This is the End of Everything

While we were stopped on the highway I figured it would be best to look around for anything. I couldn't just sit here and let my mind get the best of me. I walked around looking in and out of cars. I found a few random cds, oh how I wished I could listen to music. I'm sure if I had music I wouldn't be feeling like I was going to lose my mind. T-Dog and Daryl were just a head of me so i walked over to them to attempt to make random conversations.

"I miss music" I said looking down at the cds that I was still holding.

"Oh man, me too. There used to be some pretty awesome beats out there" T-Dog said.

"Dude, metal and rock is where it was at. You just don't even know" I said smiling.

"Nah, you just don't know what your missing" T-Dog said.

I rolled my eyes at him and continued looking through the cars. I heard Rick yelling in the distance to get down. T-Dog slid behind a car and cut his arm pretty badly. I looked over shocked at how much blood was pouring out of his arm. I had no idea where Daryl disappeared off to. I helped T-Dog behind another car, we both sat there for a moment. I wasn't sure what to do, I didn't want to just leave him. I looked over at him and he nodded.

"Go hide I'll be fine" he said motioning for me to hide.

I nodded and found a car to slid under. I threw myself under as fast as possible, but not without scraping up my entire back. I wanted to yell out in pain, the metal underneath this car was sharp. I was laying on my stomach and noticed that Daryl had appeared just in time to hide him and T-Dog. I sighed in relief and kept quiet. I could feel the warm liquid dripping down my sides. I don't think they were huge gashes, but they felt pretty bad. I was just hoping it was like a paper cut, super small and unnoticeable, but hurts like hell. I watched the dead as they walked past. I didn't know how long this was going to take. As the last one passed by us I slowly slid out, careful not to touch the car with my back. I heard Sophia screaming. I looked over and saw her hop over the guard rail. I noticed walkers following her. I looked around, everyone was still under cars, I ran over to Sophia. I jumped over the guard rail and tried to follow her. I heard someone else jump over the rail, I looked behind me to see Rick with his gun.

"I'll cut them off" he said running around.

"Don't shoot off the gun" I said running as fast as I could towards Sophia.

I knew we had to hurry, and I knew Rick would try his hardest to get to her. When I caught up I saw Rick coming from the side, he grabbed Sophia. She screamed and then realized who it was. Rick picked her up and we ran, we found a creek and Rick set her down next to it. He informed her to go back to the highway once we lured the walkers away from her. She nodded and looked at both of us.

"You'll be fine, just go the way Rick said, we'll make sure the walkers don't go after you" I said giving Sophia a hug.

Rick backed out into the water I moved with him, just in time to see the walkers showing up over the hill. We yelled and made noises so that way they would come for us, Rick ran one way, which got two walkers attention. I ran the other way and took the other two away. I had to think quick, I didn't have any weapons with me. I could feel the tree branches piercing my skin and ripping it open as I ran. I saw a large rock and noticed I could get one walker and have enough time to move before the other walker caught up. I waited for the walker to get close enough, I slammed the rock into it's head, and did it a few more times just for good measure. I saw the other one get a little closer, the rock was covered in blood and too slippery for me to hold onto. I began to run again. I ran down a hill and saw a few more walkers. Just great, I try to save a little girl and this is what I get in return. I turned and ran towards some thick brush, I really hope this slows them down. While running I tripped and slammed my head onto a rock. I knew the walkers were still far enough behind me, but really? Could my luck get any worse? I felt a hand on my ankle, I turned ready to kick it in the face. I was shocked when I saw Merle instead.

"Holy shit" I said staring in disbelief.

"Now's not the time, one you gotta get away from those walkers, and two, you can't be seen by the people I'm with" Merle said pulling me towards him.

"People your with?" I asked looking at him.

"I'll tell ya in a minute" he said, I noticed his hand had a metal plate around it with a knife at the end.

Merle took down the walkers like they were nothing, Merle hid me behind some bushes and I could see him walk about 50 yards away. I am beyond confused right now. I cold heard Merle faintly saying he was going to see if there were any signs of people over in my direction. I heard a few okays, Merle sounded insistent that he would go alone. I heard Merle walking back over, he pulled me up and made sure I was in front of him the entire time.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" I yelled once we were far enough away from whoever he was with.

"I know I know, But ya gotta listen to me. These people I found, they aren't in ta makin friends. They will take yer supplies and kill all of ya. I only got lucky cause I'm just so dang pretty" Merle said with a smile.

"Ha, Ha, funny. But you've gotta come back with us, and show Daryl you're alive!" I said looking at him.

