Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

16

~*~

I woke up the next morning feeling nothing but guilt. I know I shouldn't feel bad. He was a rapist piece of shit. Still, his blood is on my hands. Literally and figuratively. I got up and brushed my hair, pulled on a pair of jeans and my boots and left the tent. Instantly, everybodies eyes were on me. Some looked scared, some looked concerned. Then someone wrapped their arms around my waist. I looked down to see Luke staring up at me with a smile on his face. I crouched down to his level. "You killed daddy. This way he can't ever hurt you again, mama." He said, smiling.

I frowned at him and felt a pain in the pit of my stomach. Guilt. Even more guilt. Luke thinks it's okay that I killed Zach. I sighed and smiled sadly at him. "Why don't you go help Glenn keep watch? Mama's busy right now." He nodded and ran to the R.V. and climbed up the ladder. I rubbed my face with my hands. "This sucks..." I mumbled.

"Morning, guys. Let's get going. We've got a lot of ground to cover." Rick said as him and Shane walked by everyone.

I felt a hand on my lower back. "You okay?" Daryl asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine." I lied. I smiled at him and we walked over to the hood of Carol's Cherokee. Daryl put on a shirt and wrapped an arm around my waist. I leaned into him slightly, still getting used to him showing affection in front of others.

Rick laid out a map. "All right, everyone's getting new search grids today. If she made it as far as the farmhouse Daryl found, she might have gone further east than we've been so far."

"I'd like to help." A voice said, catching our attention. Jimmy, Beth's boyfriend, stood there awkwardly with his hands stuffed in his pockets. "I know the area pretty well and stuff."

Rick furrowed his brows. "Hershel's okay with this?" He asked.

Jimmy nodded. "Yeah, yeah. He said I should ask you.

Rick nodded. "All right then. Thanks."

"Nothing about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse." Shane shook his head.

I raised my brows. "Anybody includes her, right?" I asked.

Daryl stuck out a hand about waist high. "Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay-high."

"It's a good lead." Andrea agreed.

"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick said.

Daryl shook his head, pointing at a spot on the map. "No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here, take a bird's-eye view of the whole grid. If she's up there, I'll spot her."

T-dog nodded. "Good idea. Maybe you'll see your Chupacabra up there too." I chuckled.

"Chupacabra?" Rick asked.

"You never heard this? First night in camp, Daryl tells us that the whole thing reminds him of a time he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra." Dale laughed.

Jimmy breathed a laugh. "What are you braying at, jackass?" Daryl asked him.

"You believe in a blood-sucking dog?" Rick asked.

Daryl shrugged. "Do you believe in dead people walking around?"

Rick didn't have time to respond because Jimmy reached out to grab the shotgun that sat in front of him. "Hey, hey. Ever fire one before?" Rick asked him.

Jimmy shrugged. "Well, if I'm going out, I want one."

Daryl scoffed and slung his crossbow over his shoulder, grabbing my hand. "Yeah, and people in Hell want slurpees." I laughed lightly as he dragged me away from the group, heading towards the stables.