Chapter 5

The next morning, she could feel the tension in camp. They were all sitting around the fire when Glenn to the center of the group. "Guys… There are walkers in the barn." It took Desiree a second to remember that they called Biters Walkers, but as she processed what was going on Shane exploded and stormed down to the barn, everyone else following close behind.

Rick and Shane started arguing, and then Daryl got into it, mentioning finding some doll. Before she knew it, they were coming at each other. Rick and T-Dogg pushed Shane away as Desiree and Glenn pushed Daryl back. He fought against them for a second but then he looked at her and stopped, storming back to camp, cussing under his breath.

She tried to stay out of everyone's way the rest of the day. It seemed like everyone was arguing with each other, and she questioned whether she should just leave. But something made her want to stay. She wasn't sure what exactly it was, but she was determined to find out.

Later that day, she found Daryl sitting against a tree on the outskirts of camp. "Hey," She said walking up to him. He just nodded in response. She took that as an invitation to sit. She sat down beside him and watched him clean his crossbow. "What is going on around here? Everyone seems so on edge…" She asked quietly, making sure no one else could hear her. He shrugged, "Let's just say, Shane is an expert on putting people on edge." She nodded and continued, "You were talking about a doll today…"

She stopped and looked over at him. She hadn't really noticed how pretty his eyes were, they were the exact color of the sky, or the ocean on a sunny day. She hadn't really had the time to notice that he was actually quite attractive. Not in like a Hollywood type of way, but in a real manly man kind of way. She stopped herself and reminded herself how ridiculous it was to think that way when there were plenty of other things way more important than a silly crush.

"Carol lost her little girl a few days ago. Been searchin' ever since. Just found her doll in the woods a few days back, but Shane's convinced she's dead." She nodded, listening to him carefully, "And what do you think?" "I think she's alive, somewhere. We just have to find 'er."

She smiled to herself, she thought it was funny how he put up such a rough, hard-ass exterior when in reality he was just a big softie, looking for missing girls and such. But she realized in that moment she was the exact same way. She put up such a hard exterior so that other people wouldn't mess with her, even though she knew she was just as scared as everyone else. Maybe Carl was right, that they were very alike after all.

They sat there talking for a while longer, about nothing in particular. They argued about the walkers in the barn, talked about their previous lives, and by the end, they began arguing about crossbows again. They would have continued, but they noticed everyone gathered in front of the farmhouse and went to check it out.

"You two with me?" Shane asked/yelled at them as they reached everyone. "Yah!" Daryl said grabbing a shotgun out of his hand. He handed Desiree one, as well. She didn't quite know what to do so she just took it and stood by Daryl.

Shane started ranting about the barn again. That's when everyone saw a sight they thought they would never see. Rick and Hershel were pulling two biters onto the farm by some kind of pole. Everyone went over and stared in awe.

Desiree couldn't believe Rick would do that with his son and wife so close by. That was the last straw for Shane. He shot the biter Hershel was holding and then went over to the barn door. "Shane!" She tried calling, but there was no reasonable bone left in his body. He smashed the padlock and banged on the door.

One by one, biters emerged from the barn, all snapping and groaning at everyone. Daryl began shooting alongside Shane. And Glenn made sure it was okay with Hershel's daughter before he joined them. She saw one straying towards Carl and Lori. She shot it with her gun, hitting it directly in the forehead.

"I'm sorry, Hershel!" she yelled before shooting another. Between the four of them and T-Dogg, all of the biters were dead in front of the barn in the matter of minutes. Everyone lowered their guns when they heard another moan. Except this one was much higher pitched and quieter than the others.

Then, a little girl stumbled out of the barn. She was wearing a rainbow T-shirt and frilly socks, yet her shoulder was completely ripped apart and her eyes were that awful greyish-blue color. Carol began screaming and crying, and Daryl had to stop her from running to the biter child by pulling her to the ground.

Even her, whose conscience seemed to disappear overnight since the epidemic hit, couldn't help but feel awful. It was just a child after all. That's when she realized that this must have been the girl they had been looking for, Carol's daughter.

She put her gun down; she was not going to be the one who would kill her. She stepped back as Rick walked passed her. She saw him put his pistol up to the girl and pulled the trigger. Everyone was either crying and/or looking away from the scene that had just unfolded. She didn't know what to do. "My baby!" Carol screamed, as everyone began to leave. Desiree threw her gun at Shane's feet and went back up to her tent.

That's when she realized why she was the way she was. Why she pushed anybody away who got close to her. Why she didn't feel as guilty for her family as she probably should. She knew that having people who cared about her around her in this world would be her downfall, her weakness. But she didn't know which was worse now. Surviving alone by herself, with no one to care or protect, or to live with people who cared about her, even though it would probably cause even more pain and despair.