The Rest of your Life

Chapter 59

"Seriously?" Daryl spoke.

"What?" Rick asked, walking round to the boot. Rory watched as her father stopped infront of her as she waved at him.

"Hi dad." Rory spoke, grimacing. "You come here often?" Rick shared a look with Daryl before sighing and helping the child out of the boot.

•••

The three walked the perimeter of the small building, after finding no threats, they decided to lift the shutters. "We got you." Rick assured Daryl as he flung the shutters up. Both Rick and Rory walked inside instantly, guns raised. Rory's eyes scanned the small room, it was clear besides the van inside. The girl looped back around to Rick. "Yeah, we're good."

"It's not locked." Rory told the two men, fiddling with the latch on the back of the van. Rick and Daryl watched as the kid banged her fist on the van three times before putting her ear to it. After a minute of silence, the girl shrugged. It didn't sound like there were any walkers inside at least. The girl stood back as Daryl opened the latch and pushed the back up, Rick readying his gun. But, he didn't need it.

"Well.. how about that." Rick smiled. "The law of averages."

"Yep." Daryl agreed as Rory gaped in awe.

They found a truck, and it was filled with food. Rick laughed as Rory did some type of victory dance before he threw a packet of cookies at the kid. "You can check it out at the next stop." Rick told the girl, already knowing she was eager to find out exactly what was inside. "Let's get this thing going, grab our gear, come back for the car later. Take another way back. See what we can see."

Rory beamed as they got into the truck and drove off. They found another small building and they piled out of the van, Rory still holding onto her cookies. The girl caught onto a backpack Rick threw at her, nodding his head in a way to say go wild. The girl grinned as she made her way to the back of the truck, Rory squinted her eyes before stopping.

"Daryl, look." Rory pointed to a tipped over vending machine.

"Yo." The man called to Rick as he approached the vending machine. "Give me a hand with this."

Rory watched in amusement as the two men struggled to flip it over, laughing slightly. "I don't think we got it." Rick breathed out as it slammed back onto the ground.

Rory made her way into the back of the van, shaking her head in amusement at the two. Rory unzipped the backpack as she rummaged through the back of the truck. She stuffed in a few tubes of toothpaste, hers had been mysteriously disappearing, and a bunch of cookies. She was deep into the van when Rick attached a chain to the vending machine from the truck and he managed to flip it over that way.

Rory watched from the van as a man barrelled into Rick. Both him and Daryl trained their guns on him, and Rory ducked behind a pallet inside the van.

"Back up! Now!" Daryl growled, eyes flicking to the van, to Rory.

"Keep em up." Rick ordered.

"Whoa, easy, guys." Rory heard the man speak. He put his hands up in surrender. "I was just running from the dead."

"How many?" Daryl asked, both his and Ricks guns still raised. Rick backed off a little, looking for Rory. When he saw the child barely peeking from the side of a box in the van, he subtly signalled for her to stay put. Rory nodded.