Just Hold On - Daryl Dixon (TWD)

13.

*Lucia's POV*

"It's gonna get dark pretty soon. We should find some food and find a place to rest for the night," Daryl said. He walked ahead of us, scouting the distance to make sure it was safe. The crossbow on his back moved slightly with every step he took.

Jackson, who was holding onto my left hand, gripped it a little bit tighter. I could tell he felt anxious about being out in the open. I squeezed his hand back and we continued walking.

Suddenly, the trees to our right rustled. Daryl stopped and put his hand up to stop us as well. He pulled the crossbow over his shoulder and aimed it in the direction of rustling trees.

Relief spread through my body as I saw what caused the rustling. A young girl came crashing through the tree line. As soon as she saw us, unshed tears made their way out of her eyes and down her face.

"Beth," I said in a surprised tone as I made my way over to the young blonde.

We held on to each other tightly as her tears soaked into my shirt. I put my right hand around her neck and cupped the back of her head, pulling her closer to me. I could feel the younger woman shaking as she held onto me, and I wasn't doing much better.

"Oh my god, you're alive. Are you alone?" I asked her.

She kept her face in my neck and just nodded her head quickly. I could tell that she was exhausted and glad to see us.

"I'm alone. But we need to move... Now. There's a herd coming; probably about a hundred of them," she spoke quickly once she got over the initial shock of seeing us.

The four of us looked between each other and quickly started running in the direction we were previously going.

"Jackson, you stay between the three of us, okay? Don't stray away. We can protect you best if you stay close," I said as I grabbed his hand once again and pulled him to catch up.

He held my hand tighter and nodded furiously.

As we ran, I pulled out one of my knives and got it ready in case anything came our way. What I didn't expect was a small herd of walkers to suddenly come piling out of the trees, and from the look on Daryl, Beth and Jacksons' faces, they weren't prepared either.

"Lucia!" I heard Beth yell.

I looked over my shoulder as I felt a hand grab me roughly. I turned to face a walker that had skin grossly hanging from it's jaw. The dead man pushed me down; the weight of the corpse knocking the air out of my lungs.

The smell of rotting flesh hit my nose first. The putrid scent invaded my senses and I began coughing. Secondly, the feeling of the dry, yet somehow slimy skin touched me as I fought to keep the disgusting yellow teeth away from my face.

"Fuck," I said breathily as I knew I wouldn't be able to reach my knives or gun without getting bit in the process.

"Daryl! Jackson! Come this way!" I heard Beth shout in the distance.

The sound of feet pounding away mixed with the faint cries from Jackson confirmed my thoughts.

They left me here.

"Wait... WAIT! BETH! DARYL? JACKSON, COME BACK," I yelled as I continued to hold off the walker.

More of them started making their way over to me. At that moment, I wanted to give in and let death take over me, but I knew that I had to fight and find my family. There had to be a reason that they would leave me behind. They wouldn't just go without me... Right?

My right hand started roaming the ground beside me, looking for anything that I could use to gain the upper hand. However luck was not something that seemed to be on my side today. I could feel the frustration bubbling up in my body as I came up empty handed.