Out of the Woods (the Walking Dead) PART 3

Chapter 2

Out of the Woods (The Walking Dead)

Strangers:

Daryl was up and about at the crack of dawn. Suzy was sure he hadn't slept the entire night. When she tried getting some sleep of her own in between Rosita and Tara, she heard him talking to Rick about how he had a bad feeling while he was on watch. He had an unshakable feeling someone was watching them. Maybe it was paranoia or something else. It didn't stop him from trying to go out and track whatever it was as soon as the sun lit up the woods.

Suzy watched him from afar as he focused on the ground to find any hint of tracks. She thought about how she should approach him. She had to confront him eventually. She rehearsed countless ways to do so. None of them felt good enough. Immediately apologize for leaving? Ask him what his problem is and why is he holding it against her so much? It was crazy to think about how she never thought she would feel like a nervous little girl ever again. Now here she was, exactly that. It was surreal. Unknown to her, Daryl knew full well she was there. She wasn't the quietest at the moment and he already figured she would try following him. His senses were on high alert since he already thought they were being watched. It wasn't hard to figure out she was watching him too.

Of course he thought about saying something to her. He felt so many things seeing her again after all this time. He was never one for many words. He had no idea how to express everything he felt. He was hurt. Angry. He never thought he would see her again after he stopped searching. He only just began to accept that fact and now here she was and he had no idea what to do. He wanted to ask why she left, but more than that, he wanted to know why she never said goodbye.

Neither of them knew who was going to say something first. Suzy prepared herself to come out from the trees. She felt the anxiety banging against her chest like a drum. Daryl stopped tracking so he could turn around and let her know he knew she was there. Just when one of them was about to call out to the other, someone else came from the opposite side of the trees and got Daryl's attention. Of course, it would be Carol.

"Find anything yet? You should get back," She said. The sound of her voice made Suzy hide. Daryl's attention was on Carol now as they walked off together. She lost her chance.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid-" Suzy kept muttering to herself over and over again. She picked at the skin around her fingernails, frustrated she let her chance slip away like that. Why did she hesitate so much? What was there to be so afraid of? It was only Daryl. It was never hard to talk to him before. It's because he hates me now, Suzy thought to herself. Why would she feel confident speaking to someone who hates her? Okay, maybe not hate. He resented her. Then again, was there really much of a difference between the two?

"Hey," Rosita's calm voice sounded in her ear. She was so out of it, she didn't notice Rosita come up beside her.

"Everything okay?" Rosita asked. Suzy looked back at where she had seen Daryl and then back to Rosita.

"Yeah," Suzy nodded. She knew it sounded so unconvincing. Rosita saw right through it.

"We should get back to the others. Let's go," Rosita pulled Suzy along and they began making their way back to the group so they could continue moving.

"You know," Rosita said, adjusting her hat, "When you told me you used to be with another group around here, I didn't think we would actually find them. Maggie, sure. But the rest? That's pretty amazing."

"I guess," Suzy replied, not sounding all too thrilled.

"You should help convince them. You know, to come with."

"I thought Abraham was waiting for his special moment to ask."

"He is," Rosita replied, "And when he does, you should help. You know these people better than we do."