~220 ~ 3504
The group had been driving almost all day. Isabell had to admit that her butt was starting to get a little sore. As the sun started to get darker and the light began to fade, she hoped that they might consider stopping somewhere soon. Isabell was hungry. She hadn't had anything to eat in over twenty-four hours. Isabell wondered how Carl was doing. She wished that she could tell them about the few granola bars she had in her backpack. If only they could stop soon.
Behind them, the sound of a horn made her heart lift in her chest. Isabell squeezed her arms around Daryl once as he slowed the motorcycle down. She turned her head around, looking towards the cars behind her, wondering what the problem was. When Isabell saw the others getting out of their cars, she pushed herself off the bike.
Daryl turned the key, but stayed on the bike. "You out?" He asked Rick as the man walked towards them.
"Runnin' on fumes." Rick shared. Everyone else in the group started to gather towards them. A couple held weapons in their hands as their line of defense.
Isabell groaned, frustrated, even though that she knew this time was coming soon.
"We can't stay here." Maggie stated.
"We can't all fit in one car." Glenn pointed out to her, realizing that they had no other choice.
Rick turned to look at the group. "We'll have to make a run for some gas in the morning."
"Spend the night here?" Carol questioned.
"We don't have any other options." Isabell said, looking to her.
"I'm freezing." Carl complained. His hands stuffed in his sweatshirt pockets.
Rick moved to take off his own jacket to hand it to his son.
"We'll build a fire, yeah?" Lori asked, looking to Daryl.
Daryl nodded. "You go out lookin' for firewood, stay close." Daryl said, reaching for his crossbow to load it. "Only got so many arrows. How you doin' on ammo?" He asked Rick.
Rick was pacing and Isabell could see his worry. "Not enough."
Isabell started to roll the sleeves down on her flannel shirt. She caught Daryl looking at her and furrowed her brow. "What?"
"You good?" Daryl asked.
Isabell just nodded.
"We can't just sit here with out asses hangin' out." Maggie realized.
"What your mouth." Hershel told his daughter quickly. The small comment made Isabell laugh. "Everyone stop panicking and listen to Rick."
Isabell caught Daryl looking off into the woods and pulled him back to the group. She gestured to Rick, saying that he needed to listen to him.
"Alright, we'll set up a perimeter." Rick instructed. "In the morning, we'll find gas and some supplies. We'll keep pushin' on."
"Glenn and I can go make a run now, try and scrounge up some gas." Maggie offered.
"No, we stay together." Rick insisted. "God forbid something happens and people get stranded without a car."
"Rick, we're stranded now." Glenn stressed.
Rick shook his head at that. "I know it looks bad. We've all been through hell and worse, but at least we found each other."
Isabell smiled at that comment and held tightly onto Daryl's arm.
"I wasn't sure - " Rick continued, shaking his head. "I really wasn't, but we did. We're together. We keep it that way." He paused. "We'll find shelter somewhere. There's gotta be a place."
"Rick, look around." Glenn pestered, gaining Rick's attention. "Okay? There's walkers everywhere. They're migrating or something."
"There's gotta be a place. Not just where we hole up, but that we fortify. Hunker down. Pull ourselves together. Build a life for each other." Rick was gesturing wildly with his Colt in his hand. It's obvious that he was very adamant about finding such a place. "I know it's out there. We just have to find it." Rick turned away from the group taking a couple steps away.
Isabell believed him. They found a home in the farm. Who's to say they couldn't find another farm? Some place they could live, away from the walkers.
"Even if we do find a place and we think it's safe, we can never be sure." Maggie promised. "For how long?"
Rick faced her with an angry expression, wondering where everyone's faith had gone.
"Look what happened to the farm. We fooled ourselves into thinking that that was safe."
"We won't make that mistake again." Hershel guaranteed.
"We'll make camp tonight." Rick said, taking a couple steps towards the guardrail on the edge of the road. He pointed to a patch of area that held stone walls. "Over there. Get on the road at the break of day."
"Does this feel right to you?" Carol asked, turned her head to Isabell and Daryl.
Daryl turned to catch her eyes and then Isabell's.
"What if walkers come through, or another group like Randall's?" Beth questioned.
Isabell furrowed her brow, realizing that Rick probably didn't know about Randall. "Hey, Rick." She called to get his attention. "In all the hell you probably didn't know, but we found Randall." Isabell gestured to Glenn, Daryl, and herself.
Daryl nodded, recalling the moment he'd saved Isabell from Walker Randall. "He had turned, but he wasn't bit."
Rick looked down and then turned his head away.
"How's that possible?" Beth asked, wondering if anyone knew the real answer.
Lori looked to her husband, noticing that he didn't seem as shocked by Randall's turn as the others had been. "Rick, what the hell happened?"
