Too tired to write an authors not, so we'll make this short and sweet: I don't own TWD and enjoy.
Blake lay awake in the truck bed where she and Carl were. The near encounter with Joe's group and the suspicious lack of walkers caused her restlessness; her mind was too alert and wouldn't allow her eyes to close. Blake had been laying there for what she estimated to be nearly two hours, her back pressed into Carl's chest, his arms wrapped around her waist. The warmth of Carl's body against hers was soothing, but Blake knew she wouldn't be sleeping at all that night.
When she heard Rick slide off the roof of the station waggon to wake Michonne for next watch, Blake gently moved Carl's arm off of her and sat up, grabbing her gun and sliding to the back of the truck bed just as Rick reached the ground.
"You okay?" He asked, standing by the small fire that Daryl had made.
"Yeah." Blake stayed on the end of the truck bed, knowing where she was going be for the next few hours. "Couldn't sleep. I'll take watch for now, let Michonne sleep."
"You sure?" Rick asked, Blake and Carl hadn't been scheduled for watch shifts, mostly because it would be light in just over four hours now.
"Yeah." Blake nodded. "I'll wake Michonne or Daryl when I'm tired."
"Okay." Rick could tell Blake was wide awake. She could be trusted with watching their camp.
Blake turned back around and stood up, walking lightly across the truck and climbing to the roof of the cab, barely causing the vehicle to shake. She heard Rick crawl into the truck, settling in near Carl. Within ten minutes, his breathing had evened out and it was obvious that the man had fallen asleep.
Blake sat cross legged on top of the truck, her gun balanced on her lap. The night was silent accept for her friends' breathing and the quiet crackle of the fire, so anything or anyone that approached camp would be heard easily by the girl's sharp ears. When you spend long enough in the woods by yourself, you learn to listen.
After a few hours of staring down the dark, empty road, a distant snarl caught Blake's attention. She quickly turned to the left, where she had heard the noise come from and listened. There were no footsteps to accompany the attempted vocalisation, so the group was safe unless the wind picked up.
Blake continued to stare through the darkness, listening to the walker's snarls fade before disappearing all together.
Just as the sun was about to rise, Blake heard a sigh from behind her. She turned around to see Carl sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
"Hey loser." Blake nearly whispered, knowing the others could use as much sleep as they could get.
Carl's head snapped around, he hadn't been expecting Blake's voice. "Hey cheater." He smiled. "How long have you been up?"
Blake shrugged as Carl climbed onto the roof of the truck with her, wincing as he pulled his injured leg up after him. "Couldn't sleep last night." She explained. "When your dad got up to change watch I took Michonne's shift."
"You okay?" Carl asked, taking Blake's hand in his.
"Yeah." She nodded. "Just… them being so close, you know?"
Carl turned to completely face Blake, taking her other hand and making her completely face him. "Hey." He said when Blake wouldn't meet his eyes. When she looked up, Carl could see a slight hint of fear in Blake's eyes. "I won't let anything happen to you." Blake looked down at their hands again. "I won't." Carl insisted, causing Blake to look up again. "I promise."
"Thank you." Blake whispered, releasing Carl's hands and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Carl pulled Blake closer to him, running a hand through her hair as she buried her face in his neck, silently letting a few tears fall.
Carl held Blake until a snarl startled both teens. Blake's head snapped up and she immediately spotted the walker ambling out of the wood. "I got it." Blake slid down the windshield onto the hood of the truck and hopped down, drawing her machete as the walker approached her. She slashed her blade through its head, silencing the dead man.
Blake knelt to wipe the blood off of her weapon, discreetly wiping her eyes as she put it back in its holster. As she stood up, Blake realised that the sun was rising. They would be moving out soon. Blake circled around to the other truck where Michonne, Daryl and the bags were. She grabbed her pack, pulling it out of the truck bed as quietly as possible, but still waking Daryl as she did so.
"Y'okay?" He drawled sleepily, sitting up to estimate the time.
"Yep." Blake was tired of everyone asking her that. "We should probably head out soon." She suggested.
Daryl grunted in agreement. It was becoming increasingly clear that Daryl was a man a few words. "Michonne." He said, waking the samurai immediately.
