Chapter Five - Brooklyn
A board smile broke out onto my lips as the man I could only presume was Daryl dropped his crossbow and fell to his knees as Montana ran instinctively into his open arms. She fell into his embrace and buried her face in his neck as he wrapped his arms around her like he was never going to let go. Protecting her in his embrace.
He cried into her shoulder, tears of relief and happiness as she wept the same tears. They broke apart from each other, and he held her in front of him, looking at her small round face beaming with happiness and stained with tears. He looked her over for injuries or bites, and when he found his little girl was okay and safe, he let out a deep breath he had been keeping caged in his chest.
He moved his hands up to cup her face in his palms. He rested his forehead on hers as tears fell down their faces - they had found each other. A light to his darkness. A match to his flame. A beginning to an end.
The other man with short wavy hair and a pitying sadness surrounding him placed his arm around Carl's shoulders, and now I saw them side by side. I wasn't entirely sure, but they could be related - father and son?
Beth stood on the other side of Carl, her blue eyes glowing with a shining light and a wide grin on her face.
I knew I should be happy, and I am. I'm truly happy that she has been able to find her father. I'm glad for him too that he has found his daughter. I say that with all honesty, but I can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the fact that I had grown so close to Montana over the past months that there were times when I loved and protected her like my own. At first, I denied it, I never wanted children, at least not at this point in my life, but the more time I spent with her and got to know her, she truly did feel like my own. As the months passed and the hope of finding her family again were fading - I grew to accept it.
She had found her family again. Where did this leave me? The lone girl who had lost everything - twice?
Montana withdrew herself from her father and held his hand tightly as he stood up and picked up his crossbow, which had been dropped to the ground, and slung it across his shoulder. "This is Brooklyn. She found me at the highway!" Montana explained with a large smile as she looked at me. I felt myself wanting to divert my eyes to the ground and avoid all the others' pressing looks.
"The highway? We went back to the highway," Carl said, shocked as he furrowed his brows. The man - who was possibly his father - patted him lightly on the shoulder, and he smiled apologetically to no one in particular.
Daryl took a large stride forward with a hidden smile on his lips, "It doesn't matter, thank you, Brooklyn, for looking after my baby girl," he said. His voice was quiet and muffled as it appeared he was unsure or nervous of what to say. I froze when he cautiously wrapped his arms around my body, his muscles tense and rigid, but his action spoke with sheer sincerity. He quickly broke apart and took a shaky step back to Montanas side, and a voice came from my right.
"I'm Rick, and this is my son Carl," he introduced, patting Carl on the shoulder, confirming my suspicion.
He reached his hand out, "Nice to meet you," I replied and accepted his offer and returned the handshake. He gave me a gentle nod, followed by a smile. I thought I recognized him for a moment. There was something about how he carried himself that reminded me of someone, the way his hand rested on his python gun strapped to his hip belt in a holster. He presented himself with a dominating but gentle aura. He was a cop - before all this. I was certain.
I looked at him and twisted my head in contemplation, "Were you a cop?" I asked, my head tilting to the side as I spoke.
He smiled, his eyes lighting up with pride, "Yes, I was the sheriff of King County," then he looked at me with his mouth agape, "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Yes, my parents were Edward and Veronica Underhill. They owned the Underhill Law Directory in Atlanta. I remember them mentioning you a couple times from court cases. You and your family came for dinner when I was younger," I answered and before I knew, he wrapped his arms around me and engulfed me in a strong hug.
"Brooklyn, I can't believe I didn't recognize you," he pulled away and held me by the shoulders as he placed a friendly kiss on my cheek. "Carl, I don't know if you remember, but when you were a toddler, we went over to Brooklyn's parent's house for dinner one night. If I remember correctly, you played with her younger sister Olivia. She was around your age?" A heavy pressure built in my chest as he spoke off my little sister, who I had failed to protect. My eyes were threatening to spill with tears, but I managed to push them away, for now, something I had learned recently. This world didn't allow you to cry. There would always be the fear of danger around every corner. Every breath you took could be your last. There was no guarantee you would survive to live another day. That was the harsh reality of the world we lived in.
"She was a year older," I amended, my voice coarse and rough as I forced the tears away.
"Edward and Veronica, are they-" Rick said unsteadily, cautious of the answer.
"No, they died about a month after it started, a herd of walkers attacked the ranch. Nathan and Olivia died that night too. I was the only one who survived," it took everything to stop a sob reaching my throat and even more to prevent the tears from falling from my watering eyes.
I had always found it difficult to express my emotions and open up to people before and after this had all begun. I had told Montana what happened months ago, and I knew I could trust Daryl, her father; there was something about him. Unlike Rick, who had this trusting, caring aura about him that you noticed as soon as you met him, with Daryl, you had to dig a little deeper, but as soon as you found it - you couldn't ignore it.
Rick had ought to know what happened to his friends, and Carl was his son, and if he was anything like his father - which I could tell he was - I could trust him and Beth, her bright, youthful face and her beaming smile spoke for itself.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Rick offered his condolences. The smile faded from his face as he came to terms with the loss of his friends. I knew he was close to my parents. They first met in court and occasionally ran into each other due to work, and over time they became friends. My mother and his wife - Lori - would go to spa days or afternoon lunches while Rick and my father played golf every so often.
"Yeah, sorry," Beth and Carl both said in unison and offered kind smiles in solace as they lowered their head to the ground.
Daryl stayed quiet but averted his eyes to the ground. I was grateful for that. It wasn't that I didn't appreciate their consolation and sympathy, but I never had time to properly grieve for the loss of my family.
Unlike the world before, when society allowed you time off work and daily tasks to come to terms with your loss before the funeral, you were granted the opportunity to say a proper heartfelt goodbye. However, now in this world, the time where you would grieve was replaced with the drive of survival.
This world never granted me the chance to grieve for my parents and my siblings, and it hurt every day like a pain that would never go away.
Rick looked around, studying the surroundings, "We should go back up. Oscar can take the shift on the gate," he said. He looked around at everyone who nodded in response. Everyone apart from me.
Daryl pushed his crossbow onto his back, and Montana hurriedly jumped into his arms, and he lifted her onto his hip as she buried her head in his neck. Even though she was probably too old to be carried like this, she melted into his arms like this missing puzzle piece. It was evident that they belonged together.
Slowly everyone made their way back up to the main building. I felt myself drifting closer to Rick despite wanting to be with Montana. Rick reminded me of a life I once had that was savagely ripped away from me in a blink of an eye. Looking at Montana with Daryl, I felt a twinge of jealousy. Over the past months, I had grown to love her like my own. I would have given my life for that little girl, and I still would - but what is my job now, to protect her? No, it wasn't. She had Daryl now to protect and love her - that was always his job. I was just a temporary solution.