Barely Alive // TWD // Daryl Dixon

Chapter 41 -- Leaving?

"Never respond to an angry person with a fiery comeback, even if he deserves it...

Don't allow his anger to become your anger."

– Bohdi Sanders, Warrior Wisdom: Ageless Wisdom for the Modern Warrior

It took us less than the ten minutes Gabriel said it would take, probably because I ran all the way there. When we got there, I noticed there were some walkers outside of the building but nothing too bad.

We got inside through a window on the back of the building, so we didn't have to face the walkers. I was glad Glenn and the others had come because I hadn't brought a flashlight with me but Glenn and Maggie had. So we separated, Maggie went with Tara and I searched with Glenn. We wanted to get out of here quickly if we didn't find anyone here. It had been a long night and two people were still missing.

"I'm sure she's okay," Glenn told me. "Mika too."

"Yeah," I mumbled. "If they are not here, I have no idea where they could have gone or why."

"They probably had to escape."

"They wouldn't run like rats and leave us."

Then it became silent again, I wanted to scream their names and run around the place and look quicker but I didn't want to attract the walkers outside and I didn't want to trip, this place was so dark.

"So..." Glenn started, making me look at him. "Not pregnant, huh? I really believed you back at Terminus when you said you were."

"Well, I needed to be convincing, I wanted Gareth to believe me, didn't I?" I said, trying to hide my nervousness.

"It was the look on your face. Like if you were truly scared that he was going to kill your baby. Like... I don't know, I hadn't seen that look on you before... that convinced me it was true. I was surprised when you said you had lied."

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you guys think I was. Daryl probably went crazy for a few hours and he was a bit disappointed when I told him the truth."

"He was?" Glenn asked a bit shocked, I nodded. "Cecilia, look, are you sure there is nothing else you want to tell me?"

"Like what?"

I bit my lip and looked away, I didn't want to tell anyone the truth, not even Glenn. This was a secret I needed and wanted to keep, enough people knew about it already, my mum and Rick. Daryl obviously had to know since it concerned him.

"I don't know, you have just been a bit different lately. Starting with the run, you chose to come with me instead of Daryl, that was weird," Glenn told me. "Then you are pregnant, then you are not and then you become Tara's best friend and you are not the kind that just befriends people, you always keep your guard up, even for months and you've been avoiding your mum even when you didn't see her for months."

"You know my mum and I have a complicated relationship, no matter how good things can be between us. I won't lie that the prison thing affected me but I'm fine. We are finally all reunited... well at least for now, speaking of that, I'm mad at you."

"What? Why?"

"You'll leave with Abraham."

"Cici, I had to say yes."

"No, you didn't," I said, we were looking at the last room in here and still hadn't found them.

"We needed him," he said and then sighed.

Glenn said nothing else to me, he put an arm around me and pulled me closer to him. I took a deep breath before resting my head on his shoulder.

"You have to stay alive," I told him. "This can't be the last time I see you."