Michonne looked around for a moment, orienting herself. "Rick didn't wake me for watch." She said under her breath, slipping her sword over her shoulder.
"Me neither." Daryl grunted, grabbing a water bottle out of his bag.
"I was up all night." Blake said curtly, turning to walk away. "Couldn't sleep, figured I'd be productive."
"You okay?" Michonne asked.
"I'm fine!" Blake shot back with more force than she intended. "I'm fine." She mumbled, shaking her head.
Michonne looked at Daryl, confused at Blake's sudden outburst. Daryl just shook his head, watching as Blake headed towards Rick and Carl. They had never told Rick or Michonne what had happened to Blake when they had crossed paths with Joe and the others. Daryl could tell that Carl knew, and he wasn't surprised. The two teens seemed to be closer than Carl and Michonne, which was nearly impossible.
"Which vehicle are we taking?" Blake asked Rick, taking her bag off her shoulder and unzipping it, pulling the screwdriver out.
"This truck." Rick referred to the pickup he and Carl has slept in.
"Okay." Blake opened the driver's side door and climbed in, getting to work on hotwiring the truck.
TWDTWDTWDTWDTWD
Rick drove the truck with Carl next to him, Blake in the passenger side and Daryl and Michonne riding in the bed. They were driving west down the same road they'd camped on, hoping to find the train tracks and in turn, this supposed sanctuary.
Almost immediately after Blake had gotten the car started and everyone had settled in, she could feel her eyelids getting heavy. Staying up all night, while unavoidable, was not a good idea. Without noticing, the teen had drifted into a deeper sleep than she'd experienced in a long time, feeling safe in Carl's arms.
They had been holding hands when Blake's eyes had begun to close. Carl had wrapped an arm around her shoulders, letting her rest her head on his shoulder as they drove down the road. She needed sleep, and he was more than happy to let Blake use him as a pillow.
Michonne sat leaning against the back window of the truck, wondering about Blake's previous outburst. Daryl seemed to know what was happening with the teen, but she was completely in the dark. Michonne knew that she wouldn't be Blake's first choice for 'therapist,' but it shocked her slightly that Daryl knew more.
Daryl stared at the road as it passed, thoughts bouncing back and forth between the radio broadcast Blake had heard and Beth. He couldn't save her. Maybe she ended up where they were headed. Wherever they were headed, it could be a sanctuary, or it could be a trap.
After a few miles, Rick spotted a hunting supplies store a bit down the road. He knocked on the back window, getting Daryl and Michonne's attention. They looked over the top of the truck and saw what Rick was seeing. Michonne waited until Rick looked in the rear-view mirror to nod their agreement about going into the store. Daryl could use new arrows, and they could always use knives, hatchets, whatever they could find.
Rick pulled up in front of the store and opened his door, looking to Carl and Blake, who was still sleeping like a stone.
"Let her be." Carl said, pulling out his gun. "She clearly needs it. I'll stay here, yell if there's trouble."
Rick debated for a moment, long enough for Daryl and Michonne to knock on the front window of the store and attract four walkers to the glass.
"Fine." He sighed reluctantly. "We won't be long."
"We'll be fine." Carl assured as Rick walked towards the store, entering in front of Michonne and Daryl.
"We'll be fine." Carl repeated to himself, planting a kiss on the top of Blake's head. Carl watched as each walker in the front window went down, blood splattering across the glass. He could see flashlights skimming around the dark store, but he didn't hear anything other than Blake's and his own breathing.
Carl wasn't really paying attention to the time as he rested his head on Blake's and caught a glimpse of movement in the side mirror. Before he knew what was happening, Carl was pulled out of the driver's side door and thrown on the ground, a spike of pain running though his injured leg. For a moment, he was dazed, but then he realised someone had rolled him onto his stomach and was tying his wrists together. And before he could yell, a rag was forced into his mouth and tape placed over it.
Blake was ripped from her peaceful sleep when she was thrown roughly to the ground. Similarly to Carl, he had her wrists tied together and a gag forced into her mouth before she could make a sound. Once the man kneeling on her shoulder was done with her restraints, he turned her over.
"Well look who we found. Remember me, girlie?"
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