Wild Roses ~Daryl Dixon Love Story~•

Randall

I hauled my 2 bags up the stairs into a small bedroom with a twin bed. The small room looked quaint and tidy, almost like it had been untouched. I dropped my bags onto the bed, but didn't un-pack them. I didn't want to be to sure yet. I heard Daryl come in with his bags and he plopped them in the corner of the room. I quickly kissed his cheek before running off to find Glenn. I hadn't talked to him since the night Dale died, and I knew we needed to talk. There was something wrong with him and Maggie, that was for sure. I heard the old RV. trying to start up, Glenn in the front and Andrea in the drivers seat. "Hey! Y'all need any help?" I said running up to them. "Dale told me that in these old vehicles the points get corroded." Glenn muttered. I felt my heart wrench at the sound of Dale's name. I knew Andrea did to because her eyes filled with tears. "Screwdriver?" She offered Glenn. "Flat head." I felt my heart wrench again, and I knew Andrea's did to. Glenn had become slightly cold with everyone, Dale's death had affected him a lot. Andrea looked over to me and we shared a small smile, remembering Dale. We were close, the only person I really truly trusted in the group. "Could you hand me a file?" Glenn asked. Andrea grabbed a file from the bag of tools and handed it to Glenn, giving him a small smile. He finished fixing the van up but didn't move. He looked frozen in thought. "I let him down.." He muttered. I stared to the ground, my eyes brimming with tears but I held them back. "He was proud of you. Maybe not in that moment, but overall." Andrea comforted. "That's easy for you to say, you had his back." Glenn turned away, letting tears fall silently. I could hear the sadness in his voice. "I have my share of regrets. But I think that he knew how much we cared for him." Andrea said looking up into the sky. I had a some regrets too. I didn't have his back that day either, I just wanted to get it done and over with. Glenn sobbed silently and closed the grate. I gave Andrea a small smile. "He was proud of you too, I remember sitting with him at night and all he could ever talk about was you" I said, placing my hand on hers. "He was proud of you too" She pulled me into a small hug before patting my shoulder. I gave her another small smile before walking into the house. I heard the Rv start behind me and I felt a small smile ghost across my face. I walked over to the house where Daryl, T-Dog and Rick were getting ready. "I wish y'all would let me go with ya" I said kissing Daryl's cheek lightly. "Better off stayin' here darlin'" Daryl said kissing my forehead. I watched T-Dog walk off to get Randel before turning back to Rick, "Where are ya bringin' em out to?" He placed his hands on his hips before his entire expression changed. I looked back to see T-Dog sprinting back to us. "Randell's gone!" He yelled. I felt my heart drop to my feet and we all took off running to the barn. We checked around the barn, and no one was there. This didn't add up, there was no signs of any break-out and the cuffs were tight enough that he could never have slipped though them. I walked out of the barn to find the whole group running around. I felt Daryl place his hand on my back. "listen, you stay close and you stay sharp, I gotta bad feelin' about this." He gruffly whispered in my ear. I nodded and gave him a look to do the same. Of course be both knew we would but It was better to be safe than sorry. "Rick! He's armed! He took my gun, little bastard snuck up on me! Clocked me in the face!" A bloody Shane emerged from the forest, walking up to us. I had a really bad feeling about this. "Alright Hershal, T-Dog get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl and Rose come with us." Rick yelled sternly before walking up to Shane. I turned around and Maggie tossed me my bow and quiver. I gave her a small smirk knowing that's exactly what I needed before running after Rick, Glenn and Daryl. "T, I'm gonna need that gun." Shane said, grabbing T-Dogs gun. "Just let him go, that was the plan wasn't it?" Carol franticly asked, searching for answers. I loaded my pistol before placing it in the waistband of my jeans "Yeah, just not so close to home." I said notching an arrow. "Don't go out there you don't know what could happen!" "Get everybody back in the house! Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick yelled before we took off into the forest. "I saw him head up in the trees that way before I blacked out, I'm not sure how long," Shane yelled. "He couldn't have gotten far, he's hobbled, exhausted" I sighed and fiddled with the string of my bow. "And armed" Glenn added making my stomach feel more queasy. "So are we, can you two track him?" Daryl and I studied the ground, nothing seemed to show up. Something was odd about this. "Naw, I don't see nothing" Daryl said. "Me either," I added. I studied the ground longer before I picked up a set of tracks. Now 2 tracks. Shane's tracks were right on top of Randall's tracks. I locked eyes with Daryl quickly knowing he was thinking the same thing, ignoring Shane's protest to stop tracking. "The kid ways a buck 25 soaking wet, trying to tell us ye got the jump on ye?" Daryl prodded, and I gave him