Chapter 15-Strangers

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl walked up to Deanna as they prepared for the run. "When we get to this town, we're going to split into groups of two. Abraham and Sasha, Michonne and Negan, Rosita and I. You and Gabriel. But I can change that. You can go with Rosita. I'll go with Gabriel."

"No, I'll go with him," Deanna says. "I can do this, Daryl. Gabriel and I were the same at one point. We didn't kill walkers. We were scared, cowards. You guys helped prove to me that it's okay to be scared as long as you are willing to fight for your people. I'm going to show Gabriel the same thing."

"Okay," Daryl says as he goes to his bag and grabs a flare gun. He holds it out to her. "We only have two. Negan and Michonne are taking the other. If things go bad, you shoot it up in the air."

Deanna nods as she takes the flare gun. "You ready to roll out, Dixon?" Abraham asks.

"Yeah," Daryl says as he walks up to his bike, where Rosita is already waiting. Daryl climbs on the bike, and Rosita climbs on behind him. Negan and Michonne climb into one of the trucks behind him, and Gabriel, Deanna, Abraham, and Sasha climb into the other truck and leave the prison.

Merle's P.O.V

Merle stared at his bike that was lying on its side. "Nice bike," Laura says as she walks up to him.

"It was mine," Merle says.

Laura nods as she lifts it up. "You know where the keys are?" Laura asks.

"Probably Daryl's cell," He answers. "You know how to ride?"

"Yeah, we mostly used bikes at the Sanctuary. If this thing still drives, we'll take it back."

"Well then, let's go look for those keys," Merle says as they head for the prison.

Jessie's P.O.V

Jessie walked into her house and walked up to Sam's door. "Sam, open the door," Jessie says. She waits a moment, and Sam opens the door. Jessie bends down and pulls out a knife. "Take it."

"Mom, I don't want to. I don't want to fight them."

"It isn't a choice, now, baby. No one will tie you up and let those things kill you, but if you don't fight. They will kill you. What Carol said to you, it was wrong, and it was horrible, but you need to fight, or you will die, and I don't want you to die, Sam. I want you to live and grow old, but for that to happen, you have to push past this fear, and you have to fight. Now take the knife, Sam."

Sam stares at her and slowly takes the knife. "Good job, baby. Tomorrow we will show you how to use it and shoot a gun. Do you understand?" Sam nods. Jessie kisses his head and walks away.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick, Glenn, Heath Gavin, Dwight, and Alden stood in Rick's house with a map. "The Saviors try not to go much further than the Kingdom," Gavin says as he marks the Kingdom. "They usually don't go out on runs. They don't need to."

"How many men are we looking at?" Glenn asks.

"Before, he tried to kill Negan. A couple hundred," Alden says. "Now, a hundred, two hundred."

"What about firepower?" Heath asks.

"They have enough ammo to kill everybody here ten times over," Dwight says.

"But we know where that ammo is. When this starts, we don't go straight for Simon. We go for his outposts. We take out his men and corner him."

"We'll still need the Kingdom," Rick says. "Once Daryl gets back, we'll send a group there to talk with Ezekiel."

"And Hilltop?" Dwight asks.

"We'll need to get one of them alone, get them to kill Gregory. He won't fight with us. We need someone else in charge."

"Paul Rovia. People call him Jesus," Gavin says. "He'll be a good leader."

"For now, we keep doing what we have, we make sure that they don't find us, and if they do, we hold them off," Rick says. "That's enough for today."

Deanna's P.O.V

Deanna climbs out of the truck and looks at Daryl as he climbs off his bike. "Alright, Abraham, Negan, Deanna, and I have the radios. Negan and Deanna have a flare gun as well. We'll split up; we'll meet back here in an hour and go through any building you think will have supplies we can use. Our priorities are guns, ammo, gas, food, water,"

Everybody nods as they split up. Deanna and Gabriel walk down the street in silence. Deanna stops when they get to a pawn shop. "Stop," Deanna says, making Gabriel look at her.

"It's a pawn shop," Gabriel says.

"Could have weapons," Deanna says. "Pull out that machete. If there is anything in here, you are killing it.

Gabriel slowly nods as he pulls the machete out. Deanna hits the door a few times, and they hear a walker hit the door. Deanna looks at Gabriel, who nods as he raises the machete. Deanna pulls the door open, and the walker comes out and moves towards Gabriel, who slams the machete down on its head. He pulls it out and stares at the dead walker. "Good job," Deanna says as they enter the building.

