That Little Red Backpack*Daryl Dixon

chapter ten

A month after that night, things started getting bad. The governor approached the fence, on top of the tank, yelling out for Rick. "Rick! We needa talk!" Rick went to the fence, trying to talk down the Governor.

Logan wandered through the woods, Gabriel's backpack hanging off her shoulders. She went hunting by herself. Daryl and Carol both told her not to, but she didn't listen. Logan made her way through the trees and back to the prison. She stopped in the tree line, staring at the scene in front of her.

Where the fuck did he get a tank?!

The Governor held Michonne's sword against Hershel's neck, threatening Rick as he did. "We can make this work! We could all be here in peace, we wouldn't even have to see each other," Rick bargained. "It can't be like that Rick, and you know it."

One thing led to another and the Governor sliced the sword against Hershel's neck, his head falling clean from his neck and landing a few feet in front of his body. Screams echoed across the field, Maggie and Beth crying out for their father.

Logan was stunned, her mouth open to scream, but no sound came out. After that, they went wild. Guns firing, people yelling, walkers groaning. The tank rammed through the fence, letting the walkers in. Logan loaded her gun, running to join the fight.

Rick was fighting off the Governor, Daryl was killing anything that got in his way. Maggie's anger controlled her as she killed anything in sight. Beth cried, screamed, and wandered, looking for a familiar face.

Daryl saw Logan from the corner of his eye, turning sharply in her direction. "Logan!" She turned at the sound of her name, running towards him as she dodged walkers coming towards her. "What the fuck happened?!" Logan screeched. Daryl didn't respond, grabbing her arm and pulling her towards his motorcycle. Logan followed, watching as others climbed into the vehicles and drove away from the prison. She saw Beth being closed off by walkers and she tugged on Daryl's arm.

"We can't leave her!" Daryl huffed, pulling Logan onto the back of his motorcycle and riding towards Beth. Logan reached out and grabbed onto Beth's hand, pulling her onto the seat between her and Daryl. Logan reached around Beth to grip onto Daryl's angel winged vest, sitting as far from the edge of the seat as she could.

Daryl drove away from the prison, the girls on the back of his motorcycle, hanging on to him tightly.

___

Daryl pulled off to the side of the road, turning off his bike. Logan slid off the back of the motorcycle, taking her hands through her hair. Beth followed after her, standing beside Logan as she mumbled about the rest of the group. "What do we do now?" Beth asked. "I don't know," Daryl replied. "It's gonna get dark soon. Should we stop for the night?" Logan asked. Daryl slowly nodded, knowing they shouldn't be moving in the dark. It was too dangerous.

They walked through the woods in search of a safe place to stay for the night. A small clearing opened up in the mess of trees, making Logan stop. "Daryl, what about there?" He looked ahead, seeing what she pointed at. "Yeah. Yeah, that'll work fer now." Logan and Beth followed behind him, Daryl's crossbow raised in front of him.

An hour later the sun had set, the trio sat around the small fire that Daryl had built. They had no food, none of them were comfortable with leaving the others. "The others are still alive, aren't they?" Beth asked quietly. Logan nodded without hesitation, "I saw one of the cars leave before us. They got out," she said confidently. Daryl wasn't so sure, but he wasn't about to bash her hope so he stayed silent.

Beth fell asleep a little while later, using her arms as a pillow as she laid on the dirt floor of the forest. Logan sat next to Daryl, staring into the fire. Her head laid against his arm, dozing off every now and then. "Do you believe that they got out?" She said suddenly. "I don' know." Logan sighed, "If Carol's dead, I won't..." "We ain't gonna talk like 'at shorty," Daryl whispered against her hair. She sighed, thinking about all they had lost in just a day. "If they're all gone, what do we do?" She sniffled. "We keep goin'. If it's just me, you, an' Beth. We ain't goin' down 'thout a fight. I promise you that," he said it with so much determination Logan had no hesitation in believing him.

Tears fell from Logan's eyes without her noticing. "Why're ya cryin'?" He asked softly. Logan laughed quietly, wiping her cheeks with the back of her hand. "I don't know. This doesn't seem real. Sometimes I think that this whole damn apocalypse is a long, fucked up dream. That I'll wake up in the morning, go down stairs and eat breakfast with mom and Jeff, then I'll drive Gabe to school. The whole way, he'd complain about me leaving for college again in the fall, I'd tell him I'd be back at Thanksgiving. But I'd probably be too busy with exams, and not get back until Christmas," she stopped, letting out a sob. "But I'd call, tell him I'm sorry. That I love him and mom. Tell Jeff thank you for helping us. I didn't get any of that. God, I don't even know what the last thing I told my mom was. I hope it was sweet, nice. Something that actually meant something."

Daryl held her as she cried against his chest. Logan sobbed uncontrollably, but quiet enough to not wake Beth. "Darlin' I know that ya loved 'em. I know damn well they loved you too. Ya can't go on feelin' guilty 'bout that. It'll drive ya straight into the grave and I ain't lettin' that happen." He told her sternly. She nodded against his wet shirt, taking shaky breaths to calm herself.

"I miss them so much," Logan whispered. "Tell me 'bout 'em." Daryl whispered back. Logan smiled lightly, diving right into it.