Barely Alive // TWD // Daryl Dixon

Chapter 33 -- Heartbreaking True

"Tell the truth, or someone will tell it for you."

– Stephanie Klein, Straight Up and Dirty

We had no idea where my mother was taking us, we all asked her but she refused to tell us. By now I was next to her and Daryl had stayed a bit behind with Glenn and Maggie. We went up a small hill and once at the top, I could see a small cottage and out was coming a corpulent man, I could only assume it was Tyreese, and when he turned around I saw it was indeed him, but that wasn't what made me gasp. He was holding Judith in his arms and as he went down the two steps of the cottage, I saw Mika behind him.

Rick instantly dropped her backpack and other stuff on the ground and ran to them, followed closely by Carl and Sasha, who was going to hug his brother. Rick took Judith in his arms and held her tightly, while Carl kissed his sister on the top of her head. Once Tyreese had given Judith to Rick, he was embraced by Sasha, who was crying out of happiness. Mika was coming to be with my mother but when she saw me, she smiled at me and instantly wrapped her small arms around me, before she stood right next to me, feeling safe around my mother, hell, even I felt safe around her now, which was something I never thought I would feel.

I felt tears filling my eyes when I saw Carl and Rick being reunited with Judith. They had such rough weeks thinking they had lost her forever, even I was truly affected after I saw her bloody carrier weeks ago. So not only I had reunited with a family member, it was a good day for all of us despite what we went through.

"Mum?"

"Yeah?" she said as she turned to look at me.

"Where's Axel?"

After I asked, her small smile vanished and she looked sadly at the ground, when Mika saw that, she grabbed my mother's hand in a reassuring way.

"He died about two weeks ago or a bit less," she told me at the verge of tears.

"I'm so sorry," I said sincerely.

I never liked Axel and never approved of their relationship but when I was told he chose to leave the prison to be with my mother when she was exiled, he earned my respect. It was then that I knew he truly loved her and by my mother's reaction she loved him back.

"It's okay."

As I looked at Mika I couldn't help but also wonder where Lizzie was, they were always together. I hated to think that she died too. I kept my gaze on Mika and noticed she wasn't the same friendly girl that was always smiling. Her eyes looked empty, she smiled when she saw me but after that she hadn't smiled again. She looked sad and even scared, I also noticed a cut that went down from her right shoulder, I couldn't see how deep or how long it was because of her clothes but I could tell it was recent, she didn't get that from the prison attack. I wanted to ask but right now it wasn't the time.

Daryl then finally approached me, he reached for my hand but at the slightest touch I jerked it away as I groaned, he looked at me questioningly with his eyebrows raised. I sighed and showed him my left hand, there were two big cuts on my palm and small ones around those two big ones and on some of my fingers.

"What the hell happened?" he exclaimed, horrified.

"It's nothing," I told him calmly, my mother also looked worriedly at me. It wasn't even that bad. "After the explosion, I had to make sure to not let my blade slip from my hand, it was my only way out. So I gripped it really tight so I ended up cutting myself, and as I tried to cut my ties I had to maneuver the blade and I ended up making a few cuts but it's no big deal."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Daryl exclaimed as my mother grabbed my hand to take a closer look at my cuts.

"We were in a place infested by walkers, what do you want me to do? Stop in the middle of the chaos and show you my cuts like if I were three?" I exclaimed.