A/N- Ready to crack into Season Two? I am going to change a few things, but I am going to try and stick to the story. :) Thanks to everyone thus far who has taken the time to read my story, I hope I have given you guys quality reading material. Cookies to who ever spots the two Boondock Saints quotes (Hint: One's from the first move & one's from the second). Brownie points to Anna, who found The Boondock Saints quote back in Chapter 3. Murphy saying "Fuck Me" was quoted from Norman in the deleted "Ma Calls From Ireland" scene. Shall we continue?
The sun had just risen, everyone was already up, dressed and finishing packing. We were leaving some of the vehicles behind, downsizing I called it. I sit in the bed of Daryl's truck braiding my hair as I watch him siphon the gas from it. He glances up and smirks at me, he is so smug some times. Last night he teased me about my hair, said he never saw a woman with so much hair, told me if he needed a place to hide that my rats nest would be perfect. I roll my eyes and tie the rubber band into the end of the braid. I hop off the bed of the truck and go to help Abby load things into the RV. I smile at Lori and ruffle Carl's hair as they pass. He smiles at me and I tell him he owes me another card game. Even though we were moving out, things didn't seem so tense. Yeah, we were all still afraid, but the fact we were in a group seemed to ease that fear. Once everything was loaded I walk over to Daryl, who was walking Merle's bike towards the group.
"So, can I be your biker bitch?" I ask with a grin.
"If ya wanna be." Daryl says with a smirk.
I laugh and pick his crossbow up, I sling it gently over my shoulder, having respect for a powerful weapon. That's one thing John taught me, always respect your weapon, or it can turn on you. Daryl watches me climb onto the bike, I see, as he looks at me, he was wondering something. I go to ask, but realize what he was looking at. I have yet to be seen, out in the open, without my eagles. I lift the dingy white long sleeved dress shirt I wear, not only revealing a green tank top, but my gun holsters. I forgot I had stuffed them in my duffle bag when we fled John's gun shop. Daryl nods in approval as he climbs onto the bike. I look and see Shane helping Abby into the RV, she waves and I wave back.
"Be safe." I yell.
"You too." She yells back.
Daryl looks over his shoulder at me as I wrap my arms around him. I raise my brow at him and tell him to shut up. He just gives me a cocky smirk and starts the bike. I wave at Carol and Sophia, who smile and wave back. I notice Daryl just stares at them, he kind of just stares at everyone. Daryl tells me to hold on as he takes off, with the others falling inline behind us. I admit, I was enjoying the ride, the wind in my face, even if I did rest my forehead on Daryl's back a few times for a break.
Hours seemed to have passed, but we begin to slow down a bit. There was a traffic snarl, cars everywhere, rotting corpses inside some of them. I cover my nose and mouth, the smell was horrible. The scent of death was all over, but here, it was overwhelming, just like at the CDC. I knew the others had stopped, Dale may not be able to fit the RV through this. Daryl circles back around and makes his way towards the RV.
"See a way thru?" Dale asks.
Daryl and I look around, he nods over his shoulder towards Dale as if saying "follow me." Daryl turns the bike around and begins to slowly lead our caravan through the mess. It was like a graveyard, some got away, others you could see died while waiting on help. I felt bad for these people, I say a silent prayer for them, if God is even listening anymore. I didn't realize that I was holding tight to Daryl until I hear him ask me if was I ok. I loosen my grip and say sorry. Apparently he didn't seem to mind as he didn't say anymore than that. I look over my shoulder just in time to see Dale's radiator blow. "The hits just keep on comin'", I think to myself. Daryl stops and looks over his shoulder as well, I hear him mumble, he was a bit annoyed.
"I said it, didn't I say it? A thousand times, dead in the water." Dale says I watch him climb out of the RV and walk around to the front.
I slowly climb off Daryl's bike, sitting the crossbow down on the seat. I see Shane, Glenn, T-Dogg and Abby climb out as well. I walk over to talk to Abby as Shane walks towards Dale.
"Problem Dale?" He asks.
"Oh just the small matter of being stuck in the middle of no where with no hope of..." He trails off.
Dale was now looking at Daryl who was beginning to go through the back of a station wagon that sat in front of the RV.
"Ok, that was dumb." Dale finished his sentence.
"If you can't find a radiator hose here..." Shane says.
