Next chapter is here! I can't believe I'm saying this but this story is almost done. I think there's like four to five chapters left. Here's Chapter 30! Hope you like it!
Chapter 30
Rick finished his story and Shane was speechless. Was Rick implying that the Governor had done something to Daryl that made him lose faith in the group and Shane? "Rick do you know what exactly happened?" he asked. Rick shook his head, "He was never hurt so I imagine it was some kind of mental torture. Playing on the kid's emotions and stuff like that. God I hate that guy." Shane nodded, "I decided that we'll be leaving tomorrow. We aren't going to be totally ready by tonight. We need a plan and everything."
Rick studied him, "No that's not why. You know Daryl might have issues." Shane sighed, "Ok. Yea that's part of it." Rick nodded, "I'll inform the others. He already made it through one night didn't he?" Shane shrugged, "Honestly I'm not sure. He was out really early. I doubt he got a lot of sleep." Rick nodded and wandered off to tell the others.
Glenn came next, "Hey Shane. I heard we aren't leaving until tomorrow." Shane nodded, "Yea. I want to wait an extra day. Make sure we have anything." Glenn smiled slightly, "I'm not stupid Shane. I know you want to make sure Daryl's ok." Shane tossed a bag into the bed of his truck, "God am I really that easy to read?" Glenn nodded, "Yep. And it's fine about waiting. I totally get it." Shane smiled, "Thanks. Hey Glenn will you tell Dale and Andrea for me?" Glenn nodded again, "Sure thing. Oh I saw Daryl upstairs in his room. I don't know if you were going to find him or not." Shane nodded his thanks, "I'll see him. Thanks Glenn." Glenn nodded and ran towards Dale's RV. Shane headed towards the house. Now was as good a time as ever.
As he walked up he met Lori. "Hey Lori, we aren't leaving until tomorrow morning." Lori stopped. She had her arms full of stuff that she was going to take to the cars. "Why not? We need to get out of here," she said. "Driving around at night isn't safe. Plus I don't have all of my stuff done and we would have to leave soon," Shane explained, purposely leaving the part out about Daryl. Lori shook her head, "That may be part of it but you're also staying back because your little friend is unstable." Shane sighed and pushed past her. "He's dragging you down Shane. He's affecting your choices. The Shane I knew before wouldn't have waited until tomorrow," she called after him.
He knocked quietly on Daryl's door and opened it. Daryl was sitting down on his bed with his legs stretched out and his arms over his head. Shane wandered in, "Hey, Rick told me what happened at the Governor's place. Are you alright?" Daryl nodded, "I'm fine. We didn't get hurt." Short and simple. Something was up.
Shane pushed farther, "Are you sure? The Governor said some pretty nasty stuff." Daryl turned away, "Yep. Fine." Shane sighed, "Alright then." He walked to the door and then heard Daryl talk again, "Shane, he said things that he has no way of knowing. I don't know how he found out those things. It's like he knew exactly what would make me crack. He said you didn't care. That you were going to cast me out as soon as you got the chance. I don't know how he knew that would kill me." Shane frowned. He knew that Daryl was afraid of things like that but he hadn't told anyone. "Did he say anything else?" Shane asked.
Daryl shrugged, "He said stuff about how you weren't going to come and rescue us. He told me that I was just extra weight to you and that I didn't do anything. And he said…" Daryl drew a shaky breath, "He said that it was my fault that my brother had died because if I had been there with him then he wouldn't have been against the group. He said that you were hoping that I was dead when you found me in the woods. He said that the only reason you brought me back was because Rick would've done the same thing." Shane shook his head, "That's all wrong Daryl. You can't believe him. He wants you to feel isolated from us." Daryl nodded softly and turned over on his bed, "I know. I trust you." Shane smiled slightly, And like I said before, I'd never cast you out or hurt you in anyway."
The next morning was a rush. The group was packing up the cars and they were ready to leave in about an hour. Shane was driving his truck but he thought it would be a good idea for a lookout. He had Daryl ride in the bed of his truck to keep watch. They were the last in the line of cars anyway. They were driving for hours.
Eventually he saw Daryl stand up in the back of the truck and stretch and Shane realized that Daryl was actually quite lucky to be able to do that. The whole day consisted of driving until the night when they decided to stop. The group set up a small camp that wouldn't be noticeable to anyone or anything. Daryl settled down next to the fire in between Rick and Shane. Dale actually made an appearance out of his RV. He and Daryl were talking a little bit but Shane didn't eavesdrop. He was done with that. He trusted Daryl to tell him anything important.
He turned to Rick instead, "How are we going to do this? Get away from the Governor?" Rick thought for a while, "I don't know Shane. We just have to keep moving I guess. We'll lose them eventually." Shane nodded, "I guess that is the best plan at the time. I don't want to get any of our group killed by him. What if he does catch up though?" Rick looked into the fire, "Then we fight. That's the only way to get out. We can beat him." Shane smiled slightly, "Yea I guess we can."
Daryl dropped into their conversation, "The Governor's got nothing on us. If he does catch up we'll make a stand and show him not to mess with us." The kid smiled and the two older men had to laugh. Lori came over and Shane saw Daryl roll his eyes. "Are you guys seriously planning to fight him? We can't lose people." Shane looked over at her, "Only if we have too." Lori glared at him, "Why would we have too? We can just run." Rick went over to her, "Lori, we aren't going to fight him unless he has us cornered." He went on talking.
Shane glanced at Daryl who had reclined himself down so he was looking into the stars. Daryl saw him looking at him, "What's up?" Shane grinned, "The stars apparently." Daryl laughed slightly, "So am I on watch again tomorrow? In your truck?" Shane nodded, "Yep. I know you'll have our backs." Daryl smirked, "Yep. You got that right."
Shane smiled, "How about you go to sleep. You don't have to take a watch tonight since you've been doing it all day. I'll take your shift." Daryl smiled gratefully, "Thanks I'll take you up on that." He then proceeded to fall asleep right in front of the fire. Shane grinned as he went to take the watch shift that was supposedly Daryl's. It was when he was sitting alone that he realized what had happened. Daryl hadn't questioned him at all about taking his watch. He remembered how hard it had been to make the kid actually rest before. Now he was perfectly fine with Shane doing his job. It was weird how much Daryl had changed in the three months he'd been here. Everything had happened ever since Daryl had come. Rick had come back. Had Daryl been some kind of sign?
He pushed the thoughts aside for now and turned them to the Governor. How had the Governor known how to crack Daryl? It wasn't like he had been around them except for just the time that he had met them at the barn. He wouldn't be able to tell all of that about Daryl in one look like that. The kid was good at hiding himself. He felt like he was missing something but he couldn't figure out what. There was some piece that would put everything together.
As his watch came to an end and he still couldn't figure it out he got to his feet and headed towards Rick. He woke his friend up and then crawled to his spot. Daryl was still sleeping next to the dying fire. Shane tossed a blanket out of the tent at the kid who shifted and took it. Daryl waved his thanks and Shane went in to his tent. Tomorrow was another long day of driving. He yawned as he turned over in his tent and he hoped that maybe they would be able to escape from the Governor. Go somewhere new. Be able to live somewhere where they wouldn't have to worry about the Governor, just the occasional walker. He fell asleep thinking of how nice the world had been.
And another chapter gone! Thanks for reading! Reviews are great! They'd be great!