"I'm sure that boy knows I'm a live. If the governor knows that my group is still alive, he'll kill all of ya, which I wouldn't mind sides you and my baby brother" Merle said trying to reason with me.

"What am I just supposed to say 'Oh hey Daryl, I saw Merle, he's doing fine, but he's found a new group so sorry!'" I said putting my hands on my hips.

"You ain't sayin nothin to him. This never happened, I'm tryina keep you and Darylina safe" Merle said looking at me.

"You are really expecting me to go back to Daryl and not mention this? No Merle you need to get your ass back now. Daryl was so pissed that they left you, he made them go back for you" I said looking at him.

"Sounds just like him. But I can't. it's better if the governor don't know about ya, stay out of the cites and towns, if ya ever run into anyone, say yer alone. If yer alone they'll more then likely take ya into woodbury. Just no groups, ya hear" Merle said.

"I hate you. I really do" I said stretching.

"How are ya and yer withdraws? Yer lookin like ya need some" Merle said laughing a little.

"Suck it." I said rubbing my head. "I hate Daryl too right now" I said laughing a little.

"Well, where do ya need to go, I best be gettin back" Merle said.

"The highway, I'm sure I look really beat up" I said noticing my hair was tangled.

"Oh I'm sure my baby bro won't care. If yer wantin ta get back to the highway keep walking up this way a little ways. How long ya plan on stayin over there?" Merle asked.

"I don't know, we had to run after Sophia, and fix the RV, hopefully not longer than a few days" I said looking over at the older Dixon brother.

"Well I'll try my best to keep the governor away from the highway" Merle said.

"Give me a hug you bastard" I said opening my arms.

"Keep an eye on Daryl for me will ya? Can't have anything happen to him now can we?" Merle said with a smile.

I watched Merle turn and leave, how am I going to keep this a secret. Daryl needs to know his brother is alive. I groaned and I walked back towards the highway. I spotted the RV and began to walk quickly over to it. The sun felt like it was frying my new cuts. I really hope they weren't as bad as they felt. I got to the RV and saw only Dale and T-Dog. They looked surprised that I had shown up. T-Dog did look too good.

"Katie? We thought you were lost too!" Dale said giving me a hug.

"Ow, no, I led the walkers from Sophia off, and stumbled into even more walkers. Where is everybody?" I asked looking around.

"Sophia didn't make it back, Rick got back so we waited a little while, figured you were with Sophia, but turns out you're not. But the rest of the group went lookin for the two of you" Dale said looking around.

"Greattttt, well I guess I'll stay here, no point in risking getting lost again" I said sitting down.

I winced because it felt like I was ripping open my cuts. Dale noticed my look of pain and gave me a questioning look.

"When I hid under the car, the metal scrapped up my back, then running through all those damn trees I got even more cut up" I said trying to be careful.

"Well let's take a look and see if we can get some of these covered up." Dale said grabbing some gauze. I nodded, I pulled out my cigarettes from my pocket. They both looked shocked that I had some.

"I always have cigarettes, don't look so shocked" I said offering Dale and T-Dog one. Both of them took one.

I sat and just smoked while I felt Dale taping up my back. I guess I was half right, the cuts were minimal, except for one that had cut clear across my back, Dale wanted to keep an eye on it so it doesn't get infected. I nodded and turned around, my forehead hurt from slamming into the rock. I looked over at them, feeling too shy to ask about my head.

"Is there a bump on my forehead?" I asked looking at both of them. T-Dog seemed like he was going to pass out.

"Yeah, you got a nice bump, and a little cut." I glared at the ground.

"Damn, can't I catch a break?!" I said laughing a little.

Maybe all I needed was to be more social around the group. Then I'm forced to not pay attention to my cravings or headaches. I heard people talking, I could hear Daryl's voice clearly. I looked over and everyone looked somewhat hopeful because I was back. I shook my head, as if to let them know that I hadn't seen Sophia. I saw Carols face drop. Rick walked over to me and looked at all my newly acquired injuries. As if reading his mind I opened my mouth to tell him what happened.

"I led the the walkers away, killed one, thought I was home free, stumbled upon a group of walkers ended up having to run through some brush, tripped, but took care of them all" I said trying to stretch. I looked over and saw Daryl. I just wanted to spill everything and tell him Merle was alive, and that he had helped me. I just shook my head.

"We'll sleep here for the night, I want two people on look out, we'll continue looking for Sophia in the morning" Rick said looking at everyone.