a deathly look not to keep asking. I couldn't make out what Shane had mumbled but I knew he was just trying to cover something. "Alright knock it off, you, Rose and Glenn start heading up the right me and Shane will take the left, and remember Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other" I gave Rick an uneasy look before taking the lead with Daryl. We walked along the trails, the setting lower and lower each minute. I knew it was useless tracking in the dark and dangerous too. It was almost completely dark, and I couldn't see to well now. The tracks were still on top of each other, and nothing was making sense. Something rustled in the bushes making all of us stop dead in our tracks. I got a terrible feeling in my stomach again. I felt Daryl's hand slowly creep it's way onto my back before dropping back to his crossbow. "This is pointless, we got light?" Daryl asked pushing us forward. He flicked on a small flash light making the trails clearer. We walked along the trail, Daryl pushing past me. "This is just back to square one" Glenn said from behind me. "If your gonna do a thing you might as well do it right" Daryl stated, and I had a hint that I knew what he meant. "There's two sets of tracks right here, Shane must have followed him a lot longer than he said." "I saw that back when we split, some thin' wasn't right with Shane and the way the tracks lined up ain't right." I stated. Daryl smirked at me slightly and faced back down to the tracks. "Daryl" I said pointing to the tree. "There's blood on this tree" He nodded walking up to the tree. "More tracks" Daryl followed along the trail and I quickly stopped him. "Hold up," I said placing my hand on his chest, I pointed to the ground. "A little dust up right here," "What do you mean?" Glenn asked, his voice shook with uneasiness and panic. "It means something went down," I sighed and felt a lump in my throat. "This is getting weird" Glenn whispered. "When wasn't it." I muttered. "Had a little trouble." Daryl pointed to the small blindfold as Glenn picked it up. It was Randall's. Something cracked behind us and I kicked into instinct, running behind the tree with Glenn and Daryl. Daryl tossed a pick to Glenn before nodding to me. It was only a lone walker. It attacked Glenn, pinning him on the ground. Daryl and I couldn't get a clear shot at the walker. Before I knew it the dead ran for Daryl, trying to take a bit out of his neck. I felt myself lung at the walker, pinning it in the ground and shoving a knife through it's skull. Daryl gave me a protective look before grabbing me, checking for any bites for scratches. I looked at the walkers face, instantly recognizing it was Randall. I felt myself tense under Daryl's touch. I knew he felt it because he kissed my forehead softly. None of us said a word. "He got his neck broke" Daryl said, bending down to check for bites. He turned him over see there were still no bites or scratches. This was getting weirder and weirder. How could he have turned without a bite or a scratch? "He's got no bites" Daryl muttered. "Yeah none you can see" Glenn said, shifting uncomfortably. "He's right Glenn, there ain't no bites on em' or scratches. The broken neck killed him" I muttered, inspecting his neck. "How is that possible?" he asked. I shook my head and slightly shrugged my shoulders, staring at the ground. We got up and started running back to the house, dodging tree's and branches, although a few caught my face. I saw the subtle glowing light from the house and slowed to a walk. I gripped the dog tags around my neck, searching for something to keep myself calm. I knew Daryl could tell I had a bad feeling, he did too. We heard a loud gunshot ring out, causing all of us to start running back to the house. We stopped before the door, gasping for air. I placed a hand on Glenn's shoulder, causing him to flinch. "Listen here, you keep Maggie safe tonight, whatever happens." I said sternly. His eyes widened as he nodded. I took a deep breath as we walked into the house, finding everyone sitting in the living room, except Carl. I assured myself that he was just upstairs in his room but I still had a bad feeling in my stomach. "Rick and Shane ain't back?" Daryl asked. The group looked seriously worried. "No" "We heard a shot." Daryl said. "Maybe they found Randall." Lori suggested, causing all three of us to shake our heads. "We found em'" "Is he back in the shed?" asked Patricia. I Shook my head slightly. "He was a walker." I said. "Did you find the walker that bit him?" Hershal asked, slightly worried. "Yeah, weird thing is, he wasn't bit." Glenn spoke up, locking eyes with Maggie. "His neck was broke." "So he fought back?" Patricia asked again. "The thing is Shane and Randall's tracks were right on top of each other, and Shane ain't no tracker so he didn't come up behind em'. They were together." Daryl stated. I shifted slightly in my spot. "Would you three please get back out there and find Rick and Shane and find out what on earth is going on." Lori pleaded. I patted her arm before we made our way out to the porch, leaving the warmth of the house. I froze. Daryl, Glenn and Andrea followed my line of sight and froze too. There were hundreds of walkers, headed straight for the house.