cassette tapes |d. dixon| [1]

13

CAROLINE SHIVERED AS SHE PULLED HER JACKET CLOSER. It was the dead of winter. It meant a few things. On the bright side, for some reason, it made the walkers slower. 

However, it meant that they could be exposed outside for so long. They didn't use the heat in the cars to preserve battery, so they relied on the jackets on their backs. The fire couldn't be too big so they wouldn't attract any unwanted attention.

And lack of food. Daryl struggled to find any squirrels or rabbits like he used to. All the animals went into hibernation.

"Care!" The blonde turned towards Rick, "Take the back."

She nodded, raising her pistol before walking towards the back of the house they were planning on staying in for the next few nights while they restocked on supplies.

One loud whistle could be heard and Caroline entered the house. But she didn't find any walkers. And the others clearly didn't either as they searched the entire house.

"Clear?" Rick asked when the met back up in the living room,

"Yep." She went back to the car and grabbed her backpack before heading inside with the others, flicking Carl's hat as she did so.

She looked around the house, searching for supplies. There wasn't much for them to use. She went outside to search some more and Caroline found something sticking out from under a tarp.

"Whatch'u doin', girl?" Caroline jumped and turned to see Daryl standing on the porch, smoking a cigarette.

She rolled her eyes, "Exploring." She removed the tarp to reveal a dirtbike, "Woah."

"Wow! Cool!" Carl rushed past Daryl and over to the bike, "Can we ride it?"

"Too loud, kid." Daryl responded.

Carl's face turned and Caroline nudged him, "I'll take you a few miles from here and we'll ride it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, go ask your dad." Caroline smiled,

"Thanks, Care!" He rushed back inside and Daryl shook his head,

"You know how to ride that thing?" He asked, putting his cigarette out and walking down the steps.

"I had an ex-boyfriend who taught me a few years ago." Caroline answered, "My mom used to hate it." She took the whole tarp before noticing a cellar door, "You think anything useful would be down there?"

He grabbed his gun from his waistband, "Stay here."

Caroline rolled her eyes before opening the door and grabbing her own gun, "Care-"

"Don't treat me like a child." She snapped at him before going down the dark steps. 

With the limited light from the outside, she spotted a walker by the bottom of the steps. Caroline immediately shot it before stepping onto the concrete.

"Damn." She whispered, noticing the empty cans stacked in the corner.

Daryl's gun went off and Caroline gasped. She turned to see a dead walker on the floor, it's legs broken in a way where it was crawling on the floor.

"Don't behave like a child and I won' treat you like one." He stated, putting his gun away.

Caroline glared at him before stomping towards the stairs, "Screw you, Dixon." She grumbled. She slipped on the third step and Daryl caught her before she could fall,

"You think I don' know what it feels like?" He asked, glaring down at her as she tried to break from his grip, "I have a brother, ya know." She stilled and stared into his blue eyes, "Was a pain in my ass. Wasn't soft on me in anyway. "

"Where is he?" Caroline asked,

"Don' know. Rick handcuffed him to a roof and when I went to go find him, he was gone." He helped her up, "Point is, you're not the only one who's lost someone. You don't get to act like that."

"You gotta move on an' learn from it. Only way yer gonna make it in this world." Daryl stated.

Caroline's searched his face, "Okay. I get it. I'm sorry."

"Don' need an apology from you, girl." He replied,

"I'm not a girl." Caroline whispered, realizing how close they were to each other.

"No," He smirked down at her, "You're not."

"Care!" They heard a voice yell from above, "My dad said we can take the bike if we're far away enough!"

The two paused before Daryl turned back to her, "Better go before that kid's yelling brings more walkers."