My Hunter || Daryl Dixon

Chapter 4

I awake with a start, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I close my eyes and I try to control my breathing. Once I've settled down, I open my eyes and look to my side. Instead finding my daughter there, I see its empty.

My heart stops and I look around, "Belle?"

I don't hear a response and I quickly put my boots on, rushing out of the room, "Belle?" I call out panicked.

I rush down the stairs and see Jimmy and Hershel talking to one another at the dining room table.

"Have you seen Belle?" I ask worried, looking around for her.

"She's outside with playing Beth." Jimmy says, looking up from the map on the table.

I let out a sigh of relief, "Thank you." I smile at them before making my way outside.

I cover my eyes from the setting sun and see Beth and Belle playing on the tyre swing in the distance. I let out a breath of relief and turn to see the new arrivals setting up by the trees. There's not that many of them and they seem to have settled in rather quickly. I decide not to be rude and be the good hostess, introducing myself to those I haven't met yet. I walk towards the makeshift camp and see an older grey haired woman sitting on the steps of an RV, an older man standing beside her. I approach the, and they look over at me.

"Um hello, my name's Hayley." I say.

The man smiles while the woman gives me as small, saddened smile, "I'm Dale and this is Carol."

I smile at the both of them, "Is there anything I can get for you?" I ask, genuinely concerned for the both of them.

Dale shakes his head, "We're fine at the moment thank you. You have such a beautiful set up here." He says, looking around the farm.

I smile and look around the farm too, "I know, we're very lucky."

He nods, "I'll say, I haven't been this comfortable since before everything happened."

I hear the sound of Belle's laughter and I turn to look at her, seeing her swing high into the air. My motherly instinct kicks in and I call out, "Not to high Beth!"

I turn back and see Carol look towards my daughter with tears in her eyes, "Excuse me." She whispers before rushing into the RV.

I look at the door confused when Dale speaks, "Her daughter is missing." He informs me.

My heart sinks, "I'm so sorry."

He sighs, "We've been searching for her, our man Daryl is out there right now looking for her but we haven't had any luck yet. We're all very worried about her, she's only twelve years old."

I think about Daryl, of course he's looking for her. He was never able to not help someone if he could, "I can't imagine what it would be like." I say, thinking about how Carol must be feeling.

"Me neither. But you have such a beautiful daughter, how old is she?" He asks, looking towards her.

I smile, "Thank you, she just turned four."

He smiles, "Wow, that's a big age. She must be a handful for you and your husband." He says.

My smile drops and I look at the ground and he speaks, "I'm sorry." He apologises.

I shrug and look at him, "It's fine. She doesn't have a father."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that." He apologises again.

"It's not your fault. The father ran out on me before I even knew she was coming." I say, thinking about the stupid redneck.

I scrunch my eyebrows up, wondering why I'm suddenly opening up to this man. I don't really like talking about this to my family, let alone a stranger. He gives me a sympathetic look and I compose myself, "Well, I just came to see how you were settling in. It was nice to meet you Dale and tell Carol I send her my prayers."