Words: 3,849
After they get Dale's body out of the field, they cover him with a sheet in the barn with the plan to have a funeral the next morning. Harley and Daryl return to the tent but neither sleep. They both lie on their backs, staring up at nothing.
Silently, Harley reaches out her arm, tapping the edge of Daryl's cot. He turns his head at the motion, looking at her face before he takes her hand in his own and squeezes. And that's how they stay for the rest of the night, lying in silence, holding the others hand.
The burial is early the next day. Rick speaks and Hershel reads some scripture but everyone else stays silent.
Rick approaches them both after to talk about Randell. Harley gladly notes that Shane isn't a part of the conversation. He wants to go back to the first plan. The right plan, he says. Just had a bad execution the first time around. Harley thinks he could've worded that better.
"You know, Daryl and I," She starts with a nod towards the hunter. "We could take Randell. No need for you to leave, not now." Looking at her thoughtfully, Rick glances towards Daryl who nods.
"Okay," Rick decides. "I appreciate that." They'll go over the plans later, he tells them. After helping move into the house. The weather is growing colder and colder every day. And with what happened to Dale last night, it's not safe to stay scattered out like that anymore. Inside the house might be cramped, but it's safer and warmer.
They all move the vehicles to the house, all around an exit, all facing away. Harley and Daryl park their bikes beside each other to the side of the front porch.
"It's gonna be tight," She states while standing over her bike, looking back at the house as he gets off his. "Fourteen people in one house." Daryl hums and walks around to stand beside her. She smirks up at him playfully. "Good thing I know someone I don't mind sharing with."
"Stop," He grumbles and starts moving away. Harley stumbles to follow.
"What? It's true," She chuckles when he knocks her shoulder with his own. They reach the porch steps and jog up beside one another to meet Rick at the top with a map.
"Take him out to Senoia," Rick points to the place on the map, standing between her and Daryl, giving them both a clear view. "An hour there an hour back, give or take. May lose the light but you'll be halfway home by then."
"This little pain in the ass will be a distant memory," Daryl grumbles and lifts himself onto the porch railing.
"Little?" Harley lifts a brow, and he huffs. "Good riddance."
"Carol's putting him together some provisions," Rick tells them. "Enough to last a few days." He clears his throat a little awkwardly as Shane pulls the car up in front of the house. "About last night-"
"Ain't no reason you should do all the heavy lifting," Daryl cuts him off softly and Harley smiles over at him.
"Thank you for doing this," He holds up the map before handing it to Harley.
"What he said," She nods to Daryl as Shane climbs out of the car. "We'll go get ready," She tells him and nudges Daryl to his feet. "But don't worry, we won't leave without saying goodbye." Rick cracks a small smile at her joke, waving her away just as Shane reaches the porch.
"Ooh, road trip," Harley mutters, clapping her hands once in front of her. "Minus the prisoner part, could be fun." Daryl looks down at her, raising an eyebrow and she shrugs. "Just trying to look on the bright side." It's either that or be consumed by the dark side. S̶t̶a̶r̶ ̶W̶a̶r̶s̶ ̶r̶e̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶ ̶n̶o̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶t̶e̶n̶d̶e̶d̶ ̶
After collecting the supplies from Carol, Harley and Daryl load them as well as their own into the old, blue truck. "You only have so many arrows," T-Dog says while offering Daryl a gun.
"Is that Dale's gun?"
"Yeah," T admits after a moment. Harley pats his arm as she moves past him.
"Wish I knew where the hell mine is," Daryl grumbles as Rick approaches.
"You guys ready?"
"Yup," Harley nods with a glance over everything in the back of the truck.
"I'll collect the package," T-Dog gestures towards the shed and starts that way. Harley runs a hand over her hair and leans back against the truck. It's almost over. Just a few hours and she'll be back with Daryl, this 'little' problem will have bent dealt with.
"He's gone," T-Dog rushes back to them, panting and pointing back the way he came. Harley pushes off the truck, on high alert as she, Daryl, and Rick all follow T back to the shed. "The door was locked when I got here but when I opened it, he was gone."
"The cuffs are still locked," Rick observes as the others all come out of the house, drawn by the commotion. "He must've slipped 'em."
"Is that possible?"
"A lot's possible if you've got nothing to lose," Harley says in response to Carol's question.
"Rick!" The sudden shout comes from the trees. Everyone shuts up and turns to see Shane marching towards them, blood spilling from his nose. "Rick! He's armed! He's got my gun!"
"Are you okay?" Carl asks, trying to move forward but Lori stops him.
"I'm fine, little bastard just stuck up on me. He clocked me in the face," Shane explains as Harley rakes her eyes over his injuries. His nose is definitely broken. It takes more force than you'd think to break someone's nose like that. Especially if you're hands and wrists are already hurt.
