Find Your Purpose, Before It's Too Late

Chapter 11

The first morning in your new home with Daryl, was pure bliss. You had quietly snuck downstairs and made him breakfast to carry back to your room. Afterwards, you both wanted to just stay in bed and enjoy the quiet of your new place, but there was work to be done and you both had responsibilities that could not be pushed aside.

Rick, Daryl and Abraham were heading out to the construction site where the wall panels were originally obtained. They all wanted to expand the community, but wanted to be sure there were enough walls.

Your task was to take out a group to hunt out in the woods a few miles up the road from the gates. As the autumn days grew shorter, there were more deer walking through those woods and you wanted to get as many as you could.

Rick and Daryl's group were gassing up by the front gates while your group was headed to the armory to get their weapons.

"Hey," you said as you happily walked over to Daryl as he put the gas can down.

"Hey yourself," he gave you a quick wink before turning towards the trunk. "You headin' out?"

"Yeah, just waiting for them," you said motioning towards the armory.

"Who's all going out today?" Daryl asked, raising a hand to shield his eyes from the bright sun.

"Tara, Spencer, Tobin..."

"Spencer?" Daryl's whole body tensed at the mention of his name.

"We're back to this again? I don't trust this guy Y/N, he's gonna get someone killed."

"Stop Daryl. He's fine. I've taken him out a half a dozen times now. Trust me."

"I do," he said, but the wild look in his eyes didn't dissipate.

Looking past Daryl towards the gate, you saw Rick getting into the car with Abraham.

"You better go babe, they're gonna leave without ya," you smiled, and kissed him goodbye.

"Let'em. I'll come hunt with you," he said seriously.

"Stop. Go with Rick, I'll see you tonight. I love you, you asshole."

You turned and walked away from him without looking back. The last thing you heard Daryl say before getting in the car was, "I love you too, you pain in the ass."

For the third time in an hour, you had to tell Tobin to tread quietly through the underbrush. He was nervous and unusually loud. In the few times he'd made the trip to hunt, he seemed more confident in what he was doing.

Spencer took the lead through a narrow trail, followed by you, then Tara, with Tobin bringing up the rear. There were no walkers in site, and when you came to a small clearing, it struck you as to where you were. To the right you saw the familiar trail that lead to the thicket where Daryl got the buck the first time you went on a hunt with him.

Even though he had almost gotten bit, you couldn't help smile at the memory of how happy he had been and how cute his smile was when he realized it hit the deer after all. Lost in the memory, you didn't hear the shouts right away.

It wasn't until Tara was grabbing you by the shoulder, did your attention come back to the present. In the mess of brush several walkers were clawing and thrashing at Tobin. One had his shirt firmly wrapped in its boney talons, the other was gnashing its teeth at Tobin's neck. Spencer was trying to rip him away from the walkers while Tara charged at them with her knife.

You rushed in, your knife also drawn and aimed to slice through one of the dead heads. As you lunged forward, the muddy soil gave way beneath your feet. You fell to the ground hard, banging your head on the edge of a broken stump. At the same moment, Spencer was able to free Tobin from the walkers, while Tara finished what you tried to start.