A/N: I just wanted to wish everyone a great weekend and hope y'all are beating the heat. Now on to some Caryl. I would also like to think the ladies that have been faithful reviewers of the this story and followed it to where it is from where it started on Summer Fun. You all rock and you know who you are. Caryl on.
Ashe
Daryl woke early from the make shift tent he Carol and Little Ass Kicker slept. He crept out of the tent not wanting to wake Carol or the baby. He crawled out into the early morning light and the clearing they had found was beautiful the grass was kissed with one of the last dews of the year before winter sat in, if it wasn't the end of the world he could pretend that he was on a camping trip with his wife and the little one. He had never been so grateful to see a child in all of his life as he was when his woman walked out with Judith in her arms. He loved that little girl like she was his own and had helped raise her since the day she was born; hell he had fed her her first bottle. Now only if she could find the little girl's daddy and brother. He walked over to Tyresse stepping on twigs so that the man would hear his approach, not wanting to startle the man. "Hey man why don't you check on the little shits and get some sleep." Daryl said clapping the man on the back. "Sounds like a plan when I wake up in a few hours we can hit the road and try to pick up someone's trail." Tyresse said yawning. "I hear man I want to find my family."
Tyresse went over to the tent that was in between Daryl and Carol's and his to check on Lizzie and Mika. He pulled the makeshift door back to find that both girls were missing. "Daryl!" Daryl rushed over to Tyresse. "God damn it." Daryl hissed. How in the hell did two girls under the age of thirteen sneak out and not wake him or be seen Tyresse. Something felt off; Daryl's heart sunk in his chest. He didn't know how long it had been since they had went missing and he knew their chances of survial were slim to none on their own. Memories slammed into Daryl's mind and heart of looking for Sophia, when she had been right under their noses all alone kept in a barn and bitten; stuck in a state between living and death . He still had nightmares about it and so did Carol; her death though had ultimately brought the two of them together. It had been a rocky start but, it had all been with worth it; he had found his mate. "They can't have gotten too far. I'll wake Carol and we'll start searching." Daryl said as he shook his head. Tyresse began packing up his tent and the girls tent. He had a bad feeling about this and he didn't know how it was going to effect their small little group.
Daryl slowly crawled back into his and Carol's tent dreading the news he was fixing to deliver to Carol. He gently shook her till her beautiful crystal blues eyes met his. She immediately knew something was wrong. "What's happened?" She asked setting straight up. "The girls ran off in the night." Carol placed her hand over her mouth to hold in a sob. "I'll have to feed Jude then we can start looking." Carol said as Daryl picked up LIttle Ass Kicker while Carol began to fix her bottle and get her a clean diaper change.
After getting Jude fed and changed the three adults headed out following the easy trail that Lizzie and Mika had made; they were easy to track, for being so sneaky they didn't cover there tracks well. Judith began to fuss about noon, so they had to stop to feed and change her. Thankfully the little one fell asleep, which made their hike easier. Daryl held up his hand to stop the group with him. The bushes they had came across were severely disturbed and broken; covered with someone's life blood, and there was lot of it. Whoever it belonged to was gravely injured or dead. They broke into a clearing and the sight that met them broke their heart; Mika had turned after being killed by disembowelment and bit Lizzie. Daryl lowered his crossbow and rushed toward her. "Who killed Mika?" He asked while embracing the young girl like a father and stroking her hair; the way he wished he could have embraced Sophia and protected her. "I did Daryl; I wanted to show you that their not dangerous that their people too and now I'm growing to be one." The little girl's words broke the strong hunter's heart; he had known that the little girl's mind was broken but he didn't know how bad. "I killed Karen and Dave too so that they could get better and not suffer anymore, and I made sure that the one's at the fence had food. I took care of them." Lizzie cried to Daryl, all he could do was hold the poor child and rock her. Tyresse snuck up on Mika and put her out of her misery; Carol stood rooted to the spot as she watched two more children that she had sure to protect and care for die. Silent tears rolled down her face, as the voice of her strong hunter reached her ears. She hadn't noticed him getting up and picking white flowers. He carried them back over to Lizzie and handed them to her, as he scooped her up into his strong arms and settled them where he could cradle her like a father. Carol listened as he told Lizzie the story of the Cherokee rose and silently slipped his hunting knife out of his belt and watched as he pushed into the Lizzie's skull; ending her life quickly without any pain.
A/N: I know it's sad but please don't hate me, next chapter will be back to our pissed off bear looking for his sweet angel. Please read review and enjoy.
Ashe.