"There's a whole buncha stuff we could find" Daryl says as he looks through the station wagon.
"Siphon more fuel from these cars for starters." T-Dogg says as he walks away.
"Maybe some water?" Carol asked.
"And Food..." Glenn adds.
Before anyone else can say anything, Lori steps forward.
"This is a graveyard..." She says.
Everyone looks at her, I agree. What we would be doing is looting, but we had no choice, we had to survive. I say another silent prayer, ask for forgiveness and understanding. There was a moment of silence, we were all unsure if this was the right thing to do, even if we knew it had to be done.
"I don't know how I feel about this." Lori says.
"Alright, Alright here we go." T-Dogg says.
"Alight ya'll, come on. Just look around, gather what you can." Shane says.
Everyone begins to slowly scatter, searching for things. Abby and I walk along a row of cars, trying to ignore the smell, the sight of dead bodies and just focus on finding useful things. I stop as I see Carol over by a car holding up a red shirt. If I didn't know any better, I would think she was enjoying herself. I notice Lori staring at her, kind of judging her.
"Ed never let me wear nice things like this." She says.
She keeps digging through the car, I smile and pat her on the back as I pass. She looks at me and smiles back, I whisper "it's ok" causing her to nod. Under normal circumstances, none of us would be doing what we are right now, but then none of us would probably have ever met or even talked to each other. I know for me I would have never associated with Daryl or T-Dogg. In a way, this was the only good thing to come of the apocalypse, it brought us all together and was bonding us as a family, a very odd, unorthodox, family.
About after thirty minutes or so I turn to see Rick running towards us, I see him motioning for us to get under the cars now. "Walkers" I think as Abby and I drop to the ground and roll under a near by truck. We both reach for our eagles, and have them ready to shoot. I panic a bit, and hold Abby's free hand, lacing our fingers together. I can see the others under the cars as well, I make eye contact with Daryl and he puts a finger to his lips. I nod, and squeeze Abby's hands. I can hear them moaning and shuffling. Rotting flesh and blood scrapping across the ground. I'm trying to stay brave, but I'm scared out of my fucking mind right now. I look towards the water truck Shane found, he is motioning for Abby to keep her eyes on him, I can feel her shaking, I wonder if I'm shaking as well, I feel so numb right now. I continue to silently pray for this hoard to pass, for everyone to stay safe and pray I don't lose anymore people.
My heart was pounding, it seemed like hours were passing. How many of them were there? I see Carol crying, Lori comforting her as she tried to keep her quiet. I couldn't see T-Dogg, he better be ok I told myself. He had to be, he was becoming like family to me and I refused to lose even one of them. Suddenly I see Daryl roll out from under the his car. I wanted to scream "What the fuck are you doing?", but I knew I couldn't. I was panicking more now. Something had to make Daryl move, now I had to worry about T-Dogg and Daryl. God I wanted these things to pass, I needed to get to my friends, need to make sure they were ok. I glance towards the RV and remember Andrea was inside, I felt a bit better about that at least, she was smart enough to stay out of sight.
I could hear the shuffling and the moaning fading, they must be passing now. I exhale softly, but my body was still tense. I needed to find T-Dogg and Daryl, I need to make sure everyone was ok. I look at Abby and smile, she smiles back and I kiss her forehead. We lay still for a few minutes longer, just to put a good distance between the walkers and us. That's when it happened, Sophia poked out from under the car, God, I wanted to scream for her to stay put. Abby and I both stopped ourselves from yelling out as we see a walker drop to the ground and reach for her. Abby and I both roll from under our car, both eagles drawn. Sophia had already crawled under the guard rail and was running through the woods. Rick jumps the guard rail and runs after the two walkers that were after Sophia.
"Oh Lori, there's two walkers after my baby." Carol says as she runs towards the guard rail.
Everyone was back on their feet and running towards Carol. I knew Rick could handle it, I holster my guns and comfort Carol as Abby does the same. I look around for Daryl and T-Dogg, this situation was getting worse ever minute that passed. Finally I'm given some hope as I see Daryl and T-Dogg, I gasp a bit as I see T-Dogg bleeding, Daryl has blood on him as well. I rush over to them, going into mother hen mode as I begin to check them over.
"Don' tell me yer worried." Daryl says.
"About Theodore, yeah." I say.
