New Memories

Discovery

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Disclaimer: I only own the original characters and plot

Snow fell all around the thirty-five year old.  He squinted his eyes at the ground as he followed the trail of a buck.  There were no sounds of walkers around him.  They seemed to go into some kind of hibernation during the cold winter months.  Daryl allowed his mind to wander as he enjoyed the silence.  It had been a year and a half since the world went to shit.  He had lost his brother several months ago to some douche bag that called himself “The Governor”.  His brother had gone down fighting, however.  Daryl had found his brother not too long after he had turned.  The youngest Dixon brother fell to his knees, sobs wreaking his body.  Merle was crouched over what used to be The Governor.  Even undead, his older brother had gotten the revenge he was originally seeking out. 

He wiped the sweat from his brow with the sleeve of his newly found Carhartt.  He was tempted to shed the thick jacket but with the temperature being so low, it was a risk he didn’t want to take.  Ahead of him, the buck he had been tracking all day walked out from behind a bush.  Daryl silently crouched down low and raised his crossbow.  He slowly released his breath and fired the arrow flawlessly.  The bright orange arrow sailed through the air and hit the deer directly in the eye.  The hunter shouldered his bow and walked over to collect his prize.  When he was fifty yards away, he stumbled over something.  Startled, he turned and saw the small, partly covered figure lying in the snow. 

He saw no visible bits as he bent down and searched for a pulse.  There was a slight thumping beneath his two strong fingers.  He sucked in a breath, shocked.  Daryl did a thorough search for walker bites by patting her clothing, feeling for any blood soaked spots.  He found only cuts most likely caused by her hike through the woods.  Before he could second guess himself, he lifted the small body and moved as fast as possible back to the prison.  On the way, he studied the woman in his arms.  Her face was covered in splotches of blood and dirt that he was sure he was covered in also.

She had long, chestnut brown hair that was caked in mud and ice.  Her features were soft and kind.  Daryl guessed her to be no older than twenty.  After jogging the short distance back to the prison, Daryl finally approached the tall gates.  Carl was keeping watch and pulled the gate open in alarm at the sight of Daryl rushing over.  The older man didn’t say anything as he rushed through.   

Hershel sat at his desk with his head in a book as Daryl burst through the door.  He lifted his wrinkled head and set down the thick pages.  “Put her on the bed,” he said calmly.  Daryl crossed the small white room and placed her body gently on a bed.  Hershel stood, taking a moment to adjust to the change in elevation and began to take slow steps over to the bed as his body loosed up.  

Daryl collapsed onto the chair beside the bed, breathless, and waited for Hershel to make his way over.  It took him several moments to calm the pounding of his heart in his ears.  “I found her in the woods.  Jus’ bout tripped o’r her.  Damn thing looked jus’ ‘bout dead,” Daryl explained, his deep accent never faltering. 

“It’s a good thing you found her when you did,” Hershel told the young man as he placed heavy blanket after heavy blanket over her body.  “She would have died within the hour from hypothermia.”  The veterinarian started an IV in her right wrist and connected the long tube to a warm fluid drip he had hanging from a bar beside him. 

Over the next few days, Daryl would frequently visit the infirmary to see if she had awakened.  He didn’t trust her.  Why was she so close to the prison?  Was she with the Governor?  Did she have a group of her own?  His mind filled with questions that he wanted to ask her.