It was the next night when it happened. Shane took Randall out, having him lead him along the woods towards where his gang would be. His rage from last night had grown into an inferno, though he concealed it well. He snapped Randall's neck as the sun was setting, ending his incessant chatter. It was annoying.
His nose was bleeding, and he ran into the tree trunk, slightly confused. What was he doing? Right, He was protecting Carl. By getting rid of the biggest threat- Rick.
"Hey! Help! Randall got out!" he yelled, as soon as he was back.
Instantly, the camp was in a flurry of activity, everyone hurrying to move.
Jamie pulled on her boots, looking out at the horizon.
"Glenn, Daryl, Shane, and I will search for him. All the others- get back to the house." Rick ordered.
"I'm coming." Jamie said firmly.
"No. Get back to the house." Daryl said firmly.
"Daryl. I've lasted nights in the woods before." Jamie said.
"Jamie, just go!" Daryl yelled. She backed up, surprised, and Daryl pointed. "Go." she turned and ran towards the house, slamming the door.
"Damn it." Daryl muttered, frustrated. Since when had this parenting thing gotten so hard? How could he explain to a twelve and a half year old he didn't want her anywhere near Randall, since he was a RAPIST? She'd say she was strong enough, and he'd argue he'd never called her weak in the first place... And they didn't have time for that now.
Rick looked at him, sympathetic- he'd had to do that with Carl, as well.
"What are y'all starin at? Let's move." Daryl said morosely, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder. So they went.
Jamie leaned on the porch railing, looking out into the night. She'd wanted to go badly, and now Daryl was out in the night, with only Glenn... She looked over to her bow, which was leaning against the house, and slung her quiver over her shoulder. She wanted to be ready in case they ran into the yard being trailed by walkers or something- she just had this shitty feeling...
"Neck is snapped. And fresh blood on this tree. Shane killed him." Daryl said.
"What? Why?" Glenn asked, looking shocked.
"No idea. All I know is we need to get back to the house, hope Rick and Shane do, too, and move on from there."
Rick fired the fatal shit and let him hit the ground. He turned, starting to walk back towards the pasture, but stopped dead when he saw Carl. "Carl, this isn't what it looks like..." he said.
Rick raised his pistol, looking shaky. "Carl- Carl, let's talk about this." Rick said. he fired, and Shane, who'd re-animated, fell to the ground, dead, behind him.
"I had to kill him." He explained, as they started back towards the farm house. In the silence that followed, they both heard the moans and turned to see the horde behind them. "Run." Rick ordered.
Jamie stared. It'd been peaceful, and the next thing they knew, the barn was on fire and the horde of zombies was coming towards them.
Beth looked horrified, and Maggie held her sister close. Beth pulled the pistol from her back pocket.
"Take it." She ordered. "You're a better shot." Jamie nodded and turned to the horde- Daryl, Hershel, Maggie, Glenn and her were all firing at the oncoming horde.
"Get in the house. Rick will get the truck..." Daryl ordered. Carol came out then, ready.
"Where's Carl!?" Lori yelled, looking horrified. Jamie swore between shots.
"Hope he's with Rick!" she said. Andrea was fighting, as well, the whole group fought towards the impending herd. The barn was on fire and they were all enraptured in fighting...
Rick and Carl were running towards he house, then. By then, one vehicle had already taken off.
"It's my farm! I'll die here!" Hershel yelled, while the remains of Patricia were being devoured by walkers. Jamie stared, wide eyed. She was almost out of ammo and he herd was still coming...
Rick had promised Daryl he'd get Jamie out somewhere in the chaos...
"Hershel! Come on!" Rick yelled. He dragged the old man into the car, and they were gone. It was then Jamie realized what had happened. She'd been left behind. She had no idea where Daryl was, she didn't even SEE Andrea in all the chaos, and she was left to run inside the house and lock the door. She barricaded it with the kitchen table and sat, gasping. The walkers could break the windows, the place would be overrun, soon... She just had to hope Daryl came back for her in time.
"We're missing Andrea and Jamie." Rick said.
"I'm going back." Daryl said firmly.
"Daryl, it's suicide..." Lori said, trying to reason with him.
"Shut up, dumb bitch!" Daryl yelled, whirling. "My little girl is back there, and I'm going to go get her! You said you'd get her out, Rick."
"I'm sorry. It was the heat of the moment, I didn't know she wasn't with us until it was too late..."
"T-Dog. I need the truck." Daryl said, motioning to the blue pickup.
"This is a lot of risk to take. We don't even know if she's alive." Lori said.
"She IS still alive. She's probably barricaded herself in the house- she won't stop fighting until she's dead. And I'm going back for her." Daryl said, catching the keys T-dog threw him.
"Daryl-" Rick said, about to say something.
"You'd do the same thing if it were Carl." Daryl said, and Rick realized he was right.
"Just... be careful, okay?"
