Deadland

Chapter 111- Knock Out

A few seconds later, Damien comes out with all of our weapons and my backpack. I nod to them and we swiftly make our way to the gate. "Careful, don't let the guards see you." Cato whispers. 

"They will anyway, just don't wait long enough for them to catch us." I say, grabbing his wrist and pulling him forward, breaking into a run.

It's been about two and a half hours of us searching, not much has come up except for a few Walkers with staff holes in their foreheads. 

"When are you goin' back to Alexandria?" Cato asks, flicking a tick off of his forearm before it can stick itself into his skin. The air is thick and humid, it feels like we're walking around in wet air. Because of the humidity, all three of us are sweating like hogs. 

I shrug, "I dunno. This shit hasn't fully passed yet because of Henry's dumb ass so...but I do miss 'Lyss and 'Nej. I feel like 'Lyss is freakin' the fuck out thinkin' that something happened after Michonne got back. She tends to do that." 

Damien nods, "You goin' to the fair?" 

I shrug again, "I haven't seen Ezekiel in a fat ass minute. But, Michonne would have my head if I went there without her permission." 

"Hilltop's going, you could just go with us." Damien suggests. 

"Yeah," I nod, "I'll figure it out. It's comin' up soon, isn't it?" Cato and Damien both nod. My brain whirrs around all of the possibilities of what could happen if I do go to the fair at the Kingdom. Michonne didn't want us to go because she said it was dangerous. It just pissed me off because, for the longest time, I felt trapped at Alexandria. That's why Damien, Cato, and I would meet up. It was an excuse for me to breathe. 

"Woah..." Cato whispers, putting his hand on my shoulder to get me to stop walking when he sees a group of possible skins or possible Walkers.

"Shit," I hiss quietly as all three of us crouch behind a fallen tree. I squint my eyes to try and see farther, my damn scar is more of an inconvenience than I thought it would be. The herd seems to be moving like Walkers. They're not circling, they're not chasing after anything, they're just walking. It's not a big enough herd to raise any red flags, maybe two dozen of them- at most. 

"What's the plan, Sarge?" Damien whispers. 

I think for a moment before saying, "Avoid it. I'd rather not lose y'all and I'd rather not get another target put on our group's back." They both nod and we stand up, silently making our way around the herd. 

I slap Damien and Cato quietly on the chest with the back of my hand and point to footsteps over footsteps. They both look at me with a smirk, Damien nods forward to symbolize to keep going. 

About an hour later, Cato whistles quietly from a few feet away. He points to two figures just as a dog barks from the ditch they're standing over. 

I whistle to Damien and motion to the two figures. Quietly we make our way into a group again and approach the two people. "Shit." I whisper, relaxing in relief as Daryl hears our footsteps.

"The hell you doin'?" Daryl asks just as Connie turns to us as well. 

"Looking for you." Damien says. 

"Why?" 

I tilt my head at Daryl, "Because you have a bit of a habit of not asking for help when it would be helpful." I nod to Connie and she waves. 

Daryl rolls his eyes but doesn't respond, he just turns to the ditch and jumps down it, noticing something Dog's noticed. When he gets down there, he grabs a staff. Henry's staff. "Yeah, they went that way." He says, pointing to the left of Damien, Cato, and I.