Hello all. I know I haven't had the chance to update in a while, it sure has been busy lately with work and the attempt at possibly going back into schooling! Something for either English or Photography in an Art school. Contemeplating which path I want to take lol. Growing up sucks! Anywho, over the week I finally finished this chapter for you guys and couldn't wait to publish it for you guys to read!
Disclaimer: I don't own The Walkign Dead
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"Rick she's been like that for two days now"
Lori's voice was filled with concern and worry for the newest member of their group who hadn't spoken to anyone since Shane decided to lose it on her. They had been driving following Dale's map for three days now and they hadn't come across anything except for a few towns which had been over run and abandoned.
Everyone was beginning to lose hope, falling apart at the seams as fear and hopelessness consumed them. Doubt clouded their minds on their survival and it controlled them; arguments had been breaking out between everyone, fights about food, driving, anything they could think of to get a rise out of the other.
Rick's tanned hand caressed his wife's pale cheek making her look at him, "I don't know what to do, she won't talk to me" Rick said staring at the girl sitting far off from the camp on the hood of Daryl's truck where she stared off down the road. The baggy men's sweater wrapped forcefully around her thin frame as her arms held tightly to the bundle of papers Shane had brought forth from her bag.
Numerous times Lori, Rick and Glenn had tried to talk to her, even Carol had tried bringing the kids over which usually at least made her smile, however, she just kept staring at the road never even acknowledging their existence.
High above them, clouds rolled in over the sun, shutting out the warmth and light of day. It had been a threatening outcome; the weather, as the clouds were known to be filled with water, ready to rain down on them. So far weather had never been an issue to them and they didn't know how it would affect them if it were to storm.
Lori had almost verbally gasped as she looked at the girl's pale skin when she first met her, scattered on her pale skin were multiple scars etched their forever, some large, some small, some really old some not so much. Lori distinctely remembered what Rick had informed them when they first met her "she has bruises and cuts all up her leg and I can tell you now there not from falling over". There was big reason to worry for the girls mental state, with everything she must go through everyday.
"I'm worried about her, what should we do?"
Lori's questions continued but Rick's mind was elsewhere, those papers; they had been multiple sets of maps and directions printed off from the internet. The only explanation for them would be that she and the others she had been with had been going somewhere specific, somewhere they knew to be safe.
"What are you hiding girl?"
Shane's voice echoed in his mind, even though what his best friend had done was completely out of line and horrible Rick couldn't help but think that maybe he was right. They didn't know anything about who she was and she never talked about it either.
She was a mystery and obviously even from looking at her appearance she had some secrets.
Rick's eyes moved downwards from his truck to where Daryl sat cleaning his hunting knife after gutting more animals from the forest and a thought occurred to him. Leaving his wife confused behind him he walked towards the stubborn redneck that stopped what he was doing to look up at him with a cautious look.
"What you want?" he asked placing his knife back in its holster by his hip and stood up to confront the cop. Standing a few inches taller and definitely a lot stronger Rick knew he would be outmatched in a fight even with years of cop training.
"I'm not here to fight Daryl" Rick said deciding to get that cleared up before he earned himself a punch in the face. Daryl had been very protective of Kayla's respected privacy and hadn't let any more people go and bother her, even if it didn't work anyways. "Go on" Daryl urged, he could only guess what Rick wanted to see him about but given the circumstances his guess was probably right.
"She's not going to talk to any of us, I just thought maybe you should give it a try" Rick was honestly worried about the girl, even if his intentions didn't show it in that moment, he had seen what that girl had gone through and he knew she shouldn't be left alone.
It was quiet between the two men for a minute before Daryl spoke in a surprisingly soft voice.
"Don' think it's gonna do no good" he said, yet he turned away and headed down the pavement towards her and his truck.
Rick watched him go and let out a sigh, he would do anything for his family and if what he thought was true and Kayla did really have a safe place to go he needed to know what it was.
Colours. Grey's, green's, blue's, they all blurred together into a watermarked painting in front of her, etching what would be a beautiful scenery. She could feel the cold creep up on her bare legs as the sun disappeared, throwing black into the mix. The wind picked up blowing her hair around her as she pulled the black sweater closer to her body taking in the warmth it gave her. The paper's in her arms crinkling as she moved.
~FLASHBACK
Kayla, Kayla where are you" Jason called, his voice in a panic as the sound of his heavy footsteps came down across the wooded stairs.
