Starting Over...

The sun was slowly setting over Georgia, cooling the muggy air just a little. The sky was just barely beginning to show hues of orange and pink against the bright baby blue. White clouds faded into wispy, lavender smears against the contrasting colors.

Daryl and I had been hiking for almost two hours, and we had covered over half of our distance back home. Even after a year of walkers and day to day survival, it still felt strange to call a run down, maximum security prison "home".

The country terrain was inconsistent, sometimes we were traveling uphill, sometimes down... We had to trudge through muddy water, and sometimes the forestry came to a sudden halt, forcing us to brave abandoned backroads lined with rusting cars and open fields of tall, overgrown grass, like we were now.

Following a few feet behind Daryl, I gazed to my right, out into the wide open field's horizon. The mellow orange sky met the dull, dried out grass in a huge contrast of colors.

Judging by the scraggly remains of some scattered haybails and an old, rickety barn at the other edge of the field, I could only guess that this used to be a cattle ranch. An eerie chill ran up my spine as I kept staring, noticing a few bodies stumbling aimlessly around the barn... Walkers.

I tore my gaze away from them, thanking my lucky stars that they were far out of our path. Daryl led the way as we continued across the field, heading for a fence of barbed wire that had once been used to keep cattle from wandering too far.

"Shame that there ain't no more cows hidin' 'round here somewhere." Daryl mumbled from in front of me, the first words that he'd said in over 20 minutes.

Sure, we had chatted about this and that, from before the end of the world and after, but it was pretty hard to keep Daryl engaged in the topic. Our conversations only lasted for about five sentences before they fizzled out into nothing again.

"Yea, we'd have steak for a week." I agreed, thinking about the amount of beef just one cow could produce for the group.

Before the turning of the Earth, I hated red meat. Absolutely hated it. Every time my dad would grill out in the backyard during summer time, there had always been a chicken breast or pork chop for me, mixed in with everyone else's burgers or steaks.

But now, whenever there was any chance for a hot meal, I didn't turn it down, especially protein... That was what fueled the body, and it was the hardest thing to find these days. It was really hard to survive off canned fruits and vegetables.

"Here." Daryl muttered as we approached the fence, pinning the lowest wire to the ground with his boot and bending down to pull the next one upward, creating a gap for me to crawl through. "Go on."

I nodded and crouched down, moving in a quick sideways motion as I carefully stepped through the gap in the barbed wire. When I was safely on the other side, I turned around and took the barbed wire from Daryl's grasp, keeping the gap open so he could pass through now.

Since he had a good six inches on me height wise, I assumed he would have a little trouble ducking through the gap as easily as I had. But he proved me wrong, crouching down and moving quickly in the same sideways motion, sliding through the gap in the barbed wire, crossbow and all. Well, I guess he was a hunter, and god knows you had to be nimble in this new world, so I shouldn't have been so surprised.

Daryl and I continued on through the field, which was slowly merging into forest again.

The thin, sporadic trees on this side of the fence sliced the fading, golden sunlight into ribbons, giving the area around us a strangely calm and tranquil vibe. It was hard to imagine a rotting, blood thirsty corpse lurking around a place this beautiful, but as I looked up ahead... That's exactly what I saw.

Just one walker, not too much of a threat, but still creepy as it lugged its body toward us. I could the hear the bone in its broken leg twisting and snapping as it moved, seeming like it would completely sever at any moment.

It looked to have been a woman, but the only thing that told me that was its long, tangled blonde hair and muddy purple dress. Otherwise, its face and other features had rotted almost completely away.

Daryl halted and jutted his arm out to the side in my path, a signal for me to stop. My feet froze, and for a second we each just stared at the undead creature creeping closer. It had obviously spotted us, growling and shrieking as it reached its boney arms toward us.

"Perfect time to test-" I muttered with a grin as I reached for the hunting rifle strapped to my back, but Daryl cut me off.

"Uh-uh," He said to me with a shake of his head, "You dunno how many'a these geeks are 'round here. You tryin' to lead 'em all to us?"

My grin quickly flattened into a disappointed frown as I realized he was right. The shot firing would be too loud... It'd echoe out for miles, and most likely draw in a herd. I let out a deflated exhale as I dropped my hand from the gun.

