Guardian Angel (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 17

I jolted awake to the sound of my name being repetitively called. I assumed it was Daryl but I was slightly shocked when I saw Carl standing next to my bed. Daryl was no where to be found.

"Hey, bud. What's up?" I asked as I rubbed my eyes to rid them of the tiredness.

"I can't sleep. I had a bad dream." Carl shyly admitted.

"Where's you dad?" I sit up and turn my body to face him.

"Examining the east fence with Daryl. On watch I guess he saw what seemed to be a hole in the fence. He came in here to get Daryl, but left me. It's still dark out." I scoot over and pat the bed, gesturing for him to climb in. He complies, slowly pulling the covers over himself as he lays down. I lay next to him, my eyes drooping slightly.

"It was her again." My heart broke at the sound of the words coming out of his mouth.

"Come here." Carl moves closer to me and rests his head on my chest and closes with eyes. My fingers absentmindedly run through his hair as he drifts into sleep. Not being able to battle my own tiredness, I close my eyes and let the darkness consume me.

+

"Sarah." I open one eye slightly to see Daryl standing there with his crossbow over his shoulder. I try to move but feel the weight of Carl on me. He's still sound asleep, oblivious to Daryl's presence.

"What?" I ask quietly so I don't wake him up.

"I need you to come with me." I gently move Carl off of me so he can sleep longer. I remove myself from the bed, nearly stumbling until Daryl grabs my hand and steadies me. Luckily, Carl managed to somehow sleep through the entire thing.

I followed closely to Daryl as we walked outside. The sun was rising but it was still slightly dark. Clouds covered the sun, emanating a beautiful yellow and pink color. For a moment, I felt as if maybe none of this was happening.

"Come here." We walked to the east fence and he crouched down and pointed to the fence.

The bottom was cut open with what probably was a wire cutter.

"No fucking way." I whispered as I crouched down next to him. I felt his breath fan over my shoulder as my fingers lightly gripped a piece of the fence that was sticking straight out.

"I don't know who did it, it could've been maybe Lizzie jacking around but I highly doubt it." Someone was trying to get in from the outside or someone from the inside was giving us a warning.

"This doesn't make any sense," I said as I let the piece of fence go. I turned to Daryl who was looking intently at me,"It's either someone in here trying to get us all killed by taking the fence down or someone from out there." I focus on the woods almost expecting to see someone lurking in the shadows, waiting for us. I jump slightly when I feel Daryl's hand land on the small of my back.

"Whatever it is we'll figure it out. Ain't we always?" I laugh quietly as I nod.

"We do manage to get ourselves along." Being out here alone calms me. It's different than seeing everyone bustling around, trying to keep our necessities in order. Trying to survive. It brings a sense of calm over me because for once I don't feel on my toes as if something was going to go wrong, I feel maybe it's going to be right.

Daryl sits on the ground and I take the advantage to move myself between his legs and lean my head against his shoulder. I close my eyes for a moment and his hand entwines with mine, and he gives it a small squeeze.

"This is relaxing." I murmur as I peer up into the sky. Daryl nods slightly, looking the other way. I know he's never been experienced to such affection, but I couldn't help but think maybe he was actually calm.

Finally, I hear the sounds of footsteps and I realize that the moment was over. I remove myself from him as he stands up quickly and grabs his crossbow. Daryl offers me his hand and I gratefully accept as he hoists me up with ease.

"Thank you." I say to him as Beth gestures for me to come help her with something.

"Remember what I said." Daryl calls out from behind me. I turn around and find myself staring at him before I close the gap between us and press a kiss to his lips. I pull away and give him a small smile before making my way to the girl.

"You two are adorable." Beth coos as we begin to go through the vegetable garden.

"I wouldn't use the word adorable to describe us." I chuckle as I pull out weeds. Honestly I wish I could go out and hunt or anything, sometimes I feel trapped behind these gates. I can understand now why Carl ran, he ran to get away from here, mainly the memories.

"Here," I hear Maggie behind me and I whirl around to see her standing in front of Beth and I with two water bottles,"You need some." I nodded gratefully before grabbing the bottle and untrusting the lid.

"Did you here about the gate?" Beth asks her older sister as I take a drink of the warm liquid.

"Yeah, we have it under control Beth. Don't worry." Although Beth seems quizzical, she drops the topic. When Maggie leaves us alone, she instantly turns to me.

"It's not okay," She demands as she sets her water bottle on the ground in sadness,"Something's trying to fight us or someone in here is out to get us all killed. I don't trust nobody." Beth claims as she moves through the vegetables to see if any are ready to be picked.

"We don't know what it is. I think whatever it is we can handle." I barely stop before she fires back at me.

"You don't know. Rick doesn't, Daryl doesn't, and my sister doesn't. It could be someone joking with us or a group out to get us. We have an amazing shelter with adequate supplies, who wouldn't want it? Nothing good lasts long in this world." Silence fills in between us and I can barely comprehend the words that came out of her mouth. She proves a good point, nothing does last long here. Someone is always out to get you, you are the hunted.

"Sorry." She whispers quietly as she peers up at me.

"It's alright. Don't worry." I fake a smile before bowing my head to examine the vegetables. When we finish I move away from her and inside for a moment to myself. I draw the curtain of my cell back to hide myself as I slowly sit on the bed. I lean back and run my hands through my hair.

Were we being hunted?