Night came quickly, so Hershel and Beth only had a short amount of time to set up the fire, using whatever they could could find.
The hassle was well worth it though, as Daryl had kept that owl from lunchtime. I was glad Carl threw the can of dog food away, as it was only a reminder as to what we were scraping the barrel for. Now, we didn't have to search for anything. My bet was that we'd have everything we needed right here.
The owl was cooked up, but it was only a small little thing, meaning everyone only had just a small few bits of meat each, except Lori, who had double... After all, she was eating for two.
It didn't take me long to finish my small meal, the tough pieces of white meat not nearly filling the empty void which was my stomach.
I was sitting beside Carl and T-Dog, watching as Glenn finished off the bone, after eating every last morsel he was given.
"Just like mom used to make," He muttered, his voice laced with sarcasm. I loved Glenn's wit, as when accompanied with his awkwardness, he just managed to make about every person more comfortable.
His joke earned a few chuckles, including one from me. He threw the bone out just past me, where I sat with my legs crossed, fiddling with the knife in my hand. It probably looked a little strange to everyone around me as I rotated the thin blade in my hands, but I was sincerely wondering whether or not I was ever going to be able to use my throwing knives.
Carol stood up, grabbing one of the makeshift plates made of the lids of Tupperware boxes.
I watched her as she made her way to the overturned truck by the front gate, where Daryl stared out into the forest. He looked so solitary over there, wearing Maggie's poncho to give him the warmth he was missing out on by the fire.
"Tomorrow we'll pull the bodies together," T-Dog said from beside me, his voice deep from tiredness. "Want to keep them away from that water. Now, if we can dig a canal under the fence, we'll have plenty of fresh water."
He meant the lake that was just off to the side of the front gate, with its murky brown water which I certainly wouldn't drink. I guessed he meant we'd have to boil it first, which was an irritating process... But it had to be done.
"And the soil is good." Hershel nodded. I grabbed the plastic bottle that lay by my feet, before taking a large gulp of the cool water. "We could plant some seed. Grow some tomatoes, cucumbers, soybeans." He sat up a little, as though looking for someone. I followed his gaze, to where Rick stood alone by the fence, accompanied by two groaning roamers. "That's his third time around."
"If there was any part of it compromised, he'd have found it by now."
Even though he was still withdrawn from the group, he seemed to be getting more comfortable with taking the leadership position again, taking charge of what needed to be done.
Beth hesitated from beside her father, turning to look at Lori, before rethinking it, before leaning in to finally say, "This'll be a good place to have the baby." She looked up to Lori's slight smile, "Safe."
"I wouldn't mind sleeping in an actual bed someday," I murmured, looking over to the huge buildings behind the locked gate. "With a mattress, and a pillow..."
"A blanket," Carl agreed, pulling the sleeves of his jacket down further to cover his hands more.
There was a brief pause, as my eyes wandered back to where Daryl stood, now accompanied by Carol. Even I couldn't deny the difference in his spirits after we found this place, seeing him look the most... Well, the most "not-grumpy" I'd seen him in a long time.
"Bethy..."
"Sing Paddy Reilly for me," Hershel suddenly spoke up, turning to look at his youngest daughter. "I haven't heard that I think since your mother was alive."
"Daddy, not that one, please," Maggie said quietly, glancing down to her shoes.
"How about The Parting Glass?"
"No one wants to hear." Beth blushed, looking at her father as though she were begging him not to say anything.
I missed music.
Carl looked up from beside me, and I noticed that everyone seemed to sit up just a little straighter. I honestly wouldn't mind listening to Beth sing, even if she couldn't sing well.
"Why not?" Glenn encouraged her, as both he and Maggie looked at Beth with dancing eyes.
"Okay," Beth whispered, and began to gather her courage. She took a deep breath, her eyes darting around the group nervously, before beginning her song.
<><><><>
"Of all the money, e'er I had,
I spent it in good company."
Daryl could hear the soft, unsure, voice as he slowly made his way down to the group. His eyes immediately fell on the woman sitting furthest away from where he was walking, her eyes closed lightly as she took in the soft melody.
He couldn't stop his feet as he stepped around the large circle of people, each spaced out with their legs in front of them.
The woman didn't notice when he stopped, his feet only inches from where she sat on the wet grass. Some of the group looked up as the newcomers arrived, Carol wearing a small smile on her lips, Daryl staring wistfully at the woman beside his feet.
"And all the harm that e'er I've done,
Alas it was to none but me."
