All We Have

So Close, but So Far

Jasmine struggled to keep up with the man in front of her, John, as he pulled her arm while rushing through the woods. She was having a hard time keeping up due to the fact that she was out of commission for nearly two weeks and she hadn’t eaten or drank anything that whole time.

Jasmine pulled back on her arm and John stopped to turn and look at her. “I need to stop. I can barely breathe.”

“Fine, five minutes.” He muttered and turned to survey the area.

Jasmine bent down to put her hands on her knees and began to breathe deeply. There was a constant twinge of pain in her side right below her ribs, as well as a throbbing in her head and her arm. Her knee felt like it could barely bend and she was fighting to stay on her feet and not fall over from exhaustion. Before she even realized what she was staring at that was shoved in her boot, John had grabbed her arm again and began to pull her behind him.

“We’ve been walking for hours! Can’t we just rest?” Jasmine asked, turning her head downward to try to figure out what was in her boot. Her knife! She grinned and didn’t bother to pay attention to what John was saying.

Jasmine pretended to trip and sprain her ankle and as John stopped to check on her and bent down, she whipped the knife out and shoved it deep into his neck. He felt back gurgling and she then shoved the knife into his skull, easily ending his life.

Daryl stared at the man in his scope with disgust. He quickly shot the man down and ended his life. Daryl then proceeded to shoot down four other men.

Once the smoke and shots cleared, Daryl and Merle made their way down to the destroyed compound. The gate was completely blown down by a truck, which was on fire a few hundred feet down the road after Daryl had blown up the gas tank, killing men inside. The pool house was nearly in ruins, the roof caved in in some spots.

As Daryl and Merle walked throughout the compound, they heard the crying of two children. Merle ran towards the sound, which happened to be the pool house. Brady and Sophia were trapped behind a piece of the roof, which didn’t land on them but caused them to be in shock. The two men dug the children out and then took them to the house they had stayed in before.

“We should probably stay ‘ere for a few days, see if honeypouch comes back through ‘ere.” Merle suggested, looking at the two crying children.

Daryl simply nodded.

Jasmine had been wandering for a few days when she finally came across the compound. She smiled in relief but it was short lived as she saw the destruction that had happened here. A smoldering truck a few yards away from the battered down entrance. The pool house was in chaos, but none of the cars were gone. Did that mean they stayed?

She ran from house to house, leaving hers for last, not finding a single survivor. But she also didn’t find any dead bodies. Jasmine went inside her house, not noticing the dirty dishes in the sink of the other gun that Merle always carried with him, that he had had the day they came to rescue the women from the kidnappers, left on the island. If she would have noticed the things, she might’ve stayed to wait for Daryl. Her thoughts were consumed with the dirty, callous at times, rough around the edges, beautiful redneck. He was hers. She would find him and her little brother or die trying.

Jasmine went upstairs and took a long shower, not knowing when the last time she could do that would be. She quickly got changed and then filled her duffle with all her clothes, not bothering to close the drawers. She grabbed the guns and her bow, not forgetting about the wolf knife that Merle must’ve placed on her bed, after she dropped it being kidnapped. Her and Daryl’s bed. She grabbed Daryl’s woolen poncho, a shirt, and one of his leather jackets- making sure she had mementos of him to allow her to carry on until she found the real person her thoughts were based around.

She took all the food out of the pantry and shoved every bit into the bags she also had. Jasmine then grabbed the cases of water and carried as much as she could out to her truck. She went to the broken pool house and found her tent and her sleeping bag. She threw all her things in the bed of her truck and then grabbed the remained canisters of diesel and put them in there as well.

Before she left though, she trailed through the house one last time. She grabbed Brady’s stuffed bear, and Daryl’s pillow and finally she left, driving her truck out of the compound for the last time.

Daryl and Merle were walking back from hunting, trying to gather as much supplies as they could before they left. Brady and Sophia were lagging behind but the entire group quickly sped up as they heard a wonderful sound. The sound of a diesel truck roaring to life. Daryl began to run towards the compound, but as he reached it, the truck was already gone, just a speck in the distance.

Daryl roared. “That was her dammit!”

“Git yer shit kids, let’s go.” Merle said.

The group of four quickly gathered their things and met back by Rick’s faded red vehicle he always drove.

“She took all the stuff from the pantry and the water.” Merle said.

“And my poncho and one of ma jackets. Pillow too.” Daryl said smiling. “It had to have been her.”

“She took my bear too.” Brady cried, holding onto Merle’s leg.

“We can catch up to her if we leave now.” Daryl said, running towards the motorcycle.

Merle wrangled the kids into the truck and Daryl took the lead on the motorcycle. I will find you Jasmine, Daryl thought as he drove off into the unknown.