Abraham's P.O.V

Abraham and Sasha enter a gas station and look around. "We'll check under the counters, look for guns, maybe some hidden food," Abraham says. Sasha nods as they start to look through the store.

Abraham grabs a handgun from under the counter and looks at Sasha as she tries to open the office door. "Is somebody in here?" Sasha asks. "If there is someone in there, come out. We can help you."

"Okay," They hear a weak reply. Abraham looks at Sasha, who backs up and raises her gun as the door opens, and a woman steps out and looks at them. "I know you. You were at the hospital when Dawn killed Beth."

"You're Amanda Shepherd, right?" Sasha asks the woman, who nods. "What are you doing out here?"

"The Hospital is gone. It went down so fast. A group attacked, and they were gone, and I barely got out, and I kept running. I've been on the road for about a week now," Amanda says. "Is he with you? Rick?"

"No," Abraham answers.

"Daryl is. He's the one leading this group. The others are in a community in Virginia."

"Your brother? Noah?" Amanda asks.

"My brother is dead. He died a few days after we left here. Noah's alive. He's at the place we are camped out at," Sasha says as she looks at Abraham, who nods. "How many walkers have you killed?"

"A couple dozen," Amanda answers while looking at her confused.

"How many people have you killed?" Abraham asks.

"Three," Amanda asks.

"Why?" Sasha asks.

"Two because they tried to kill me and the last one because they asked me to," Amanda answers.

"Grab your things. You're coming with us," Sasha says. Amanda nods.

Rosita's P.O.V

Rosita and Daryl walk into a gunshop and look around. "You know this place has been picked over, right?" Rosita asks him.

"Glenn ever tell you his first role about scavenging?" Daryl asks her.

"No, but I imagine it is to survive," Rosita says.

"There is nothing left in this world that isn't hidden," Daryl says. "I had a friend who's Dad owned a gunshop in our town. He kept three guns hidden throughout the place so that no matter what, he was always ready."

"He ever use any of them?" Rosita asks as they look around.

"Yeah, some dumbass came in waving his gun around. He was dead before he got halfway through the store," Daryl says.

Rosita chuckles as she pulls out two handguns and a silencer that is hidden inside a piece of wood behind the counter. "I guess Glenn was right."

"He usually is. Kind of pisses me off sometimes," Daryl says with a smirk. "Come on, let's keep looking."

Daryl's P.O.V

The group met back at the cars. "How'd we do?" Daryl asks them.

"We got weapons, food, some ammo, water, and some fuel," Abraham says. "It was a pretty good first one," Abraham says. "Daryl," Abraham says. Daryl looks at Abraham as Amanda comes around the truck.

"It gone?" Daryl asks Amanda, who nods. "I ain't going to kill you if that is what you're worried about. You're coming with us. You're a good person. I saw that at the hospital. What happened to...Beth. It wasn't your fault. Come on."

They nod as they get into the cars and leave.

Merle's P.O.V

Merle turns the key in the bike, and it roars to life. "Would you look at that?" Merle says with a smile, "Son of a bitch still runs," Laura nods as they hear Daryl's motorcycle. They walk to the cars as they pull in, and T-dog and Tara shoot walkers that are coming towards them. "Nice haul, baby brother," Merle says.

"We got another run tomorrow," Daryl says. "You'll be leading this one with Tara, T-dog, Paula, Laura, Noah, Abraham, and Sasha."

"Those two okay going out again?" Merle asks.

"We'll be fine," Abraham says.

"Daryl wants to stay here with the others and get things sorted," Sasha says. "Let's get inside."

Rick's P.O.V

Rick sat on his porch that night. "He took the knife," Rick looks up and sees Jessie on his steps. "He'll learn, and we'll start tomorrow. I want you to help him."

"I will," Rick says as Jessie sits down beside him.

"Carol wasn't entirely wrong, he needs to learn to survive, or he is going to die just like she said he would. He would be torn apart by walkers. If she comes back, we'll work something out until the others come," Jessie says.

"She won't come back. You don't have to worry about that," Rick says. "If we're going to do this, we should get some sleep."

Jessie nods as Rick stands up. "Rick," Jessie says, making the man look at her. Jessie grabs her face and kisses him. "Goodnight," She says as she leaves.

Carol's P.O.V

Carol sat by a campfire that night, staring into the flames. She pulled her gun out when she heard a branch break behind her. She turned around and aimed it at the man standing there. "Hey."

Thanks for reading. Next chapter, we will see who the man is whom Carol is aiming her gun at. We will probably do a few more chapters with Daryl in Georgia before they head back to Virginia. As always, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.