"Shane killed Randall." Daryl insisted. "Just like he always wanted to."
"And then the herd got him?" Lori asked.
Rick looked to his wife and then turned his head, avoiding everyone's eyes. After a moment, he spoke. "We're all infected."
Isabell's heart dropped and her eyebrows pushed together. Her hand tightened around Daryl's arm.
Suddenly with three words, Rick had every single person's eyes on him.
"What?" Daryl questioned.
"At the CDC," Rick started, "Jenner told me." He shook his head slightly. "Whatever it is, we all carry it."
Daryl pulled his arm from Isabell's grasp and took steps away from Rick.
Isabell could tell that Daryl needed a moment to calm down so she didn't stop her. Hell, her own blood was beginning to heat up as she thought about Rick's confession more and more.
Carol stepped up towards Isabell, standing next to her. "And you never said anything?"
"Would it have made a difference?" Rick asked.
"So, you knew this whole time?" Glenn accused.
"How could I have known for sure?" Rick pointed to Glenn. "You saw how crazy that mo - "
"That isn't your call!" Glenn whispered, harshly. "Okay, when I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told for the good of everyone."
"Well, I thought it best that people didn't know."
Isabell scoffed. "Are you fucking kidding me?"
"Iz…" Daryl said, knowing that her anger towards Rick might have just reached an all time high.
Isabell sent a quick glare towards Daryl and took a couple steps towards Rick. "You should have told us. You should have said something."
"Well, I didn't."
"Yeah? And what if someone had died during the night? One of us eats the wrong piece of food and the rest of us are all just walker bait." Isabell seethed.
"We were fine." Rick insisted.
"The hell is wrong with you?" Isabell tried to take a couple more steps towards Rick, hoping to get a swing at him, but Daryl grabbed her around her waist, pulling her away. "Daryl, set me down!" Isabell whispered, struggling against Daryl's much stronger hold.
Daryl turned her away from Rick and carried her to the trees. He stopped, holding Isabell tightly to him. Daryl had his mouth right next to Isabell's ear as she slowly stopped moving about in Daryl's arm. "Izzy, ya need to calm down."
Isabell took a deep breath and nodded her head.
"Ima put ya down." Daryl told her.
"Okay." Isabell said. She felt her feet touch the ground and turned to face Daryl. Isabell pushed her hair out of her face, unsure of what to say. "I just - "
Daryl stared at her with empty eyes.
Isabell rubbed her hands over her face. "What are we supposed to do with that?" She asked, looking to him. "How do we - ?"
"I don't know." Daryl admitted, interrupting her. "Don't feel much different than before."
"But - " Isabell stopped, letting out a short, hard breath. Knowing they were all infected was something she never even thought about. It never seemed like a possibility. "It's so different."
"How?"
Isabell shook her head, eyes looking past Daryl. Her sight moved in quick bursts and she couldn't keep to one thing. "All I can think about is Harley." Isabell told Daryl. She noticed his swallow nervously and take a small step away from her. "This whole time, we thought that she got eaten. Blood all over Garrett's house. Not a single trace of anyone." Isabell thought. "But what if she got out? What if she got out and she couldn't find food, so she just starved to death? What if she's just walkin' around, dead, right now?"
"Izzy - "
"No!" Isabell snapped. "You can't tell me that she's not because you don't know. She's a walker." She said, her voice cracking. "My little girl is one of those monsters. U-unless someone came across her and stabbed her in the head. B-but then it was some stranger." Isabell took a deep breath. "Some stranger killed my baby."
Daryl shook his head. "Stop it." He told her. Daryl placed his crossbow on the ground, took steps back towards her, and grabbed her wrists. "Listen ta me." He said, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Harley would know how to get food. She knew how ta hunt." Daryl reminded Isabell. He hesitated with his next words because he never really wanted to admit them. "But she didn't get out. She isn't a walker."
Isabell stared at Daryl for a long time without saying anything. Her mind was moving so quickly through the thoughts of her daughter. How Harley getting out of that blood-soaked apartment would have been next to impossible. Slowly Isabell started to nod her head. "You're right." She said quietly. "Harley is dead. She's not a walker. She's just…."
"Gone." Daryl finished for her, hardly being able to get the word out. "Harley's gone."
Isabell urged herself forward into Daryl's arms, holding him tightly around his waist. "I know she is. I've always known." Isabell mumbled into Daryl's chest. "There was just alway this part of me that hoped."
Daryl nodded against her shoulder. "Like Sophia."
Isabell clenched her hands around Daryl's shirt at the sound of the little girl's name. "Yeah. Like Sophia." She loosened her grip and pulled away slightly. Isabell's hands were still around Daryl for the stability. "I'm sorry we didn't find her." She cleared her throat. "I know you saw her as some sort of….metaphor for Harley."
