Rise Up

Chapter 28

They had gotten a grill and were cooking some meat. The door was open so I made my way inside.

“Hey. That was fast,” I said leaning against the doorframe.

“Jesus had already gotten it started when we got here,” Maggie said.

“I heard the first lesson was a success,” Jesus said.

“Well, I gave it my best,” I said shrugging my shoulders.

“Where’s Daryl?” Enid asked.

“He’s out by the bench. I just wanted to come and see our fearless leader. Make sure she was getting something to eat,” I said.

“Why is he out there by himself? Why don’t you ask him to join us?” Maggie said.

I sighed. I wanted to tell her so badly what was going on with him. But I had promised him that I wouldn’t.

“He doesn’t want to intrude. He doesn’t think the trailer could hold any more people,” I lied.

“That’s ridiculous,” Sasha said.

“That’s what I told him but he insists,” I said.

“The next helping should be ready,” Maggie said.

She stood up and I moved so she could pass. I watched as she placed the meat on her plate. She then looked over at Daryl. She took off towards him. Daryl was sitting on the table. I watched her as she went and placed the plate behind him. She then placed a comforting hand on his shoulder then made her way back. She stopped midway to take in a breath. She regained her composure and came back. I went up to her and gave her a hug.

“I just wish he’d tell me what’s bothering him,” she whispered.

“I’m sure in time, he will,” I whispered back.

We parted and she cleared her throat.

“I’ll see what I can get out of him, okay?” I said.

She nodded and wiped her face. She went and took a seat inside. I then went over to Daryl. He had his head down. I went and wrapped my arms around him. He squeezed me tightly. I kissed his head.

“She wants to know what’s going on with you,” I whispered.

“I can’t…” he trailed off.

“I almost told her but I didn’t because I made you a promise. She’s really worried about you, Daryl. She cares about you. She cares about you a lot,” I said.

I leaned back and gently lifted his face to mine. He had a few tears. I wiped them away.

“It wasn’t you fault,” I said getting choked up.

“I know it was,” he whispered.

“Stop,” I said pulling him towards me again.

It hurt me to see him carry this awful weight on his shoulders. Guilt was a nasty son of a bitch. Even more so when there was absolutely no reason he should feel that way. I cleared my throat and grabbed the plate that was behind him.

“You should eat,” I said.

“Does she have something?” he asked.

“Yeah. There was more meat in the trailer,” I said.

We shared the meat in silence. Once we were done, I disposed of the plate and took Daryl to Barrington house. There was an empty room upstairs. That’s where we would stay for the night. I took off my boots and laid down on the bed that was there. Daryl came and laid down next to me. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him close.

“Try and get some sleep okay?” I said running my fingers through his hair.

I kissed the top of his head. He settled into the bed and we were both asleep before we knew it. The next day, I let Daryl get some more sleep. I carefully kissed his forehead then made my way out of the house. I met Sasha by the trailer.

“Morning,” I said.

“Morning,” she said back.

“So what’s on the agenda today?” I asked.

“Throwing knives and how to use them in combat,” she said.

“Okay. Where’s Maggie and the others?” I asked.

“Maggie is getting dressed and Enid is getting some breakfast. We’re gonna meet at the front of the gate. Where’s Daryl?” she said.

“I let him get some more sleep. Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yeah. I’m just anxious to get the lesson out of the way,” she said.

“How come?” I asked suspiciously.

“The quicker they learn this stuff, the more fighters we’ll have on our side,” she replied.

“So you changed your mind about going after Negan without backup?” I asked.

But before she could answer, Maggie stepped out.

“Hey,” I said.

“Hey. Morning,” she said.

“Morning. How are you feeling?” I asked.

“Good. I’m kind of hungry actually,” she said.

Just then, Enid came up with some pancakes and eggs.

“Sorry I took so long. I should have left earlier,” she said when she reached us.

“No worries,” Maggie said.

We all helped her with the food and went into the trailer. I watched as Maggie started to dig in.

“You guys want some?” she asked.

We all shook our heads.

“I’ll get some oatmeal later,” I said.

Jesus came in.

“So, the group is ready to go,” he said.

“That’s good. The faster we get this done, the closer we get to being ready,” Sasha said.

“Well, I’m just about finished with these pancakes,” Maggie said wiping her mouth and standing up.

“But before we go, Dr. Carson wants to do a quick sonogram,” Enid said.

“Oh shoot. That’s right. You think the group would mind waiting?” Maggie asked.

“I’ll make them wait. Go do your thing,” I said.

She and Enid stood up and took off.

“Let’s go. Tell the group what’s going on,” I said.

Sasha and Jesus followed me out. Like Sasha had said, they were waiting by the gate.

“Morning, guys. Maggie went to see Dr. Carson. We’ll start once she’s back,” I said.

They nodded in agreement. Charlie then made her way up to me.

“Amelia. Do you think we could run through everything that you taught us yesterday? Just to make sure that we are all keeping it in the back of our minds,” she said.

I looked over at Sasha and Jesus.

“That sounds like a good idea,” Jesus said.

Sasha nodded. I looked back at the group.

“All right. The rifles are in the same place we left them yesterday. Let’s go,” I said.