The Journey Ahead | Daryl Dixon

The Journey Ahead (24)

Ever since Daryl and I got back to the group, we all remained lost in our thoughts. We either went off in search of food or water or just sat around and mourned. Everyone was still shaken up over Tyreese and Beth, don't get me wrong, I was distraught over my sister's passing just as much as Maggie and the rest, but I knew that she passed on. I knew that she was in a better place and so was Tyreese.

Everything was quiet, no one really said anything until Abraham discovered a flask in his bag.

"That's only gonna make it worse." Tara said.

"He knows." Rosita said under her breath.

"It won't help."

"He knows that."

"Now I do believe Abraham is a smart man, capable of making his own decisions, but now is as good a time as any to drink the problems away." Eugene mentioned as he put his two sense in.

I sat next to Sasha and Maggie and stared off into the woods. Trying to think of a place to go. Daryl sat behind me and sharpened his arrows. Back to back, we were just as quiet as the rest of the group. Rick sat off to the side with Carl holding baby Judith. She was the only reason to keep moving. I'd it wasn't for her and Carl, I think Rick would have lost himself a while ago.

Rustling was heard in the brush across be street from where we were sitting. I turned around only to stare into the eyes of a German Shepherd. It was joined by four other wild and rabid dogs. I automatically went to grab my knife from its sheath, but Daryl crouched in front of me and put his hand behind me, as if to steady me and make sure I was there. I took small, rapid breaths and watched how he handled the situation.

I wasn't as worried about the dogs knowing that Rick, Daryl, Glenn and Abraham were there. The constant barking and growling caused my fear to take over. I covered my ears and shut my eyes, hoping that whatever would happen, would happen. All of a sudden I heard small cries and watched as the dogs were taken out one by one. I looked up to see Sasha with her gun pointed at the dogs.

Rick stood up and grabbed a large branch. He snapped it into a bunch of separate sticks and passed them around to the rest of the group. He threw the excess into a small pile. Within a couple of minutes, we had a fire going and food to keep us settled.

'Tastes like chicken, tastes like chicken.' I told myself repeatedly, over and over as I tried to motivate myself into going through with eating a dog. I know you do whatever you can to survive, but I never thought it would come to this.

I looked to my side and saw Daryl practically inhaling the meat off of hie makeshift skewer Rick passed to everyone. I smiled at the scene because he wouldn't even take a minute to breathe. He finally looked up and caught my gaze. He saw me smirking and turned away, trying to redeem himself. I scooted next to him and rested my head on his shoulders. He tucked my head under his chin and continued to eat. I took a deep breath and tried it as well. Surprisingly, it wasn't.. Terrible.

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Once our group was somewhat full, full enough to carry on. We packed up as much as we could carry and started down the road. We didn't make it very far only until the skies opened up and rain hailed down from the clouds above. Everyone relished the moment and enjoyed the sweet feeling. I joined Tara on the ground and sat there. We looked to each other and cracked a smile. Laughing out of joy. Eventually Daryl lied down next to me and also savored the moment. His eyes were shut, leaving him to take in everything. I entwined my hand in his and loved every second of this moment. It was pure bliss.

Although the cooling sensation of water was one to love, it started to get harder and heavier. I stood up along with Tara and Daryl and tried to shelter ourselves from the heavy downpour.