*Daryl's POV*
My eyes fluttered open. I could hear Tana's small coos coming from the deerskin next to my side. The moon was high over head.
I sat up. Everyone in the camp was still asleep. Maggie and Glen were facing each other with Little Bit in between them. Rick was sleeping the same way, but with Carl across from him.
Abraham and Rose were asleep over in a part of the clearing by themselves. The fire was still crackling, sending sparks into the night sky.
Eugene was sitting against a tree not far from me. He was staring at me. "What's your problem, Billy Ray?", I asked as I grabbed my bow.
"Nothing. Redneck."
I snorted. "Damn straight, boy. At least I can save your ass when shit hits the fan."
He stayed quiet then. I stood up and grabbed Tana. She felt so small in my arms. I still remembered the first time I held her. She was so beautiful, even when she was covered in blood.
"I'm going hunting. If anyone wakes up, tell them where I went."
I took Tana and laid her down next to Rick. If anybody could protect her as good as me, it was Rick.
We had been on the road for about two weeks now. I hadn't seen Sapphire in my dreams since she told me we should take a chance with these people. And honestly, I was beginning to wonder if she was right. Or if the dreams I had been having were even truly her.
On the way here, we had found a bus. It had been full of walkers, but we had managed to clear them out. A few days later, the bus flipped. We were lucky that no one got seriously injured.
After that, someone had discovered that our entire food and water supply was gone. It had just up and disappeared. Nobody knew where. That had taken us three days just to restock that half way. That is why I was having to go out hunting now.
Not only that, but something was going on with our weapons. Some of the pistols had been jammed with rocks. Nobody could get them out.
Knives had started coming up missing. They weren't that hard to replace, but it was taking up extra time. Time we didn't need to waste.
*Eugene's POV*
I was still sitting on the tree two hours since Daryl left. In my mind I was trying to come up with my next plan to stall our journey to D.C. I couldn't tell these people I didn't really know anything. They would kill me.
My heart was racing a hundred miles an hour. We had just traveled at least three hundred miles, maybe even more. After all, we had crossed the Virginia line a mere thirty six hours ago. The way these people moved we could be right on the outside of D.C.
They would kill me. They would most likely kill me slow. Very slow. They might skin me alive. Especially for putting the children-
Wait a minute. Children. Children.
I could use a child for an escape plan. They would never move on if something happened to one of them. Or all three.
I wouldn't be able to take Carl. But the babies I could definitely use.
I stood up as quietly as I could. The sky was starting to turn pink from where the sun was rising.
Every twig that snapped under my foot made me take in a deep breath. I could feel my pulse in my temples, fingers, and toes.
The birds were starting to sing. I knew I had to hurry. These people were used to waking up at the ass crack of dawn.
After what seemed like hours, I managed to get to Rick and his baby. Well, babies, considering he had Daryl's baby next to him as well.
I leaned over and grabbed the handle of the deer-skin cradle. I raised her up. I walked out of the camp with her.
"I hope you can forgive me, little one. I don't want to die. It's nothing that I have against you. This is not your fault. This is all on me. Now I have to turn it around."
I continued walking through the woods with the baby on my arm. I wasn't sure how I would do this. I wasn't sure how I would handle it when Daryl came back. I didn't care. I'm smart enough to come up with plans like this.
We came to a tree. It was probably thirty minutes away from the camp. They would never find her.
I slipped the strap of the bag over a branch. "I'm sorry. I can't help this. It is my fault."
I turned from the tree and ran. Especially considering there were already about ten walkers heading for it.
I could hear the baby's shrill crying as I hit the line of tall oak trees.
*Daryl's POV*
I had managed to bag a deer, a rabbit, and about four squirrels. The camp would eat fairly well for a few days. Rick was still trying to get Judith used to eating solid solid food. We needed all of the formula for little bit and Tana.
I could hear walkers moaning in the distance. I stopped to listen. Was that something else underneath the moans? Like crying?
I stood there for another two minutes, just listening to the monsters that had ruined my life over and over again. I hated the thought of the creatures that had flesh between their teeth. I hated their dull eyes and their rotting flesh. I hated all of them.
Maybe that's what makes me want to believe Eugene. If we find out what has caused this, maybe we can stop it.
I felt the sun on my back. I stopped again, turning to face it. The sky was pink and yellow where the sun was rising. It was beautiful.
The one thing that didn't change in this world when the dead started walking was the sky. Maybe that is why we all wind up admiring it.
It made it back to the camp about thirty minutes later. Everyone was waking up. My eyes wandered from Abraham and Rose to Maggie and Glen. They were all yawning. Maggie was starting to pull her shirt up to feed little bit.
I looked at Rick and Carl then. Carl had Judith, trying to feed her some of the scraps from our last kill. Rick's arms were empty.
"Where's Tana?"
Rick looked at me like I was speaking a different language. "I don't know. Where have you been?"
"Hunting. I left her laying beside you before I left."
My head snapped around when I heard something crash into the little clearing. Eugene was standing there. He looked like he had just seen a ghost.
He got even paler when his eyes landed on me. That is when I knew.
He had taken my little girl somewhere. He had taken her out into the horrible world of walkers. He had left her somewhere to get eaten.
I hadn't been imagining the crying after all. It was real.
Just like me storming across the camp was real. Especially when I pulled my knife.
**********
Sorry guys. Here's a short update. I hope you guys like it!!!! :D
So for all my fellow Directioners, what do you think of Drag Me Down?
Thank you all for everything you do. It means the world to me. ♡
~Breanna
