Fighting to Survive: The 3rd installment to Daring to Feel

Chapter 3: Emotional Reunion

We walk through the woods, searching for the spot where Rick hid all our other weapons in, "there!" Daryl points out and Rick and him start to dig it up.

"The hell are we still around here for?" Abraham asks as we gather around.

Rick answers as he digs, "guns, some supplies. Go along the fences. Use the rifles. Take out the rest of 'em."

"What?" Bob steps up asking.

"They don't get to live." Rick tells us all with fierce determination.

Glenn doesn't agree, "Rick, we got out. It's over."

"It's not over till they're all dead." Rick reiterates his plan harshly.

Rosita laughs out, "the hell it isn't" sarcastically, "that place is on fire. Full of walkers." she states the obvious ruins of Terminus back to him.

Abraham adds on, "I'm not dicking around with this crap. We just made it out."

I add on, stepping a bit closer towards him, "the fences are down. They'll run or die."

We wait for him to answer, to tell us we're right and that it's time to move on. Daryl moves from where he's standing and my eyes follow his. He runs and grips Carol tightly. All of us stand there, shocked. We start to move closer, wondering about her being here.

Daryl and her let go, but she drops her head on his shoulder, I can hear him trying to hold back his cry of joy. Rick steps closer to her and asks, "did you do that?" Referring to the mess down below in Terminus.

Carol smiles just a little, a chuckle leaves her lips along with the smallest of head nods. Rick holds her tightly and I grab the hand of Maggie, squeezing it tightly with joy, "you have to come with me." She releases Rick and says to him.

A little while later Rick grows out his daughter's name, "Judith" while dropping everything he has to run to her. Carl is behind him. Sasha also runs, to reunite with her brother. Their reunion is heartwarming, something joyous after a terrible time.

I watch it unfold in front of me, tears of happiness for them spill over. My hand is being wrapped around and Daryl pulls me aside, "I love you too" he says when I meet his eyes. The tears fall faster and a smile crosses my lips before his press down onto mine. The smell of him, the smell of his skin mixed with leather intoxicates me and I push my mouth harder into his. His right hand wraps around my waist, pulling me in close to him while his other gets tangled into my hair. Both my hands are holding his face, never wanting to let it go or be without him again. He pulls from the kiss and rests his forehead on mine. His dark blue eyes meeting my green ones. He has tears streaming his own face, dirt falling with them and they land across his smiling lips.

"I don't know if the fire is still burning." Rick says after we've regathered ourselves and got situated to move again.

"It is." Carol reassures.

"Yeah. We need to go." I comment wanting to get far away from there.

"Yeah," Daryl agree's, "but where?" our hands stay intertwined, not caring anymore about everyone knowing.

Rick answers, "somewhere far away from there" he glares back one more time before moving towards the tracks again.

We walk, and walk, and walk. We either change or rip down the signs for Terminus, not wanting to let anyone walk right to their death willingly if they can rebuild after that attack. We walk through the night, not wanting to stop until we are comfortable enough with how far away we have gone. We stop before sunset the next day, getting set up in the woods while we can, going out to find food and water before the sun sets on us again. Daryl takes me with him where ever he goes, and I follow willingly. I can't be without him, not now, not after what almost just happened.

"Go to sleep Sadie-Mae. I'll be here when you get up." Daryl tells me rubbing his fingers through my hair. I lay in between his legs as he sits on a log. Carol comes next to us and I let my eyes stay closed and drift off as they talk.

"I don't want to talk about it." Carol says to him. "I can't. I just need to forget it."

"All right." Daryl answers to her. Leaves rustle in the woods and Daryl tries to get up. I sit up quickly, letting him go and he holds up a hand towards Carol and I. The three of us stare in front of us, but nothing comes forward, "it's nothing" he finally says and slowly comes back to the log. I get comfortable between his legs again, and try to go to sleep.

Daryl and I move off the trail with the others, looking for rabbit or squirrel to catch the next day. Daryl spots a squirrel but wants me to take it down, "you do it" he hands over the bow.

"Daryl, I wasn't able to hit a deer with this last time." but I trail off. The last time I actually used this bow was to kill the man who was trying to kill him.

He pulls my chin up to meet his gaze, "okay, yer not ready." He leans down to kiss me. His tongue finds mine as the kiss turns passionate. I pull away though, knowing we need to keep moving, "I missed your lips" Daryl breaths out heavily trying to kiss me some more.

I chuckle in embarrassment, "come on Dixon. We're gonna get left behind." I say pulling him away. The squirrel is long gone by now and we move to find the others. We come out of the woods towards them and Rick has his gun pointed at us.

"We surrender." Daryl jokes with his arms up, the animals caught strung around his neck. He makes his way over towards Rick, "no tracks. No nothing." I hear him say. We weren't just looking for food, Daryl was looking for something, or someone. He couldn't shake off what he heard last night, and told Rick about it in the morning.

"So whatever you heard last night--" Rick says.

"It's more what I felt." Daryl changes what he said, "if someone was watching us, there would have been something." Daryl then says, knowing he sounds paranoid.

Both him and Rick look to me and I shrug, "I don't know, I heard the leaves but I was half asleep."

Rick nods and then whistles out to get everyone's attention, "keep close." He says and we keep moving.

"Help! Help, anybody!" We hear a plea. I look to Daryl, who looks to me shaking his head. I know what he's thinking, he's thinking it could be a trap. "Help!" The sound continues.

"Dad, come on." Carl tries to get us to go and help whoever it is. The screaming continues, "come on! Come on!" He urges us. Carl goes off and Rick follows him. That means we all follow them.

"Anyone, help! Help!" We get closer to the voice calling for rescue, "help! Help! Help! Anybody, help! Help! Help! Help! Help! Help! Help! Help!"

Carl shoots first, getting one in the head. I move closer to the rock, taking one out with my knife. As I try to remove it from it's skull Daryl gets one down coming towards me with his bow. He finishes it off with a stab and the man is clear of the dead. I look up to see who it is we just saved, and notice a man dressed in priest attire. I coif in his direction and turn to keep watch.