Daryl's Precious Gem (Daryl Dixon FanFiction)

10: The Run

I hadn't slept much after I had yelled at Daryl. We both stayed to ourselves for the rest of our shift before we were relieved by Rick and Maggie. Maggie smiled sadly at me and patted my shoulder.

Had she heard that? Had they all heard that? I wondered.

At that point I didn't care as I laid down on the bench immediately after removing my gear. I debated on removing the poncho but decided I'd keep it on for the night and give it back to him in the morning to avoid a conversation. Daryl positioned himself on the bench across from me and grunted as he made himself comfortable. I laid with my back to him so that I couldn't stare at him throughout the night. That didn't seem to matter as I felt his eyes burn through the back of my head. I fought the urge to turn around and kept thinking of my father as a distraction. Memories popped into my head of my father teaching me how to set snares and hunt. I hadn't felt myself fall to sleep which caused my mind to play tricks on me.

I arched an arrow back on my long bow and aimed at the target in the distance. My arms trembled as it took all the strength in my eight year old body to pull back the string to arms length. I had the target in site and let the arrow fly. I had finally hit the target! Even though it was in the white outer line I was happy. I jumped up with glee, "Did you see that? Did you see that pops?" I grinned from ear to ear spinning around to my dad. Dad stood still with his back to me. "Pops?" I asked warily. I tugged on his sleeve. Suddenly he spun and growled at me. I screamed and fell onto my butt as I stared at him. His eyes no longer held life in them as they were a foggy white colour. His skin was rotten and half of his jaw was missing. "Daddy?" I whimpered. His body crouched closer to mine and stayed still as if he were studying me. I reached out to him, hoping to touch his face and that he would somehow return back to normal. His white eyes stared at my hand and then back to me. I let my guard down and that's when he attacked me. I screamed as he ripped my body apart with his claws.

I woke up panicked and sweaty. I sat up on the bench and held my chest as I searched the church. Thankfully everyone was asleep—at least I thought. It had been a while since my mind decided to traumatize me. The sun had just started peaking through the trees and signalled the start of a new day. I let out a shaky breath as I leaned forward on the bench and held my head in my hands. My eyes swelled and dared to spill tears. I needed to blow off some steam and needed to do it away from the group. I inhaled Daryls scent on his poncho which helped calm me down slightly until the replay of what happened last night flashed into my mind. Without a second thought I slipped the poncho off and folded it. I gathered my gear and placed the poncho on the floor next to Daryls resting body. I slipped through the front door and was met by Michonne. Great, I whined to myself.

"Where are you going?" She squinted her eyes at me.

"I'm going hunting." I partially lied. Michonne continued to squint her eyes at me, questioning if she could trust me or not. "Look I'm not used to staying put for so long. I need to go for a walk and do something other than resting and keeping guard. Please!"

Michonne dropped her stare and let out a sigh, "Fine. Don't be gone for too long or else Rick and the others will start asking questions."

I nodded my head and thanked Michonne as I jogged past her and into the bush. I jogged for ten minutes until my legs burned. The feeling felt so refreshing as my body buzzed with adrenaline. I leaned my head back as the brisk air filled my lungs. A rush of energy burst into me causing me to smile as I scanned the forest. Birds chirped around me as the sun rose higher into the sky. I arched an arrow as I listened and waited for any signs of animals. Thats when I heard it, in the distance a loud distinctive thumping noise sounded—a grouse. I watched my steps as I carefully made my way closer to the sound. Nestled in a tree sat the grouse. I slowly pulled back and aimed at the bird. A crunch and flutter of wings could be heard as the grouse fell lifeless to the ground. I chuckled lightly as I went to retrieve it.