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

Chapter 16: Safe Calls

"Where's Glenn?" I ask after taking out a few of the walkers around us.

Rick and him we're shooting off rounds and Michonne and I we're slicing their heads, "Glenn!" Rick calls out a few moments later. "He's got to be somewhere around here." He says back to me now after no response from him.

The walkers are coming this way anyway, yelling for him won't change much in our situation at the moment, "Glenn!" I call out next.

Michonne does as well, "Glenn!"

Rick shoots a few more bullets but the gun clicks with the empty barrel. He pulls out the flare gun, shooting one right into a dead man's eye socket and he falls down slowly. The dead don't go for the lit up man on the ground though, but keep stumbling towards us. As they get closer, the three of us work to take them out with our hand weapons. After taking out one and going to move for another when the sound of gunfire stops me. The bodies begin to fall down quickly and once the last one drops, I look behind me, "if you really want to tie me up again, that's fine, but hurry up." Aaron says lowering his gun to the ground, Glenn standing next to him.

"No time. We're going that way." Rick directs back and we move past all the bodies we just took down. We make it to route 16. The road is clear and Rick turns his attention to the stranger in our group, "where are they?" He demands answers.

"I don't know." Aaron says back.

"If this is a trap to get us back where you want us, your people are going to die tonight." Rick informs him clearly.

"We'll find them Rick" I assure him putting my hand on his shoulder.

He brushes it off, "Rick, the flare was towards the water tower." Michonne tells us. We all start moving in that direction, running as fast as we can.

When we make it to the water tower we walk around the old buildings, Rick whistling. Our groups way of signaling to each other when we break apart for our searches. He whistles another time, with no response. We walk slowly now, careful around corners for what could be around them. Rick whistles again and this time there is a whistle back. We run forward, and a shadow is shown with his hands up. I can tell by his arms that it's Daryl. I run faster then the rest, basically leaping into Daryl and he holds me tightly, "thank god" he mumbles into my hair.

"Dad!" I hear Carl run over to his father. Maggie's nervous laugh following.

"Your sister okay?" Rick asks his son.

"Yeah. Yeah, we're fine." He returns. Daryl releases me, but keeps his left arm around my waist. Rick and him connect hands with a shake, grateful to one another for keeping their loved ones safe.

"Eric! Eric!" Aaron calls out, heading into the building. I eye Daryl, curious if he knows who he is shouting about.

"you iight?" Daryl asks once everyone is inside. I went to follow but he held me back to talk to me.

"I'm fine" I tell him honestly, "we hit a group of walkers, the car engine broke or something. Once Aaron saw the flare he panicked and ran into the woods, we had to find our way here" I explain quickly.

"No scratches? Bites?" He breathes through his nose. I shake my head once and a small smile creeps across his face, "good, I don't want you going off again without me" he says.

"Daryl Dixon, are you afraid I can't take care of myself?" I ask him coyly.

He chuckles, "yer always finding yourself in dangerous situations. If I'm not wit chu, I can't protect chu" he rubs his hand down my arm.

I laugh back, "I'm not the same weak girl I was when I met you" I tell him.

"I know yew ain't" he says, his tone changing from playful to serious, "and I ain't the same either. It matters now what happens to yew, it matters a lot."

"Does it?" I ask him. I know it does, he loves me, he's told me that. I like to hear it anyway though. He nods his head to confirm and he leans down to kiss me. His lips part mine and we hold each other's kiss for a moment.

When we get inside Aaron is coming out from another room. Everyone is chattering but he calls out to get our attention, "excuse me" he says for a second time, getting us all to look at him, "everyone. Thank you. You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria. Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight. Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."

"That sounds fine." Rick says out loud. We all look at him, surprised at his words, "but if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there."

"You really think we got to do that?" Maggie asks him, and I look at her a bit confused. Did something happen here I don't know about yet?

"It's the safe play." Rick answers back, "we don't know you."

Aaron answers, "the only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me."

Aaron goes to walk past him, back to the man I've come to conclude is Eric. Glenn steps between the two of them, "whoa." He turns his body to Rick, "Rick, he told us where the camp is. And he really was only traveling with one other person. They're both unarmed. One of them's got a broken ankle. I want us to be safe, too. I can't give up everything else. I know what I said, but it does matter." Glenn says in a whisper. Although his voice is low, we all hear it.

"All right." Rick caves and allows Aaron to go past him.

Daryl of course doesn't want to sleep, so I know I will get to. I lay my head against a wall while sitting next to Carl, trying to focus on Judith's little breathing to help me doze off.

"Let's go, princess" Daryl wakes me up in the morning kicking at my feet.

My eyes open quickly and he's smiling down on top of me, "can't you wake me up more gently?" I yawn out, "like a kiss on the cheek, an arm rub or something?" I offer other ideas to him.

"Not likely, princess" he uses the nickname again. I roll my eyes and stand up, wiping off any debri that may be left on my clothes. We all make our way to the only mode of transportation we have left and pile inside. We make our way back to the road and get the other car from the night before.

We make it to Alexandria, the only hiccup along the way was a dead RV battery. Glenn fixed it up and the walls to the town open before the sun even begins to set. As the gate opens a tin garbage can next to me rattles and tips over. I turn quickly with my knife and see an opossum scatter from it. Daryl quickly shoots it and it squeals with pain as it dies. He lifts it up by it's feet and the man behind the walls stares at him with fright, "we brought dinner." Daryl comments seriously as if that's all they need to hear to let us in.

I try not to laugh, turning my head away from them seeing me, "it's okay." Aaron tells him and I compose myself enough to face the town again, "come on in, guys." He tells us as he walks forward.

We all walk in, me close behind Daryl, "before we take this any further, I need you all to turn over your weapons." The man who opened the gate tells us, "stay, you hand them over."

"We don't know if we want to stay." Rick spats back.

"It's fine, Nicholas." Aaron tells him.

Rick clarifies to who we know now as Nicholas, "if we were gonna use them, we would have started already."

"Let them talk to Deanna first." Aaron nods to his neighbor, his friend.

Abraham shouts out from the back, "who's Deanna?"

"She knows everything you'd want to know about this place." Aaron tells him, tells us all, "Rick, why don't you start?"

A walker snarls behind us, "Sasha." Rick directs. She pulls up her gun and shoots it in the head just as the gate continues to close us in, "it's a good thing we're here." Rick comments smugly as we follow Aaron further into the town.