My Damaged Protector

Chapter Thirty-Nine ~ Them

It took half a day to get everyone into the fire truck and start driving away from Grady Memorial. Maggie had completely shut down, sitting in the back with Glenn and not saying anything. Daryl was taking it just as hard. He had sat on my left, my hand held tightly in his as we rode, Merle and Jasper to my right.

A few hours into driving, Abraham had spoken up and told us that Eugene never had a plan on how to fix the world, that he only said what he did in order to keep himself alive. I could tell Rosita and Abraham were more than pissed, but I couldn't completely blame Eugene, looking at him now, he probably wouldn't have made it this long without lying.

We all still thought that going to DC may be a good idea anyway. If anyone were alive, it would probably be at the capital, right?

Noah had asked up to make a pit stop at a little gated community on the way, asking us to go out searching for his parents who he hoped were still holed up in his childhood home. Rick quietly agreed, taking the very slight detour to look for the community.

Jasper spent most of the daytime hours with Merle, sitting with the older Dixon and talking about everything that had happened since the two were separated. I couldn't be mad, Jasper had made a best friend out of Merle and I was just glad that he was back with us. My brother spoke highly of Beth and how she made sure that he was safe at all times in the hospital, making sure to protect him if any of the other residents got a little to physical. I had to stop his talking one night when I noticed Maggie holding back her sobs for her baby sister as Jasper spoke a little too loudly.

When we weren't driving, we were out looking for supplies. Rick would pass Judith off to my arms as he went searching cars, Carl and Jasper sticking close to my sides as we kept watch over the group. Judith traveled well, not being overly fussy and staying preoccupied with simple things like cups and wooden spoons Michonne had packed from the church.

Eventually the truck ran out of gas, and instead of trying to refill the monstrous sized vehicle, we opted to find a few new cars to make the rest of the journey to Noah's house.

Fifteen days after loosing Beth, we lost Tyreese at the housing development Noah took us to. Ty had been bit while inside one of the houses, and by the time a few of our group got him back, it was too late. Sasha had already been in mourning over the death of Bob, but now that her older brother was gone, she had gone to a new level.

We had eventually lost the cars as well, finding a white van that we all managed to pile in to make as much road up as possible before that too ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere. We all piled out of the van, taking up a stretched-out line that spanned the entire width of the road. I was walking beside Daryl, one arm wrapped around Judith while the other held his hand carefully. Merle and Jasper were walking on my other side, talking, and laughing quietly to each other.

A few hours into walking, Daryl placed a kiss to my hand and turned to walk into the tree line, Carol following after him after a few moments. There was a stab of jealousy and worry that washed over me, no matter how much I knew Daryl and Carol were simply best friends and understood each other. Merle had given me a soft smile when he bumped his shoulder with mine, his way of telling me not to worry.

While Daryl and Carol were gone, a small group of walkers had started following us, stumbling, and growling behind us. When we came across a little bright over the road with two steep hills, Rick had us all stop to draw the walkers away. I pulled Jasper from Merle's side and took him and Judith to the other side of the bridge, taking Carl too to keep watch on the group. Everything was running smoothly, walkers were being pushed down the hills in an effort for us to save as much energy as possible, that is until Sasha had enough of the pushing and took to killing, wasting energy, and taking more time.