Don't Get Dead | TWD | Volume 1

[18] Daryl's Flowers

We walked for at least an hour in silence. Next to finding Sophia, my main worry was getting split off from Daryl because I didn't have a clue where we were. Daryl walked around the forest like he'd been in them for years and always seemed to know where he was going. I—on the other hand—was completely useless.

I just tried keeping my mind focused on looking around for Sophia, sticking close to Daryl to reassure my never-ending thoughts that I wouldn't be lost in the woods forever and ever. Although, at this point, I probably deserved to be left in the forest.

Daryl glanced over at me a few times before asking, "You got a knife or somethin'?"

I nodded. "It's in my bag."

"Get it out," he said. "Ain't worth shit in your bag."

"It's not like I'll be able to kill anything anyway," I grumbled, pulling myself free of the backpack. I pulled out my knife, zipped up the pocket and pushed my arms back into the straps. Looking down at the knife, I held the holstered blade in two hands.

"Prob'ly shouldn't be out here then."

Daryl didn't look at me when he spoke, just glancing around at the nearby area, looking for Sophia. I was quickly reminded of what we were actually doing, and I cursed myself for almost forgetting.

"You said I could come," I argued, glancing around the forest just as he had been doing. "You know I can't do anything."

"I was just tryin' to piss Shane off," he told me. "You ain't gonna learn shit if you ain't allowed to leave."

I wondered if that was some kind of invitation, whether Daryl actually invited me out into the woods with him so I would be able to learn some skills for the new world. It was clear that the military was taking their sweet time dealing with the threat of the walkers, if they were even still dealing with it. Learning some of the skills seemed like a good idea now.

"He's just looking out for me."

I knew Shane and Daryl had never gotten on. When I joined the camp, they always butted heads, but Daryl never really stepped in unless Merle was playing up. The fact that he would bring me out to undermine Shane and his opinions was really funny to me.

Daryl scoffed. "You keep telling yourself that."

He seemed to believe it less than me because, after everything, I knew that Shane never wanted me to leave the camp because he didn't want to come looking for me. He always found a way to leave people behind back in Atlanta, and I was glad that Sophia was an exception to that.

I understood that Shane leaving people behind wasn't always his fault; in Atlanta, he was the leader, and he protected the group. Not many people were willing to go out and save the scouting group, and anyone who would have been willing was shipped off to the city. It just bothered me that he took all these precautions to keep the run group safe, and then he just left them there when they needed help.

And my dad . . .

As angry as it made me, I couldn't give Shane a lot of shit about leaving my dad because I left him too. I didn't know where he went, what direction to look in, anything. All I could do was wait there, but there was no way of knowing how long would be too long.

The trees opened up into a small field of grass, with a house in the middle. It was very secluded, like the one I had found before. Dirt covered every inch of the building's surface. The house looked like it was abandoned long before the walkers came. If it weren't empty before, it would most definitely be empty now.

"Stay behind me," Daryl whispered, pulling the crossbow off his back.

He pulled one of the bolts from the quiver attachment and loaded the bow. As he entered the house, he held a hand for me to stop at the door. He aimed his bow into the first room, glancing around for a few seconds before turning to the one opposite. His back straightened up against the frame as he turned around to look at the room completely, and when he was sure it was safe, he walked further into the house.