DARYL'S POV:

I tried to ignore the warmth in my chest at her touch. It seemed everything had changed with the discovery of love. But nothing really had. Everything was perfectly the same. Yet everything seemed to have a sweeter tinge to it. Her touch had affected me before, more than I cared to admit, but now it was a bigger reaction.

I shook my head and scowled. I didn't fall in love. I was Daryl Goddamn Dixon. But I knew if I peeked over my shoulder at her, I would change my mind immediately. So I kept my eyes trained ahead.

Then we came to a highway filled with cars.

I groaned quietly and kept going, pulling up to the edge of the crowd of cars. There was no way through that the RV could fit in. I tried leading them through a clear path and for a minute it seemed like we would be able to get it through. But then, the RV's engine started steaming, letting off a shrill whistling sound.

I shut the bike off and put the kickstand down. I patted the side of Kaiya's leg. "Ya can get off now," I said.

She got off and handed me my crossbow, not making eye contact with me. So she was still mad at me?

I sighed as she walked away.

I guess I couldn't blame her. I would be mad at me, too.

Everyone began getting out of the vehicles and searching around in the cars for anything useful. Like car parts, medicine, or food. I hoped there weren't any walkers in these cars.

I stood from the bike and watched everyone spread out. I watched as Kaiya pulled her hair down and let it splay out in a black cascade down her back. She went over to where Lori and Carol were juggling the kids and searching through cars. She watched the kids so the two moms could search through the cars.

Dale was fixing the RV with the help of Glenn. T-dog and Shane were looking under the hood of every car in sight. Rick was checking the perimeter.

I walked around and decided on a red car with a blue tinted windshield. I opened the back door and searched through the bags stuffed in the floorboard. All I found that was actually good any more was a can of peaches and a bottle of aspirin.

I took them back over to the RV and stopped at the door. Andrea was in there. I looked down at the can of peaches and walked in. I set the can right in front of her. "Ya hungry?" I asked, sitting down across from her.

She shook her head and laid her head on her arms, looking out the window.

I turned and looked, too.

We had a clear view of Kaiya playing with the two kids. She held Sophia's hand as she bent down to the height of Carl and told him something that must've been hilarious; Carl was cracking up.

I smiled a little bit.

"She saved my life, you know," Andrea said.

I had almost forgotten she was even there.

"What do ya mean?" I asked, confused.

"Back in the CDC. I was going to stay. I didn't want to live like this anymore. But her and Dale, they stayed. She reminds me so much of Amy. Young, innocent, beautiful, silly… she can have fun and goof around even in the middle of all of this."

I looked back over at Kaiya, where Andrea was still looking. She was right about everything.

"She spent more time with her than even I did. I feel like with her, I have a little part of Amy with me still, you know?"

I couldn't say I did. With Merle, the only thing that could keep Merle around was himself. That was just the way he was, though.

"She told me what I needed to hear. It hurt, but she had to do it. She's awfully smart… awfully mature for a sixteen year old, huh?"

I frowned and said, "Ya got no idea."

She looked up. "You care about her, too, don't you?"

I looked down, unable to answer yes or no.

"I know you do. Maybe the others don't see the way you look at her, or the way she looks at you, but I see it. I think Glenn might, but he doesn't see as much as I do; I'm a girl, I have an eye for those things."

I chuckled. "Oh really?"

She nodded, half-smiling. "You depend on her."

I scowled. I didn't depend on anyone.

I pushed the can of peaches toward her and said, "Ya better eat." then stood and exited the RV. I glanced over at the two kids and Kaiya.

Kaiya was on her knees, looking down at the pavement and the two kids were standing on either side of her, smiling. There was a look of concentration in her eyes and a large chunk of yellow chalk in her right hand. She leaned forward and drew a few marks onto the ground, then held her arms up and said, "Ta-da!" dramatically.

Carl and Sophia peered over her artwork and both erupted into giggles.

She frowned and crossed her arms. "Everyone's a critic."

I shook my head and turned to go look through more cars.

I was halfway through the third car when I heard everyone start yelling in hushed whispers to get under the cars. I was a bit further behind everyone, so I couldn't see anyone but Dale on top of the RV and he was laying flat on his belly. Over the cars, I could see all of them. Walkers. A lot of them.

I crouched down low and started slinking around the cars, looking around under the cars. I had to make sure she was okay.

A few feet away, I saw Kaiya pushing Carl and Sophia under a car. She crawled under another just ahead of them.

I breathed a silent sigh of relief and then saw T-dog slash his arm on a jagged piece of metal from a car door. He made a pained expression and gripped at it.

My eyes widened when I caught sight of a walker that had been alerted by the freshly spilled blood. He rounded the cars, starting to come toward T-dog.

I grabbed the nearest elongated object and rushed forward quietly. When I was close enough to grab the walker's head, I shoved the object upward through the base of it's head.

T-dog gave me a terrified look, but I kneeled down and put a finger to my lips. I moved toward him and grabbed his feet, sliding him down onto the pavement. I opened the door of the car he had been leaning against, thankful that the door didn't creak. I grabbed the shoulders of the body in the drivers seat and threw it down onto T-dog, covering him with the carcass.

I grabbed the walker I had killed and pulled it over myself just in time for a cluster of walkers pass by us. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the terrible stench of death. When I opened my eyes again, there were no feet around me.

I stayed still a few minutes longer and then a soft scream came from further up by Kaiya and the kids. It was Sophia.

I jerked myself up, catapulting the body off of myself and running over. I was pretty far away, but I could still see that Sophia was crawling out from under the car she had been hiding under, running from two walkers grabbing for her.

Kaiya emerged from the underside of the car in front of the kids'. "Sophia," she called, drawing the walkers' attention to the closer meal. "Go back to your mom. Slowly." She started to backtrack, down the decline of the hill leading to the woods as Sophia got behind the walkers and ran back over to the cars.

I pushed my legs to run faster, but Rick got to the tree line Kaiya had disappeared behind before I could. I hopped up on top of the hood of a car, my crossbow in my hand, and held a hand up to shield my eyes from the sun as I watched the tree line for any sight of movement.

I knew running into the forest after them would only risk more campers. So I bit my lip and turned around, enraged.

Glenn was standing tense at the edge of the road, watching the trees concernedly. Everyone was. But none as much as Glenn and Andrea.

I began to walk back over to my motorcycle when I spotted something pale yellow on the ground.

On the pavement in chalk, was a stick figure drawing with short hair, a crossbow in one hand and a shotgun in the other. There was a fat smoking cigar in his grinning mouth and his eyebrows were arched evilly.

Underneath the figure, the words "Zombie Hunting Jerk Face" was written.

I rolled my eyes. Only Kaiya.

Then at the top, I noticed an arrow pointing to the stick figure. At the top of the arrow, it said, "Daryl".

I looked back at the trees. She would come back. She had to. Because Andrea was right.

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