Daryl's Angel (10th Anniversary Edition)

Chapter 27: Loss

We try to keep ourselves busy, making the house as nice as possible considering our new sleeping arrangements, but there's only so much you can do. I keep looking out the window, between the slats in the boards, waiting for their return.

I had thought Daryl would track him down without any trouble, but it's already dark out and there's no sign of them. It leaves me with an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

Maybe it's a good thing. The longer it takes for them to come back, the more time I have to formulate a good reason for confessing to Daryl like that. At the thought, I cringe at myself. He looked like a deer in headlights and I don't blame him. I shouldn't have said it, but I wanted to, or maybe it was habit. I'm the kind of person who used to accidentally say "love you" to workers at grocery stores or pizza delivery guys.

But I do love Daryl, or at least I'm falling in love with him. Whatever it is, I'm screwed.

The night drags on.

Andrea stands from the couch. "I'm going after them," she says.

"Don't," Lori says. "They could be anywhere and if Randall comes back, we're gonna need you here."

The front door opens and immediately, all heads turn. I look away from the window, heart lifting, and Daryl comes in with Glenn on his heels.

"Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asks.

"No," Lori replies.

"We heard a shot."

"Maybe they found Randall."

"We found him."

"Is he back in the shed?" Maggie asks.

Daryl shakes his head. "He's a walker."

"Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershel asks.

"No, the weird thing is...he wasn't bit," Glenn says.

"His neck was broke," Daryl adds.

"So he fought back," Patricia says.

"The thing is," Daryl continues, "Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other. And Shane ain't no tracker, so he didn't come up behind him. They were together."

"But, then..." I start.

Lori moves to Daryl, hands almost folded in front of her as she pleads with him. "Would you please get back out there, find Rick and Shane, and find out what on earth is going on?"

"You got it," Daryl says.

"Thank you," Lori breathes.

I smile a little at Daryl. Done being an errand boy, he said. Seems he's too good to mean that.

He goes back outside, Glenn and Andrea following, and I go too after a second. I can keep watch on the porch.

We don't get far. Out on the porch, even in the faint moonlight, it's easy to see the horde of walkers stumbling across the fields. My blood runs cold. At first, I think they're just coming from behind the barn, but then I look over the other way and there are even more of them. The growls are getting louder, prominent in the previous silence of the night. A few of the others trickle outside.

Shit.

"Patricia, kill the lights," Hershel orders, hushed.

"I'll get the guns," Andrea says.

"Maybe they're just passing, like the herd on the highway," Glenn suggests. "Should we just go inside?"

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs I don't know about," Daryl retorts. "A herd that size would rip the house down."