Daryl and I were at a point now where we were friends, kinda, but we still gave each other a hard time. He knew I was glad to see he was ok. I help T-Dogg sit down on the hood of a car and take off the dress shirt I had on. I wrap it around his arm and tell him to apply pressure. Daryl looks me over and nods before going to see what the commotion was about. I doctor T-Dogg the best I could for now as I watch Daryl, Shane and Glenn head into the woods to help Rick. Carol and Lori stand watching the woods, Andrea and Dale continue to search for a few things, T-Dogg is resting and Abby and I sit on the hood of a near by truck.
"Did you ever think the end of the world be come so soon? It's not even Christmas two thousand twelve." She laughs.
"I know right? Plus I thought the world was going to end by fire, not by fucking flesh eating zombies." I add.
"God, I hope they find Sophia, she must be scared outta her mind." Abby says.
"I would be too, hell I am. This world scares me, I could of given up back at the CDC, but I knew I couldn't. You know me, I can't take the easy way out." I say looking off into the distance.
"Yeah, we have to survive for John, Linda and James." Abby says with a few tears.
"Aw, Abbz, baby come here." I say putting my arm around her. I kiss her head and reassure her. "It'll be ok". I say.
I hold on to her and let her cry on my shoulder, soon I find myself crying as well. I rest my head on top of Abby's as I feel a hand on my shoulder, it was Andrea, I put my arm around her and hug her. Moments pass, no ones moves. Finally I lift my head and look around before looking at Andrea.
"You're bleeding." I say.
"Not mine, walker in the RV." She says.
"Are you ok?" I ask.
"Yeah, I will be." She nods.
I hug Andrea once more before she goes back to searching. I look at Abby, I give her a faint smile and squeeze her shoulder. She smiles back and shakes her head, laughing a bit as she wipes away the tears.
"Ugh, this is getting us no where." She says.
"I know, but sometimes, nowhere is a good place to be." I add.
"Yeah, sometimes." She says.
"I know you're scared, you feel like you're slipping. Grab my hand, hold on tight, I won't let you fall, baby girl." I whisper.
That saying had been part of us for a long time. A promise to never let the other fall, to always hold the other up.
"Always." She smiled.
"So, what's the deal with you and Shane?" I ask.
"Whatcha mean?" She asks hopping down off the hood.
"Don't play dumb, you got googly eyes at him." I say hopping down as well.
"Oh hush, I don't wanna hear it." She laughs.
"Whatever!" I said sarcastically as I laugh.
"What about you and Daryl? You his biker bitch now?" She asks.
"There is no me and Daryl, he is just turning out to be a nice guy, that's all." I say.
"Uh, huh...sure. Murphy Dixon, I like it!" Abby teases.
"What, are you fuckin' five years old?" I joke.
"Just sayin. I wasn't ridin' bitch on Dixon's motorcycle, that was you." She says as she nudged me.
I laugh and flip her off as I walk away. I spot Shane and Glenn coming out of the woods, curiosity was getting the better of me as Abby and I walk towards them.
"Where's Rick, Daryl and Sophia?" Abby asked.
"Glenn and I came back to get everyone ready to leave, Daryl and Rick are still lookin for Sophia." Shane answered.
I look towards Carol and give her a reassure nod before I look at Shane.
"What's the plan?" I ask.
"Keep doing what we were, search for clothes, food, anything you think we can use. We need to start moving cars, we've already lost a lot of time." Shane says.
I nod and we all get to work, except Carol. I understand, I would be the same way. I walk by and squat down next to Carl, who was leaning against a truck. I smile at him and ruffle his hair. I know he was worried, he was still so young and was being put through very adult situations. I open my arms, offering a hug. He falls into my arms and I hug him tight for a moment.
"They'll find her. Daryl and your dad, they're strong, if anyone can find her I know it's them." I whisper.
"I know..." He whispers back.
Lori looks back and smiles, I nod and let go of Carl. I ask him if he wants to help me, tell him it will help him to not worry and everyone would be back soon. For a moment everyone pauses, Carol asks why were aren't out all looking. I can't say I blame her, I would be the same way. Shane is quick to get everyone moving and back on track, he assures Carol that Daryl and Rick are on the trail. I can't wait to get back on the road, we were sitting ducks right now. I head with Carl, Abby and Lori to gather more things as Andrea and Glenn continue moving cars.
