Thank you all for the reviews and love! I really appreciate them and they motivate me to keep writing. I hope I'm writing Daryl true to character - he's a tough one to write!
Jane woke up 12 hours later, groggy from Merle's sleeping pills. Her tank top was damp with sweat and she smelled sour. Her head felt heavy and the pain in her heart was inexplicable. She knew the acceptable time for grief was over. She needed to keep herself going. She sat up and pulled her hair into a high bun and tucked the sheets back into an assemblage of a made bed.
Jane stepped out of the RV, holding her hands up to shield her swollen eyes from the late morning sun. Lori and Carol were sitting on the pavement in the shadow of a car, going over multiplication tables with Carl. Dale was, as always, atop the RV, along with Andrea, and Glenn was simply leaning against the RV, starting into the distance.
Carl looked up first and smiled his crooked grin. "Jane! You're awake!" He stood and hugged her leg. "It's okay Jane. My dad is going to find Emily. Don't worry." Jane felt so much affection for him and his innocence in that moment. Hot tears pricked her eyes and she bit her lip to stop them. She hugged Carl.
"Thanks Carl. Thanks ya'll for taking care of me. I'm sorry I fell apart like that."
Carol waved her hand. "Please don't apologize for something like that."
Jane hugged herself despite the stifling heat. "They back yet?"
Lori shook her head. "No hon, they're not. We're hoping to see them soon."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry they're out there looking for my dog. She is…my responsibility." Her voice broke.
Dale spoke from atop the RV. "We're in this together. We take care of each other. That's the way it is."
Jane squinted and looked up at Dale. "Thank you. I can't say thank you enough, all of you. Is there anything I can do? How long have they been gone?"
Glenn answered. "About 16 hours. Shane went to look for them early this morning. We're just waiting. We're safe here for the time being. No walker sightings yet. Hey, are you hungry?"
Jane thought about it. Her stomach growled, as if on cue, and she laughed. "I guess I am. We got any granola bars?"
Glenn found a peanut butter granola bar and Jane ate it heartily, hungry despite her nervous stomach. She watched the trees and lines of traffic as she chewed, hoping for any sign of the others. She was still groggy and resented taking a sleeping pill to handle her emotions. She leaned against the RV next to Glenn and they watched the road for signs of life.
As the morning turned into afternoon, Jane sank back into despair. She thought about Emily and how she always looked happy to see Jane, even if she'd only been gone for a few minutes. She'd failed her friend after Emily had done nothing but look out for her. She looked over at Lori and read the worry on her face. Jane felt sick, knowing she was responsible for Rick's absence. Hot tears slid down her cheeks and didn't have the energy to wipe them away.
Andrea shouted down from the RV, startling everyone. "I see someone!"
Jane shot up onto the ladder and was up on the roof in seconds. She ripped the binoculars out of Andrea's hands and trained them in the direction she was facing. She located the movement of a head with the same color hair as Rick, though from this distance it was nearly impossible to tell if it was friend, foe or walker. She looked at Andrea.
"I'm going to go meet whoever that is. You coming with me?"
Andrea considered for a minute and nodded her head. She and Jane weren't allies but she understood the importance of the group, and she would do what was smartest for everyone.
"Dale" Jane asked "You got our backs from here?" Dale tipped his hat. "Of course."
Jane leapt down the ladder, patted her machete for reassurance and anxiously waited for Andrea to descend and check her gun. Glenn was already ready with his handgun. Glenn, Andrea and Jane walked quickly towards the spot where they had seen the movement, careful to use cars as cover and stopping to listen every few yards. Jane, impatient, picked up her pace, trusting the other two to follow.
She listened, and close by she could hear the deep gulps of someone catching his or her breath. Walkers don't breathe, Jane thought, and popped her head out from behind the car she was currently crouched behind. It was either going to be Rick, Daryl, or someone she didn't want to meet, but she wasn't willing to wait anymore.
She saw Rick, bent double with his hands on his knees, dirty and sweaty but very much alive. Daryl and Shane were not with him. Neither was Emily.
"Rick! You alright?"
Rick held up his hand, indicating he needed a minute. "Fine! Just...catching ...my breath."
Jane gave him a minute, and while she waited Glenn and Andrea caught up. She felt like she was going to explode. Once it was clear Rick was ready, she blurt out. "Rick? Emily? Daryl? Where...?" She couldn't continue. She was afraid of the answer.
