The Next World

Chapter 11

"Daryl," I whispered as I sat up quickly.

I wiped away the tears that had fallen in my sleep.

"Dammit," I said softly.

I ran my hand down my face then checked the clock. It was a few minutes passed one. Sitting up and stretching, I strapped on my boots and tied up my hair. I knelt down to pull my backpack from under the bed. Slinging it over my back, I made sure I had my knife with me. I listened just outside the door to make sure that everyone was sleeping. After a few minutes of dead silence, I placed my hand on the knob and turned it. Opening the door, I made my way downstairs as quickly and as quietly as I could. I didn't want to risk someone catching me and questioning where I was headed so I decided to use the back door instead of the front. It was the safer play. Opening it up slowly, I made it out. I crossed through the back of the houses until I made it to where I needed to be. I climbed over and made sure there were no walkers in sight before I landed on the other side. Michonne had mentioned a town that they had stopped by. From the sound of it, it wasn't too far from here. Maybe Enid had gone there. It was worth a shot. That's where I would go. I made my way into the woods. The feeling of being in the woods on my own felt somewhat comforting. Really gave me a chance to have a moment to myself and reflect on things I had forgotten. There were a few times that I stopped to listen for walkers. I was lucky enough to not hear any the entire time. Not long after, I came across a creek. I grabbed a flashlight I had packed and moved it over the creek. Checking to make sure there wasn't anything hiding there. Once I was convinced, I turned it back off and put it away. I  didn't want to draw attention to myself. I climbed down and crossed it. It only reached my knees which helped a lot. I climbed up to the other side and kept walking. I didn't know how long I had been walking. It felt like hours, especially in the dark. Just when I thought I'd never reach the town, I came across a gate. As I got closer, I heard some moaning. I looked down and saw only one walker on the ground. I took out my knife and took it out from there. I waited a few more minutes before I climbed the gate. When I was over, I looked closer at the walker.

"Shit," I said.

It was David. One of our people. I couldn't dwell on this. I had to keep moving. I made my way down the alley. The town was here. I hadn't gotten much sleep back at the house. I didn't want to fall asleep again. I didn't want to have the nightmare about Daryl again. But if Enid was here, she'd probably be in one of these buildings. Probably sleeping herself. So, I went in the first building I came across. The windows were shattered so I was able to get inside without too much commotion. I waited by the window and listened. There was nothing. It looked as if I was in a bar. I headed over to the bar table and laid down behind it. I told myself that I would find Enid when daylight came. I would find her. I closed my eyes and kept repeating this until sleep finally washed over me. There was a loud crash that startled me awake. The sun was up. Rubbing the sleep that lingered out of my eyes, I slung my backpack over my shoulders and looked around. The crash sounded far.

"Enid?" I whispered to myself.

There were footsteps that were quickly approaching so I knelt back down to hide myself. The footsteps faded soon after. I went out the window and decided to follow the direction the footsteps had disappeared in. Maybe they were Enid's, either way I needed to make sure. They had headed toward the alley. I crouched down and moved closer. There was someone knelt down looking at David's corpse. I stood up.

"Glenn?" I said.

He turned and looked at me wide-eyed.

"Amelia?" he retorted.

I quickly headed to him.

"Thank god," I said embracing him tightly.

He hugged me back just as tightly.