It was getting dark when I see Rick and Daryl come back up the hill. My heart dropped a bit when I see Sophia wasn't with them. Abby and I join Carol's side as she begins to cry.
"You didn't find her?" Carol whispers.
"Her trail went cold. We'll pick it up again at first light." Rick says as he and Daryl climb over the guard rail.
"You can't leave my daughter out there all alone to spend the night in the woods." Carol says as she fidgets.
"Out in the darks no good. We'd just be trippin' over ourselves, more people would be gettin' lost." Daryl says.
I rub Carol's back as Abby hugs herself, the past two days have just been a clusterfuck. I shake my head and walk away, I needed a few minutes to myself. I let the others comfort Carol, while I took a few breaths to myself. I wanted to break, I wanted to just shatter into a million pieces. I sit down on Daryl's bike and place my hands on my knees. I look around at the destruction, the chaos that seems all around us. I allow myself to finally cry, allow the tears to run down my cheeks and splash against the leather seat of Daryl's bike. God how I was tired of being strong, I wanted to have someone to break down with. I wanted arms to hold me as I cried and I wanted someone to tell me it was ok, tell me that life wasn't as bad as I thought it was. I wonder if I would ever get that chance, ever have a chance again to be loved, to have someone look at me the way Rick does Lori.
I straighten up as I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder. I look up to see Daryl standing there. He was dirty and bloody, he was squinting at me. He walks around and stands in front of me. He lifts my chin, when I try and look away. I knew he would probably make fun of me, or not understand how I was feeling, so you can imagine my shock when I feel his rough hand against my cheek and his thumb brushing my tears away. I look curiously at him, but he just moves his hand and wipes the tears from my other eyes, which almost made me cry more, no one has ever done that. No one has ever literally wiped my tears away, I continue to look at him for a moment.
"Thanks..." I whisper.
"No problem. Someone with eyes like those, shouldn't have em clouded by tears". He says.
"Eyes like mine?" I ask.
"Yeah, it was the first thing I noticed bout you. Never seen anyone with two different colored eyes. It's intrestin'." He says.
I can tell this was his way of trying to make me feel better, get my mind off of everything. I look up and finally notice his blue eyes, I offer a smile, even if on the inside I'm still crying. I know he wasn't good at having a weepy woman, so I sucked it up and laughed a bit.
"Don't be gettin' soft on me Dixon." I whisper.
"Soft? Please, woman you need to recognize." He laughs.
"Whatever, Dixon." I laugh. "I have Heterochromia Iridum, it gives me two different colored eyes. It's rare, not alot of people have it, it's more common in animals." I say.
Daryl looks at me, I can tell he was lost, but that was ok.
"Don't hurt yourself over thinkin' it." I teased him.
"Four words for ya..." He says as he looks me in the eye. "Arrow to the ass." He says with a cocky smirk.
I laugh and shake my head. For a few moments I felt better, but then the harsh reality of things sunk back in as I hear Carol talking to Rick, asking about her daughter and how he could have left her. I look at Daryl and notice the look in his eyes, even if he didn't say anything, this was effecting him too.
"Sophia?" I ask.
"Rick, he said he left her to hide in the creek bank, when he got back she was gone. Told her to follow the trail back, keep the sun on her left shoulder. Picked up her trail up, but at one point she veered off. Don't know what happened." He said with a sigh.
"We'll find her, can't lose hope...it's all we got." I say softly.
Daryl nods, the sun was setting fast and I knew we had to stick close to the group. Daryl and I slowly walk back towards the group to formulate a game plan. I offer to take the first watch, much to my shock Daryl offers to stay with me. Everyone nods, and heads off. Abby walks towards Carol and convinces her to join her inside the RV. I climb up on top of the RV, followed by Daryl. I sit down, pulling my knees to my chest and look around. Nightfall did a great job of hiding some of the destruction, some of the gore that was all around us. I sigh softly and slowly undo my braid, my head was beginning to itch. Daryl sits in the lawn chair, keeping a watchful eye as well. We have gotten use to the silent moments, we really didn't have to say much, there were times we just really enjoyed each others company. Enjoyed knowing someone had our backs. So that's how the night was spent, we had small talk, but for the most part we just listened. Wild animals rustle in the distance, but there were times where you could probably hear a pen drop. Moments like these I promised to never take advantage of again.
A/N- Hope you guys are enjoying the ride.