When I woke up, Daryl was gone. My eyes burned, telling me I was still tired, but I forced myself up. I reached my arm up to sweep the hair out of my face and winced at a dull ache in my arm.
I groaned, grabbing my arm with my other hand, seeing the tiny red dot from the needle.
I clenched my teeth together, only hurt for a second, my ass.
Remembering last night, did not help me leave the room. I wasn't even sure why I did, maybe I was hungry. Maybe I was sick of sitting in one place avoiding everyone.
I left the room, I walked down the hallway and made a turn, I could hear voices and followed the source. I found the kitchen like room we were eating in the night before.
I walked into the room, sitting at the table was Carl and Lori. Carl was eating something out of a bowl that looked like cereal. On the right side of Carl was Andrea, staring blankly at her plate.
Across from Andrea was Dale, his back was to me, an empty chair in between him and Jacqui. Shane was at the end of the table in between Andrea and Dale.
I could smell something cooking and I was hungry, but I hesitated at the doorway, feeling anxious. I was a little scared and didn't want to be near Shane, I thought about going back to the room but I was hungry. Daryl wasn't in there and I wondered where he was.
I spotted an empty seat at the other end of the table by Lori. I thought hard for a minute, then made my way toward the empty seat near her.
"Hey, wait."
I stopped and glanced at Dale, he pulled the empty chair out between him and Jacqui, "sit here, we'll get you some food."
I hesitated, looking over at Shane. His head was down but he was peeking at me out of the corner of his eyes. I walked to Dale, taking the seat beside him.
"Morning," Rick said as he walked in.
"Are you hungover?" Carl asked, "mom said you'd be."
"Mom is right," Rick agreed, getting a plate for himself..
"Mom has that annoying habit," Lori smiled.
"What're you cooking?" Rick asked, eyeing T-Dog at the counter.
"Eggs, powdered. But I do 'em good," T-Dog answered, "I bet you can't tell."
T-Dog put some eggs onto Rick's plate and he sat beside Lori. Rick picked up a pill bottle he saw at the centre of the table, "what's this?"
"Jenner, he thought we could use it. Some of us at least." Lori said.
Unexpectedly, T-Dog placed a plate in front of me. On the plate there were several yellow and white chunks. I scrunched my nose, "eggs?"
T-Dog hummed in answer as he handed me a fork. I took it, looking down at the eggs curiously.
"Daddy don' make 'em like this," I said.
"It's good, they're scrambled." He told me, turning away. I stabbed my fork into a piece of egg and tried it. I liked it so I kept eating.
We all turned to the doorway, hearing someone groaning in pain. It was Glenn, he walked in, his head low as he clutched it, obviously in pain.
"Holding up okay, Glenn?" Dale asked, smiling.
Glenn groaned again in response. He slowly took the seat at the end of the table I had originally chosen, between Rick and Jacqui. He put his head down on the table. Jacqui rose, telling him she'd get him a plate.
"Don't ever, ever, ever let me drink again," Glenn said, his voice low.
T-Dog chuckled, putting eggs onto the plate Jacque placed in front of him, "protein helps the hangover."
"Toby?"
I glanced over at Carl, taking another bite. He was staring at me, I wondered how long he'd been doing that.
"Can I ask you something?"
I pressed my lips together, slightly annoyed. Usually when he had a question, he just asked. Why was he beating around the bush this time? I shrugged my shoulders in response, stabbing another piece of egg with the fork I was holding.
"You talk about your dad a lot, why don't you talk about your mom?"
"Carl," Lori grabbed Carl by his arm, pulling him close and murmuring something in his ear. Her tone was deep, angered. I couldn't make out what she was saying.
Carl's expression dropped, "Oh," was Carl's only response.
I looked between them, wondering what she said, "Nothin' ta say, Mama's gone, been gone a long time."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad or anything . . ." Carl put his head down, pushing around his cereal with his spoon. Guilt washed over me, he was sad because he thought he made me sad, instead I just made him sad.
This is why I don't talk to other kids.
For a moment, I thought about what Daddy used to say when I asked about Mama, or when I was sad that she was gone. It had been a long time since I had even mentioned her to him, but I remembered what he said exactly.
"Nothin' ta be sad 'bout, it don' matter," I attempted to reassure him, "Daddy said she was a whore anyway."
Lori's hand went over her mouth as water spurted out, she slammed her glass on the table with the other hand in surprise. Lori coughed, as if not able to get any air in her lungs.
"Mom? Are you okay?" Carl questioned.
"Fine, fine." She choked out, clearing her throat.
Rick patted her back, his eyes wide as his gaze switched from me to Lori. Dale, who was beside me, stared at me with wide eyes, his jaw dropped.
I glanced to the right end of the table, Shane was staring at me, tight lipped, suppressing a smile, or trying to. It was there. With Shane's face turned to me, I could slightly make out a dark bruise that had formed on the right side of his jaw, there was a faint one on his left cheek too.
"Toby . . ." Lori said in a low warning voice, the voice she used when scolding Carl.
"What?" I asked, confused with the reaction I got. Why is everyone looking at me again?
She sighed, " . . . nevermind."
T-Dog snickered, then let out a snort, "I freakin' love this kid." He came up behind me, putting a little more eggs on my plate.
Footsteps sounded throughout the room and I turned around, Carol and Sophia came in. They both said good morning, then Carol went to the other side of the room to grab some folded chairs for them. They sat at the table and everyone talked for a while, I ignored everyone while I ate.
Later, the Doctor came in. I pretended I didn't notice him as I stared down at my plate.
"Morning," the Doctor greeted.
"Hey, Doc." Shane said.
"How's the blood?" Rick asked him.
The Doctor turned to Rick, casting his eyes downward before turning away.
"With the blood I was able to test, no surprises."
"Were you able to test Toby's blood?" Lori asked him out of curiosity.
The Doctor glanced at me and I looked away. "Unfortunately, no. As you saw, the vial was shattered. And as I said, the sample contaminated, useless."
"Glad I didn't let you take mine then." T-Dog said.
The Doctor sighed, "it would have been better to get more accurate results."
"Like you said, no surprises," T-Dog mimicked. "What difference would it have made to have mine and her blood? Nothin' would've been different. Not to sound ungrateful or nothin'."
"Suppose you're right."
"Is there something you're not telling us, Doc?" Shane asked with conviction.
The Doctor turned away once again, going toward the counter as he shook his head.
"Kinda pissed we tortured that poor girl for nothin'." T-Dog said.
I like T-Dog, I decided at that moment.
"Doctor," Dale started, "I don't mean to slam you with questions first thing-"
"-But you will anyway."
"We didn't come here for the eggs." Andrea said, I glanced at her in surprise, I wasn't sure when the last time I heard her talk was.
The Doctor paused, "of course not. If you're done eating, come with me."
I heard the chairs screeching as people pushed them back, getting up from the table. Glenn groaned as he stood. A few minutes later the room was cleared, they had all followed the Doctor. Except me.
I wasn't even sure why we were here, and I doubt how much I'd be told if I asked. No one noticed I didn't follow so I doubted they cared.
A few moments later, I heard footsteps once again, I turned to the doorway, confused with who could possibly be coming in.
My eyes widened at the sight of Daryl, a large purple and blue bruise had formed on the side of his face, his eye slightly swollen.
"Ya 'lone?"
I nodded, turning back to my plate.
"What ya eatin'?"
"Eggs," I pointed to the counter where T-Dog left the pan.
He walked over to the pan and picked it up, the he turned, facing me as he leaned against the counter. Using his hands, he ate the remaining food on the pan.
"No ones 'ere?"
"Doctor took 'em somewhere."
He furrowed his eyebrows, "where?"
I shrugged, "I dunno. Didn' tell me."
He grunted.
I thought hard as I watched him eat. I glanced behind me, checking if they were all still gone. I didn't understand the reaction I got from them a few moments before. I didn't understand if I said something wrong. I realized I also didn't understand what that word meant, I had just heard it and didn't question the meaning.
"Daryl?"
"Hmm?"
"What's a whore?"
His movements stopped and he stared at me. He seemed to be waiting, as if he didn't believe what I said. He looked away after a while, placing the empty pan back on the counter. He kept his eyes away from me as if uncomfortable.
