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ANDREA LEFT A PERMANENT WOUND IN MY HEART. It was known that it would never heal. It was her spot in my heart that no one else could hold.
It was exactly 179 days since Andrea died. Ever since then I had made tally marks on the prison wall. It should be around 500 days since the dead started walking. Hershel and I spent days doing the math and figuring out the date.
A few days after Andrea passed I had a dream. She was holding my hand and walking me out to the meadows. It smelt like wet grass and roses, but not the gross kind. It was homey and nice. It was raining, but the water never touched us. She knew I liked the rain. She sat me down next to the river and told me everything would be alright. She said that I had to live, not survive. That I had to have the most fun.
I told her I didn't want to. A world without her would be no life. That my heart would forever be empty.
She didn't listen. Andrea laughed and said I should have fun. That teens my age should be on their phones and crying over breakups. She told me she was happy. All she ever wanted to do was be with Amy. And now she was. She was happy telling Amy about me. About our adventures and sad expeditions.
The new people at the prison helped all the time. Now it wasn't just Woodbury. It was also people from many places.
We had jobs at the prison. Rick, Carl, and many others took care of the crops. Hershel, Beth, Laney, and Victor took care of the animals. The rest of the Woodbury crew took care of the kids and clothes while the rest helped Carol cook.
A group of 15 would work on the fence. Small herds of walkers had begun gathering at the fence and it was their job to kill them before they tear down the whole thing.
The rest of us, Daryl, Maggie, Glemn, and a few others would scout around the areas. Look for anything useful and bring it back. I liked going on hunts with Daryl. Ever since the pyre he helped me get back to who I really was.
We shared information. He taught me how to cover tracks, I taught him how to identify animals. He was smart about hunting, I was too. Whenever Rick told us to hunt he'd pair us up together because he knew we would always come back with something.
Life in the prison was fun. Tyreese found an old movie player and would hang up a white sheet for all the kids. I would go with Beth and Mitch but we stopped going because Lizzie would bombard me with questions of the walkers and would practically drool over Mitch.
I didn't mind. Beth and I would tease him about it because it was funny. He'd ignore us for the rest of the day, but it was hilarious.
Michonne didn't visit as often. She spent days near whitewater. She was a scavenger. A pretty good one too. She'd bring Beth and I anything Marvel related because Beth was obsessed and loved telling me about it. Carl received a few comic books too, but he didn't like marvel. Mitch would get some type of cool gear. I got anything crafty like beads and string.
Beth and I had matching bead bracelets. We had ones with our names, another with our initials, random ones, and one that was all black because Mitch wanted to match with us.
The three of us sat at one of the few picnic tables under the tarp. Carol was in the middle working on the food.
"I'm just saying, Wanda would easily beat Jean." Mitch said before taking a bite of a deer me and Daryl caught. Beth and him loved to argue about marvel. Mitch was a huge fan of the MCU while Beth preferred the Xmen.
"No she would not, Mitch. You haven't even seen the X-men movies or read the comics." Beth replied and rolled her eyes.
"She's the fucking Scarlet Witch. A dumb bird has nothing on her." He threw his hands up.
"Mitch Grayson Peletier!" Carol turned her head and scolded him.
"Sorry, mom." He muttered and turned back to Beth, "Wanda beats her. Right, Adi?"
I pursed my lips together, "sorry Mitchy, the Phoenix force can literally disintegrate people in less than a second."
Mitch rolled his eyes, "you always take her side."
"You're just mad I'm right." Beth shrugged and cockily smiled at him.
"Excuse me." I muttered and grabbed all the empty paper plates. Calmly I walked to the garbage can beside the grill and threw them away.
"I just wanted to thank you for bringing that deer back yesterday." Patrick the tall 14 year old said to Daryl who furrowed his eyebrows. He was aroun 5'6 which meant he was only an inch shorter than me. Patrick was the nerd of the Prison and he had no friends except for Carl. "It was a real treat, sir." He held out his hand, "and it'd be an honor to shake your hand."
Daryl looked down at his hand while chewing a piece of meat. I smiled at Patrick's nervous glance. "Hey, he's not the one who got the deer." I said. "Plus, he's a germaphobe." I stated while pushing the boys hand down.
"Oh- uh, s-s-sorry sir." He stuttered and looked at me for help.
"Meats burning." I stated once the smell of burnt flesh hit my nose. Patrick immediately turned around and focused on the meat. "You're welcome." I turned to Daryl but he flicked his fingers to my forehead and walked away with Carol who hid a smile.
"YOU GONNA BE ALRIGHT?" Mitch asked while strapping the police vest he found a few weeks ago. He and a few others including Daryl were gonna go on a very important run.
"I think so." I nodded my head, "just stay safe, okay?"
He brought two fingers up to his forehead and saluted me before jumping into the back of Sashas green Cherokee.
Just as I was walking past Daryl and his motorcycle I heard the familiar whistle. Rick and Carl run to the gate and open it, letting Michonne ride inside on her copper horse.
"Give me a ride?" I turned to Daryl. He nodded his head and scooted up a bit. It was enough for me to sit behind him and loosely wrap my hands around his waist. He revved the engine and took off at an easy pace with the two trucks behind him.
Being on the bike was exciting. It made you want to smile and laugh when the air hit your face. My arms never tightened on Daryl, I think it was because I trusted him. We formed a bond after the pyre, one that I hope I wouldn't say goodbye to.
We stopped beside Rick who talked to Michonne and she smiled brightly when her eyes met mine. I got off quickly and ran to her. Michonne engulfed me in a one handed hug and I tightened my arms around her.
"I got you something." Michonne said with a mischievous smirk while hiding something behind her back.
"Oh, now I'm scared." I laughed and tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind my ear.
"In honor of your sixteenth birthday." She extended her arm. A light blue Polaroid laid in her hand, along with six packs of film.
"Oh my god, thanks." I smiled and took it. I always wanted a camera. My parents always said no when I asked, so having one, made the smile stay glued to my face.
"Didn't find him." Michonne stated once her eyes met Daryl's. Her smile was now completely wiped off and she put a hand on her hip.
Daryl pressed his lips together and nodded reluctantly, "glad to see you in one piece."
"I'm thinking of looking over near Macon." Michonne said. Rick and Daryl sighed and looked away unsatisfied, "it's worth a shot."
"70 miles of walkers." Daryl stated. "You might run into a few unneighborly types. Is it?" Michonne stayed quiet and after a few seconds, Daryl turned to Rick, "I'm gonna check out the big spot. The one I was talking about, just seeing."
Rick nodded his head, "yeah, I got to go out and check the snares. I don't want to lose whatever we catch to the walkers."
"I'll go." Michonne suggested.
"What? You just got here." I pinched my eyebrows together as I frowned. Michonne never wanted to be at the prison anymore. And I know it's selfish to not want her to leave, but she was the first person I ever trusted after what happened to my tribe.
"I'll be back. Jeez, should I start calling you Andrea now?" Michonne shoved me playfully and jogged away.
Authors note
Do you guys like first person? I wanted to give it a try but pls comment if you do or don't.