Chapter Text
“Keep it down,” Daryl warned as the group snuck through the trees. The kids were understandably glad to be out of what used to be Alexandria and were muttering amongst themselves, catching up with their friends and wanting to know from the adults what had happened while they and the others had been held there.
Despite their reservations with leaving the place in the Commonwealth´s grip, it wasn´t safe to stay, no matter how attached they once were to the place.
Daryl moved a large branch out of the way, allowing Judith to squeeze past him. She was trying not to let on how much the ordeal had shaken her, for Coco and Hershel´s sake probably, but he knew her well enough to know that wasn´t true. She had stuck to his side like glue since they got them out of there, barely letting him out of her sight. She didn´t like being separated from her family.
“How you holdin´ up?” He asked her as he let the branch snap back into place. “Need to take a break?”
Her mouth scrunched up as she thought. “Not really.” She shook her head. “But I think the others could use it. I heard Hershel crying almost the whole night…”
Daryl nodded glumly. He never should have let them get separated. He should have been more careful, seen it coming. The Milton´s were dangerous and yet instead of just leaving the Commonwealth, he´d let everyone get themselves into trouble trying to stir something up.
He signalled Rosita and Maggie where they were spread out through the trees and they in turn let Ezekiel, Negan and the rest know to look for a good place for a break.
A few minutes later, Maggie gave a whistle and they converged on her, breaking out from under the foliage and onto the street, where a small roadside shack stood; run down and dirty but still mostly intact. There was an old radio tower behind it, perfect for a look out to climb up and have a good view of anything coming their way.
“Everything alright?” Negan asked as he and his wife arrived behind them.
“Yeah. Kid´s just need a break,” Daryl answered curtly. He had of course heard by now what Negan had done in Alexandria, trying to martyr himself to save the others, but that didn´t mean he liked him any more.
“That´s not a bad idea,” his wife said, holding her back and easing herself onto a rusty chair outside the shack as a few others went to check the inside. Maggie motioned Daryl over and he joined her and Rosita a few meters away.
“What´s our plan here exactly?” Rosita asked. “We can´t just live on the road again like before. We have kids and a pregnant woman and our numbers make it hard to be discreet.”
“I know…” Maggie said. “But I don´t really have any better ideas. We can hardly go back to Hilltop, there´s no way they won´t have taken that if they´ve taken Oceanside.”
Daryl worried his lip with his teeth, his hand playing with the strap of his crossbow on his shoulder. “We´ll find something. Don´t gotta be perfect, just so we can regroup with everyone, make sure Eugene and the others can find us when they make it out.”
“If they make it out…” Rosita said glumly.
“They will,” Maggie insisted. “Eugene´s changed a lot and Magna´s resourceful. They´ll make it.”
Rosita kicked a stone down the street. “He didn´t seem so sure about it last time. And Pamela hasn´t exactly become any more sympathetic to us after what happened to her son.”
“Maybe not, but at least Lance is outta the picture now,” Daryl said. “Carol and I made sure of that.”
Rosita smiled darkly. “Good. The bastard deserved it.”
Daryl saw Judith coming back out of the shack, making a beeline towards them. “We found an old radio inside. Do you think if we repaired it, we could listen in on the Commonwealth?” She asked.
Daryl glanced at the radio tower, slightly crooked but in good shape and then shared a glance with Rosita, who shrugged. “We have a few batteries. It´s worth a try,” she said.
Maggie nodded and squeezed her shoulder. “I´ll go tell the others, we can set up a perimeter, maybe look for water in the area.”
“I´ll see if I can catch somethin´,” Daryl agreed. “Don´t wanna use our rations if we don´t gotta.”
“Alright. Good idea.” Maggie went off to inform everyone of their plan and Rosita went into the shack with Judith, who looked back to Daryl, a concerned look in her eyes that didn´t at all suit her age. “Don´t go too far.”
“I won´t.” He took his crossbow from his shoulder and headed back into the woods. The night´s frost had made the leaves wet and soft and his footsteps were quiet and exact as he started scouring for animal tracks.
It took him slightly over half an hour to catch a hare. The furry bugger had taken him on quite the chase, despite having an arrow in its belly. It wasn´t much, but seeing as they still had some food and he didn´t want to worry anyone, he turned back.
The sun had crossed its zenith while he´d been out and was starting to crawl its way slowly back down. He estimated it was late afternoon.
As he was leaning down to pick up some firewood, a small hush of movement caught his attention and he froze. Barely a stone´s throw away, a fox was rummaging through the undergrowth, rifling through leaves and sniffing out mice tunnels. Slowly, and as quietly as he could, he put the sticks back down and grabbed his crossbow, pulling it back and knocking an arrow.
He took a steadying breath and leaned into the stock, getting the fox in his sights. It was a grown one for sure, with bright red fur and a bushy tail. Two kills would be great for such a short amount of time. His finger eased over the trigger, but something made him stop. His brow furrowed and he couldn´t figure out what was bothering him, until a low rumbling permeated the air.
The fox´s ears perked up and it scampered away, darting into the undergrowth, until it disappeared under a system of roots.
Daryl swore but quickly hid behind a thick tree, fearing it might be the Commonwealth´s motorcycles closing in. When almost a minute had passed and the noise was still getting louder, he was sure it couldn´t be just that. It seemed to be coming from more than one direction, echoing through the forest. Instinctively, he looked up.
Sure enough, through the scarce foliage left on the trees, a large, dark shape moved through the sky, the low whoop-whoop of rotor blades beating through the silence as it flew overhead, shrinking until it disappeared into the distance.
For a moment, the lack of sound was disorienting, then Daryl grabbed the pile of sticks and hurried back to the road.