Ch.44
We head towards the highway where we left supplies for Sophia. Rick is already there. I guess everyone had the same idea. Daryl makes a joke towards Glenn when Rick asks where we found everyone.
"Where is everyone else?" I ask looking at Rick. "We're the only ones so far." he says looking at us. Apparently Shane didn't make it. Hah. Good riddance to him. But neither did Jimmy or Patricia.
"What about Andrea? Where is she?" I ask Rick concerned. "She saved me, then I lost her." Carol says looking sadly at the ground. I can't believe we lost Andrea. "We saw her go down." T-dog finally says dejected.
"I think we left Andrea at the farm. I'm gonna go back for her." Daryl intervenes. "No." Rick stops him. "Rick!" I yell at the man who is supposedly in charge. "Mae, we can't go back!" he yells at me. I glare at him for leaving her behind.
"We can't just leave her." I say sadly to Daryl. "I know. That's why we have to go back." he consoles me. "She isn't there. She isn't. She's either somewhere else or she's dead." Rick says in a harsh tone.
"I can't believe you." I snarl at Rick. I thought he cared about people. That's why he kept looking for Sophia. In the end, we decide not to look for Andrea and head east with the group.
It's back to just me and Daryl on the bike. Carol ends up riding with Rick and his family. We all stop along the way to set up a meeting between what's left of the group.
Rick is out of gas, so we must stay here tonight. I don't think it's a good idea being out in the open, but at least we're all together. Someone must keep watch at all times to make sure no walkers sneak up on us in the middle of the night.
The air gets chilier as the day goes by, and I hug myself to stay warm. All I'm wearing are my shorts and my biker shirt. I hemmed it so it wouldn't come unraveled before everything went to shit and had to leave.
Since the time I ripped my shirt, I made it into a belly shirt. After all, I really like this top and don't want to throw it out. I'm not a fan of how short it is now, but I make do with what I have.
Daryl wraps his arm around my shoulders to provide extra warmth for me. "We found Randall. He wasn't bit. Shane killed him like he always wanted." he speaks up to Rick. Then we are informed by Rick that we're all infected.
We look at each other in surprise. "What?" Daryl speaks up first. My mind is struck by this info. I don't know what to think now. I thought it was just if you get scratched or bit.
Rick tells us that before the CDC blew up, Dr. Jenner told him that whatever this virus, we all carry it. I can't believe Rick kept this a secret from us all this time. So, if any of us die, we turn into a zombie either way.
"Why didn't you say anything?" Carol steps up crossing her arms. "Would it have made a difference?" Rick responds with a question of his own. I bite my tongue to keep from speaking my mind. How could he do this to us? To walk around as if it's nothing. This is serious.
"You knew this whole time?" Glenn calls Rick out on his lie for so long. We argue if it was right or wrong to keep it a secret from the group. I look over at Lori with wonder.
"What does that mean for the baby?" I ask afraid of the answer. "My guess is, If Lori has it, then the baby has it too. Just as long as nothing happens to either of them, they'll be fine." Hershel says clearing the silence.
I try as hard as I can to fight back the tears beginning to form. It's not just about getting bit or scratched anymore. We have to think differently now. It's about our overall saftey. We need to be cautious.
You get shot and bleed out, you turn into a walker. Just like that. When T-dog almost died when he cut his arm. He could have turned right then when we slept. We all could have been chow a long time ago.
"Hey, you all right?" Daryl asks looking down at my horrified face. "What?" I ask like a deer in headlights. "Maezy, babe, you okay?" he asks me again a little more concerned. "Um, yeah. I'm fine." I say pulling out of my space trance. "You sure? You don't look like it." Daryl says holding my arms to face him.
"If you think about it, what if one of us has a heart attack or something - dies naturally - then they still turn. We have to be really careful now. Watch if someone gets sick. We have to be extremely cautious now." I say holding my hand on Daryl's chest.
"To think you could have died that day in the woods. I was so worried about you. You were hallucinating and not paying attention to me for the longest time. I really thought that walker was gonna get you. I don't know what I would do without you." I begin sobbing into Daryl's chest as he holds me.
Daryl looks at me in wonder. "Well, I'm alive ain't I? Gonna take more to take me down." he says jokingly trying to cheer me up. "Daryl." I scold him for not taking this seriously.
"All right. I'm not dying anytime soon. I'm not going to leave you. I won't do that to you. I promise." Daryl says seriously to calm me down. I furrow my brows at him. "How can you promise that? We don't know what's going to happen next. I can't lose you or anyone else. I love you too much." I pant catching my breath.
Daryl looks at me in pure surprise, then I realize what I just said. I can't believe I said that out loud. "What?" he stares at me wide-eyed. I'm so embarresed that I said that to him.
"Um, I...I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me. I take it back if it makes you feel better." I quickly tell Daryl who hasn't said anything yet. He clears his throat as the blush creeps up to his cheeks.
"Um...Um...I." Daryl stutters staring into my eyes. Oh my God, I broke him. I shouldn't have said that. At least not yet. It just came out, though. I was stressing so much, I couldn't help it.
Then Daryl's expression changes to a smile. I'm worried now. What's he thinking. "Daryl?" I touch his cheek softly and he pulls me in for a fierce kiss. Now it's my turn to act surprised.
"You don't need to be sorry. Don't take it back either. I was just surprised at your sudden confession." Daryl says pulling back from the kiss. "I, uh...I never thought someone would say that to me. Not even my own family did." he says honestly.
I smile at Daryl and wrap my arms around his neck. "Well now you have someone to say it to you." I grin at him from ear to ear. "I guess so." he lets out a small laugh. "Plus, we are your family. We all love you and care about you. Especially me." I say kissing his cheek.
"I love you, Daryl Dixon." I say giddy at my own confession. I love you too, Maezy." he says kissing me again. I'm so happy now. I can't believe he loves me. He actually said it back, and I can see it in his expression. He truly loves me. Maybe my missing piece I felt at the beginning was him all along.
That night we're all sitting by the fire Daryl made. I noticed something's been up with Lori since her and Rick had their conversation earlier. I sit down next to her and Carl to make small talk.
"Is something wrong, Lori?" I ask her worried that her and Rick got in a huge fight. "Everything's fine." she says smiling at me, and It's not a genuine smile either. "I know you're faking it. What's wrong?" I insist her to tell me the truth.
"Carl, baby, we'll be back in a bit. Stay right here." Lori sighs getting up from the log and leading me away. "You've been acting like this since you and Rick talked. What's going on?" I rub her arm lightly to urge her to talk to me.
Lori looks up at me with teary eyes. "It's about Shane." she says covering her mouth. "What about him?" I aks confused as to why she's crying over that murderer. She sniffs before answering.
"Rick killed him." Lori cries answering me. "What?" I ask wide eyed. "He went after Rick and he killed him. Then Shane turned and Carl...he shot him down." she covers her mouth in panic.
"I'm sorry, Lori. I know how much he meant to you, Rick, and Carl. It had to be hard for Rick. But Shane was still a killer. He was dangerous. Everyone knew this." I say trying to console Lori.
"Yeah. You're right. He needed to be stopped." Lori says wiping her tears. "Come on. Let's go sit back down." I lead her back holding her shoulders. "Okay. Thank you for hearing me." she thanks me clearing her throat.
All of a sudden, we hear something in the woods that cause us to panic. Then Rick breaks down in front of us. Yep, he's finally lost it. We listen to him rant about killing his best friend to keep everyone safe. Then he storms off after he finishes explaining.