"Jus' means . . . somethin' bad. Someone who does bad things." He said hesitantly, he seemed as though he didn't believe his own words, and he didn't know how to put it.
I thought again, thinking back to last night and the conclusion I came to earlier that morning. Shane might've done something bad he didn't want anyone to know about, that was why he got angry.
"Like Shane?" I asked, awaiting confirmation.
He was quiet for a moment, "you mean las' night?" He paused, looking back at me, I guessed he was thinking back to his fight with Shane. "not really the same thing . . ."
"Oh," was all I said, putting my head down. "I don' get it."
"Ya don' need to. Gonna go see where the others are at." He said, walking passed me.
"Can I come?" I asked.
"Do what ya want."
I hopped off the chair and followed him. He went down the hallway and we walked into the Big Room, with all the desks and computers. Walking in, right away we could see some kind of video playing, like on a large TV.
"What's this?" Daryl asked out loud as we walked in, the group was at the other end of the room, passed the desks, watching the screen.
"The Doctor is showing us a vigil," Dale answered, he was farthest from the others, closer to us as we approached.
"Of what?"
"Death," Andrea answered quietly, just barely enough for us to hear.
There were blue lights flashing across the screen, the Doctor was explaining thing but I kept losing track of his words, distracted by the TV. Everytime I tried to keep track of what he was saying, I didn't understand, he was using a lot of words I didn't know.
No one else seemed that confused, just fascinated. I found myself feeling frustrated so I left. No one noticed me go. I walked down the hall, deciding I would search for the Rec room where I left my bag. I took a couple wrong turns but eventually found myself in front of the familiar door.
I almost opened it but stopped myself, remembering what had happened last time I went in, but Lori and Shane were with everyone else.
I turned the knob and opened the door, the light in the room was still on. I left the door open behind me and spotted my bag. I sat on the couch like I had the night before, in the same place. I thought about what to do.
I picked up my bag and dumped everything out beside me. My blanket was still bunched in a ball with my few possessions. I separated the objects from the blanket and folded the blanket the best I could before putting it into the bag. Next, I took my knives which were still tucked neatly into their sheath, I folded it in half and put it away next.
Once everything was sorted and stowed away in my bag, I saw that I still had a lot of space. I didn't own much, but if I ever found anything, this would do. I put the bag on the floor and lied on the couch.
I wondered what time it was and looked around, there was a round modern clock on the wall above the door. I stared at it for several minutes before giving up, I didn't understand how to read those clocks. I knew how to read the electronic clocks, like on Daddy's alarm clock or on the microwave. But I could never understand those stupid round ones with the arms, I remembered there were a couple lessons in school, but I still never got it. And it was a long time ago, a couple years ago maybe, they didn't really have any more lessons about it after the first few. All the other kids learned how to read them.
Then there was me.
Idiot
I put my arm over my eyes, shielding myself from the light in the room, I lied like that for several minutes before sleep finally took over.
I jerked awake at the sound of voices and footsteps.I sat myself up in a hurry, slightly panicking for no reason. I didn't think I'd be in trouble for sleeping, but I didn't want anyone to know that I was anyway. I pushed my dark hair out of my face just as Carl came in, followed by Lori.
They both greeted me and I didn't return the favour.
I didn't understand why we had to say hi to each other anyways. I saw them almost all day, every day, so why did everyone felt the need to greet each other as soon as they were in their line of sight? It wasn't like we didn't know we were all staying in the same building.
I pretended to not pay attention as Lori sat Carl at the coffee table in front of where I sat while she sat beside him, she had a book and some paper. Carl was mumbling protests and I realised she was making him do schoolwork again.
Are there even any schools open anymore? Why did schoolwork even matter now? Daddy always said it was a waste of time anyways.
"How are you doing?"
I gave Lori a sharp look unintentionally, I hadn't noticed she was done instructing Carl on what to do. I also didn't know how to answer that question, how was I doing about what? What kind of question is that?
She put her hand on my knee and I tensed up, it wasn't unusual for her to make physical contact with me, but I still wasn't expecting it, nor was I comfortable with it.
Suddenly, Lori stood up, "why don't me and you have a talk, Hun? Just me and you."
Lori stepped passed Carl, motioning for me to stand.
Carl turned to her, "she doesn't like to talk, mom."
"Just for a minute," she coaxed.
I got up after a moment, a bit skeptical. She started to lead me away before stopping, she looked up at the ceiling and put her hand up, waving her hand in front of an air vent.
"Mom? Something wrong?" Carl asked, noticing her actions.
"It's nothing, just . . . the air conditioning stopped."
She shook her head a turned her attention away. She then led me to the far side of the room, where the bookshelf ended. We were far from Carl but she briefly looked over her shoulder to check and make sure he was distracted and far enough away.
When she crouched in front of me, it took every ounce of my strength not to roll my eyes.
I clenched my teeth in annoyance, I was sick of people crouching to my eyes level. Did they think that because I was so much short that I couldn't see them? Did they all think just because I was so much closer to the ground I couldn't hear them? Couldn't they all just stand and talk like a normal person?
Daryl does that, he doesn't bother kneeling in front of me.
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," she told me softly.
Of course you do, I thought, that's the only question anyone ever asks me. Still don't understand why you want to know or care.
In reality, I only blinked in response.
"What you saw yesterday . . ." Lori looked lost, as if not sure what to say, she look a little scared to. She sighed, "what did you see? I know last night was hard, for a lot of reasons, but we need, I need to make sure that you're okay. I don't want you to have to worry about anything, I don't want you to feel scared, I don't want to make you uncomfortable. And I know that's how you must feel right now. I know you're confused about a lot of things and it's a confusing situation, not just last night but all of this. Staying with strangers, being away from home. I want to help."
She was talking fast, practically rambling with her eyes watering. Lori turned her head to Carl, making sure he was paying no attention to us.
I fought with myself a little not sure if I should speak or not. The fight was futile and I ended up blurting my observation. "You looked scared."
She looked back at me, her expression startled.
She looks scared now too.
"Last night, did you say anything? Did you tell Daryl anything about what you saw?"
I shook my head.
She nodded, sighing in relief. "Listen to me, it's really important that you don't tell anyone what you saw. It's just-sometimes . . . sometimes men do things . . ." She stopped herself, shaking her head. At that point I was pretty sure even she didn't know what she was talking about. I narrowed my eyes, becoming more confused than before. Sometimes men do things?
"It was just a misunderstanding," she finally seemed to decide, "everything is fine, it's all good now."
I'd admit it, I was pretty oblivious. I was oblivious to a lot of things. I knew that I didn't understand a lot of things others did or that I should've. But this was hard to not see, Lori wasn't just telling me not to say anything, she was begging me. She was scared.
My thought earlier that morning was that Shane had done something bad to get him in trouble, but now . . . the way Lori was acting made me wonder, could it have been the other way around? Could Lori have been doing something bad?
Suddenly there was a weird buzzing sound and then the lights died out. I looked around as Lori stood up.
"What in the world . . ."
"Mom? Why'd the lights go out?" Carl called out.
I watched Lori, wondering if she had an explanation. If she did, it was silence by footsteps and voices from the hall. Lori followed the voice, Carl along with her while I followed silently behind them.
When we stepped out of the room, some of the group emerged from a different hall. The Doctor was leading them. They were walking passed the bedrooms down the hall toward The Big Room, thought I wasn't sure if that was where they were going
"Why is the air off?" Lori asked.
"And the lights?" Carol asked, Sophia at her side.
As they continued to follow him I stayed in the doorway of the rec room. Daryl leaned out of his room to join, his one hand was grasping a glass bottle with amber liquid in it. "Wha's going on, why's everythin' turned off?"
I debated following them all like I had this morning, but when I did, nothing I understood really happened and I ended up leaving anyway. Then I remembered the first time we followed him.
I turned back into the rec room immediately.
No way was I getting another needle.
I was sitting on the floor of the rec room at the coffee table, beside where Carl was seated earlier. I had the colouring book I found with the bag at the school in front of me along with the crayons. I had to flip through a couple pages before finding one that hadn't already been scribbled on.
The picture was kind of tropical, of a cartoon monkey, some leaves and trees, the monkey, of course, was holding a banana.
After a while of colouring the monkey and some of the trees, I went to the crayon box to find a yellow crayon for the banana. I groaned in frustration to find the yellow was missing.
