Got my tattoo :) Wanna see it? Here's my Tumblr: www. tumblr blog /lizzymiller 89
Sorry it's taken me so long to get this chapter up, but this week's been CRAZY busy! Traveling, tattooing, hanging out with friends, seeing family, doing butt tons of homework, etc. Yuck...
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Daryl's eyes were trained on his side of the road, Glenn kept an eye on the other side, Andrea watched their rear and Rick focused on straight ahead. It was a good system, Daryl had to credit Andrea for it. She had claimed they didn't want what happened to Lori to happen to them, they should always be aware of their surroundings because walkers might be drawn to the sound of the car.
They arrived on the outskirts of the town without incident, however, and Rick handed them each a list of items. Daryl smiled slightly when he recognized Carol's handwriting and tucked it in his pocket after he planned in his mind where to find the first group of items.
"We meet back here," Rick stated when they came to a stop next to the town sign that claimed the place to be the home of "The Nicest Folks You'll Ever Meet".
"We're splitting up?" Glenn asked warily, "All of us?"
"Andrea's going with Daryl," Rick replied, "But, yes, you and I are on our own today."
Glenn nodded, looking nervous but accepted the plan. With a nod, Daryl and Andrea went their own way towards the Wal Mart on the clear other side of the town.
"So, how'd you sleep last night?" Andrea asked, her voice full of irritating suggestion. Daryl rolled his eyes.
"You really gonna be that juvenile, Blondie?" he asked humorlessly.
"Yep," Andrea replied, completely unashamed, she stared at him while he did his best to ignore her. "You and I both know you didn't get much sleep last night, you look like you're about to fall asleep on your feet."
"I'm fine," Daryl snapped, his eyes still looking straight ahead.
"Carol certainly thinks so," Andrea ventured, trying to get a reaction out of him. It worked, she saw his lip twitch into a tiny smile and then fall back into its normal frown. "Ah, yes she does. You wouldn't believe some of the things she says about you."
Daryl's eyes flicked in her direction, but then returned to the road. Andrea knew she had struck a nerve so she continued on that path.
"Oh yeah, now we all know you SO much better than we ever did," she said, her voice nonchalant. "Carol's a lucky woman if what she claims is to be believed."
THAT got his full attention. His arms went limp to his sides and he turned to face her, his eyes squinted in wariness.
"What did she fuckin' say, exactly?" he asked, his tone was unsure.
"Well, through the wine-induced fuzz of the evening, I honestly can't remember everything..." Andrea played around with the issue.
"Cut the shit, Blondie," Daryl growled, taking an intimidating step forward.
"Ok, ok!" Andrea put up her hands in amused defeat, "Well, for starters, I never really noticed before but you DO have gorgeous eyes..."
Daryl suddenly seemed self conscious of his eyes because he blinked rapidly and took on a confused look.
"And I hear you're a brilliant kisser," Andrea continued, "Apparently you know how to use that snarky, filthy mouth of yours."
"I think you should shut the Hell up and..."
"And seven inches, not bad," Andrea threw the icing on the proverbial cake.
Daryl's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water, but no sound came out except for a few weak choked sounds. His eyes were wide as a deer in the headlights and Andrea struggled not to burst into hysterical laughter, but she contained herself because she didn't want to needlessly attract any walkers.
"She...what did...she told...?" Daryl stuttered, Andrea almost felt bad for him...ALMOST.
"Oh, give Carol a little red wine and that tongue of hers gets mighty loose," Andrea said with a wink.
Daryl sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair, his eyes dropped to the ground.
"What all'd she say?" he asked quietly, his teeth clenched.
"Apparently you're VERY good at what you do," Andrea said simply, "Damn...I should have jumped on that wagon when I had the chance. Shane is...he's good but not as good as Carol makes you out to be."
Daryl looked horrified and a deep red blush crept over his face as he took a small step back, creating a more comfortable space between them.
"Alright, Dixon," Andrea finally took pity on him and smiled, "That's really all she told us so calm down. I'm sure you told the guys a ton about Carol too so you can't be pissed at her."
"I didn't tell 'em nothin'," Daryl replied darkly, "I don't kiss 'n tell."
"Well, it doesn't matter," Andrea assured him, "That's just what girls do. We love to swap our war stories, ya know? We all shared our info, just to make you feel better, you weren't the only one discussed. Mostly you, but not ONLY you."
"Well, shit, I feel so much better, thanks," Daryl muttered, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "Look, we're here for a reason, so let's cut the crap and get this stuff so we can get back. I got some things to say to my woman."
Andrea fell in step behind him as he stalked off down the empty street, his eyes went back to scanning the area carefully for the undead. There was a heavy silence between them as they made their way across town which was only broken by Daryl's occasional grunt when he would point out a walker in the distance or off to the sides, which were quickly taken down by an arrow or her baseball bat.
Finally, they reached Wal*Mart and Andrea looked in dismay over the cement wall they were climbing at the dozens of walkers that were roaming about in the parking lot.