Door's slammed open and closed as he searched the small apartment for her, screaming her name in fear he'd never find her. Finally the door to her room slammed open, bouncing off the wall leaving an indentation in where it hit.
"Kayla, we need to go" Jason yelled, his voice washed out by the sounds of screaming from out the window and the constant sirens sounding over the city as explosions blew chunks of buildings apart crushing the civilians below them.
"No, I need to find them" Kayla yelled, arguing as she threw out drawers from her dresser and dropped to the floor scattering the papers on the floor desperately trying to read the ones she needed.
"We don't have time for this Kayla" Jason yelled running to her and grabbing her bare arm and attempted to pull her from her spot but she fought back with all her might.
"I need them, I'm not leaving without them" she yelled fearfully, tears lining her eyes, threatening to fall.
Jason yelled in frustration but gave in, letting her arm go and she returned to searching through the papers on the floor, gathering them in her arms. "Grab those ones" She ordered pointing to the couch she slept on, a pile of papers; maps, pictures and lists. Wrapping the ones she had and the ones Jason gave her she pulled the ponytail from her hair forcefully and bundled the papers neatly in her hands as another bomb dropped outside on the street they lived on.
"Let's go" Jason bellowed as he grabbed her again pulling her from the floor and out the door.
"What the hell took so long" Brad yelled as they came into sight of him, dressed in his military gear, holding multiple duffel bags which he continued to throw in the back of the van his girlfriend owned. People ran screaming through the streets, bowling over others leaving them to be trampled. Blood covered the streets and floors as multiples of the dead lay fallen to the floor, threatening at any minute to rise again and attack.
Roughly Kayla was shoved in the back of the van where Mary, the owner to the small coffee shop they were leaving behind held a small crying boy in her arms. Jason slid in behind her as Brad jumped into the driver's seat beside his girlfriend Caroline, looking as pretty and poised as she always did even in all this mess.
The memory vanished from her mind as it was replaced by the darkness of the once beautiful colours of the day. Her heart jumped in her chest as she gasped, turning around quickly from her spot on the hood of the truck, losing her balance, her foot slipping from its spot.
She fell ungracefully into a pair of strong, muscular arms, dropping the papers, which ultimately pulled her into his warm chest, the dirty green muscle shirt smelled of cigarette smoke and sweat and his throaty chuckle sounded through her ears as she was slowly helped to the floor.
She leaned against the truck to stop her racing heart and looked up at who she already guessed to be Daryl.
Bending down he retrieved what she had dropped and passed it to her, "You sure are jumpy" he commented as she took them from him and held them tightly to her chest.
"Yeah well you don't help by sneaking up on me all the time" she argued back but it sounded less of a comeback and more of an irritated fact. Daryl smirked but said nothing else on the topic.
"So they sent you this time" Kayla stated as she pulled herself back up on to the tan hood of the truck once again. Following behind her, Daryl took up the spot on the hood beside her.
"I Don 'care about what Rick'n the others think" he said clearing his name, "Just think you should at least come back to camp" he said, refusing to make eye contact with her curious orbs of faded blue.
"Why?" her question was normal curiosity, yet it made Daryl uncomfortable and he didn't know why.
"Jus come on, foods probably done anyways" he said instead, roughly clearing his throat as he ignored everything else he was feeling except the growling in his stomach for the food he could smell wafting through the air.
Kayla looked away and stared off to the side, a downcast look in her eyes, a look that made Daryl think of his mother again. It would be that expression that always made him come home when all he wanted to do was run away. That look had a powerful meaning of something strong falling at the seams, sometimes Daryl; as a kid, thought that would be the look flowers would have when they were wilting after a long hard winter.
It surprised them both; his actions of a certain strange tenderness, but Kayla didn't say a thing, Instead she let him help her form the hood of the truck, his rough calloused hand wrapping around hers as she touched the ground.
"And'm sure Glenn misses yah" Daryl joked.
"Hey sweetie, you Okay? Supper should be done soon" Lori asked, a compassionate statement Kayla never really got use to, she had always thought asking one if they were okay was a pointless effort in ending a problem, however, when she said it, in her caring tone, it somehow sounded different; more thoughtful.
"I saved some berries for you, since you don't like eating the meat" Carl, the young boy of Rick and Loris'; he had always been a sweet boy to her when she was here. Always asking her ridiculous questions about herself; like her favorite color or music genre. "Thanks" Kayla whispered, feeling suddenly very out of place. Even though she couldn't see it for herself, Kayla could see the warm smile directed her way from everyone in the camp as she took her seat on the bench where Daryl sat down by the fire checking the food.
