Lost Too Much 【REDONE】 ║ Daryl/OC or Shane/OC

Chapter 94: I don't feel great.

We spent most of the day walking, though it wasn't like we had another option. A lot of our energy was spent on killing walkers and watching our backs. We hadn't had a run-in with a Reaper since the ones in the mall, and I couldn't decide if that was a good sign or a bad one.

Still, we kept moving. We were almost to the satellite house, Maggie kept assuring us. We, mostly Maggie, were holding onto hope that our remaining friends were on their way or possibly even there. There were five missing, not including Alden, who I was worried about with no end. Shane, Daryl, Gabriel, Frost, and Elijah were the only ones we hadn't confirmed the fates of.

Maggie kept reminding us we were almost there. It was almost like she was trying to give me hope single-handedly. With each passing hour, I was losing grip on the idea of everyone being okay. Daryl and Shane were tough as all hell, but we were outnumbered out here, and the Reapers had a lot more weaponry than us. I didn't want to think about it, but I was almost trying to force myself to accept that I might never see them again. It would make it easier in the long-run.

Things between Maggie and Negan weren't getting better, but it hadn't appeared to get worse, either. The only issue we had since leaving Alden behind occurred this morning, when Negan started his typical instigating and asked her why she hadn't killed him yet. She proceeded to throw a knife to kill a walker right behind him, though it would've killed him had he not ducked. She said she 'asks herself that question everyday'. To me, that just meant that there was part of her that didn't want him dead yet. I wasn't necessarily planning to beg her to let him live anymore, but it was at least a little nice to not constantly wonder if I'm gonna blink and find him dead.

As we walked down a street, Maggie pointed out the house we had been searching for. It was yellow on the outside and had a big satellite on the roof, explaining why they had called it the 'satellite house'. We were cautious heading inside, but after we each took our time checking the rooms, it seemed no one was there, nor had they been there recently.

That was a good sign, that the Reapers hadn't found the place, but just as worrying because it meant our friends were still missing.

Maggie went to a certain section of the floor and started prying at the boards. Negan and I stood back and waited as she did so until she eventually pulled out a crate full of supplies. She set it on the coffee table, looking inside.

"Doesn't look like anybody's been here, so..." Negan announced the same thing I was thinking, letting his thought trail off.

"So we wait," Maggie proposed. She glanced my way, seemingly for approval.

"Sounds about right," I decided. Negan raised his eyebrows.

"How long?" he questioned.

Maggie battled. "How long would you want someone to wait for you?"

I knew what she meant by that, and given who we were waiting for, I didn't want to be hasty about it. I also knew what Negan was about to say, and I knew he wouldn't be wrong to say it. We were sitting ducks here.

"I just think the longer we stay here, the more likely it is that these lunatics catch us," he suggested, gesturing to the crate. "Look, how about we take this food back, alright? I know it's not a lot, but at least it's something."

"It's nothing. We need to feed a whole community," Maggie argued. My muscles tensed in fear of a fight starting at a time like this. They had done nothing but disagree.

I butted in. "She's right, man. We can't go back with less than what we started with. It would've been a waste of a trip, and a waste of our friends' lives."

I thought that was going to be the end of it. I thought Negan would accept that and see what we were getting at, but it couldn't be that simple. He had to get the last word, in his typical stubborn fashion.