We had been hiking in silence for some time now. I didn't care. The woods sang to me its gentle song every time the wind blew or a squirrel would dart across the trees. As I listened, I focused on the task at hand. Tracking. So far Gabriel had been pretty easy to follow. Every now and then I would have to stop loosing sight of his trail only to quickly pick it back up. All the while, Michonne would just keep a watchful eye out, stopping when I did, following when I began moving again, never saying a word, ready to attack at a moments notice.
As we continued on, I remained vigilant. Gabriel's prints were becoming harder to see due to the drier landscape. I made a mental note of the color of the leaves and grass. The vegetation that was a vibrant, lush green slowly faded to a dull brown as we ventured further. Eventually, I had to halt our search. I could barely see the indentation of his footprint on the hard soil. Squatting down, I studied the terrain before me. 'All the signs are there ya just got to know how to read 'em.' Daryl's voice echoed in my head. Standing up I walked a few steps ahead, there was no evidence of Gabriel. He must have turned. I turned back carefully looking to the left, then to the right and something caught my eye.
"He went this way." I stated confidently pointing to the right.
"How do you know?" Michonne inquired.
"The broken twigs and crushed leaves." I motion to the trail before us. I could tell what she was thinking, so I elaborated. "They go in a straight line. If it were a walker the leaves would be more disheveled, the broken twigs would be more sporadic, and the pattern would be zig zaggy." Not waiting for her, I continued on knowing she would follow. After a few more minutes, brown ground underneath us turned to a very muted green revealing a hidden footprint. "And there he is." I stopped with enthusiasm staring down at the print. A chuckle escaped my lips when I looked up to see an impressed Michonne.
Finally, the trees began to thin out and in the distance I could see a structure ahead. As we exited the forest, the structure turned out to be a school and in the school yard stood Gabriel. We didn't say anything and he never moved as we approached.
"Gabriel..." Michonne said softly.
He gave no response. He just continued to stare down at the ground. My eyes followed his to a makeshift grill. "Oh God, is that...?" I couldn't finish my question or tear my gaze away from the maggots eating away at the charred severed leg. My stomach flipped and I felt sick.
"Bob." Michonne says as she turns her attention to the grill.
Gabriel awoken from his trance turned to us. "I had to see... You said the things you do... that they are worth it. I had to see it for myself."
Michonne's shoulders tensed and she spat back, "Bob turning up with a missing leg wasn't evidence enough?"
He started to cry, "I just couldn't believe it. I had to see it for myself..."
Familiar groans eased the tension for a moment and I seized the opportunity. "We need to go. The others will be back soon."
Gabriel and I walked behind Michonne as she lead the way to the church. They both seemed to have settled down from earlier. He hadn't spoken since we left the school. Sometimes I would glance over at him to find there no expression on his face. It was like he was suddenly numb to his surroundings which worried me.
"I get why you did it." I say still looking ahead getting his attention. "Why you had to see for yourself. You were trying to see what kind of people we were." I look over at him. "I know my family scares you. But I promise we are good people... we may not look like it all the time but... we are." I pause for a moment and add, "If you'd been through and seen the things that we have, you might be scary too."
He processes everything I just told him. He scrunches his nose and says, "But you didn't see what they-"
I cut him off. I know what he is about to say and it doesn't matter. "I don't have to see. I know what they are capable of and I know they did the right thing. They protected themselves, you, and God only knows how many more from those monsters. In this world, people are more dangerous than walkers. My family knows that better than anybody."
"There are still good people left." He countered.
"There are." I agreed without hesitation. "But you can't blindly trust. We fight the dead and fear the living."
He was about to speak when Michonne warned, "We have company."
Out of the trees came five walkers. I pull my knife and spring into action along side her. With one swift motion of her katana, she beheads two walkers. I stab the closest one in the eye, then run at a second walker who was much bigger than me. I ram it up against a nearby tree, quickly piercing it's temple. I try to remove my knife from it's skull but it wouldn't budge. I gave a hard yank successfully dislodging the blade which sent a sharp pain in my shoulder. "Ahhh." Behind me, Gabriel struggled to dispose of the last walker. It had him pinned to the ground eagerly snapping at his neck. His shaky hands fumbled with the machete at his side. By some miracle, he finally was able to get a good grip on his weapon and finish the walker. He pushed the limp body off of him, stood and adjusted his clothes.
"You good?" She asked him. He nodded in response. She turned to me and I did the same. "Beth you're bleeding."
I looked down to evaluate my body, my shoulder wound was bleeding again. It wasn't a lot but enough to form a crimson stain on my shirt. "I must have ripped some stitches. I am okay."
Looking satisfied, she again embarks in the direction of the church. "Come on. We are almost there." Another ten minutes passed, through the trees I could see the familiar white country church. "It looks like the others are back from the run." Michonne says as we step into the clearing.
The church doors open abruptly revealing a very angry Daryl. "Oh no," I mumble aloud. I see Rick, Tyrese and Carol exit behind him. "YOU!" He growls at Gabriel as he rushes forward. This is going to be bad.
