Disclaimer: I do not own TWD
A/N: Hi, guys! Happy you all liked the last chapter. I know the dog scene was pretty…well, yikes. But it was a part of the show so I thought I'd slip it in there. My timelines a little messy at the moment but it'll all make sense eventually. Anyway, I'm saying too much lol. Enjoy the new chapter!
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CH 51- The Holy Man
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Tiny feet raced through the forest as fast as they could go. Jumping over roots and dodging trees from left to right, sending orange and brown leaves in the air behind them.
Three-year-old Charlie glanced over her shoulder, one quick peak and then picked up the pace, forcing her little legs to race faster.
A walker's growl echoed through the woodland in close pursuit, dragging its legs as fast as it could go. The walker, a man in bloody overalls sniffed the air for the child, following the sound of crunching leaves and heavy breathing. It had her within its sights.
Charlie tripped on a root, slightly stumbling forward. She caught herself just in time before she fell and pushed her hands off the forest ground. She spotted a fallen tree drunk and ran towards it.
Charlie fell to her knees, diving inside the hole right as the walker reached for her. Charlie pushed herself deeper into the trunk, small enough to fit. The walker buckled down and reached its arm into the trunk but got stuck, too big to fit through the hole and grab a hold of the girl.
Charlie's heart accelerated quickly when she met the walker's yellow eyes. The walker opened and closed its mouth, snapping its teeth. Its lips had fallen off and rotten blood spilled over its mouth and down its neck. Its rancid stench hit Charlie's nose and she scrunched her face, feeling her stomach churn. She hadn't eaten anything that day.
The walker growled, desperately attempting to reach her. The tip of its fingers barely reached the bottom of her shoes.
Without warning, something grabbed the walker and yanked it out of the whole. Charlie heard the squelching of flesh followed by the crunch of a skull. The walker fell limp to the ground.
Daryl peered inside the hole, finding his little girl wedged all the way inside. "Ya okay?" He asked her.
Charlie grinned and squirmed her way out of the hole. Daryl reached in, grabbing her by the scruff of the shirt and pulled her out.
"Y'alls took fur-eber, Daddy." She huffed with an annoyed pout. Her words slurred a bit in her sloppy little accent that was still heavy with the voice of a little toddler.
Daryl checked her for any bites or scratches. "Yer fine." He assured her.
Charlie raised her arms to be picked up and he obliged. Hauling her up and swinging her around him so she would latch herself to his back, arms around his neck. "Where da oyer walters go?"
"I killed 'em." He told her, wondering how in the world he ever understood anything she said. He supposed it was due to her being the only person he ever talked to. He had come to learn her strange language.
The walkers had taken them by surprised while they hunted. Two of them had attacked Daryl while the third went for the child. Daryl called for Charlie to run while he killed the two and took care of the third. He hated having the girl out of sight but often it had to be done.
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"Daddy, was ya do?" Her question came so suddenly; Daryl hadn't expected it but wasn't surprised. Her questions came quickly like a flood, unstoppable, drenching everything in its path.
He glanced up from his task of skinning the opossum he had just shot when the walkers took them by surprise to look at the three-year-old. She stood before him in those chubby legs that had begun to stretch out and thin over time. Her face was dirty and splotchy and her shirt had a hole in it from when she had gotten it caught in a fern and tore it.
"Skinnin'." He told her, going back to his task.
"Why?"
"So I can cook it."
"Why?"
"So we can eat it."
"Why?"
Daryl stopped and closed his eyes, glancing up at that dirty little face. Her eyes were so big, big like Beth's. The girl was all eyes. "So we can survive."
"Why?"
"Ya wanna be a walker?"
She shook her head, sticking her finger in her nose. Daryl reached over and plucked her hand from her nose. "How many times I gotta tell ya not to stick yer finger in there?"
"Naw, Daddy." She turned from him and ambled along to the blanket he had set up on the ground next to the little fire pit he had built.
"Hmph." Daryl grunted, "Naw, is that all ya gotta say?"
"Naw!" She called from the blanket.
"Yer a smartass." He continued skinning the dead animal, "Did ya know that?"
"Why?"
Daryl shook his head. "Stop it."
Charlie giggled and lay down on the blanket, reaching for a dirty little beanie cat Daryl had gotten for her at the previous house they had been in. Daryl set the animal back down again and watched Charlie. She was a silly little child but she was his world and Daryl Dixon would do anything to protect his world.
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The humid heat followed them through the woodland as they made their way through the foliage. They had cut across the road on their way down south in hopes of finding some kind of shelter for the night. No one really knew where they were going or what they were looking for. They were just wandering. Wandering like the dead that had taken over.
Beth carried Charlie in her arms when the little girl became too tired to keep walking on her own. She had stopped at one point and refused to keep going so Beth carried her. Daryl had offered to do it but Beth declined, wanting to be the one to help their child for once.
Charlie rested her head on Beth's shoulder; sweat running down the side of her little face. Her big blue eyes lay ahead on the green and brown foliage on nothing in particular, listening to the sound of crunching leaves under their feet. Her stomach grumbled with hunger and she squirmed slightly in discomfort knowing that even if she asked, there would only be pecans and she was tired of pecans.
Muffled behind the sound of shuffled footsteps and dry earth, came a very faint sound. Charlie frowned and lifted her head, listening intently.
