Dixons Never Cry |TWD|

Separated And Reunited

I made a whining noise in the back of my throat and I didn't even need to tug at Daryl's pants or latch onto him like a koala to get him to pick me up, because he hauled me into his arms in a split second.

"Patricia, kill the lights!" Hershel ordered in a whisper.

"I'll get the guns!" Andrea added, following Patricia inside. I buried my face in Daryl's neck even if he smelled bad. He always smelled bad, but I never told him.

"Maybe they'll pass like the herd on the highway, should we just go inside?" Glenn suggested with a shaky voice.

"Not unless there's a tunnel downstairs that I don't know 'bout," Daryl said. His voice was calm. I felt better knowing Daryl wasn't worried, but maybe he was. He was good at pretending, he probably didn't even know he was doing it sometimes. "A herd that size'll rip the house down," he added.

Maggie and Andrea appeared with a large bag filled with even larger guns, the ones that were taller than me, though I think I've grown a bit since I've been here. I'm nearly eight, I should be growing.

"Maggie..." Glenn murmured as she handed him a gun.

Daryl adjusted me and I felt bad for making him pick me up. I wasn't the cutesy little toddler I used to be, I was just a smelly little girl now and hard to hold. I wiggled from his grasp though he held me close.

"You grow up country, you pick up a thing or two," she replied sharply.

"They got the numbers, it's no use," Daryl said.

"You can go if you want," Hershel said as he cocked a gun. He was a lot different now from his gentle persona.

"You gonna take 'em all on?" Daryl asked.

I saw Rory stood by Carol who was holding her hand, but Lori wasn't here. Carl. I suppressed a gasp, remembering he was out in the field to find his daddy and Shane. The field. Where the walkers were. I whimpered quietly, the sound muffled by Daryl's waist where I was hiding my face.

"We got numbers, we got cars," Hershel said. Andrea nodded, messing with the guns. I didn't know what she was doing but I didn't care enough to ask. If I asked every time I didn't know something I'd have lost my voice from talking too much.

"Kill as many of 'em as we can, lead the rest away from the farm," Andrea agreed.

"Y'all serious?" Daryl scoffed.

"It's my farm; I'll die here," Hershel announced, stepping from the porch with his massive gun grasped in his wrinkly hands.

"All right, it's a good as night as any," Daryl said before looked down at me. "You go in the house, I'll come get ya. We ain't stayin' 'ere shootin' all of 'em," he ruffled my hair, giving me a soft shove forward but I whined, grabbing his hand.

"Don't leave me! Where're ya goin'?" I asked, eyes watery.

"Gettin' the damn cars. Go on, stay with Carol, I'm gonna be back," Daryl demanded sternly, voice saying no room for discussion. Carol intertwined her frail fingers with mine and we went inside, gunshots going off as soon as we stepped in. It made me jump in fright.

"Sit down, girls," Carol said. I sat down on the couch beside Rory. Once Carol left to go upstairs, she turned to me.

"What about Carl?" she whispered.

"He would've found 'em," I said, trying to reassure myself.

"The barn's on fire," Beth said softly, looking through a gap in the blinds. Patricia came forward, having a look herself.