Penance (Book One): Daryl Dixon x Sage Wilson

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Within a couple of hours, we reached the city. It looked like Atlanta, but it was a smaller town which inhabited less people. This could either be really good or really bad- and I only hoped Sophia was here. With a child her age having so much energy there was a good chance she kept running for the hills until she saw the first building.

Daryl and I look around as we walk the almost empty streets. Maybe occasionally a walker here or there, but it was nothing too worrisome. Sophia would have been smart to come here- maybe Ava too.

"Hey, Daryl." I tense up, hoping to not get my ass chewed for a question. I see him look at me out of the corner of his eye. "Since we are here looking for Sophia... maybe we can look for Ava too? My little sister? Maybe even your broth–"

He cuts me off, his body freezing and his facial expressions slowly turning to spite. "Damn my goddamn brother, let's just look for those little girls and start here," he points to a building that looked pretty secure and not breached, and I nod in response. A part of me pondered why he harbored so much love yet so much hate for his brother Merle. From the sounds of it and why he was cuffed to the roof he could be a Grade A Asshole. Whether he's been like that his whole life, I don't know- and I wasn't going to ask.

Daryl lifts his crossbow and I grab my knife out as we enter the unlocked building. He swept the left while I swept the right- everything was dead silent. A comforting but uncomfortable sound at the same time. It either meant danger was awaiting or danger could be awaiting and you just don't know it yet.

"It's clear," I say. Daryl puts down his bow, leaning it against the shelf.

There was canned goods sprawled all over what probably used to be a small town supermarket. There were ripped newspapers, blankets, sleeping bags, flashlights.. but this place hasn't been touched in ages. Everyone bolted. I kneel down, picking up two cans of green beans, one can of ravioli, and a can of beets. As I grab the cans, I notice something on the opposite side of the shelf moving from underneath the gap.

I click my tongue, Daryl immediately looking at me. I nod my head towards the moving figure, and he nods as he lifts his bow and peers around the corner.

I stand up, immediately hearing high pitch groaning. Within seconds, the groaning stopped.

"This her?" Daryl calls.

My chest sinks and my heart tightens as I quickly look over to where he is, to see a small girl. The girl had black hair, immediately telling me it wasn't Ava. My chest releases itself, relieved that it wasn't her. I couldn't handle losing her again. I shake my head, kneeling down and examining the now twice deceased thing.

"Nah, it's not her." I frown as I look at what once used to be an innocent grade school girl. A little girl who would make her parents crafts from grade school, a little girl who had her room painted pink and was littered with glitter and unicorns. Everything reminded me of Ava- I was that person the little girl went to. Went to every parent teacher conference, every award ceremony.. I was basically her mom in a different skin.

"Hey," I look up at Daryl, standing up and trying to snap out of my nostalgia. "You alright?" He gestures to me up and down, and I nod.

"Yeah, just want her to be okay. The worse part is that I don't know if she looks like this or if she's still breathing.. you know?" I squint trying to mask the obvious somber in my expressions.

"I get it. You know, I'm the younger one out of my brother and I- but I was always the one he relied on. It's hard." Daryl looks at the little girl, biting his lip. The fact he found ways to close off or open up to me amazed me in ways I couldn't explain. A lost puppy dog.

"Yeah. It's nice to have someone to relate to." I give him a small smile and continue to the back of the store. I continue to pick up small cans and throw them into Daryl's bag, but other than that the place was wiped.

"Nothing here," I wipe my face and groan. How could such a hot trail become cold so fast?

"Let's check the gas station down the road- if we can't find anything there we'll discuss and head out to the next stop." Daryl and I exit the supermarket and across the street to a run down gas station. The blue and red LED lights that read "Sip 'N Go," we're flickering and the lamps around it were as well. The pumps were on the ground and there were two cars abandoned at the other pumps. On the concrete were blood splatters and cigarettes, something I have become accustomed to.

We enter the gas station, weapons ready in hand. The bell rings indicating a customer, and the counter to the left of us reveals a male walker in a striped shirt, baseball cap, and cargo pants. On his shirt there was a clipped name tag.

"Hey, Gary." He reaches over the counter, trying to taste my flesh. I take my knife and slam it from under his jaw, watching the walker go limp and fall to the ground.

     "Ah hell ya," Daryl hops over the counter, grabbing a pack of Marlboro smokes and a Bic lighter. He tilts it in his hand like he's struck gold.

     "Smoker?" I raise an eyebrow at him as he plops rolled paper into the corner of his mouth.

     "Since I was twelve," he lights the cigarette and blows a puff of smoke in my face.

     "Sure that's healthy." I remark.

     We go into the gas station deeper, not seeing a thing or person in sight. The shelves were pretty sweeper except for cosmetics and cleaners, and it was now nearing dark.

     "We should crash here for the night." Daryl states. "Guard the door and sleep behind a shelf out of plain sight." He walks over to the glass door, sliding a big white fallen shelf in front of it.

     "Sleeping in a gas station, huh? This a first for you too?" I try to break the awkward tension. There was times I felt we communicated but we couldn't really reach one another. It was like talking over the phone in a sense.

     He flicks the cigarette onto the tile floor, rubbing his black boot in it. "There's a first for everything in this world, Wilson."