Born 2 Be Wild-A Merle Dixon love story

Chapter 65

I searched for Daryl until it was too dark to see. I followed countless sets of tracks but each of them led to the same place, nowhere. That night I slept in a tree for the first time in years. I forgot just how uncomfortable it could be. When the sun came up I resumed my pointless search. I was following a pair of tracks away from the prison when I heard someone screaming for help.

I pulled my pistol out of my back pocket and started running in the direction it was coming from. When I made it to the source of the racket I found a woman and a little boy, along with two walkers. I took out the closest walker with a head shot, before grabbing my knife for the other one. The woman was still screaming, she'd been bitten. I stabbed the walker that had ripped into her arm and then looked at the woman and boy. The woman was extremely skinny. Her skin was pale, she looked like she was going to collapse any moment. But she was still beautiful. Her hair was dirty, but I could still tell it was blonde. She had brown doe eyes, the boy was her spitting image.

"Thank you. Thank you for saving my baby." The woman sobbed as she held the boy close.

I nodded my head, unsure of what to say. I know what I need to say but how do I tell this woman that I have to kill her now?

She looked up at me, with tears running down her face.

"Do you have children?" The woman asked.

"I did." I answered, feeling the pain spike in my chest at the memory.

She was silent for a moment. "I know what's going to happen to me. I've seen it happen to others." She started to sob again. "Can you take my son, treat him like he was your own? His name is Andrew. He's only six. He's only six years old. He won't survive out here alone."

I nodded my head quickly, trying not to burst into tears myself. The woman took her son's face in her son's hands.

"This nice lady is gonna take care of you while mommy's gone. You listen to her. You do anything she tells you to. I love you Andrew. Be a good little boy." She said quietly to the boy.

"Where are you going, mommy? Mommy?" The boy asked, confused.

I looked down at where the woman had been laying, her chest wasn't moving anymore, she was dead. I looked from her to the little boy who was currently shaking her roughly. I can't stab her with him watching, I'll just have to leave her as a walker. I stepped forward and grabbed the little boy's hand.

"Hi Andrew, my name is Jess. We have to leave mommy for now, but I'm sure she'll catch up to us later." I told him after I'd knelt down in front of him.

If I can't kill her brain, she'll definitely catch up to someone.

I started to pull the little boy in the direction of the woods. He wasn't moving fast enough to get away from his mom in time. She could turn any minute now, so I picked him up and ran. The boy was light and easy to carry.

I weaved through the trees, holding the boy tightly in my arms. Even though he wasn't heavy I still got tired quickly. I put him down and put my hand over his.

"We're gonna walk for a bit, Andrew. Can you do that for me?" I asked sweetly.

Andrew nodded his head in response, gripping my fingers with his small hand.

It took us nearly all day but we made it to a creek I remembered from studying maps at the prison. My stomach won't stop growling and I'm sure the kid is hungry too. Andrew and I have small talked a bit as we've walked. I've asked him every question I could think of in hopes of keeping his mind off of his mother.

When we got to the water's edge I looked down, watching for fish.

"Have you ever been fishing, Andrew?" I asked after I spotted what looked like a catfish.

"No. My daddy was gonna teach me, but some bad men killed him." He answered.

That caught me a bit off guard. Andrew looked unaffected by it, but I've seen that look before. He's trying to act tough.

"Let's find some cane poles and I'll teach you everything you need to know sweetheart." I said, quoting Merle when he taught me to fish a lifetime ago.

When we caught enough fish to fill our bellies I cleaned them with my knife and cooked them over a small fire. Andrew seemed amazed that I could pull food out of the water, he kept looking at me like I was Jesus.

After we'd eaten all the fish I stepped just out of Andrew's sight to use the bathroom. As I was pulling my pants back up I heard him scream and then the sound of small running feet. I hurried back to our little campsite to see a walker staggering in the direction I'm guessing he ran off in. I shot the walker in the head and took off towards the sound of Andrew's crashing footfalls.