What's Next

Chapter Forty Three 🦋

Val's POV:

Every few steps I would wince in pain. Not only from the ongoing stinging from the graze that I knew was on my side, or the now bruise that I had no doubt was beginning to form on my hip from hard I fell to the ground but also from the continuous kicking I was feeling. Usually the kicks were occasional and rare. It had been sometime since I felt it honestly. Really I started to become somewhat worried. But right now they were continuous. One right after the other. Truly I was wincing more from the discomfort from the kicks that I was getting rather than actual pain.

I looked back at Daryl during one of the moments of rampage baby Dixon decided to cause once again, sucking in a breath as I felt. "Sunshine, what's wrong?" He whispered so quiet I almost didn't hear what he had asked me. "It's just the baby, don't worry." I whispered trying to keep a brave face. I didn't want him stressing or worrying anymore about me than I already knew he was.

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Pushed past the line of trees that actually still had their green colour, we could hear the growls that came from walkers not so far ahead of us. Just past a fence line that was now in front of us, in a yard that was once for a fuel truck company, was where the dead ones roamed. As always the walkers had taken over a place. Nothing was ever really cleared anymore. Seemingly these three strangers believed it would have been, or at least hoped it was. By their looks and sounds of worry and defeat, I can only gather that they were definitely here once before and had absolutely no clue that it would have ended up like this. With walkers running the whole show. I could only assume that they might've knew some of the dead ones that were roaming in there, or now worried that something had happened while they were gone when they hoped they had solved it. Either way I was keeping my mouth shut for now, not anything to any of them till the coast was finally clear and Daryl and I were back on the road to Alexandria. Our home.

"Patty." The man muttered, worriedly.

"She could be..." The brown haired woman sighed.

"No she's gone." He said, bluntly. So matter of fact. "Then we make another plan."

"Yeah we get out of here, that's the plan."

"Then that's the plan."

"You guys didn't have to do this for me." The other woman stated with defeat in her voice. I'm just guessing she had her hopes up just like the other two did. "It was the right thing for all of us." The brunette replied, reassuringly.

"This was the right thing? Even if just you guys went back now, if you just told them that it was me...."

"No, we'll find a way."

"Just think about it."

"No."

"Look, maybe we don't get as far, but we'll get- hey!" The man began say before the short haired woman began to collapse. "hey, hey, hey!" he called, reaching for the girl. During the time that they were distracted, Daryl had helped loosen the rope that was around my wrists. I knew that it only meant he was planning on an escape. "Tina, hey! Hey, baby sister look at me." I heard the brunette say as I watched Daryl reach for the bag she had been carrying the whole time.

He grabbed it and we ran. As fast as we possibly could. Hearing the unknown man call out to us and gunshots being fired. But we ignored it and ran back into the tree lines.

♢♢

We ran back to a part of the charred out area of the forest, I was right behind Daryl. Watched him jump over a branch on the ground and collapsed to the ground the bag preventing any injury, as I sat down behind the nearest tree to catch my breath. He was scrambling to get his ropes off, loosening the knot with his teeth first. "Dare stop, let me help." I stated, grabbing his wrists to undo it for him before he could give me a reply. He went back to bag, finding our walkie immediately, radioing in instantly. "Sasha, Abraham, are you there?" He questioned, although I was doubtful we'd even get an answer. Which of course we got nothing but static in return.

With a snap of a branch and the sound of a nearing growl, Daryl snapped his head immediately in the direction of the noise. I followed his line of sigh, finding only one walker coming our way. With a sigh, Daryl goes for the bag in search of hopefully his or my crossbow, or maybe just a knife. At least something to take down the walker that was coming closer to us. I sat completely out of breath, finally being able to put my hands on my bump, rubbing my hands on it to bring me comfort after the kicks had finally settled down.

He was scrambling to get something out, looking back continuously at the oncoming walker, before he finally pulled out his crossbow. Spinning around and shooting it in the head. Taking it down straight away. "sunshine ye alright?" He asked, throwing his crossbow to the side as he finally starts to catch his breath. "I'm okay baby, we're both fine." I replied softly, looking down at my bump and back at Daryl. He nodded his head as relief washed over him. I kept my eyes on him as he looked back at the bag. I noticed immediately what caught his attention. Insulin. "Oh no." I muttered. Understanding now why the girl whose name I now knew to be Tina had collapsed only moments ago. "Dare, we gotta get this back to them." I stated. I knew we couldn't something like this from someone who certainly needed it. "I know sunshine." He muttered back.

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