SIXTY THREE. the scavenge

Eleven days. Adeline Grimes always believed that time moved faster than it was supposed to, until now. Beth was gone. Without being given the chance to see her sister again. And the widow couldn't erase the screams that left Maggie Rhee's lips the second she saw the unmoving body of Beth curled within the arms of Daryl Dixon. It haunted her. Every time she closed her eyes in attempt to gain some rest, the dark memories of everyone they had lost swarmed like a busy bee hive. They never left.

Before, Adeline was thankful for the reminder of who had left an impact on her life. But, things changed... and she began loathing the constant reminder of the souls she couldn't save. The blood that crawled beneath her fingertips didn't help, because when her nearly empty eyes laid upon the sight ━━ it was as if it happened all over again. Hershel. Lizzie. Beth. The deep end grew sinisterly closer to the widow, awaiting patiently for one more harsh shove.

One that would send her over the edge.

The goal they once held carefully became shattered ━━ Glenn and Maggie's return to the group destroying their last ounce of hope for the world. Eugene Porter was supposed to know the cure, he was meant to put an end to it all. But, he lied. There was no cure. Only survival and keeping the people you love alive. And it grew harder every day for the group to maintain that promise. They held onto the last thing that Beth Greene had promised the two newly joined brothers ━━ getting them back to their home.

531 miles away from the infected city of Atlanta, Georgia.

Adeline was convinced that it was a pipe dream. She didn't voice her thoughts, though. She found herself becoming more distant, from everyone. There were times when she laid awake at night, wishing they were back on the farm ━━ when things were simple. When she still had Shane to help her fall asleep. Ever since losing him, her sleeping patterns were nothing but erratic and messy. If it wasn't the nightmares that woke her, it was the missing presence of warm arms wrapped around her securely.

But every-time those thoughts even dared to enter her mind, Adeline would begin the process of pushing them away. They began their travel to Noah and Wesley's community the day after the hospital ━━ and driving one of the vehicles gave the widow an excuse to escape her thoughts. Their was a noticeable change within every soul of the group as the hope they clung to began to fade away without a whisper of goodbye. It wasn't the same.

And Adeline made herself believe that it never would be.

The sun shined harshly against her slightly burnt skin, blood crusted underneath the skin of her fingernails. She sat crouched, hand pressed against the moist dirt, focused eyes glued to what once remained of a stream. No water. A sigh fell from Adelines chapped lips, the plastic material of the water bottle crushing within her grasp before she angrily slammed it to the ground.

The muscles in her body ached as she stood to her feet, a wave of dizziness rushing through her frame. Stumbling forward, she was quick to hold onto the rough bark of a tree to steady herself. Her brain felt like it was being pushed together, an intense pressure swarming her head while the bark dug into her calloused palms. Just give it a second, the doctor reminded herself ━━ the signs of exhaustion and slight dehydration tightening it's grip on her.

A minute passed, every sound of distant nature causing the nausea within her stomach to bring warm spit inside of her mouth. She didn't dare move, allowing the fit to pass before regaining her composure and running her now clammy hands over her face. Due to the intense weather, she didn't even notice the hot flash she had received. Feeling sweat gather in her clothes, Adeline pushed her way through the dense forest and back to the small camp they sat up for the night. They never let themselves stay longer than a day.

Upon her entrance, she noticed the missing presence of several figures. Glenn, Rick, Sasha, Rosita, Abraham, and Tara. Adeline was quick to remember that the group had left for a run an hour ago in hopes of finding food or water ━━ her eyes falling over the remaining twelve. Theo sat alongside Carl on a log, the two of them reading a comic that laid across the rough surface. In the open doors of the white van resided Michonne and Judith, the woman resting her eyes with the baby asleep on her chest.

Maggie was nowhere to be seen, but Adeline knew not to worry, knowing that she had disappeared into the forest in search of time alone. Tyresse kept himself busy talking to Noah, who couldn't stop thinking about the well being of his brother Wesley. Carol sat with the latter, silence wavering within the air between them next to the campfire that would provide light once the sun settled. Two figures sat around the same fire, a bruised Eugene sitting in the middle, fixing a broken radio the group had found. Gabriel sat alongside him, staring into the flames with nothing to do.