"Yeah, we though blueberries were better than you washing down the taste with warm water" Glenn joked.
Every time they had eaten one of the many furry, cute animals Daryl brought back from the woods, it was no secret that Kayla would rather eat her own shoes, washing the taste and thought out of her mind with any means she could.
A sudden feeling of guilt flooded through Kayla's mind and without asking her permission or giving her any kind of warning she felt a set of hot, wet tears fall down her pale cheeks, falling onto her jeans.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Rick asked jumping at the sudden onset of the girl's tears as she embarrassingly wiped them away with the sleeve of her sweater. Everyone turned to look at her worried of the possibility of her having a breakdown.
"I'm fine, I just.." her voice broke as she took in a steadying breathe, wiping at her cheeks again hating that she couldn't stop.
"You guys have been nothing but helpful and nice to me, I mean you guys saved my life and I haven't done anything to deserve that" Kayla said hiding her face from everyone looking at her, especially at the piercing blue eyes of the redneck male beside her.
"Kayla, you don't owe us anything, you hear that. We didn't save you for a payment, we saved you cause you needed help" Rick explained his tone soft and gentle, years of having Lori as a wife taught him that a woman's tears are not to be taken advantage of.
It was silent for a moment as Kayla rubbed at her eyes before taking the familiar wad of bundled papers from inside her sweater and passing them over to Rick who took them cautiously. His eyebrows furrowed as Kayla looked away from them, unable to make eye contact.
"This is where we were headed before…before we were attacked" she explained as Rick took the hair elastic from the bundle and let them unfold on his lap. On top, a picture of a large ranch house, modern Victorian style with a wraparound porch, white-yellow painted walls were deteriorating from age, and there were black painted window frames and matching roof, a red door standing at the top of the staircase.
Underneath the picture were a multiple set of maps all heading to the same place, traced on and circled a small ranching town off the side of South Dakota. Lists of directions, to get lists, etc. were scattered there as Rick ran his finger across the map.
Rick didn't know what to say, neither did anyone else who stared at the papers with a thoughtful expression.
"I don't honestly know if it's still standing, it's an old house, miles away from any kind of town, city or highway, hidden within the surrounding forest" Kayla explained giving up with a sigh, somehow something that was so important to her to keep to herself felt meaningless.
Those papers had no destination for her, however, these people needed this and it was the least she could do for them.
The sun had gone down and they were once again saved from the impending weather forecast of rain for at least another day and night. A cold breeze engulfed them as they drove their vehicles down the abandoned highways. Tires spinning, and engines rumbling, Kayla wrapped herself within the blanket Andrea had lent her from their camper, snuggling her frozen legs into the confines of her own warmth which seemed to be slowly dwindling.
Apparently not affected by the cold temperature Daryl drove the truck wearing only a slim sweater to cover his bare arms and nothing else. Hours of silence had passed between them, actually things between everyone had been off since Kayla brought up the possibility of a safe place to go. Finally ruining the silence and finalizing the doomed fate of Kayla getting some shut eye Daryl spoke.
"What was 'so portant bout that house" he asked, genuine curiosity evident in his otherwise uninterested expression. It had bothered him that after putting up such a strong wall around those papers she would hand them over just like that. He had seen the look of utter hatred in her faded blue eyes when Shane had presented them to the group and now it seemed as if they were nothing.
Suddenly their comfortable silence had turned into a cold deafening one in split seconds.
"It's my mother's house".
Daryl looked at her raising an eyebrow in curiosity, somehow when she said the word 'mother' it sounded more like a dirty, nasty word spoken only in sin. "I'm tired" she spoke again, only just above a whisper, it was a random statement on the outside but Daryl knew that this was one topic that had it's boundaries and this time he knew he should respect them.
I love all of yout hat take the time to review your thoughs on each chapter, you truly are the fuel for a writer's fire, i know you are for mine. I don;t think I would out half as much effort into it if it wasn't for you guys! I really appreciate it! So please leave some more, anything you want to know? Ask away. Tell me what you think is good, what could be improved, anything. Paragraphs, sentances... Please review!
Preview: Terrified didn't even come close to expalinning the look of terror behind Kayla's wild blue eyes as she covered her ears with the sleeves of her sweater. Shaking both from the nights cold wind and the fear she felt from the sounds of thunder and flashes of bright lights caused by the lightening. "Come here" Daryl ordered, leaving no room for arguments.