"'S okay." Daryl shrugged. "She wan't mine." He said, repeating the words he had screamed at Carol about a week earlier.
"I don't know about you, but I loved her like she was."
Daryl bit the inside of his cheek. His hand moved from the top of Isabell's shoulder to the side of her neck, stroking his thumb along her jawline and by her ear.
Isabell relaxed underneath the hunter's touch, closing her eyes and tilting her neck into his calloused hand. She let out a tense breath. "I hate bringin' Harley up 'round you. I hate that I just freaked out on ya."
"Hey." Daryl said, making Isabell opened her eyes to meet his deep blue ones. "If you wanna talk 'bout Harley, you do it. Don't get all worked up 'cause o' me. I miss her, too."
Isabell nodded at Daryl and closed her eyes again.
Daryl leaned forward, touching his nose of hers.
Suddenly, Isabell's breath stopped and then slowed at the closeness of her and Daryl. It had been a long while since they were alone for this long and had a moment of peace. Isabell's breath was shaky, and she could feel Daryl moving forward and back as if he were thinking about whether or not to kiss her.
Daryl was hesitant. They hadn't shared many kisses since the outbreak. Plenty of forehead and cheek kisses, one night of drunken sex back at the CDC, and the sweet kiss from that morning. However, there hadn't been any moments filled with as much emotion as Daryl felt standing this close to Isabell.
Isabell swallowed her nerves, knowing Daryl was going to be mentally arguing with himself for awhile. "D?" She asked, getting a soft mumble in response. "If yer gonna kiss me, could ya just do it already?" Isabell smiled, opening her eyes to meet his.
Daryl saw the mischief in her eyes and he smirked. "Yes, ma'am." His hand at the side of her neck, pulled it forward gently so their lips could collide. Daryl's other hand went to the other side of her face, holding it gently between his hands.
Isabell groaned, not realizing how much she had missed being close to Daryl like this. The moments of intensity when there was only the two of them and there weren't dead people walking around them. Isabell's lips moved eagerly against his as she gripped his shirt tightly. She wanted more. More to touch, taste, and feel.
Daryl could sense what Isabell wanted, so he pulled away slightly, still holding her head in his hands.
Isabell whimpered at the loss.
Daryl shook his head at the woman with a small laugh. "Take a look around, Izzy. Ain't the time or place."
Isabell relented and nodded her head as best she could. She locked eyes with Daryl. "I love you."
"I love ya, too." Daryl said with a one sided smile. He admitted that he loved to hear her say that. Isabell may not tell him that he loved her often, but when she did, Daryl knew that she meant it. He knew that she loved deeply and at the loss of their child, it was hard for her to recover. However, with Isabell coming to terms with Harley being gone, Daryl knew that she was getting to be her old self again.
Daryl held her face and tilted it down so he could kiss Isabell's forehead. "Let's get back to the others."
! #$# !
Isabell stayed around the fire sitting next to Carol closely. She watched Daryl as he went back and forth to get more wood to keep the flame in front of them going.
Daryl knelt down beside Isabell, breaking up a few sticks and tossing them into the fire. He had caught them all something to eat earlier, and it was enough to push the hunger pains off for a while.
Isabell leaned up and placed a hand on the side of his arm to show her appreciation for him.
Lori finally got off her feet for the first time in a long while and sat behind Carl. Beth was cuddled next to her father and Maggie and Glenn were sitting just as close.
"We're not safe with him." Carol whispered suddenly.
Both Isabell and Daryl snapped their heads at the sound of her small voice. Sure, Isabell was angry at Rick for not telling them that they were all infected, but did that mean that they weren't safe at all around him?
Carol looked angrily up at Daryl, hoping that he would agree with her. "Keepin' something like that from us." She looked away, making sure that Rick wasn't around to hear her. "Why do you need him? He's just gonna pull you down."
Isabell shook her head. "Carol, stop." She begged. Isabell understood that Rick had gotten them this far. His best interests was keeping them all safe and alive.
Daryl nodded, looking from the fire towards Carol. "Rick's done alright by me."
"You're his henchman." Carol stressed. "And I'm a burden. You deserve better." She said, glancing towards Isabell, then back to Daryl. "You both do."
Isabell looked up at Daryl, hoping that he wasn't listening to Carol. She knew the woman was angry and trying to vent it all out.
Daryl squinted his eyes at Carol like he did when he was curious. "What do you want?"
Carol hesitated, thinking for just a second. "A man of honor."
"Rick has honor." Isabell said, stressing this in Carol direction. "So does Daryl, but that doesn't mean he needs to take over. Rick's doin' just fine."