"Fuck..."Daryl whispered viciously, "Where the hell did all these fuckers come from!?"
"How are we gonna get past them all?" Andrea whispered back, her face scrunched in annoyance at this new challenge.
Daryl didn't reply for a long moment as he took in the situation and mulled it over in his mind. Finally, he tapped her on the top of her thigh and jerked his head to motioned her to follow him back behind the cement wall. He crouched down and Andrea followed suit, waiting for him to explain the plan.
"Here's what we're gonna do," Daryl said, keeping his voice low. Andrea couldn't help but like the sound of it. "Did you see that roll up door across the lot there that's partway open? I'm gonna distract 'em, lock 'em in there. You're gonna go around the back way through the cart doors. You don't shoot a single shot and you keep yourself down, you hear me?"
Andrea nodded.
"You get inside and I'll meet you in..."
"Feminine hygiene." Andrea offered with a giggle.
"Sure," Daryl didn't miss a beat, "Meet you there. If I don't meet you in ten minutes, you get what you can and get out. Don't worry about me, I can handle myself, you just get back to Rick and Glenn."
"But..."
"Do. You. Fuckin'. Hear me?" Daryl's icy gaze locked on her and Andrea shrunk back slightly, she knew there was no disagreeing with his terms so she nodded slowly.
"Yes." She replied coldly.
"Good girl," Daryl teased, giving her a wink before he stood slowly and climbed back onto the wall to determine his strategy of distraction. Finally he nodded to himself and pulled the handgun he'd brought along from his pants and slung his crossbow over his shoulder.
"Right," he said with a steadying exhale, "You ready? You with me on this? No heroics, Blondie."
"I hear you the first time, Dixon," Andrea said firmly, "Meet you in ten."
Daryl nodded silently to her and slunk off to the left, crouched low as he circled his way around the edge of the walkers, gaining as much ground towards the automotive shop as he could before they caught his scent.
Andrea watched in morbid fascination as one walker, then another, caught on that something tasty and living was close. She held her breath as they started to turn, one by one, towards Daryl as he snuck along. Finally, Daryl stood to his full height and shot the lead walker with the handgun, the shot echoed across the lot and every walker in sight turned toward the sound and began to stumble towards the now visible delicacy that had caused the ruckus. Daryl took another shot that dropped a close walker and then he took off at a full out run towards the garage door, the walkers pursuing surprisingly quickly. Andrea waited for a moment and then dropped off the wall, quietly making her way behind the walkers towards the cart loading doors. She glanced once, over towards the garage and saw Daryl slide under the partially opened door like someone out of a kickass action movie and she grinned before she slipped around the corner and through the hanging plastic strips of the cart bay.
Andrea nearly ran smack into a walker that was scuffling around by the automatic doors that had long since stopped, it was caught in the doors by the ankle, actually. She backed up quick and bashed it with her bat then swung around to make sure it was alone. Nothing was in sight so she relaxed a little and made her way across the store towards the feminine hygiene section.
She reached the aisle that was once filled with packs of expensive cotton you used once and pitched...the prices of the damn stuff always pissed Andrea off. But that didn't matter now and she grabbed the boxes and bags that were left on the shelf and threw them in the cart, she then went around and gathered toothpaste and brushes, shampoo, razors and all the other good stuff you can find in the health and hygiene area. When she unloaded her armful in the cart she finally realized she was still alone...surely it had been more than ten minutes.
"Calm down," she whispered to herself when her heart leapt to her throat at the realization, "He's probably just biding time to make his escape."
So Andrea sunk down to the floor to wait for him to arrive, but time crept by and he didn't come. Worried and not wanting to be alone here in this hell hole of a store, Andrea stood up and carefully made her way to the fenced in gardening section. She could see the auto garage from there perfectly and the first thing she noted was that the door was closed and a large majority of the walkers were gone, she assume they were locked inside from the sound of banging coming from behind the roll up door. But there were still a good amount of them roaming about the outside and Andrea saw no sign of her partner. Until she saw something that made her nearly lose her breakfast as the bile rose in her throat...a crossbow. A walker was gnawing on the weapon like a chew toy and Andrea wasn't foolish enough to convince herself that that red stuff all over the bow and the ground wasn't blood.
Stifling a terrified squeak/sob, Andrea backed away from the fence slowly and silently. She couldn't believe what she'd seen, blood...so much blood...and Daryl would never be parted from his beloved crossbow, that thing was his only means of survival. She couldn't fathom the truth, Daryl was no fool, he couldn't possibly have made such a foolish mistake...could he? Was anyone invincible in this world? She reached the cart full of hygiene items and slid down the end of the shelf, buried her face in her knees and took several deep, steadying breaths as she tried to clear her head and figure out what to do next. She had to get out while the walkers were distracted by...by...
Andrea stood up quickly, angrily. She growled angrily and kicked a bottle of shampoo that had fallen on the floor and busted open down the aisle as hard as she could, she didn't want it to be true, but she'd seen the evidence. But he had told her to get back to Glenn and Rick if he didn't come back...and she wasn't going to let his sacrifice be in vain, she had to get the supplies back. So she squared her shoulders and read the list somberly and set out to gather them as quickly as she could.