"Do ya hear that, Mama?" She asked in a low whisper.
"Hear what, baby?" Beth looked to her. Beth was almost out of breath but she kept on going for the sake of her child.
"That." Charlie said, pointing out the sound with her little finger.
Then from the near distance came the sounds of screams and cries for help. The entire group came to a sudden halt.
"Help!" The voice called out, louder, "Anybody, help!"
Everyone one in the group flinched suddenly at the cries. Daryl grabbed his crossbow, Maggie pulled out her machete, Michonne her katana, Carol her knife and Sasha her gun. The others grabbed their weapons as well, on full alert. Tyreese grabbed Judith and lifted her into his arms. The Grimes girl turned her body to look in the direction of the cries for help.
Carl immediately turned to Rick, "Dad, come on!"
Rick was hesitant but Carl pleaded, "Come on!" Eager to follow the cries for help.
So the group ran towards the cries.
Walkers surrounded a massive boulder where on top was a man dressed in all black. The walkers reached up, grabbing his shoes and the tips of his slacks. The man kicked back, afraid and alert. "Help! Anybody!"
"Help! Help!"
His cries became even more desperate as the group hurried to him, Carl leading the way. When they reached the scene, Carl pulled out his gun and shot the first walker in the head. Rick went up to the next, grabbed its head and smashed it against the boulder. Michonne stabbed a walker through the face as Carol did the same to another. Another walker came ambling around the boulder when Daryl pulled out his crossbow and shot a bolt through its eye.
When the walkers were taken care of, everyone turned to each other and then to the man on top of the boulder.
"Keep watch." Rick said. He went around to boulder, eyes on the shaking man. "Come on down." He told him.
Unable to stop his shaking, the man slid down the boulder. He looked at the people around him without saying a word.
"You okay?" Rick asked him.
The man put a finger down and bent over, vomiting. Carl made a face and looked away, as did the others. Daryl scratched the back of his head and Rick patiently waited for the man to finish emptying his stomach. Charlie scrunched her face at the sight of the man vomiting and wondered if he too had eaten too many carrots.
When the man was done, he cleaned his mouth and stood straight. "Sorry." He sniffled, regaining himself. "Thank you," he spoke, looking at the others and then at Rick, "I'm Gabriel."
"Do you have any weapons on you?" Was the first thing Rick asked.
The man, who appeared to be a priest, found the question rather amusing. "Do I look like I have any weapons?"
"We don't give two short and curlies what it looks like." Abraham interrupted.
Charlie looked from the man to Abraham, following every conversation with too curious eyes. She tightened her hold around Beth's neck, anxious of what was happening.
The group continued to stare at the man named Gabriel until he spoke again. "I have no weapons of any kind." He paused, still nervous, "The word of God is the only protection I need."
"Sure didn't look like it." Daryl said.
Charlie looked at her father, suddenly wanting to go with him.
The man smiled, "I called for help. Help came."
It turned silent. Everyone looked at the man skeptically until he turned nervous again. He then turned to Rick, "Do you—do you have any food? Whatever I had left…it just hit the ground."
"We have some pecans." Carl stuck out his hand, offering the man some.
"Whose that man?" Judith whispered in Tyreese's ear.
The man noticed her soft voice and looked to Tyreese and the child in his arms. He smiled, "That's a beautiful child." He then noticed Beth about three feet from Tyreese with a child in her own arms. The man gave out a soft, half hearted chuckle, "That one too."
No one said anything, only continued to stare at him as if they were trying to figure him out. Even Charlie stayed silent, nervous of what was going to happen next. The priest grew nervous and looked down, "Do you have a camp?"
"No." Rick said, "Do you?"
"I have a church."
"Hold your hands above your head." Rick ordered and the man obeyed. Rick then searched the man for any weapons but found none. "Turn around." He pushed the man around and continued to search him.
"How many walkers have you killed?" He asked him.
"Not any actually."
"How many people have you killed?"
The man turned around, offended. "None."
"Why?" Rick demanded.
"Because the lord abhors violence." Was his answer.
Rick stepped closer, "What have you done? We've all done something."
"I'm a sinner. I sin almost every day. But those sins I confess them to God. Not to strangers."
Rick continued to stare down the man until Michonne cut in. "You said you had a church."
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Father Gabriel lead the group down a path in the direction he said he had a church. Charlie walked between her parents, hand in Daryl's. She had been to a church before, many churches to be exact but they had never meant more than just shelter. Nonetheless, she was excited to rest for a while.
"Are we gon' stay with the man?" Charlie asked Daryl.
He nodded. "For a little while."
"Is he safe?" She asked and Daryl knew why. All the other people they had come across who had offered them shelter hadn't been the kindest.
Daryl nodded, giving the priest the benefit of the doubt. "Yeah."
Charlie leaned closer to Daryl, resting her head on his arm, tired and exhausted, ready to settle down for once.
Daryl glanced over to Beth who ambled besides him. She looked exhausted and out of breath. He was sure the heat was getting to her. "Hey," He said and she looked to him, "It's gonna be alright."
Beth gave him a weakened smile. "I know."
The group looked up to see the small church in the near distance.
"I mostly keep to myself." Gabriel said, "Nowadays people are just as dangerous as the dead. Don't you think?" He turned to them.
"No," Daryl answered, "People are worse."
