DARYL'S POV:

"We're about to be back at the highway, now if ya don't shut up about all this love shit, I'm gonna shoot ya," I warned Andrea, turning and pointing a finger at her.

She sobered up and we continued walking up to the highway.

We got onto the pavement and I shined my light on some of the cars, making sure no walkers had slipped inside and were planning on surprising us. I walked up to the RV just as Carol was getting in.

Dale was climbing down the ladder, giving me an expectant look.

I just looked back, then I shook my head with disappointment.

Carol had been sitting on top of the RV with Dale while Andrea and I had been searching. Sophia had finally fallen asleep. Carol laid back down with Sophia and fell asleep pretty quickly.

I laid back down in the walkway of the RV and fell asleep.

"Kaiya?" I whispered, slinking along through the old house. "Kaiya?"

"Daryl," a girl whispered. I would know that voice anywhere. It was her. But her voice was thin, floating around and fading away like a mist. It was eerie and sent a shiver skittering down my spine.

I walked quietly through the hallway, my crossbow up. The old floorboards creaked as my foot came down. I bit my lip nervously and looked down at the board, silently willing it to shut up.

I heard something get hit in another room to my left a few feet up the hall. I jumped over to the wall and pressed my back up against it, listening closely. No more sounds.

I took quiet steps along the wall, pausing when I reached the open door the noise had come from. I took a deep breath and gripped my crossbow tightly before spinning quickly around the corner and into the room.

I aimed the crossbow all around the room until I finally processed what was standing in front of me.

Kaiya. But she wasn't Kaiya. She had been bitten. She looked up at me slowly.

Her hair was stringy and matted with blood. Her skin was a pale gray with blood smeared in places. There was blood coming from her mouth and crusted over blood in a crescent shape over her left arm and the base of her neck. Her once beautiful eyes were now clouded over and red.

It seemed like she was smiling, but it was twisted and unnatural.

"Daryl," it was coming from her, but her mouth wasn't moving.

"NO!" I yelled.

My eyes flew open, revealing the ceiling of the RV. I was glad I hadn't actually woken up yelling like the last nightmare I had.

I sat up and grabbed my crossbow from the table. After a sigh, I walked outside. Everyone was already ready. We had written in white paint on the windshield of a yellow car, "Kaiya stay here we will come everyday." We also left a few bottle of water and some peanut butter (I knew she loved the stuff so I left it just for her) and some cans of fruit.

I packed up what little I had and threw it on the back of the bike then led the way to the Greene farm.

It didn't take long to find. It was a big farmhouse in the middle of a lot of yellowing fields. There was a large graying barn about a football field away, and the long dirt road must've stretched on for about a mile.

I got off the bike and saw that everybody inside the Greene's farmhouse had come outside to greet us.

"How is he?" Dale asked after a moment of silence.

"He'll pull through," Lori answered, nodding with a slight smile. "Thanks to Herschel and his people-"

"And Shane," Rick interrupted. "We'd have lost Carl if not for him."

Shane looked up and then back down.

Dale moved forward and gave Rick and big man hug. Carol and Sophia hugged Lori. I could tell Sophia was worried and wanted to see Carl, though. I stayed in the back, awkwardly holding on to my crossbow. God, I missed Kaiya.

"How'd it happen?" Dale asked, pulling out of the hug.

"Hunting accident," Rick explained with a small smile. "That's all, just a stupid accident."

Shane shifted around uncomfortably, though I think I'm the only one that noticed. Well, well, mister officer… what have you done now?

After Otis's funeral, I got ready to go out and search some more. From where we were now, there was a lot more land we hadn't been before that we could cover.

I walked around the side of the house, looking out over the landscape with my crossbow strap over my chest.

"Daryl," someone called. I looked over and Rick was walking toward me. "You okay on your own?"

"I'm better on my own. Don't worry, I'll be back 'fore dark," I barked, annoyed that he thought I couldn't handle this.

"Hey," he called out louder. I turned to him again. "We got a base. We can get this search properly organized now."

I took a few steps toward him. He was taking up my time that I could be using to search for Kaiya. "Ya gotta point, or are we just chattin'?"

"My point is that it lets you off the hook. You don't owe us anything."

No I don't. But I do owe something to that girl.

I turned around and stalked off. "My other plans fell through."

About an hour later, I was wandering through the woods, searching for anything useful. The trees stopped, giving way to a wide open space with an old-looking house in the middle.

I took my crossbow off and readied it, cautiously stalking up to the house. I walked up the front porch and kicked the front door in. A chair had been propped up against it, but it hadn't held very well.

