Good morning – afternoon – evening! Whatever time might be right now in your country. Here is my new chapter!
There is a little bit more Daryl in this one, I hope I keep him original ... tell me if you don't like the way I describe him.

So my chapters get longer and longer ;o) Wow, this chapter has more than 3000 words ... I am really in the mood to write these days and already wrote the next chapter as well!

If you enjoy – or not enjoy – the story tell me ;o)

The group has been on Hershel's farm a few days now. There was no more talking about losing Amy at the campsite, Jim on the way to the CDC or Jackie. No more talking about Ella. The last words about Ella were the ones of Andrea. At that point everyone thought she was dead, but they were wrong. Now that the group has moved far away from the campsite some felt guilty for not looking for Ella a bit more insistent. Maybe that was the point why no one spoke about her, it was guilt and shame. Daryl tried to push thoughts like that away and went into the woods again. The search for Sophia was important and it distracted him from all the thoughts about losing people, about Ella.

When he was hunting between the trees, looking for animals and a hint of Sophia, he felt better. He felt better to be alone, no one talking to him about what to do and what not. At the campsite it was easy not to talk to people or be talked to, because Merle was not one of the folksy people. Daryl and Merle were on their own most of the time, not only at camp but the entire life. Now Daryl was left alone, left by his brother. He breathed in deep. He was alone … The sight of a rabbit caught his attention before he could zone out. Happy to be distracted Daryl took his crossbow and shot the rabbit. "Meal number one."

When he came back from manhunt later, he went straight to his tent. He didn't want to be too close to the others. He has always been kind of a loner. But when he arrived at his tent he found Carol sitting on a log. "What do ya want?" His sudden appearance and sulky voice made her flinch. "I just wanted to thank you." He threw two squirrels and a rabbit on the table next to her. At the sight of the dead animals, she flinched again, but went on talking anyway. "You look for my little girl every day. I want …"

He interrupted her. "Ya should be out there. After all, it's your girl." She went silent and as she looked up, Daryl was sitting at the table skinning one of the animals he brought back. She stood up slowly and as she passed him by she stopped. "I know you look out for her, but don't go looking for a ghost. That will just wear you out." Daryl stuck his knife in the table and stood up. "Don't ya dare tell me that little girl is dead. I found a track and …"

He abruptly stopped talking. He couldn't believe Carol smiled at him. Daryl was confused and wanted to insult her for being insolent … call her a bitch, but she beat him to it. "I am not talking about my Sofia. I am talking about Ella." With that she went away and left a puzzled Daryl.

He sat back at the table to skin the almost half-skinned squirrel. But he couldn't really concentrate. Carol's voice echoed in his head. He is going into the woods every day in search for Sofia, but inwardly hoped to come across the girl with the bright eyes who always had a smile on her lips. He somehow couldn't accept that Ella might be dead. All the time Daryl had hoped to find a hint that she might have escaped when the camp had been attacked and now that Andrea had told she sneaked off, he damn hoped she was alive. He wanted to scream at her for sneaking out, teach her a lesson. At this, his thoughts went silent. Why did he want her to be alive so badly? He tried to shake off his thoughts, but in some way Ella wasn't really leaving his head. He looked at the bloody squirrel on the table. He had cut too deep. The animal was almost cut in half. He sniffed. "Damn it!" He tossed it to the side of the table, took the rabbit and began to skin it.

When in the woods killing a female walker, he had always checked if it was her. He was suddenly surprised that he thought about Ella again. Why did he always cringe a bit when he saw a brunette walker? Merle would be making fun of him when he would see him sitting here deep in thoughts. Daryl suddenly screamed in pain. While thinking he cut himself. "Damn!" He sucked at his forefinger. "Thinkin' too much is never a good thing."

But Ella reminded him so much of the little girl next door. The innocent one that could not survive on her own in a world that had gone to shit. She was a cheerful nature, never harming anyone. Since he and Merle have been together in this group, Ella was friendly to everyone. Even to Merle and him. They had watched her and Merle had made some comments on her, mostly concerning her ass. Daryl observed her a lot, but when she came too close to him, he insulted her and pushed her away, but she didn't care and stayed anyway. He just didn't understand that girl.

He snorted to himself. "To hell with all these fuckin' thoughts …" But he couldn't push them aside that easily. He made a promise to himself, if he would find Sofia alive, Ella might be alive too. If this little girl could do it in her own, Ella could do it too. And he knew Sophia was alive, she just had to. For the sake of this group …

A few days later

I really grew fond on Alex. She was starting to be like the sister I never had. She babbled on and on about her life and her brother and tried to cheer me up in anyway. It was nice. She was also willing to help me and went out with me every day, but still there was no sign of the others. It has been a week now that I met her and her companions and it started to feel like I had found a new group. Since I met them I wanted to find my group and didn't want to get to close to them, but now I realized that in this world a good group is better than no group. And since these people were really nice I think I found a new place to life eventually. But was it right to give up looking for my group to my own happiness?

