Farmer's Daughter (Daryl Dixon Love Story)

Chapter 57

Melinda's POV

It was early morning and we were setting out again. After we had gotten back yesterday we contemplated on going back and burying Shane. But when Daryl said how decomposed his body was, we figured it would be best to leave him there. So we said a few words for him before we went to bed.

Dew was still on the ground, making water come in the cracks of my boots. My socks stuck to my feet and rubbed uncomfortably.

"I'm gonna need new shoes soon." I say looking at each step I take.

"All women say that. Yer fine." Daryl grumbles to the left of me.

"Way to be stereotypical, Daryl. I'm serious. Look." I point to the worn out leather on my tired feet. He nods his head but doesn't look.

"I guess we'll look around the community later." I smile at the thought of getting new shoes.

The beautiful colors of autumn were dying off. Now the only thing left was the brown trees and the hardly sustained wild life. It was the same all over, making me wonder how we didn't get lost.

"Daryl." I grab his arm to stop him from walking. "Do you see that?" I whisper. I point ahead to a tree, a red piece of cloth tied around it.

"Yeah." He nods.

"It's gotta be them." I breathe. A smile sketches across my face as I full sprint to the only piece of hope since the farm.

I look around frantically, trying to find anything that will tell us where they went.

"I've got something." Daryl calls from up the path. "It's faint. Probably a couple weeks old."

"It doesn't matter. We've got something." I smile.

"Looks like they're headed that way a while." He points in the opposite direction of where we're staying.

"Come on." We both start walking, following the light trail they left behind.

"What's the first thing you're gonna do when we find them?" I ask. I nudge his side a little to get his attention.

"I don't know." He murmurs. He fiddles with the string on his crossbow.

"Come on. You've got to have something you want to do. To say?" I smile. He makes brief eye contact with me for a minute before looking back at the ground and shaking his head.

"Well I'm going straight for my baby girl. I'm gonna tell her how much I love her. God, I miss her so much." I push my frizzy hair from my face and take in a breath. This is possibly the best I've felt in weeks.

"She's a great kid." He says after a pause.

"Thank you." I reach up and squeeze his shoulder. I couldn't help but think about how she became to be such an amazing child. It wasn't all my doing. I haven't been there lately, in the time that she needed me most. At the time that she truly needed to be raised well. Mike was there, not me.

"It's gone." Daryl's words cut into my mind.

"What's gone?" I look up, confused.

"The trail. It's gone." He bends down and investigates further.

"No that can't be. Have you seen one of the red markers lately." I walk further down the trail.

"No. Nothing." He stands to his feet and looks around the area.

"Dammit!" I scream. Before I could stop myself, my fist collided with the nearest tree. "Fuck." I wince in pain. My knuckles were pink, and bright red blood started to lightly cover them.