Soon, she snuck out the back again, carrying two hand held baskets of items they required for winter, plus all the ammo she could find in the small hunting section. She looked around the corner carefully and felt sick again when she saw that the walkers were on their knees, their rotten tongues licking the pavement where the blood had spilled...and that's when she knew it was Daryl's, walker's didn't give a shit about their kind's blood. It was a demented lollipop...
Shaking her head as tears threatened to well up in her eyes, she placed the baskets on the top of the cement wall they had climbed over not a half hour ago and then hopped up, giving one last look over her shoulder at the crowd of monsters who were most likely ripping her friend's body to shreds around that corner where they were starting to congregate slowly toward.
"What happened to no trying to be a hero?" she whispered sadly, angrily. "You never did take your own advice, Dixon."
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Carol hadn't been able to shake the uneasy feeling she'd had all day, even when she made herself busy. She did the laundry, she did some archery practice with Sophia, she cleaned up their campsite and organized their tent, she did the dishes after lunch with Maggie, she did homework with Sophia, Carl and Beth...but nothing could take away that twist in her guts she couldn't explain.
By the time the Cherokee rolled up the driveway, she had felt like she would explode with anticipation and worry, they were late. They were due back at least two hours ago but they hadn't heard anything from them and everyone was beginning to get concerned. So when the dust rose from the driveway and the sound of the motor reached her ears, Carol shot out the door and down the front steps like a bolt of lightning and skidded to a halt under the trees where they usually parked.
But she only saw three people in the beat up old Cherokee...and the one person she wanted to see wasn't among them.
"Did Daryl pick up a new vehicle?" she asked as Rick stepped out of the car. Maybe they'd found a working car or something and he was driving it back. Surely he'd come up the driveway any second...right? But the look on all three of the faces looking at her told her this was not the case.
"Carol..."Rick began but she stepped back away from his hand that was reaching out to offer support.
"Where is he?" Carol asked, her voice flat and cold. "Where the fuck IS he?!"
Andrea gently moved Rick aside and stood in front of Carol, her eyes filled with tears.
"I'm so sorry, Carol," she whispered, her voice choked. "He...he ran a diversion...and he...he didn't make it back. I'm so, SO sorry!"
"What do you mean he didn't make it back?!" Carol hollered, her fists clenched in anger and disbelief.
"He was suppose to meet me in the store...but he never showed so I snuck outside to see if I had taken shelter somewhere...and...I saw...there was too much blood, Carol...there was nothing we could have done."
"No, no he's not...you have to go back and look for him!" Carol shrieked, stepping back and looking at Rick pleadingly. "You have to go back and find him!"
"Carol," Rick said gently, placing his hands on her shoulders, "We did go back. There were too many walkers...we saw them...they had his crossbow...and the blood, they were...I'm sorry, Carol, but...he's gone."
And those two words, 'he's gone', shattered every fiber of Carol's heart. She felt every ounce of will, energy and happiness fly from her and her knees buckled and she found herself in the dirt of the driveway, her tears making tiny splashes of mud where they fell in the dust. But she refused to make a sound, not in front of the group...she forced herself to her feet and took off across the field, ignoring the calls that followed her. She ran until she came to their campsite and she flung herself onto the sleeping bags and let the sobs wrack her body. His scent met her nose as she buried her face in his pillow and soaked it with her tears.
Everything in her screamed that this was impossible, he was too strong, too willful to die! But, no, not in this world...not in this life. He was never a fighter, he was a hunter. His place was here, providing, not running off on stupid dangerous missions, putting his life on the line for a few fucking tampons and shampoo!
She cried for hours, punching the pillows, screaming into them, throwing them, hugging them to her chest as she rocked in a fetal position...anything to try and ease the ache and the rage.
"Mommy?" the soft voice of Sophia floated to her ears and she found a tiny speck of sanity that still remained deep in her, Sophia was all she had now and nothing would stop her from keeping her daughter safe.
"C...come in, S..Sophia," Carol choked, drying her eyes with the back of her hand. Sophia lifted the ten flap and stepped in, immediately flinging her arms around Carol's neck.
They cried together for a long time, until they simply couldn't cry anymore, then Sophia sat back on her heels and looked Carol straight in the eyes.
"Mommy, before daddy left he...he told me something I had to do," her voice was small, fragile...yet determined. She leaned forward and kissed Carol's cheek lightly and grabbed her hands in her small, little girl hands and squeezed tightly. "Daddy told me 'Sophia, you take care of your mom while I'm gone' and that's what I'm gonna do, mom. I'm gonna be here to take care of you now that daddy can't."
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Please don't hate me...and no, this is not the end of the story, please review and please keep reading!
Things will get better. How? Seems impossible, doesn't it? Well maybe it is...but I'm gonna try. Please don't hate me...