Daryl said nothing, simply jumping in the pickup and turning it around, heading back towards the deadly herd.
Jamie sank her knife into the head of a 'd surrounded the house, but the kitchen table was doing a good job at keeping them out. Only ten or so had wandered into the house, and they weren't all once, so she'd handled it. She sat back, gasping, remembering her bow on the table and the pistol in her pocket, Beth had given it to her, but she didn't dare shoot it. She'd used up all the ammo shooting with the others outside...
She put her hand into the jacket pocket of Ryder's old jacket and stared, feeling a bullet in there. She pulled it out- it was the right caliber, and she shoved it into the gun appreciatively. One bullet.
She wasn't going to waste it on a walker. No, if it came to a point where there were too many or she could no longer fight, she'd put it through her head. She'd been holed up inside for an hour, now, and she prayed Daryl would come back for her. He had to.
Daryl drove through the herd- he prayed Jamie was back by the house- he ran down walkers as he went, but he didn't really care. He just had to get to the house. Had to get to Jamie.
He drove by the door, seeing it'd been broken down, but that the dining room table had been shoved in the doorway to barricade it halfway. There was blood all over...
"Jamie! Jamie, come on!" Daryl yelled. The walkers had surrounded him, they were banging on the windows...
He honked the horn, getting an idea. Maggie's room had a balcony, and he pulled up underneath it. It was a fifteen foot drop into the tailgate, but Jamie could make it, if she was still there...
She fingered the pistol nervously. Maybe she should do it. She'd been here for what felt like an eternity, and maybe Daryl wasn't coming back...
She lifted the gun. She was exhausted, she couldn't hold out much longer, and she didn't want her last moments to be fumbling for a gun while a walker tore at her. Maybe she should do it now...
"Thank you." Jamie breathed when she heard the horn honk. Daryl was here. She watched him pull up the truck under the balcony and realized what he was doing, racing upstairs towards Maggie's room. She grabbed the first thing she saw, throwing her bow down into the tailgate first, then the picture frame she'd grabbed, then the quiver, before jumping.
As soon as she was in the tailgate, Daryl used the butt of a rifle to break open the back window. The shock of her fall had been taken mainly by her boots, though she'd landed in a crouch position.
The walkers clawed frantically at the side of the pickup, and Daryl seized her by the collar, pulling her into the back of the truck.
He pulled forward, trying to fight his way through the walkers. He shoved the rifle into her hands.
"Lay down some fire." he ordered.
She nodded, and gunfire ripped through the air. Daryl gunned the engine, running some walkers down. They were attracted to the back to the truck, because of the gunfire sounds coming from the back window, and they finally managed to pull out, heading for the road.
Jamie still sat turned towards the back, letting the bullets fly.
"You can stop. No use wasting ammo if they aren't a danger." Daryl said, and she nodded, setting the gun down and turning around to face front.
"You came back." She said simply.
"Yeah. You think I'd leave you there?" Daryl asked. She shook her head. "I.. I wasn't sure. You yelled at me earlier, and I was scared you wouldn't come back..." and she started to cry.
"Hey. Get over here." Daryl said, and she climbed into his lap, burying her face in his chest as he drove, smelling the familiar scent, feeling the strong arms on both sides of her as they gripped the wheel...
"I would've come back no matter WHAT. You hear me? I would NEVER leave you unless I was dead. And ain't gonna let that happen. Somebody's gotta look out for you."
She nodded, quickly wiping her eyes.
"And I yelled at you because I didn't want you to come after me and find Randall. He was part of gang rape, and I didn't want you anywhere near that."
She nodded and clung to him tighter.
"How long were you holed up in that house?" he asked.
"An hour or two. Used my knives on the walkers that came in. I thought about putting a bullet through my head, but I kept praying you'd come..." and she simply clung to him until they reached the car where they'd left Sophia supplies.
Everyone stared when she got out of the truck with Daryl, looking at her like she'd come back from the dead. Jamie scanned the faces, still clinging to Daryl for all she was worth...
"How'd you do it?" Rick asked.
"Barricaded the door and killed the ones that decided to come in." she said.
She was looking pale and shaky.
"Did you have any ammo?" Rick asked.
She shook her head. "Used it all up with you guys. I had one bullet left, but I was saving it in case you guys left me behind..."
Everyone exchanged glances, horrified.
"We have to move. Find somewhere safe." Rick said. Jamie made no attempt to let go of Daryl- it seemed clear she'd had the fight knocked out of her, today.
"Let's go." Rick said, and they all headed towards the cars. Daryl headed towards the Harley, Jamie sitting behind him. She'd never ridden his Harley before, and she wrapped her arms around his mid-section.
"Hold on tight, kid." he said, and she nodded. "I need you to be shotgun if we come across some walkers."
She nodded, but within the hour, she was fast asleep, face pressed into his back.
The rumbling of the Harley had lulled her to sleep. Still, Daryl smiled. He couldn't imagine going anywhere without her.