Natalie's POV
We all look down to the water bottles left with a note by someone "From a Friend." We decide it's best not to drink it, not knowing who it is from or what they could have done to it.
Soon thunder rumbles, feeling a few drops of rain followed by a whole down pour. I look up to the sky, feeling the cool water rush over me. Lydia laughs with Chris and a few other group members. I brush my fingers with Daryl's making him look to me. He gently grabs my hand and intertwines our fingers. My skin warms up at his touch, despite the cold rain drenching me. I look to him, but before I could say anything loud thunder rumbles once again, making us look to the dark clouds getting closer.
"Let's keep moving!" Rick yells over the noise.
"There's a barn." Daryl tells them, speaking about the place we found.
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I take one last look around, making sure everyone is okay before settling next to Daryl in a corner. He positions himself so that he is sitting up against the wall, and grunts motioning for me to come lay on him. I do so, setting my bow down.
"Ye aint gotta be okay, n that's okay." He says to me gruffly. I lay my head down on his lap, looking straight ahead. I feel his hand rest on my back, rubbing it in circular motion.
"I know that." I whisper, feeling my heart ache at our groups losses... our family. Silence settles over us, other than the storm going about outside.
After a little while Daryl gets up to check over everyone, I see him look out the doors and shove them closed, struggling. I quickly get to my feet and hear the groans of walkers, helping him keep the barn doors clothed. One by one everyone comes up to help, the only light is of the lightning flashing about and the deafening pouring of rain.
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Daryl's POV
Sunlight streams throughout the cracks in the barn, letting the world know its morning. I look down to Natalie who is fast asleep, her head in my lap.
She helped me feel, and one of those many feelings is something I've never felt. Emotions were odd to me, all my life it had been that way. I was never taught about things I felt, just that I shouldn't. No one showed me how to handle what I felt, only to push them down hard enough until they disappeared.
My father raised me through abuse and punishment, I never learned positive emotions from him. Only things Merle felt were lust and anger, so it wasn't surprising that I had turned out the way I did. Angry, Guarded, shut off from all other emotions.
But when she entered my life.. It all changed.
Merle had always told me that crushes we for pussies, so that turned me further away from ever wanting to experience one. I fell to care for her, and learned to be amazed my every little thing she does. As I look down to the woman I had made room for in the walls I have built around my heart, I realize something. A feeling I thought was a myth, never experiencing it myself. I noticed a real change in myself since meeting her.
"You should sleep." Maggie says, breaking me out of my thoughts as she sits down next to me. I nod to her.
"Yeah." I mumble, bitting my thumb nail. She looks down to Natalie.
"It's okay to rest now." Maggie assures me looking back up. I look over to Sasha.
"He was tough." I say about Tyresse. She looks over at her too. "So was she." I add about Beth. "She didn't know it, but she was." I tell her and she smiles a bit. I reach over and grab the music box that Carl had given Maggie, handing it to her. "Gear box had some grit in it." I grunt as she takes it from me.
"Thank you." She says softly before getting up and heading over to Sasha. I shrug off my vest, moving to lay down.
Natalie cuddles closer while still asleep, resting her head on my arm. I notice the way she is drawn to me, how she wants to be close to me even in her sleep.
Maybe I wasn't the darkness I thought I was, maybe I just needed a little bit of her light to spark my flame.
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Natalie's POV
Now awake, I sit on one of the pen gates, sharpening my knife with Daryl to my left messing with his crossbow. Everything is oddly quiet, which can never be good.
"Everyone... This is Aaron." Maggie says as her and Sasha walk in with a man. Daryl grunts and rushes up, checking outside and frisking the man. I have my bow aimed at Aaron, who looks pretty well groomed.
"Hi." The man says. "It's nice to meet you." He says, taking a step forward. I step infront of Rick slightly, my aim still on him.
"You said he had a weapon?" Rick asks as Maggie brings it to him. He looks at it and sticks on his waist band. "Did you need something?" He asks cocking his head to the side.
"He said he has a camp, nearby. He wants us to audition for membership." Sasha says making me quirk at eyebrow.
