Didn't See That Coming | The Walking Dead(1)

Part 61 (You'll Burn For This)

The fire continued to burn behind them as the group walked down the road, putting as much distance between them and Terminus as they could before night fell. The relief of finding each other after everything was enough to make them all feel more positive about their current situation of having nowhere to live or even stay.

As the hours past them by, the sky grew darker. Despite being a few miles from Terminus by now, the smell of burning was till faint in the air.

As CJ walked along with the others, near the back of the group, she felt a sudden sharp pain in her head and squinted her eyes shut, bringing her hand to her temple to try and sooth it. The pain was something that had happened a couple of times since the grove, as if the events with the girls had triggered something in her.

Another wave of pain struck her, and she let out a quiet sigh as she tried to push through it. Daryl was walking a little ahead of her and turned when he heard the noise, seeing her walking with her eyes shut and rubbing her forehead with her hand.

"Hey, you good?" he asked quietly as he slowed to walk beside her.

"Hmm?" she looked up at him as the pain subsided.

"Are you okay?" he asked again. "Looks like your head hurts."

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, I'm good," she replied, rather unconvincingly. "Just uh... just tired, that's all. Been a long couple of weeks, y'know?"

"You sure?"

"Daryl, I'm fine," she smiled softly, putting a hand on his arm. "I promise."

He gave her a small nod and they continued to walk by her side in silence. He wasn't stupid, she was clearly underplaying whatever was wrong with her. But he knew her. He knew that the more he questioned her, the more she'd deny it. So, for now, he let it go.

"Let's make camp here," Rick instructed, turning back to face everyone. "We'll keep moving in the morning."

The group got to work setting up camp for the night. They built a small campfire, making sure the flames hung low so it couldn't be seen from afar. A few people were up, talking quietly amongst themselves whist some others managed to sleep. Daryl and Carol had gone off to keep watch a little away from the camp. It was quiet around them. The only sounds coming from a few bugs and the crackling fire.

CJ sat a small distance away from everyone. Leaning back against a tree trunk, she brought her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around herself and resting her chin on her knee. She stared at the ground before her, barely blinking. Everything around her, sounds, people, even smells were at the back of her mind. In this moment, she felt completely numb. Like she wasn't present in her own body as exhaustion overcame her.

She unlocked the door and crept inside quietly, doing her best to lower her heart rate and steady her heavy breathing before moving through the house.

"Josh?" she called out gently.

She knew he was home. The only light in his apartment was coming from the warm white lamp in the kitchen. CJ put her bag and her keys down on the side table by the front door, taking a deep, shaky breath before moving down the hallway to find her partner.

When she entered, he was sat at the small kitchen table with his back to her, leaning back on his chair as he stared at the two untouched dinners in front of him. A bottle of wine stood on the table, more than half the contents gone.

"Hey..." she began quietly. He didn't react. "I got all your texts. I tried to call you from the car, went straight to voicemail. Did your phone die?" No answer. She looked down at the floor nervously, her voice began to waver. "You never told me you were making dinner. If you give me five minutes to change, I can reheat it."