Chapter 19:
Before Daryl joined Aaron he returned to the pick-up truck where he handed Carol the keys.
"If you notice anything funny goin' on you take him out, alright?" he muttered and she nodded. "I dunno how long it'll take us to persuade Rick but if I'm not back in three days we meet back up at that old church we slept in yesterday, okay?"
She nodded once more in acknowledgement and then tugged him closer.
"I'm going to be fine. You just worry about yourself."
"Nine lives?" he asked, his hands coming to automatically rest on her hips.
The sentiment made her chuckle before she leaned in and briefly captured his lips.
"Nine lives. I'll see you soon."
Reluctantly he tore himself away and marched towards Aaron and Eric who had possessed enough decency to keep their backs turned, giving them a little privacy.
"Alright…I'm ready….let's go."
Their drive passed in relative quiet with Aaron occasionally trying to initiate a conversation but Daryl stubbornly remaining silent. And when they eventually reached the spot that Aaron had chosen to park at, he needed to prompt Daryl to leave the car.
"Why here?" he questioned suspiciously, freeing his knife from its holster. "Rick and the others ain't around."
"Exactly," Aaron replied with a nervous smile, "I don't mean to offend you but you haven't done this before. There's a procedure we follow."
"Oh…oh my bad, man, I didn't know there was a procedure." Daryl commented dryly, rolling his eyes.
But Aaron remained calm and pulled his pack from the backseat.
"Your group looks really worn out…I don't know what caused you to become separated but it looks like they've been out on the road for a while. They're tired, hungry…defensive. I don't think driving towards them would go down well."
"What's the plan then, huh?" Daryl demanded, scanning the area for threats.
"First, we go and check if they've accepted our water bottles….that should tell us how much hostility we should reckon with."
"Fuck hostility. They know me! They ain't gonna do somethin' stupid."
"Maybe not with you," Aaron shrugged, shouldering his backpack, "but I'm not so sure about me. My job is to recruit them and that means I need to leave a positive first impression. I'm sure you agree."
Daryl muttered something unintelligible under his breath but followed him nonetheless.
"What happens if they didn't take the water?" he asked after a while of walking.
Aaron hummed uncertainly. "They looked really thirsty…"
"Don't matter," Daryl insisted, "they know better than to trust a stranger…especially a gesture like this. You might have your procedure but you ain't smart. Any dumbass can see that that's gonna be a trap."
"But it isn't!" Aaron prevailed firmly, cutting across a field to reach the last stretch of forest that was still separating them from the road he had deposited the bottles at.
"Yeah but they don't know that. It sure as hell looks like one. They won't have taken it."
Uncomfortable silence enveloped them once more as they continued walking towards the road.
In the end it was just like Daryl had predicted. The water bottles still stood in a row, completely untouched except for one which lay tipped over next to them, half of its content spilled out and already evaporated.
Daryl frowned and wondered who'd have been stupid or desperate enough to take a sip.
"So now what?" he prompted again, taking a couple of bottles and stashing them in his pants pockets.
Aaron sighed tiredly and rubbed his face.
"We take these back to the car…shame to waste them. Then we have to locate the group again and find a way of approaching them that won't get me instantly killed."
By the time they had deposited most of the bottles in the car – Aaron kept a few in his backpack to offer to the group again – evening was falling and a quickly developing storm caught them by surprise. They were forced to ride it out in the car as there was no other shelter nearby but when it didn't let up for quite a while, Aaron voiced what Daryl had been thinking all along.
"It's going to be difficult finding them after this."
"Only bet would be scanning the area for buildings," Daryl offered with a shrug, "that's what they'll have done."
Night came and went and stretched out uncomfortably across the front seats of the car, Daryl couldn't help his thoughts wandering to Carol.
Had they managed to hole up somewhere?
Was Eric treating her well?
It was the first night that he had to spend without the warmth of her body pressed against his and it felt foreign and unsettling. It rattled him so much that he didn't manage to fall asleep, although he chose to blame this on his general state of alertness when thrown together with a stranger.
"Are you up?" Aaron's voice came from the backseat and with a grunt Daryl pulled himself into a sitting position.
"Have been for ages."
"Shall we try and find them then? Looks like the worst of the storm has passed."
Daryl nodded and climbed outside where the weather had left a visible trail of destruction. Branches had been twisted and broken and the ground was soaked through. Maybe there'd be footprints still but Daryl didn't like their odds.
Silently they set off, each of them focused on the task at hand. Daryl could tell that Aaron wasn't used to it; his eyes were always directed ahead, scanning the area between the trees for movement. He hadn't learned yet to look for other signs. And as the morning wore on he also noticed how easily Aaron tired, how unaccustomed he was to long treks without a decent meal in between. If those were the kind of luxuries they could expect at the community, Daryl wasn't sure he wanted them, he couldn't afford to want them. But despite all of his shortcomings Aaron never once complained and that was something Daryl could appreciate.
"Group of people went that way," he voiced after a while when the sun had already started to rise.
They had stopped at the edge of the road where a trail of trampled down grass seemed to indicate the path they had taken.
"Are you sure?" Aaron asked with a curious smile.
"Nope," he shrugged, "but it looks like a buncha people came this way."
"It's our only lead," Aaron agreed and set off through the forest.
They followed the group's trace as best as they could but when they encountered a couple of scattered but dead walkers, Daryl put up his hand.
"You got a weapon?"
"Mmh…" Aaron nodded, producing a gun.
