Rubbing her eyes, Charlotte sat up, looking around confused.
It was significantly later in the day, and Lori had never come back to wake her. Taking the now dry rag with her she stepped out of the RV to find a crowd gathered around a tree on the other side of the camp.
Making her way through the small crowd, she found Jim tied to the tree with Shane helping the man drink water, "So, what did I miss?" she asked, looking around the crowd.
Apparently while she'd been sleeping, Jim had been found digging holes, almost like graves, according to Amy, and had been subdued by Shane, hence the tying to the tree. Lori believed he had a case of heatstroke and had been so busy dealing with Jim that she'd just let Charlotte sleep.
Charlotte didn't care. Minus the ache in her cheek, she felt much better than she did when she'd first laid down in the RV.
While she'd been out, Amy and Andrea had also used Dale's canoe and fishing rods to take Annabelle fishing down on the quarry. Annabelle had been so excited to show off their catch she'd drug Charlotte over to where the fish were laid out waiting to be put on the fire.
It's where she stood now eyeing the haul they brought back, "So gross," she muttered.
"Ya ain't gonna be thinking it's so gross when your belly's full," Amy laughed, nudging her in the side.
Making a sound of disgust, she looked down at Annabelle who was poking at one of the fish tails, "This is mine," she declared, looking up at Charlotte, "I helped."
"It's very awesome that you helped catch these. We're lucky to have such a good fisherwoman," she said, poking Annabelle in the belly, making her giggle.
"You caught them. Ya wanna learn how to cook 'em?" Shane asked, walking up behind them with Carol, Carl, and Sophia.
Nearly vibrating with excitement, Annabelle nodded.
"I remember my childhood lessons vividly, so, I'm gonna go over there and sit down," Charlotte decided, leaving them to their lesson on how to filet a fish.
"I notice ya wanted nothing to do with helping to prepare them, but you're scarfing them down," Shane commented, raising an eyebrow at both Charlotte and Lori, later that night as they sat around the fire eating.
Swallowing down the bite she'd just shoveled in her mouth, Charlotte stuck her tongue out at him, "My favorite sous chefs made them," she said winking at the kids, "So, you just shut your mouth," she laughed, taking another bite.
Laughing, Lori wiped her mouth, "It's a testament. I'll eat anything when I'm starving."
"Even frog legs?" Carl asked.
"Even frog legs," Lori replied, smiling as Carl laughed.
"I've gotta ask you man. It's been driving me crazy," Morales said, looking at Dale, "That watch."
Bringing his arm down Dale looked at his watch confused, "What's wrong with my watch?"
"I see you every day, the same time, winding that thing like a village priest saying mass."
"I've wondered this myself," Jacqui spoke up as Andrea nodded too.
"I'm missing the point," Dale responded, smiling.
"Unless I've misread the signs, the world seems to have come to an end. At least hit a speed bump for a good long while," Jacqui said.
"But there's you every day winding that stupid watch," Morales cut in, pointing to Dale.
"Time. It's important to keep track of it, isn't it?" Dale questioned, leaning back in his chair, "The days at least. I like what, uh, a father said to his son when he gave him a watch that had been handed down through generations. He said, 'I give you the mausoleum of all hope and desire, which will fit your individual needs no better than it did mine or my father's before me; I give it to you not that you may remember time, but that you may forget it for a moment now and then and not spend all of your breath trying to conquer it'," he quoted.
"You are so weird," Amy teased.
"It's not me. It's Faulkner," he responded as everyone laughed, "William Faulkner. Maybe my bad paraphrasing," he said with a shrug.
"Gots to pee," Annabelle announced squirming out of Charlotte's lap.
"Okay, give me a sec," she told the little girl as she moved to set her plate aside.
"Oh, don't bother. I need to go myself," Amy spoke up, getting to her feet, "I'll take her," she said, picking up Annabelle.
"Thank you!" Charlotte called, "She is so good with her," she commented, looking at Andrea.
"I think she babysat a lot," Andrea responded, "She certainly didn't learn it from me. Being twelve years older I wanted nothing to do with my baby sister."
"How did you two end up together now?" Lori questioned.
"She came to visit a college, and then the world ended. I'm just thankful we were together," she answered.
"Well, it's official," Amy announced, banging the RV door open, "We're officially out of toilet paper!" she called, stepping out and then turning to help Annabelle down.