"Alright, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house," Rick starts throwing out orders. "Harley, Daryl, come with us.." Checking her gun, Harley holds it and her knife as she heads into the forest with the others.
"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out," Shane explains, pointing off in a random direction. Harley continues to watch him closely. "I'm not sure how long."
"He couldn't have gotten far," Rick says. "He's hobbled, exhausted. Can you track him?"
"No, I don't see nothing," Daryl shakes his head and Harley grows more suspicious. Daryl's a damn good tracker, she knows that by now. If he can't pick up a trail where Shane says he was, then something is clearly wrong.
"Hey, look, there ain't no use tracking him, okay?" Shane insists. "He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it."
"Kids weighs a buck-twenty-five soaking wet," Harley starts, staring over at him. She's sick of his obvious bullshit. "You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?"
"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" Shane throws back in her face, clearly annoyed but Rick steps between them.
"Alright, knock it off. You and Daryl start heading up the right flank," Rick gestures and Harley glances that way but quickly turns back. "Me and Shane will take the left. Remember, Randell's not the only threat out there."
"Yeah, you're right," Harley mumbles, her eyes glued to the side of Shane's face. "Watch your back." She whispers to Rick, and he looks into her eyes with a small nod. She nods back before turning to follow Daryl.
"Losing the light quickly," Harley states the obvious with a glance up through the trees. "You believing this half-cocked story?"
"Not for a second," Daryl responds while watching the ground closely.
"So why are we letting them wander off alone?"
"Randell's still out here somewhere," Daryl explains. "Might as well try to find the trail, see what really went down. Rick's a big boy, he can handle himself." It's only minutes since they split up, but the light has already completely disappeared and Daryl groans. "This is pointless. You got a light?"
Humming, Harley pulls a flashlight from her pocket and clicks it on before handing it over. He looks around a bit before giving an irritated sigh. "Come on."
"Square one," Harley nods in realization. The woods are Daryl's thing, not her own. She hadn't known where he was leading her.
"If you're gonna do a thing, might as well do it right."
"Truer words have never been spoken," Harley mumbles to herself while Daryl shines the light around the forest floor.
"There're two sets of tracks right here," He shows her. "Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said."
"Hey," Grabbing his wrist, Harley lifts the light to shine on the tree in front of them. "Fresh blood."
"Yeah," Daryl chimes. "There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem." They move forward a little more, Harley squints at the ground and stay behind Daryl so she doesn't mess up the trail. "Yeah, there was a dust-up right here. Something went down."
"Shane's a lying asshole, that's what went down," Moving forward a few more feet, Daryl stops and bends down to pick up a strip of cloth. "Randal's blind fol-" A twig snapping behind them cuts Harley off. She spins around with Daryl and raises her gun, aiming it in that direction while backing up behind a tree. Daryl follows her lead while shutting the light off.
Whistling, Harley grabs his attention and nods towards the shadow moving closer. He nods back and she holsters her gun, holding her knife at the ready.
They wait until the figure gets closer. Daryl moves out with the light while Harley circles around the tree and comes up from behind. She hears the walker's moans and kicks out the back of its knee before planting her knife into its skull.
"Nice," Daryl praises and she curtsy for...some reason.
"Guess we found Randell," Harley sighs and gestures down at the boy. Daryl shines his light on him and crouches down. "His neck is broken?" Harley observes and Daryl nods. "Bites?"
"Nope," He shakes his head while continuing to look over the boy. "No scratches either. None that weren't already there, at least. He died from this." Daryl gestures towards his neck.
"How is that-" Harley cuts herself off and runs a hand down her face. "We need to get back, check in with the others."
"Yeah," Standing, Daryl grabs her arm and together they make their way back to the farmhouse. They hear a gunshot on their way but continue forward. No use running around in the dark, Daryl tells her. Get lost chasing echos.
"Rick and Shane ain't back?" He's the first to ask when they enter the house.
"No,"
"We heard a shot."
"Maybe they found Randell," Lori shrugs but Daryl shakes his head while Harley answered.
"We found him."
"Is he back in the shed?"
"He was a walker," Harley explains.
"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asks and Harley shares a look with Daryl.
"That's the weird thing, he wasn't bit..."
"His neck was broke," Daryl finishes for her.
"So, he fought back?" Patricia asks.
"The thing is, Shane and Randell's tracks were right on top of each other," Daryl explains to the others. "And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up from behind him. They were together."
"Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on?" Lori begs and Daryl nods.
"You got it," Nudging Harley's arm, Daryl moves behind her and right back out the front door they'd entered minutes before.
