Chapter Three
Day 3
3rd POV
Come morning, D's up with the sun, she doesn't move from her bed but listens as the others start rising. Amy's the first up, Beth and Jimmy collecting her on their way to the daily chores. Carol prepares breakfast with Lori for comfort and D can hear the quiet tones of Dale and T-Dog, the kind old man checking on the slowly healing wound and Glenn's still sleeping.
Leaving her tent D bumps into Rick, who's started to find it difficult to stomach Shane's pessimism. "D," He places a hand on her shoulder to steady her, "how are you?" when she's stable his hand falls to his side.
"As well as I can be." She tries to smile, but grimaces instead. She notices his anxious expression. "What about you?"
He chuckles, but by no means is it happy. "Probably about the same." He rubs the back of his neck. "Shane and I are going back to the highway. Daryl's heading out for another search."
She perks up looking around for the Hunter, eager to go with him. "Has he left?"
"Not yet, I'll let him know not to go, you eat."
D frowns, "I'm not hungry."
He places a hand on her shoulder. "Eat, you're not going to do anyone favours if you collapse."
"Rick…" she huffs.
"What would Lauren say?"
D swallows thickly, "That's a low blow Sheriff."
There's a sad, almost hollow look in his eyes, "I know, but I'm sure she'd have both our hides if you don't."
D can't suppress the laugh as she shakes her head. He's right though. Lauren would glare, scowl, going off at them; her for not eating, and Rick for not making her eat. D recalls one time when the red head got angry it was kind of terrifying. She didn't want a repeat of that. Best to just get breakfast over and done with.
Rick pats her shoulder and smiles, though it doesn't reach his eyes, and goes after Daryl. D grabs a plate, thankful that the meals consist of fresh produce, rather than the nonperishable foods that they were living off of. She finishes quickly then packs a small bag of food. Who knows how long they'll be out there for? Wouldn't be amiss to be prepared. Daryl steals a horse, helps her on behind him, then they're off.
It goes well at first; he hunts for meat while D tracks, having had pointers from him. Not that he only has eyes for his game. She spots a familiar doll sitting in the creek, but a steep ravine impedes their trail. Unfortunately for them, they hadn't noticed the snake slithering by. The horse does and rears. The two of them tumble off the horse, and the mare gallops back to the farm.
D sits up and groans, rubbing her lower back. "Daryl!" She gasps when she sees him, not moving at the bottom.
Trying to get down safely, she slips, and lies dazed. Groaning again, her back aches, her shoulder throbs, but she's lucky to be alive. Daryl wasn't so fortunate. On the way down, he somehow stabs himself with an arrow. Blood pools around him. D cries out, staring, shocked at the state of him. She rolls him over and tears the bottom of her shirt. Taking a deep breath to gain courage, she pulls the arrow out. Flinching at his grunt, he doesn't wake, so she presses the torn cloth to the wound. Every so often he mumbles, or grunts, eyes moving under his lids. She can understand the odd word he says, though pauses when his brother's name is uttered.
Fear spikes as a walker crawls towards them. It has a broken spine, bent legs and misshapen hands. She grabs the broken arrow, shoving it into its skull when it's close enough. Turning back to Daryl she undoes her belt securing the torn cotton shirt. As she looks around, worried for more walkers, fear that Daryl won't wake up seeps into her thoughts.
"…nt her."
"Daryl?" D shakes his shoulder, "Please Daryl."
His eyes flutter open, though they're glassy, but rapid blinking brings them back into focus. He looks around. "What happened?" he grunts when he moves, a sharp pain shooting up his side.
"You fell."
He looks up from where they had been, then to his injury. "Fuck."
D frowns, not sure whether to help him back to the farm or keep looking for the two girls. In the end Daryl moves on, grabbing the doll by the creek, his pride not allowing for help. She pulls out her pack, their lunch a little squashed, but edible. They get back to their search, following the creek until they come across a little white abandoned house.
Inside are signs of people having taken refuge. Dead walkers, killed with guns and the kitchen is a mess. It isn't too noticeable, mostly the empty cans and water bottles, and the space in the pantry; which seemed to have held a small person. The back door is opened a little, enough to slip out. Quietly if needs be.
The two move out from the house.
"Sophia! Loz!" D calls out, anxiety spiking.
