War Of The Damned - (Daryl & Beth) - The Walking Dead

5. Heading Back

5. HEADING BACK

| DARYL |

As soon as the sun started ta rise in the sky, I woke up ta fucking Glenn bangin' down the caravan door. Still groggy with sleep I looked 'round for Blondie. She was tucked in bed with the lil' Ass Kicker in her arms. I don't know why but something about wakin' up ta a scene like that made me feel weird and uncomfortable. Glenn's bangin' was fuckin' louder and I seen Beth and the baby was startin' ta wake up, so I rushed ta see what the hell the commotion was all about. There ain't no point in waking them up when they both needed all the sleep they could get.

"Wha' the hell man?" I say an' close the door behind me. "Wha's wrong?"

"Sorry. " He says quickly. I raise a eyebrow at him. Did this chink really just wake me up for nothin? I sigh. "I need you to come look for Maggie with me."

I nod without thinkin'. I didn't need ta give much thought ta that. Maggie was Beth's sister too. Blondie had already lost her Daddy. If there was chance at findin' her sister, I was takin' it at any cost. "Lemme get my shit together. Gotta tell Beth. You spoken to Tyreese yet?"

"Yeah Sasha's good. She's gonna be good." He shifts on his feet. "He'll stay behind with Beth and the kids while we head back to the meeting point."

With that said I return inside ta find Beth sittin' up in bed with Judith in her arms, the two were laughing, Judith more than Beth. It seemed that lil' Ass Kicker liked anything thing Blondie did to her and I had to admit, I'd probly' laugh at those weird faces too. I clear my throat an' both stop what they're doing ta look up at me. The baby grins toothlessly. Well ain't she just a fat bundle of joy.

Instead I eye Blondie closely. "Me an' Glenn 'a headin' out ta find ya sister. If we're not back by dark..."

"Don't say that." I'm probly' frownin' cause she moves her head to each side. "You'll come back I know you will."

That makes two of us. I don't say anythin' else. I grab my crossbow, slingin' in over one shoulder as I look for somethin' ta eat. "There's a breakfast bar inside the draw." I hear Blondie say. And true ta her word there was, I store it in the fron' pocket of my shirt. With my knife in place I head over to leave, but Blondie says something I probably would've missed if I wasn't a hunter. "Thank you."

"Keep your gun on you." I nod once then head out ta find Glenn.

*

"So how did all of this happen?"

That was the first question Glenn used ta break the hour-long silence. We were probably halfway to the meeting point by now an' he hadn't said a word since we left the campsite. I thought he was too angry ta talk, too angry ta think about anyone else but his wife. Then I remember tha' he was still sick when all of the fightin' went down. He didn't know nothin' of what happened between Rick and the Governor. He didn't know nothin' about Hershel.

"The Governor attacked and we fought back. At least we tried. Right from the start we never stood a chance." I say, makin' sure to keep my voice down. There were walker tracks up and down this forest floor and they looked fresh, maybe only a hour old.

"When did you last see Maggie?"

"When I passed her a gun, right before they killed the old man. After that it was gunfire, all I seen was red."

"Hershel's dead?"

I nod. If only I'd let Carl shoot tha' son o' bitch, he might've survived. Hell I don't even know what they did with Michonne. Fuck me.

"This is so messed up." Glenn mumbles an' he picks up the pace. So do I. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. What are we supposed to do now?"

"We find ya wife." I grit out an' take the lead. We return ta the place where me an' Blondie had found 'em. The body of the fucker I'd killed was nothin' more than a meatless carcass and torn clothes. I feel a sense of pride that I swallow, cause now I couldn't stop thinkin' about Hershel's body. Is he a walker now? Did anyone go back for him?

The bus was undisturbed an' the flames had died down some time in the night. There's nothin' there but white smoke, so we decide ta carry on back ta the prison. There's was no point in goin' back ta a graveyard but if there was a chance Maggie or anyone else was still there...then enough said.

Halfway back ta the prison I remember the breakfast bar I had in pocket and throw it to Glenn.

"You need to eat Daryl."

"Nah man, I'm used to not eatin'." Right at that moment my stomach growls to protest. "You have it."

He downs the bar in jus' three bites, swallows the last of it as we reach the fringe of the forest bornerdin' the prison gates. "There's walkers everywhere." He states the obvious and I jus' shrug.

"We're gonna find her." Then I remember something Hershel said to me a while back. "You just need to believe."

*

Maggie wasn't anywhere in the prison. We checked inside and out. We especially checked the faces of each corpse in the grounds. She wasn't anywhere. So we ransacked the cells and took everything that was worth carryin'. I grabbed my brother's lighter from the shelf above my ol' bed, an' the compass I found a while back, an' a light change of clothes. Downstairs Glenn was in the other cells, an' when I passed him he was starin' at a gold stopwatch. I think it's the same one Hershel gave him when the Korean asked for his blessin'.

"Hey you good?" I ask an' he nods. He carries on collectin' stuff. I leave him to it.

I go ta Beth's ol' cell an' sit down on her bed. It ain't that comfortable but it sure beat the thin piece of shit I'd slept on daily. No wonder she walked 'round this place with that innocent, wide smile I kind of liked seeing. Anyway, I look through her stuff ignorin' the strange feelin' in my chest when I find a little black book. I can't help myself an' I flick it open to a random page an' start readin'.

Today Maggie taught me how to shoot. That's what I was doing when I heard him come back. The bike he drives is always so noisy and I could hear him from a mile away. It was probably so ridiculous and insane that he drives such a loud bike. He could attract so much walkers to the prison but it doesn't matter because we're safe. We can have a life here. I'm writing this down because I believe we should write down wishes to make them come true. So here's mine: I wish he would teach me how to shoot a crossbow one day. I wish he would see me.

I stop there an' slap the book shut before shovin' it in my back pocket. What the fuck?! I shove the stupid image of her writing from my mind an' look for more valuable things. Of course she was talkin' 'bout me, but I ain't got a clue as to what she means an' it's the last thing I need ta be thinkin' 'bout.

On her small shelf was a framed picture of Blondie and Hershel. I stare at the ol' man, at the safe smile on her dove-like face. I shove the photo inta' my bag before I turn inta' a' pussy and cry. True I told Beth it was all good ta cry but not me. I got no right to. This was my fault.

"You ready to go?" Glenn says from the doorway. I nod, looking over the place one more time. I hope I ain't missin' anythin', cause I sure as hell ain't comin' back. Not ever. Glenn leads the way ta the nearest exit, somethin' on the way catches my eye. Damn it's Bob's ol' whiskey from our medicine run. I pick it up. I guess it'll be some use afta' all.

At the exit the sounds of fuckin' walkers bang against the door an' groanin' loudly. I aim my crossbow forward as he puts on the swat suit. Once he's done he's only got a gun in his hands an' a enormous backpack over his shoulders. He kicks open the door an' I pull the trigger out of gut instinct. The walker falls with my arrow in his head. I shot again, takin' another one down. There's about three left. I take out one more an' Glenn takes care of the other two. I get my arrows back on the way out. Glenn kills any stray walkers on our way an' I use my bro's pocket knife to stab a handful whenever I needed ta.

"We're gonna find 'er man." I say once we're back in the forest.

"I know." Was all he said but I don't care cause righ' at tha' moment somethin' echoes through the forest.

Gunfire.

My heart stops.

Beth.