Daryl then raised his crossbow, peering through the sights and taking aim at the walker.

"That is one ugly skank..." He mumbled, his face twisting up in disgust.

He fired the arrow, and within a split second the corpse crumpled to the ground, silent and motionless. Daryl wandered over to the limp body, using his foot to nudge it onto its back.

The arrow had struck the walker straight through its right eye, lodging in the brain and killing it instantly. I grimaced at the gruesome look of a scream frozen on its sunken in face.

Daryl grabbed hold of the end of the arrow, propped his boot on the walker's skull, and tugged. It didn't budge, so he yanked. Still, the arrow didn't even wiggle.

"Damn...!" He grunted in frustration, "Hold this fer a minute."

He thrusted his crossbow at me, and it surprised me for some reason. I blinked blankly before taking the hunk of metal into my hands, caught off guard by how heavy it was.

"Whoa...!" I gasped as my hands dropped with the crossbow, quickly catching its weight and shrugging it back upward.

"Too much fer ya?" Daryl teased with a small smirk as he took the same stance, but now with both hands on the arrow.

"I just wasn't expecting it to be that heavy." I defended, watching as he  yanked at the arrow, putting up a bit of a struggle. "Too much fer ya?"

I mocked Daryl's southern drawl in complete over exaggeration as I repeated his taunting words, raising my eyebrows at him as he shot me a glare of daggers.

"Watch it, kid." He growled in a warning tone, continuing to pry at the arrow, "God damn, this son've a bitch is in'ere good...!"

With one last, final heave, Daryl was able to rip the arrow loose, stumbling backwards a little from the inertia.

The walker's eye socket split open, making a sickening *POP* like a suction cup as the arrow dislodged. It took the beast's eyeball and chunks of flesh and brain matter with it, and by now gooey black blood had seeped all over the forest floor.

"Yummy..." I mumbled sarcastically as I made a face at the speared pieces of walker.

"Gnarly..." Daryl said as he squinted at the arrow, turning it over once, "Kinda like a shiskabob."

"Gross." I gagged at the thought.

"Ya know, throw it over the fire, git it nice an' charred..."

"Oh my god, you're gonna make me throw up."

Daryl chuckled, giving his arrow a fling to free the chunks of decaying flesh from the tip, before taking the crossbow from my hands.

"What, you squimish?" He teased me with a cocked eyebrow as he reloaded his weapon, "Don't be such a pussy."

I rolled my eyes and let his words brush off my shoulders as we started off again, Daryl in the lead. The sun was almost setting now, and I just wanted to get back home.

xxx

xxx

It was about a half hour past sunset by the time Daryl and I made it back to the prison. Luckily for us, the walkers in the lot were scarce at the moment, so we just sailed right on up to the gate without shedding any blood.

As Daryl opened the gate, I peered around, expecting to see Zach standing watch, waiting for my return. I was sure I was about to get an earfull, but to my surprise he was no where in sight. Not at the fence, not near the buildings, not up looking down at us from the watchtower...

I furrowed my brows in confusion as Daryl held the gate aside for me, allowing me to scurry through.

"Kayla!"

A voice caught my attention, and I turned to see Jessie jogging toward me from the cafeteria. She had been huddled around a small fire chatting with Carol, who was heating a kettle of tea.

She tucked a piece of curly blonde hair behind her ear as she approached us.

"Where were you?" She asked, then turned her gaze up to the redneck next to me, "Hey, Daryl."

He nodded a stiff hello to my friend before leaving us to ourselves, and I found my eyes stuck to the back of his faded, sleavless hunter green button up as his footsteps carried him away.

"He's pretty quiet, huh?" Jessie observed, joining me in watching Daryl disappear around the corner of the cafeteria and into the vehicle bay, giving Carol the same stiff nod as he passed her. "I don't think I've heard him say a whole sentence since we got here."

I shrugged as a nippy breeze passed through, causing each of us to shiver and quickly head toward the safety of the cafeteria.

"He has his moments, I guess." I conversated with my best friend, "Just depends what you're talking about."

"He does, huh?" Jessie came back with a cheeky grin, raising her blonde eyebrows.