Suddenly, a loud alarm blared into the room and rang in my ears. I sprang up, spinning around, trying to find out where the sound was coming from.
It sounded a lot like a fire alarm, but much more loud and obnoxious. I covered my ears, hoping for it to stop. It didn't do me much good.
"Thirty minutes to decontamination." The female monotone voice told me over the blaring sounds.
After a minute or so it finally stopped and I lowered my hands.
Okay, I have no idea what that means, but okay.
I closed the book and put the crayons I used away, deciding my hand was sore and this was boring. My stomach twisted, wondering what had set the alarm off and what the building meant.
Thirty minutes to what?
I put the book and the crayons into my bag when another sound caught my attention. It was a low rumbling sound that seemed to echo into the room from the hallway. I could feel a slight vibration from the floor through my worn out running shoes.
The rumbling ceased just as a loud, metallic slam sounded out.
I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion, listening, waiting. I waited to see if I would hear any more weird sounds but all I heard was silence.
I walked over to the door and stepped into the hallway. It was empty, no one was there. I felt my eyes widen as they stopped on something unfamiliar.
Down at the other end of the hall, there was alway a wide opening, which lead to a catwalk into the Big Room with all the desk and computers. It was there the Doctor was showing the others that weird movie I hadn't stayed to watch.
Except this time, when I looked down the hall, there was no opening. That opening was not blocked by a silver, metallic barrier. I narrowed my eyes, utterly confused as the where that came from, I blinked a couple times, as if waiting for it to disappear.
When it didn't, I walked closer. Once I reached the end of the hall I stared at it. It wasn't like a door, it didn't have a doorknob or any hinges. Along the sides and top of the metal barrier, was a yellow and black striped pattern. It reminded me of caution tape.
I stared at it for a while, then the building spoke again in that robotic voice.
"H.I.T.s high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between five-thousand and six thousand degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."
I stared at the ceiling, my head was starting to hurt from trying to figure out what the fuck was going on. I didn't see or hear anybody, except for the talking building. Which, oddly enough, didn't bother anyone but me.
"Uh, wanna repeat tha'?" I called out. I waited, but there was no response.
Well fuck you too.
I thought over the words it was talking about, but honestly, I didn't catch half of them., I know I heard 'explosive'. The harder I thought about it the less words I remembered.
I looked down the hall, wondering where everyone was again. A couple of the bedroom doors were left open, as I walked down the hall, I peeked into the open rooms. After a few minutes, I still hadn't seen or heard anyone.
I thought hard for a minute about the closed doors. I was starting to feel anxious. I'd always wanted to be left alone, but I always knew where everyone was. Where the hell are they?
I finally decided to look into the closed bedroom doors, risking getting in trouble for not being respectful.
All the bedrooms looked more or less the same. But after opening a few of them, I still hadn't found anyone. I was about to open another door when I nearly jumped out of my skin at a loud bang.
After only a second, it happened again, and then again. A relentless pounding. I turned my head to the metal barrier, I was pretty sure that was where it was coming from, and as I drew closer I was sure of it.
After a few minutes of me standing and staring at the metal barrier, the pounding stopped. I slowly stepped closer, wondering what was on the other side. I wondered if the others were there, but if they were, why was the room sealed off?
I leaned my head in close, putting my ear close to the metal, trying to hear something, anything, to hint as to what was going on.
But before I could get any closer, the pounding resumed. When I had finally given up on trying to figure out what it was, I went to another closed door and opened it, carefully peeking in before opening it all the way. Peering around the room, I realised it was the room me and Daryl had slept in. His crossbow was sitting on the desk.
Obviously they haven't gone far, I thought, coming to the rationalization that Daryl wouldn't go anywhere without his crossbow. All the anxiety seeped out of me then.
I left the door to the room open and went back to the rec room to get my bag. I decided I'd stay in the bedroom to be left alone for when everyone decided to come back from wherever the hell they were.
Did I want to know where they were? Yes. Did that mean I wanted to talk to them? No. Daryl wouldn't leave his crossbow, so it made sense to stay near it. If I was going to be in anyone's company, I'd rather it be Daryl.
I didn't use to mind Lori too much, she was nice and had tried to help me. But I was utterly confused with what had happened with her and Shane, and her words from earlier did nothing to ease the turmoil in my head.
Sometimes men do things . . .
I liked Carl, I sometimes felt annoyed around him but I don't think it was him I was annoyed with. I think it was how much he talked, I liked it sometimes, I liked hearing him talk. But I only grew agitated when he was asking me questions, trying to get me to talk.
I wanted to avoid Shane as much as I possibly could. I wasn't sure if I was exactly scared of him, but I definitely wasn't put at ease by his presence.
Thinking about it, I wasn't sure if hiding myself in Daryl's room really meant I'd be left alone. It wasn't exactly his room, none of these rooms were anyones. So, really, anyone could go anywhere.
When I got into the rec room, I went over to the couch and picked up my bag, swing it over my shoulders. My eyes caught the bookshelf and I was reminded of how I usually got left alone. Back at camp, I would hold a book and that usually made people leave me alone, for whatever reason. It was like pretending to read made me invisible, it was a trick I learned at school. If they thought I was reading, they wouldn't look twice at me, the kids were the same way.
I went over to the books, grazing my hands over the bindings until I picked one. It was a green hardcover with black letters on the binding and front. Then I made my way back to the bedroom, on my way I noticed that the pounding on the metal barrier had stopped again.
I closed the door behind me, I walked over to the bed, dropping the book on it while dropping the bag to the floor. I sat on the bed and sighed.
I picked up my bag again and looked inside, staring. Almost as if I stared long enough, something would magically appear and cure my boredom. After a few minutes, I dropped the bag again.
I went to the bathroom and closed the door behind me. It was nice to use an actual toilet after so long, not that it mattered to me that much. I had spent most of my life camping.
When I finished, I washed my hands. I leaned forward in the sink and used my hand to drink water from the tap. With the tap water rushing right by my ears, I didn't hear the sound, but I felt the vibration under my feet again.
I lifted my head and turned the tap off just in time for it to stop. I heard thudding from the hallways, several pairs of feet, and yelling. They were yelling things like go and hurry up.
I heard a door open close to me and I guessed it was the bedroom door, along with loud footsteps that seemed rushed.
I opened the door to the bathroom and stepped out, just in time to see Daryl disappear behind the doorway, leaving the door open behind him. I saw a couple other bodies run by the door, most of them still yelling.
I glanced at the desk to see that Daryl's crossbow was gone.
"Hey!" One of the voices yelled above some of the rest, it sounded like Glenn but I wasn't sure, "we've got four minutes left! Come on!"
Confused as always, I picked up my bag and the book, shoving the book into my bag before slinging it over my shoulders.
I walked out of the room, my backpack hanging off my back. I looked down the hall to see a couple of the bodies turn the corner. I looked the other way, the metal barrier had disappeared.
What is going on?
I walked toward the Big Room, wondering if there was some kind of switch or button that closed the room off.
I wasn't sure if everyone had run in the same direction, I didn't know why they were running or where they were going.
Whatever, what else is new? I thought. I never know anything.
I walked into the Big Room onto the catwalk ramp, I eyed the walls as I walked through the entrance. Looking for a hint as to how the door was closed. I didn't see anything and kept walking. I saw Jacqui at the end of the ramp, her back turned to me. She was walking toward the Doctor who was sitting in a chair at a desk. Andrea wasn't far from him, she was sitting on the floor, hugging her legs to her chest.
The Doctor looked at Jacqui, then his eyes flickered to me. He stood from his chair, staring. Jacqui stopped in her tracks. She followed his eyes and her jaw dropped when she saw me. Her eyes were wet and I guessed she'd been crying.
"What . . . What are you doing here?"
What kind of a question is that?
Third POV
Daryl wasn't sure when or how the former cop had gotten a grenade. But he was glad for it all the same, the explosive had given them a way out.
After the glass from the window had shattered and fell, everyone had rushed toward it. Dale was standing in the window, helping the little blonde girl up as Carol lifted her. T-Dog was standing in the window too, reaching as Shane was lifting one of their bags to him.
Rick was helping Carl as Lori climbed up herself to bring her son up. Daryl walked toward their only exit with his crossbow hanging over his shoulder, he was about to climb up himself when he was stopped by T-Dog's voice.
