A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S9Pt10 - The Cabin

~~~~~ 1 year later ~~~~~

It's been almost a year since I went outside of the walls, and today I was going to head out there again. Alexandria was running low on ammo so I told Michonne I'd make a trip out there. She agreed, allowing the kids to stay with her and RJ, and I wasted no time in preparing to go. Of course I wanted to help out the group, but also I was going out there to look for someone... again.
I was in my room and finished packing my backpack and then took a minute to sit on the bed. I took a deep breath and then heard a faint knock on my door.
"Come in." I said.
I saw Georgia, Lee, and Judith all walk in and I smiled at them. When I looked at them, I realized again how big they've gotten, and I felt my heartstrings getting tugged on. Judith was slowly growing taller, but she was now seven years old, and both Lee and Georgia were five. They were growing so quickly and I felt as if time flew by me. I then saw Judith was carrying a bag, and she handed it to me as they lined up in front of me.
"What's this?" I asked as I opened the bag.
"We made you cookies." Judith said.
"It's your birthday!" Georgia said and jumped on the bed next to me.
"What?" I laughed. "My birthday?"
"You always celebrate ours, so we want to celebrate you." Judith said and hugged me.
I sighed and tightly hugged her back, and then I saw Lee staring at my go bag.
"Where are you going Mommy?" Lee asked.
I waved him over and patted the bed next to me, and he jumped up on the bed. I felt Lee get up on the bed and stand up behind me, lean against my back, and he wrapped his arms around my shoulders. Judith then sat down next to me, and I wrapped my arms around the girls at my side.
"Mommy." He said again and felt my hair. "Where are you going?"
"Are you leaving again?" Judith then asked me.
I just slowly nodded my head and I saw Georgia bow hers. I then put on my best smile and kissed her head, making her look up at me.
"But it's only gonna be for a few days, no more than a week." I said to them, but I saw them all start pouting.
"But why?" Lee asked.
"I need to go looking for some things." I just said.
"For Daddy?" Lee then asked.
I just sighed and looked at the wall ahead of me, then slightly nodded. It was quiet, and I felt Lee deeply sigh behind me.
"Michonne says we need some ammo and other stuff... but yeah. Yeah, baby, for Daddy too." I said.
I just sighed and thought to myself about Daryl. Ever since Rick died, he abandoned us. He abandoned everyone. Daryl didn't want to accept that Rick was dead, because we never found a body. After all this time, he still hasn't come back yet.
That's when I looked over at Judith, and felt sorry for her because Rick wasn't here, and then Daryl left her. I then pet her hair and she looked up at me, and I caressed her cheek.
"Did Daddy find Uncle Rick yet?" Lee then asked.
I just sighed and shook my head. "I don't think so buddy."
"He's dead, isn't he?" Judith then quietly asked. "He's really dead."
I just took a deep breath and pulled her into my chest and hugged her tight. I rocked her back and forth and she wrapped her arms around me.
"Listen to me baby. This is the last time okay." I said, and Judith looked up at me.
I then let go of her and stood up, and all the kids looked at me from the bed. I felt heartbroken when I saw there faces, and knew that they were still hurt after everything that's happened.
"After this, mommy's not going anywhere." I said, and I saw Judith nodding at me. "I'm gonna be staying right here with you guys, and it'll be just fine."
They all simultaneously nodded and I kissed Lee's cheek, and then kissed the rest of their foreheads.
"I love each and every one of you, okay... I'll be back soon." I said and nodded at them, and then though to myself. "They're all I have left now."

~~~~~~~~~~

I left Alexandria with a car and drove as far as I could, running out of gas about 100 miles out from home. From there I started hiking into the woods where I haven't searched yet, paying attention to my map where I marked areas I've already cleared. It's taken me two days to get here, and I've noticed a storm has been following me. I zipped up my two layers of jackets and rubbed my hand against my jeans, already feeling the cold rushing in. I had several hours until the sun went down, so I thought to scavenge for some gas so I would be able to drive home, or at least most of the way.
I saw on the map that there was a small town on the other side of the woods, and I was just hoping that it had a gas station, or at least some cars.
It was real quiet in the woods, and I was consistently watching my back, noticing that a few stray walkers would see me and try to follow, but I was too quick.
After taking a small break after an hour, another hour after that I saw the town come into view. I used some energy to jog to the tree line, pulled out my binoculars, and surveyed the area.
I didn't see anything, or anyone, and it was oddly quiet. I took a deep breath as I tightened the blade on my prosthetic and looked back up. A minute went by with no movement and I took my chance to move. I carefully walked into town, looking into the buildings that looked looted and empty of supplies. I passed by a few cars, and then saw a gas station a few blocks down. I jogged over there, my footsteps echoing throughout the streets.
In the middle of the lot, there was a dead body of a scavenger with a gas can next to him. I felt like this was a trick, so I instantly stopped running towards it and hid behind the wall of the building.
I waited for 5 minutes, then 10, then 20. I even threw a rock at the body, seeing if that would trigger anything or bring attention to it. Still, nothing.
"Fuck it." I thought.
I stood up and made a break for it, sprinting into the parking lot towards the gas can. I quickly swiped it up, feeling it was full of gas, and sprinted right back into the woods.
I took a second to look back, and saw that I wasn't being followed by anyone, and it turns out I just got lucky.
"Shit." I said in surprise and looked at the gas can, heavy from being full.
I readjusted my backpack and put down the can, shaking my arm, then picking it back up. I decided to head back in the direction of my car, hoping to spend the night in there to wait out the storm. I wasn't even halfway back when I felt a few cold raindrops. I looked up at the sky and saw the dark clouds over me, and then heard thunder crack. It was loud and caught me off guard, and I instinctively ducked. I quickly shook it off and started jogging back where I came from, but the rain was coming down faster.
Over the noise of the thunder and cracks of lighting, I started to hear the moans of the dead.
"Shit." I cursed out loud.
It was getting darker, and I saw walkers start popping out from behind trees. The rain was distorting my vision and I slipping in the mud while running. I sloppily got back on my feet, just in time before a walker fell behind me. I kept running, dodging several walkers, and only reaching out my blade to kill one that got too close.
In the distance, I saw a small cabin that looked abandoned. I didn't believe it at first but it was real. At this point I didn't have any other chance.
I ran full sprint to the cabin, passing by a group of walkers and now I had a cluster of the dead following me. I ran up the few porch steps and stopped in front of the door. I dropped the gas can and frantically turned the knob, but my cold and wet fingers slipped and the door didn't open. I quickly grasped the doorknob with my whole hand, turned it harder and leaned my body into it, then the door finally opened. I ran inside, turned around to pull the gas can in, and then slammed the door behind me. I saw it had no locks on it, but there was a dresser so I pushed it up front of the door. I then just stood there and stared at the door as I leaned over the dresser, panting as I tried to catch my breath.
I then heard a creak coming from behind me, but didn't move in a panic. I then slowly raised my head, and in a quick second I turned around and held up my blade up in the air. Then I gasped in shock, not expecting to see him.
It was Daryl.