Asperity - Daryl Dixon

XI

As the relentless march of walkers encircled the farm, Daryl's voice cut through the chaos, urging Vanessa to mount his motorcycle. With the roar of the engine as their battle hymn, Vanessa unleashed her fury upon the undead, firing from the back of the moving bike, while Daryl navigated the outskirts, lending aid where needed.

Amid the chaos, Vanessa spotted Jimmy in the distance and informed Daryl of her intention to help. "WE NEED TO HELP HIM !"

"NESSA NO ! IT'S TOO DANGEROUS !" His urgent warning hung in the air, but Vanessa, fueled by a fierce determination, leaped from the motorcycle and waded through the sea of walkers in pursuit of Jimmy. Panic crept in as she arrived too late, Jimmy's fate was already sealed. Vanessa tried to retrace her steps, but anxiety began to course through her veins when she realized she couldn't find any trace of Daryl. Alone and surrounded by the relentless undead, her fear escalated.

However, the rumble of an approaching vehicle disrupted the eerie silence. Rick, Hershel, and Carl arrived in Hershel's car, rescuing Vanessa from the encroaching horde. Amidst her anxiety about Daryl's fate, Carl convinced Rick to return to the parking lot where Sophia had gone missing, hoping to reunite with the others and to find his mother.

As they waited on the desolate parking lot, concern etched on Vanessa's face, Rick eventually declared it unsafe to linger. "I'm not leaving without mom." Rick had no other choice than to tell Carl the unsettling truth. "Carl... it's not safe here. I'm sorry..." Yet, just as Rick finished his sentence, distant engines hummed, heralding the return of the scattered group.

Seated on the hood of an abandoned car, Vanessa's sadness transformed into relief when the distinct growl of Daryl's motorcycle pierced the air. Daryl and Carol emerged, and, as Daryl dismounted, their eyes met. In an instant, he closed the distance and enveloped Vanessa in a tight embrace. Tears of relief escaped Vanessa as Daryl's slightly muffled voice reached her.

"Yer here. Yer here."

Vanessa nodded against his shoulder, her voice choked with emotion. "I thought I would never see you again."

Daryl, true to his promise, gently reminded her. "I promised ye wouldn't lose me. Remember?"

A soft laughter escaped Vanessa, and Daryl pressed a tender kiss to the top of her head, their connection reaffirmed in the face of the shadows that relentlessly pursued them.
"Yeah... I remember."

~~~

"Where'd you find everyone ?" Rick asked relieved to be reunited with his wife and son.

"Well, those guys' tail lights zigzagging all over the road - figured he had to be Asian driving like that." Glenn chuckled at that, "Good one."

"Where's the rest of us ?" Rick answered Daryl's question with the bleak reality, "We're the only one that made it so far."

At that, Lori raised from her seat anxiously "Shane ?" Rick simply shakes his head not able to say any words.

"Andrea ?" This time it was Glenn asking the question and Carol answered him, "She saved me but I lost her." T-dog added "We saw her go down."

Vanessa bowed her head; although she had never quite clicked with the girl, a lingering sense of remorse enveloped her. Despite their strained relationship, Vanessa couldn't shake the regret over their latest encounter, where she found herself resorting to threatening Andrea with harm.

Hershel was the next one to ask about a missing one "Patricia ?" Beth answered him "They got her too, took her right in front of me. I was... I was holding onto her, daddy. She just-" Hershel hugged his daughter, allowing her to cry in his arms. The crying girl added "What about Jimmy ? Did you see Jimmy ?"

"He was in the RV, it got overrun, I'm sorry, I tried to save him but... it was too late already." Vanessa's answer only made Beth's cries intensify.

"You definitely saw Andrea ?" Lori answered Carol's question "There were walkers everywhere" but Carol didn't seem satisfied with her answer, "Did you see her ?" After a moment where no one dared to speak, Daryl finally raised his voice, "I'm gonna go back." Vanessa immediately responded, simultaneously with Rick, "No!"

"We can't just leave her." This time it was Lori that answered him, "We don't even know if she's there." Rick followed his wife's lead "She isn't there. She isn't. She's somewhere else, or she's dead. There's no way to find her." Glenn didn't seem satisfied with that answer, "So, we're not even gonna look for her ?" After a moment of silence, Rick finally speaks.
"We gotta keep moving, there have been walkers crawling all over here."

The group finally agreed to head east and stay off the main roads to look for a safer place.

~~~

The journey eastward had worn on the group, the hum of engines cutting through the tense silence as they navigated desolate roads. Vanessa clung to Daryl on his motorcycle, the shadows of uncertainty cast by the day's events still haunting their every move.

Rick's car, struggling on its last fumes, broke the quiet monotony. Daryl's question hung in the air, "You're out?" to which Rick, with a sigh, confirmed their predicament, "Running on fumes." Maggie's pragmatic voice echoed the sentiment, "We can't stay here."

As nightfall descended, Daryl and Rick exchanged glances, realizing that their dwindling ammunition reserves mirrored the depletion of the car's fuel. The decision was made to hunker down for the night, a temporary respite before the next day's search for gas and supplies.

Yet, as the group settled into a makeshift camp, Rick dropped a revelation that shattered the fragile stability they clung to. "We're all infected," he declared, the weight of the truth sinking in. Daryl's incredulous "What?" mirrored the collective shock of the group.

Rick, haunted by the knowledge shared by Jenner at the CDC, offered a stark explanation, "Whatever it is, we all carry it." Carol's accusation pierced the air, "And you never said anything?" Rick, his eyes reflecting the weight of leadership, countered with a somber question, "Would it have made a difference?"

Glenn, frustration and anger simmering beneath the surface, confronted Rick, "That wasn't your call! When I found out about the walkers in the barn, I told, for the good of everyone." Rick, unwavering, responded, "Well, I thought it was best if people didn't know."

With those words, Rick walked away, leaving the group in the darkness, the revelation of their shared infection lingering in the night air like an unspoken omen, casting shadows over the trust that once bound them together.