"Wait, man, where's Toby?"
Daryl paused, looking over at T-Dog on the ledge, he was holding a bag Shane had passed to him. Shane glanced over at Daryl, eyes widened and panicked. Then Shane turned his head from Daryl, looking around.
Daryl stared at T-Dog, baffled for a long moment. The name confused him at first, as if he couldn't recall who that was exactly. Once it came to him, he motioned behind him with his arm.
"She's right-" Daryl's mouth stopped moving as soon as he turned to the empty space behind him. Just as he had with Shane, he stared at the empty space, at a loss and confused. After a long moment of just staring, Daryl practically twirled around, doing a full three-sixty only to see the same result in all directions.
Daryl stopped, trying hard to think of the last time he saw his small follower.
That girl was always around, even more so once his brother had gone missing, the girl would silently trail behind him. Though it wasn't him she was following, it was Merle. Daryl had become so accustomed to her presence, it hadn't occurred to him that she wouldn't follow. It didn't occur to him to even look, he never had to think of her being there. She was always so quiet, usually only speaking when spoken to and listened to instruction when given it.
Daryl's face scrunched up in frustration, she wasn't there.
The one time he needed her to be, the one time she was supposed to be there, she wasn't.
"Fuck," he cursed, quickly turning and running back the way they'd come.
Toby's POV
Jacqui had her hands on my shoulders, pushing me backwards.
"Go! You need to get out of here! Go, get out, now!"
Jacqui was yelling at me, her voice panicked. Her voice wasn't cracking so it didn't seem like she was crying, but the tears were there, streaming effortlessly down her cheeks.
"What-" Jacqui doesn't even give me the chance to speak.
"-There's no time, get out!"
I didn't understand. Why had everyone else run out so quickly? Why were these three staying? And why was I being yelled at? I was stepping backwards, but I wasn't sure where she wanted me to go or why, did she just want me to leave the room? Why was she crying?
Jacqui stopped, looking up behind me. I turned around, hearing feet pound against the tiled floor. Along with that, I heard yelling, I recognised the voice almost immediately.
Daryl appeared at the top of the ramp, stopping in his tracks. He was panting, but only slightly. His face was red and he was sweating, his crossbow hung over his left shoulder.
"The hell are ya doin'?!" He yelled out, "Let's go, we gotta get the fuck out!"
Daryl rushed toward me as Jacqui gives me one harsh push into his direction.
"Go, get out! Get her out!" She yelled.
I looked at Jacqui, freezing into place. Panic was settling in and I had no idea what I should've been panicked about. Jacqui took several steps back, away from me, she crossed arms around her rib cage, as if hugging herself.
I turned back to Daryl as he reached me, without a word his arm wrapped around my waist and he hoisted me over his shoulder. I yelped in surprise, wriggling in protest as he began running back up the ramp and leaving the Big Room.
I push my hands against his back, trying to see around me.
"Stop fucking squirming!"
I obeyed trying to stay still while also trying to look around. Soon enough, stairs appeared under his feet and he was running up them.
After a while of running Daryl finally stopped, hoisting me up in the air and yelling at me to get up. I turned myself to climb up onto a ledge that lead outside. The ledge had to have been about seven feet above the ground, but I didn't have to worry about that, not that I would've, I've jumped from that height before.
Shane was on the ground, once he spotted me he ran toward the ledge and reached his arms up to help me down. I moved my legs to dangle them over the ledge but stop when I felt a sharp pain. I glanced down at my left leg. The pajama pants that I were wearing had torn a little. I turned my head to see some glass sticking out of the ledge.
Shit
I jumped down and Shane caught me, helping me onto my feet. I turned and didn't move until Daryl made his way down. They both started running once again and I ran after them.
"Come on!" Shane yelled, "let's go, let's go!"
A far distance ahead I could see the RV and the other cars. I saw some of the group gathering into the RV.
We ran across the front lawn, of course we weren't the only ones there. We had to jump over several corpses that seemed fully dead. We were running toward a walking corpse, a Walker. Once we got close enough, Shane lifted his gun and shot it down. Another was approaching us from the side, Daryl lifted his crossbow, but instead of shooting it he swung it at the Walkers head, blood exploded from it and then it fell to the ground. Daryl didn't even slow down.
Once we were with twenty feet of the RV, Glenn showed himself out of the door, yelling.
"Get down!" He screamed at us. Lori stuck her head out of the passenger side window, yelling the same thing.
Daryl pulled me to the side, practically diving down behind a sandbag barrier left behind by the army. I was kneeling on the ground, then Daryl put his hand on my back and pushed me down to the ground with him.
I was so confused with what was going on, but soon enough, I was hearing it. Thousands of pieces of glass, steel, and rock, sounding like a deadly rainfall, showered down. The sounds were shrill and deafening. My senses felt as if they had been assaulted once a harsh wind seemed to blow through me, feeling like a shockwave.
The sound seemed to drown out and all I could hear was a loud ringing in my ears. The ground trembled beneath me, feeling as if something under me was continuously banging on the ground below me. I was afraid it wouldn't end, and for the next few minutes, I was so sure it wouldn't.
There was still a loud ringing in my ears as I felt Daryl move beside me. He got up on his knees, looking over the sandbag barrier.
Daryl stood up, his hands on his head. He glanced toward the RV as some of the group came out, staring with exasperated expressions. It looked like some of them were talking, but I couldn't hear.
Carol and Sophia got out of the car that was parked in front of the RV.
With shaky legs, I slowly stood up, gazing past the sandbag barrier. The building was gone, well, it wasn't gone as much as it was in pieces. It was just a giant pile of rubble and ruin. There were small fires still lit and spread out, and smoke filling the sky.
I stared at what was left of the building, thinking about Jacqui and Andrea. I glanced around quickly, not seeing them. I knew they hadn't followed us out, but I couldn't believe this.
Are they dead? I knew it was a stupid question, but it didn't feel real. If everyone knew what was going on why hadn't they gotten out? This wasn't right. I felt a sick feeling creep into my stomach just as the ringing in my ears began to subside.
"Andrea?"
I looked at Dale, who had just climbed out of the RV. He was looking around frantically. Shane, who was a very little distance away from me, shook his head at him with a sad expression.
Dale shook his head back in disbelief, muttering a series of no's.
I watched Dale as he crumpled to the ground on his knees. Shane went over to him, putting an awkward hand on his shoulder.
Daryl stepped in front of me, his expression hard. My lips parted in surprise at his expression and his advance on me.
"What the hell were ya thinkin'? Ya got a death wish? Or're ya jus' stupid?"
I stared blankly at Daryl, his harsh tone shocked me into silence. I wanted to take a step back but I felt frozen in place, anxiety flooding my core. Why is he mad at me?
"Ya 'ave ta pay attention Goddammit! There're dead people walkin' 'round, ya can't jus' be roamin' 'round. Ya 'ave ta stick ta the group. If ya did, this shit wouldn't've 'appened!"
Rick appeared beside Daryl, placing a hand on his chest, as if to try and push him back. "Daryl, you're the adult. It's your responsibility to keep your eyes on her."
"My responsibility?" Daryl smacked Rick's arm away, "You fuckin' kiddin'? None of ya assholes wanted her 'round us in the first place." Daryl's hand shifted, pointing to Shane, "what was tha' 'e said las' night? 'Bout how ya'll knew jus' why Merle kept her 'round? My responsibility my ass! You're only saying tha' bullshit 'cause you don' want 'er!"
"None of that is true," Rick argued.
"Bullshit! Ya hardly even bother lookin' at the kid! You can all go fuck yourselves, fuckin' hypocrites. Don' fuckin' tell me what my responsibility is. Any of ya could've ran your ass down there! Jus' 'cause she follows me 'round like a lost puppy, doesn' make 'er my responsibility! I could've fuckin' died goin' back down there for 'er. You jus' don' give a shit."
Lori, who was several steps away, tried to speak up. Her cheeks were wet and her voice was uneven, she had obviously been crying. "that's not-"
"-I'm not talkin' to you, you can't even watch your own kid!" Daryl turned back to me, fuming with anger. "You really are jus; stupid. What the hell even goes through ya head when you do this shit? Going 'round the fuckin' woods alone with nothin' but a tiny knife, fucking dumb. Lookin' in an unchecked room with 'nother stupid kid as your backup, standin' there like an idiot when the fuckin' building is gonna blow up-I'll tell ya what, nothin'! Ya don' think at all!"
