Living Like You're Dead

Breakfast was chatty. Addie was talking again, and everyone felt the peace that Addie and Daryl had come to terms with. With everyone still curious about the situation, they all wondered. Not really sure of what to assume, but they hoped for the best in this terrible situation. While Daryl was cleaning fresh kill outside, Addie noticed Rick walk over to him. Addie was stretching out under the sun soaking up the wonderful vitamin D that she had missed so much these past few days.

“I wanna go look at Shane.”

“It finally got to ya huh?” Daryl said.

“Well I don’t know what’s going on, but we might as well check.”

“All the dead we’ve buried, I told ya we shoulda burned them.”

“We’ll find out who’s right later today, you comin?”

“Today? I… well I guess.”

“You… uh don’t have some prior commitment with Addie?”

“No Not really, I can go.”

“Alright, well we leave at noon, I want to be back before sundown.” Daryl finished Rick’s conversation with a polite nod. He didn’t want to leave Addie so soon, she had started to heal, and he wanted to be there for it. But he was one of the better fighters, they needed him, plus it was a short trip, he’d be back before dinner.

He walked over to Addie… and quickly explained the situation. Immediate hesitation flooded her eyes and she washed it away as quickly as she could, but Daryl still caught that glimmer in her eye – the one that told him she’s worry.

“Baby girl, only a few hours.”

“I hate you leaving.”

“I’ll come back, I always come back for you.” and with that Daryl gave her a soft kiss on her lips. The first real tender kiss they had shared since the terrible Addie had faced. Daryl had feared kissing her because... well he didn't know why, he felt fear coming from her, but she had kissed him back just as tenderly. He held her face in his hands and kissed her again longing for that feeling that they had both felt during that first kiss.

Daryl was in love with her, and he had been hiding it from her... but what she needed was to see it, and experience it. Daryl causally traced her scapula with his finger tips, sending shivers p her spine and leaving goosebumps on her arms.

"I promise." he said before returning to his work.
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The morning light warmed Addie’s face. Daryl was still missing from her bed. It had been three days since he’d left with Rick and she worried. They had taken the only quiet car, but at this point Addie was ready to venture out in the RV if she had to.

Lori was the only one telling her to go.

“You know something’s wrong.” She’d say. Addie agreed of course fearing the worst that Daryl had been killed, eaten or… worse, turned. But she had been told by Dale and Glenn that she shouldn’t leave; they had fought her since day one, saying that Rick, Daryl, and T would be back. But three days was enough. The first one was almost too much. How dare Daryl Dixon leave her and not come back?

Lori told her last night, the second night they hadn’t returned that Addie had to find them. Andrea was afraid to leave the children, Carol was afraid of most things that involved leaving the house and Lori was pregnant and the sickness didn’t let her venture far from her bed. She wanted to spit in the faces of Dale and Glenn everyone feared what was out there, because they presumed that they were dead, they didn’t want to find their friends dead.
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Lori yelled for help in the upstairs bedroom, the response to her cry was immediate. While Addie curiously slipped through the back door to the large shed. Inside was the RV, the Truck, and – as the list of possible escape vehicles entered her mine… she couldn’t help but shake the one last on the list. Daryl’s bike.

It wouldn’t waste gas. she thought. Addie didn’t like to brag, but she thought she handled a weapon pretty well; even Daryl had thought so that day he took her hunting. She had only learned from him, guns were a rarity in France. But here she had tried to learn quickly – seeing as how it was a means for survival.

The only thing that Addie felt was anger. She felt like she had been abandoned and with that rage built inside her – she pushed the motorcycle down the soft slope, past the front of the house and out the fence. Behind her she locked it. Lori’s plan had worked.
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The sun was warn against her skin still – despite summer slowly slipping away. She found the air blowing past her soothing on account of the heat burning her back. All she knew was that Shane was buried at the old school house. She wondered that if she had grown up here if she wouldn’t attended there, or if she would’ve met any of the people she knew today – would she and Daryl have met?

She liked the roar of his bike – she had only ridden a motorcycle once, and that was because an old boyfriend had dared her. The chains had been rusty, and the bike itself was very old – and Daryl’s was well kept, brilliant condition, and a hell of a lot more powerful, but Addie liked it.

The road was riddled with old cars; it seemed like there weren’t that many when they had arrived months ago. Upon arriving at the schoolhouse she noticed the incredibly complicated problem. While she held back the fear growing in her mind she quickly sought after any helpful plan.

The many walkers gathered outside the schoolhouse was surely the reason no one had returned. The had to smell fresh meat from somewhere. And that was most likely coming from the man she loved… even she thought he was appetizing.

Addie didn’t think it was sensible to fight a hoard of walkers. But the bike she rode was definitely loud enough to draw them away. And it was worth a shot.

So revving the engine as loud as she could she rode up to the schoolhouse and waited for them to come after her.

It didn’t take long.