"Red!" Daryl's voice seems to carry. "Sophia!"
"Loz, please!"
"D?" A soft, familiar voice answers.
1st POV
I wake to voices, unfamiliar male voices.
"Shit, you left the door open?"
"Nah bro. Think one of 'em dead shits got in?"
"Dunno Man, let's check the place."
Terror spikes and I crawl quietly to the pantry. Soph's still asleep. I cover her mouth and shake her. She wakes with a start. With a finger to my lips, I remove my hand. She nods and shifts, ready to follow me out. We crawl to the back door and I unchain the lock, turning the little golden handle. It opens, with minimal sounds, which I'm thankful for, and we slip out.
Soph gets to her feet the moment we hit dirt, but I can't. There's no way I could use this broken foot. So I crawl, and Soph keeps watch. I'm kind of surprised we're not caught. These guys are either really unobservant, or…extremely unobservant.
When we get far enough away from the house we once again seek safety in a tree. Exhaustion sets in, and Soph is left to keep watch. She's proved to be a little warrior, taking on walkers. Okay, so they were both focused on me, but the point is, she's the one who killed them. She saved my life. That definitely puts her into the 'can hold her own' category.
…
At first I'm not sure what wakes me, but then Soph calls out, "D?" My eyes flutter, and I slowly wake. "Loz, I think I hear D."
I shift from my position and crane my neck; D and Daryl are walking below us. Daryl's clutching his side; a piece of D's shirt is secured with her belt. Her midriff is showing and they're both covered in dirt. They can't look as bad as we do, or smell worse.
"D?" My voice cracks as tears well.
"Loz!"
Soph practically jumps out of the tree, in her haste to get to D. My descent is much slower, more painful even with help from Daryl. Once down my arms are thrown around him, there's no thought to his hang-ups with touching, but he pats my back. I let go, pivoting on my good foot and D's there. We all but launch ourselves at each other, clinging desperately. We cry. I can't believe we've been found. From the corner of my eye Daryl hands Soph back her doll.
Our trek back to camp is slow and difficult, both Daryl and I are injured. D's on my left, Daryl on the right and I know he's in pain but there's nothing on this Earth that will get him to admit it. It's all right; I just need him to not pass out on us. Soph's clutching to D's shirt, from the looks of it, she thinks D and Daryl are going to disappear.
I don't blame her; I'm thinking the exact same thing.
We get to the out skirts of the farm and the makeshift camp is just visible, and the big white house takes the cake. If I weren't so caught up with not collapsing, I'd weep. There's a view of the barn and the fields; nothing ever looked so glorious. On top of the RV is a tall blonde figure. With my glasses so filthy I can't even make out who it is exactly. But deduction tells me Andrea.
There's yelling and the next thing I know Carol appears from around the RV. Sophia takes off at a sprint. Carol stands for a moment, like she can't believe what she's seeing, but then races to meet her daughter, scooping her up and placing kisses all over her face.
It's still hard going though, camps right there, but my ankle is in too much pain. I don't think I can make it. Glenn appears, throwing his arms around me. With my weight on my good foot I get my arms back from D and Daryl, wrapping Glenn up in a hug.
"Damn Loz, don't you ever do that again." His voice is muffled in my shirt; I can't imagine I smell the best.
"Sorry, Glenn."
"Damn right you should be."
"Glenn let her breathe." Rick commands, voice sounding a little thick.
The Asian does, albeit reluctantly, and steps aside. "Hi-ya Chief." I smile through my tears.
He places his hand on my shoulder a squeezes, "It's good to have you back."
"Oh you know, thought we'd go see the country side." I laugh, soaking him in.
His smiles' watery, and I watch as his blue eyes scan me from head to toe, his smile slowly dissipating. "Can you even walk?"
"Not really," I shrug, "but I've been managing."
"Come on." He slides a hand around my back and then the other under my knees.
It only hits, once he's off towards the farmhouse, that we have an audience. Embarrassing, but I let it go. The last few days have been hell, I should be granted this. Sinking into his arms, laying my head on his shoulder, my eyes get heavy. It feels like I haven't slept in ages. If I did get any its peppered with horrendous nightmares. Most of them are the same, friends and family getting devoured, or trying to get at me. Black glassy eyes, unnatural moaning, and rotted fingers trying to grab me.
