A Marauder's World

Part 5

They ran until Rick couldn't anymore, staggering and gasping as the world spun like a top, his ears ringing and the stitches throbbing so bad, the red in his eye was real, blood leaking down his face from the wound reopening.

"Rick, come on man," Daryl was still pulling him along, looking hastily over their shoulder. "We ain't far enough away to rest."

He tried to take Judith, but Rick only held her closer, her cries and Daryl's comforting hand on him the only thing he could concentrate on for several moments as he tried to force his own axis back on track. Daryl switched to using a well sharpened knife to cut his wrists free at last and uneasily shoulder his crossbow, to sling Rick's arm over his shoulder and keep pulling him along.

Pressing on until finally the inevitable draw of Walkers, Daryl released him again to take out the three with a guttural noise of frustration because Judith was still screaming bloody murder and Rick was bleeding all over her.

"All right, all right," Daryl acquitted when Rick tried to keep the pace going this time. "We got a second now, she okay? What'd they do to you?" He began ripping up his shirt with his teeth and knife as he asked.

"Nothing," he admitted, his own voice still sounding rough, but confident. "They were, good people, mostly. You, caught them in the middle of deciding if they were going to stay that way." He swallowed and rubbed at the splattering of blood across his daughter, ruining her new dress.

Daryl had secured the shirt to his head and muttered about it needing more bandages while Rick considered telling the rest.

The look on Sirius's face as he'd threatened Rick about leaving, for coming back to attack a werewolf was not unsound. The idea of letting a werewolf live, to hunt in the world of Walkers, where death was already around every corner from the mindless hoard and now a predator had his scent...

Yet the moonchild lingered in his mind for another reason. The way he'd come out with a gun, how could he compare him to some animal when his first instinct was to grab a weapon, same as them. He'd lingered where Rick would bet his life Harry was, and then run to the woman covered in blood with the same look of concern on his face Daryl still had on his as he watched Rick and Judith.

"Let's get back to the others," Rick said quietly. "They're all okay?"

"Yeah man," Daryl nodded, looking relieved Rick finally seemed to be winding back up right. He looked around carefully before starting his walk, Rick now following in at least a decent stride. "When you didn't come back I went looking, been gone for almost two days though, was getting worried. I'm sure the others are too."

It took them the rest of the day to walk back to the original scene, so that it was dark enough when they approached a gun was being aimed at them, but Carl dropped it swiftly when he saw, "Daryl!" Yet his face clouded in disappointment and he tried peering farther into the gloom with concern to ask "Where's- Dad! Judith!"

Rick wasn't going to let his son doubt for a moment more as he staggered the last few feet until Carl had his arms wrapped tight around them both.

Rick finally sighed a true noise of relief as he held his children close for a precious few moments before the rest of his group descended on him, Carl gently taking his little sister so that Carol and Maggie could steer him to the ground and get a good look at his still leaking bandage. Daryl's shirt had been completely sacrificed down to scraps and he was still sluggishly going through the bandages, they'd even joked about ripping his vest if they didn't get there soon, yet they had nothing for stitches, Bob sadly reminded as he confirmed what Rick already knew, a severe concussion, he wouldn't be mobile for any length of time for several days, if not longer.