I aimed around for a minute before walking in. This place looked creepily similar to the place I had been in my dream last night. I hoped this wouldn't turn out like the dream did. The back door at the end of the front hall hung open on its hinges letting the slight breeze come through the house.

I peered in the living room. Nothing.

I turned and looked in the room opposite. Zip.

I checked one of the other rooms by the back door. Nada.

I thought I heard some creaking, so I pulled myself out of the room, gazing suspiciously at the stairs. But then I saw another room across the hall I hadn't checked. Best to be thorough.

I entered the room, but there didn't seem to be anything there, either. This was the kitchen. I searched around with my crossbow up before looking down at a black plastic trash can by the back door.

There was an empty can of tuna sitting right on top. I picked it up. Only the juices were left. But Kaiya hated tuna. But she hadn't eaten in a while. If this was all she had, she would've eaten it.

I looked up and noticed a pantry door only slightly open. I slowly dropped the tuna can back into the trash and lifted my crossbow. I took a few very slow steps toward it and then reached out and threw it open quickly.

There were a few shelves with food on them, but they had all expired. In the bottom was a pillow and a few sheets. Only a child or someone as small as Kaiya could've fit there. If I looked closer, I could see a white sheet of paper tucked under the pillow. I bent down and pulled it out.

At the top, it said, "To whom it may concern. Or to anyone who is still alive enough to read.

I grinned a little. This was definitely Kaiya. If that sarcastic sense of humor during all this wasn't enough proof, her name at the bottom was.

I'm not sure what day it is or I would put the date on this. My name is Kaiya Caston. I'm a survivor of the apocalypse just like whoever is reading this. Now that I think about it, I'm not completely sure who I think is going to read this. I've got to have something to hold my attention or I may go insane. I was traveling with a group before. I really miss the group.

Under this, she had listed every single member of the group and underlined their name, leaving a brief description of their personality. I didn't read all of them. Only Glenn, Amy, and Daryl.

Glenn. We've been best friends since birth, us two. I really hope his nightmares haven't been getting worse. When we were kids, he had them really bad and I used to have to calm him down in the middle of the night. I hope he's doing alright without me.

Amy. She might be dead, but she'll always be like a sister to me. She was my friend. Her favorite color was green. She loved to watch the stars. She loved the smell of cinnamon because it reminded her of her grandma's house in Christmas time. Rest in Peace.

I frowned when I remembered how torn up Kaiya had been the night Amy had died. I sighed when I saw just how much she had written about me. It was quite a bit.

Daryl Dixon. What can I say? I think he might be the person I miss the most. Maybe even more than Glenn. He's a rowdy hillbilly with a mean temper and quite the arsenal of insults. But I think I might love him.

But see, there's this problem. I'm sixteen and he's… well, I don't even know how old he is, but it sure as hell isn't sixteen.

We got drunk one night and I'm not sure what exactly happened, but when I voice the fear that maybe we had done something, he kind of blew up. I hadn't wanted it to be true, but that didn't make his words hurt any less.

He told me, "You think I'd sleep with you? Even if I was drunk?"

I knew he was just angry and confused, but his words cut deep. I had wanted him badly, dreaming almost every night of his deep blue eyes, running my hands through his sandy brown hair, and listening to him say my name. But when he told me off, I realized he didn't want me.

So I was mad at him. I was still mad at him and wasn't talking to him when I got lost. I bet he doesn't even care that I'm gone.

Part of me wants to believe that I know him better than that, that he is actually worried about me. But the other part of me is saying that I was just some stupid little girl to him.

So yeah, I think I love him. At least I'm pretty sure I do… I've never felt this way about anyone. I don't really have any experience with the L-word. I've got nothing to compare it to.

Sure I've dated, but it almost always only lasted for a few days. Very rarely two weeks. But with Daryl, I want this to last longer than that. I want him to hold me forever.

I want to be with him now, but I know he doesn't feel like that. I want him to hold me like he did the night Amy died and tell me its all going to be alright just like he did that night. I want to make him laugh again. I want to see his blue eyes twinkling mischievously as he plans to do something evil to me (such as throw me into a lake, that buttface.)

I guess I'll just have to wait and keep searching for them.

Under the last part, she put, Kaiya Caston. Age 16, but I'll be turning 17 in a few days, I think. In love and lost. Hoping to be found, but knowing my luck isn't good enough for that. Lets hope I don't die. Goodbye.

I folded the piece of paper and stuffed it into my back pocket.

Something silver caught my eye under the blanket. I picked it up. It was Merle's gun. I frowned. So now she was unarmed. Great.


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