Laughing, Charlotte started to rise, "I think I have," she cut off at the bloodcurdling scream.
Chaos.
A geek had come from around the RV and had bitten into Amy's arm. Her scream had sent everyone to their feet. In the ensuing chaos, Charlotte lost track of Annabelle.
"Belle! Annabelle! Where are you?" she screamed, trying to reach the last spot she'd seen the little girl, the RV.
There were geeks everywhere. Campers running and screaming. She'd left her bow in the tent and left the gun she usually carried inside the RV while she'd been sleeping.
Grabbing the nearest branch from their pile of wood she swung around connecting with a geek's head.
"Charlie! Get to the RV!"
"I'm trying!" she cried, "I don't see Annabelle!" she called to Shane, swinging at another geek busy on the ground eating a camper.
Turning, she realized she was cut off from the others. Backing herself up against Daryl's truck she swung out at another geek, connecting with the side of its head.
However, her swing wasn't enough to cave its head in and she had to drop her weapon to keep the geek from taking a bite out of her arm. Struggling with the twice dead man who easily outweighed her by fifty pounds, she heard her name being screamed across the camp.
"I'm here!" she cried as she lost her footing and fell flat on her back still struggling with the geek.
She was out of breath. Her arms hurt and her face hurt. She could hear the sounds of shots being fired and her name being screamed, along with Carl, Annabelle, and Lori, but she couldn't catch her breath long enough to scream for help.
She was fighting with all her remaining strength, but the geek's teeth were getting closer and closer.
And then it was gone.
Dragged off of her by someone she couldn't see as she lay on the ground staring up at the night sky.
"Charlie, for fucks sake!"
Blinking, she recognized Daryl's gruff speech, and then he was above her lifting her into his arms, and she broke.
Wrapping her arms around his neck she clung to him sobbing, "I lost Annabelle. I don't know where she is. She was with Amy. Amy's dead. She got bit," she babbled.
Dropping her into the nearest camp chair, he crouched in front of her, "Take a breath dammit," he told her, shaking her slightly before his eyes narrowed on her face, "What the fuck is that?" he questioned, running a knuckle down the side of her face.
Wincing she moved her face away, "Not important. I need to find Annabelle," she told him, pushing up from the chair as he stood too.
"Coco, thank God!" she heard Ricks cry before he slammed into her wrapping his arms around her.
"I'm fine. I'm fine," she repeated, shaking her brother off, "I need to find Annabelle," she told him, looking around the camp, "Oh Jesus," she whispered, taking in the destruction.
Bodies lay everywhere.
"What about Annabelle?"
Blinking, she forced her gaze away from the dead bodies and focused on her brother, "She was with Amy by the RV when it started. I couldn't get to her," she responded, turning to look up the embankment where the RV sat, "Is she with Lori?" she asked, noting her sister-in-law on the ground by the RV with Carl in her arms.
"I didn't see her, Coco, but I'll check the RV now. Maybe she ran back inside," Rick told her, "I'll get some of the others looking too," he said before jogging back to the RV.
"They just went to the bathroom. We were having a good night. I don't understand!" she cried locking eyes with Daryl.
Nodding, he glanced around, "Gotta be around here somewhere. She's tiny. Thousand places to hide."
Charlotte was getting discouraged as the minutes passed without any sign of Annabelle. They'd done a sweep of the RV and the rest of the vehicles sitting around camp. Glenn and T-Dogg were searching the bodies on the ground while Shane and Rick had ventured into the woods.
Nobody wanted to scream the little girl's name in fear of bringing more geeks down on them and so they hissed out her name as they searched the dark camp.
Closing her eyes, Charlotte pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes in an attempt to stem off the headache, dizziness, and nausea she was feeling, "I should've known. I should've known I couldn't keep her safe," she muttered, swallowing down the bile rising in her throat.
"Hey, look at me."
Dropping her hands, she opened her eyes, closing them again quickly and turning her head away from the light Daryl was shining at her, "What the fuck."
"Exactly. Open your damn eyes," he demanded.
"I can't. It's too bright," she told him, squinting at the light he was attempting to shine in her eyes.
"What the fuck happened that gave ya a fuckin concussion?"
"Daryl, we don't have time," she began, yelping when he scooped her off her feet, "What are ya doin?"