I went to the SUV in the garden. Alex and John were already packing the car. We were in need of food and Doc told us to get medicine and stuff like that. He told us to look for a hospital or a doctor's office. He showed John a map where he marked some places we could be lucky finding supplies we needed. He also told us about a Center for Disease Control and Prevention in a city where we might find answers. It was a little far but he said it could be worth a try. John, Alex and me would go out again.

- I remembered overhearing a conversation about the CDC when I was looking for wild berries in the woods. I hit behind a tree when I saw Lori and Shane standing very close together. Lori asked him about the CDC, but Shane preferred to go somewhere safe, where he knew to find shelter. Indeed it was smart to seek shelter and be safe, but didn't he want to know if there was or will be a cure? I was more curious to know if there was a medicine to stop this rising hell. Back than Lori seemed to be my opinion, she tried to talk Shane into leaving in the direction of the DCD, but he grabbed her arm and told her about Carl to be safe. I never knew what it was about Shane and Lori and Carl. I thought they were friends, but these grownups acted more like they were intimate friends or even more … My overhearing of their little conversation ended, as Daryl found me sitting behind the trees listening to Shane and Lori. With a sly smile and a muffled voice he walked past me. "Never good to sit in a position where ya can be caught red-handed so easily." He didn't stop but kept on walking and I followed him. As I looked back I saw Shane still having Lori's arm in a tight grip. Then I wondered why Lori didn't protest to be touched so harshly.

Daryl didn't seem to notice or maybe didn't care that I was following him. We walked in silence, my thoughts spinning around how to start a conversation with Daryl. "Stop follwin' me!" He still didn't turn around. I didn't exactly know why I followed him. I just didn't want to be around Lori and Shane. I was afraid they heard what Daryl said about me eavesdropping and don't want to hear a speech from Shane again. So I walked in silence with my eyes on the ground. I watched the footprints of Daryl which he left in the muddy ground. "Why ya out on your own anyway? Don't even have a knife with ya!" I just had a small yellow bucket in my hand that must have been a kid's toy before. Now we used it to garner wild berries and other eatable stuff.

He still walked on, but didn't seem to be in a bad mood as always. His voice actually showed a hint of caring. I wanted to tease him, but I knew better and tried not to be too playful. Although it was against my nature … "I don't have a knife. You know Shane don't want us to have a gun either. So it's just me and my bucket." I smiled to his back. He was always wearing this vest with angel wings. Always wearing his kinda green T-shirt, this dark vest and torn black pants. Looking so dark … kind of ironic he had angel wings on his back. Or was I just seeing angel wings and they were just wings? Maybe there was something holy inside this man with the devilish mood all the time. I smiled to myself thinking of Daryl as the angel in disguise. As we kept on walking I realized we were not going back to camp. "Where are we going?"

Now he stopped. "I'm goin' to wash my bloody knife in the lake. Why ya followin' me?" As I didn't find the words he turned around, his eyes unreadable as always. He had his knife in his hands, it indeed was bloody. Did he show it to me so I was afraid? "I … I …" I stammered. "Because I feel more save around you than around Shane."

His lips began to form a rascally smile. "Ya should be afraid. I'm no good." I laughed at that and the smile on his face was gone as fast as it had appeared. He started to walk towards me with a quick pace, his forefinger pointed at me. He almost touched my chest when he stopped in front of me. "Ya laugh at that? Ya don't have a clue about this fuckin' world. Just get your ass back to camp and cook, woman." His lips were a thin line and his eyes tried to look furious but I saw something else in them.

"Believe me, you don't want to eat what I cook." He stepped back. Seemed like he didn't think I would react like that. "And I do not think you are no good. You go hunting for the whole group. I think I never said thank you for that."

His eyes stared at me in disbelief. "Ya ate somethin' ya cooked?"

I laughed again and thought I saw a small smile appear on his face too. "I mean it, thanks Daryl!"

In the moment I made a step towards him, he grabbed at his back and threw a knife at me. I didn't scream, not even flinched as I saw the knife flying in my direction. I felt the breeze of the flying knife near my head and heard a gulping behind me. I turned around and saw a walker lying on the ground. I looked at Daryl again. "Don't need to thank me!"

I walked to the walker, took the knight out of his head and walked back to Daryl. I offered him his knife but he refused. "Ya can have it. If ya go out next time to eavesdrop, better have a knife than a bucket." I looked at the bloody knife in my hands. "Thank you." But Daryl was already on the move.

