Daryl's Lullaby ~ Daryl Dixon x Reader ~ On Temporary Hold

Ch.17 ~ Skyllas Fault

Y/n's POV

"You left my child with a dog?" Carol yelled hysterically at Rick.

"I told her to keep the sun on her left shoulder and stay by Skylla in case of anything." Rick tried to reason.

Carol threw her hands up in the air and started pacing and sobbing. "Who leaves a defenceless girl on her own with a mutt?" Carol said, making me scowl as I looked at her.

"There were walkers after us. I had to draw them away. Out of anybody here Skylla is familiar with Y/n's scent. I knew she'd be able to lead Sophia here if they were taken off track." Rick explains holding a hand out to Carol to try to calm her.

"It was the right move to make." I chimed. Carol turned to me with anger in her eyes as she marched over. I stepped defensively in front of Skylla and stood up straight and stoic as Carol got up in my face.

"The right move? Your dog lost my child." She yelled in my face. I stared back at her blankly, not flinching as she yelled.

"My dog protected your child." I say crouching down. "Look." I pull up Skyllas top lip to show the bloodied gums and teeth. "Skylla took something down recently. Now she hasn't killed a walker since before the CDC, this blood is fresh."

"Alright then let's get back to where Rick left them and see if Skylla can sniff her out." Daryl said, hopping over the metal rail and heading down the bank.

Standing up I jump over to follow Daryl, Glenn, Rick and Shane but before I leave I turn back to Carol.

"Skylla came back here. My guess, it's because she needs my help to track Sophia. She is not a tracking dog, just a combat dog. I'm the tracker that said she still got a good scent of smell. Do you have anything of Sophia's that we could use?" I ask Carol.

She walks away to Rick's car and comes back with one of Sophia's shirts. She throws it to me and I catch it silently thanking her before turning to the others and nodding.

We followed Rick through the forest all the way down to a creek. Shane and Glenn stand guard as Daryl, Rick, Skylla and I jump down and look into a small overgrown dam.

"You sure this is the spot?" Daryl asked, looking over to Rick.

"I left her and Skylla right here. I drew the walkers off in that direction, up the creek. She was gone by the time I got back here, I figured her and Skylla just took off and ran back to the group. I told her to go that way and keep the sun on her left shoulder and that Skylla would lead her back to Y/n." Rick explained.

Daryl and I walked over to where Rick had directed Sophia to go, seeing Glenn stood there.

"Hey, why don't you step up to one side. You're mucking up the trail." Daryl said to Glenn who looked down then moved.

While Rick and Shane argued over weather or not Sophia had actually processed what Rick had told her to do, Daryl and I observed the earth on the path Rick told her to take.

Carefully moving some leaves back off the path there in the dirt was a wet fresh trail. A slip/skid mark from a shoe and a handprint marked the ground with two paw marks on top.

"Got ourselves a trail." I muttered looking at Daryl who was peering over my shoulder.

"We've got clear prints right here. She did like you said, headed for the highway, her and the dog." Daryl said, turning back to Rick as I stepped up on to the bank, careful not to stand in the tracks.

"Let's spread out." I said as I held my hand out for Daryl who took it. Once I pulled him up I helped Rick then waited for Skylla to jump up.

I made my way back to the front of the group with Skylla who seemed to be leading the way as we followed her previous paw prints and Sophia footsteps.