Walk with Me (A Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

Chapter 3: SECRETS (Part 2)

WALK WITH ME

A WALKING DEAD Fanfiction

***

Previously: Emyli recovered from her fever. She asked Daryl about her baseball bat and helped him clean up. Emyli overheard that Lori is pregnant. She joined the gun training but did not return to the farm. Daryl decided to look for her and bring her back.

***

Chapter 3: SECRETS (PART 2)

***

The shack was as they left it: dead bodies outside, cot, blanket and whatnots inside. Emyli was nowhere in sight, though. And when Daryl saw the bloody, barbed-wire wrapped baseball bat he cursed. It confirmed that the girl never returned to the shack—that's why he didn't see any tracks earlier. She must be someplace else.

Daryl picked the baseball bat up and wrapped it with a cloth. He was about to leave when his eyes were caught by a gleam coming from the cot Emyli must have used. Daryl half-kneeled and reached for the object: It was a small chest. He opened the lid and a low, slow music played. It had a sad melody. Daryl closed it and brought the musical box with him.

Daryl went back to the farm. Earlier, he borrowed a horse from Hershel so he put the horse first in its shed and then went to the RV where he found Dale and Carol.

"Wen' out looking fo' her," he told Dale. Dale responded with a half-scared, half-worried look. "She's not with you," Dale commented. Daryl shook his head.

"Come on," Carol sighed and walked toward Daryl. "You should be healing," she tried to walk him by the arm, "that wound—"

"No," Daryl pulled his arm away from the woman. "I should be lookin' for her."

"You're not healed yet," Carol pleaded.

"Hey. Something up?" Shane approached them having heard the commotion. He was followed by T-Dog.

Daryl rubbed his neck hard, irritated. Shane's meddling was the last thing he needed.

"Emyli," Dale answered. "She was with you for the practice shooting. She didn't return, though."

Shane pulled his eyebrows together and then ran his palm on his face. "Thought she went back with the others," he said.

"No, no," T-Dog responded, confused. "She said she'll follow you for the advanced session," he told Shane. All eyes went to T-Dog. "I mean...that girl can really shoot, man. She can take one look at the target and take 'em out close-eyed, it's crazy."

Shane stared at him unbelieving, "no," he said shaking his head, "she wasn't with us."

Daryl punched the air, "great." He was about to run off when he saw Hershel and Beth hurriedly approaching them from the house.

"She's not in the woods?" Hershel asked Daryl in between breaths. Daryl just shook his head.

Beth stepped forward. "She told us she'd follow Shane and Andrea," she said. "I saw her run towards where they were practicing."

Everyone looked at Shane. "Yeah? But she never arrived," he explained. "We were there but she never walked up to us. Didn't even see her."

For a while, no one spoke. Daryl stepped toward Hershel and signaled him to hand over the map he was carrying. He unfolded it on a table and looked.

"Where did you an' Andrea go after?" he asked. Everyone gathered around the map.

"Here, to this village," Shane pointed.