The Place That Remains

Delaney climbed out of the bed, gently so as to not wake Maggie. It was still dark outside, but her mind had been racing with so many thoughts that sleep was impossible.

She hadn't even bothered taking off her boots the night before but really she didn't see the point anyway. If they had to leave at a moment's notice, she needed to be ready. She walked quietly past her uncle's bedroom and continued on down the stairs, pushing the screen door open to walk outside.

She sat down on the porch steps, crossing her ankles as she leaned back on her hands to watch the sun rise. She heard the screen door open behind her and she glanced back to see Daryl leaning against the house, his arms crossed over his chest.

"You're up and around," she observed. "That's good."

"Just headin' back out to my tent. Get outta Hershel's hair."

"Well, I'm not gonna ask how you are," she told him jokingly.

He gave her a small smirk and slowly sat down to her left on the steps. "Good."

She could feel his eyes on her but she kept her focus on the sun, where it was just beginning to appear over the horizon causing the dark sky to fade into a bluish pink. She pulled her knees up to her chest, rubbing her hands against her legs to generate some warmth. It was unusually cool since the sun wasn't up yet.

His eyes caught a glimpse of something shiny as she moved her left hand in the dim light and he reached out to catch her hand and examine it more closely. The contact was certainly unexpected. "You married?"

She pulled her hand away from his and crossed her arms over her chest, keeping her eyes on the sunrise. "Used to be. I lost him before I left home."

"What happened?" He wasn't sure why he was asking. He didn't usually give a shit about anyone else's stories but yet he found himself saying the words anyway.

Delaney gave him a little shrug, not really caring to delve into her past. "We'd already left the house cause it was startin' to get swarmed with walkers. We stopped in at a big supermarket on our way out of the city to get some supplies for the road. Got attacked by a big herd of 'em. Jake ran one way, I ran the other. He led them away from me. I hid in an abandoned car outside for hours- all night. But he never came out. I finally realized and, well, I knew I couldn't stay there so I just started walking. Ended up here."

"What about the rest'a your family? Parents, siblings?"

She shook her head. "My mom was already sick when the world went to shit. She didn't last a week. Stress was too much for 'er. And my little brother got bit protecting me. I had to shoot him. He made me shoot him."

Daryl could hear the subtle quiver in her voice. She was attempting to be strong in front of him, not break down like she usually did when she thought too much about her family. "You ain't got a daddy?"

"Nah. He was murdered way back when I was in high school."

His eyebrows shot up at the word murdered but he didn't push it any further. "Sorry," he mumbled. He also wasn't used to apologizing to anyone. For any reason.

She glanced over at him, giving him a little half smile. " 'S okay. I'm glad somebody killed the son of a bitch."

Now that definitely made him curious. He was about to ask her to elaborate on her statement but she cut him off with a question of her own. "What about you? You got family?"

"Nah. Not anymore."

"What happened to 'em?"

He was uncomfortable talking about his family. Too many bad memories for him. "My mother got burned up in a fire when I was kid. My father ain't even worth mentionin'. Got a brother though. Haven't seen 'im in a while, but I think he's still out there."

"I hope he is," she said softly.

"Better not go that far. You ain't met him," he chuckled.

Delaney was surprised to see him smiling, actually smiling, for the first time since she'd arrived. And it was contagious. She smiled back at him, but when his blue eyes met her green ones, it immediately disappeared. He cleared his throat. "I should get back to camp."

He stood up from the steps to leave, but then he paused, turning back to her. "I'm alright. Thanks for not askin'." She cracked a smile at him and he nodded once at her before finally leaving her alone on the porch. She watched him walk all the way back down to the tents before she sighed and stood up from the steps, going back into the house.

Her uncle was becoming increasingly uneasy with the group camped out on his land. Delaney didn't know when she arrived that they were only staying temporarily until Rick's son had healed from a gunshot wound. They hadn't been there long and her family was still getting to know the group.

She went into the kitchen to make her uncle a nice breakfast and soon her cousin Beth joined her to help out. He slowly made his way down the stairs and sat down at the dining room table while Delaney served him a plate and he smiled graciously as he began to dig in. He didn't mind if she took over his kitchen. After all, she was family. The farm had been her home every summer since she could remember.

As she was cleaning up the kitchen, she heard rustling in the hallway and she looked up just as Lori came into the kitchen followed by a little boy. She smiled at him as she wiped her hands on a dish towel. "You must be Carl," she said to him.

He smiled tentatively at the woman he'd never seen before. Lori put her hands on her son's shoulders. "Carl, this is Mr. Hershel's niece, Delaney."

"Nice to meet ya, ma'am," he said, tilting the brown sheriff's hat sitting on top of his head at her.

"Feeling better?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a lot."

"That's good," she smiled.

"Alright, come on, Carl. I told Patricia we'd help feed the chickens out back." Lori said, pointing her son toward the back door. She gave Delaney another smile before she followed him to the door, and outside.

Delaney spent the next few hours doing various chores and things around the house. She helped Patricia wash clothes and then hang them up to dry. She cleaned up the room where Daryl had been placed after he was shot and since vacated. She helped Beth french braid her hair.

She was curled up in the chair by the window in the living room when Maggie rushed into the house, looking around frantically for her cousin. "Mags? Everything okay?"

Maggie looked relieved when her eyes landed on the older woman and she sank down into the chair with her. "I gotta tell you somethin'."

"You and Glenn again?"

"No. Well, yes. Sorta. Yes and no."

Delaney shot her a confused look. "Okay, seriously. What's going on?"

"Glenn found out somethin' he's not supposed to know about and now Daddy's pissed at me for it. Glenn wants to tell his group, but if he does, things'll get real bad."

"Well, what is it?"

"All the people around here that got bit....." she whispered. "They're in the barn."

Delaney's eyes widened at her cousin's confession. "There's walkers in the barn? Right outside?!"

"Don't call 'em walkers," Maggie said defensively. "They're people I know."

"Maggie, they're not people anymore," she stated calmly.

"Annette is out there, Delaney! Shawn too!"

Despite being told that her aunt and cousin were two of the walkers locked inside the barn, Delaney shook her head. "That isn't them. It's just a shell of the people they were. They died a long time ago."

Maggie shook her head as thick tears began to form in her eyes. "No. They're just sick."

"They're gone, Maggie. Those things out there don't know who they used to be. They wouldn't recognize you. They don't have thoughts and emotions. All they care about is eating. Eating us. Trust me, they're dangerous."

"If he tells his group about it, they're just gonna kill 'em all."

Delaney swallowed hard, not answering her cousin's last statement, instead pulling her into a hug. She understood Maggie's distress, but at the same time, she agreed with Glenn. He wanted to tell his group because he knew they would take care of the problem. Those walkers were a huge threat to everyone on the farm.

They had to go.