I cocked my own at her and laughed lightly. I knew what that look meant.

"How does the phrase 'he has his moments' have anything to do with anything sexual?" I asked.

"Oooh, sexual?! I never said anything sexual...!" Jessie whispered as we got closer to the cafeteria.

"Oh my god," I groaned in laughter, tossing my head back and rolling my eyes, "That's not what I meant!"

Jessie cackled beside me, and I could hear the slight wheez in her breaths from her asthma. It made my heart sink every time I was reminded of it...

"I know, Kayla, I'm kidding." She said, smiling and nudging my shoulder a little bit. "But c'mon... I know you think he's cute. Don't lie... I can see it all over your face!"

My face burned in a blush as Jessie put me on the spot. There was nothing wrong with a physical attraction, right? I could admit to that. It was harmless, something you can't control.

"He does have a pretty nice body." I confessed in a mutter, blushing deeper at the thought of how the lean muscles in Daryl's arms flexed when he used his crossbow.

"Knew it." My best friend remarked, her smile growing, "Uh-oooh, Kayla's got the hots for an older man!"

"Will you shut up...!" I hissed at her as we neared Carol, "I don't have the hots for Daryl."

"Yea, yea. Suuure." Jessie said from behind me, but I could hear her stifled giggles.

"Hey, Carol." I greeted the short haired woman as we passed her.

She looked up, her face illuminated by the orange glow of the fire. She smiled at me, but it seemed tight lipped and forced. I ignored the tugging feeling at the pit of my stomach that told me Carol didn't like me.

I didn't really understand why that was, though... She didn't seem to ever have a problem with anyone else.

Once we were inside, I scanned the cafeteria.

Michonne sat by one of the barred up windows, all by herself, staring outside into the lot. Her sword was sitting across her lap, and she seemed to be deep in thought as she tapped her nails against the wooden sheath.

Maggie and Glenn had just stood up from a table, heading toward their cell hand in hand. Maggie raised her free hand to her mouth as she yawned, and Glenn affectionately pulled her closer to him, planting a kiss on her temple.

Carl, Beth and Hershel sat at another table, and Hershel was dealing out a deck of cards.

"All right, one more game of Go Fish before it's time to hit the hay." I could hear his wise, gentle voice drifting across the cafeteria as he smiled at the two youngest group members.

Minus Judith, of course.

But still, I didn't see any signs of Zach... or Rick, or Danny, for that matter.

"Have you seen my brother lately?" I asked Jessie as we made our way up the staircase.

Carl looked up from his hand of cards and caught my eye. He smiled and waved, and I reflected the gesture.

"He went to bed about an hour ago." Jessie replied to me, sending a wave of relief washing over my body. "He, Rick and Danny all went to the highway today to get a fuel pump for the green car... Guess they went under the hood to do a tune up, and the engine kept stalling on them... So they worked on that all day."

"Hm." I hummed in response as we finally reached our cell. "Nice to see the guys are getting in some gorilla time."

Jessie giggled. "Gorilla time" was a term she and I used when a group of guys was huddled around a car engine, a grill, or a TV playing Xbox. Each of us grew up with brothers and a good handful of male friends, so needless to say, "gorilla time" was used pretty frequently in our vocabularies.

I let out a sigh as I flopped down onto the bed, exhausted from my journey taday. Jessie unzipped her backpack and pulled out the hairbrush we shared, and I could hear a few tangles ripping as she pulled the bristles through her locks.

"Zach was looking for you, though." Jessie informed me as I reached out for the hairbrush.

She placed it in my hand and sat down next to me on the thin mattress.

"I figured he would be." I sighed while brushing the matted knots from my long, straight hair.

"And Danny was, too. He seemed pissed..." Jessie's voice trailed off and she furrowed her brows as she looked at me, "He's been acting really weird ever since we got to the prison."

"I know." I agreed, knowing he was pissed because he knew I was with Daryl.

"So where did you guys go, anyway?" Jessie asked me curiously as she leaned up against the cement wall. "You were gone all day."

"Honestly, we went all over." I said, "It started out as a simple hunting trip, but walkers sniffed us out and... well, you know how that goes. We didn't even bring any meat back, except if you count the three bags of beef jerkey Daryl found at a truck stop."

