Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead
Chapter O3
"Dare?" he breath out, almost inaudible that Sophia barely heard it. He looked around him, not even sparing a second glance at the woman before his eyes landed on one "Dare" he breath out three deep breaths before running off and caught the man in a bear hug.
"The fuck?" someone said but he didn't take any notice of them
"M-Max?" Daryl asked before feeling the boy's head shake against his neck "Jesus Maxwell" he cursed before returning the hug in a tighter embrace. Max burying his face more in his shoulders and feeling the tears rolling down his bare skin. Letting the boy calm down a little bit more, he cradled his head in between his rough hands and lifted a boy's face up "Fuck happened to ya face?" he asked angrily before looking at Shane
"Fuck you're here. You're alive" Max managed to gurgle out from all the crying he's done before hand, stubbornly wiping his tears away with the back of his hand he said smiling to the man in front of him, the man he's been looking for. Fully ignoring their audience and the question Daryl asked as he laughed and pulled the guy in for the hug once again
"Calm down kid" Daryl managed to say without getting his emotions up and running " m' here. I got ya'" he mumbled against his ears before patting him on the back slowly
"W-Why don't we get Sophia a-and Max something to eat" A woman with curly dark hair said putting a little pressure on Sophia's back to move her forward.
"Come on" Daryl said placing his hand on Max's shoulders dragging him inside the house "Ya gon' tell me all 'bout it while ya get somethin' ta eat" Daryl smiled ruffling the kid's hair. Max smiled back, knowing Daryl wasn't the one to show his emotions just to anybody.
A little while later, Max found himself seated beside Daryl and Chinaman or otherwise known as Glenn, looking more alive than anyone else around the group. In front of him is a plate full of scrambled eggs that were from the Greene's coup- when he asked where they got it from
"…I don't mean to bomber you with questions son" an old man Dale began "but, how on earth did you find Sophia?"
"Running in the woods" he replied shortly before looking at the girl "Screaming for her mommy. Poor thing slept for almost two days when we set her down on a bed" he ruffled Sophia's hair causing the girl to blush and give a shy smile to him "Didn't any tell you, you gotta hug a tree once you get lost?"
"Stop yappin' your mouth 'fore I do it for ya" Daryl inserted giving the boy a smirk "when you was a kid, ya didn't do anythin' I told ya ta do" he said before taking another mouth full of eggs in his mouth
"Shut it Dixon"
"You said 'we'" Rick asked curiously though with a tint of amusement in his eyes "Who's we?"
"Jay-" he started with a smile before completely stopping. He stood up almost immediately, his plate fully forgotten "Fuck Jayden is going to kill me" he said finally realising how much shit he's in "Fuck. Your wife is going to kill me. You do know that right? Bag. Where the fuck is my bag?" he glared at the man looking blankly at him, probably too shock that his wife is closer than he anticipated for her to be. Deciding he'll laugh at his face later, he ran to where his bag was pressed against a tree
"Wife? The redneck has a wife?" Shane wondered out loud, not really asking anyone in particular before going at it again "Who in their right mind would marry a Dixon?"
"Watch your mouth Jackass" Max snapped before taking out the walkie-talkie from his bag "Lord have mercy." He prayed silently before turning the thing on. He felt yet another nauseous feeling in his gut when he can feel everyone staring at him but when Daryl- Dare stood beside him- staring at the device on his hand calmed him down
"They here?" Daryl asked in as quiet as he can "The fuck happened to Florida? Didn't the old man-
"Dad said it's better to find you" he said quietly with a soft smile on his face "he said to come and find you before everything gets worse" he said stubbornly ignoring the tears in his eyes "Jayden and I are all for it. Kids wouldn't leave our sight so we had no choice, we thought Georgia was fine but … well look where we are now" he shrugged before looking up and meeting a pair of piercing blue eyes "Wish me luck"
Daryl snorted before looking around them. The group had enough decency to divert their attentions back to their food but he can tell they're still keeping a close eye at the two of them. Max exhaled before taking the walkie-talkie against his mouth
"Jayden" he said through it not taking his eyes off Daryl, who was too busy looking at the device as if he can see who's on the other side of it, his thumb pressed against his lips, waiting anxiously for someone to response
"You best pray your dead Maxwell" A feminine voice called over the walkie-talkie and that was all it took before Daryl collapsed against a tree. Max looked at the guy with both sympathy and amused look but before he can even make fun of him "Are you alright? Is Sophia alright? Full details. NOW"
"I-uh…" Jayden stumbled upon his words "Sophia's safe. She's found her mom… I'm okay."
"Okay? You're okay?" Jayden replied sarcastically "I swear to God Maxwell, if you don't answer me properly I'll let Mason beat the fuck out of you again" she continued heatedly but before she can even continue, Daryl took the walkie-talkie from him before pressing his lips against the speaker "Maxw-
"Our boy did this' ta his face?"