"I wish there was another word. Audition kinda seems like we're a dance group. That's only on Friday nights." Aaron jokes, but none of us are amused. "And it's not a camp, it's a community and I think you all would make valuable additions. But it's not my call. My job is to convince you to follow me home." He continues on making me narrow my eyes and Rick shift. "I know, if I were you I wouldn't go either, not until I knew what I was getting myself into. Sasha can you hand Rick my pack?" He asks and she grabs it handing it to him. "Front pocket there is an envelope." Aaron continues on talking but I don't listen in and just look to Daryl, not convinced. Soon Rick comes up and punches him in the face, knocking him out cold. I lower my aim and rush up, as does everyone else.
Rick comes over and talks to Michonne and Carl.
"Everyone, I need eyes and ears in every direction. They are coming for us. We might not know how or when but they are." He says to us all.
"Me and Sasha, we seen him. If he wanted to hurt us he would have." Maggie tries but Rick ignores while he continues pacing.
"Anyone see anything?" He asks us and I peer out one of the cracks.
"Just a lot of places to hide." Glenn says from beside me.
"Okay keep looking." Rick orders. We all bustle around, keeping an eye out. He walks up to me and hands me a flare gun. "He had this in his bag. Means he has to have people out there." He whispers to me and I nod.
"That's a hell of a right cross you got there Rick." Aaron says, waking up.
"Get him up." Rick says and they do so and Daryl comes up to my side.
"You're being cautious, I get that." He tells us.
"How many of your people are out there?" I growl. He just blinks and me and I hold up the flare gun. "You had this to signal your people, now how many of them are there?" I ask him once again. He looks at me for a moment.
"Does it matter?" Aaron asks making me nod.
"Yes. Yes is does." I say stepping closer to him, Daryl close to me.
"I mean yeah it does matter how many people are actually out there, but does it matter how many people I tell you are out there? Because I'm pretty sure no matter what number I say, 8, 32, 444, 0. No matter what I say you're not going to trust me." He responds and I shake my head.
"It's hard to punch a guy that smiles after getting punched in the face." Rick responds as I step back beside him.
"What about a guy who leaves bottles of water in the road?" Aaron asks making us look over at the water bottles.
"How long ye people been following us?" Daryl growls.
"Long enough to see that you practically ignore a pack of roamers on your trail. Long enough to know that even despite food and water you never turn on each other." Aaron looks to me and Daryl. "To see that you are always there for eachother. You're survivors. And you're people, and I hope you won't punch me for saying this again but that is the most important resource in the world." Aaron says as a short silence hangs over us.
"How many others are out there?" Rick asks in a low tone.a
"One." He responds making me scoff. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. If it's not words , or pictures, what would it take for you to believe me this is for real?" He adds looking around at us. "What if I drove you to the community? If we leave now we will get there by lunch." He tells us.
"Not sure how 18 of us are going to fit in a car that you and your one friend drove down here in." Rick retorts.
"We drove separately. If we found a group we would want to bring them all home. There is enough room for all of us." Aaron says trying to convince us.
"And you parked just a couple miles away right?" I ask, my voice emotionless.
"East on ridge road, just after route 16. We wanted to get them closer but the storm came, blocked the road and we couldn't clear it." He still tries.
"You really have this thought through." Rick responds in a low voice.
"Rick if I wanted to ambush you, I'd do it here. Lit the barn on fire as you slept, pick you off as you leave out the only exit. You can trust me." Aaron says, making a heavy silence fall over us again. The tension thick like a sheet of fog.
"I'll go check out the cars." Michonne says stepping forward.
"There aren't any cars." Rick responds.
"There is only one way to find out." She tries again but he answers quickly.
"We don't need to find out." He says to her and she nods.
"We do. You know what you know and you're sure of it. But I'm not." Michonne tells him and I know she is right.
"Me neither." Maggie adds, he thinks for a moment.
"Your way is dangerous, mine isn't." He replies and she shakes her head.
"Passing up some place where we could live. Where Judith could live? That's pretty dangerous. We need to find out what this is." She says and I nod.
"She's right Rick." I add in, adjusting my bow on my shoulder. "So that's what we're going to do." I tell him sternly. He looks at me for a moment.
"I'll go." Glenn chimes in making Rick look around.
"Abraham. Lydia. Rosita." Rick says to them, they all nod. "Walkies are out of juice, If y'all aren't back in 60 minutes, we will come. Which is probably what they want." He says to us and we nod.