Then the widows eyes found the figure she was searching for, Daryl Dixon. Since Beth, it had become clear to her that a change began to sprout ━━ after all, it was hard for Adeline to not notice the missing presence of the archer. He hadn't talked to her in seven days. She wondered if it was embarrassing to keep count, but the widow started to realize how hard it was without him.

Or maybe it was the fact that she would give up almost everything she had for Daryl to even look at her that scared her senseless.

He was growing farther and farther away, and that terrified Adeline Grimes more than she ever would've guessed. He sat alone on the edge of camp, sharpening his hunting knife with a flat stone. She had snuck the weapon back into his bag at night, not wanting to bother him or cause him to grow irritated at her presence. The last thing she wanted was for Daryl to hate her.

"Hey." The voice of Wesley pulled the widow out of her thoughts, her eyes tearing away from the archer and onto the boy who had begun to move towards her. "Um," He started, shifting on his feet while tucking his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "I know Rick and the others went on a run but, there's this building that we passed while driving. I noticed there was a boarded gate."

Which means there's a possibility of something useful. At the thought, Adeline crossed her arms over her chest, "You think there might be supplies?" She inquired ━━ the sound of her voice announcing her presence to the curious eyes of the group. Theo perked at the sound, pulling away from the comic book she and Carl shared as the two quietly listened in on the conversation.

"There could be. I think it's worth a shot, just in case." Wesley confirmed, "I remember my dad saying something about it, too. Before Grady. We passed it on the way to Atlanta, I can't really remember much but I know that it didn't look as fortified as it did today." He added ━━ his words causing the widow to nod in silent confirmation. "Great. I'll go get my things together."

Before she could say anything back, the boy turned on his feet and made his way to the van Michonne and Judith resided within. A sigh fell from Adelines chest, her hand running through the tangled and greasy locks of hair. "Ty. Wanna go on a quick run?" She inquired, allowing her voice to filter through the small camp.

Tyresse looked up from where he sat, a subtle nod becoming an answer to the awaiting widow. "Can we come?" Theo spoke up next to Carl, gesturing towards the boy ━━ attempting to convince the woman with a sweet look. Adeline contemplated the decision, and quickly came to an decision with the shake of her head. A groan fell from the eleven year old, "Addy, please? We can help. What if you run into a group of walkers?" She tried.

"Then we deal with them." Adeline was quick to retort, almost as if it was the most simple answer in the world. "It's too risky. I'm not leaving the rest of the group defenseless." She informed, making her way over to the two where her backpack sat leaned up against the wooden log. She was met with the pleading eyes of Theo, which caused her eyes to roll out of annoyance. "Fine."

As the eleven year old went to express her gratitude, she was hastily met with a handful of words. "But only one of you. The other has to stay and help Daryl with the noise traps for the night." Adeline gave them a deal, but her plan was met with the sound of the archers voice ━━ which almost immediately sent a wave of what felt like nerves rushing through her stomach, warming her.

"Nah. I'm goin'. Traps are done." Daryl spoke, slinging the strap of his crossbow over his shoulder while approaching the small circle. Adeline shifted at his presence, her eyes settled on his figure while she nodded hastily ━━ "Oh- Okay, then. Never mind. Both of you are staying to protect the camp. And don't even argue with me." She instructed, Theo's eyes rolling in aggravation to the woman's rules. "I deserve a candy bar after all of this is over."

Ruffling the girls hair, Adeline leaned down to press a short kiss against her forehead ━━ Theo slapped her away, but was proved to be futile by the widows hand pushing her head. "Keep an eye on everyone, okay?" Adeline requested, moving towards Carl with a small smile that failed to reach her tired eyes. "Check on Maggie for me. Make sure she's safe." She added, kissing the side of the her nephews head as he nodded in confirmation to her words.

"We'll be okay." He assured, the woman's eyes falling down to the familiar necklace worn around his neck. The 22 pendant hung over the shirt he wore, running marathons through her memory as she cleared her throat. "Okay. If your dad gets back before us, let him know what's going on. We shouldn't be long." Adeline spoke, slinging the camo green strap of her empty bag over her shoulder.

