Almost Broken: Carl Grimes fanfic

Chapter 34

Carls POV
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I sprint out of he house and catch a glimpse of Daryl running behind me. I'm already halfway across the field by the time I realize that it's raining and that I'm soaked. I stop, look around, and listen for a sound when Daryl slows down and stands next to me, also looking around. Neither of us talk as we try to catch our breath as we stand in the rain, lightning flickering over the starry sky, a loud wave of thunder rolls by moments after.
A crying scream erupts from the left side of the field towards the woods. Me and Daryl take off sprinting at the same time, almost tripping over ourselves and the wet ground. My hat almost flies off but I quickly push it back down and secure. The rain is pouring down, blurring my vision but I catch sight of Rylie's blue plaid flannel shirt and sprint towards her, instantly recognizing she has a thick branch, and is whacking a walker as hard as she possibly can, sending it backward a few steps, but it quickly goes back to attacking her. Daryl acts fast and stabs the thing in its head and it falls limp onto the ground.
Rylie's eyes are wide in shock and fear as she huffs for air, spewing the rain from her lips as her chest rides and falls rapidly. I see about 3 other walkers in the distance and run to kill the closest, Daryl goes after the second and beats me to the third. I turn back to Rylie who is shaking from head to toe, she's grabbing her arms and just staring at the ground a distance away, and her soaked hair is falling in her face.

"Rylie." I slowly move towards her. I step closer, Daryl behind me by a tree just watching. All of a sudden she pushes me hard and I almost fall over to the mud, my hat flying off and I quickly retrieve it. I look at her, her eyes are squeezed shut and her fists are balled at her sides. She starts crying, throaty, clenched cry and it sets me on edge. Move close again, but Daryl grabs my shoulders and looks me dead in the eye.

"Carl. You gotta give her time. She just found out what we've been telling her is true. I-" we hear twigs snapping and I see Rylie running further into the woods.

"Never mind, Go after her, I'll tell the others what's going on." Daryl says. We both run in opposite directions.
"CARL!" Daryl says and I turn around quickly.
"Keep her safe!" He yells as the rain pours down harder. I nod and run after her.

"Rylie!" I yell. The only thing I can hear is our running footsteps, the rain, and my heart pounding.
"RYL-" she stops running. I keep trying to catch up to her when I see a walker; that's what she's staring at. It hasn't seen either of us yet so I run and grab Rylie from behind. One hand around her waist and stomach, the other over her mouth to keep her from screaming again. I pull her behind a tree and fall against it, Rylie falling against me. I let go of her she turns to me. He eyes are wide, tears in them. And even though it's dark, I can see her dark green eyes clear as day. She looks like she's trying to speak but no words come out. I put one finger up to my mouth to tell her to stay quiet. Her lip starts to quiver when she leans in and hugs me. At first, I'm surprised but I quickly bring my hand up to her head, cradling it the crook of my neck, my other hand wrapped around her back. We stay like that for a few moments before I hear the walker wondering closer.

"I'm just going to kill it now. Then we can go, I'll be right back." I whisper and she nods. I pull my knife out and stab the walker in the eye, watch it's body fall down. I look back to Rylie and she hugs me again.

"Do you wanna go back to the house or walk around till the sun is up?" I whisper in her ear. I can see the sunrise now, so walking wouldn't be too bad at this point.

"Can we walk? I just.. I need time to think." She says and backs up. I nod.
"Yeah.. I'll just stand behind and give you your space so you can-"

"No." She says too fast. "I mean I just... I need to think... But I also need someone. I want you with me." She says shyly and looks at her feet. I place my hand under her chin and make her look at me.