The Next World

Chapter 34

I went upstairs and grabbed my backpack. Right when I was about to leave, Daryl was right by the doorway. He looked at me.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Why'd you agree to this?" he retorted.

"She wants to help, Daryl. What's wrong with that?" I said.

"She ain't ready," he said.

"She says she is. And I believe her. Like I said out there, I'm not letting her go off by herself. We've got her back. So long as we go with her, she'll be just fine. Besides you didn't seriously expect her to stay within the walls for the rest of her life did you? Just like I'm sure not all of the people here will stay behind these walls. It can't just be us all the time. Others will begin to step up and it's our job to ensure that they are ready to do so," I said walking up to him.

He sighed.

"You get a kick out of being right, don't you?" he asked.

"Not gonna lie, it does have its perks," I said teasingly.

He shook his head and half smiled.

"This could be a big win if those meds are at that apothecary. They can save a lot of our people. Let's do this thing," I said.

"All right," he said.

I kissed him then headed downstairs. We made our way to the armory to grab some rifles. We ran into Glenn on our way out.

"Hey. How's Maggie?" I asked.

"She's a little better. Where're you guys headed?" he said.

"Going on a run. The doc wants to check out a place that could have some meds," Daryl said.

"Will you tell Rick where I went? I know he worries too," I said.

"Sure thing. You guys be careful all right," Glenn said.

"You too. See you later," I said giving him a hug.

Daryl and I then headed to the front gate. Denise and Rosita got there a few seconds before we did. I walked over to one of the trucks we had inside.

"I think this will do," I said hopping onto the bed of it.

"You don't want to ride with me?" Daryl asked.

"Nah. I'm good. More leg room," I said stretching my legs in front of me.

"Suit yourself," he said going to the driver's seat.

Denise and Rosita went inside just as Daryl turned the ignition. I opened up the window in the back so they could call to me if they needed to. Sasha opened up the gate and we were off. It didn't take long to notice that Daryl was driving stick. The truck kept stalling and Daryl struggled to time when to disengage.

"It...uh...the..." Denise started.

"What?" Daryl asked.

"Forget it," Denise said.

"No, what?" Daryl said.

"I think maybe you're disengaging it too soon. I've been driving stick since I was 15, usually beat-up trucks like this. I mean before...you know, before I left home," she said.

Daryl continued to struggle.

"My brother taught me, so I just know," she finished.

"Maybe you should have let her drive," I chimed in.

Daryl looked at me through the rear view but he continued driving. After a few more minutes of the bumpy ride, we had come across a fallen tree.

"Daryl," Rosita and I said when we saw it in front of us.

"Yep," he said.

The truck stopped.

"Stay here," Daryl said to Denise.

He and Rosita stepped out. I got off and stood by the door keeping watch. There was a walker snarling and Rosita quickly took care of it.

"Come on. It's clear," Rosita said.

I opened the door for the Denise to step out then went and grabbed my backpack and Rosita's. I handed hers over.

"What'd you find?" Denise asked.

"Bottles of booze. Any takers?" Rosita replied.

"No, thanks," Denise said.

"Nah. I'm okay," I said.

"For later. I'm not bringing these to the pantry," Rosita said.

"I'm good. They were kind of my parents' thing. Which is why they aren't mine," Denise said.

"Nothing wrong with that," I said.

"That truck ain't gonna make it past this tree. Come on, let's walk," Daryl said heading into the trees.

"Hold up. Looks like it's a straight shot if we follow the tracks," Denise said looking at the map she brought.

"No. No tracks. We'll take the road," he said.

"That's twice as far," Rosita said.

"Go whichever way you like. I ain't taking no tracks," Daryl said continuing forward.

"We should stick together," Denise said following Daryl.

"You gonna go with them?" Rosita asked me.

"No. I'll take those tracks," I said following the tracks.

"What about Daryl?" she asked.

"He'll understand that I've got your back," I said walking forward.

She followed. Halfway into walking, I needed to break our silence.

"Hey. So...uh...I pieced it together...you and Abraham. I'm sorry," I said.

"We don't gotta talk about it," she said.

"All right. I get it. Just want you to know if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here. You're not alone," I said.

We continued walking in silence until we reached a crossroads.

"They should be coming through here," I said.

"Okay. We'll wait for them. It could be awhile though," she said.

"Yeah. I know. Here. Brought some snacks," I said handing her a bag of peanuts.

"Thanks," she said taking them.

We waited a few more minutes. Before we knew it, both Denise and Daryl were making their way over.

"About time," Rosita said when they reached us.

Daryl grabbed my hand and led me forward.

"I thought you'd follow us," he said.

"Come on. You know me," I said.

"Yeah. You couldn't let her go off by herself. Took me a few seconds but I got it. Just glad you're alright," he said.

"Glad you are too," I said.

He rubbed his thumb against my hand. I looked back to make sure Denise and Rosita were behind us. They were. We kept walking. We'd finally reached the strip mall after about half and hour. We made our way to Edison's. Daryl let go of my hand and knocked on the door. We waited to hear something. When the coast was clear, Daryl reached into his backpack and pulled out a crowbar.

"All right, the three of us are gonna do this. You're gonna stay back got it?" Daryl told Denise.

She nodded and he proceeded to pry the door open with the crowbar. Rosita and I held up our rifles in case anything popped out at us. The door opened and the odor coming from inside was raw.

"Damn," I whispered looking away.

We stood by the door for a few seconds before we went inside.