The leaves rustle underneath our feet as we walk, breaking some of the surrounding silence that is slightly unsettling. We're not too far from the highway now, maybe an hour to half an hour's walk. I walk by Daryl's side, keeping an eye out for anything that could lead us to Sophia's location but so far were out of luck.
"You still worrying about it?" Andrea asks from behind us.
I turn and see Lori looking back into the woods, "There was a gunshot." She says worriedly.
"We all heard it." Daryl says.
She turns and looks back to us, "Why one? Why just one gunshot?"
"Maybe they took down a walker." Daryl shrugs.
"Please don't patronise me. Rick wouldn't risk a bullet to put down just one walker, neither would Shane. They'd do it quietly." She says, looking back out into the trees.
"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asks.
"There's nothing we can do about it anyway. We can't run around these woods chasing echoes." Daryl states.
"So what do we do?" Lori asks, looking to him.
"Same as we've been, beat the bush for Sophia and work our way back to the highway." Daryl answers.
"I'm sure they'll hook back up with us at the RV." Andrea says, looking at Lori.
She nods and walks over towards us and I put my arm around her and give her arm a rub before dropping it back down. As we go to walk I hear Andrea talk, "I'm sorry for what you're going through. I know how you feel." She says to Carol.
"I suppose you do." She replies, "Thank you."
"The thought of her, out here by herself. It's the not knowing that's killing me. I just keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy." Carol says and I freeze, looking over towards Andrea.
Andrea's face drops and contorts in pain and Carol gasps, "Oh God, that's the worst thing I've ever said." She says, grabbing Andrea's hands.
Andrea closes her eyes and shakes her head, "We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth."
Daryl steps forward angrily, "I tell you what it's worth, not a damn thing. It's a waste of time all this hoping and praying. We're gonna locate that little girl and she's gonna be just fine. Am I the only one zen around here? Good Lord." He mutters, turning and walking back the way we were going.
Lori and I suppress a smirk before we all turn and catch up to him.
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We all slow down as we look at our surroundings, exhausted and weak. I run my fingers through my hair and close my eyes for a moment before I open them again.
"We'll lose the light before too long. I think we should call it." Daryl says.
Lori nods, "Let's head back."
"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Carol asks and I nod my head, "We'll find her tomorrow."
Daryl whistles and we turn, making our way back towards the highway. My legs begin to ache from walking so much and my back is sore as well from sleeping in the RV last night. Not too much time has passed before we get nearer to the highway and all of us are exhausted, ready to sit and rest for awhile.
"How much farther?" Lori asks.
"Not much, maybe a hundred yards? As the crow flies." Daryl says, leading us forward.
YOU ARE READING
Always (A Daryl Dixon/ The Walking Dead Fanfiction)
Fanfiction"It's you and me Daryl, like it always has been." I say, looking into his dark blue eyes. "The way it always will be." He states. I nod my head, a small smile on my lips, "Always." Bree Winchester had known the Dixon brothers since she was running a...