"Somethin' other than that? Causes too much noise." He explained, impatiently readying his bow.
"Got a flare gun?"
"Great," he commented dryly, advancing with great caution.
It was only a matter of time before more walkers emerged from behind the trees but their approach was slow as they seemed to have been injured by the storm as well. Daryl signaled for Aaron to stay back and quickly disposed of the threats. Then he waved to make him follow him once more.
It wasn't long before they discovered the barn that was at the edge of the forest and bordering on one of the many fields they had crossed before. Daryl took one look at it and knew that Rick and the others had found shelter there. He pointed and Aaron understood.
"Shall we go knock?"
Daryl's face turned into a frown and he shook his head. "If they're really as hostile as you say, they ain't gonna take well to someone knockin'. I know I said earlier that they won't attack me but approachin' by car's different…they can see who's comin'. Here they have no clue, they're cornered…I ain't takin' a risk of catchin' no bullet either. Let's hang around for a while till they come out."
"You know them very well," Aaron smiled and walked alongside him to look for a good place to wait at.
"Been with 'em since shit hit the fan," Daryl shrugged, "but that don't matter…is always the same out here now."
The other man nodded, taking it all in and then suddenly reached to grasp his arms.
"Wait…there…" he pointed and Daryl looked up to see two figures near the field, "strangers or part of the group?"
Daryl shielded his eyes against the sunlight and took a couple of steps towards them.
"Part of the group…"
"What are their names?" Aaron asked curiously, already taking several more steps in their direction.
"Sasha and Maggie…" Daryl told him absent-mindedly, wondering why they had chosen an open space over the safety of the group.
When his thoughts returned to the present he noticed that Aaron was no longer by his side. He saw the trepidation in the women's faces, the quick way in which they readied their weapons and so he hurriedly jogged closer.
"What did I tell you?" he growled at Aaron who only sheepishly dragged up his shoulders.
"Was just introducing myself."
"Daryl?"
His name echoed between the two women, then Maggie flew into his arms. He returned the embrace awkwardly and kept his eyes on Sasha who smiled briefly but with that sense of emptiness that he had previously seen in Carol.
Had Terminus rattled her so much?
Or which losses had they suffered?
"So you two know each other?" Maggie asked, slipping out of his arms again.
Aaron and Daryl exchanged a look and shrugged.
"We met yesterday. Carol got curious when he talked about a group they were trackin'."
Maggie's face changed from surprise to suspicion and Sasha asked the question they both seemed to be thinking.
"What are you doing tracking us?"
"I'm part of a community not too far from here. We're trying to find people to join us, people who've lived in this world. I saw you and had no choice but to follow you. I'm sure you know how risky it is to blindly trust people nowadays."
"And what? Now we've passed your test?" Sasha scoffed and Aaron smiled.
"Yes, I'd like to talk to Rick if that's alright."
Both women looked at Daryl who put up his hands.
"I ain't vouchin' for him. I came to see ya…figured Rick oughta make up his mind."
Sasha and Maggie nodded and then turned and headed back towards the barn.
"Got caught in the storm?" Daryl asked, walking alongside them.
"Yes," Maggie confirmed, "at first we were relieved that it rained…we were so thirsty…"
"Could've taken the water I've left you." Aaron chimed in but the smile on his face quickly died when Maggie fixed him with a stern look.
"We don't know you. Anyway, rain changed to a storm, so we needed shelter."
She paused and let her eyes sweep over the yard in front of the barn that contained an assortment of dead or at least incapacitated walkers.
"Was a crazy night…"
"Looks like it," Daryl acknowledged and waited for her to open the doors.
Inside, the barn had just started to come alive. People were at varying stages of wakefulness, some were changing their clothes, others checking their weapons. But their arrival brought all that to a halt.
"Look who we've found!" Maggie announced with tired enthusiasm and even the last set of eyes that hadn't been on them before, were so now.
"Daryl?"
His name went around the space in a whisper, then they seemed to notice that he wasn't alone.
"Who's your friend?" Rick asked, stalking closer like a worn out but suspicious caged animal.
"Ain't no friend of mine. His name is Aaron. He's got an offer to make to y'all."
Rick nodded pensively and then ordered Maggie to search him. They removed his backpack, searched it and eventually tossed it on the ground. Then they patted him up and down and eventually stepped back shaking their heads.
Aaron looked terrified but put on a dazzling smile to cover it up.
"I'm Aaron and I appreciate you letting me talk to you, Rick."
Daryl could see everyone growing more tense and sighed inwardly.
"I belong to a community in Alexandria and I've been watching you and your group. You're extraordinary, to be honest. You stick together, you discuss strategies, you act like a family."
Rick nodded and fingered the colt on his belt. "That's cause we are."
"Well," Aaron reinforced his smile, "that's the kind of people we'd like to welcome to our community. We need people who are smart, that have been out here and survived but also people who are loyal and look out for each other. I'm sorry that I haven't approached you sooner but I had to make sure first, you must understand."
"Mmh," Rick hummed, studying him thoughtfully. "Where's that community?"
"I can't tell you but I can show you, if you and your people are willing to follow me. We've got walls and warm water and food. Your baby would be better off there."
At the mention of his daughter Rick's shoulders squared and he took a step closer.
"I…I've got photos in my backpack…if you want to see for yourself…They're not the best quality but-"
He didn't get any further because a second later Rick's fist collided with his face and he went out cold.
"Somebody tie him up! Let's hear the whole story!"