"Ya need to lay down."
"I need to find Annabelle," she countered, squirming to get out of his hold as he carried her over to his tent, "'Sides you told me to get my shit out," she reminded him when he set her back on her feet in front of the tent.
Opening his mouth to respond, he snapped it shut as he turned his back on her to face the tent. Pulling his knife from its sheath on his belt loop, he told her to shush when she asked him what he was doing.
"Something's inside," he hissed at her, "Now shut the fuck up," he told her when she told him she would not shush.
Swallowing she gripped the back of his shirt, "What if it's her. What if she's bit and she's,"
"Will you shut up!"
Very slowly he unzipped the tent door with his knife up and ready, "Annabelle? Belle if you're in here need ya to come out," he said softly, lifting the flap of the tent.
Crouched by the entrance to the tent, he peered inside, falling back on his ass with a grunt when arms and legs attached to a little blonde head of curls wrapped themselves around him.
"Darie!"
"Oh, thank God," Charlotte whispered, sinking to her knees, and throwing her arms around both Daryl and Annabelle. She knew he wasn't an overly affectionate man, so when he didn't immediately throw her off of him, but instead wrapped an arm around her back, she once again let the damn of tears break free.
"Gonna wait till morning then clean things up. Ya should take her into bed."
Tightening the hold she had on Annabelle, who was sleeping in her arms, Charlotte looked up at Daryl, "More might come back."
"I ain't sleepin," he responded, "Don't think ya brother or Shane are either. Come on," he told her, opening the tent door.
Shifting Annabelle's weight, Charlotte stood from her camp chair and carried the girl into their tent. Settling her down on her sleeping bag, she tucked ducky under her arm before covering her with a thin blanket.
"I should go down and be with Andrea, but I don't want to leave her," she said, brushing her hand across Annabelle's forehead.
"Think she'd want ya to stay here with her," he said, looking at the little girl sleeping, "'Sides saw the old man settling down with her, so she ain't alone."
Taking a deep breath, she nodded as she continued to watch Annabelle sleep.
"Ya should lay down too. 'Specially with that concussion."
Turning her head to look at him, she sighed, "I'm so tired, but I'm afraid to close my eyes."
Watching her for several seconds, he eventually sighed before shifting to lay down, "Come on," he said, holding out a hand to her.
Biting her lip, she took his hand and laid down between him and Annabelle. Scooting back against him, she pulled Annabelle closer into her arms as he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"What happened to your face?" he questioned quietly.
"Ed."
"I'm a fuckin kill him."
"He could already be dead. Don't remember seeing him out there. Shane fucked him up pretty bad, so I think he was hiding in their tent."
"Ain't gonna be sad to see that sorry piece of shit go."
"Yeah," she sighed, "Among the chaos I noticed Merle wasn't with you. What happened in Atlanta?"
"Bastard cut off his hand."
Shifting Annabelle, Charlotte turned to her back so she could see his face, "He did what?"
"Used a saw. Only thing left on that rooftop was his hand."
"Did you find him?"
"Nah, still alive though. Only person who can kill Merle is Merle."
"I believe that," she said, giving him a small smile, "So, how come you were so pissed at me earlier?"
Ducking his head, he shrugged.
"No, don't do that. I've seen ya naked Daryl Dixon means ya can say pretty much anything to me."
Snorting, he shook his head, "Just figure since your brother's back," he trailed off.
"That I wouldn't still be your friend? Ya think that low of me?"
"Not you," he mumbled.
Sighing she shifted so she was fully facing him, "Ya know, the world has pretty much ended, but I am grateful for two things, at least. The day I found Annabelle, and the day I met you. I like who you are underneath all that anger and tough guy-ness. Those people out there only see what they wanted to see when it came to you and Merle. I see who you are, and so does Belle."
"Tough guy-ness?" he muttered even as his face flamed red in embarrassment.
Laughing quietly, she lifted her hand to brush his hair from his forehead, "It's been a shit show of a day. I can make up words if I want."
Staring at her, he leaned forward, pressing his lips to hers, "Go to sleep. Have a feeling tomorrow's gonna be shitty too."
Nodding, she scooted closer leaning her head against his chest, "Amy's gonna turn, ain't she?"
Putting an arm around her and his chin on top of her head he eventually answered, "Yeah."
