𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 (𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛)

𝑇𝑒𝑛

We left the CDC in silence. I expected Daryl to scold me for stopping for the baton, but he didn't. I wasn't sure if the absence of a lecture meant we were on good terms or if he was too tired to care. The drive lasted for what seemed like a couple of hours before the vehicles in front of us began to pull over in a small neighborhood.

"Why are we stopping?" I lifted my head from the window as Daryl parked the truck.

"Probably gas," he shrugged before exiting the truck.

I grabbed my baton and quickly followed suit, finding that most of the group was already out on the pavement, stretching their legs. Rick called Daryl and Shane over to talk away from the rest of the group. I didn't think anything of it and wandered over to Glenn, who immediately noticed my new baton.

"Cool," he chuckled, "Who'd you steal that from?"

"A dead guy," I said and leaned against the motorhome, letting myself bathe in the sunlight. I noticed Andrea sitting by herself on the sidewalk with her knees brought up to her chest. I had seen her and Dale run to the motorhome at the last minute. Apparently, Andrea wanted to stay with Jacqui and Dr. Jenner.

"Is she ok?" I gestured towards her.

"Uh, honestly I don't really know. Ever since her sister died, she's been taking things pretty hard," Glenn sighed.

I forced my gaze away from her before I could start to think about my own sibling. I hadn't given myself a chance to think about what had happened to me, to my friends, to my brother. If I let myself think about it, I would start to feel everything, the guilt, the shame. I didn't think I was ready for that yet.

"All right," Rick came back to the rest of the group with Daryl and Shane following close behind. Rick explained that we were going to ditch Shane and Daryl's trucks and use the gas to fuel the motorhome and the yellow car. That meant that I lost my ride with Daryl.

While waiting for the gas to be siphoned out of the two trucks, I deliberated who I would hitch a ride with. Riding with Rick meant that I would be nowhere near Shane, which was a good enough reason for me. I waited until Rick was done helping with the fuel and jogged over to him, baton in hand.

"Rick," I called out, "Do you have any more room in there?" I pointed to the car he would be driving.

"Sorry, Charlotte. We're packed," he shook his head and walked off with a red fuel can.

"Oh," I scratched the back of my neck and looked around, only to find Shane peering at me intently from the doorway of the RV.

"We've got room in here," he licked his lips and jerked his head towards the inside of the motorhome. 

"It's fine, she can ride with me," Daryl's voice rang out behind me. I turned around and found him securing his crossbow to the rear of the motorcycle he had taken down from the back of his truck.

"You comin' or what?" Daryl was on the back of his motorcycle, waiting for me to join. The engine let out a deep rumble like a dragon that had just been awakened from a deep sleep.

"Yeah," I jogged over to him, "Is there anywhere I can put this?" I held up my baton for him to see.

"In the bag," he said to me without turning around.

I quickly opened the leather bag on the side of the bike and shoved my baton inside, hoping that I didn't break any of the things he had stored away in there. Before Daryl could get any more impatient with me, I awkwardly straddled the bike, not knowing what to do with my hands.

"You better hold on. If you fall off, I ain't stoppin,'" Daryl said to me over the engine of the motorcycle.

"Oh, uh," I scooted closer to him and carefully laced my arms around his waist, loose enough for me to be barely touching him. I suddenly felt extremely awkward, seeing as that was the closest we'd ever been to each other. I didn't usually hug men around the waist when I'd barely met them.