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

Chapter 31: A Calm

As we pull up to Alexandria, it's chaos. Gun shots popping off left and right, screams and the dead muttering, echoing through the night air. Even from where we are on the road, we can tell, the herd that separated from ours made its way inside, "we have to help them!" Sasha exclaims, leaning down to grab her automatic weapon.

"Get as close as possible, let's go!" Abraham directs to Daryl whose already moving the truck closer. Abraham hops out of the vehicle followed by Sasha and moves behind the truck. I can hear their feet against the steel of the car and know they are on top of it.

"Give me your gun!" I direct to Daryl.

"You sure?" He asks hesitatingly.

"They need help, come on!" I ask not second guessing my decision.

He nods and passes it over to me. I slide out that instant and follow the steps of Sasha and Abraham. Getting up there and shooting at the dead that surround the town. The automatic shots soon slow down and I hear Abraham yell over everything, "can you get the gate? Appreciate it, pal."

I spot whose he's yelling down too and see Glenn stare up at us in awe and gratitude. I hop off the truck before Daryl moves it closer to get inside. I follow the truck in, helping Glenn up into the truck, sitting next to him, "what the hell happened?" Daryl asks.

"I don't know." Glenn huffs out of breathe, "I just got back. Listen we can-- we can lead some of them away, but they're scattered."

Daryl stops him, "no, we get 'em all together. Won't have to lead 'em away." He bangs his hand on the top of the truck to tell them we are going to move further inside.

Glenn looks at me confused, "don't worry, it'll work." I assure him, having a good idea of what Daryl is planning.

He backs the truck back into the small lake and hops out quickly. I take the knife out of my pocket and begin attacking the few around alongside Glenn and the others.

"We're good, get in!" Daryl calls to us all. The 6 of us somehow squeeze into the front of the truck and Daryl climbs on top directing us, "move it! Back up! All right, that's it!" He says and Abraham puts the breaks on. Another instant blast goes off, this time we're protected by the steel of the truck and the light of the fire grabs everyone's attention. We all stare through the windshield as the walkers turn their heads, then their bodies towards the distraction and make their way to it. We get out of the truck, starting to kill the intruders and take back what is ours.

It's starting to break light when we're all finished, when the last one we know of falls to the ground and we've got back our home. Everyone who fought huddles outside the infirmary, waiting on word about Carl. Shot during the chaos: No one speaks, we all barely breathe, just occasionally looking at each other knowing how close we all came to certain death. Daryl walks out of the house soon after he goes in, getting his cut stitched up. My eyes knowingly go to him, feeling the shift in my universe when the door opened. He eyes me, then tilts his head to the side to tell me to follow him. I do as directed and follow him to the side of the house, "I'm glad--"

I try to finish my sentence but he swoops me into a his grasp and holds me tightly in a hug, "are you hurt at all?" He asks into my hair.

I shake my head as much as I can in his tight grasp, "I'm fine, just some scrapes and bruises. Are you okay?" I ask him, rubbing my hand across his shirt, feeling the bandage underneath it.

"Thats nothin'. Im fine as long as yer fine." He assures.

"I am." I assure back. He lets me go and looks me in the eyes. He moves his hair by throwing his head to the side and I chuckle, loving when he does that, "here" I say to him, moving the hair in his face by pushing it to the side.

He grabs my hand softly after, keeping it close to his chest, "marry me?" He whispers out, staring into my eyes.

"wh-what?" I ask, feeling like I am about to fall over.

"Marry me" He says again a bit louder this time, a smile coming across his face.

Of course I want to say yes, to throw myself on him again and squeeze him but it's just something I never thought about having in this world. Sure, Maggie and Glenn got married, but it just never seemed to be something that came to my mind. So I never would have guessed it would've came to Daryl's, "why?" I ask stupidly with the same grin on my face.

He bites his inner cheek, "let me tell you when we say our vows. So, Sadie-Mae, will you marry me?" He bends down on his knee and pulls a ring out of his pocket.

Its a silver band, nothing extravagant and I fall in love with it instantly. It's simple, unlike our relationship, unlike the world we live in. I nod my head now, finally unable to ask any more questions. He slips the ring on my finger and scoops me into his arm, lifting my feet off the ground by grabbing around my waist and squeezing me tightly, "I love you, Daryl" I say to him as he holds me up.

"I love you too" He tells me back, placing me back on the ground and grabbing a hold of my face. He leans down and kisses me slowly, our lips connecting and exploring this new part of our relationship.

"Come on!" He pulls at my arm to move towards the crowd again a few minutes later.

"Wait, you want to tell everyone now?" I ask, stopping him from moving to the front of the house.

"No" he mumbles back turning to face me, "I want to get married now, gettin' father Gabriel and goin to the church." He tells me.

I smile at his eagerness, "but everyone's tired, Carl's still unconscious. Shouldn't we at least wait a day, or two." I say, not believing I'm letting these words slip out of my mouth.

"I don't care bout them, I care bout yew, I just want you." He smiles.

"You do, too care about them, Daryl!" I call him out on his lie, "and so do I, so no, we are not just going to elope under the noises of our friends and family. We can tell them and they can be there." I say firmly to him. He eyes me, wanting to argue so I add more to it, "I think this town could use a wedding to brighten it up a bit, to bring back some normalcy after last night."

"If that's wha you want, princess." His smile turns to a smirk and he pulls me close to him again. He kisses me once softly on the lips and we go back to the front of the house holding hands, as if our worlds didn't just change, waiting for the right time to tell everyone.

A/N: that's the end of this book! Keep your eyes out for the next installment of my Daryl Dixon love story -Determined to Endure !