Early the next morning, Mellody wakes up and sits up, her eyes heavy with sleep. As she rubs her eyes, she unzips the tent and crawls out, putting her shoes on. Standing, she takes in the scenery around her. She looks for any signs of Daryl, but he's still nowhere to be seen. Uncertain what to do, Mellody scans the group once more, hoping to see something she missed the night before.
Mellody zipped up the tent and started walking into the forest, but as soon as she did, Shane yelled out to her, "Hey, where are you going?"
"Nowhere," Mellody replied quickly, spinning around and putting her hands behind her back.
"Yeah? If you're going nowhere, then you should eat some breakfast," Shane called out, throwing some meat towards her.
Mellody managed to catch it just before it hit the ground, "Thanks," she said with a smile, turning around
"Just stay in shouting distance," Lori called out, and Mellody nods in response before running off into the forest. She scans the trees and bushes, searching for any sign of Daryl, but she has no luck. Suddenly, Mellody hears the distant growl of a walker, causing her to duck behind a nearby tree for cover. She peers around the trunk, her heart pounding with fear. She can't see where the walker is, but she can hear it getting closer, closing in on her. She holds her breath, waiting to see if it will pass by or if she will be discovered.
As Mellody peers out from behind the tree, she hears Carl's voice, yelling out in alarm. Looking in his direction, Mellody sees a walker ripping at the remnants of a dead deer. She rushes forward, surrounded the walker, and steps on a twig, causing it to snap under her foot. Shane, who was just on the other side of the walker, reacts instantly, pointing his gun at Mellody before realizing it's her. He quickly lowers the weapon, and Mellody breathes a sigh of relief. The commotion had alerted the group, and she watches as Carl and Shane exchange a few words, the tension in the air slowly subsiding.
The group comes across a walker that is busy devouring the remains of a deer. Andrea and Amy quickly spot the gruesome scene and express their disgust. The walker turns towards them, and the rest of the group moves in, armed with their weapons. Rick, Shane, Glenn, Jim, and Morales charge the walker, bashing it with various objects. They manage to take down the walker, with Dale striking the final blow by severing its head with an ax. Dale is stunned with what just happened.
"It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain," Dale says, still processing what just occurred.
"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's for sure," Jim adds.
Melody stares at the fallen walker, trying to comprehend the situation. She had never seen anything like this before, and the experience has left her shaken.
As they hear the sound of snapping branches and approaching footsteps, the group quickly raises their guns, ready for anything. But when Daryl Dixon steps out of the forest, the tense atmosphere fades slightly.
"Uncle Daryl!" Mellady calls out, running up to him. Daryl nods at her, but his usual warm smile is absent.
"Hay," he replies, still lost in his own thoughts.
"Oh, Jesus," Dale says, his voice heavy with worry.
"Son of a bitch. That's my deer!" Daryl exclaims, walking out of the bushes. He gestures towards the dead walker, which has clearly been feasted on. "Look at it. All gnawed on by this... filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!"
Daryl yells kicking the dear
Mellody stares at the remains of the deer, noticing Daryl's arrows protruding from its body. She feels a pang of guilt, realizing that they are responsible for taking the deer.
