A Thief with a Machete

Chapter 33-Moving on

Daryl and I decided to go out in the woods for hunting, just him and me.

"Whatcha been up ta' lately? Barely ever see ya' anymore," Daryl said as I loaded a bolt in my crossbow.

"Not much..." I said playing with the locket around my neck. "It feels like it's been forever since we went out hunting just the two of us."

"Yeah," he huffed in agreement. He seemed angry and his face was a bit distant, like he was lost in thought.

"Daryl?" I said, making him look down at me. "Are you mad at me?"

"What?" He asked confused and making an odd face. "Why the hell would I be mad at you??"

"...I don't know..." I sighed looking at the ground.

Snap

We both snapped out heads up towards the direction where the noise was coming from, raising out crossbows and keeping a sharp glare in the general area. I heard soft mumbling and a bit of a whine from a child.

"Get the fuck out here!" I said deeper and gruffer than I wanted to.

A tall African American man came out with his hands up, a small Caucasian girl with a truckers hat with a D on the front following.

"We don't want no trouble," the man said.

"Leeee," the girl whimpered. "They're gonna kill us!"

"Calm down Clem," the man whispered to reassure her.

"I got this," Daryl said lowering his crossbow and stepping forward to the people. "What're your names?"

"Uh-h...I'm Lee and this is Clementine," the man answered.

Daryl continued to interrogate them before he decided to take them to Rick. 

As we headed back we heard them. There must've been hundreds, just like the farm. I urged Clementine and Lee to stay behind a tree but Daryl shoved me and Clementine beside a big oak. I scoffed at him and held Clementine close while keeping my gun ready to fire.

"Fuck does that mean the others are outta here?" I asked as Daryl came over by us and reloaded his gun with whatever ammo he had.

"I dunno kid, probably," he said and shook his head to the side to move his long hair. "I think we need to go."

"But-" I began. Daryl grabbed my wrist and Lee picked Clementine up and held her as re ran through the thick wood.

I could feel the stuff in my bag shaking on my back as Daryl kept pulling me harder and quicker to rush me away. I could see the cold look on his face and I knew what he was thinking about. Carol and Judith. He cared so much for the two it was like his own little family.

"This way!" Lee said turning sharply and heading to a less dense area. 

I heard some growls and sharp hisses to my left and I tugged my hand away from Daryl. I grabbed my machete and slashed into a walker's head just as it reared the corner around a tree. 

"Get in that house!" Daryl said stopping and rushing the three of us ahead of him. 

"Daryl! Come on!" I yelled as the walkers came closer and Lee opened the door. Surprisingly there were no walkers or animals in the house and it was actually well kept.

Daryl slammed the door behind him and slid a heavy couch in front of it.

"Leeee...they're gonna get in!" Clementine whined. I knelt down in front of her as I saw that Lee was searching the other small rooms in the house. 

"No they won't sweetie. We're safe here," I reassured her smiling and tucking a strand of her loose hair behind her ears.

Daryl sat down on the couch and put his muddy feet on the cushions.

"So are you her dad?" Clementine asked when I sat down on the floor in front of Daryl.

"No," he gruffed and I elbowed him in the ribcage. He elbowed me back and I rolled my eyes.

"He's my uncle. What about Lee? What's he to you?" I asked sweetly.

"H-he rescued me from my tree house. My parents are in Savannah but...the whole place was bombed," she stuttered. I could see the tears swell up in her eyes and Lee came back into the room.

"Don't cry, sweetpea," Lee said pulling her close and hugging her.

"So, let me get this straight," I said rubbing my throbbing temple from all the noise. "You were stuck in a tree house, by yourself, and a random man walked in and you decided to go with him?"

"Ain't much different from when we first met," Daryl said twirling my long hair around his finger.

"Thaaat was a bit different. I'm 15 and I could've killed you. She's like 9 and can't hurt a fly," I said tilting my head to the side to make my voice more audible to him.

"She's learning how to shoot if that makes you feel better," Lee said. "I was teaching her before we got split up from our group."

"How many?" I asked. My voice was deeper and gruffer than it usually was when I talked to people. I noticed I had changed a lot in such a short period since I joined Daryl.

"Uh...I'm not sure. We lost quite a few," he said scratching the back of his head. "How many people did you say were in your group? Well at least before...ya' know."

"Uh...I can't keep track. Does a baby count?" I asked sarcastically.

"You guys have a baby?" Clementine asked wide eyed.

"Yeah. She'll be about 2 months real soon," I said with a smile. She smiled and looked up at Lee.

"If we find her and everyone," Daryl sighed, giving that tone of voice where he was worried.

~

"How much farther?" Lee asked as we trudged through the thick wooded area.

"Not far," I said for the trillionth time.

I could hear voices, a few sobs, and some arguing, so I knew we were close. I peeked behind a tree to our special meeting spot to see if it was them, and sure enough it was.

"Did you guys miss us?" I asked coming through the brush with my crossbow aimed to the ground.

Carl looked up and walked over to me, embracing me in a tight hug.

"I thought you were gone," he whispered.

"I ain't ever leaving, Carl," I said.

Daryl sighed deeply and I pulled away to look up at him. His eyes were pointed to the ground and I looked at our group-well, more what was left of it. There was Rick, Carol, Michonne, Judith, Glenn, and Maggie.

"Well danm," I muttered under my  breath. "Are they really all gone?"

"Afraid so," Rick said walking up to us. "See you have two newcomers. I'm Rick."

"Daryl," I said looking at the ground.

"I know, kiddo," he said patting my back.

It was time to move on again.

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I'm getting back into writing on Wattpad and I may upload my Janoskians fanfic if you guys would like. Right now I'm focusing on finishing this book up (50 parts) then during a break, I'll write a few chapters for the other books I have up.