𝐆𝐎𝐃'𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐘 - 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐗𝐎𝐍

twenty-one - "sign of weakness"

𝐆𝐎𝐃'𝐒 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐘 — 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐘𝐋 𝐃𝐈𝐗𝐎𝐍
❝ sign of weakness ❞

Growing up, Madeline Walsh hated camping.

The further and further the Walsh siblings' parents grew apart, the more often her father went on weekend long fishing trips. He would take her brothers more often then not, while Madeline stayed home with her brooding and ticking-time-bomb mother. Those were the weeks she cleaned her room or got sunburnt from being outside too much. Those were the days she walked on eggshells in the kitchen and called her dad under her covers asking when he would be back.

But when their mother left, and even more so when she died, Madeline was dragged off into the thick Ohioan —and later, Georgian — forest to remote lakes for now week-long fishing trips. She hated those weeks. She hated the crick she got in her neck and the way she sweated through her clothes. She hated descaling fish and listening to her brothers ramble about stupid boy things.

But now, months into the apocalypse, Madeline enjoyed camping. It's not like she had much of a choice, but she liked the feeling of grass on her bare feet and how the wind sounded when it hit the vinyl tent. She liked cooking over a fire and hanging clothes on a line. She liked how close she was to her friends and her brothers, and that if she strained her ears enough she could hear their snores.

She liked the simplicity of it, and cursed herself for not enjoying it when she was smaller.

When she and Daryl got back from their walk, she had crept into her tent as to not wake up Emily. She had fell asleep easily, sleeping till about a quarter past nine when the sound of soft chatter woke up. She changed out of her dirty clothes and into a pair of clean ones, brushing through her knotted hair before slipping out of her tent and into the soft breeze of the morning. A large group had already gathered around the fire, laughing and chatting amongst themselves. She took a seat beside Daryl in one of the only open lawn chairs, throwing him a smiley good morning while accepting a plate of eggs.

She was quickly enveloped in a conversation with Emily and Issac, the latter of which having his arm around the former. She looked over at the Grimes family, who chatted quietly amongst themselves. Lori and Rick were sitting further apart than usual, but he still held her hand tight. Carl was laughing at something Dale had said, a large, unassuming smile on his face.

She was just pushing the rest of her eggs onto Issac's plate when Glenn stood up, clearing his throat. She knew what he was going to say, her shoulders growing tense.

"The barn is full of Walkers."

The chatter stopped, the only sound coming from the crackling fire. Madeline looked around, taking in the shock and confusion on everyone's face. Dale locked eyes with her, softly shaking his head. She cocked her head to the side, confused as to what he meant. Daryl dropped his fork to his plate, and just like that the group was off, racing down the gravel path towards the barn. Madeline followed quickly behind them, coming to a stop beside Daryl. Shane was at the door, peering through one of the larger cracks. She could hear them, shuffling around and groaning. Shane cursed when one of them banged on the door before returning to the group.