Daryl pulled onto the street and I looked around with slight amusement. The town was small. Three small buildings that resembled a type of grocery store, what looked like a barber shop, and a few even smaller buildings along the road. Daryl pulled the motorcycle over, and the others followed our lead. I glanced around as Daryl turned the motorcycle off. Nothing, not a sound.
"Spread out, but do not go far. Last thing we need is to run into another herd and everyone get separated. Try not to use guns. We are low on ammo, almost down to nothin'. Try to use the knives. Execution style. Anything we could use, don't hesitate to grab it. Carl, you're with me." Rick instructed. I took a quick peek at Lori's face to catch the glare she was shooting towards Rick. Without a word, I began walking over to Cheyenne.
"I can watch her." Carol offered, giving me a fragile smile. "You and Daryl will be able to get back quicker. It will be safer." I silently thought it over in my head. Carol was right. All was quiet here. Daryl and I had no clue what we would walk into in these shops. I didn't want to risk Cheyenne.
"Thank you. Just please... Keep a look out." I practically pleaded. Carol shook her head and led Cheyenne to the back of the vehicle. I turned back toward Daryl and we walked toward two of the smaller shops. Looking up at the hand painted sign, I noticed a fishing pole and a gun painted onto the wood, with the words 'Little Big Fish N' Hunt'. Walking toward the door, I opened it quietly, Daryl right behind me.
"Wait... Maybe we should split up?" I asked, glancing around.
"Get it done faster." Daryl agreed. "After here." I nodded in agreement and we walked inside. On my toes, I crept around the small store quietly, listening and watching. I grabbed everything I could, shoving it in a bag I had found behind the counter. Mostly knives, but we also found some ammo and a couple of hand guns. The place had been searched and ransacked before we had arrived.
Without waiting for Daryl's approval, I left him in the little shack of a store, moving on to the next building. It was one of the grocery stores, or looked like some sort of small grocery store. Grocery shack's more like it. I mumbled in my head. Grabbing the door knob, I twisted it slowly, opening the door as quietly as possible. Hoping that there were no walkers inside, I stepped into the store slowly. Suddenly, I was hit with an overwhelming smell, and I instinctively wrinkled my nose.
Sneaking around the counter, I looked down to see nothing. Turning back toward the door, I walked past it and headed for the first isle. I grabbed as much stuff as I could, stuffing it all into the bag I had been using. Canned goods, minor medical supplies. Band aids, rubbing alcohol. I found some 'womanly products', and snatched them up, figuring the girls would be happy. When I rounded the corner, I saw it. Tensing up, I froze in my tracks.
Hello? Ya gonna get up or what? I wondered, my eyes glued to the walker on the floor. It was sitting against the shelf, and I was beginning to think it was dead. Sudden shuffling behind me caused me to whirl around quickly, dropping my bag. Face to face with a walker, I panicked. Jerking my arm up, I let out a slight grunt as I shoved the blade of my knife through its head.
Growling, I heard growling. I snatched my knife out of the rotted head, and turned on my heels to see the walker that was just sitting down, up and stumbling towards me. Its decaying jaws snapped at me as it lurched forward, and I could see its teeth in places I shouldn't where the jaw had rotted off. Feeling sick suddenly, I sprang forward, stabbing the walker in the head.
Thud, a light footstep behind me. I turned again letting out a growl, armed raised and ready to strike. A hand grabbed my wrist and I was met by crystal blue eyes. Daryl stared at me, holding onto my arm, my knife only inches from his face. Relaxing, I felt him let go of my wrist, and I dropped my arm.
"The hell's wrong with you?" I sneered at him, my voice slightly hoarse. "Could've killed you!"
"Shouldn't split up." Daryl mumbled, but I saw his face allowing a smirk to crawl along his lips.
"I'm fine on my own." I grumbled, and he huffed out a small chuckle.
"You're fine on ya own." Daryl repeated, brushing his thumb over my chin. "Jus' shouldn't have to be." His voice was almost teasing, but had a softness to it. I relaxed, bumping him on the arm with my elbow. The corners of his lips tugged upward. I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. Maybe I took him by surprise, because he hesitated for a moment. But only for a moment, before kissing me back.