We all just nodded. As the sun set I found a nice spot to sleep, Rick, Carl, Lori, Andrea, T-Dog, and Shane were all already sleeping in the RV. Dale, Glenn, and Kevin were going to look out, while Carol took over the car. I made myself a nice little bed in one of the abandoned cars which luckily no one had died in so it didn't smell like death. I had laid down one of the seats, I found a bunch of blankets and laid them out. I grabbed the last of the alcohol I had and started drinking it. I heard a knock on the door and saw Daryl, I opened the door and he got in. He looked over at me, worry in his eyes.

"Are you ok?" he asked looking at my random bandages.

"yeah, just fine, Figured I was just gonna drink some of this and then go to bed" I said shrugging.

"Ya scared me earlier when ya didn't come back." Daryl said looking down at his hands.

"I thought I was gonna die honestly. I run to help Sophia, take down one walker, then stumble into a group of walkers, not only that I tripped and slammed my head on a rock. I was pretty sure I was going to do" I said trying to remember to leave Merle out of it.

"Well, yer ok now, thats all that matters. I already lost Merle, I can't lose you either" Daryl said.

Oh why did you have to stab me in the heart by saying that. I just wanted to tell him. I looked at Daryl, his face covered in dirt from searching for me and Sophia. He looked tired, I'm sure he was hungry as well. I sighed looking at him. I could feel myself falling in love with him. It was all that I could ask for, he didn't treat me differently then usual, but we began to sleep next to each other every night. He worried and cared about me. What more do you need in a world ruled by the dead? I handed some of my drink over to Daryl. He took it and smiled at me. I loved how his eyes always seemed to be squinty. Why am I doing this to myself? Didn't I decide I couldn't be in love. I shook my head and kept drinking. I wasn't determined to get drunk so I figured I'd stop after a few more drink. I lit a cigarette and shared it with Daryl.

"Ya think we'll find her?" Daryl asked.

"I really hope so, there were no walkers around when we left her, she knew where to go, and I couldn't imagine what it would do to Carol if we couldn't find her" I said rubbing my arms.

"Yeah, I'm worried bout her too" Daryl said.

"We'll search again in the morning" I said yawning.

"Yer stayin here, I don't want ya to get lost again, sides, you can stay and sleep if ya want, I won't wake ya up, and I'll make sure to roll down the windows before I leave so ya don't bake" Daryl said giving me a smile.

"Aren't you just sweet" I said kissing his cheek.

"That a deal?" He asked pulling me closer.

"I'll see how I feel in the morning" I said closing the gap. Seeing as there was three look outs, I wasn't feeling the need to give them a show.

"Yeah yer stayin" Daryl said with a teasing smile.

I stuck my tongue out and laid down. Daryl laid down beside me. I felt sort of buzzed, I figured now would be the perfect time to fall asleep. I got closer to Daryl and gave him a kiss goodnight.

"I love you" I said getting really comfy. I realized what I had said, it had just come out so naturally. Daryl smiled against my face.

"I love you too" he said holding me tighter.

I felt butterflies going around in my stomach. I couldn't help but have a big smile. I knew I was lucky, no one would ever see how caring Daryl could be. I let my thoughts take over. I thought of how Rick and Lori were. They would always show their weakness for each other, same with Shane, he loved Lori, but thought no one knew. I liked knowing that around the group Daryl and I were separate people, and that he wasn't going to show everyone that he had a weakness. And then when we were alone, he showed me how sweet he could be. There was nothing too weird, aside from talking about feelings. Everything just felt right. Maybe Daryl was right. I can get through this, he believed in me, why couldn't I believe in myself? I already knew the answer to that one. Maybe I just needed to let go of the past and accept the fact that I'm living in a world where the dead walk to Earth, I have a man who loves me, and a somewhat functional "family", there was no need to face my past, it's not like I'd ever see anyone from my past ever again. I'm sure they're all dead. I finally fell asleep to somewhat normal dreams. I woke up in the morning and felt Daryl giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"We're leavin to go look for Sophia" Daryl said stroking my face.

"Find her please" I said lowering my head back down.

"We'll try" Daryl said getting up to leave.

I rolled over and fell back asleep. I woke up again hearing T-Dog and Dale talking. Daryl wasn't lying he did roll down the windows. Which I was thankful for. I stretched and looked around. I heard my stomach growl. Day six, maybe my body actually wants food instead of the normal staring and poking at food. I sat up and made my way over to Dale.

"Mornin' sunshine" Dale said with a smile.

"Meh, Do we have any food?" I asked Dale.

"Strange of you to ask, you eat like a bird, I'm surprised you're even hungry!" Dale said joking. Oh if only you knew.

