Daryl's Angel (Book One in the Apocalypse Angel Trilogy)

Chapter 54: Prison to Home

Time passes, and the prison starts to feel more like home. Everyone does their part to get food, wash dishes and clothes, all that. We bring in any survivors we find, giving them another chance to live.

I walk outside. It's sunny and bright out, and I smile. I look into the field, where I see Rick and Carl feeding the pigs. The whole field is full of gardens, where we grow tomatoes, beans, carrots, all that. We found those wild pigs around the prison, and we took them home, which means we have meat too.

"Morning Hope!" Carol says to me as she strolls by.

I wave, and she heads to the makeshift gazebo that acts as our kitchen, preparing for breakfast. Nearby, we've set up tables, where everyone is sitting, eating and talking.

Hands cover my eyes, and I jump in surprise.

"Guess who?" a husky voice whispers in my ear.

"Is it...Rick?" I ask jokingly.

"Nope."

"Tyreese?"

"Come on angel."

I laugh. "I know it's you, Daryl." I spin around, where I see him, his mouth turned up in a smirk.

"How long have you been up?" he asks.

"Only a little while. You looked tired. I thought I'd let you sleep," I say. "How'd your hunt go?"

He smirks. "If you'd stayed up long enough for me to get back, you'd know."

"If you hadn't taken to long getting back I would've been awake," I counter.

"Well, I got a deer," he says proudly.

He points to the food hut, where Carol and a young guy named Patrick are cooking up venison.

"That's awesome!" I exclaim, hugging him. He returns it.

He wraps his arm around my waist and we start walking. Some of the people wave and smile at us as we walk by.

"Hey Daryl! Hey Hope!"

"Thanks for the deer, Daryl!"

"Hope! Thanks for the singing yesterday!"

"Hey you two!"

I smile and we keep walking. This is normal for us already. The survivors love us, especially Daryl's hunting skills.

We end up under the food hut and I grab a bowl of meat, grabbing a piece and tossing it to Daryl. He catches it in his mouth and throws his hands up in mock celebration. I giggle.

"You guys sure get a lot of love from everyone," Carol remarks. "Hope you can live with it."

"Ah, whatever." Daryl shrugs, grabbing another piece of meat from the bowl.

"We'll live," I say, elbowing Daryl playfully.

"Patrick, can you come over here and help me?" Carol asks.

Patrick runs over, eager to help. He's a little older than Carl, and has curly black hair and glasses.

"Daryl, I have to talk to you," I say, remembering something.

"A'ight." He nods.

"Umm...Mr. Dixon?" Patrick asks. We turn to him. "I just wanted to say thank you for the deer. It was a real treat, and I would be honoured to shake your hand." He grins sheepishly.

Daryl pauses, then licks off his fingers before giving Patrick's hand a shake. The young boy grins, acting like he just met a celebrity.

"And Miss Starling, I wanted to say that you have a beautiful voice. I loved hearing you sing yesterday. It was as good as any radio station," he says, blushing slightly.

"Thank you, Patrick. That's very sweet of you." I smile and give him a small kiss on the cheek.

Daryl and I walk away, and Patrick keeps that smile plastered on his face.

"About today. I don't know if we'll be able to spare a lot of people for the run," I say as we reach one of the more secluded parts of the prison.

"That place is all set. We're gonna move on it," he replies.

I take a piece of meat and pop it into my mouth. I chew and swallow.

"Yeah, thing is, we got quite the buildup last night." I point to the fence, where many herds of walkers are pressing against it. "Dozens more towards tower three. They aren't spreading out across the fence anymore. If this continues, it could end up as bad as last month."

"With more of us sittin' here, we're drawin' more of them out. You get enough of those damn fence-clingers, they start to herd up."

"Pressing against the fence like that...it's manageable, but unless we get ahead of it, not for long." I sigh.

"We'll be fine."

"Don't get cocky. We could've gotten overrun last time something like this happened."

He kisses my cheek. "Always the group's protector, huh Hope?

"Someone needs to take that title, right?" I smirk.

We head to the cars, where the supply run team is loading everything up.

I help out, even though I'm not going. I went on the last one, which was very successful. I grabbed toothbrushes, toothpaste, and numerous feminine hygiene products that the women of the prison were more than grateful for.

As I load extra fuel into a car trunk, a guy named Zach bumps into me.

"Woah, sorry Miss Starling. Didn't see you there," he apologizes.

"No problem," I say.

"Have you seen Beth anywhere?" he asks.

I look behind me, seeing the blonde farm girl. "Right there."

Zach nods in thanks and he walks to Beth, where they greet each other with a kiss.

"You're going on the run?" she asks.

"Yeah. The council pulled everyone from the coal crew, so they're a bit short-handed.." he says. "So, I stepped up. Wanted to do my part."

I smile lightly to myself. We have a council, made up of Hershel, Glenn, me, Daryl, and Sasha. We help make decisions around the prison.

"Okay." Beth kisses him on the cheek and walks away.

"What? No goodbye?" Zach yells after her.

"Nope!"

"They're like a damn romance novel," Daryl whispers to me before putting a box in the trunk of a car. I snicker.

"And we aren't?" I ask.

"Nah. We're an action movie with a splash of romance."

I laugh again, and he shuts the trunk.

"Be careful," I say.

"You worry too much, angel." He grins.

"I worry just enough," I retort.

"Like I said, we'll be fine. Just worry about here, and I'll see you soon." He pulls me in for a quick kiss, and I leave the area.

As I leave, I see one of the newer guys, Bob heading towards the cars. I wave and smile, and he smiles back.

I look back one more time, and Daryl waves at me. A goofy grin breaks across my face and I continue on my way.