When the dead roam - (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter 107 - the fight ain't over

The air smelt like smoke. The overwhelming stench of burning wood stuck to their clothes and hair. If it wasn't for the fact they could see their home going up in flames, Louise would've thought someone was throwing a bonfire. It reminded her of the celebrations when she was a kid, with fireworks and sparklers, burgers on grills and the plastic cups that everyone used to drink overpriced, tangy beer from. Only now, it had been replaced by gunfire and fearing for their lives.

Lou sighed heavily and dragged the grate cover back over the open man-hole. She lifted her bow from the ground, slung it over her back and followed her group through the woods. The Hilltop was a good days walk, if not longer and all she could do was hold on to the hope that they'd get there without loosing anyone else.

She walked beside Daryl, who kept his bow outstretched in front of him, a few meters in front of their friends. Though he hadn't admitted it, she knew he was feeling the weight of Carl's death but getting the Hunter to talk was like getting water out of a stone.

"You okay?" She asked, adjusting her grip on her bow slightly.

Daryl looked at her through the corner of his eye. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You've know him since the start"

"I'm fine" he lied.

Louise nodded. "Alright. When you're ready to talk, I'm all ears"

He didn't even look at her. He didn't need too. Daryl knew she was serious, hell, she was probably the only person who really understood him. The two of them had been a team since the moment they had their first run together and it didn't take a genius to see how they worked in unison - so Daryl should've known that even though he'd lied to her, Louise could see right through it. She knew him.

Light was breaking through the trees before the group had even made it halfway to the Hilltop. 'Walkers' we're far and few between and they were thankful, but Lou couldn't help but turn on her heel every few minutes to check for remaining Saviors that undoubtedly knew they were out there, vulnerable and afraid. The only thing she could truly focus on was knowing Aaron would be waiting for her when they got there - she just needed to know that he was okay. It wasn't until Rosita tapped her shoulder, that Daryl or herself knew everybody else had stopped walking.

"Where are they?" He asked, looking over her shoulder.

Rosita sighed. "They're exhausted, they haven't slept"

Lou bit the inside of her cheek and nodded. "Alright. Ten minutes, then we move. I'm not risking those assholes coming back"

"I'll head back, cover our tracks" Daryl said, taking his bow off his back and readying it in his hands. Lou followed suite and did the same, leaving only her bag containing arrows on her back. She passed Rosita the few tins of food she'd managed to scrape up from the cupboards in their house before they'd left.

"It's not much but might give them some energy" she said. "We won't be too long"

The three made a move to return to their group before Tara scoffed and shook her head.

"I have a question" she snapped as she pointed towards Dwight, who stood leaning against a thin tree. "Why is he still breathing?"

"Fight ain't over" Daryl stated.

"It is for him. I'm done waiting"

The two hunters looked at each other briefly before he shook his head at Tara. "Not now. Not yet"

"Bullshit, he has to die!"

"Tara, I know you're angry. Believe me, I do" Lou sighed as she placed a hand on her shoulder. "But right now, we need him"

"You don't get it" she snarled.

Her eyes narrowed. "I lost my brother, one of my best friends and my boyfriend was taking hostage..."

Daryl looked towards her. A slight smirk played on his face - one that went unnoticed by their entire group. In all their time together, neither of them had labelled their relationship - they'd never thought too - but he'd be lying if he said he didn't like it. Tara cleared her throat and nodded.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just-"

"Angry, I know" Lou sighed. "But like it or not, we need him. When this is over, then we'll kill him. Nice and slow"

"He has to die"

"And he will" she stated as her gaze drifted to the blame male, her eyes glaring into his soul. "I'll do it myself" she nodded at Daryl, who began his decent into the trees. "Make sure Nic gets some of that food, girl will do anything to make sure everyone else is fed first"

"Sure" Rosita said as Louise began to follow the other Hunter into the woods, knowing she was already a little bit behind.

Daryl's tracks were sluggish, like he'd purposefully dragged his feet in order to make her life easier when finding him - a thought that most people would've found sweet but Lou just huffed at the fact that she'd been hunting in these woods longer than he had, even with minimal clues, she would've found him. For a hunter, leaving a blantantly obvious trail probably hurt him a lot. It barely took her a few minutes to catch up to him and when she moved to his side, he nodded at her and exhaled deeply.

"I would've found you, y'know"

"I know tha'. Just thought it'd be quicker" he grumbled before he stopped and sat on the trunk of a fallen tree. His hair fell in front of his face as his body slouched. "Carl saved all those people. I gotta get 'em there, no matter wha', I gotta get 'em there for 'im"

Louise sighed and moved to sit beside him. Her hand rested on top of his and she squeezed it comfortingly as her lips pressed to the tip of his shoulder. "We will"

"Yer don't know tha'"

She nodded slowly and smiled at him. Her hand brushed the hair from his face delicately. "Yeah I do. They have you leading them, there's no one I'd trust more to lead me through this shit hole than you"

For the first time, he looked up at her. Daryl laced his fingers through the hand that was already holding his and squeezed back, his dry hands taking over her small ones. The second his eyes locked onto her own, he instantly felt so much more at peace. He brought his free hand up to her cheek and rubbed his thumb across her skin before softly pressing his lips to hers. Their foreheads rested against each other when he pulled away and he exhaled slowly.

"I love you" he whispered, as if he didn't want any sudden noise, even his voice, to break the calm moment between them.

She smiled. "I love you too"

After a few moments, he cleared his throat and stood up, offering out his hand to help her get up. She smirked and allowed him to lift her from the tree trunk before following him further into the trees. "Le's get these tracks covered an' head back"

The two hunters separated slightly, taking the time to blur out any trace of every single member of their group. All it took was the Saviors to find one set of footprints and the entire thing was over. They'd find some way to get a hold of them and then everybody their knew would be dead. Negan would save Daryl for last just to prove a point and then when Rick found out his family was gone, he'd be locked in cell like the archer. Only this time, nobody would break the prisoner out.

The very thought of it was enough to make Louise feel sick. She shook the idea away and moved leaves on top of her footprints just as a walker approached her from behind. Quickly, she spun on her heel and kicked her foot into its stomach, sending it back a few inches before she grabbed her knife and plunged it into its head. She wiped her hands on her jeans, transferring the blood from her skin to the fabric.

"Yer good?" Daryl asked as he finished his side and approached her. His eyes scanned the dead body and her bare arms.

"Yeah, all good. Bastard stuck up on me"

She watched as he nodded and began his decent back to their group, checking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure she was still close behind. Lou may not have seen it but every time he turned back to the front, he had to fight the smile from forming in his face.