As we ascend the porch stairs Hershel's there, eyeing me thoughtfully. "Why don't you have a shower first? Then I'll splint the foot." He guides us through the kitchen, and the dinning room then up the stairs and into the bathroom.
D slips passed Rick, "I'll help her from here." She has a bag of clean clothes for me.
"I'll be outside, let me know when you're done." He puts me down carefully; making sure that my ankle isn't jostled. He's hand lingers on my shoulder but then he's gone.
D and I clutch at each other again, but part, so I can shower. There's no point in looking at the mirror, the nasty stuff washing off gives me an idea of it. I can't believe Rick or D would get so close. There's days of grime, dirt, stink and blood. Let's not mention anything else. The pains still there, though it seems to be a little numb now. I try to finish quickly; but I don't want to knock my foot too much. Rick's not there, but Hershel's in the adjacent room. D helps me over. Rick's inside the door, the two seem to be checking on…
"Holy hell! Carl, what happened?" He looks a little pale, and his torso is bandaged heavily.
"I was shot." He states proudly.
"…What's happened since I've been gone?" My gaze flickers between Rick and D.
"I'll catch you up later." D smiles lightly, squeezing my waist.
"You should have called." Rick chastises helping me over to the bed.
Carl grins and moves over as Rick carefully lowers me to the mattress. Hershel heads to the bottom of the bed and I settle myself, getting comfortable. As he gets closer to touching it, the phantom pains creep up my leg.
He looks apologetically at me. "Without x-rays we won't be able to see the fracture pattern. All I can do is splint and ice it. You won't be able to walk for a few weeks."
"That's fine, I didn't think much could be done any way. I'm just happy we made it back alive."
Nobody comments, but Carl grabs my arm, D stares, like she can't believe I just said that, and Rick stands beside the bed his back to the giant window as he clutches my hand.
Hershel nods and begins to gingerly splint my ankle. "I'm not going to wrap it too tightly, I want to save some room in case it swells a bit more." There's not much that can be said to that, so I nod. Hershel glances at Rick, "You'll have to ice it for a while. Daryl's injury needs to be seen to."
"Sure, thanks Hershel." The elder Greene nods and leaves.
Rick's quiet as he shifts, moving to better reach my ankle. He has to let go of my hand, but the moment he's handed the ice pack both hands are on my foot. One hand to ice, the other is softly caressing my foot.
"I'll be back later, Loz. I'm going to check on Daryl." D comments, a small smile on her face and follows Hershel.
"I'll be here." I reply with a yawn. My eyes are heavy and it takes effort to open them again. I'm not going to sleep while I have Rick in the room. It has nothing to do with my fear of sleeping. Not at all.
"Is Soph back?" Carl asks, grabbing my attention.
"Of course, you think I'd come back without her?"
"No," He shakes his head. "But I thought I'd ask."
"Why don't you welcome her back?" Rick adds with a smile.
"Really? I can leave?"
"You've been itching to get out, just don't over do it."
"Thanks Dad! You're the best." Carl gives me a quick hug, careful of my leg and takes off.
It's quiet for a few moments. The bed feels good; I forgot how comfortable actual beds are. It's like I haven't been on one for years. Rick ices my foot. That feels good too, to have someone look after me. I yawn again, safe in letting my guard down, I know Rick will protect me.
"I should let you get some sleep."
"NO!" My shout catches even me off guard. I flush and clear my throat, "That's okay Chief, I don't think there's much hope of it."
He frowns and sits by my side, keeping a hand on the iced ankle. "What happened? Why didn't you head to the highway?" Rick reaches out and touches my hand.
I fight a blush and slowly intertwine our hands. "It's not like we deliberately disobeyed you." I sigh and lean back. "A walker surprised us, I didn't have anything with me to use as a weapon. So I got Soph to run out the back…"
My recount of the events is as detailed as I can remember it. I definitely don't forget to tell Soph's tale. She should tell it, but I'm just so proud of her and I think it shows in my tone. When I finish, it's difficult to keep my eyes open. My body is screaming for sleep, but I just can't. I don't want to see the nightmares.
"I just wanted to thank you for saving my baby girl. I don't' know what I would have done if I lost her." Carol voices seemingly out of nowhere, catching me off guard.