His eyes were trained on the way she held her hands in her lap, her elbows rested on her thighs, the way the right corner of her lip tugged upwards when Beth's voice sounded sweetly rhythmic... The way her eyelashes fluttered gently when the wind blew at her side, the way her face was held slightly upwards to the sky, illuminated half-and-half by the moon and the flames.
Daryl couldn't help but think why someone so... So innocent, and vulnerable and kind, would be interested in, well...
Him.
It was in the way he'd felt her lips on his, and the way she'd look at him when she thought he wasn't aware...
Daryl wasn't stupid, he knew just how much this woman looked towards him for protection, for company... It seemed as though the two lonely souls were just inseparable, despite Daryl's attempts at discouraging her.
Even after hearing her admit feelings for him, Daryl found himself desperately clinging onto the solitude he'd enjoyed before she arrived.
After she'd kissed him, that day in the snow, Daryl remembered cursing to himself... Because he knew he was becoming vulnerable around her. And vulnerability was weakness.
There was one question Daryl always asked himself; why?
Why did Amy Wilson find him so desirable?
It was a question Daryl knew he'd probably never find the answer to.
"And all I've done for want of wit,
To memory now I can't recall.
So fill to me the parting glass,
Good night and joy be with you all."
Amy's eyes opened when the space went silent again, her glistening eyes flickering to look over at Beth and Maggie.
Daryl secretly loved her eyes. He'd never, ever, say it out loud, but he enjoyed watching her eyes the most. They were the strangest shade he'd ever seen on a person before, a mixture between the coldest blue and the steeliest gray, but they still managed to convey such warmth, and beauty and emotion.
Daryl knew how to read emotions... He just never knew what do do when they were involved in a situation, which, when Amy was concerned, was often.
He told himself constantly to not get attached... To avoid getting close with anyone because in those days life was always endangered.
Daryl only had to remember back to the day Rick joined the group... The day he thought Merle was gone.
That fragment of a second, when he'd asked if his older brother had died... Well, that was a fragment of a second Daryl knew he'd never want to relive again.
Yet, as he watched Amy tuck a loose strand of hair out of her face, he found himself doubting everything he'd believed before.
Not everyone dies... And as hard as he tried to convince himself to back away, Daryl found that through the months he'd stood by and watched as Amy began to become a part of this group--
He had stopped wanting to avoid her.
"Oh, all the comrades that e'er I had,
Were sorry for my going away."
Rick wandered over to the group, walking past Carol so he could crouch beside his son. Carl passed him over the steel bowl that held the last of the meat, which Rick only passed along to Lori, who sat back in sleepiness.
"I had some," She muttered quietly, before staring back at the two singers. He slowly placed the bowl back onto the floor, looking slightly disappointed as he scratched at his stubble.
"And all the sweethearts that e'er I had,
Would wish me one more day to stay."
Amy looked over to where the voice had come, only to notice a pair of shoes standing oddly close to her side. Her eyes drifted up to the man above her head, who had all the while been analysing every inch of her face as she listened intently to the two sisters. He held the eye contact, something in his eyes sending a strange feeling to her stomach.
She could see it, she could see that small change in expression, even when nobody else could.
"But since it falls unto my lot,
That I should rise and you should not."
Lori reached over, beneath Rick's knee, to grab a bit of meat, her eyes meeting his nervously.
She only nodded at him, as he looked away yet again, before taking the tough owl meat from the metal bowl, and bringing it to her lips. She still couldn't hide that feeling of distance between the two of them, as they both looked away from each other simultaneously.
"I'll gently rise,
And I'll softly call,
Good night and joy be with you all.
Good night and joy be with you all..."
Everyone sat around that fire that night... Everyone who'd given up hope earlier that day, had soon forgotten their problems for those hauntingly beautiful two minutes. There was no need to be on guard, to be scared of what could happen next. For once, they realised that maybe there was such a thing as safety, even if it did come in the shape of a prison.
<><><><>
"Beautiful," Hershel finally said, when the two siblings had finished their song.
I didn't really want them to stop, as there was nothing sweeter to fall asleep to than the soft melody of The Parting Glass. Even though I, and probably the majority of those around me, seemed to be enjoying the peaceful silence, Rick then moved forwards a little to speak.
"Better all turn in," He looked around slightly, taking in our tired faces. "I'll take watch over there. Got a big day tomorrow."
"What do you mean?" Carl asked from where he lay on his stomach beside me. He turned his head so he could see his father, asking what the majority of us were thinking.
"Look, I know we're all exhausted," He paused, and I could certainly agree. My body was so tired after today, after all that running around in the heat. "This was a great win... But we've got to push just a little bit more."
