The Walking Dead (Fan-Fiction)

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Dedication goes to @bumholee for the new cover!

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"So tell me again, I promise I won't pass out this time!" Stuffing another scoopful of room temperature Campbell's broth down my throat, I glanced up through half lidded eyes and bared a soupy grin. Dribbles of lukewarm liquid trickled a pathway down my chin, collecting in mounds before taking a suicide jump to my neckline and disappearing from view, taking refuge in the fabric of my filthy tee shirt.

After a few seconds of baring such a broad expression, the corners of my mouth began to feel brittle and cracked; intensifying the pain my moisture deprived skin happened to be going through. Still, I kept up the overly forced smile in hopes that Charlotte, or someone feeling down in the dumps, would see and feel a little bit better. For the sake of the entire group, I was trying my absolute hardest to keep them upbeat. I hadn't even seen half of them in a day and a half yet it felt like an extent longer than a year had passed since I'd seen them in the lobby.

Since Daryl, Andrea, Carl and I stumbled through the foyer and found the room everyone boarded up in, a somber tone spread over the setting like a thick blanket, wrapping us tighter together to a point where we felt close enough to cry on each other's shoulder, yet breathless enough to feel that conversation wasn't worth a damn.

"How come nobody told me you passed out? I swear they're all scared to tell me things or some shit like this." Pause. "Am I scary? Be honest, Kara."

"Not at all, you're too sweet." I replied, barely believing I'd actually just said what I did because to be perfectly honest, a large part of me was expecting Glenn to be standing across the table. He'd been sitting across from me for a good hour –or in my best guess what rolled off the top of my head as an hour's passing- and couldn't shut up for even a second to catch his breath, explaining in graphic detail what exactly went down once Daryl and I split off from everyone else.

The only time I'd accomplished in finding a loophole to cease conversation was once one of the busybody workers –who I didn't have a clue about- came over, explaining in a hushed voice that there was food set up on the tables in the back of the room up for grabs. It didn't take long for Glenn to realize it would be the polite thing to do to snag me a bowl, and in a matter of seconds he was up, taking his sweet time dodging the line of strangers walking back and forth, skipping over boxes of supplies along the way.

Instead, when I finally urged myself to look up and face the intruder of my silent thoughts, a scruff filled chin bent down to press a rough kiss against my cheek, obscuring my vision to nothing but a sleeveless plaid shirt and dirty black jeans. Damn it, I should have been able to guess from the voice. Maybe I was too lost in thought after the day's events, and I decided on going with that excuse. You know, just in case it would happen to reappear in conversation later on.

"I ain't sweet." Daryl insisted, settling down beside me on the creaky bench. A pair of two dazzlingly bright azure eyes stared back at me and to be quite honest, I really wasn't expecting Daryl to look so...alive. Last time I'd checked he was offering his services to sneak back through the hospital to relocate Rick and Lori, drag them back to the cafeteria in one piece, and pretty much ensure their safety the entire way back.

Rather than ask how he'd managed to get in and out so fast of the walking dead graveyard, I casually went to sip at another spoonful of soup only to nearly swallow my utensil in the process. All because I tried to eat and mumble an awkward 'hi' in return to his petty remark at the same time. Seriously, whom was I even trying to impress anymore?

"Christ, I can't leave you alone for three minutes, can I?" Daryl laughed, tugging the bowl out from under my chin. His hands gently moved around my face, prodding at occasional indents here and there before removing a bandanna from his pocket and rubbing it over my mouth, removing all excess remains of any liquid stains.