Wake the Dead

chapter 8

I laid my head on the head rest in Daryl's truck, still a little out of breath. I looked out the rear view mirror and saw the building burning behind us. I ran my hands over my face, I felt like I was going to have another meltdown, but I couldn't not by Daryl. I can't let him see me so weak. 

Remembering that I was sitting next to Daryl, who I was still so pissed off at. He was confusing me too, which was making me so much madder. He told me he didn't care, but then came back for me and protected me.

I looked down and noticed I was bleeding through the bandage Rick had put on my leg. "Fuck." I mumbled, getting Daryl's attention. "Ya okay?"

"What do you care?" I snapped back at him a little too harshly for someone who just saved my life.

"Your right, I don't." 

I just snorted at him, he was just being a dick. "Okay." I said sarcastically. 

"Ya know a thank you would be nice. Ya almost got us both killed, stupid bitch."

He obviously didn't know how close i was to freaking out, or he did and just enjoyed pushing it. "You didn't have to come back for me Daryl!"

"I wasn't gona letcha stay in there and get fuckin blown up!"

"Oh, so you do care?" I said in my harsh sarcastic tone. 

"I just didn't want to here ya sister cryin for the next month. I was just doin her dirty work."

I was a little taken aback by that, did he only save me for Syd? I stayed silent for a while, and only managed to spit out, "thanks."

He kept lookin over at me and softened his voice, "why did ya hesitate? Why didn't ya run with the rest of us?"

"I had second thoughts, but I knew I couldn't. I was about to come after ya when ya grabbed me."

"Why couldn't ya?"

"I made a promise, and I couldn't leave Syd like Jackie left the ones she loved."

He nodded his head in understanding.

*

We pulled over to a deserted building that looked walker free to get supplies for the road, we were headed to Fort Benning.. Only a few of us went in to the store, while the others cleaned out some of their cars and siphoned the fuel from them. 

Rick told me he was gona go up to the roof for a minute, I wasn't sure what for, but I didn't question him.

There wasn't much in the building, I was only able to grab a few water bottles, some canned food, bags of chips, and candy bars. I don't think anyone else got anything much better, so we decided we were good and i ran up to the roof to get Rick.

He was sitting down talking to someone, or no one on a radio. He was talking about how Jenner told something to him, but then he couldn't even bring him self to repeat it. I walked over to him and squatted down next to him as he finished talking to the radio about our journey. Journey. Thats something I wouldn't have thought to call it, but it works.

He moved the radio away from his face and looked at me when he was done. I just looked at all the skyscrapers around us, "nice view from up here." Rick just nodded at me.

"I saw Jenner whisper something to you before we all ran out of there. I also saw the look on your face when he told you."

Rick just pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not gona start interrogating you about it, but think about the group. If it's as crazy as it seems, then think if it would be best if the group knew, or doesn't know. False hope, remember?"