𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝟔𝟏𝟕

𝟏 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝟖 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬, 𝟏 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟓 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬

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I woke up to Daryl gone, but I wasn't surprised. I normally slept in and Daryl always woke up early. He rarely stayed, and if he did he would be awake and staring at the ceiling. changed and made my way downstairs, making myself breakfast. After I was all ready I went outside, only to realize it wasn't just Daryl that was gone. Glenn, Rick, Rosita, Michonne, and Carol were all gone. 

I made my way to the front gates, where Abraham was on shift. "Where is everyone?!" I called out, standing by the ladder to the platform. "They all left! Didn't give a rats ass about telling us where!" 

I groaned. They seriously all left? And if he didn't know where, that means he also didn't know when they'd get back. Sometimes people would be gone for a day, other times weeks. Maybe Maggie knew where Glenn went, and maybe Glenn knew where Daryl went. I gave Abraham a nod before walking off, heading towards Maggie's house.

I knocked on the door a few times, and eventually I heard her call out. "Come in!" She yelled, so I opened the door and came in. Maggie and Enid were in her kitchen, with Enid cutting Maggie's hair. It was short, shorter than mine. "Y'know where everyone went?" I asked, pulling out a stool and sitting in front of the island. "They all took off after Daryl."

Of course. Of course he had left. It was probably a bad idea to go off after them, especially after half of the people who were gonna were just trying to track Daryl down. "Okay, thanks." I sighed, standing up and leaving. 

Now what? I could sit around and wait, find a way to make myself useful, or go after them. I knew him. I knew if he wanted something, he would get it. He would do everything in his power to, and I knew he wanted the Dwight dead.

•┈┈┈••✦ ✦••┈┈┈•

WITH DARYL.

Rosita walked through the forest, not far from the spot Denise had been killed at. She saw Daryl bike, and knew he was looking for Dwight. She continued through the woods, and suddenly an arrow flew past her face, landing on the tree beside her. Rosita pulled the arrow, and angrily stormed over to Daryl. "Watch the hell out, asshole!" She yelled, Daryl walked over to her and taking the arrow right out of her hand. "I did, you shouldn't have come." He retorted, his voice low and his southern accent prominent. "You shouldn't have left!" Michonne snapped back, quickly getting a response from Daryl. 

"When I split off from Sasha and Esmé, he was out there in the woods in that burned-out forest  with them girls. Put a gun to my head, and tied me up. I even tried to help him." And Daryl started to storm off, trying to continue his search for Dwight. "So, you think it's your fault?" Glenn called out, and Daryl quickly walked back, sizing him up. "Yeah, I know it is. I'm gonna go do what I should've done before." And if his intentions weren't clear yet, now they were crystal clear. 

"What about the people back at home?! What about Esmé?!  We need to get back there and figure this out from home." Glenn continued on, and at the mention of Esmés name, Daryl's expression darkened. "I can't." He grunted, and stormed off, yet again.

"I can't either." And with that, Rosita followed after him. Glenn and Michonne started their walk back. "We just got stuck with eachother." Glenn paused and came to a stop before continuing. "We were lucky. But Daryl and her, they aren't. I'm worried about them." He sighed before a whistle in the distance interrupted them. Glenn and Michonne pulled out their weapons, only to realize they were surrounded.

And there was Dwight, standing in front of Glenn.

•┈┈┈••✦ ✦••┈┈┈•

I wasn't too far away from Maggie's house when Enid came running out. "Esmé!! Maggie's hurt!" And I immediately ran back. Maggie was laying on the floor, screaming in pain. "Maggie, Maggie what's going on?!" I yelled, but she didn't say anything. She just kept yelling, screaming in pain.

With out only doctor gone, our last hope was hilltop. "Enid, go get help!" I didn't turn around, I just kept my gaze on Maggie. She nodded and ran off.

 She came back a few minutes later, Rick with her. "We have to get her to hilltop." He spoke, his tone rather calm. I nodded, and helped her up. He ran ahead, to go get ready. I helped her to the couch, sitting by her and holding her hand.

I knew Rick didn't want me to come, but I had to. With Maggie in such a condition, it was hard for me not to. So when everything was ready, I helped her to the camper. I was still worried about Daryl and everyone else, but I knew he was strong. I knew he could handle himself, and whatever was going on, I knew he would be okay.