"Why now, though?" I asked, looking in his direction.
"Most of the walkers are dressed as guards and prisoners. Looks like this place fell pretty early." He didn't answer my question immediately, before continuing, "It could mean the supplies may be intact. They'd have an infirmary. A commissary."
I didn't know what a commissary was, but the way Rick's eyes lit with the opportunity made me guess it held something we needed.
"An armoury?" Daryl's voice asked from behind me.
"That would be outside the prison itself but not too far away, and the Warden's offices would have info on the location." He leant forwards a little more as he spoke to everyone in a hushed voice, "Weapons, food, medicine. This place could be a goldmine. And..." He turned to look at me, "We need this stuff now... Which is why we have to go in as soon as we can."
"We're dangerously low on ammo. We'd run out before we'd make a dent." Hershel pointed out, being almost always the first to see things with a logical perspective.
"That's why we have to go in there. Hand-to-hand."
I really hoped that I wasn't going to be going in there, but since the catastrophe with the closet I was sure that I wasn't going to be asked.
"After all we've been through, we can handle it. I know it." He then lowered his gaze back to the boy that lay beside him, "These assholes don't stand a chance."
Carl gave him a weak smile in reply, still fiddling with a piece of grass he'd plucked from the ground. With that, Rick got up and left abruptly, leaving the group to its thoughts.
I wasn't prepared for tomorrow, I wasn't prepared for the amount of physical activity we were to be doing without enough food, enough rest.
I jumped back as Daryl placed his crossbow on the floor beside me, before looking up to where he stood, untying the knot he'd used to tighten the poncho around his neck. I watched as he did this, as he shrugged to get comfortable in the heavy-looking blanket.
Some of the people around us were beginning to get ready for sleep, rolling onto their sides and dispersing slightly. Carol moved over to where Lori was previously sitting, leaving Daryl and I alone again.
"I saw you up there, you big flirt," I teased as he pushed his crossbow to the side so he could slowly sit down beside me.
He only looked at me, his partially visible eyes alight with amusement.
"You're just batting away at all them ladies, aren't you?" I playfully nudged at his hard shoulder with my much bonier shoulder, watching as he shook his head, the corners of his lips turning up in what looked to a half-smile.
It only lasted the tiniest fragment of a second, but I was still in awe of how attractive he was when he smiled. It was something I'd never seen before, something I knew I'd remember for a long time, as the flickering of the flames mirrored on his face.
"You should do that more often," I whispered, placing the knife that I held loosely onto the ground beside me, and away from Daryl.
"Do what?"
"Smile..." I replied slowly.
I lay down so I wasn't able to see his face anymore, until all I could see was the back of him. The grass was icy against my skin, wetting the whole back of my shirt. I stifled a sharp gasp, before laughing off the uncomfortable feeling under my breath.
Daryl looked back at where I lay, his eyes scanning from my legs, which were stretched out beside where he sat, all the way up to my questioning face.
"You're cold?" He whispered gruffly, as though he were trying to hide the softness behind his voice. I didn't answer at first, as my eyes darted around the starless sky, trying to find a little ball of light, before sighing.
"A little," I admitted, before quickly asking, "Do you think... Do you think there's anywhere that hasn't been affected by the apocalypse?"
I didn't get a response. When I lifted my head to look towards him, I saw that he was peeling off Maggie's poncho.
"What are you doing?" I asked quietly, "I'm not even that cold, really."
"Here, jus' put it on," He muttered, tossing the heavy poncho back at me. It weighed quite a lot, and was made of a very thick material that would surely keep me warm.
"What about you?" I said as I sat up, pulling the already-warm poncho over my head. It didn't smell too great, after being worn constantly by any particular person in our group. I hadn't worn the poncho before, as usually it was worn by whoever wasn't around then campfire, and I was always around the hypnotising flames.
"'M fine, woman." He lay down now, using his interlocked hands to provide a small pillow for the back of his head.
I, however, stayed sitting up this time. "You didn't answer my question."
"Tha's because it was a dumbass question." He retorted, looking past my face to the sky.
Ignoring him, I lay down as well, a fair space between the two of us. Daryl seemed to prefer it that way, knowing full-well that I'd never actually seen him sleep.
The poncho was so warm, I could already feel myself become sleepier by the minute. I rolled over onto my side, again using my elbow as a pillow as I slowly watched Daryl stare ahead at the sky. He looked to be lost in thought.
What was he thinking about?
It was a question I knew I'd probably never find the answer to.