Scars (Daryl Dixon FanFiction)

||Chapter Twenty Three||

||Chapter Twenty Three||

||Avery's POV||

The children banged on the glass doors. They all wore familiar faces from the orphanage. I remembered their smiles and their bright eyes when I handed them a deck of cards or small coloring books. It was all the had to hold onto. I knew Ms. Darlene couldn't give them everything, but she sure as hell tried.

They didn't have anything else besides a roof over their heads and a name given to them either by the people who abandoned them or by Ms. Darlene. Even the smallest things made their day like a snack. Most kids nowadays wouldn't have that appreciation, at least the nowadays back then.

Their small fingers clawed at the glass leaving blood streaks behind. I grimaced knowing I might be that someday, on second thought, not really.

I had known them and it was all the more heartbreaking that they were young. Just thinking of these small children ripping people apart for their insides is blood curdling. They're supposed to be innocent and helpless.

A taller figure then started to push through the other children. I immediately recognized the now greasy, dark hair along with the bifocals on its nose, Ms. Darlene.

My heart started to hurt even more. I reached for the brass door handle and turned it slowly. The force of the monsters pushing the door caused the exit to fly open. Before any of them could reach me, I drew my bow and matched the arrow's tip with her head. Her lips had worn away exposing her gnashing teeth.

When I felt the kids starting to pull me to the ground, I let the arrow go.

---
I woke up to feel something pressing my back and into another figure. I took in a sharp breath through my nose an recognized the musky scent. Daryl.

My eyes fluttered open to look up at him. His head was lolled to one side and a small snore emerged from him every time he took in a breath. His cheek was gathered at his eye making his face look smushed.

I got up slowly afraid to wake him. I moistened my eyes with the heel of my hands and sat up. Daryl's arm was wrapped around my waist from it falling from my shoulders. I don't even remember last night. All I remember is that dream. That terrible, horrible, unspeakable dream.

Daryl shuffled slightly beside me and turned to where his back faced me. I could barely see him in the dimly lit room since it was still dark out. I checked my watch before turning on the small light in it. It flashed 3:46. Great.

I slid off the bed landing on my tip toes. I paused every few seconds afraid of making Daryl wake. I managed to get away from him without making a noise. The floorboards creaked under my weight as my socked feet took baby steps to the door.

Daryl's snoring startle me making me reach for my waist. When I felt my pistol wasn't there my heart stopped. He shuffled slightly and clutched into the pillow as he lay on his stomach. I let out a sigh of relief and continued to trek on.

My eyes dropped low as I took careful steps down the stairs. My arms got the goosebumps from the slight chill in the air. Fall was turning into winter making my nose feel frozen. I've always hated that. I could be naked out in the snow, but if my nose is warm, I'm alright.

I pulled on my leather jacket that I collected on my way out and let out a heavy sigh. The light from the candle in Ms. Darlene's room flickered. I opened the door even more to see it sitting on her bookshelf. It was a plain, no scent, white candle mostly used for light when the power went out.

I picked it up by the small handle which was slightly warmer than I had expected forcing me to switch fingers every few seconds. It gave me some amount of light to guide myself to the dusty couch. The cushions were made of a scratchy thread that reminded me of an old grandmas living room set. Dirt was buried deep in it from the boys coming in not caring about their filth and sit down.

I placed my right leg on the cushion next to the arm rest and sat on it. My butt fit right between my leg and cushion against my back. I let out a heavy sigh and placed the candle on the coffee table next to me.

I didn't like sleeping here not knowing the truth about what happened to Ms. Darlene and the kids. That's why I should find out.

I got off the couch and headed back upstairs. The door to my room was slightly open letting the light from it emerge. I saw what I was looking for laying on my night stand. My glasses lay on top of the book I wanted to read. I tiptoed over trying not to wake Daryl before pinching the arms of the glasses and spine of the book.

Following the trail I used to get there backwards I made it back to the couch. I settled in and barely cracked open the book afraid it would shatter in my hands leaving me with nothing to look back on. Walkers snarled and scratched at the walls making me wish I had a more quiet place to think.

I slipped on my glasses and was about to read the next entry to the journal when footsteps tore my attention away from the book. A buff figure made its way down the stairs towards me, but stopped right before it touched the wooden floor. I immediately knew it was Daryl. He was the only other person in the orphanage.

"You can't be doin' this every night," he said in a groggy voice. I nodded my head in the little amount of light we had and waited for him to say something else. Daryl let out a heavy sigh as if he was talking to a brick wall. I was always hard-headed about this kind of stuff and there was no way Daryl was going to stop me.

Daryl pointed a finger at me and grumbled,"One page and you go to sleep." I nodded my head in agreement, but I didn't know if he knew I was lying.

||The Next Day||

It was time to go get some more supplies for the orphanage. We could bunker down there for awhile, but at some point I would want to move. I knew the territory around me so finding some good hunting ground was easy.

I marched ahead of Daryl with my eyes scanning back and forth. The trees started to thin out when the elevation of the ground rose. I immediately remembered where I was. This was a retreat when all else failed for me. A look over the city of Atlanta.

"Just to think we were this close. That's most likely why we had that herd," I muttered to myself, but it wasn't loud enough for Daryl to respond. I stopped walking when I got to the edge of the cliff before Daryl stood beside me. I heard him let out a heavy sigh as his eyes scanned back and forth.

The buildings were tainted with dirt and grime from the weather. Shrubs had overgrown and enveloped the buildings with vines climbing up the sides. Cars and trash littered the deserted streets. Stray walkers roamed the walkways looking for anything with a heartbeat, but there's no way in the frozen wasteland of Hell they'd find anything. Anyone with common sense would steer away from the place. It had trouble written all over it. It may seem like a good place to hunker down, but the herds upon herds crawled through it.

"There cain't be anyone still alive down there," Daryl muttered motioning to the deserted city that used to be Atlanta. It seemed like every place looked like this, with an exception of Woodbury. I wanted to turn away and not ruin the memory of peace and quiet when I watched the hustle of the city folk as a kid. I would swing my legs over the edge and four the cars passing on the main highway. Some other kids would come up behind me and try to scare me by pretending to push me off, but they come and go not really appreciating the view.

I felt Daryl's eyes on me as I stared at one walker shuffling around alone. It was stuck in an alleyway with huge trash bins and cars blocking the spaces between the buildings. I clenched my teeth afraid of saying something stupid and meaningless to him. I looked up at Daryl with a yearning look. A yearning to get away.

And he saw my plea.

"C'mon, we gotta get some more food. I don't wanna run out in a few days," he sighed before adjusting his crossbow on his hands and turning away from the cliff. A small smirk plated itself onto my face, but immediately disappeared.