RULE THE WORLD | D.DIXON

117

Daryl tapped the woman on the arm. "Did I ever tell you about my brother, Merle?" he received a nod. "Okay, this one time he takes me fishing. Fishing, right, on this big lake, right, which is, private property...right? In this boat, which is, stolen. And he's drinking, So he's fishing and drinking, He falls in the lake. I have to take him, swim him all the way back. I save his life, right? You know what he says to me? 'Dummy, go get the beer.' Idiot, right?"

Connie and Cassie laughed. Her father told her a few stories about her uncle Merle, some of them weren't the best but she still would've liked to have met him. Though Max had told her that their mom and uncle Merle didn't exactly like each other.

Daryl grabbed the woman's hand, squeezing it. "It's gonna be all right," Dog barked from the distance, gaining their attention. "Come on."

The trio sprinted towards where Dog was barking and saw a burned corpse laying on the ground. Cassie looked down at it before looking around as the creaking of sticks alarmed them. She loaded her bow with an arrow, pointing it towards the sound, as her father did the same.

She lowed her bow, seeing Magna was the one standing in front of them. Cassie put away the arrow as Connie asked if she found anything, which she received a 'no'.

Searching for a little more, Dog barked as he stood in front of something. Connie and Magna hurried towards where the dog was, kneeling down next to Kelly who was barely conscious.

The older sister shook the younger girl causing her to jolt awake. Connie wrapped her arms around her sister, asking if she was okay, and gave her a drink of water, which Kelly coughed up. Cassie crouched down by her feet, a hand patting the older girl's ankle as Magan spoke.

"We've gotta get her back to Hilltop."

"Nah, I think we got to find somewhere closer," Daryl said.

"Tell them." Kelly weakly signed.

Cassie and Daryl frowned as the redneck spoke. "Tell them what?"

Magna told us about a secret stash of supplies that was in a rundown truck. Daryl and Connie flipped open the trap, revealing a bunch of supplies.

"Did you know about this?" Daryl inquired, looking at Connie who shook her head.

Connie sat down next to her sister who was in Magna's arms and shook her head in disbelief.

"I don't trust them." Magna sighed.

"What's your problem?" Daryl sneered, sitting on the truck bed. "Huh? Hilltop takes you in. They got sick children and mouths to feed, and you steal from 'em? All you're good for is talking shit."

"We'll tell them we found it." Connie signed, before taking her sister into her arms.

"Come on, let's go." He murmured, grabbing some stuff before placing a hand on his daughter's neck and leading her away. "Dog!"

When the five of them got back to Hilltop, Cassie separated from the group and went to find Saddiq. She helped him for a few hours until it was dark outside and she headed to the loft above the stables.

Cassidy saw Connie and her father talking, she gave the woman a hug, which she returned. Pulling away, she stepped forwards to her father as he asked if Kelly was okay.