Sweet and Salty ~ Carl Grimes

December 17th - 038

Well, here we are, the final update of my once a day for a week schedule. I've enjoyed it, but the schedule is back to normal now!! Thank you all so much for your support, and your comments, love you all and I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!! See you all on the 30th xx

Daryl groaned. He arched his back, stretched his arms over his head before he sat up. He rolled his neck a little, and rubbed his eyes. That thin sleepingbag on wooden floors just wasn't cutting it anymore. He felt the morning chill and grabbed his thick, winter coat he'd been using for some extra layers in the night. He wrapped it around himself and stood up. He stepped over a sleeping Lori, and a sleeping T-dog, a sleeping Sophia and a sleeping Glenn. He wanted to go check on his sleeping baby sister.

He looked to where she'd made her nest, but, she wasn't there. None of her stuff was either. Daryl figured she'd made an early start on packing up, so, he stepped over everyone again and made it to the hall. He saw Rick guarding the front door, and Maggie guarding the back door. Daryl went out the front, passing Rick and looking around. "Brooks out here?"

Rick furrowed his eyebrows. "No."

Daryl ran around the small house to where he saw Maggie, sitting on the porch step. Gun by her side, elbows on her knees and tired head in her hands. "Ya seen Brooks?"

"No, I've only been on shift two hours though." Maggie responded.

Daryl felt his heart drop. "Brooks!" He screamed out, running back around to the front of the house. "Brooks! Brooks!"

"What's going on?" Rick asked, standing up.

Daryl ran a hand down his face. "What do you think, man?" He shouted. "All 'er damn stuff's gone and I can't find 'er! Brooks!"

"Alright, let's not panic. She'll be around here somewhere." Rick insisted as the front door opened and out ran Sophia, Cam and Merle.

"Why are you shouting for Brooks?" Sophia asked, cold and scared.

"I can't find 'er!" Daryl yelled. Not at Sophia, just in general.

Merle scoffed. "Well, she wouldn't have just run away, man. She's probably just takin' a leak." 

"With all 'er stuff?" Daryl shouted back in retaliation. "Brooks!"

"Brooks!" Merle joined in, sudden realisation hitting him where it hurt.

Two walkers left the forest, Daryl grabbed a rock and threw it at one of them. He was so angry, and his force was so strong, the rock went straight through the rotting walker's head. Cam simply ran at the other one with his knife and took it down, easily. They all had a lot of experience with walkers by now.

Rick was beginning to panic. He had another child missing. First, on the highway, Sophia and Chris had gone missing. Sophia made it back, Chris didn't. He couldn't lose Brooks like he lost Chris, he didn't want to blame himself for another child's death.

Carol ran out of the house with a bit of paper in her hand. "I know what happened."

/-----------\

Two days, Rick had said. Daryl and Merle angrily protested, but Rick said that the group would move on in two days. It wasn't safe to stay in that old, rotting cabin any longer, especially not in the middle of winter with Lori's pregnancy and Hershel's age. Merle and Daryl silently agreed to stay behind if they didn't have answers within the two days, even if it meant seperating from their group.

Both men knew that if this was Carl or Sophia (again) then the group would be there until they had answers. Nobody would leave, because everybody's heart would ache with worry. Not for Brooks though, nobody really cared enough about her to risk their lives.