'Cos we've found ya." The trio took a moment to take in this sudden forth voice before slowly turning around to face us. I noticed the way their hands lingered on their guns, gripping them hard and holding them ready for what they were going to face. Their expressions told a story too and it seemed we weren't the ones they were expecting to see. Daryl seemed to notice this too and quickly called them up on it, his tone firm. "Expectin' someone else, are ya?"
"What the-" Abraham strung out slowly, studying us in confusion and also in what looked to be terror. Rick and Carl looked on, matching his expression. While I was overjoyed to see them all okay, there was something about the looks they were giving us that drew the smile from my face. "What the hell are you three doing here?!"
(Author's Note): Thanks for the response from the previous chapter. While I don't think it was one of my best, I'm glad people seemed to enjoy it anyway. I'm not sure whether people are still expecting fast updates, like the previous 12 chapters, but I'm afraid the next lot of chapters may be a little slow. I've churned this one out for you guys, even though I've got plenty of other things I should be doing right now, and it'll be the last for at least a couple of weeks. I'd say the next chapter will be out in a month tops, due to other dedications and I'm sorry that the waiting sucks. I hope this chapter is enough to keep you satisfied for now, even though the ending may be a little sucky!
Please let me know what you think - what do you think is going on with this "other group", what do you think they want with everyone? Any thoughts to what have kept Abraham, Rick and Carl away for so long? Any thoughts you have, I'd love to hear! :D
Anyway, thanks again for your responses. Like I said, the next update may be a little wait but I'll try not to string the wait on too long. If I could, I wouldn't want to leave you guys waiting, but other priorities have to come first! Anyway, let me know what you think of the latest update!