I knew I couldn't stop him from his rampage but I had to try. "Daryl, don't." I say reaching for him as he passed me. He simply brushes me off. He drew his hand back and punched Gabriel square in the jaw knocking him to the ground. Daryl stood over him and lowered his face to Gabriel's, "YOU TOOK OFF!" Daryl screamed with bewilderment as if he couldn't fathom why Gabriel would do such a thing.
"Daryl! Stand down!" Rick threatened. He was on Daryl's heels in an instant. "Stand down. I got it from here." Rick reiterated in a much softer tone as he squeezed Daryl's shoulder. Daryl was still fuming but backed away from the terrified man cowering below him. As Rick helped Gabriel up, Daryl grunted stomping off in the opposite direction.
"Daryl!" I called going after him. I felt an hand grab my forearm and saw Carol, "I wouldn't do that if I were you." I freed myself from her grasp and retorted, "I can handle it. This ain't my first time dealing with an angry Daryl Dixon." She watched as I jogged trying to catch him.
I found him in the woods pacing back and forth like a caged tiger. I could almost see the steam rolling off him. He didn't acknowledge my presence. Maybe because he was still so upset. It reminded me of the time at the moonshiner's cabin. I had been a little scared of him then, but now I knew this is how Daryl operated. Anger was his go-to emotion for everything, no matter what he was feeling. It was always anger first, then the true emotion second. I sighed, "Daryl... I know you're pissed."
He snapped his head at me still pacing, "Damn right I am! That asshole took off! After we saved his sorry ass! And to top it off, you and Michonne were stupid enough to go after him. What the hell were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that two is better than one. I was thinking I could track him. She was going to go after him alone. And she would still be out there looking for him if I hadn't gone along!" I exploded right back at him.
He stopped pacing surprised by my outburst, "What if something happened?"
"Nothing did-"
"What if it did?" He raised his voice making me flinch. He lowered his head and his tone changed to one of defeat, "I just..." He took a deep breath struggling with his words. What couldn't he say? "We... just got you back." And there it was, the true emotion hidden underneath all that rage. He was worried about me.
"Then Michonne would've had my back and I would've had hers." I replied calmly. "I can take care of myself."
"I know ya can" He looked almost helpless as he whispered those words. I could see all the anger draining from his body, exposing the sadness and concern he was experiencing. I hated seeing him like this.
"You said it yourself last night I'm a lot tougher than people give me credit for." It was my way of carefully reminding him of how capable I was. "I couldn't let her go after him alone. Not when I could've helped. I think you would've been proud of me. I tracked him down pretty quickly." This made him give me a small smile. "I even impressed Michonne." I chuckled attempting to lighten the mood. Our eyes met briefly, his smile faded, and he adverted his attention back down to the ground. When he didn't hold my gaze, I knew I must have gave him really upset him.
"Hey... look at me." I closed the gap between us and took one of his hands in mine. He peeled those gorgeous blue eyes from our hands to meet mine. "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to worry you. I just wanted to have everyone safely at the church as quickly as possible, so that when you guys returned from the run, we could leave immediately and we wouldn't have to wait on anyone... That's all."
He accepted my apology with a nod. His expression was still sad but more understanding now more than anything. I let go of his hand and put my arms around his waist, pressing my body against his. I buried my head into his chest as his stiffened form relaxed into the hug, putting his arms around me as well. I savored every second of the embrace. This... this is where I felt most safe in his presence. I don't know how long we stayed like that, simply holding each other, but it wasn't long enough. It never was.
Eventually I lifted my head and smiled up at him with my arms still firmly around his waist, not ready to let go. "You still upset with me?" I asked.
"Nah." He shook his head.
"Good." The sense of relief filled me. "I just got you back too, ya know?" Of course he knew, but I still felt like he needed to hear it. Maybe he needed to know I was scared too, so I added, "I'd hate to lose you again." I bit my lip and turned my head from him suddenly feeling very exposed, vulnerable. I just admitted to him my deepest fear. I needed him and that scared me. I knew he didn't need me... You can't rely on anyone for nothing.
Lost in this thought, I jumped when I felt his hand guide my chin for me to look at him. I stared into his eyes terrified of what he was going to say next. He surprised me by leaving his hand under my chin, "You ain't ever gonna lose me."
I was stunned. I didn't know what to say in response so I kept quiet. He watched my face for a reaction. His eyes danced over mine, then to my nose, then my lips where they lingered. I held my breathe and closed my eyes when he slowly moved his hand from my chin down to my neck barely gazing my skin. He had never touched me so intimately before. I felt his fingers hook slightly catching the hem of my shirt as he brushed his hand across the top of my bad shoulder. My eyes popped open. What the heck was he doing? Not that I wanted him to stop... I watched as he pulled the fabric aside to reveal my wound. He furrowed his eyebrows looking down at the fresh blood and ripped stitches. "'S nothing." I managed to say. My breathing was uneven and I prayed he didn't notice.
His eyes never left my wound when he whispered, "We should get back." He gently put my shirt back in place and let go of me. He stepped around me, walking in the direction of the church, leaving me standing there weak in the knees.