{Sylvie's P.O.V}
Merle pulls into the parking lot of a bar, he leaves the truck running while he heads inside. I look at Daryl then at my sleeping daughter next to me.
"D-Daryl... it's a walker" I gasp, seeing one of them come around the back of the bar.
"Don't move, it won't see ye' if ye' don't make yerself' obvious." He whispers.
"Mommy... I don't feel good." Athena suddenly says, placing her hands over her tummy. Without warning, she opens the door and vomits on the ground, alerting the sickly creature. I pull her back in and slam the door shut.
It growls and starts clawing on the glass, I let out a yelp and hold Athena close to my chest. Daryl curses under his breath and slams his fist on the dash.
"Stay here." He grumbles, grabbing his crossbow and exiting out the drivers side. He grabs the walker's shirt and throws it to the ground, he then goes all Rambo and stabs it with his knife.
He wipes the blood off on his pants, and just when we think the coast is clear, yelling and glass breaking emits from the bar. Daryl rubs his temples then enters, leaving us here. I sit here holding Athena, waiting for the Dixon brothers to return but instead some tough looking bikers rush out of the bar. One of them spots me in the truck and then stomp over; he opens the door and pulls me out by my shirt. Athena tumbles onto the ground from the impact, and she starts to cry from her scratched up hands and elbows.
"Hey! What the hell!" I growl, my motherly instincts kicking in.
One of them starts searching through our stuff, so I stand up and kick him from behind. I kick him again to get him to the ground, and when his men try coming at me I take my bat hurriedly and smash their knees.
"What about the rest of you? Wanna try to take our stuff? Huh?!" I yell boldly. The remaining guys just roll their eyes and help their injured men back inside just as Daryl and Merle come out.
"That chick is crazy! Y'all are lucky we ain't that desperate for a damn bat and arrows!" One retorts. Daryl looks at me then at the guys limping or holding their crotch, clearly he hasn't seen what I'm capable of.
"Athena baby, are you alright? Where's the boo boos?" I ask, kneeling down and examining her.
"I'm okay mommy, but they do sting a little." She tries to hide the fact that she's in some pain, boy am I glad I raised a tough kid. I kiss her scrapes and give her a big bear hug, it cheers her up every time.
"Mind explaining to me why we came here? Seems like a wasted trip." I grumble.
"Someone needed his damn stash, we ain't stickin' around. C'mon." Daryl mutters, glaring at Merle.
We load back up in the truck and make our way further into the city, but we are stopped by the National Guard.
"Sorry, no one is allowed to enter the city." One of them comes up to our window and tells us.
"But grammy and grandpa live there!" Athena pouts. The soldier flashes a small smile.
"I'm sure they're safe sweetheart. But tell ya what, how about you and your family go to a special camp where other families are going. How does that sound?" He replies. Athena shyly hides her face in my shirt.
"Where's this place? Is it safe?" I ask him.
"Here, go to this place." He writes something down on a piece of paper and hands it to me.
"I don't tell many people about this place, but ya got a cute kid and you're easy on the eyes. Not so much these two." The soldier winks at me, so I just smile and thank him.
Merle turns around and gets onto the highway, apparently off the interstate is a little camp where they've sent a few families to seek refuge. But when we get a little ways on the highway, the traffic is backed up for miles. Something tells me we'll be sitting here for a while.
I decide to stretch my legs, so I carry Athena around with me just to be safe. Not that I don't trust Merle and Daryl with her, but I'd feel more comfortable having her with me at all times.
"Excuse me miss" Someone says, tapping my shoulder. I turn around, an older looking woman with a young girl at her side is standing there.
"Yes?" I reply.
"Do you know what's going on? No one seems to know." She wonders.
"I've heard a lot of things, not sure what is actually true though." I tell her, not feeling like getting into detail and explaining everything.
"Well thanks anyways. I'm Carol, nice to meet you." She introduces herself timidly.
"I'm Sylvie. Try to stay safe." I say, then head back to the truck. I put Athena on the seat and cover her with her blanket, she could use some sleep after the day we've had.
I spot Daryl sitting on the tailgate of the truck, he looks rather peaceful by himself with a cigarette between his lips. I quietly pace over, my hands tucked in my pant pockets. I kick little rocks and wait for Daryl to say something, anything.
"Ye' need somethin'?" He snarls, blowing smoke in my direction.
"N-No... Just standing here." I stutter. He scoffs and takes a long drag off his cigarette, but his face suddenly comes across as guilty.
"Sorry, that was rude." He grumbles.
"Oh it's okay, we're all pretty stressed anyways." I sigh. I hesitantly sit up on the tailgate, hoping he wouldn't bite my head off for getting anywhere near him.
"Do you think this is gonna last for a long time?" I ask quietly.
"Dunno'."
I bite my lip and find myself shivering, but not from being cold. Something doesn't feel right, and I know that for sure because the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I get goosebumps.
"Daryl-" I start to say, but a loud explosion cuts me off. I jump nearly ten feet high at how abrupt and loud it was. My mouth gapes open and I start to shake with fear. I feel like Scooby Doo right now.
"It's alrigh', it's not anywhere near us." Daryl says. He walks over to the guard rail and looks out at the city, which is in ruins from the bombing. The light from the fire illuminates the night sky and wakes Athena.
"It's okay baby, momma's here." I pick her up and hold her tight.
Daryl comes back over and just stares, for once he doesn't know what to do or how to deal with the situation at hand. And one thing about Daryl Dixon is he seems to always have a plan.
"Well ain't that a damn shame." Merle comments, coming back from who knows where.
A/N- Hope you enjoyed! Thanks for the reads and votes!