I sat in the back with Maggie, sitting on the ground next to the bed. She wasn't screaming anymore, but she was teary-eyed and in pain. Rick came in with a bottle of water, handing it to Maggie. Suddenly, we slowed down. I ran over, only to see a group of people flocking the road. "What the hell?" I mumbled under my breath, as Abraham spoke up. "Are we doing this?" He asked Rick, but kept his eyes glued to the road.

"No." Rick grunted, and took a step back, opening the door and walking out. He kept his arms up, and everyone followed. Maggie stayed back, so I stuck near the door incase she needed anything. 

Rick gave us a hand signal, and everyone started going back.  Rick wasn't one to back down to a fight, but with Maggie injured I knew that was why. I went back in while Rick and the main guy talked, but I wasn't listening.

I walked over to Maggie, and she immediately asked what happened. "Nothing, don't worry about it." I mumbled, picking up the water from the nightstand and helped her drink it.

Eugene and Sasha discussed another route, I stayed with Maggie, and everyone else talked. We eventually got back on the road, driving off.

And after driving for a little longer, we slowed down again. The door was open and I peeked through, and I saw yet another group blocking the road. What's going on?  

We slowly backed up, the people firing warning shots into the air. Something was wrong. Why were they blocking our paths? We drove off, yet again until we slowed down, yet again. For a third time. I walked out of the camper, grabbing my gun and shutting Maggie's door. This time it wasn't blocked by people, instead a chain of walkers. "That's Michonnes." Carl pointed to a walker. A black dread was hanging off of its cheek. "That's Daryl's." Sasha pointed to another one and my heart dropped.

What did they do to him? Two arrows were sticking through its chest, and I immediately ran over, killing it and taking an out. Suddenly, there was a gun fire and people started shooting at our feet. I ran back to the RV, clutching Daryls arrow in my hand. 

We sped off, and I ran back to Maggie. They wanted us to go somewhere, and by now it was obvious. The rest of the group discussed a path but I couldn't stop thinking about Daryl. Where was he? What did they do to him? Was he okay? 

Maggie let out a groan and I looked over. She was sweating a ton, her cheeks were flushed, and she had kicked all the sheets off. I put the back of my palm to her forehead. She was burning up. I went over to the rest of the group. "She's burning up." I told Rick, but he was quickly called over by Abraham.

Another stop. This time way more people. There were at least twenty. "Go back." Rick muttered, and we did. 

Maggie was weak, pale, and burning up. We needed to get there fast. Rick went back towards Maggie, and I stayed near the front of the van. 

✦

We left the camper, only to find the road blocked again. This time by trees, not people. As everyone looked at the logs, there was a loud scream behind us. Someone had just gotten gun, and was now dangling by there neck off of a bridge behind us. He had a large spray painted X on his chest, and was slowly dying. Did they do that to Daryl? 

And slowly I felt my back get hot. I turned around, the pile of logs was on fire. "Go, go." Rick directed us, and everyone ran back to the RV.

We stopped yet again, trying to figure out another path. But the saviors wanted us to go a specific way, it was obvious now. We had two routes left to try, but I was almost a hundred percent sure they were blocked off. I just wanted to find Daryl, I wanted to know he was okay.

I sat while they talked about possible plans, but I wasn't listening. I could only think about the possible situations. Daryl was dead. Maybe he was alive, but hurt. Maybe I'd be dead by tomorrow.  

✦

It was dark, Rick had just refilled the gas tank. We were gonna take off on foot, and Eugene was gonna take the RV. I gave Maggie some water, trying to get her ready to go. With how pale and sick she was, I was scared she would be able to keep it down. "We're ready." Rick called out carrying a makeshift stretcher. I helped him get Maggie on, and carry it out the door.

We left, heading into the woods while Eugene took the camper and drove off. I could hear Maggie talking, but I couldn't make out what. Her voice was a low mumble, one that was barely audible. Suddenly, there was a whistle. The same one from earlier.  Then there was another, and I quickly realized we were surrounded. 

"Go!" Rick yelled, and we all ran into the woods. The whistles continued, ringing out all around us as we blindly ran through the forest. Suddenly, we ran into a clearing a lights flashed on in front of us. 

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NOTEPAD

• 1798 words!

• kinda boring chapter but the next one isn't! 🤭

• comment plsss I love when ppl interact!