Once the small group of four found themselves to be ready, Daryl opted to drive the vehicle while Wesley provided directions from the passenger seat. Adeline sat in the backseat alongside Tyresse, their empty bags placed between the two of them, the material acting as an arm rest. Quiet music played from the cars radio from one of the CD's that Adeline managed to find snugged underneath the drivers seat, the audio barely heard over the engines buzzing.

Resting her head against the window, she felt exhaustion loop its way through her body ━━ her eyes growing heavy with every second that passed. Adeline pinched the skin of her arm to keep herself awake, forming a red spot on her tanned skin from her uncut nails. There was only one thing on her mind, and she kept trying to push it back. Shane. Today, he seemed to occupy every space of her brain ━━ taunting her with his corrupted memory.

Grief was something that Adeline could never begin to understand. She tried to figure it out, but every attempt only ended up being futile. There were days when all she could think about was Shane, and it even got so bad to the point that she couldn't leave her bed. Then, some days, she wouldn't even think about him at all ━━ which almost left her suffocated by guilt. She didn't want to forget him, she only wanted to forget what he had become. What the world turned his once beautiful soul into.

"You gonna be alright?" The voice of Tyresse pulled her from her thoughts, to which she felt grateful for. Adeline felt her eyebrows furrow in confusion, straightening her back as she turned to face her friend. "Why wouldn't I be?" She inquired, moving slightly in her seat to sneak her right leg underneath her body.

Daryl glanced up from the road to look at the two from the rear view mirror, his eyes settled upon the tired features of the woman. He wondered if she was going to be alright, too. He just wouldn't say it. Not now.

"You're tired." Tyresse pointed out, gesturing towards the bags underneath her eyes. "You can barley keep your head straight. Don't want you to end up getting hurt out here, you know?" He reassured, the hint of worry lacing his features. At his words, a small smile that failed to reach her eyes formed around her lips as she nodded in confirmation. "I'll be fine, Ty. Don't worry."

A sigh fell from his chest, glancing down to his hands that were crossed over his lap. His purple shirt remained on her skin, and he had to admit that she pulled it off better than he ever could. "After Karen..." He started, causing the widow to look to him with softened eyes. "What I said to you, everything that happened. I never said that I was sorry. I took my anger out on you and your brother when I shouldn't have." He continued, meeting her eyes.

"It's okay." Adeline assured, reaching her hand out to rest against his forearm. Keeping her voice low, she scooted closer to the man to share her next words. "When I lost my... When I lost Shane, I pushed Rick away. I didn't talk to him for months. And it wasn't even his fault. I couldn't save the man I loved, and I still can't let him go. You don't have to apologize for your grief." She promised, softly squeezing his skin with a whisper of pure assurance.

The drive continued alongside their conversation, the buzz of their voices coming to a stop as the vehicle copied their actions alongside the side of the road ━━ a few yards away from the building Wesley had spotted. Adeline was the first to slip out, throwing her bag over her shoulders and sliding her arms through the straps. Her hand met the hilt of her machete, pulling it from its sheath before quietly closing the door she had hopped out of.

Moving her eyes down the road, she spotted several walkers roaming around the enclosed gate ━━ catching sight of the sign that stood behind the structure. Miller's Storage Units. Several walkers stumbled around the outside of the abandoned settlement, their distant growls and moans wavering through the infected air. Adeline felt her fingers tighten around the red handled machete, her other hand resting against the side of the warm vehicle.

Waiting until Daryl, Wesley, and Tyresse joined her, she kept her voice low and her body hidden behind the white van. "Me and Ty can take care of some up close." She informed, gesturing towards the machete in her hand. "Wesley, you and..." Adeline felt herself stop within her words, eyes shifting over to Daryl's figure who looked anywhere but her. "You two can take them out from here." She cleared her throat, feeling her throat sting with emotions.

Guilt crept up from behind the archer once he caught a glance at the hurt that crawled over Adelines features, but he knew it was for the best. He couldn't lose her, and she couldn't lose him. Break the connection before it breaks you. At least, that's what he kept telling himself each time he had the urge to talk to her. Or even look at her. Which he started to realize was a lot. If anything, it scared him that he wanted to tell this woman everything that crossed his mind. He didn't know if he wanted it to stay or go.