Rick pointed behind them to the woods and Jane saw Shane and Daryl crashing through the thin trees, with Daryl carrying Emily in his arms. Jane sprinted to him and he stopped when he saw her and laid Emily down gently. Jane watched him place Emily on the ground, searching for movement or noise from her beloved dog. It was impossible to tell if Emily was alive or dead. Every muscle in Jane's body was taut. She couldn't look at Daryl's face. She needed to find out on her own.
She knelt over Emily, noticing the dark patch of fur matted with blood and dirt on her hindquarters. Her hand hovered over it for a minute and then moved her hand to Emily's neck. She gently touched the dog's fur and Emily let out a low whine. Jane's heart surged and she brought her face down to Emily's. The dog whined and opened her eyes, and then dealt Jane a slow stinky lick to the face. Jane whimpered with relief. In that moment there was only Emily. Emily, dirty, alive, and still hers.
Jane burst into silent tears and lay down next to Emily, carefully putting her arm over the dog's neck. She patted and rubbed, searching for injuries and removing leaves from the dog's dark fur. Emily kept her eyes trained on Jane, tail softly thumping against the ground. Satisfied that there were no other wounds, Jane pushed up to her knees and examined Emily's back leg. She had been punctured; a deep cut that had bled copiously, judging by the amount of blood clotted in the dog's fur. The wound was dirty and ragged. Jane clucked, and mentally inventoried their first aid supplies. Emily would need stitches, and they'd probably have to shave around the cut and clean it very well.
Daryl was still standing there. He had moved away a bit, giving Jane distance to tend to Emily, but he remained, watching her. Jane looked up at him. "Can she walk?"
"She could if she had to, but she shouldn't. Got to clean out that cut and let her rest."
"Can you carry her the rest of the way? We're not too far - RV is in the same place"
Daryl nodded. Jane moved down to Emily and kissed her face. "Emily? Baby girl, we're going to move you now, take you and get you cleaned up. I promise I'll be here. I won't leave."
Jane kept her eyes on Emily's as Daryl leaned over and scooped the dog into his arms. He held her gently but Jane could see the tendons in his arm strain under Emily's weight. Jane walked alongside him, making sure Emily could see her as they walked towards the others.
The others were on the road, waiting, and the whole group moved together towards the RV. Glenn, unable to hold in his curiosity anymore, asked:
"What happened? Where were you guys?"
Rick and Shane exchanged a long look and then Rick spoke. "I'm going to tell you, and you cannot tell the others. This has to stay between us. Got it?" His tone was severe.
"Okay, okay." Glenn answered, and Jane nodded in turn.
"She was taken by a group of men. Hunters. There were three of them. Daryl tracked them to their camp, a summer cabin a few miles up into the woods. They had nets and spears and arrows. They were well equipped. It looked like they had been hunting and trapping for a few weeks. There were bones. A lot of bones. Rabbits, deer and some others. Dogs, maybe cats. Maybe…people."
"PEOPLE?" Glenn, Andrea and Jane did a near-simultaneous double take, mouths agape.
Rick spoke evenly. "Yes, people. This is why this can't get back to the others. We can't let them know people like that are out there."
"Jesus H. Christ! Rick, are you serious? We've got walkers, and now we've got to worry about fucking cannibals?" Glenn was yelling. Jane felt like she was going to throw up her granola bar all over the road.
Daryl spoke for the first time. "People get desperate. We took care of them, but I reckon they'll be more along the way."
"By took care of them you mean you killed them?" Glenn asked, his tone near hysterical.
"Yes." Rick answered. "We were not about to leave people like that out there and sit around waiting for them to follow us or find us again."
Glenn looked stricken. "Well, yeah, but Jesus. They're people, Rick. We don't kill people."
"Maybe the rules have changed."
Glenn fell silent. Shane spoke. "It isn't pretty, but it's how we live now. It's the way it's got to be."
Glenn had gone silent and Andrea was pale and quiet. Jane watched Daryl. She imagined him putting an arrow through a man's head, and found it wasn't hard to picture. She didn't believe that Daryl relished doing something like that but she knew he'd do what he had to do to protect himself and the group. She believed she'd do the same.
Jane kept her eyes on Emily and pushed everything else aside. She felt numb, a feeling she was increasingly familiar with. She silently willed Daryl to move faster towards the RV.