Fight, Love, Live.

XLVIII

"Alright, let's move out guys." Rick yelled, making everyone jerk awake, except Riley, who, since about month six, had taken quite a bit to wake up, which is why I've been keeping us separate from everyone else. 

What if Hershel died in the middle of the night? Horrible thought, I know. But he's old. He could just die. And what if he turned, and killed everyone else? I would hear it. I'm up when someone moves, but Riley... she would sleep through the whole thing, and it would take me a minute to wake her up. A minute that a walker... a walker that used to be our family, could use to come and kill us. But those boxes... those boxes could give me that minute back. That minute to wake her up, and get us out before our family could kill us. 

"Riley... Riley... love wake up." I mumbled, rubbing my hands up her arms, and slowly but surely her eyes began to flutter open, and those beautiful green eyes gazed up at me. 

"Good morning." She whispered out, her voice cracking a little. I smiled down at her, swooped down to place a soft kiss on her lips, and then pulled away a fraction of an inch, letting my lips brush hers with each word. 

"Good morning sweetheart. It's time to go." Riley nodded, her eyes still a little bleary, and started to squirm around, trying to get up, but the extra weight made it a little difficult for her to sit up on her own, so I helped her, and when we were both finally up, with Bailey spinning around our legs, I moved the boxes so she could get out to use the bathroom, and started cleaning up our area, and packing up our stuff. 

"Take Maggie with you!" I hollered out before she could slip out the side door on her own. I could see Merle smirk down at her clearly embarrassed face, but Maggie just laughed and ran over to her, and both girls slipped out of the gas station to go to the toilets, which were technically still in the building, you just couldn't access them from in here. 

It only took me another minute to pack everything up, and just as I had thrown everything back into the bed of the pickup, and helped Bailey up into the cab, I heard it. 

"DARYL! HELP!" I was running before the second word even hit the air. My crossbow was banging against my back, but I didn't notice it, yanking it over my chest so that I could hold it properly, as I ran to the bathrooms, where I knew that scream had come from. I yanked the door open, and when I did, Riley fell back into my chest. I grabbed her before she could fall to the ground, and moved her to the side so I could see what was happening. 

There was a walker advancing on Riley and I, I dispatched it, no problem, but when I looked further in, I could see why Riley had screamed. 

Maggie was trapped in a stall, it looked like the door was unable to lock, since it kept moving, and there were three walkers trying to get through the tiny door to where Maggie was in the single stall. There was a little closet full of bathroom supplies by the stall, where it looked like the walkers had been trapped, and they must have broken out. 

"Hold on Maggie!" I hollered, and shot the one that was pushing the most on the door, but the other two were still trying to shove the door open, and Maggie seemed to be failing at keeping the door closed. 

"Hurry up!" She screamed back, just as a let loose another shot, and the second one fell. By that point, the third must have realized Maggie wasn't the only one in the room, because it had turned around to face me, and whoever else had managed to show up behind me, since I could hear feet pounding behind me, but I didn't let it phase me. As the walker took stumbling steps towards me, I just pulled back the string, loaded an arrow, pulling the bow up, and took the shot. The arrow soared, landing right in his eye, and he dropped. 

It was quiet for about fifteen seconds, until I was shoved aside by something behind me, and then Glenn was barreling through the carnage, opening the stall door, and grabbing the now sobbing Maggie, and pulling her into his chest. 

Riley. 

I spun around to look at her, and she was standing beside Carl and Merle, getting thoroughly fussed over, but that didn't stop me from moving over to her and completing my own inspection as soon as I had her in my grasp. 

"Are you okay? Any bites? Scratches?" I hissed urgently, as I ran my hands over all of her exposed skin, feeling for anything that wasn't there five minutes ago. 

"Daryl. I'm fine. Daryl! Stop! Look at me!" She hissed, looking around at everyone, but I didn't look to see their expressions, I was looking at her, like she asked me to. When she finally met my eyes again, she looked frightened, tired, but there was amusement, exasperation even, in her eyes. 

"I'm fine. No scratches, no bites. They didn't even get near me. You got there first." She whispered gently, grabbing my hands that had frozen in their search, one from the back of her head, and the other on her hip, but she took them in hers, and pulled them away, but didn't let go. 

"You kept me safe. Like you said you would. I'm fine." She finished once I had straightened back up, and I guess I looked better, because she looked around at everyone else, who I still hadn't looked at by the way, and spoke, in a louder voice, and sounding very much like her brother. 

"Come on guys. Let's head out." I heard the thuds of feet moving away, and the sound of Maggie's sobs became more distant, but I still hadn't looked away from Riley. When the sound of steps finally faded, I asked her again, for the last time. At least for right now anyway. 

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"I'm fine. Now come on, I need help getting up into the truck." She let out a little giggle, letting go of my right hand, but keeping a tight hold on my left as she began to drag me back over to the cars, where everyone else had started loading up, and most of the cars were already started, ready to go. 

I opened the door for her, helped her in, and helped her move into the middle seat, leaving room for Carl, whenever he was planning on getting in, since he had been riding with us since the farm, and moved over to my door, hopped in, and started up the truck. 

Carl hopped in not even a minute later, and Bailey, still settled behind the seats, hopped up to give him a cheek kiss once he was settled, and then we were off. On the road to nowhere yet again, but hopefully this time, nowhere would be a home.