Jessie nodded as I told her about my day, and suddenly her face lit up.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" she gasped, scooting to the edge of the bunk.

I watched as she leaned over and dug around under the bed, her curly blonde hair falling over her shoulders and cascading toward the floor. She pulled out a rectangular box, and then scooted back to her original position.

"Look what Zach found for me." She said with a smile as she passed me the box.

I could already read the label, and my heart jumped. It was a case full of Mirisom D inhalers. I turned my gaze from the box and stared back at Jessie, my mouth agape.

"There's 20 in there." She pointed out, "I'm set for a while."

"Where the hell did he find this?" I asked her in disbelief. "And he actually remembered the right kind."

"I know, it's amazing, isn't it?" My best friend replied, " He said there was an over turnred pharmaceutical truck down in the ditch by the highway. They went inside to look for some rolls of bandages and rubbing alcohol, and came out with this."

I flipped open the flaps of the cardboard case, peering inside at all the wonderful little boxes containing the inhalers that had saved Jessie's life on multiple occassions. In a world built on strategy and running for your life, you definately had to have good lung capacity... That was something that Jessie had obviously struggled with her entire life.

I handed the case back to Jessie, who slid it back under the bed. As she sat back up, her eyes caught something, and she gasped.

"Whoa, where'd you get this?" She asked me as she stood up and grabbed the hunting rifle from my pile of belongings.

"I found it." I lied, which was something I was pretty good at, usually. I always had been. "There was a body holed up in the broom closet in that truck stop... He had that on him and a few boxes of bullets not too far away."

Jessie nodded and raised her eyebrows, letting me know my story was believable. I didn't know why, but there was something in the pit of my stomach that told me I shouldn't say anything about Merle, not yet at least.

"I bet this thing could blow a hole in a walker the size of Texas." Jessie observed, making sure the safety was on before she aimed it and peered through the scope.

"I wouldn't know, I haven't had a chance to use it yet." I replied in a sigh as I layed back and stretched out on the mattress. "Daryl wouldn't let me. The shots would have been too loud out there."

Jessie set the gun back down before following my actions and climbing up onto the top bunk. I could feel the bedframe wiggle a little as she shifted her weight.

"Well, that's kinda true, I guess firing a shot wouldn't be worth getting caught in a walker mosh pit." Her voice said thoughtfully in the dark.

I chuckled as I pictured a bunch of walkers at a concert, moaning and groaning to some heavy metal band. I could imagine them thrashing about in a mosh pit, their arms and legs snapping off and flying into the crowd.

"You're picturing a walker mosh pit, aren't you?" Jessie asked me after a few seconds of my chuckling, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Yup." I replied simply.

"You're so weird."

"Bitch, I got my weirdness from you!"

"Oh no you didn't, Shanaynay!"

I full on laughed at the tone in Jessie's voice and the sound of her repeatedly snapping her fingers. She joined in my laughter, and it died down to giggles before fading into quiet once more.

"...Hey, Kayla...?" Jessie piped up after a brief moment.

Her voice sounded different now... Small and quiet, almost meek like a child's.

"Yea, Jess?" I replied, my voice almost matching the same tone.

There was another pause, and finally my best friend spoke up again, and what she asked me sent a chill down my spine.

"...Do you think..." She hesitated, "...Do you think it hurt Tina when she shot herself?"

Instantly, a lump formed in my throat as the images of Tina ending her life at the hands of a herd flashed through my brain. I gulped as I prepared to reply, making my voice sound calm and unaffected.

"No... I don't think she felt any pain."

"Okay..." Jessie whispered from above me, seeming comforted by my insight, "We're having a memorial tomorrow morning at sunrise, for both of them... Tina and T-Dog... Rick was going to bury T-Dog's gold chain he got from his mother, and I thought maybe we could bury Tina's journal."

I nodded my head in the dark, even though I knew Jessie couldn't see it.

"I think that's a good idea." I said in a yawn, my eyes suddenly impossible to keep open. "Night, Jess."

"Night, Kayla."

Before Jessie had even finished her two words, my eyes had been glued shut, my mind and body succumbing to blissful unconciousness.

-To Be Continued-