Survival Guide: To Surviving the Living Dead 101

Rule #24

Just Go For It

Just go for it. If you find someone that makes you happy and you want to be with them then do it. Don't worry about the consequences. Don't think about all the bad shit that could happen. It's better to love then not love at all or whatever that stupid saying is. Who says you can't be happy in this fucked up world? Look at Maggie and Glenn. They fell for each other back on the farm and they went for it. Now they're married and happy. They have each other and that's all that matters. Sure it's scary no matter what kind of world we are living in but it's still worth it. Or even you find say a radio and you're in a relatively safe place then listen to some music. As long as you're smart about it then go for it.

I was sure my life was over right then and there when I lost grip on that walker. But when no pain came from its teeth sinking into my flesh I was confused. My eyes had been screwed tight waiting for it. When I opened my eyes and I saw an arrow sticking out of the back of its head, the breath that I had been holding came out in a rush. Fresh tears streamed down my face and before I could process anything the walker was being pulled off of me and I was being healed to my feet, forced to run. And just as the warmth of the sun hit my face the sound of a loud crash came from inside. The helicopter had finally fallen through the ceiling right where I had been laying.

Rough, calloused hands were on my face turning my head side to side. "You hurt? Did it get you?" The voice was muffled then his face came into view. Those blue eyes looked at me wide and panicked. "Hey! I need you to answer me. Are you bitten?" I shook my head, my body trembled. Then I was being pulled into a hard chest. Daryl wrapped his arms around me and held me close to him. The feeling of his lips came in contact with my forehead and that's when I finally wrapped my arms around his waist and sobbed. "We gotta go before more walkers start showing up." I pulled away from Daryl to see Michonne beside us.

The whole ride back to the prison I clung to Daryl. My arms wrapped around him as the wind whipped my hair around. My cheek pressed into his back, my eyes closed. I was still shaking, my heart still felt like it was in my throat. I felt Daryl lay one of his hands over both of mine and rub soft circles on the back of them with his thumb. I could process how everything had gone so wrong so quickly. We lost Zach and someone would need to tell Beth when we got back. Rick, Carl, and Judith almost lost me today too and I couldn't think about it.

When we got back to the prison and drove through the gates up where all the cars were parked people started to come walking towards us to help with the haul. We were still able to get some things out before the helicopter crashed through the roof. Daryl got off the bike but I didn't move. Not until I felt his fingers clasp my chin, turning my head to look at him. "You're safe. We're home," he said softly. He helped me off the bike and pulled me into his chest before pulling away and taking the red rage he keeps in his back pocket out. He gently wiped the blood off my face as best as he could.

"What happened?" We both looked over to see Rick rushing towards us. And once he saw me he pulled me from Daryl and started frantically looking over me. "She's fine. Just had a close call," Daryl told him. "What do you mean close call? Are you hurt? You're not bitten are you?" I put my hands on his wrist and stepped back. "I'm fine, Rick. Daryl got there before anything could even happen. I'm fine. I'm okay. I just want to get cleaned up." He looked at me for a while before nodding and stepping away from me.

After going to the shower rooms and cleaning all the blood and grime off of me I went back to my cell and laid down. I kept replaying everything that had happened today over and over in my head. The rotting flesh, the horrid smell, the chomping teeth, and the sick crunch when my boot went through the walker, at my feet, skull. The snarling from the walker above me. The fear that had coursed through me when it had finally fallen on top of me. "Ya okay?" I shook myself out of my thoughts and looked up to see Daryl. "Yeah. I'm just…tired." He looked down at his feet, teeth sinking into his lower lip. "Come sit with me." I sat up, criss-crossing my legs.

He didn't move right away but after a few seconds he walked into my cell and sat down beside me. "Did you tell Beth about Zach?" I asked. He nodded, "yeah. She took it well, believe it or not. Said she doesn't get to cry, then got up and hugged me before I came up here." I raised my eyebrows, "wow. Umm… okay." I didn't know what to say to that. "How are you doing? Ya looked lost in your head " I cleared my throat and played with a loose string on my blanket. "Honestly, I was lost in my thoughts. I couldn't stop replaying everything. Why was Bob in the wine section in the first place?"

It's a valid question. I mean I know what he told us. But there is no way he just ran into it while going around the corner and hit it that hard for it to knock over. I haven't had much trust in Bob since he's been here. He was one of the newer people Glenn had brought in. He was a field medic or something before all this so we let him come in. Doctors and nurses or anyone that had any kind of medical training was hard to come by. We have Hershel and Dr. S, that's it. But he seemed very troubled, like you can tell he has a lot of trauma going on and it's been there since before the outbreak.

Daryl just shrugged and I sighed. "Well, how are you doing?" I asked. He still hasn't looked up at me. "Thought I lost ya. When I heard ya screaming… if I would come a second later ya would have been bitten." I shook my head and reached over to grab his hand. "No. Daryl none of this was your fault. It wouldn't have been your fault if something would have happened. But you came. You saved me. That's all that matters right now. I'm safe and I'm here." He squeezed my hand and nodded a little.

I moved closer and put my hand on his cheek to make him look at me. "I'm always safe with you," I whispered, then leaned in, pressing my lips to his in a soft short kiss. To my surprise he didn't pull away but instead pulled me closer and deepened the kiss. Sometimes you just have to go for it.