"I think we should take our chances." Maggie said to Glenn, but Isabell heard it. She must have been listening to her and Daryl's conversation with Carol.
Isabell's head fell and she looked into her lap defeatedly. "Oh, not you, too."
"Don't be foolish." Hershel ordered. "There's no food, no fuel, no ammo."
Isabell's head snapped up when she heard leaves rustling close by the camp they'd set for the group. She looked up at Daryl.
Daryl put out a hand, telling her to calm herself.
"What was that?" Beth asked, on alert.
"Could be anythin'." Daryl said, standing from his spot. "Could be a raccoon, could be a possum."
"Walker." Glenn added.
"We need to leave." Carol insisted, looking around to the group. "I mean, what are we waiting for?"
"Which way?" Glenn asked, referring to where the sound had come from.
Maggie pointed in the direction she thought it came from. "It came from over there."
"Back from where we came." Beth pointed out.
"Yeah."
Isabell grabbed the knife from in her boot and stood, seeing Rick come from behind one of the rock walls.
Rick looked to everyone, wanting them all to stay put. "The last thing we need is for everyone to be runnin' off in the dark. We don't have the vehicles. No one's traveling on foot."
A branch snapped in the forest and again the entire group was shaking.
"Don't panic." Hershel begged.
"I'm not…." Maggie trailed off, gripping her gun tightly. "I'm not sittin' here, waiting for another herd to blow through." She looked over at Rick. "We need to move. Now."
Rick stepped forward, obviously against that notion. "No one is going anywhere." He stressed.
"Do something!" Carol pressed.
"Carol!" Isabell warned, wishing that she would back off.
"I am doing something!" Rick whispered. He was gesturing wildly with the gun in his hand. "I'm keepin' this group together, alive. I've been doin' that all along, no matter what. I didn't ask for this." Rick was now preaching to the entire group in front of him. "I killed my best friend for you people, for Christ's sake!"
Isabell gasped quietly and took a step back towards Daryl. She felt his hand on her shoulder when she met him.
"You saw what he was like," Rick said defensively. "How he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us." He glanced down at his wife, holding Carl tightly. "He staged the whole Randall thing, let me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me."
Isabell eyes shot down to Carl as she heard him sob into his mother's chest.
"My hands are clean." Rick continued, getting Isabell's attention again. "Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead." He gestured towards the tall trees and the wilderness after them. "I say there's a place for us, but maybe - maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe I'm fooling myself again." Rick pointed towards no one in particular with his gun. "Why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard." He looked around to everyone. They were all baffled and not sure how to react. "Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get."
Isabell reached down and grabbed Daryl's arm tightly.
"No takers?" Rick asked. "Fine. But get one thing straight: You're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."
Isabell took her seat on the ground again, unable to handle the pressure anymore.
Daryl quickly crouched down next to her, wondering if something was wrong. He looked to her with an urgency and caring that instantly made Isabell feel better. "You okay?"
Isabell nodded. "Shocked. I - " She stopped. "I don't know what to say."
"I'ma go get you somethin' ta eat." Daryl moved to stand to his feet, thinking that she was feeling weak from the lack of food.
"No." Isabell insisted, grabbing his arm to stop him. "I'm fine. Just…. Stay, please."
"Mkay." Daryl sat down in the dirt next to her, and pulled her against him. He let her lean her back against his chest and his arms went around her. Daryl said, "We're gonna be okay."
Isabell nodded again, not being able to form words. She kept her eyes, staring into the fire until they started to dry out. Isabell closed her eyes and leaned against Daryl, falling asleep quickly.
! #$# !
I'm sure that the majority of you don't know this, but today is the ANNIVERSARY OF FIGHTER! I've been working on this story for three years and I'm actually a little embarrassed that it only has 28 chapters. I got to work on that.
Anyway, in honor of the anniversary, I'm posting. I also added that special moment between Isabell and Daryl. I felt like it was needed after all this hell the group had been going through.
Sorry for waiting so long to post again. It's only been a month, which isn't the worst time gap, but still.
Let me know what you think of this and what you might want to see in the episodes of season 3.
Also, one last bit that doesn't make much of a difference if you're this far. For the past month or so I have been going back and retyping all the chapters, checking for mistakes, adding little things that a conversation might have needed. There's no need to go back and reread it all because nothing HUGE has changed. I just wanted to let you guys know, because that's always why it's taking me a bit longer to update than it should.
To my reviewers! galwidanatitud, thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I thought that that moment between Merle and Harley was needed.
mrskaz453, Thanks for reviewing! That flashback actually came out of nowhere so it was great that it just kind of came out! Thank for your comments and you're fantastic!