"Why we stealin' momma?" Little Rylee's voice broke the frantic collecting of different things in the airport. Her hands clutched against his brother's tight grip of her hands "Mase, why we takin' this?" she asked in utter-most confusion
Jayden, Max and Officer Gaines looked at each other for a brief second before slowly drifting back to the task they have to do. Mason being the smart boy he is only pulled his sleepy sister closer to him.
"Rylee how 'bout we go there and take some candies yeah?" Mason asked his little sister who nodded enthusiastically "Momma, can we go there and get some candies?" he asked his mom who was looking more and more anxious as time goes by
"Take your uncle with you" Jayden managed to give her kid a smile before ushering her brother to where the candies section are "Please, please be careful Ace" she said bending down to give her kids both a kiss on the forehead
Jayden watched them at the corner of her eyes as her brother and her two kids go to a far off section of another store they managed to find without much trouble. When the kids woke up, Rylee began crying loudly once she seen the gore that happened around them, Mason being his 'tough' self didn't manage to contain it anymore and clutched on his mother's arms tighter than he would normally do.
Stacking another basket full of supplies on to the van Officer Gaines have managed to break through the glass doors of the airport and as much as guns they can take from the army people that have died earlier, they managed to get out the airport without much trouble.
"Fucking Jee- Mase, Rylee close your eyes" Jayden ordered out. Looking outside the airport now felt nothing- nothing compared to what they've see inside the airport. At this, Jayden was considering to just run inside and stayed in the tiny custom's booth. "I didn't know it was this bad…" she bit her lips, catching Max's eyes through the rare mirror, his arms wrapped around Mason and Rylee's body and tried to keep them calm as possible
"W-What- Where do we go?" Max stuttered looking at the officer driving beside his sister
"I'm assigned to go off to Atlanta for refugee scouting" the officer said without sparing a glance at Max before drifting his vision to Jayden "You need to go to Fort Benning as soon as you can"
"That's miles away" Max muttered "Jay-Jay! We need to go home" he said frantically lowering his voice before leaning forward to prevent the kids from hearing him "…we need to make sure Da-
"I know Max, I know" Jayden nodded before turning to the officer beside her "You sure Fort Benning is all we have?" she breath out looking at the officer tightly holding the steering wheel before giving her a stiff nod "I-I don't know what I gotta do…" she admitted to herself before running her hands through her messy locks
"All you gotta do is keep your family safe at all time" Officer said his gaze far off the road but not really seeing the road "Kill those things but you gotta keep in mind- aim for the head. Head… that's when they'll stop coming for you" he continued turning a sharp left turn before stopping completely "Don't trust anybody but you and your family" he said sternly looking from Max to Jayden "With no laws and authorities to keep everyone in line…" he said looking down before turning the safety on his gun "People change…It's not only the dead you have to worry about…"
Max looked around the camp with utter most curiosity in his eyes. Scanning everything he can in the dark. It was shocking how disorganized they set their whole camp, even more shocking is that Dare hasn't made a fuzz about it yet. Dare- Daryl he smiled. Who would have thought they would see him sooner rather than later in this mess.
"Hey Max" Max looked up from his seat near where he and Daryl would be spending the night before they pick the rest of their family. "Mind if I seat here?" the man asked gesturing the seat beside him.
"Go for it man" he said nodding with a soft expression on his face. "You're Glenn right?"
"Yeah" Glenn nodded passing him a blanket "Got spares from the R.V… it's a bit dusty but I reckon you'll be fine" he shrugged. Max thanked him and gave him a nod before accepting the blanket from Glenn's hand before placing it on top of his bag "Daryl alright?"
"I would say so…" Max nodded. He and Glenn both looked behind them to see a man standing far off from them crouched down on a log with the walkie-talkie pressed against his lips. Max smiled, it's been almost a couple of hours- give or take a few minutes since Daryl spoke to his sister for the first time in three months. "They haven't spoken to each other since the outbreak…" he mumbled silently
"He seems pretty keen to go to them now…" Glenn nodded seeing the distraught look the redneck showed when Max told him their story. It took quite a bit of convincing from him, Max, Rick and the lady over the walkie-talkie- Jayden to convince Daryl to let the night pass before they travel, he might not like it but it's the smart choice
"So what's up with you Glenn?" Max asked looking around the 'make-do' camp site "You look just about the only person- with the exception of Rick- that is genuinely happy to see a new face here" he said quietly, not wanting to drag any more attention to himself. He's had enough eyes looking at his every move
"Oh don't take it personally" Glenn shook his head "…well, maybe. Considering you're related to Daryl… he's kinda the-
"Outsider of the group?" Max offered before Glenn nodded "Yeah. I wouldn't be surprise if you guys only knew he have a family to begin with" Max smiled, taking his pack out "you want one?" he asked passing it on to Glenn, when the guy shook his head as a 'no' he shrugged and lit one up
"How old are you?" Glenn asked looking at Max with assessing eyes. He couldn't be older than him, if not maybe the same age. Max is a bit taller than him by an inch or two, his eyes shows dark emerald shade and far too good-looking features to be smeared with dirt and sweat from the travel he's done.
"18" Max replied taking another long drag of his smokes "Why?"