"We'll have the area covered." Daryl grunts pushing me lightly out of the doors infront of him.
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Night has fallen and we are now heading to this community, Rick and Glenn in the front, Michonne, Aaron and I in the back.
Michonne just got done asking the three questions.
"You were recording us?!" Rick yells as he holds up a recording device. Glenn looks at it taking his eyes off the road.
"I was watching you so yes, I am recording you." Aaron responds. I look up to Rick.
"They could have recorded our whole plan-" Rick is cut off my the car hitting a walker, then another after another.
"Glenn!" I yell as we cut through the field of walkers. He slams on breaks making us come to a quick stop.
"They were right behind us, I didn't want them to hit us!" He yells, as we get out of the car seeing and hearing walkers everywhere.
"Do you see them anywhere?" Rick asks as we look down the road, not seeing any headlights.
"No, they stopped so they are safe." Glenn responds as we pile back into the car only for it not to start.
"There has to be something stuck in the hood." I say as I get out, pulling arms and legs out from under the hood. All of a sudden a flare goes off in the sky. "Did you see that?!" I exclaim walking to the door only for it to be kicked open, making me fall to the group. I yell out in pain as I slice my hand on a rock. I get to my feet, seeing blood quickly form in the palm of my hand. I'll worry about that later, we have more important tasks at hand.. no pun intended.
"We have to go after it! Our people think we shot it that is how we find them! Michonne yells over the groans of walkers. We run into the woods after Aaron.
"Where's Glenn??" Rick asks as he shoots down walkers.
"I'll go find him!" I answer back, following the sound of gunfire. I see Glenn get taken to the ground by a walker, but I quickly shoot it, not being able to use my bow because of my injured hand. I rushing up to his side as helping him to his feet. After running a bit we come across Aaron.
"We have to help him." I say, killing the walker that was trying to bite him. I cut the zip tie on his wrist, putting my knife back in its sheath.
"Run if you want, but we have more important things to worry about." Glenn tells him as we turn our backs.
"We can make it together. But only together. You said that." Aaron responds.
"Natalie! Glenn!" I hear Ricks voice yell out. I shove a gun in Aaron's hands before running towards his voice. I see him and Michonne crowed by walkers, which the three of us shoot down with ease. I run up to Rick who hugs me. He pulls away.
"Are you alright?" He asks me and I nod, showing him my hand.
"Cut it on a rock but I'm okay." I reassure him as he looks to Aaron.
"If you want to tie me up again okay, but hurry up." He says, holding his hands up.
"No time, we are going that way." Rick responds as he leads the way.
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We get to where the flare was shot at, walking into an ally. I whistle loudly a few times, a code me and Daryl share. He comes into view and waves us over.
"Daryl!" I speak out into the dark ally, running up to him. He embraces me in a hug, kissing my head.
"You a'lrigh?" He asks me taking my hand and looking at it. His eyebrows furrow in worry at the gash in my hand.
"Y-yes, don't worry it's minor really." I lie, ignoring the stinging pain radiating through my hand. Daryl just grunts in response, taking his rag and wrapping it around my hand, tying it tightly.
"Ye a terrible liar ya know that?" He says gruffly making me breathe out a laugh. He pulls me into another hug. "I was worried bout ye." He whispers to me making my arms tighten around him a bit. I pull away once Aaron comes back out.
"Excuse me, everyone, Thank you. You saved Eric." He says about his boyfriend. "I owe you, all of you. And I will make sure that debit is paid in full when you get to our community. When we get to Alexandria. Now I don't know about you, but I'd rather not do anymore driving tonight. I say let's hit the road tomorrow morning." He adds a smile on his face.
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I rest my head on Daryl's chest, the RV bumping a little from the unkempt road.
"You think this is it? We'll finally get to be safe?" I ask him looking up. He looks back down to me.
"Dunno, we never know for sure anymore." He grunts making me nod. We roll to a stop and I look out the windshield seeing we are stop in front of a gate. I give him a look and he nods, grabbing my hand as we step out of the RV.
Then I hear it. The laughter of children.
A smile finds its way to my face. I walk up to Rick.
"Even when you're wrong. You're still right." I tell him before walking back to Daryl.
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