WARRIORS OF THE WALKING DEAD: SAVIORS OF MANKIND

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Daryl stretched his back, taking a sip of his coffee as he watched the sun rise on the horizon. He fully intended on going hunting this morning, but he needed a cup of coffee in him first. He heard the door open softly behind him and felt Katelyn's arm snake around his waist from behind, as she leaned her head against his back.

"Mornin'." She said sleepily, taking a deep breath.

"Mornin'." He replied, laying his arm on top of hers.

"You leaving?" Kate asked, yawning as she did.

"Soon." He said, pulling her around to the front so he could look at her.

"Be careful. It's getting warmer so the walkers aren't as slow." Katelyn warned, laying her head on his chest.

"Rick's comin…so's Merle. We'll be all right." He said, kissing the top of her head.

"Good. I feel a little better that you'll have someone watchin' your back." She said, looking up at him.

"Did I hear my name?" Rick said, walking around the corner, smiling at both of them.

Katelyn turned to look and chuckle. Daryl nodded, pausing when he saw Michael tagging along behind Rick.

"I asked Michael to join us since he knows the area really well." Rick stated.

"Coffee?" Katelyn asked them, not noticing the frown on Daryl's face.

"Sure." Rick said, thanking her as she looked at Michael.

"No thank you." Michael stated, smiling at her.

"Be right back." Katelyn said, disappearing into the house.

"Load your gear in the truck. We're headin' out in five." Daryl said, looking Michael up and down.

Katelyn returned with coffee for Rick, handing it to him with a smile just as Merle started walking across the street.

"You guys ready, or are we gonna stand around cluckin' like hens?" Merle called out.

"Throw your shit in the back, Merle." Daryl stated grumpily. Merle heard the tone and looked straight at Michael, knowing exactly why his brother was in a bad moon.

Merle tossed his gear in the back, walking over to Daryl.

"He comin'?" Merle whispered.

"Guess so." Daryl stated.

Rick and Michael walked around the other side of the truck and climbed in, while Merle got into the vehicle. Daryl trotted back over to the porch to kiss Katelyn who stood, watching them get ready to go.

"Love you." She said softly, smiling up at him.

"I'll be fine." Daryl chuckled, knowing that's what she wanted to say.

Smirking back at him, she swatted him on the rear end as he walked away.

"Love ya." Daryl called out, winking at her as he climbed into his truck.

Katelyn stood on the porch as she watched them drive away. Her eye wandered to a lone soldier who stood watching but she dismissed it, knowing that patrols were still roaming the neighborhood. Wrapping her robe around her, she went back in the house to relax until the baby awakened.

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It was 10:00 a.m. when the Major pulled into Deer Creek. The moment he'd found out that Nate was AWOL, he knew he needed to warn Daryl. Hopping out of the jeep, he headed for their door, knocking.

Katelyn answered with a smile, holding baby Hope in her arms. She hadn't seen the Major in quite a while.

"Major! Come on in." She said, opening the door to him.

"I can't stay long, but I need to talk with Daryl for a minute." He said, nervously, trying to avoid worrying Katelyn. He was sure it was nothing, but he didn't feel right not giving them a head's up.

"He went hunting with Rick and Merle." She stated, "Can I help?"

"Nah. It's no big deal. Have him call me on the radios when he gets back, will ya?" He asked, smiling at her.

"Sure." Katelyn said. "Sure you can't stay?"

"No, unfortunately, I've gotta get back to base." Jackson said, wiggling his finger at Hope.

"I'll let him know." Katelyn said, walking him to the door.

"Thanks! See you later." He said, hopping back in his jeep as he waved at her.

Guilt nagged at him for not telling her, but he didn't want her to be overly anxious and have a panic attack so he made the decision not to. He hoped it wasn't the wrong decision as he pulled out of the driveway.

Katelyn closed the door with a frown on her face. Something was wrong and the Major didn't want to tell her. She didn't know what it was, but she'd make sure to tell Daryl when he got home. Katelyn turned around, heading back to the kitchen. She set Hope down in a playpen they'd found while she grabbed the list of requests from citizens that she needed to take care of today.

She was supposed to meet Andrea in an hour to go to the warehouse where they were storing all of the planting supplies. It was almost spring so they were getting those ready and tagging them with where they needed to be taken. The best ground for planting was in the field behind the houses where the makeshift wall was. They'd soon be tilling the soil there, but she was concerned with getting everyone set up with gardening equipment.

She got up to grab her other lists when she heard a noise coming from the hallway and paused to listen. Not hearing anything, she shook her head and grabbed her list. Getting back to concentrating, she heard the noise again but this time, she was sure. Standing up, she slowly approached the hallway, pausing midway down to listen again. She couldn't tell what the noise was or where it was coming from exactly, but she knew she heard something.

Peeking into the first room, she saw nothing and turned to leave when a hand went around her face, grabbing her backward and yanking her off her feet. Screaming without sound, she clawed at the hand, trying to remove it, but couldn't. They were too strong. Twisting, she lashed out with her foot, but only connected with her attackers thigh. The arm that was around her face slid lower, cutting off her air by putting her in a chokehold. Katelyn struggled for all she was worth, but was quickly running out of air. Her eyes locked on the playpen in the kitchen just as everything went black.