The kiss turned rough quickly, on Daryl's part. I welcomed it, though. Anything Daryl gave me, I welcomed it. His hands snaked down to my hip bones, where he grabbed on and pulled me up, closer to him. My hands were at the back of his neck, as we kissed, his tongue sliding across mine. When his teeth scraped against my bottom lip, we both stopped, pushing away from each other. Panting slightly, I stared at him.
"What..." I trailed off, looking at his face for answers.
"Been wantin' to do that for a while now." Daryl answered simply.
"What?" I asked, wanting to hear him say it.
"Jus' have you close to me." Daryl muttered, and my heart skipped a beat. I let myself smile, and his eyes lit up at the sight. Wrinkling my nose, I let out a small huff.
"Better get back out there. They'll be gatherin' a search party to come lookin' for us." I grinned and Daryl scoffed. He picked up the bag I dropped and I reached for it.
"Got it." Daryl said, as he was about to sling it over his shoulder.
"Ain't handicapped." I teased, snatching the bag and slinging it over my own shoulder. I turned and walked away from him, hearing him let out a small chuckle. I smiled again, happy to know that, for now, I wasn't being pushed away. For now, Daryl was mine. Not even he himself could deny that.
Walking away from the store, I could hear Daryl's footsteps as he followed behind me. I had noticed how keen my ears had become, picking up sounds I might have missed before. Maybe this new world was teaching me some useful things after all. Or maybe it was just Daryl wearing off on me. I didn't know.
Rick and Carl were walking up with a bag. Maggie and Glenn were leaned against the hood of Rick's vehicle, while Hershel stood in front of them. Everyone else was in the cars, waiting on the verdict. We all looked to Rick, and I knew it must have been difficult on him, all of our questioning eyes boring into his own tired ones.
"Anything useful? Carl and I found a few canned goods. Some water." Rick looked at Daryl and I.
"Huntin' equipment, ammo. Few guns. Mostly knives. Spence found some canned goods." Daryl offered, and Rick nodded with an almost satisfied look.
"We found a house over near that little subdivision." Glenn spoke up. "There were a few stragglers, but we took them out. As far as inside the houses go, I don't know how much damage is done."
"Great. We'll go check it out. We aren't stayin' here long, so don't get comfortable. This place ain't stable and I honestly don't think we could make it here for long. Too open." Rick advised. I understood clearly. He was absolutely right. If we were going to find something permanent, it wouldn't be here.
I caught Sam's eye as I walked back over to the motorcycle with Daryl. He gave me a worried glance, but I ignored it. I knew I must have looked like hell. I hadn't slept in two days and I felt worse than I probably looked. There was an aching in my stomach from lack of food, and it made me feel sick. Trying to shake the feeling off, my eyes wandered to the array of houses scattered along, forming a little neighborhood. It was like something out of a movie. A sweet little neighborhood, with the white picket fence. I expected to see a man and a woman, with two children and a dog, waving a welcome to the neighborhood.
That wasn't this life anymore. This life was empty. No family with picture perfect smiles. No children's laughter. No moving trucks or worrying about the movers dropping Grandma's expensive vase. No house warming party. No wine filled glass celebration for the new move. No making this a sweet home. Just move in, survive the night, and move on. That was life now.
Sighing against Daryl's shoulder blades, I lurched forward slightly as we came to a stop. I climbed off the motorcycle, and walked toward the big house. It had to be the one Glenn was talking about. Painted all white, with sky blue shutters. A wrap around porch. Except for the rust stained splatter of old blood near the porch stairs, the house was beautiful. Something on an expensive painting you see in a museum.
Walking up to the house, everyone proceeded with caution. That was the best way to describe the group's actions. Cheyenne was between Daryl and myself. Sam was somewhere behind us, as was Maggie, Hershel, Beth, and Carol. Glenn and Rick were near Daryl. Lori was in the back with the others and Katherine.