"I knew Shane was unstable," Harley whispers to him. "Didn't know it was bad enough that he'd-...holy shit." There, just beyond the back of the barn, Harley can make out what looks to be hundreds of walkers making their way straight towards them.
"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel whispers to the woman and she rushes back inside.
"Maybe they're just passing like the herd on the highway," Glenn says hopefully. "Should we just go inside?"
"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl shakes his head, eyes glued to the walkers. "A herd that size would rip the house down."
"Carl's gone."
"What?" Harley is conscious enough to keep her voice lowered as she turns to a frantic Lori.
"He-he was upstairs. I can't find him anymore," She tells them.
"Maybe he's hiding." Glenn puts in but Lori shakes her head.
"He's supposed to be upstairs. I'm not leaving without my boy!"
"We're not," Carol assures her. "We're gonna look again. We're gonna find him." The older woman grabs Lori's arm and together they make their way back inside the house.
Along with her own gun, Harley accepts another pistol that's handed to her. "I got the number, it's no use," Daryl says as everyone arms themselves.
"You can go if you want," Hershel takes a shotgun and starts loading it.
"You gonna take 'em all on?"
"We have guns, we have cars,"
"Kill as many as we can, lead the rest away," Andrea nods along and Daryl lifts his eyebrows.
"You serious?"
"This is my farm," Hershel states. "I'll die here."
Daryl looks down at Harley as she looks up at him and she smiles, shrugging. "As good a night as any, right?" She spent many days thinking they would be her last, she's not so sure she ever stopped. Death hasn't been something she's feared for a long time.
"Stay close to me," Daryl whispers to her before jumping over the porch railing. She's quick to follow after him and they both make their way to their bikes. Harley doesn't bother with her helmet for the first time in a long time. It's too dark and she needs her full range of vision.
Driving around the edge of the clearing, Harley and Daryl shoot as many of the dead as they can until the barn suddenly lights up in flames. She looks at him and gestures towards the Rv.
"Yo! Must've been Rick or Shane that started that fire," Daryl yells up at Jimmy. "Maybe they're trying to get out the back, why don't you circle around?"
"You got it," The boy gives them a thumbs up before moving the large vehicle towards the barn.
A couple of minutes later when she's on her last clip, Harley shakes her head. "It's no use!" She shouts to Daryl over the roar of their engines and the sound of the walkers. He lowers his own weapon and looks back at her before nodding and gesturing for him to follow her.
Together, they ride to the edge of the farm, a safe distance away from the walkers and park. Harley lets go of her handlebars and sits back on her bike, watching the barn slowly burn to the ground. To think that morning there only problem was getting Randell as far away from them as they could.
A scream pierces through the night air. Harley shares a quick look with Daryl before they both make their way over just in time for Carol to climb onto Daryl's bike. This time they ride away from the farm and don't stop until they get a few miles out.
"The highway," Harley finally says. "We'll go to the highway, that's where the others will go." Without so much as a word, Daryl picks up his feet and starts down the road.
Eventually, they come across the little green car. Harley speeds up beside the car and looks over to see Maggie and Glenn. She motions for her to roll down the window and raises her voice enough to be heard. "Get to the highway!" Maggie nods and turns to tell Glenn who's driving.
Not long after that, they meet up with the old, beat-up blue truck. Harley sighs a little to herself, feeling the churning in her gut lessen at the knowledge that at least some of their people made it.
The sun has completely risen by the time they reach the highway. Harley slows enough to maneuver her way between the cars before parking her bike and stepping off. She can't help the large grin that spreads across her face when she sees Rick, Hershel, and Carl already waiting for them.
The others jump out of their vehicles and run to hug their family. Harley turns to Daryl and pats his arm.
"Where'd you find everyone?" Rick asks them as Carl separates from his mother and, much to Harley's surprise, runs to hug her.
"Well, those guys' taillights zigzagging all over the road," Daryl starts, pointing to Glenn. "Figured he had to be Asian, driving like that." Despite scolding him with a light hit to his shoulder, Harley laughs at the joke along with the others. She ruffles Carl's hair before nudging him back towards his parents.
"Good one," Glenn mumbles but his smile gives him away.
"Where's the rest of us?"
"We're the only ones who made it so far."
"Shane?" Lori asks and Harley leans back against the car behind her, already prepared for when Rick shakes his head.
"Andrea?"
"She saved me, then I lost her," Carol answers Glenn.
"We saw her go down," T-Dog adds.
"Patricia?"
"They got her too," Beth whispers. "Took her right from me. I was- I was holdin' onto her daddy, she just-" Shaking her head, Beth buries her face into her father's shirt and cries. "What about Jimmy? Did you see Jimmy?"
