This Is Reality

Chapter 11

Not long, the footsteps were in front of me. The boots didn't belong to Daryl, they were women's boots...

"Have you seen a man in a vest around here?" The woman politely asks

"Yeah. Ya know 'em?"

"Yes, I came looking for him"

Standing up and sighing, I tell her, "He went

out in the direction of footsteps, which I'm guessing we're yours"

"Probably, I didn't see any walkers near by"

"Carol?!" Daryl calls out from a short distance

"Get your stupid ass over here" I call to him

'Carol' glares at me as I turn to the direction where his voice came from. He comes from the other side of a tree, sees 'Carol' and runs over, hugging her tightly.

"Y-You're okay..." She says happily, stroking the back of his head

"I wouldn't do that, he smashed his head" I tell her as he winces

She doesn't look over to me, just looks at Daryl to make sure he's okay. I roll my eyes and go over to him asking for my crossbow.

"We're all going back to the shack Dodger" Daryl says

"That's where Tyreese is, with Judith" Carol states

"Everyone else should be there too then..." Daryl looks over at me

"I have no idea who you are talking about, just give me my crossbow so I can leave you two lovers alone" I say rolling my eyes

"Dodger..." He says trying not to tell me that's not true, Carol trying not to blush

"Give me my god damn bow Daryl" Now I am just getting aggravated

"Fine, here" He says handing me my crossbow

I take it from him and toss it over my shoulder

"Meet me with everyone else when y'all are done" I say, starting my walk to the shack

He grabs my wrist and says to me, "We are all goin' together, I ain't lettin' ya go alone"

"Why not? 'Fraid I'm gonna run away?"

Sighing he says, "I want to keep you safe..."

"You got your girlfriend back, you don't need me" I pull my hand away from him and walk away

"Dodger!"

I flip him off and take the long way to the shack.

-few hours later-

*Daryl's POV*

"How could you just lose her?" Rick asks me, trying to wrap his mind around her disappearance

"She got all pissed off and walked away"

"And you didn't go after her?!"

"I did! Why do you think Carol came back before me!? I went after her and her trail went cold!"

Just thinking about how she might be gone forever kills me. Truth is, I never 'liked' Carol like that, she 'likes' me. When Dodger got all pissed off before she stormed off, I should have kissed her... right in front of Carol.

"It's too late to go looking for her now. At day break, we go out in groups of two, two groups at a time" Rick says sighing

"Why do we care about this girl so much?" Abraham asks

My mind says, 'Because we need her, I need her' but I respond, "You don't know her like Rick and I do, she saved us, she saved all of you"

Abraham looks at me dumbfounded.

"We will explain when we get her back" Rick tells them, trying to make it simpler for them

"I'm gonna go take a walk, I ain't goin' far" I say

"I'll come with you" Carol says

I respond as soon as she finishes, a little too harshly, "Na, you stay here"

"But Pookie..."

"Don't call me that" I say to her loathingly, walking out the door

My walk wasn't a walk, I went out to look for Dodger. Rick was right saying we should go out in the morning in pairs, but leaving her out here with no supplies would kill me all night long. It would kill Rick too, but not as much as it would me. I went to the spot where her and Carol had met, took out my flashlight and retraced her steps for the fifth time. Each time I traced them again, they still disappeared at the same spot.

By looking at her steps, I continued to follow the way they were headed. I walked on for some time before I reached a creek, like the one where we fought. Still, I didn't pick up any traces of her. I sat on a rock and watched the water flow by.