"Stay." Daryl whispered to me, and I grabbed Cheyenne's hand, ready to bolt if needed. Keeping my eyes on the houses and yards surrounding us, I watched for any movement. After what seemed like less than five minutes, the guys appeared with relaxed faces.
"All clear." Rick nodded to us. "But remember, as nice as it looks, just for tonight. Can't get comfortable. Not here." Everyone seemed to understand, the agreement silent. Walking inside, I noticed a fireplace and a lot of large pieces of plywood. Whoever had lived here must have been ready to board up the place. I wondered what happened or changed their mind. Thinking back to the blood stain on the porch, I decided not knowing held more comfort.
Carol began busying herself by heating up a few cans of the food we had found. I decided to help her out, walking over to the kitchen I grabbed another pot. Once near the fire place, I emptied a can of beans into the pot and held it over the fire. After switching arms back and forth for what seemed like forever, the beans began to bubble slightly, and I stirred them before transferring the hot pot over to the stove to cool. My arms felt like they were going to fall off. Carol gave me a slight grin, and I returned it with a happy smile.
Glenn and Daryl scavenged through the houses next door and across the street. They came back with a few more food items and plenty of blankets and pillows. They even scavenged two tents. Not enough, but they could come in handy maybe. At least we had enough food to last us until we could hit another town. Feeling weak and tired, I made a makeshift bed for Cheyenne and let her lay down under the covers while she ate her dinner. Soon, she was finished and sound asleep.
This time, I ate. I couldn't help myself. I felt so hungry. The sick feeling, the gnawing hunger in my belly, was more than I could bear. Eating a fair amount of the canned beans and soup that Carol and I had cooked, my stomach actually felt full. The gnawing pain had disappeared and the hunger was gone for now. For now.
Until another day. Being used to starving was nothing new to most of us. Even Carl and Cheyenne. They had never really had to starve to the point of being in severe pain, but they still knew what hunger felt like. As always, we put the kids before us. If it meant Cheyenne and Carl having dinner, I would gladly go without. No one could understand that unless they were taking care of a child in a world like this. There was no way in hell that any of us would take the kids' food away for our own hunger pains. That included Lori.
Lori had turned hateful towards us. I had decided it was pregnancy hormones as well. But we all knew. She felt like a burden, like she was taking away our things for her own. In a sense, she was. But that wasn't really a burden. She was pregnant. It was just the group doing what we had always done. Put the children first, which meant putting Lori first along with Carl and Cheyenne.
Everything was sifting through my mind at once. The walkers, the barn on fire. Running away from Daryl to find Cheyenne. The fear that I would have to leave the road and never see him again. His lips on mine. Andrea and Shay running through the woods scared. The grocery store walkers, Daryl standing in my way. How I had come so close to stabbing him. Thank God he caught my damn hand. I mumbled in my head.
Oh, how wonderful it feels. To be in a house, a huge house. Fireplace cracklin'. Food in our stomachs. Safety for the night. No runnin' through the dark, walkers on my heels. No sittin' in the cold beside a dyin' fire, waitin' on a walker to approach at any time. No worryin' about havin' to bolt for the fear of bein' eaten alive. Just comfort of an ol' beautiful house. Sleep. I just want sleep.
"Need sleep. We'll take watch in a few hours. Rick and T are on it, then Maggie and Glenn. Then us. Try to sleep." Daryl's voice was hushed and soft. Despite the heat from the fireplace, I shivered slightly. But my shivers disappeared when Daryl pressed against me, his breath on my neck. His arm went over my side, and I gave Cheyenne one more glance. She was sleeping soundly under a pile of blankets.
"Sleep, girl." Daryl's whisper was like a lullaby. Feeling safe, if only for a moment, my brain plunged into darkness.
Hey guys I am SOOOOOOOOOO sorry for the long update wait ! Been in school an with work... Lawd I been busy as hell ! But school is ending soon, so I might get a little bit more time to update as much as possible. This chapter was short, but I enjoyed it so much. I had a lot of fun writing it. I hope this update was as wonderful to you guys as well. Hope you enjoyed and more is coming ASAP ! Promise !
~Kaila