Glenn stepped forward, his expression cautious, "hey, take it easy! She's just a kid, she doesn't know-"
"-Stay the hell out of this!"
Glenn held his hands out, as if to surrender, "please don't hit me, I-I just want to say-I just think that your-your right."
"Then shut the fuck up an' mind your own business."
"Just hear me out, I think you're right. She does need to be looked after, it should be someone's responsibility, like one person. Because if we leave it to the whole group, everyone would always assume someone else is watching her and then, what happened today will keep happening."
"Got a point, we pass the kid around like a hot potato. It shouldn't be Daryl just because none of us know what to do with her. She needs a constant, like a guardian." T-Dog said.
"He's right, she needs a parent." Lori said. "This isn't the time or the place to time or the place to discuss this, we need to leave. The Walkers will be coming, we just lost people. We need to eave and gain our grounds."
"People, we gotta move! Now!" Shane yelled.
We followed Shane's eyes, to see what had caught his attention. Walkers were coming, and we were sure more would follow.
"Get in the truck," Daryl told me.
The ride, as usual was quiet. I sat still looking at my hands on my lap. I was honestly too afraid to look at Daryl, I was afraid he'd yell more. I didn't fully get why I was in trouble, I didn't understand why the building had blown up. Why had Andrea and Jacqui just stayed? Didn't they know what would happen? The Doctor had stayed too, but I didn't really feel anything toward him. Just indifference.
I felt a burning sensation on my right leg, I lifted my leg onto the seat and pulled up the pant leg. My eyes widened to see a mess of blood. "Oh, ow." I breathed out, remembering that I had cut myself on the glass on the way out of the building.
"How did ya do tha'?" Daryl asked.
I glanced at him, not sure what to say. He still looked mad.
"Holy shit, why didn' ya fuckin' say somethin'?"
Before I could even attempt an answer, Daryl honked the horn once. Once he'd done that, the RV in front of us pulling into a parking lot. Daryl parked and got out of the car.
I watched as he went over to Dale, who had gotten out of the RV. They talked for a minute, Dale motioned toward what looked like a corner store that the parking lot belonged to.
Then Daryl turned back and started back to the truck. I thought he would go to the back or go back to the drivers side, but instead, he opened the passenger door, leaning in.
"Lem'me see it," he said, reaching out.
I flinched out of reflex, confused and not expecting it. He noticed and sighed, leaning against the door. "I'm not mad an' I ain't gonna yell at ya, jus' show me your leg."
I hesitated then twisted my body so both my legs hung off the seat in the doorway. The amount of blood on my leg scared me, I couldn't locate or see how long the cut was. It didn't hurt that much, it stung a little but nothing more than that.
Daryl stared at it for a short moment before sighing. He put his fingers through the hole in the pant leg and pulled, he ripped until it was completely off of my calf. The right pant leg only went up to my knee now, while the other still down to my ankle. I felt a little anxious, considering the pants weren't mine, but he had already done it. I bit my lip and stayed silent. He stood up straight and went to the back of the truck where the motorcycle was. I leaned out to watch him as he reached into the back and pull out a bag.
He dropped the bag on the ground then crouched to it, unzipping it and the looking through it. He pulled out some kind of shirt and walked back to me. He lowered himself in front of me, going in eye level with my leg. He put the shirt between his teeth and pulled, I flinched at the ripping sound.
With one half of the shirt he began wiping at the blood on my leg.
"I shouldn't've lost it on ya like that," he said quietly, "I didn' even realize ya weren't in the room when shit went down, I should've, but I didn'."
"I wasn' bad?"
He shook his head, not looking at me, "nah, everythin' went ta shit real quick. Le's jus' be glad we got outta there."
"What 'appened? Why'd it blow up?"
"I's complicated, no point in thinkin' 'bout it now. I's over, done," he shrugged. Some of the blood had dried so he had to rub harder. The cut was visible now, it was thick and maybe two inches long, "not as bad as it looked."
"Did Jacqui an' Andrea know? What about tha' Doctor guy?"
He sighed again. Throwing the bloody rag aside he grabbed the other half of the shirt, ripping it again. "Nothin' I tell ya is gonna be the right thing. You're just a kid, there're too many things ya can't understand."
"Can I try?"
He shook his head as he finished tying the rag around my calf, "there, now don' touch it. I ain't doin' this shit again if ya fuck with it."
"Thanks," I said.
"Go over there with the others, gonna try an' find gas, look 'round."
I nodded and jumped down, walking toward some of the others near the RV. I glanced back several time at Daryl, he wasn't looking back.
Not everyone was out, I assumed some were still in the RV or in their own car. I wasn't even sure how long we were stopping for. I saw Shane and Glenn working on the door to the convenience store.
I wondered what could be inside, if nothing had been taken yet. Thinking about it, I started wondering if there would be any crayons. It was a silly thing to think about, I knew that, and I did already have crayons. But thinking about that missing yellow crayon made me frustrated.
I didn't really even like colouring that much, but what else could I do to pass the time? Shane and Glenn were right there so I wouldn't be alone, from what Daryl said earlier, it sounded like if I went off alone again, he'd get mad.
I looked around the parking lot, the RV was really close. Dale was there and I saw Sophia and Carol going to him and starting to talk. The only one that was far away was Daryl and his truck, no one was really alone.
I started toward Shane and Glenn. They had managed to open the door just as I neared them.
"Hey, hold up," T-Dog ran up beside me. I stopped walking and he stood with me, "what're you up to?"
Wordlessly, I pointed at Glenn and Shane.
"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea. Maybe you can just go and chill in the RV for a bit."
"Why? Can't I look too?"
"Look? You looking for anything in particular?"
I shrugged, looking away.
"If you wanna tell me what you're looking for I can check for you. We can't stay here long and we can't waste much time while we're getting gas and looking for food. That's why it's better for you to stay out here, close by the cars. You hear me?"
"Yes, mister."
"And what happened to your pants?"
"I got cut, Daryl fixed it."
He nodded, "gonna tell me what you're looking for?"
I opened my mouth but stopped. Me and T-Dog looked away from each other when we heard honking. Daryl was standing on the driver's side of his truck, he was honking the horn and yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Go! They're comin',le's get the fuck outta here! NOW!" He kept yelling and we all saw not too far from behind his truck, filling the street was a horde of Walkers. Everyone else started yelling too, running to their vehicles.
I started to run toward Daryl's truck, I was scared because of how close the Walkers were and I was actually running toward them. Daryl slammed his door and started the truck. I stopped running just as some of the corpses reach his truck, banging on it. Couldn't believe how many there were. Some of them stopped at Daryl's truck and some kept going.
"The RV!" He yelled at me. I nodded and turned just as the RV was set in motion.
Glenn had just hopped in as it started moving, leaning out of the door and watching Shane as he ran toward it. I ran as fast as I could, trying to catch up with Shane.
Glenn yelled something at Shane when he noticed me, Shane looked behind him, surprised to see me. He slowed himself, yelling at me to run faster.
Soon enough, I was running as fast as I could alongside Shane, I knew he could run faster but he slowed his pace, so he was only just ahead of me. He urged me to run faster, it angered me that he didn't think I was going as fast as I could. With dozens of corpses chasing us, why would I run slow?
I was mad they started the RV already, but I figured there was a reason, them needing the head start, though I wished they would've waited. I couldn't think about it too much as my shoes pounded on the pavement.
Glenn was at the RV door, reaching his arm and yelling too. I didn't know who he was yelling at, maybe Shane, maybe me, maybe both. I couldn't hear what anyone is saying, only the blood pumping in my ears and the urge to run was in my thoughts.
I could hear the snarling of the Walkers, the sound of them so close I was sobbing in fear.
Shane was closer and able to latch onto Glenn's arm, Glenn pulled him in. Shane then held onto the RV. He positioned himself so he had one leg and one arm in the RV, the rest of his body was hanging off in attempt to get closer to me as he reached out. He was yelling but I still couldn't make it out, the corpses, the Walkers were getting so much louder.
I jumped toward Shane, grabbing onto his arm. He started pulling me inside when I felt something wrap around my leg and weigh it down. I screamed and Shane didn't let go, his one hand held my elbow tightly as both of mine held his arm. His other arm was still holding onto the RV.