Again I followed him. "Thank you." I tried again. "Maybe you can show me how to throw it just like you did?" He didn't answer and soon we arrived at the lake and he began to wash his knife and some arrows. "Staying away from me will keep ya out of danger in the first place." I sat next to him and also washed my newly owned weapon. "You know, I feel more safe around you than around anyone else." He lifted a brow. I instantly averted my eyes and tried not to look at him and concentrated on the knife in my hands. I wanted to tell him that all along, but I was too gutless. Now it was said and I hoped he wouldn't bitch about it. "You're hopeless."

Even the words were mean, I smiled to myself. His voice revealed something else, his harsh voice wasn't so rough this time. It was more like a saying and not a statement. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw him smile too. -

"This time you might be out a few days longer." I looked at Nick who handed me a tent which I stored in the back of the car. "Yeah." "You need to watch each other's backs. I know you try to find your friends at any cost, but do not risk the lives of the others."

Was he lecturing me or what? I turned around. "Excuse me?"

His voice didn't change as he went on talking to me like a father to his daughter. "I know how hard it is to lose friends and family. It is even harder to realize you won't see them again, talk to them again, held them close." I couldn't read his eyes, he was too damn good to keep his composure. "I hope you will find them but the country is big and dangerous. Do not be disappointed if you have to stay with us longer than you've planned."

I smiled at him. "I will not be disappointed to stay with you guys. You're all pretty nice and my room is not too bad." I took my backpack and shoved it into the backseat.

"Just so you know, you are very much welcome here." Still not showing any sign of emotion he turned around and went into the hotel.

"What was that all about?" Alex called from the other side of the car. I shrugged. "Dunno." John put the map into the car. "I think he is afraid you will leave and never come back, bad ass." He just didn't stop calling me that name. I looked at him a little annoyed. "What the hell are you talking about?" He pointed a finger at me, like Daryl used to when he was angry or something like that. "I am talking about your ass leaving our little hotel when you'll find your group." I couldn't react or comment on his words, cause he opened the door and got in the car. I was astonished and looked at Alex, but she who was already in the car too.

I looked back to the hotel. I felt my heart being in a whirlwind of emotions. First this damn world got even more crappy and when I found a group to rely on I was left behind … my own fault. Now I found a new and secure home, a caring group and I felt like I'm going to abandon my new luck. Was I stupid or was I too damn optimistic?

When I was about to hoop into the car, someone touched my shoulder. I turned around to see Doc standing behind me. "Ella. Be careful. This time is more dangerous than the other runs. It's unknown territory." I nodded. "We'll make it back in one piece, I promise." I gave him an adventurous smile. "By the way, Nick grew fond on you. He told me you look and behave just like his daughter. He will be pissed if you won't make it back in one piece." As he used my words he made quotation marks with his fingers and grimaced.

"Oh!" I didn't know that and that made me feel a little awful. "Just be careful." Doc slowly made his way to the hotel as I jumped into the car. No one said a word. Now that I was sitting in the car thinking about nothing but my group, I began to grow excited. We will be heading farther than before, farther than the campsite. So there might be a real chance to find them. Unknown territory meant new territory they could be. I smiled to myself and touched the Daryl's hunting knife which was strapped to the side of my right leg.

Suddenly I realized we were not moving. "What's up?" John lit a cigarette. "We wait for Mark. He is coming with us." Even he didn't call me bad ass right now, I wanted to know why he used almost exactly the name Merle called me. "Why you keep calling me that name?" John turned in his seat and laughed out loud. "Got a problem with that?" I looked him in the eye. This feeling when someone is looking into you like he can see right into your soul took hold of me. "When I saw ya crawling out off the ruins bloody and bruised, it was like Tomb Raider coming to life. You looked all bad ass, ready to fight the world. That's why." He smiled at me whimsically.

The door opened and interrupted our little talk. Mark had a bag with weapons with him. "Ready to go!" At the sight of the guns I realized the risky situation. While I was thinking about reuniting with my group, I kind of forgot what world we lived in now. We definitely would kill walkers on our way, maybe find survivors.

I needed to stay at the bright side. That is my bad ass. Stay strong, otherwise you will get eaten. I laughed at that. "What's so funny?" I looked over to Alex. "Nothing! Let's get going and find us some supplies." John started the motor of the SUV. As we drove away Mark handed out guns. Two shotguns stayed in front of the car. He turned to us and gave us smaller guns. "Here lil' Miss Sunshine!"

He had given me some shooting lessons and it turned out I could shoot a walker in the head from more than 10 meters away. I remember Shane never wanted us to learn how to handle a gun. He was too damn chauvinistic. That's why I tried Daryl to teach me how to kill a walker with at least a knife. If not for his lessons, maybe I would already be walker food.

That was what counted these days. Handle a gun, kill a zombie. Survive!

Thanks for reading guys!
Seeing some favs and followers really keep me going! I promise you next chapter will be online asap! Have fun ;.D

XXX