𝐏𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐈𝐔𝐌 (𝐷𝑎𝑟𝑦𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑥𝑜𝑛)

𝑁𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑛

I didn't sleep well that night, drifting in and out of sleep until the sun came up while Daryl knocked out soon after we exchanged our last words. I ended up closing my eyes and pretending to be asleep until everyone else awoke and Daryl gently nudged my arm to wake me up from what he might have thought was a peaceful slumber.

While everyone assembled their things to prepare for the trip to the farm, I tried my best to stay out of Carol's way. Her grief wasn't something I was prepared to handle with a headache pounding on my skull like drums. I stood outside of the motorhome awkwardly, watching Andrea climb inside a silver SUV and Daryl adjust the strap on his crossbow.

My feet sheepishly carried me over to Daryl's bike, my cheeks already warming up in anticipation. His head turned to me as I got closer and through squinted eyes, he looked me up and down. I wrapped my arms around my stomach and cleared my throat.

"Uhm, do you mind if I get a ride with you?" I asked.

He looked at me carefully with furrowed brows.

"It's just that, Carol's gonna be crying and I'm pretty sure Andrea doesn't like me."

He directed his gaze to the silver SUV that Andrea was milling around and frowned.

"Fine," he said shortly and turned away. There was silent frustration ridden in his words, in the way his arms moved as if hardened stone were binding his muscles. My eyes took in the design on the back of his vest, a pair of white angel wings stitched onto the leather.

"This doesn't mean we're giving up," I took a step closer and softened my voice. He stopped what he was doing and listened.

"We can still look for her when we get to the farm."

Daryl turned to face me but said nothing. His hard gaze melted into something softer as my eyes lingered on his face.

"You guys ready?" Dale called from the motorhome and Daryl quickly averted his gaze.

He didn't bother giving an answer and hopped on his bike and brought the engine to life. I followed suit and wrapped my arms around him, feeling his chest let out a deep sigh before the bike lurched forward and we took the lead.

✯✯✯

I lifted my head as the bike rumbled down a long dirt path lined by wooden fences, leaning my head to the side to take in the view ahead. A quaint cream-colored farmhouse waited at the end of the road. Maybe it was the fact that I'd grown up mostly in the city that caused me to be a little awed by the raw sight of a farm. After all, I only ended up in Georgia on a visit. As the house grew closer I spotted a rustic, aged barn off to the side, carrying with it an unsettling feeling that I couldn't quite pin down.

Daryl slowed the bike to a stop as we arrived in front of the house and the front door suddenly opened. Rick, Lori, and T-Dog made their way down the porch steps alongside an old man in suspenders, the Zorro chick who saved Andrea via horseback, and a couple other new faces that I hadn't seen before.

I unwrapped my arms from Daryl's waist and hopped off the bike as Glenn appeared from the side of the house. As I made my way over to him, his signature goofy grin erupted on his face before meeting me with an embrace.

"How was life without me?"

"Horrible," he answered with a light chuckle.

I let go of Glenn and immediately noticed the gaze of the short-haired woman that we first encountered in the woods. Her eyes were aimed directly at me and Glenn. A frown lingered on her lips.

"What about ME?" T-Dog made his way over to me with a flashy smile and enveloped me in a tight hug.

"How ya feeling big guy?" My cheeks felt somewhat strained from my own smile. The whole ordeal felt a little familiar to me, almost like Thanksgiving greetings from relatives you hadn't seen in a while.

"Well, I ain't dying," T-Dog broke our embrace and patted me on the shoulder. My gaze then wandered over to Rick and Lori's tired faces.

"How is he?" Dale slowly approached Rick.

"He'll pull through," Lori nodded her head and gave a tiny smile, "Thanks to Hershel and his people."

"And Shane," Rick added and turned to look off to the side. The glee from my warm welcome quickly faded away as I followed his gaze and spotted Shane standing next to some bushes, head slightly lowered as his dark eyes scanned the newcomers. 

His head was shaved down to a buzzcut and he wore a pair of blue overalls that hung loosely from his body. When his gaze found mine, a ghostly hand wrapped around my throat, slowly closing my airway and forcing out whatever breath I had left in my body. I roughly dug my nails into my palms to clear my head and turned away.

✯✯✯

Hershel, the patriarch of the farm, gave us the green light to set up camp under a small patch of trees near the farmhouse. While the more able-bodied members of the group discussed plans to search for Sophia, the rest of us were left with the task of tent pitching.

I stuck together two skinny metal rods and sighed at the dismantled tent on the floor before me while Glenn did the same.

"I'm pretty sure it's because of my lack of experience when it comes to camping, but at twenty-three years old I still have no idea how to pitch a tent. I mean, you'd think that they would teach you this shit in school, but they don't," I waved around my now twice as long metal rod as I rambled to Glenn. 

"Or, you were just too lazy to look it up on the internet," Glenn held out his own rod in a fencing stance.

"Whatever," I rolled my eyes and playfully struck my imagined weapon against his and watched him strike another pose in slow motion.

"Glenn."

At the sound of his name being called, he quickly stood up straight and dropped his rod. I turned to see Maggie strutting towards us in a flowy burgundy top. She never actually bestowed me the courtesy of introducing herself to me. I figured out her name by listening to her greet someone else.

"I hear you're fast on your feet and know how to get in and out." She stopped in front of Glenn and rested her hands on her hips. Glenn said nothing and furrowed his brows in response.

"Got a pharmacy run. You in?" She asked.

"Uh," Glenn trailed off as I could practically see the gears turning in his head.

"I'll go saddle your horse then," Maggie said before he could give her an actual answer and walked off without another word, completely disregarding my presence. Glenn's cheeks wore a tomato red coat as he dumbfoundedly peered at the ground.

I turned around once more to look at her retreating figure and pressed my lips into a firm line.

✯✯✯

(𝑷𝒖𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 7/14/20)