"It's good to have someone close to my age around here" Glenn replied with an even face "All the men talking down on me and taking a piss of ordering me around whenever they can" he mumbled, pulling the grass underneath them with a bit of harshness
Max looked at the furious boy-man beside him. He sure as hell knows what this guy is talking about. Not even a full day in this camp and he can already tell the system around the camp. Woman does all the labour works. Laundry, cooking, taking care of the kids and keeping everything organised, while the men go out and work, order the others and handles the gun; older people and their stupid desire for power.
Jayden would surely like that he scoffed mentally, just thinking about it makes him excited on what Jayden will bring to this group. Like a fucking hurricane.
"Yeah I know what you mean" Max nodded "Not that my older sister does it to me or anything but… this group is ran by men with their fucked up idea of superior power" he rolled his eyes, eying the smooth-shaven sheriff on top of the RV keeping an eye on him rather than the horizon "…don't worry. Soon enough they'll be order me around not you" Max said patting Glenn on the back
"I don't think Daryl will like that" Glenn mock looking at the boy beside him "You know he got shot in the head by Andrea right?"
"The blonde princess" Max nodded earning an amused look from his companion "She kept glaring at me… and don't think I'm deaf and couldn't hear her say 'more mouths to feed' over and over behind my back" he said with an arched eyebrow "She should watch her mouth, she may have been forgiven about the whole shooting Dare in the head but when it comes to his family y'all ain't seen nothin' yet"
"Fair point" Glenn managed to nod, too dumb-folded on how much he can see Daryl in him "We've always been short on food, don't take it by heart" he shrugged
"So she would rather choose food over the family of the guy who always brings food?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice "Wait till she see my sister. All hell with break loose if she ever hears her say that again" he smirked, one of his 'You're dead smirk' –as Jayden said before.
"You're pretty scary for an 18 year old" Glenn said looking a bit sceptical "…but anyway. I'm glad to have you here with us Max. If you need anything or want to talk about anything I'm your boy." Glenn smiled before heading off the farm house
"Thanks Chinaman!" Max shouted back causing chinaman to shout 'Korean' back to him.
Max laughed to himself before entering Daryl tent, it was very… Daryl-y. Just a small coup on one side and a tidy backpack on the other. Max took his shirt of carefully. Tipping the side of his head to look over his damaged side and upper left arm wrapped with thin cloth. Slowly lifting his arms for his shirt to be taken off completely. Touching his wounds reminds him of how fucking lucky they were, how fucked up her sister has been but stayed strong for them-
"Momma! Momma!"
"Please don't touch them! Me. Use me instead!"
"Jayden don't!"
"ARGHH!"
Max shook his head from side to side, his sweat running feverously down his body, with shaking hands he took his towel out and wiped it away with as much grief he's feeling. What would Dare said if he ever found out what happened to them. Hell can't even compare to how much range Dare's going to be feeling, and how much blaming he's going to pounder himself for letting his family go on without him.
"Snap out of it Maxwell" He said to himself "It's not your fault" he nodded to himself, remembering the words his sister always use to calm him down. After a few minutes of taking his time dressing himself up properly without bothering his injuries he set himself on Daryl's coup, knowing the guy wouldn't be able to sleep at all and he sure as hell know he'll stay with Jayden as much as possible.
"You alright kiddo?" Daryl's head popped in inside the tent
"Yeah 'm good" Max nodded setting his gun on the side "Are you okay?" he asked eying the man who looked much better compared to when he first saw him
"Yeah 'm good" Daryl nodded back before ruffling Max's head causing him to laugh at his protest "Good ta see ya Maxwell" he said softly, grabbing a hold of the boy's neck. God knows how much he's missed his family. Not one second he never ever thought of them and just hoping fucking hoping they were still in Florida but that didn't stop him from looking for them too. His wife is after-all is his woman.
"Bet you're only glad to see me coz of my smoke" Max smiled raising his smoke for him to catch "I missed you Dare" he nodded before finally letting his heavy lids close.
"Miss you too kid…"
SOOOOO. I know, not really the best chapter ae? Morel like a filler to be honest :S and I'm so sorry about it. I missed three episodes of The Walking Dead and I when I finally watched it BAM. All ideas came rushing to my head and I don't know how to put it on words without rushing any of it. I'm the kind of writer that gets really excited to be in point C when I'm still in point A. you get it ? Yeah, it's a really bad trait that I don't want. hahaha. Anyway, I hope you guys like it anyway... at least we can push the story further now... and trust me guys... I'm halfway through chapter 04. :D I just need to tighten the plot a bit more and add more to it :D
I hope you guys like it and I appreciate the favourites, the alerts, follows and reviews. It means alot ! Just keep in mind, the more reviews the faster I update! It gives me more motivation to finish it ... if that makes sense. (: I'm open to suggestions such as; who you wants to see, how my characters will interact with the other characters, and such so please. I WANTto hear what you guys want to read, I'll take everything into consideration. (:
THANK YOU SO MUCH AND I LOVE YOU ALL 3
-Franceeesca (: