Starting Over...

My heart felt like it was rattling and bouncing around inside my ribcage. The same dingy, musty odor as the gift shop smacked me in the face, coming from inside the store.

My movements were cautious as I crawled through the tiny gap between the stacked up vending machines that barricaded the store's main entrance. It was a squeeze, but I made it happen.

It was as if that little space had been carved out specifically to fit the curves of my body.

It was pitch black inside the Grab 'N Go, minus the splotch of light leaking in from the gap I had just crawled through. The only good that did was illuminate the very tops of a few dusty shelves, and the corner of a moldy sign in the back of the store. Most of the letters were still engulfed in darkness, so I couldn't quite read what it said.

There was a single window on the left hand wall, but it was nailed up with pieces of plywood, only allowing tiny slivers of pale, translucent light to peek in from outside.

My finger tips gently felt around as I blindly inched further inside. The thin, hollow sheets of metal that the vending machines were made of bowed and dented under my weight as I moved across, making me feel a little unstable. Now completely inside the building and hopefully safe on my perch, I squinted and blinked my eyes to try to improve my vision.

Neon splotches flashed in front of my eyes in the pitch black, a sign that the transition from bright sun to total darkness was a bit of a strain on my retinas. At this point my body's natural defenses were taking too long for my liking, so I reached into my back pocket for my lighter.

"See anything in'ere, princess?" Merle's husky whisper came from outside.

"It's too dark," I whispered back over my shoulder as my fingers wrapped around my lighter, "There's only one window, and it's boarded up. But I've got my lighter, so-"

Suddenly, something stopped my voice in its tracks, freezing it in my vocal chords. I held completely still as I listened... Footsteps, shuffling in an even pattern.

*scuff* *scuff* ...... *draaaag*

*scuff* *scuff* ...... *draaaag*

Accompanying the footsteps was the sound of breathing... Sickly, wheezy, ragged breathing. And then came the overwhelming odor of decomposing flesh, muting out most of the mildew smell.

If that wasn't clear signs of a walker, I don't know what would be.

The problem was, I couldn't see where it was at, not even when I struck the flint of my lighter.

The flame ignited and gave me a satisfying orange glow, enough for me to get a glimpse of an empty, broken down beverage cooler next to me and a little more of those shelves in the flickering light, but not much else.

"So...? What?" Daryl called up to me, startling me. I flinched and almost lost hold of my lighter.

"Shhh..." I quietly hushed him over my shoulder, listening to the inside of the store.

I could still hear the pattern of the footsteps, dragging the lifeless body about. With the interference of the leaves rustling in the wind outside, the walker's location was just so hard to pin-point... Until it bumped into something that sounded like a trash can, sending it clattering to the floor.

The noise bounced off the walls, sounding like it came from the left.

"Gotcha..." I mumbled, barely loud enough for myself to hear.

I flicked the lighter again, leaning outwards a little to extend the reach of the flame's glow. It was a good thing I had developed strong abdominal muscles over the months. Still, I didn't see the living corpse.

Then, the footsteps stopped...

But it was only for a second, before a pair of deceased, decrepit hands reached up from the darkness, grabbing my forearm in a vice grip.

The walker hadn't been across the room, afte all... It had been right underneath me the whole time, and I gave away my cover.

Way to go, Kayla.

The scream in my throat delayed itself for a second or two as my body wobbled ontop of the vending machine, trying to steady itself against the force pulling it downward. Finally, my voice escaped from my throat in a strangled cry.

"Hey...?!" I heard Daryl's voice, sounding so distant in the midst of my struggle with death. "What's goin' on?!"

As my lighter flailed around, I caught a couple glimpses of the walker's face, and I could only see the generic features; Gray, rotting skin, cloudy white eyes, ripped up gums and yellowing, chipped teeth; before I finally lost my balance, and tumbled from the top of the vending machines.My lighter flew from my hand, landing somewhere on the floor with an echoeing series of taps.

Without the flame, I was left in darkness, struggling against an undead beast that I couldn't even see. The fall had knocked the wind out of me, and my right shoulder was radiating a sharp, burning pain, but this was life or death.

"Kayla!" Daryl's voice barked again, sounding hoarse and urgent "What the hell's-"

"WALKER!" I screamed out in a strained groan, instantly regretting it.

If there was more than one in the store, they'd be on me like hot cakes any second, drawn to my voice.

But, as I struggled in the dark with the weight of the corpse wriggling ontop of me, I heard no other sounds of shuffling feet, so I assumed I was in the clear.

"Hold on, princess!" Merle's paniced but determined shout rang from outside the building, "We're comin' ta gitcha!"

From the sound of Daryl's voice snapping back at his brother, I could tell they were racing around the perimeter of the building, passing by the boarded up window.

"Man, I fuckin'TOLD you this wasn't a good idea! I ain't goin' back to my camp with the blood'a no little girl on my hands!"

In the darkness, I rolled my eyes.

"'Little girl'..." I scoffed as I repeated Daryl's words, using all my strength to somehow work my right knee underneath the snarling walker's caved in chest plate.

With a surge of energy, I popped my knee upward. That gave me enough room and just enough time to work my foot upward, taking the place of my knee on the zombie's chest, all while the beast thrashed its limbs about, and snapped at my throat.

Now, I had to take a short breather. The walker's face was inches away, but just out of reach as it squealed in a mixture of hunger and anger.

"Get..." I grunted, rearing my leg back into my torso, then shoving it forward with a huge burst of strength, "The FUCK off me...!"

By now my eyes had adjusted to the light a little more, but still it was pretty hard to see. In the dimness of the room I could make out the general shapes and placements of objects and furniture, but that was about it.

I tried to catch my breath as I watced the walker's silhouette stumble backwards a few feet. A gurgle escaped from it's throat as it struggled to catch it's balance, which was buying me a little time. Not much, though.

My first instinct was to reach for the sheath on my thigh for my knife, only to be quickly reminded that it was missing.

"Shit...!" I snapped at myself.

The corpse was making its way back toward me, and I wished I would have used a few of those precious seconds to stand up. As I scrambled backwards on the dirty tile floor, my next reflex was to grab for one of my pistols... Until my hand bumped something made of metal. A pipe.

Quickly looking up, I could see a spot in the dry rotted ceiling where the tiles had fallen through, probably from a burst water line. The rubble of chunks of ceiling and pipes lay in a convinient pile right next to me.

I snatched the pipe and gripped it firmly. Save ammo whenever you can, right? That's what survival was all about.

I heard the walker's snarls rushing closer, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I had to time it just perfectly.

When the beast closed the distance between us to about a foot and a half, bending down to rip me to shreds, I swung the pipe as hard as I could in backhand motion.

I let out a roar, feeling the pain of the blow in the shoulder that had broken my fall. But, I'd made the pain worth it, striking the zombie in the side of it's skull. I heard the crunching of the bones and the squelching of the brain matter, and the familier feeling of blood splatter peppered my arms.

The hisses and gurgles of the walker instantly silenced, and its lifeless body slumped to the floor in a heap. The only sound now was my ragged panting as I stood up.

"Fucker..." I breathed at the corpse laying on the ground.

It put up a good fight, but I'd made it this far in this apocalyptic world, and I'll be damned if I was going to let a single walker take me out.

Suddenly, I noticed a rattling sound coming from the back of the store, sounding like chains beating against something heavy and made of metal... Then, an imaginary lightbulb clicked on inside my head.

The original plan was for me to crawl inside and unlock the backdoor for the guys, until I was ran off course by that geek. Nothing could ever just be easy...

I swear, life now was a constant video game with just one life left before 'Game Over'.

Keeping the bloody pipe gripped in my hand, I crept around the shelves, using what little light was shining through the vending machines to guide me.

I followed the sound of the chains, keeping a look out for anymore walkers, because honestly you could just never be sure.

When I finally found the back entrance, a set of metal double doors with a big latch handle, chained shut and bound with a rusty padlock, I could hear the guys barking at each other outside.

"God damn this fuckin' thing!" Daryl growled as the door shook violently, "She's probably already been chewed up. You an' yer bright ideas, Merle...!"

"Well bitchin' an' whinin' ain't gonna get this door open," Merle countered in the same low growl, sounding like he was shoving his shoulder into the metal and making the chains rattle.

After listening to the brothers bicker for a few more seconds, I rolled my eyes and decided to help them out. I moved over to the door, standing in front of the lock and taking a batter's stance. In one swift move, I swung the pipe downward and smashed the brittle, rusted metal to pieces.

I guess those years of softball in High School actually paid off a little bit.

Now free of its binds, the door suddenly swung open, revealing Daryl and Merle, both looking flustered.

They each held their weapons up, Merle with his razor sharp bayonette arm and Daryl with his trusty crossbow, pointing them every which way, totally in offensive mode.

I just stood off to the side, one hand on my hip and the lead pipe hanging in the other by my side, squinting in the sudden flash of sunlight. Slowly, the guys realized the store was vacant, and lowered their weapons.

"All clear." I said with a casual smile, tossing the pipe onto the tile with a loud *clank*.

Merle smirked at my actions and appearence, from my ripped up clothes to the blood spray covering my face and arms. Daryl simply stared, seeming a little dumbfounded.

I couldn't help but smirk. Since Daryl usually put up this sort of front, making his emotions almost unreadable, this reaction out of him was kind of satisfying.

"What? Are you surprised, Dare Bear?" I taunted him innocently, using Merle's teasing nickname, "Didn't know this little girl could take care of herself, huh?"

Merle was now grinning from ear to ear at my attitude, and Daryl said nothing as I passed by the two of them. I waited until my back was completely facing them to let my smirk grow into a huge smile.

"Yup." Merle muttered to Daryl when he saw me disappear behind a rock of shelves and thought I was out of earshot, "I like 'er. She's a keeper, baby brother!"

My cheeks turned pink as Merle said this, as if we were a couple. We definately were not a couple.

"C'mon, man. I told ya, she ain't my girl." Daryl muttered back, keeping his voice low, "Just my friend."

For some reason, Daryl calling me his friend made me smile a little bit. That was a nice place to stand with him... Friends.

At least I'd gotten the respect from him I'd wanted in the beginning. That's all I needed in this world anymore... Respect. Well, besides my brother and my best friend.

Merle, Daryl and I scattered about the store, just checking things out. With the back door propped open now, there was plenty of light to see everything.

I took my time browsing the shelves and the floor in the aisles, taking in all the miscellaneous items strewn about and left behind. I saw a few bottles of aspirin laying on one of the bottom shelves, and quickly leaned down to scoop them up.

The pills rattled about inside the plastic bottles as I shoved them in my backpack. Moving on down the line, I could see some packs of earbuds... Useless.

What looked to be a fresh stock of little bottles of White-Out, strewn all over the aisle... Even more useless.

A spinning display of sunglasses at the end cap of the aisle, ripped down from its post. The sunglasses were smashed and trampled on the grungy tile, so needless to say... Useless.

My eyes lit up at a 24 pack of AA batteries, the cardboard packaging looking almost untouched by the elements. Those were like gold; All five of our flashlights back at the prison were either dead, or going dead, and they all took AA batteries.

I snatched up the package and stuffed it into my backpack next to the aspirin, scouring around to see what else I could find.

"Damn, cupcake, you really let this bastard have it, didn't ya?" Merle called over to me from a few feet away.

I put my searching on pause as I turned to look at him. He was standing over near the stack of vending machines, towering over the crumpled body of the walker that had attacked me.

He nudged the skull with the tip of his boot, and it wasn't until then that I noticed just how much damage I had inflicted with that metal pipe. The face of the walker was entirely unrecognizeable, smashed in and seeping dark, diseased blood all over the floor.

I could also see now that the body was dressed in what looked like a uniform, a nametag that read "Kyle" pinned to the dirty green shirt.

My guess was when the world ended, the poor guy boarded himself up inside this Grab 'N Go, and ended up turning... Who knows how long his reanimated body had been wandering around inside the store.

"It was either him or me." I replied to Merle with a shrug.

The older Dixon made a face of understanding, then passed my shrug down to the dead body at his feet.

"Sorry, Kyle." He said, which made me chuckle.

As Merle ventured over to Daryl, who was looking through a skimpy selection of canned food and bags of dried fruit and beef jerkey, I turned and roamed down the next aisle to my left.

Imediately my eyes seeked out a few packs of black hair bands, still sitting on their hooks plastered inside the shelf, as if they had just been placed there by an employee.

I snagged those, too; All five packs. A girl could never have too many hair ties, especially if you had thick hair like I did.

Use a hair tie more than five times, and it snaps... One of the most annoying things, ever. Especially when it's your last one.

The rest of that aisle was pretty much empty, until I strolled down to the end where there were a few bottles of nail polish, some tubes of pink and red lipstick, a few palets of eye shadow and one tube of black mascara.

My eyes brightened, remembering the two bottles of wine and handle of Fireball I'd picked up just a day or two before. The combination of make-up and alcohol might make a good 'Girl's Night' for the five of us ladies... Although I didn't really know if Michonne would be into it.

Never the less, I chose three colors of nail polish; Baby blue, Ruby red, and Coral pink. Then, I grabbed one of each lipstick, two palets of eyeshadow; A set of greens and blues, and a set of pinks and neutrals; And finally the tube of mascara. Everything fit neatly into the side pocket of my backpack, and I had everything stashed away just before Daryl called to me.

"Kayla, c'mon," His voice echoed as he made his way toward the backdoor, with Merle close in tow. "We're leavin'."

"Coming." I complied, tightening my backpack straps around my shoulders as I followed the guys back outside into the fresh summer air.

x

xx

xxx

xx

x

Not long after our group of three had descended back into the woods, retracing our steps from before, rain began to sprinkle down over our heads.

Gradually, the sprinkle progressed into a full on down pour, soaking through our clothes in a matter of seconds. Honestly, though, I didn't really mind.

I was so caked in blood, sweat and dirt, to me it was like a shower from mother nature. Not to mention it was an easy way to cool off.

I just pulled my hair down out of its messy bun, letting the straggly auburn strands fall down my back and smooth out with the rain.

When the first flash of lightning struck, though, that was a different story. I shrieked as the electric surge fizzled and cracked loudly, instinctively jumping closer to Daryl, who was a few paces in front of me.

Ever since I was a kid, I had always been spooked by lightning. I don't know what it was about it, maybe the loud cracking as it struck, or it could have been the sudden bright flash, like a gigantic camera... Whatever the reason, it scared the hell outta me.

When I unintentionally nudged into Daryl's shoulder blade from behind, he turned his head to look at me. His eyes were as they always were, cold and mysterious. His features were flat and unreadable, per usual, with the exception of a raised eyebrow.

"You okay, kid?" He asked me as his eyes gave me a once over, having to project his voice a little over the roaring of the rain.

"I'm fine." I replied back, narrowing my eyes slightly.

These Dixon boys and their nicknames... Why couldn't everyone just call me 'Kayla'?

Another strike of lightning cracked down, and I jumped in fear. Even Daryl's body had the reflex to duck slightly this time. Up ahead, Merle was waving us off the beaten path.

I couldn't hear every word he was saying, but I did catch "my hideout", "not far" and "fire", which all sounded great to me. So, Daryl and I followed his older brother as he darted through the spuratic trees, careful not to slip and fall as we went.

After not too long, Merle looked at us over his shoulder, as if to make sure we were still following him. He pointed his bayonette arm straight out in front of him at what looked like a clump of overgrown moss and bushes, at first.

As we got closer, though, I noticed the shape of a door underneath the vegetation. Then, two windows, a roof and even a small chimney. This was a cottage, abandoned and worn down by nature, overrun with weeds and brush.

I didn't have much more time to study it before Merle popped the fuzzy green door open, waving us inside. Daryl stood aside and ushered me in front of him so I could get through the door first, a chivalrous move that I doubt he even noticed he made.

"Whew," I exhaled as I stood next to the door, dripping in rain water, "That storm came outta no where."

"Sure did." Merle grumbled in reply as he used his one hand to wring out his drenched t-shirt, "Just hold on a sec, I got some towels somewhere."

Daryl and I waited by the door as Merle tromped to the far right corner of the large room, grabbing a pack of matches off a small cluster of rocks. He struck the match, igniting the wick of an oil lamp next to him.

And just like that, as the flame grew, the space was illuminated so we could see. The windows were covered in moss, so they didn't really allow much light in.

The cottage was small, and the elements of nature were beginning to eat away the wood it was built from, but somehow it was still cozy. Merle moved about as he searched for the towels, and while he did I examined his living space.

In the corner next to the oil lamp was a sleeping bag and a few blankets laid out, obviously where he slept. There was a large table in the middle of the room that looked like it had been dragged in from somewhere outside, surrounded by three mismatched chairs. Ontop of it sat at least five different bottles of whiskey, all under half full, along with a single glass that Merle probably used to drink it.

Underneath the table were a few water jugs and stacks of cans; Baked beans, spam, and ravioli to name the few that I could see the labels on.

Across the room in the other corner was a large camping style backpack, most likely filled with Merle's other supplies.

On the lefthand wall, there was a fireplace which led up to the chimney, a stack of firewood wrapped in a blue tarp, and a bottle of lighter fluid.

Before I could get a good look at anything else, Merle turned back toward us with two ratty towels in his hands. He tossed one to each of us, and we all began to scrub ourselves dry.

"Ya'll hungry?" Merle asked as he searched through his stash of cans, his towel drapped over his shoulders, "I don't usually just go offerin' up my supplies, but I can make an exception for my baby brother and little cupcake."

Merle didn't wait for us to answer. He simply whipped three cans of the baked beans onto the table in front of us, along with three plastic forks. He the proceeded to pop each can open with his knife extension in just a few quick motions.

"Ain't got no can opener." He explained with a shrug as he slid a pair of cans and forks across the table. "Wouldn't be able ta use one, anyhow."

I looked up at Merle, and there was just something about his devilish grin that was contagious.

I wasn't sure how I felt about him in the beginning, but now he was starting to grow on me.

x

xx

xxx

xx

x

On an empty stomach, the baked beans filled me up like a steak dinner would, even after just half a can. Daryl and Merle split the rest after I insisted I couldn't eat another bite, and excused myself from the table. After I warmed myself by the crackling fire the guys had built in the fireplace, I browsed the miscellaneous items in Merle's "home", I eavesdropped on their hushed conversation.

-DARYL POV-

"Where ya been, man...?" I quietly asked my brother between chews, glancin' over at Kayla as she walked away from the table an' stood near the fire.

We kept our voices low as we caught up. I knew Kayla was a grown woman, but I still didn't want her overhearin' things about Merle that she shouldn't know.

"Here an' there..." Merle grumbled back, the tone in his voice soundin' a little aggravated, "I was with a bunch'a people fer a while, doin' pretty good. But, uh..." He paused, takin' a bite'a beans and lookin' to the side as he chewed, "I got real into the bible, an' I realized those folks weren't right. So I got my ass outta there an' hunkered down here."

I stared at Merle an' raised an eyebrow as he talked, takin' another quick glance at Kayla. She was flippin' through some book on Merle's make-shift shelf, off in another world.

"Merle, the master drug dealer, readin' the bible?" I muttered with a tight grin an' a shake've my head. "I don't believe it."

"Believe it, baby brother." Merle stated as he dropped his plastic fork into his empty can, "I'm a changed man."

The slightly sarcastic tone in his voice an' the shit eatin' grin on his face told me to believe otherwise, but I just let that feelin' slip under the table.

"Speakin' a drugs, ya still got my bike?" Merle asked, an' I nodded. It was still sittin' in'a bed'a my truck. "How 'bout my stash?"

I frowned and felt my eyebrows crinkle up as I looked at my brother's eager expression.

"Hell naw, man." I scoffed, "What would I need a freezer bag full'a meth an' pills for? I chucked that shit a while back."

Merle's face twisted up in a scowl, lookin' almost demonic in the glow'a the fire.

"God dammit, that was some good crystal!" He snapped, a little louder than I expected.

I raised my hands up and imediately shushed my brother.

"C'mon, dude." I pleaded with him in a growl, noddin' my head over to the girl, who thankfully hadn't heard.

She was too busy bein' nosey an' lookin' around Merle's place.

My brother reluctantly sighed an' tamed his anger.

"Where ya'll hidin' out at these days?" Merle asked, turnin' the subject away from himself.

He was always good at doin' that.

I set my empty can'a beans aside, givin' my brother a skeptical stare. He just rolled his eyes at me.

"Don't get yer panties in a bunch, I ain't comin' after yer land." He snapped at me in a hoarse whisper, "I'm just fine right here."

Merle crossed his arms over his chest, careful'a where he put his knife attachment, an' raised his eyebrows at me.

Finally, I let out a sigh. I guess I could trust him.

"We've all been livin' in an old prison, 'bout four er five miles from here." I said as I leaned back in my chair.

I noticed Merle's expression change as I said the word 'prison'. He seemed... Shocked, almost. But I only caught it for a second 'fore he wiped it away.

"Prison, huh..." His grumble was low an' husky as he stared at the table.

I narrowed my eyes at Merle. His attitude was real suspicious... Almost like he felt guilty.

I was about to point out my observation, when the sound of a huntin' rifle cockin' from behind me took my attention away.

-KAYLA POV-

Holy shit.

Merle used to be a drug dealer? And he sold crystal meth. Honestly, the more I thought about it, the less surprising it became.

I noticed Daryl constantly glancing over his shoulder at me, so I made sure to do a good job of "not listening".

I pulled books down from shelves that looked to be the result of Merle's own handy work, flipping through them.

Most of them were bibles or books about God and Christianity, but when I reached up to set them back, I could see the corner of a hidden porno magazine peeking out of one of the thickest books.

I made a face and walked away from the shelf, glad I hadn't opened that one. The guys continued to talk, and I was running out of random things to look at... Until I caught sight of a set of weapons, all lined up on the wall near the door.

As I approached them, I could see that there were two different kinds of swords, a rusty machete that reminded me of Danny's, and four guns: A hunting rifle, two automatic machine guns, and a 44 Magnum.

They were all awesome weapons, but the one that stuck out to me most was the hunting rifle. It felt like my body was moving on my own as I reached out and took the gun into my hands.

It had a little weight to it as I gingerly flipped it over in my hands and checked it out. Just as I thought, it was a 30-06, and minus a few dings and scratches in the faux oak finish, it looked almost brand new.

The rifle even had a scope on it for easy targeting. It looked just like the one my dad used to have for deer and duck season.

Without even really thinking, I reached up and pulled on the bullet chamber, cocking the gun loudly.

Daryl whirled around in his chair, a look on his face like someone was breaking in, and he was ready to attack.

When all he saw was me standing frozen in place, staring at him with wide eyes like a child caught sneaking a cookie before dinner, he relaxed.

"What the hell do ya think yer doin' with that thing, girl?" He demanded, his eyebrows scrunching up.

"Relax, baby brother, it ain't loaded." Merle informed Daryl nonchalantly as he nodded over in my direction. "Ya know how ta shoot?"

I nodded as I glanced back down at the gun.

"I used to do a little target practice with my dad's gun." I explained, "It was just like this one. I never killed anything with it, though."

Merle paused for a second before speaking up again.

"Ya want it?" He asked me, stretching his arms upward then resting his hands behind his head.

I glanced over at the older Dixon brother, not quite sure if I heard him right.

"Huh?"

"Go on an' take it." He clarified, "I ain't the best shot with rifles, anyhow." Merle held up his bladed hand, "I'm better with automatics."

"Wow, thanks!" I said excitedly, and I could feel Daryl's eyes on me as I examined my unexpected gift.

x

xx

xxx

xx

x

After waiting another hour at Merle's hide out for the rain to stop, and a promise to come see him again, Daryl and I departed the old cottage and headed back towards camp.

We had maybe three and a half hours of daylight left and probably four and a quarter miles left in our hike, so if we kept moving we'd be able to make it to the prison by sundown.

As Daryl and I walked along through the damp woods, I started to think about Zach, and what he was going to say when we got back. My stomach flipped and flopped as I wondered whether or not I was in for a lecture, but the rebelious wild child that was still in my blood shoved those timid thoughts right from my mind.

Zach was over protective, but like I had told him before, I was a grown woman who could make her own decisions, and I'd always stick by that.

So instead of worrying over things I couldn't control, I focused on loading my new hunting rifle with bullets. Merle had supplied me with eight cases of 100 to start with, which would hopefully last a good while.

I slung it over my shoulder by its strap, also given to me by Merle, and followed along quietly behind Daryl.

"You up for another swim?" The redneck asked me over his shoulder.

I craned my neck around him to see what he was talking about, and realized that we were back in front of the muddy creek from earlier that day.

"Let's go." I replied to him with a shrug.

I walked past him and slid down the muddy bank. Daryl followed and wasted no time in wading into the water, but I hung back a second.

Something shiney glinting up from the mud caught my eye. A huge smile crept onto my face as I crouched down and began to dig into the moist, gooey earth.

Back in my hands once again, although caked and smudged with the thick, muddy Georgia clay, was my hunting knife that I thought was lost forever.

"You comin'?" Daryl called out from the middle of the creek, which only reached a few inches above his knees.

"Yup!" I yelled back before swishing the blade around in the water, placing it back inside the sheath strapped to my thigh, and sloshing out into the creek after him.

-TO BE CONTINUED-