"Okay." Adeline started, sniffing slightly as she nodded towards Tyresse ━━ his head nodding in confirmation. Together, they made their way out from behind the car and towards the walkers that stood around the gate. A loud whistle soared through the air from the widows lips, her hand falling to the set of throwing knives by her thigh. Pulling one out, it whizzed through the infection and into the mushy brain of the first stalker that turned.

As it fell to the ground, they rushed forward to take care of the rest while Daryl and Wesley provided cover from behind. Rocks found themselves embedded into the rotten skulls of walkers from the slingshot the boy carried, while arrows followed their lead. Adeline was quick to take down the closest stalker by kicking its knee in ━━ knocking it to the floor as the blade of her machete sliced into its head, half of its skull sliding off to the road below.

Tyresse grabbed onto the shoulder of one that stumbled towards the doctor, keeping a tight hold before slinging his hammer into its head. It fell limp, it's body cascading towards the concrete as he jerked his bloody weapon from its skin. Adeline curled both hands around her machete, an arrow whizzing past her and into the brains of a stalker that snapped up at her from the ground.

Raising her arms, she cleared the last walker with ease ━━ her blade slicing through the rotten skin of its head. The body fell to the concrete, a huff leaving the widows lips as she slid the sharp blade of her machete across her jeans to rid of any blood before returning it back to its sheath. "It's clear." Adeline announced, glancing back at the vehicle as Wesley and Daryl began making their way towards her and Tyresse. "It's a storage unit place."

She spoke while motioning towards the sign behind the reinforced wall, "Should have some good stuff." Adeline added ━━ forcing herself to ignore the archers figure completely as she approached the boarded up gate. Curling her hand around the bar, she went to push it open but was stopped abruptly by something behind it. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "Is it blocked?" Wesley inquired from behind the widow, stepping to stand next to her.

A mixed scoff and laugh escaped the lips of Daryl Dixon, "No shit." He commented ━━ his words causing Adeline to look back at him with a questionable look. She watched as he moved closer to the gate, using the small flower garden that curved its way around the structure as a step up. He peered over, curling one hand over the brick wall. "There's your problem. Got two things blocking the gate. I can get 'em." He informed, ready to move.

"No." Adeline was quick to deny his plan, his eyes finally turning back to meet hers. "I'm going. You three stay here." She informed while pushing past the archer. Before he could open his mouth to reject her idea, she grabbed onto the wall and hoisted herself over ━━ her boots slamming against the concrete below. Her ankles stung from the impact, hands hastily rushing through her hair to tuck the tangled strands behind her ears and out of her face.

The inside of the abandoned settlement flooded into her sight, her eyes immediately taking notice of the dozens of bodies that littered the parking lot. There were tents and structures that resembled the prison courtyard, there was something good here. But like every good thing, it was clear that it had come to an end. Adeline found most things to be overturned or burnt, her eyes lingering on the dissembled body parts scattering the concrete.

Before the shock could wash over her, a rotted hand hiding beneath one of two dumpsters curled around her ankle. "Shit!" Adeline shrieked, eyes hastily spotting the W carved into the skin of the walkers forehead just as an arrow bolt whizzed through the air and into the very spot. The widow breathed heavily, her hand curled around the red handle of her machete as she took a quick step back, turning her eyes to the archer who stood by the wall.

"I told you to stay back." She was quick to say, bending down to jerk the arrow out of the skull. Aggravation mixed with confusion rushed through her as her fingers tightened around the bolt and she tossed it towards Daryl. He stepped back, allowing it to fall to the concrete which caused a scoff of anger to slip from her lips. "Really, Daryl? Pick it up." She instructed while kicking the bolt.

For a second, he kept his eyes trained on her. The way loose strands of dark brown hair stuck to her tanned skin form sweat, lines carved in her forehead from the aggravation she surely held just for him. Her eyes were dark, they no longer glistened with the hope the prison had given her only to be harshly torn away by an insane man on a warpath. Daryl felt blame. And guilt. Like he was to blame for everything bad that had ever happened to Adeline.

Like he should've worked harder to keep her safe.

