Down by the water • TWD

Marked.

Avery and Carl were inside the car while Rick and Michonne were sitting around the fire outside. Carl sat up, leaning his head back, trying to shut his eyes. Avery was lying down with her feet reaching the door, head resting on his leg. Ranger had taken the passenger seat due to the limited room in the back seat.

They had eaten the little rabbit that supplied them with food; she shared half her ration with her dog. The emptiness of her stomach still lingered. She and Carl were silent in the car. She had her eyes closed, trying to sleep, though she knew she wouldn't. She could feel Carl moving his head trying to get comfortable, another reason falling asleep would be hard.

Nothing but silence filled her ears, only sometimes the sound of crickets for a moment. Even Ranger and Carl's breathing was muffled. But that could just be because one of her ears was smushed against the boy's jeans.

As she listened more, it was sort of off-putting. She couldn't even hear the muffled voices of Rick and Michonne anymore. Ranger sat up quickly, sniffing towards the window. Avery opened her eyes at the movement, watching attentively. He now watched out the window, his muscles tensing. She lifted her head, trying to get a better look at his body language.

A deep low growl caused her to sit up completely. Before she could look out the window, a man placed his hand on it with a sinister smile. She swore she felt her blood run cold just in time for him to place a knife on the glass with his other hand. "Carl." It was short of a whisper, but he was already watching in fear.

Ranger started to bark deeply at the man, jumping in the backseat in front of the two. Avery was hyper aware of what was going on now. Outside the car was a man holding the barrel of a gun to Rick's head, and another man doing the same to Michonne. The man in the window didn't seem to care much about the dog baring its teeth at him. He just continued to smile with so many teeth that Avery felt the goosebumps reach the surface of her skin.

"Now who's going to count down the ball dropper with me, huh?"

The sounds of the voices outside were quiet due to the car enclosing them, but she could still make them out. She could make out the laugh the man next to Rick let out. The voices almost sound familiar. That's when she realized. It was the group who broke into their house.

Her breath started to quicken, eyes shooting from Carl to Ranger to the man simultaneously.

"Joe! Hold up."

Avery knew that voice all too well. Her eyes widening, her hands starting to shake uncontrollably. She whipped her head around, searching. Then she saw him, the one person she'd tried so hard not to think about over the past week. He was really standing outside with his hands up, crossbow placed on the gravel.

Daryl. Her Daryl, he was here.

But why was he with them? He couldn't be; she wouldn't believe it. Not him.

Avery didn't even realize Ranger had stopped barking and backed away closer to her. He was still in a prowl position, growling deeply. Both the kids watched the scene in front of them. Daryl was talking with the man who seemed to be the leader. It's almost like Daryl was pleading. It was hard to listen due to the dog's protection attempts radiating through the air.

Her breathing stayed uneven when Daryl raised his hands, almost in a surrender. What was he doing? Michonne kept her eyes on the car, and Avery caught it. The man hadn't touched either her or Carl yet. Why?

She didn't even have enough time to process seeing Daryl get thrown into the hood of the car after a punch. Not when the car door swung open quickly with a new voice, "Come here, girl."

Avery backed up trying to grab Ranger's collar, but her grip slipped as he lunged with a bark.

"Shut that damn animal up!"