Exhausted {Daryl Dixon Fanfic}

XII. Stuttering

  As the sun went down, everyone began to gather around the growing fire. They kept the fire hot enough to warm the chilly air, but low enough as to not attract anything from the woods. People slowly grouped together, some resting on blankets on the ground and others on logs that were dragged around the fire. Carol smiled warmly at me and invited me to sit on the quilt Sophia had been wrapped in. The highway seemed weeks away and my brain couldn't comprehend that it had only been the night before. Lori joined us on the ground shortly after the meat was cooked.
  I glanced around the circle of people trying put names with faces. Andrea was seated between Shane and Dale, who were next to Glenn, Beth and Maggie. Jacqui was next to a man I hadn't met yet, and next to them were Carol and Sophia, Lori and myself. Rick soon joined us followed by the leather vest man who i had yet learned his name. A few people talked amongst themselves, seemingly just enjoying the warmth and food. My anxiety seemed to grow with each passing minute and I ended up sneaking the rest of my plate to Sophia.

"So, Cara," Shane's voice grew above the rest of the group as he called across the fire to me and the circle fell quiet as they turned to listen. "You saved this little girl here."

"I'm not little," Sophia's voice piped up and a few people chuckled.

"How did you find her?" Carol raised her voice for the rest of the group to hear.

People turned to look at me now. I took a long drink of the water bottle Sophia passed me, and I think Lori sensed my nerves as she placed an arm around me in a motherly gesture. I guessed a few words wouldn't suffice as an answer, and cleared my throat as if I was telling a war story. I saw a few people smile and Glenn snorted. That made me feel a little better and I leaned forward so my quiet voice could be heard.

"I would like to say, first, that this girl right here made it on her own for at least a few days before I even came along," I smiled proudly at Sophia, who was wrapped in her mothers arms. I thought for a moment, "I guess I'll start the day before I came across her."
"I had a routine, you know? Travel, travel, travel, and only stop when I needed to. I had stopped for the night after a long day walking and pulled off into the trees to find a place to crash for the night," I glanced around to see everyone's eyes glued on me, "I would string up wires so I could hear if anyone crossed them, right? Well, let me just say I didn't expect anyone to ever cut them. It was a bit naïve, I'll admit, but it was more for the dead than the living. So, I had climbed up one of the sturdier looking trees to get some sleep and sure enough I wake up to the wires snapping against the tree."

"I'd be scared shitless," Glenn mumbled and a few people murmured in agreement.

"I was, and it only got worse when I recognized those men..." I trailed off in thought, "I had gotten...mixed up, with some bad people and that's why I was walking so much; I had to disappear."

My thumb absentmindedly rubbed across the deep marks around my wrist. When I glanced up, I saw the vest man studying my hands. I pulled my sleeves down and continued.

"So, when I saw them there, after I had tried to hard to get away - it, uh, it scared me. I prayed they would just leave and think the wires were old and left behind, but of course I can't catch a break," I laughed to myself, "My bag, it kept on moving. It would shift and one of the dumb assholes - sorry, Soph, - one of the stupid men heard it. I couldn't reach out to stop it and eventually they brushed it off as a raccoon. I was scared, though. I climbed as high as I could into the tree and sat up all night."

"Let me guess, first mistake?" Shane chuckled.

"Yes sir," I smiled, "Exhaustion combined with the height I had climbed ended me up face first in the dirt. I tied a bit of my shirt around the wound and went off to find a gas station or something that would help. This brought me to a rest stop a little closer to town than I wanted."

"That's where I was," Sophia chipped in.

"Sure was, and this little one slipped through the chains on the door while I had to shatter a window." Sophia giggled as Lori pinched her side. "Now, if I was that small, I could've slipped in, too, but nope. I ended up face first once again, except this time it was on linoleum floors and with a girl screaming in my ear. So I'm trying to wipe blood out my eyes and get this noise to just shut up and when I open my eyes it's a kid with my bat held high in front of me."

"Probably scarier than seeing a geek," Jacqui laughed.

"You're telling me," I laughed along with her, "But none the less. I cleand her up and she helped me get patched up myself and we set off in search of the little stretch of freeway she described. That's when we came across the note, and soon enough Shane and Andrea came hollering down the road."

When I finished my story I looked around the fire to find everyone looking at Sophia and I. They were smiling and Carol's hand squeezed mine in a silent thank you. I ruffled Sophia's hair and she leaned her head against my shoulder. Rick's voice interrupted the fire, and he sounded a bit stronger now that Hershel was done taking blood for Carl.

"What happened to your family?" He asked me. That caught everyone's attention as they turned to me once again. His question caught me off guard and a lump formed in my throat. I pushed it away.

"They were gone before all this even started," I wouldn't say any more than that.

"I've decided something," Shane announced before anyone could push my answer further. "We'll be headin' to the CDC like Rick suggested once Carl is better."

That sparked several voices at once. He held his hand up to shush them.

"No argument. Rick is right. It's our best shot right now, okay?" With that, he stood and stalked off to his tent.

"You heard the man," Dale spoke as he stood himself, "Whether you wanted to or not."

Andrea shrugged at the group before making her way to the RV with him. One by one everyone stood and made their way to bed. Sophia and Carol both hugged me before making their way to bed, and Lori said goodnight and helped Rick to the house. They were going to watch over Carl through the night. The man who had been sitting with Jacqui put out the fire before they both went to bed, as well. For a moment I thought I was alone until I heard someone shift in the darkness across from me.

"Aren't you heading to bed?" A gruff voice asked, and I realized it was the blue-eyed man.

"Oh, sorry, yeah. I was just thinking," I mumbled, "What's your name?" I couldn't help but ask.

"Daryl," came his short answer.

"Well," I stood awkwardly and turned towards my tent, "Goodnight Daryl."

As I walked away, I heard a quiet whisper from the campfire.

"Night, Cara."