The thoughts infiltrated his mind, causing his defenses to fall harshly. Before he knew it, Adeline had picked the arrow up and slid it into the space of his bag without a word or glance in his direction. The warmth of her hand brushing against his shoulder remained for a second, a part of him longing for her return as she focused on moving the two dumpsters that blocked the gate.

The silence between them was heavy, tension so thick that it could be cut open with a knife. And as Daryl moved to help her move the heavy dumpsters, she tore her eyes away from the structures and over to him. "Just stay over there." Adeline pleaded, her eyes laced with emotions that took ahold of her. The archer watched as she turned her head, raising her palm from the handle of the dumpster to hastily wipe it across the right side of her face.

Feeling her throat tighten, Adeline kept reminding herself to push it down ━━ her hand returning to the dumpster to pull it from the gate. It screeched against the concrete below, her body slipping through the gap she made to grab the metal bar that found itself stuck between the two gate doors. Tossing the possible weapon to the ground, it echoed against the pavement as it rolled across the parking lot that was scattered with dozens of bodies and trash.

Heaving the gate open, the metal rubbed along the concrete as the two figures of Wesley and Tyresse flooded into Adelines view. "I don't know how much we'll find." She informed, moving out of the way for them to see the remnants of the small community behind her. "This will go the way it needs to go." Tyresse spoke hopefully, squeezing the widows shoulder as he moved past her.

"Hopefully." She mumbled, allowing them to enter the area. Adeline stood by the gate for a minute, watching the three figures begin their search throughout the camp. Most of the storage units were open, and instead of finding random things ━━ there were beds, making each unit a bedroom for someone to stay. But, with each one they passed by, they just found more and more bodies.

Adeline felt the hope of finding food or anything useful fade away ever so slowly, her backpack only growing heavier with the help of two cans of corn and three half empty water bottles. It was clear to her that whoever caused this place to fall also took everything of use along with it. The memory of what they had at the prison haunted her, making a part of her wish that Shane was able to see what good could come out of such a bad world. But then again, if he was around ━━ he would have to go through the same as her.

And she didn't want anyone she loved to ever feel this way again.

The thought caused her eyes to trail over to the lone figure of Daryl Dixon, rummaging through one of the last storage units that remained. Adeline knew that if anything, she needed to know why he was growing so distant. He seemed to be fine with everyone else, she couldn't help but wonder what she had done that was so wrong. And she also couldn't stand the fact that when he did look at her, it made her question what kind of person she truly was.

Adeline felt herself grow sick, a hot flash swallowing her whole as she tightened her hands into fists. She needed to know. Her body began walking and before she could control her own actions, she found herself standing in front of the archer just as he turned towards the exit of the storage unit. "What did I do?" The inquiry left her lips in a hurry, her voice shaking as she spoke softly.

Daryl trained his eyes on her figure, his fingers anxiously tightening around the structure of his crossbow. He didn't know what to say. And he couldn't lie. Not to her. So, without sparing a word, he attempted to move past her ━━ internally hoping to avoid the thoughts that he had pushed away for so long. But, almost identically to what he'd done to her, Adeline curled her hand around his forearm and kept his body next to her own.

"Please." She begged, moving to stand in front of him to meet his eyes that stuck to the concrete. "I can't..." Adeline started, but her voice trembling caused her to stop to take a deep breath. "I can't do this without you. So, please. Tell me what I can do to fix it." The pleads left her mouth in a careful manner, feeling desperate for him to hold an actual conversation with her. She needed him.

But, Daryl Dixon carried the burden of knowing exactly what happened to people he loved. And instead of giving Adeline what she needed, and what he wanted, he pulled his arm out of her grasp and met her eyes with his guilt flooded ones. "There ain't nothing you can do that ain't already been done." He informed, pushing past the widow and leaving her alone in the storage unit.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ AUTHORS NOTE.

JEIGJFJ OKAY OKAY LET ME EXPLAIN listen y'all
daryl and addy have never really had an argument or been
away from each other for too long and i needed it to happen
for the arc of their relationship because as you can see in this
chapter miss addy has started to kind of realize what she feels
for daryl. AND THAT IS ALL THAT IM SAYING SJIFJFJF

WORD COUNT ... 4523