"He was in the RV," Rick tells her. "It got overrun." Closing her eyes, Harley leans her head back against the car. She feels Daryl's hand slip into her own and she squeezes.
"You definitely saw Andrea?" Carol asks. "Did you see her?" When no one answers, Daryl steps forward.
"I'm gonna go back,"
"No," Rick steps forward, stopping him.
"We can just leave her," Daryl argues.
"We don't even know if she's there," Lori says quickly and Rick shakes his head.
"She isn't there, she isn't. She's somewhere else or she's dead," Harley bites her lip and furrows her brows at Rick. She understands what he's saying completely but she doesn't agree. She might not like Andrea all that much, or at all, but she is one of them. As she's said before, she's not accustomed to leaving people behind. "There's no way to find her."
"So we're not even going to look for her?"
"We gotta keep moving," Rick informs them. "There have been walkers crawling all over here."
"I say head east," T-Dog says while Daryl grabs his crossbow, his eyes following an approaching walker.
"Stay off the main roads. The bigger the road, the more walkers. More assholes like this one." Firing his weapon, the walker drops, and everyone loads back into the vehicles while Daryl and Harley go back to their bikes.
"You out?"
"Running on fumes," Stopping in the middle of some road, Rick shakes his head. They've just lost a car. Everyone's scared, cold, hungry. It's only a matter of time before an argument happened. And that's exactly what they do. Argue over what's best to do.
Somehow it comes back to Randell. Daryl brings up how he and Harley found him, turned but with no bites...and Rick tells them what Jenner told him. They're all infected. Harley scolds herself for the surprise she feels. It only makes sense. It is a virus, after all.
There's blame thrown around, different variants of reactions from the group. And Rick just walks away from it all. Harley doesn't blame the man, she would've done the same. She would've had to to prevent herself from snapping and saying something she'd regret.
Lori goes to talk to her husband and Harley is the first to start setting up camp with Daryl. They'd been on the road most of the day, so the light is already dying. They set up a small fire and everyone gathers around except those keeping watch.
Harley hears Carol mumbling to Daryl but ignores her. She's got nothing against the woman but she's tired. She hasn't slept in forty-eight hours and after everything at the farm...she just wants to sleep.
When they hear a noise in the woods, everyone freaks out. "What was that?" Beth asks.
"Could be anything," Daryl says calmly but stands. "Racoon, opossum," He glances at Harley and she blinks up at him. Is he trying to joke right now?
"A walker," Glenn adds very unhelpfully. Harley shoots him a scowl.
"We need to leave," Carol's voice shakes when she speaks, drawing everyone's attention to her. "I mean, what are we waiting for?"
"Which way?"
"It came from over there,"
"Relax," Harley snaps, her voice quiet. If it was a walker, it would've made itself known by now. But she's still not going to risk it. "Panicking isn't going to help anything. Running off in the dark is only going to get people killed."
"She's right," Rick says. "We don't have the vehicles and no one's traveling on foot."
"Don't panic,"
"I'm not-I'm not waiting for another herd to blow through. We need to move, now."
"No one is going anywhere," Rick hardens his voice but still keeps his tone quiet. Harley keeps her eyes up and wills herself to stay calm. These are civilians, she has to remind herself. People without training or experience in things like this. Though she was never taught what to do if an apocalypse ever happened, she was more prepared than they are.
"Do something."
"I am doing something!" Rick finally snaps. "I'm keeping this group together, alive. I've been doing that all along. No matter what. I didn't ask for this. I killed my best friend for you people!" Harley bites her lips and shakes her head. She'd expected it, knowing it was what happened the moment she saw the look on his face back at the highway when Lori asked about Shane.
"You saw what he was like," Rick continues after a moment, appearing calm once more. "How he pushed me, how he compromised us, how he threatened us. He staged the whole Randall thing, led me out to put a bullet in my back. He gave me no choice. He was my friend, but he came after me. My hands are clean!"
Rick pauses again, taking in the faces of those around him. The only sounds in that time are the crackling of the fire and Lori shushing a crying, Carl.
"Maybe you people are better off without me. Go ahead. I say there's a place for us, but maybe-maybe it's just another pipe dream. Maybe-maybe I'm fooling myself again. Why don't you-why don't you go and find out yourself? Send me a postcard. Go on, there's the door. You can do better? Let's see how far you get," Stopping, Rick looks around but no one moves, no one speaks. Harley folds her arms over each other and leans back on her heels. "No takers? Fine. But get one thing straight-you're staying, this isn't a democracy anymore."
Here we goooooo! Between season 2 and 3, got some pure original chapters coming up! I'm so excited to post!
What do you guys think is going to happen over the winter?
Also, I'm sorry Harley didn't slap Shane nor Andrea.
Thanks for reading!
'-'