•Chapter 4•
•Grace's POV•
"You really think he's on his way there?" I asked Daryl. We sat across from each with a small fire in-between us. "If Merle sees sanctuary, he's gonna get there," Daryl said throwing a twig into the fire.
"Toughest asshole I know, my brother. He's been to jail countless times for bar fights and shit, but he always come back with a smirk on his face," Daryl continued.
I let out a sigh and watched the flames rise and fall. "Why would these people want others to come to them? That's only more mouths to feed," I stated my opinion. "I dunno. Maybe they're jus' tryin' to help people. It might be run by the government," Daryl said.
Merle had the tent so we were sleeping on the ground tonight. A slight chill ran through the air making me have goosebumps. I grasped my blanket tighter and brought it up to my mouth.
"How did you learn how to fight?" Daryl looked up at me. I glanced at him and back at the flames,"Had no choice but to start towards the beginning. I was self taught. I'd practice after I would take watch. Round up some biters and kill 'em to get used to on sight attack."
He nodded his head,"Get some sleep. We gotta big day tomorrow." I sighed deeply as I snaked into my sleeping bag that I sat on top of. It was slightly cold, but my body heat warmed it up. I tried to get the flames to lull me to sleep, but I only saw Daryl across from me. He had his knees pulled up to his chest with his arms rested on top.
I shuffled in my bag to get comfort, but found none. Would we find Merle? Was he just lost forever? Merle was capable of taking care of himself, but what if he was caught up in a bind? I didn't know why Daryl was so determined to find him since Merle was an asshole. I guess because he's family and that's something worth fighting for.
•The Next Morning•
Daryl shook me lightly to wake me careful of any attack. He must've remembered from the Merle incident. "C'mon. We gotta get movin' to catch up to Merle," Daryl commanded. He was bent over me with his hand out.
I opened my eyes abruptly. Sunlight burnt my pupils as I looked at his straight face. "You didn't wake me up to take my shift?" I asked groggily as I rose from my rest.
"I needed ta think. I might as well just let you sleep," he sighed as he stood up straight. I sat up and looked around me. Daryl already packed up everything out kicked dirt on the fire to make it go out. The only thing that was left was my sleeping bag and me.
I rose from the warm sheets and stuffed them in my bag. Daryl watched me get my things together as he stood there with everything he owned loaded on his back. His crossbow lay in his hands pointed to the ground.
I let out a sigh as I waited for Daryl to start to lead the way. He started walking forward where the tracks were. We made it to the open without a sound to the tracks. Daryl trudged to the center of the railroad and kept going North. I followed close behind not wanting to speak since I wasn't up for it.
The gravel between the bars crunched underneath our feet. Terminus seemed like years away, but it was probably about another day trip. I wondered about our next maneuver if Terminus was overrun or a fail. Could we just wander around like ghosts the same as before or will we be scarred for life after? Will Merle lead us to our death by showing us the signs of Terminus?
Daryl was a few steps ahead of me as he scanned the area. He held his weapon prepared to shoot anything that might come out of the woods or game if we were lucky. His eyes narrowed at our surroundings. There was nothing in sight, but he still seemed tense.
I wanted to stop the search and leave Merle. He was only putting us in danger. If he wanted to leave, let him. Daryl needs to figure that out sooner or later.
The sun was beating down us making me sweat a little along with the exercise we were getting. Daryl seemed unfazed by the demanding work since he was the one who wanted get up early and do it.
"Grace," I heard Daryl say a little over a whisper. My head jerked up from staring at the ground to see he was pointing ahead of him at the fences. "Merle should be here by now if he was movin' like us," he said starting to jog closer to the tall wire.
"Daryl, we have to lay low. We don't know what's in there," I called after him. He glanced back at me after he stopped. He nodded his head knowing he had been corrected for his careless mistake. We both dodged into the woods for cover and kept our weapons high.
I cocked my knife up to my ear prepared to stab anything in my way of survival. No biters came into view, but let's not speak too soon. We travelled closer the fences unaware of what was ahead.
Daryl was still a few steps ahead of me since he had the better weapon. Our steps were careful and silent as we neared Terminus. The fences became more visible and brick buildings were inside. Along the windows the letters of Terminus was plastered in crusty paint.
"That's the place," Daryl confirmed. I nodded my head slightly and continued to follow him. We treaded along the tree line ready to dive for cover if needed.
"The gates are wide open," Daryl said with a confused tone. I raised my eyebrows at him in question. Sure enough, the sliding gates were pulled back to leave an empty spot in the fences. "Daryl, I don't like this," I sighed backing away from the sanctuary.
"Merle's in there. We have to get in," Daryl tried to encourage me to move forwards. He grabbed my wrist roughly and pulled me to where he wanted to go. My heartbeat was starting to quicken. I wanted to believe that this place was safe, but I kept second guessing myself.
Daryl finally let go of my arm and crouched low. I followed his actions. We were now about a few yards from the gates. "We walk in there with weapons high," he sighed. I nodded my head slightly scared of what was coming for us.
Daryl then started to jog to the open gates with his crossbow prepared to shoot. I held my knife high as I scanned the area. There was a sign on the gate saying,'Lower your weapons. You have arrived at Terminus'. Daryl and I ignored the warning and kept walking. We made it to the open gates and passed through. It felt like a force field that attracted us to the buildings.
Flowers were scattered across the ground in wooden boxes along with vegetables. There wasn't much to greet us until we turned the corner of the painted window building to see a woman leaning over a rusted grill. Smoke emerged from her workspace as she shuffled around with her creations.
Daryl cleared his throat to get her attention. Her head snapped up to see us with our weapons pointing at her. A wide, friendly smile spread across the woman's face. "Hi, I'm Mary and welcome to Terminus," she said softly while stepping in front of her grill.
"It looks like you've been on the road awhile. You must've seen the signs along the tracks so I guess you're here for the sanctuary. Well, might I ask if you put your weapons down so we know if we can trust you. I'm sure you understand," she sighed with a smile on her face.
Daryl and I were hesitant to lay down our weapons on the ground, but this place seemed promising. Maybe I was wrong. We grabbed our blades and other types of lethal accessories and set them at our feet. Mary then came up to us and stretched out her hands towards Daryl. He lifted his arms slightly to let her pat his sides in search of any secret weapons.
Mary did the same to me and seemed satisfied with the results. "You can have them back. Now, what's your names?" she smiled genuinely. We picked up our guns and knives before answering. "Daryl," he said with a stern voice. Mary then turned to me with a look of patience. "Grace," I said a little over a whisper.
"Alright, well let me show you to your rooms since you might be staying with us," she said as she started walking to the back of building. I let Daryl follow her first since I was still a little hesitant about the situation.
She led us past the building along with a few others to some train cars. Mary then stopped and turned around to smile at us. "We don't have much room left so the train cars is..."
She was then stopped by shouting.
"Woah, hold up, Mary! Those fools are with me!" we heard a familiar voice call after us. All of our heads shot up to the sound to see Merle in a white tank top coming after us.
Daryl's head them snapped at me. I glanced at him to see his victorious smirk across his face.