When the new weight was added I'm almost pulled to the ground and Shane fought to keep me up. I glanced back, knowing exactly what had a hold of me but not wanting to believe it.
I almost screamed again but found I had no voice, I was just sobbing, whining, silently begging for him to pull me in. I tried kicking off the Walker but it wouldn't release my leg, Shane's face was turning red, showing the effort it was taking to pull me in.
He's yelling behind him for help and I saw T-Dog, he reached for me, grabbing a hold of my arms, I use one of my hands to grab onto T-Dog but won't let go of Shane with the other.
T-Dog was pulling me up, along with Shane, when he seemed to have a good grip on me, Shane let go of me with his hand, reaching into his belt for his gun. He aimed behind me and I heard the loud bang ring in my ears.
As soon as the bullet was fired, the weight was gone from my leg and I was released. With the weight gone, I was practically thrown into the RV. I heard the door slam shut, but I kept my eyes closed, trying to breathe as I lay on the floor.
I felt something touch my leg and I yelped, jumping away. I turned to Shane, he was panting, his hair wet from sweat.
"It-it's okay, I was just checking if-"
Without a thought a leapt at him, causing him to stumble back as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I tried not to cry, I did, I wanted to hold it back but the tears fell anyway and I felt myself shaking.
Third POV
Shane looked down at the girl that had latched onto him. He was panting and trying to catch his breath, but having the young girls weight on him didn't help. He didn't complain, he felt relief in that moment, he felt thankful. The tight grip she had on his neck provided him with a sort of comfort, he felt reassured.
She was sobbing quietly, shaking fiercely. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as he rubbed her back, trying to calm her as well as himself.
"It's alright, you're okay. We're safe, it's fine, you're . . ." He trailed off, a knot forming in his stomach. He really didn't know if she was fine or not. He held her tight with one arm while he used the other to lift himself, then he sat himself in the booth of the RV.
Aside from the shaking, the girl hadn't moved or even loosened her grip. Both her legs were together, stretched out to the side of him, hanging limply.
T-Dog, who was sitting on the couch across from the booth, watched the two closely. Dale had been doing the same, sitting close to T-Dog.
"T," Shane let out, still not breathing right. He motioned with his head to her legs, "her leg, can you . . ."
T-Dog nodded, understanding his request. He knelt to the floor close to them as Shane shifted the girls weight, so T-Dog could get a better look.
As T-Dog slowly took hold of her leg to inspect it, Shane spoke, "left, it was the left."
The bald man nodded, inspecting her leg gently. She was wearing purple pants that Shane knew didn't belong to her. The right pant leg was ripped at the knee, he wasn't sure when that had happened but knew it wasn't like that before. There was some cloth or something wrapped around her calf, he spotted a little dried blood. He didn't concern himself with it, he knew it wasn't a bite, he would ask later. T-Dog lifted her pant leg, inspecting before sighing with relief.
"Nothin," he told the former sheriff's deputy, "no bite, no scratches, she's good."
Shane let out a breath. Then he was startled as the girl's grip went slack, her arms falling, her once tense body had relaxed.
Shane shifted her so he could get a view of her face.
Concern flashed across T-Dog's features, "is she-"
"-passed out," Shane answered. He saw Carl, standing next to the passenger seat, staring at them, "It's okay, bud. She's breathing, it's fine. She'll be fine in a minute."
"The adrenalin," Dale concluded, staring at her, "must've gotten to her."
T-Dog nodded, moving himself back to the couch, a foot of space in between him and the older man.
Looking at Lori, he could see the indifference on her face as she coaxed Carl to look away and sit with her. It was obvious Carl had been worried, and happy that not only the girl had made it, but Shane too. He knew that Lori hated the fact that Carl cared so much for him, she had wanted to cut off all ties.
Shane understood, on some level. He understood, with Rick alive they could no longer continue their affair. But to cut off all ties, shut him out, forbid him from talking to her or her son when he had protected and provided for them, that was what he didn't understand. He refused to believe the act Lori had put on, he refused to believe she had never loved him like he loved her.
Shane was angry that Lori could even think that he lied about Rick being dead. At the time, he had truly believed their was no way his best friend could make it, he still didn't believe it. But there he was, alive. What could he possibly have to gain from lying like that? Did she really think that he lied to get with her?
Shane shook his head to himself, he knew he had to get rid of those thoughts. She wanted to cut all ties, he had no choice but to grant her wish, even if it killed him inside.
It made him deeply regret not making the choice to settle down and start a family, instead he focused on work. Not that he hadn't dated, he had, it just never lasted. When all hell broke lose he found himself immediately taking Carl and Lori to safety. He had no family of his own to protect. He took care of Lori and they had gotten together. He took care of Carl as if he was his own, and suddenly, he had a family. Only for it to be ripped away.
Shane was happy his friend was alive, but he couldn't help feeling grief from it. Carl and Lori didn't need him anymore, so Lori had practically cut him off at the knees. But there was someone who did need to be protected, someone who didn't have a father, he realized as he rubbed the girl's back.
A burst of purpose burst through Shane, it filled him up. He had something to focus on, to distract him from his issues with Lori.
"Shane," Rick called from the driver's seat as he steered the RV, "how you doing?"
Shane blinked, dragging himself out of his thoughts as he took a deep breath, still having trouble, "th-they may be slow but . . . but they don't-they don't tire and they just keep coming."
"Good thing to know." Rick replied after a moment, glancing at his friend.
"Thank you," Shane said, looking around the RV.
"Don't thank us, thank Daryl," Lori told him from the passenger seat, not bothering to look back. "he's the one that noticed."
Lori wasn't sure why, but the sight of Shane holding Toby disturbed her greatly. She had no right to say anything, she knew that, she wasn't the girl's mother and Shane had just saved her life. She wondered why it felt so wrong to her, maybe it was because of her history with her husbands best friend, maybe she was more disturbed with herself and was blaming it on Shane.
But what did that have to do with Toby? From the beginning Shane had done his best with her, he took care of her when no one else would. Of course Lori had done what she could, her focus was on her son and the girl expressed no interest to acknowledge any of their existences until recently.
Lori thought back to when they found the girl. Shane's theory was that her father had left and didn't come back by choice. That thought made Lori sick, she refused to believe that. Who would jus leave their child? Abandon their child willingly. No, she wouldn't believe that. Anything could've happened that night.
Then she felt guilt, thinking she could've done more, that she should've. But what could she do? The girl never wanted to make eye contact much less talk.
Try harder.
Lori mentally nodded to herself at the thought, that was all she could do, was keep trying. She decided she would help Toby in whatever way she could, she didn't deserve to be alone. She had known the group for weeks and the only one she seemed to trust was Daryl Dixon and his brother, which completely baffled Lori.
"Rick, you got any moves left?" Lori heard Shane question.
Rick hesitated, "I got one."
"Is it good?"
"It occurs to me we have some friends in this city. Glenn, what do you think?" Rick glanced behind him at Glenn.
Glenn thought for a moment before nodding enthusiastically, "yeah!"
"It'll buy us some time," Rick decided, "a night or two until we figure out what we're doing."
Dale, Shane and Lori eyed them skeptically.
"The-the nursing home," Glenn sputtered, trying to explain. He was overcome with relief and excitement. "Guillermo and his people."
Dale's eyes widened, "the people who took you hostage when you went after Merle?"
"We parted on good enough terms," Rick explained.
"Good enough doesn't boad me over with confidence." Dale muttered.
"You weren't there, you didn't see how Rick handled things. They're our friends, they'll take us in." Glenn assured.
Shane didn't say anything, he wasn't sure how much he agreed with Rick's plan, his last plan hadn't worked out so well. But they didn't have another choice. They didn't have much gas left, and had no food or water. They needed to find a place to collect themselves and make a plan.
Shane looked down at the girl in his arms, his thoughts going back to her.
He thought about what had happened the night before, mentally punching himself for what he had done to Lori. He hated himself for it, then he took it out on Toby. He wasn't sure how he would make up for it, if he could. He wasn't sure why he had done that, what had made him lose control. He hadn't gotten the chance to talk to her and wasn't sure if he should, he didn't know how she felt about what happened or if she understood. He knew he had scared her, and hoped she wouldn't continue to be scared of him, the last thing he wanted to do to the poor girl was scare her, she had had enough of that already. He thought about how things had finally been going well, when they stayed at the school he had talked to her, and she had laughed. But now, any progress he made was now shattered.
