S u r v i v o r s [ Daryl Dixon ]

Chapter 23

Even though we weren't going slow, time dragged on. I wanted to be there, see my brother and Maggie, get them out of there, disturb anyone who had hurt them in any way. With no exception. Suddenly the car stopped and I looked at Rick who was driving.

"They have patrols. We're better off on foot" woman said as she got out of the car.

"How far? Night's coming" Daryl said.

"It's a mile, maybe two."

We started walking when suddenly I felt a light touch on my wrist. I looked at Rick who smiled uncertainly.

"You know, what you did for me, for my baby, while I was... working things out--" he hesitated. "Thank you."

I smiled, grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly.

"It's what we do, Rick. You know that."

"Yeah, but they're not your kids, and yet..."

"They're all of us kids" I corrected him. "This is our future, Rick. Your children, Carl, Little Ass-Kicker, this is our future."

At that point, Rick lifted our joined hands and lightly kissed my wrist.

"Thank you" he said, then released my hand.

On the way, we encountered a small herd of zombies that forced us to hide in a little house. There we found a man who started screaming, causing the zombies to attack the door even harder. We wanted to cheer him up when suddenly a sword passed through his chest. Without saying a word, I watched as the body fell to the ground and woman sheathed her weapon without any emotion. Then I realized I couldn't trust her. She was our guide, but nothing more. We slipped out the back door of the cottage and continued to run according to Michonne's instructions until we finally reached our destination after dusk. And I had to admit that I didn't expect such good fortifications and guards. There were plenty of them. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw woman abruptly retreat. We, on the other hand, decided to leave some of the weapons when suddenly woman came back showing the right way. She began to lead us until we came to a house that must have also been a pantry.

"We gotta move" Rick said.

"They could be in his apartment" woman said.

"Yeah? What if they ain't?" Daryl asked.

"Then we'll look somewhere else."

We walked away a few steps and Rick started whispering.

"If this goes south, we're cutting her loose."

"You think she's leading us into a trap?" Oscar asked.

"Right now it's the blind leading the blind" Daryl concluded. "Let's split up."

Suddenly, the handle of the main door began to move, and we hid behind the bookshelves. A man entered the house.

"I know you're in here" he said louder. "I saw you moving from outside. All right, now. You're not supposed to be in here and you know it. Who's in here?"

I managed to get around him, and before he knew it, I had my arm around his neck and put a gun to his temple.

"Shhh" I whispered in his ear. "Get on your knees." The man obeyed. "Hands behind your back. Zip tie him." I said to Rick, who was already standing next to me. I stood in front of the man. "Where are our people?"

"I don't know" he was terrified.

"You are holding some of our people. Where the hell are they?" Daryl asked.

"I don't know."

We gagged him.

Suddenly there was a din outside, so we took advantage of it and left the building. We started walking along the walls when we reached a larger warehouse. Then I heard Glenn's voice. Daryl took out a stun grenade and threw it just as they were coming out of the magazine. Fog appeared everywhere, so being in formation we broke through. Rick ran to Glenn, I to Maggie, and we backed away. After running down the street, we ran into a house. I knelt next to Glenn and hugged him tightly.