"Yeah, I guess my stomach has other plans for today" I said giving Dale a smile back.

"Here, all we've got are these granola bars" Dale said handing me a few.

"Thanks Dale" I said sitting down next to T-Dog.

I knew it was after noon, but I wasn't sure what time it was. Maybe around 3 or 4? Who knows. T-Dog started to get delirious from being out in the sun, and I'm sure his arm wasn't making it any better.m Dale checked T-Dog's arm and looked shocked. I wasn't sure what to do to help so I just stayed sitting. Dale came over to me and wanted to check on my back. I let him look, he said it was a little purple around the edges, but nothing seemed to stand out. I nodded, that's always a good sign right? I got up and decided to look around some of the cars. I had found a bottle of peroxide. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea or not. I brought it back to Dale and handed it to him.

"I found this, not sure it it'll help any" I said sitting back down.

"Well, we can use this on your cuts, but I don't think it would be a good idea to use to on him" Dale said motioning to T-Dog.

I nodded and let Dale begin to clean out my cuts. I could hear Daryl talking, and Andrea and her annoying voice. I winced as Dale got to the large cut on my back. This was like torture. I saw Daryl, Carol, Glenn, and Andrea all walk up. No Lori, Rick, Shane, or Carl though. Glenn explained that Carl got shot, and a girl named Maggie came to get Lori and bring her to their farm. He had to location of the farm, everyone began to debate on what to do. I just sat back staying silent. I figured it was better to let them figure it out amongst themselves. I heard my named a looked up, it was Glenn.

"What? wasn't listening" I said being serious.

"How can you not be listening when we are trying to decide what to do here" Andrea said getting mad.

"Don't you snap at me, I was waiting for you guys to figure it out because I know Carol wants to stay here, T-Dog needs to get to the farm, I'm just waiting on a final decision" I said looking towards Andrea.

"Well it would be nice if you would pay attention, we're trying to find a little girl here" Andrea said trying to pick a fight.

"I didn't see your ass go running after her. So what if a walker tried to attack you, I RAN AFTER Sophia, I tried to make sure she made it back. Oh no you got attacked by one, I had two following me, AND THEN RAN INTO A GROUP OF THEM. I don't want to hear your bitching, if you wanted to end your life so bad at the CDC, then go out to the woods and shoot yourself. No one is stopping you from doing it. You want to pick a fight go ahead. In the end your too much of a prissy bitch that wants everything her way. So what if Dale stopped you at the CDC, he loves you like a daughter, he made his choice to stick through it with you, and if that's what you really wanted you should've just stayed." I said getting mad. I'm sure half the things I said didn't make sense but I didn't care right now.

Carol came over and gave me a small hug, she pulled me off to the side. I was still glaring daggers at Andrea who looked like she didn't know what to do, Daryl was trying not to laugh. I looked to Carol, I felt my anger slowly sinking away.

"I'm sorry about that Carol" I said looking down.

"It's ok, someone had to say it" She said with a small smile.

"I'll stay here with you if you want, I'm sure Daryl will stay and look some more" I said giving her a comforting smile.

"Thank you, I just don't think I can handle it just being me and Dale" Carol said with a small laugh.

"I got your back" I said hugging Carol.

"Katie's going to stay with me" Carol said nodding over to them, we went inside the RV.

Daryl came inside and gave me a hug, and started laughing. I knew what he was laughing about, and I couldn't help but start laughing too. Carol caught on and laughed a little. I looked to Daryl to see what he was planning on doing.

"We're gonna look for Sophia some more" he said.

"Okay, I'll be here with Carol. And if it comes down to it, trip Andrea and save yourself" I said half laughing.

"Be nice" he said with a smile.

"I love you, don't disappear either" I said giving Daryl a kiss.

Carol looked away, as if to give us some sort of privacy. Daryl left the RV and I sat down next to Carol.

"I see you and Daryl are together?" Carol asked.

"I guess we are. I don't know, we both agreed to not act any different around the group. Besides, it makes me think I have a secret relationship, the kind that you hide from your parents" I said laughing.

"Oh I wish I knew that feeling. Ed wasn't a secret at all" Carol said looking down.

"My parents were abusive, and my ex, no secret either. He was the same way. Just the way Daryl makes himself out to be makes me feel like I can't tell everyone, and besides we kind of agreed to not let everyone know out business" I said smiling at Carol.

I have a feeling this nice was going to be full of making Carol become my best friend. Which was good, because she needed someone right now, more than anyone else in the group.