I open my eyes and smile tiredly, "No worries, I wasn't going to let her go off on her own. I'd do it again if I had to."
And I would. There's no doubt about that.
"I'll let you get some sleep." She smiles gratefully and disappears.
Another yawn and I know I won't be able to keep this up much longer. I got by the last few days because of the constant supply of adrenaline and worrying about our lives. Now though, the adrenaline is all gone and I'm as safe as I can be.
"Sleep Lauren, you look exhausted."
"If I do, I'll just wake." I murmur. "So tired of the nightmares."
"I'm right here." He squeezes my hand. "I'll keep you safe."
My eyes flicker open, though I don't know when they closed, and I gaze at him. His beard has grown somewhat, a little thicker than the five o clock shadow he was last supporting. The bags under his eyes belie his stress and tiredness. He's still a gorgeous man, his authority is there still; but he's just a tired gorgeous sheriff. I smile his way, grateful form him being here and determined to help him sope, but after a nap, A nice long sleep.
The sound of a stampede coming up the stairs wakes me. As I shift careful of my ankle, which n longer holds the ice pack, I realize that I've just had the best sleep in weeks. Rick might not be here to wake to, but knowing he guarded my sleep swells my heart. I fight down the smile as Glenn, D, Carl and Sophia practically burst though the door, plates of food in their hands. D has an extra that she places on my lap as she sits next to me. Glenn takes my other side and the two kids are near the bottom careful of my ankle.
"Glad you finally woke." Carl states.
"She didn't really sleep while we were lost." Sophia defends.
"Doesn't matter," Glenn declares. "She's here and awake now."
As we eat Carl, Glenn and D take turns gossiping about what we've missed. The way they tell it weeks have passed. Really it was only a couple of days, 3 or 4. I lost count after the second day. It's all laughter and giggles, Carl seems to be trying to keep Sophia going, which is kind of adorable to watch. D, Glenn and I share a grin. Looks like Carl's already trying to 'woo' his future girlfriend.
Glenn's the first to leave, with my empty plate, he didn't' seem to have had much, so maybe he's going to use the second helping as an excuse to eat with Maggie. I haven't met her yet, but D tells me that Amy's gotten to them. So, yeah. The kids are next to go. Then it's just D and I.
"Where's Daryl?"
"He's in his tent. I took out his dinner, but he seemed to want to be alone."
"Everything okay?"
"Yeah, I guess, I mean I thought we had progress. But, now it's like back to square one." She sighs and leans her head on my shoulder. "Don't' get me wrong, I knew what I was in for the moment I spotted him….well heard of him. But, I just…"
"Awe, my poor baby." I cuddle her close. "Maybe you should just make him bear your presence."
We talk a bit more, about nothing and everything but exhaustion sets in again. I try to fight it, not sure if I can handle the nightmares. D leaves anyway. I did offer her half the bed, hoping that she'd take me up on it. Apparently she's worried she'll kick my foot.
As I'm battling my exhaustion Rick turns up. "How are you feeling?"
"Fine." I yawn, tipping my head back and rubbing at my face and eyes.
He sits beside me, obviously not believing me. "Really?"
I shrug, "Sure, I'm alive aren't I?"
"Do you want to talk about it?"
I sigh, shifting so I'm laying my head on his shoulder. He grabs my hand, and caresses the back of it with his thumb. "It's just the nightmares."
"Talk to me."
"It's always the same, I can't save Soph, or Carl, or D. I lead a horde to everyone. My friends and family are devoured." I shrug again.
"You're the reason Sophia's safe, and you won't be doing anything that'll call attention to a horde of them." He shifts so his arms around me.
My head is now on his chest. "Yeah? What if I decide to go for a walk?"
"I'll handcuff you to the bed."
"Kinky."
There's a silence, in which I realise what I actually said. But before I can retract it, he laughs, deep and genuine. "I can do more than that."
I giggle; bury my head into his chest, "Rick!"
He chuckles and eases me back on to the pillow. "Get some sleep,"
"Rick…" I frown, an empty nauseous sensation creeping up.
"I'll be here, I wont' go until your asleep."
I stare at him, but nod, and slowly close my eyes. His hand still clutching mine, and his presence is soothing.