A Fresh Start

Chapter 19

I had finally reached the Jeep. My handgun was still there and still intact. I grabbed it and stashed it away in my backpack. As I was about to leave, I noticed Hershel's gun on the other side. I went over and picked it up. I checked the ammo. It was fully loaded. I chuckled to myself. He really was the peace keeper of the group. I took out my knife and started to carve an 'H' into the hand grip. Once I had finished, I placed it in my pack as well. I had no idea where to start looking so, I decided to head the opposite direction the Governor had lead Hershel and I. Walkers were lurking around but none of them noticed me. At that moment, I was thankful to be covered in blood and guts. As I lost myself deep in the trees, all I could think was wishing Daryl had given me more tracking lessons. I had the basics down but I wasn't nearly as skilled at it as he was. And now that I was on my own, something like that could come in handy. I lost track of how long I had been walking. It was getting humid. I stopped for a little to get a whiff of the air. I looked up. The sun was getting ready to set. Rain would be coming. That would explain the sudden humidity. I kept walking. My feet were slowly beginning to ache. With the sun setting, I needed to find some place to hold up for the night. I didn't want to stop but I knew I had to be smart about this. Daryl and Rick wouldn't want me being stupid out on my own. They'd want me to make sure that I was fine. To take care of myself. So, I put a hold on the search for Daryl and instead started to search for a place to rest my head. I had finally reached the road. Well, a road. I looked both ways for a sign of anything. I decided to head right. Figured it be safer to stay on the road instead of in the trees. I walked for another endless amount of time. Night was fast approaching. I needed to find a place and quick. A sudden thunderclap startled me. I looked up just as a bolt of lightning was painted across the sky. I quickened my pace. Once rain fell, I would no longer be able to blend in with the walkers. There was another thunderclap and another bolt of lightning. I was running now. I mustered the energy I had left into quickly making it somewhere. I was suddenly afraid that I wasn't going to find a place in time. There was a drop of water that I felt on my cheek. Didn't take long for it to start coming down hard. Pretty soon it was difficult to see in front of me.

"Dammit!" I yelled.

I wiped the blood off my face as well as the rest on my body. It was gonna wash off anyway. Might as well do it right. Once I was finished, I did my best to keep on running while looking for a place to stay at the same time. I heard some growling close by. I kept running. I suddenly thought of going into the trees. I had luck finding a place last year before I found my group. Maybe I could find something again. I made my way into the woods. The trees made it easier to see where I was going. The mud was hell though. I had to keep going. After a few minutes, I had found some sort of shack. It was good enough for me. I pulled out my knife and banged on the door frame. It was a small place. Not much space for one of them to hide. Still I waited to hear something. When no noise could be heard, I went inside. I closed the door and moved a shelf in front of it. I looked around at my humble abode for the night. Not much. There were newspapers lying all over the place. Some of the windows were shattered. I hung up some blankets that were spread out around the room. My eye suddenly caught sight of a planter in the shape of a bright pink bra. Cigarettes and ash mixed together within it. An odd thing to have but to each their own. If there were cigarettes, then there had to be some matches around somewhere. To my luck, there was a box right under the planter. I made sure that there was no chance of any light escaping. When I was convinced, I went over to the fireplace and threw some of the newspapers into it. I lit a match and watched as the fire slowly roared to life. I warmed my hands and then took off my shirt. I coiled it up and squeezed as much water out of it as I could. I straightened it out and saw that there was faint signs of blood stains that lingered. Luckily, it was a dark shirt so the stains wouldn't be as visible once it dried. I removed a chair from under a table nearby and placed the shirt there for it to dry. I opened up my backpack and took out my tank top. Glad to feel that it was dry as I put it on. I undid my ponytail and ran my fingers through my wet hair. I took off the rest of my clothes so I could get them to dry a little. There was a sofa recliner close to the fire. I moved it a bit closer, making sure there wasn't a chance of it catching flame and laid down my jeans and socks. I was grateful that I had enough sense to pack one of the sheets from the prison. I took that out and spread it across the fireplace. I wrapped myself in it and rested my head on my arm. I felt the warmth of the fire against my face. Tomorrow, I'd continue my journey. Another journey I unexpectedly found myself on. Alone.

"I'm going to find you Daryl. Wherever you are, I will find you," I whispered.

There was nothing but the crackling of the fire that was heard throughout the room. I held on tightly to my necklace. I was still here. I wasn't losing hope. I'd be reunited with the rest of my family, eventually. Something in me just knew it. I'd get to see them all again. I looked up at the ceiling. My mom, dad, Max and now Hershel were somewhere together. Happy. I looked back at the fire and closed my eyes. Sleep quickly took over.