He hated how things had ended, how they had to end with Lori and Carl, but Carl had his mother and father to protect him. Toby didn't have anyone.
It seemed as if everyone in their group related to one another, had some kind of relationship. Even with the people they lost, T-Dog and Dale could be seen talking frequently. Dale was kind, he could be very opinionated at times but the others respected that, he had lost Andrea, who he seemed close to, but he still had friends among the group. Glenn had done a lot for the group, before Merle got left behind he went on runs and brought supplies from Atlanta by himself. He had earned respect and appreciation from everyone.
T-Dog was brave, he risked himself a lot for the group and always did what he could. Shane had seen him offering his help to Carol frequently since she lost her husband. T-Dog was a friend, he was trusted.
Rick had disappointed some of them with the outcome of the CDC, but he had his family. Lori, Carl, and Rick all had each other. Sophia and Carol had each other as well.
Shane had been the leader, trusted, respected, they looked up to him. But it seemed ever since Rick showed his face, Shane was cut off. He couldn't explain it. It wasn't just from Lori, he felt completely severed and separated from the group. When there was a question, concerns, ideas, they were spoken to Rick. No one had even looked to Shane anymore. Shane had been good friends with Rick, but he was guilty and knew their relationship had been severed too, even if Rick didn't see it yet.
Shane didn't know what to think of Daryl, he didn't want to think of Daryl. But that crossbow wielding redneck had done his part, and they were thankful.
Toby didn't have a part to play. She couldn't protect the group, be on watch, or go on runs. She couldn't make plans or decisions. At her young age, Toby had nothing to offer. The others were either, trusted, respected, loved, or even gratified.
Toby was pitied.
"Once we get far enough away," Rick spoke, breaking Shane out of his trance, "we'll pull over, let Carol and Sophia know about the plan, as well as Daryl."
"Are they alright? I didn't see if they had . . ." Dale trailed off, not wanting to continue.
"Carol and Sophia are ahead of us, in the Cherokee, Daryl's tailing."
The relief in Dale was obvious, his shoulders had relaxed and he let out a breath he may or may not have been holding.
Shane felt Toby squirm in his grip, lifting her head and looking up at him. Her eyebrows had furrowed, she looked startled. She started to jerk herself away from his hold and Shane could feel her breath speeding up. He held her tighter, trying to calm her down.
He leaned in close to her, whispering assurances, that they were safe, that they were okay. The she had stopped moving, but her muscles were still tense.
He slowly released her and she got up, swaying a little. Shane held his arms out in case she would fall, but she regained her balance. Dale coaxed her over to him, she sat on the couch between Dale and T-Dog.
Dale put a hand on her shoulder, talking to her. Shane saw and practically felt her muscles tense up once again. Dale either didn't notice, or was pretending he didn't. Instead of looking at him while he talked Toby was staring at his hand on her.
Shane was trained to know and see the signs of domestic abuse while working in law enforcement. He hadn't noticed right away with Toby, but the signs became painfully obvious after her first couple days with them.
He knew almost any physical contact with her was far too intimate for her to handle. She was confused and didn't understand it. He wasn't entirely sure what was going through her head, but one of Shane's guesses was she was waiting for whatever contact she was given, to become violent.
That was what it looked like as she stared at Dale's hand, like she was waiting.
Shane would put his hand on her back or shoulder, touching her on purpose. He knew it would make her uncomfortable but he was attempting to show her he wouldn't hurt her. He wanted to show that he was good, he was trying to get her used to it. So she wouldn't be afraid.
Then he once again remembered the night before, when he had scared her. Any and all progress made with her, gone.
Shane was trained in detecting the signs of an unfit home for a child. If there was a domestic dispute call, it was his job to sort out what happened and where they would continue from that.
Him and Rick lived in a small town, it hadn't happened a lot, but twice he had been involved in turning children in to social services.
But he wasn't trained with what to do after the fact, that was a whole other department. He wasn't sure what to do with Toby or what to say to her or even how to say it. He didn't know how to mke things better for her.
Soon enough, Rick had honked the horn once and was pulling the RV over. Rick had just opened the driver door when the RV door opened.
Rick paused, looking over at Daryl as he peered in.
"Was just about to come to you," Rick told him.
Daryl grunted, his voice low as he glanced at Toby, "jus' checkin' on the kid."
"Shane saved her," Glenn blurted, the relief of them all getting out of there alive was getting to him, mixed with the excitement of the newly hatched plan. "The-The Geeks were too close we had to start the RV, but I helped Shane and he almost got her in before one of them grabbed her."
Glenn was speaking so fast it took Daryl a moment to comprehend what he said, once it did, before he could react Dale assured him.
"Shane killed it, got her in just in time, she's just fine. Tuckered and stressed out for sure, but okay to say the least."
Daryl's eyes flickered over to Shane, his expression hardening slightly. Shane fought to keep his face free of emotion, attempting to not show the triumph he felt.
He had saved her, not Daryl.
After a few moments, the silence became awkward, Glenn hadn't spoken again at first, knowing he had unintentionally caused some kind of tension he didn't understand between the two men. But when it seemed no one would speak, he did, "Uh, Rick came up with a plan."
Daryl turned his head to Rick curiously.
"Guillermo, the nursing home. See if he won't mind us staying a night or two, formulate a better plan." Rick said.
Daryl though for a moment, "got 'nough gas?"
Rick glanced at the dashboard then back to Daryl, "maybe just enough. You?"
"Same, got my brothers bike though if it doesn' hold up."
"I'm going to go talk to Carol," T-Dog said, getting up and gently pushing passed Daryl.
Glenn and Rick discussed routes to take to the nursing home for the next few minutes. Daryl listened in silence, he didn't have any input to give in, he didn't know Atlanta that well. He watched them as Glenn went in front of Rick as he sat in the driver's seat, gesturing to different things on a map.
Once they decided on something, Glenn explained it to Daryl, showing him on the map as well. Daryl gave a curt nod in understanding.
He was about to leave when he took another glance at the girl sitting on the couch next to Dale. He feet barely reached the floor of the RV as she gently kicked them back and forth. Her head was down but her eyes were looking up at Daryl, as if trying to hide it.
Daryl's gaze flickered to Shane again, who was staring back at him. Shane's eyes were hard, the one corner of his mouth tilted upwards so slightly you could barely notice. Daryl immediately took the expression in as smug, as if he had won something.
"Le's go, you're ridin' with me." He said to her, nodding his head at the door as he turned.
Her head lifted, eyes lighting up as she jumped from her seat.
Daryl didn't even bother to look back at Shane before leaving as Toby followed.
Shane watched them leave with clenched teeth until the door shut, even then he leaned toward the window closest to him to see her following close behind the crossbow wielding redneck.
Shane was once again reminded how he had ruined his progress with Toby. Why did she always go to him?
As soon as he had the chance, he would try to mend things, he had to. It had been ending badly with Lori and Carl, no way was he going to let that happen with Toby.
She didn't have anyone else. She didn't need anyone else, Shane decided, he was what she needed, he would take care of her, like he did Carl.
She needs a parent, Lori's voice echoed in his head.
Shane ran a hand through his hair as that thought rang through his mind, relaxing him slightly as it filled him with determination.
He would be her family.
And hell if he was going to let Daryl Dixon get in the way.
Toby's POV
"Why are we goin' to a nursin' 'ome?" I asked Daryl as he drove.
I wasn't sure if he was still mad at me, it didn't seem like he was. He didn't look angry anymore, maybe just slightly irritated. But he helped me with my leg, he wouldn't have done that if he was mad right?
He sounded irritated when he told me I'd be riding with him, maybe he was just annoyed I had to ride in the RV because of the Walkers.
I heard a little of the conversation in the RV about the plans they were making. I woke up in Shane's arms, utterly confused and my head hurt. Afterward I had sat with Dale, he explained to me that I fainted.
I was embarrassed, I felt weak, I was pretty sure I'd never fainted before. Then I remembered that night when we had the fish fry, they said I had an allergic reaction and I did pass out. I wondered if that was close to the same thing.
"When we went back ta Atlan'na," Daryl explained, "ran across 'nother group held up at some nursin' 'ome, takin' care of the old people there."
