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

Chapter 24: Another Threat

Daryl gets up early the next day. I feel him move off the floor and try to gently release my arm from around him, "where you going?" I whisper, trying not to wake the others.

"Just around. See ya in a bit." He responds and I hear the sounds of him getting his shoes on before leaving through the front door. I roll over and fall back asleep. When I do get up I grab something to eat and make my way to find Daryl. It doesn't take long, as he's right outside the house, "hey, sleeping beauty."

"Hey" I say back wide awake now. The sun is shining in the mid autumn day but it's still brisk outside. I wrap a sweater around my legs as I take a seat on the porch of house 101. Daryl leans against the concrete on his knees, tinkering the motorcycle, "whatcha doin?" I ask, oblivious to how motorcycles run.

"Just tuning this up a bit." He answers me without looking, focused on what he's doing.

I stay sitting there, just watching him work and enjoy the peacefulness of the morning. I know behind closed doors things aren't pretty, but right here, right now, it looks good. Another 15 minutes or so pass by before the door to the house opens. I turn my head to look over my shoulder and see Rick, "good morning." I say with a smile.

"Morning, Sadie." He returns back to me.

Daryl then looks up from his work and asks, "so, is he okay with it?"

"It was pretty much his idea. He gets it." Rick responds.

I tilt my head to the side, not getting what they are talking about. Daryl comes back to him with, "it's got a bed and a bath, but it's still a cage, you know?"

"He gets it." Rick says again, "he told me what happened out there with the trucks."

"Wait, what?" I say from where I am sitting away from them. Daryl didn't mention anything about trucks to me.

"He tell you about those guys he met? The Ws." Daryl asks him pointing to his forehead. I stand where I was sitting with my hand on my hips listening to the conversation unfold.

Rick nods, his face covered in bandages, "like that walker we saw, yeah. We need more watch points. And I'm gonna tell Deanna we don't need to go looking for people anymore." He adds on. I feel relived that he says that but I don't want to show Daryl, I don't think he feels the same way. Daryl just stands there, looking at him before moving a few steps away, "you feel different about it?" Rick asks him.

"Yeah, I do." Daryl answers back biting his nail.

"And you?" Rick asks looking to me now.

Daryl looks to me as well through the hair in front of his eyes I can see he wants me to back him, "I'm uh-- I'm more partial to agree with Rick." I shrug lowly.

Rick nods with a small smile, "people out there, they got to take care of themselves, just like us." He tells Daryl. Daryl doesn't answer him though so he just says, "I'm gonna get him out. Shouldn't leave him in there any longer than we have to" and walks away.

"What happened out there?" I ask him now, stepping down off the steps and closer to him., "why didn't you tell me?" I ask trying not to get mad.

He shakes his head, "didn't want you to worry." He shrugs a little but I give him a look to tell him I'm not buying it. He sighs, "really," he pushes on, "after what went down here, I didn't want ya to worry about somethin' else." He comes over and puts a hand on my shoulder, leaning in closer to me, "I was gonna tell ya later." He kisses me on the cheek.

"Tell me now." I say after he does.

He sighs but starts to give into telling me the story of how him and Aaron tried following a man they saw wearing a red hood. They came across these 18 wheeler trucks from a food company and went to look inside. Once they opened one, all opened together and out piled the walkers, all marked with the same W engraved into their head, "and before all that we saw this women--" he looks away and pauses, "she was naked, tied to tree and left to die. Rotters ate her alive.."