More people. What if Daddy was there? What if Merle was? As soon as I thought that, I realised if Merle was there, Daryl would've seen him. But Daddy could be there, with the other people. I had only heard about horrible things in Atlanta, maybe he got stuck there and could never leave because of the Walkers?
What if he's dead?
I sunk back into the seat once I thought of Daddy being dead again.
"Are, uh, are we gonna stay there? With the other group?"
He shrugged a shoulder, "not really, not for long anyway. They ain't gonna wanna stay in the city, even if they do, I ain't. Fuck tha'."
I didn't say anything after that, and neither did he. Daryl slowed the truck a little to let the RV drive ahead. Once they cut in front of us, he sped up again.
The further we drove, the more Walkers we saw. The RV swerved and we swerved with it, seeing three Walkers feasting on some bloody mess on the road as we passed it. The Walkers were distracted by us and began leaving their meal.
I felt anxious the entire ride, and that feeling only increased. I glanced at Daryl and he looked back, uneasiness present in his expression.
To my dismay, and seemingly Daryl's, we pulled over with the RV.
"Stay close," he said as he opened his door, "gonna have ta be quick ta get in."
I nodded, adjusting the straps on my backpack as I opened the door. We were parked beside a building in some kind of driveway or alleyway, I wasn't sure.
I followed Daryl as we walked past the RV and caught up with the others. Dale had his rifle and Glenn was holding a shotgun, I did a double take at Glenn. I wasn't sure why it shocked me so much, I almost felt a little unnerved. Had I ever seen him hold a gun before?
"What makes you think they'll take in strangers?" Shane asked, walking close behind Rick with his own shotgun.
"With the guns we gave 'em they'll prob'ly throw us a party." Daryl glanced at Rick, walking beside him, "good call, for once."
After a few moments of walking, it was obvious that some of the men were looking around for something.
"Where are the lookouts?" Glenn asked.
I followed them until suddenly, they stopped.
"Son of a bitch!" Shane exclaimed, positioning his shotgun.
Carol gasped, pulling Sophia to her, hiding her face. I took a couple steps to peer past the men, wanting to see what the others saw. I wish I hadn't.
Several bodies were spread out on the ground, dead. Walkers were bent over the bloody corpses, feasting on them. The Walkers noticed us and began making loud growling sounds. The sounds got louder as more and more of them noticed us and decided we may taste better than what they were eating.
Daryl pulled a pistol out of his jeans, aiming it at the Walkers, holding his crossbow in his left hand.
"To hell with the noise," Rick said. He stormed right up to one of the Walkers, shooting it in the head.
At that the others started shooting. I backed away, but not too far. I didn't like the sound of all the gunshots together, it was loud and unnerving, not to mention the attention it was going to draw. I immediately recalled all the Walkers we had passed on the way here.
Lori and Carol seemed huddled up together with their kids, trying to shield them from seeing it all. I wasn't that far from them but I wasn't close. I stood there, feeling like an idiot and kept looking around, waiting and fearing one of them would sneak up behind me.
My knives were still in my bag but I couldn't bring myself to pull them out. It seemed that the others had it under control, with each second, each gunshot, another Walker fell.
Then the gunshots stopped.
For a moment, everyone stood there. Waiting for more to show up. When they were sure that all of them were dead, Rick began running into the building.
"Come on!" He yelled as he ran.
The windows on the doors had been boarded up. But the doors themselves were left unlocked and not blocked by anything.
Walking into the building, we were in a hallway. The hallway was wide, dark, and empty. At least that's what I thought, after a few steps I saw legs sprawled out on the floor, the top half of the person's body was in some room, as if they had been trying to get away.
"Keep your voices down," Shane warned.
I stared at the body as we passed it. There was a pool of blood at the dead woman's head, but other then that, it didn't look like she had been bitten, and I didn't see or hear any Walkers inside. Of course I assumed they'd show themselves soon. This was like the school all over again.
We passed another room, the door was left wide open. Inside, there were two bodies One was an older man lying on the floor. The other was a woman, in a sitting up position, blood spattered on the cupboards she was leaning on.
Once Sophia saw, she gasped and then started crying. Carol pulled her close, shushing her.
"Put a sock in it!" Daryl raised his voice at her.
"Leave her alone," Carol said back in a whisper.
"Shut her up or I will!"
"Back the hell off, I mean now!" Lori scolded, "Are we staying or going?"
"We don't have the fuel," Rick answered.
"We hunker down for tonight, okay?" Shane said, "Rick, you, me, and Daryl, we're gonna sweep the place, make sure we're alone."
Rick turned to Dale and Glenn, "barricade those doors."
They continued talking and I assumed they were making plans, but I didn't listen. I heard something, or at least, I thought I did and turned my head in the direction I thought I heard it from. I tuned out the others, taking a couple steps back to the room with the two bodies.
I stared at them wearily, hoping they wouldn't rise from the dead. It didn't look like they had moved or had made the noise. I took a slow step into the room, looking further into it.
To the left, several feet away was an empty plastic water bottle. It rolled for a few seconds before stopping. I looked into the direction it seemed to have came from. There was a bed at the far end of the room, it looked like a hospital bed.
I walked to the water bottle, it looked like it may have still had more water in it. I lowered myself to pick up the bottle when I caught movement from the top of my eyes.
I looked up, across the room and my eyes widened. Under the bed, from the other side, was a pair of boots.
They were still, but I swear that was what I had seen move. Startled, I stood back up. If it was a Walker it would have stood up, right? But it didn't, whoever or whatever was behind the bed, stayed hidden.
I swallowed nervously, stepping to the side. I was trying to get a view of behind the bed, without actually getting closer. Then I didn't have to.
"Get away!" A man stood from behind the bed, moving away from it as he held up a pistol and aimed it at me, "Get back, I'll shoot!"
I just backed away with my jaw dropped, unsure what to do or say. The man was hispanic, with dark stubble and dark short hair. He was wearing black pants that fit loosely but were fastened with a belt, and a black shirt tucked into his pants. Over his shirt he was wearing a black, striped button up, it was large and he left it unbuttoned, making it hang loosely on his shoulders. He also had a lot gold chain around his neck that hung down his chest, it looked like there was a cross on it.
I heard footsteps behind me and glanced to see some of the others come in, I guessed they must've heard this guy yelling.
Shane aimed his shotgun, coming in front of me,"put the gun down."
"What the fuck?" I heard Daryl say.
The guys panicked expression seemed to slightly soften into confusion at the sight of Daryl. I heard Glenn speak, and turned to him to see him mirroring the same expression of worry and confusion.
"Guillermo?"
YES FINALLY DONE SEASON 1
So sorry for the long wait, I kept getting stuck at this one part and it felt like torture. Luckily, as always Rasha007 helped me out, well actually she practically wrote a shitload of this for me when I got stuck.
So how did you like the third POV and my take on Shane?
And yes, I did kill Andrea. (sorry not sorry) I know she does have fans, but I was never all to thrilled with her character. She's awesome in the comics, but I really didn't want to write her. Instead, as you read, I brought in someone new. He was in one episode in season one and then never seen again: Guillermo, the leader of the Vatos group.
I remember when I first saw that episode and thinking he was an interesting guy, and was pissed off that we never saw him again. So I decided to put him in and keep him around for a while, (some of you were probably expecting Toby's dad, huh?)
Not sure how many of you know of it, but the last part of this chapter was based on a deleted scene. So I cant take any credit for it, the only thing I can take credit for, is Toby and Guillermo being alive.
How would you feel about a Talking Dead chapter? I've seen a couple other walking dead fics do that, and make their oc,an actor and put them in an interview with some others. I was thinking of toby, with Michael Rooker (Merle) and Norman Reedus (Daryl). it wouldn't be very long, but it could be funny. You guys could send in questions for the interview, anything about toby's character, her relationship with people in the group and so on.
Let me know if you'd go for it, and send in any questions for it you might have.
Thank you so much for your patience, I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'm starting school tomorrow, I'm not sure if it'll slow down the next update or not. (honestly I doubt it, because when I get bored during lessons and lectures I write, so I might even be quicker)
So leave a review if you can and if you want, I really appreciate them and they help with motivation. I love hearing what you guys think, and any suggestions, ideas, or even constructive criticism, send it in!