Hope Breeds Eternal Misery

T-Dog let out a low whistle when he glanced out the window and saw more walkers heading towards the house. Everyone jumped up quickly and quietly began taking their things out to the cars. Raine strapped her bow to her back with her arrows and followed closely behind Daryl. They jumped on the motorcycle and tore off after the others. She shook her head slightly, her eyes rolling. They hadn’t even been there for a couple hours, not nearly long enough for them to rest up.

Was this what it was going to be like from now on? She knew that Rick was convinced that they would find a home, but it was beginning to look more and more like a pipe dream. Sighing, Raine wound her arms around Daryl’s waist and leaned her head on his back, blocking her face from the still slightly chilly air.

She wasn’t sure how long they had been driving, it probably wasn’t very long at all, but it felt like forever. When they finally pulled over, Raine climbed off of the bike immediately and pulled her bow from her back, nocking an arrow onto the string. She went on watch with Carl while the others discussed where else they could possibly go.

When she walked up beside Carl, she nudged him gently with her elbow. He looked up at his aunt and smiled slightly.

”You know, we never did get to finish that game of Go Fish. We should try to do that soon.” She commented, a playful glint in her brown eyes. Carl sighed and shook his head.

”That’s kid stuff. There’s more important things to do than play some silly card game.” He responded. Carl had gone through a few changes himself over the winter. His voice had gotten deeper, he had hit a growth spurt, and his hair was a lot longer than before. He was starting to look less like a kid and more like a teenager. Physical changes aside, he had changed mentally too. He was still a kid but he was trying so hard to act like a grownup.

”Well, there’s nothing wrong with acting like a kid sometimes.” Raine couldn’t keep the hurt from her voice. She wanted him to still be dependent on her and his parents, she didn’t want him to grow up. She sighed and looked out into the distance. “We’ll just find something else, yeah?”

Carl nodded and Raine turned to find out the plans the group had decided on.

”Hey, while the others wash their panties, let’s go hunt. That owl didn’t exactly hit the spot.” Daryl said to Raine as she walked over. She looked over to Rick who simply nodded his head and then the couple went off into the woods. She followed close behind him, not saying a word. She wanted to reach out and touch him, but she was too afraid. Daryl had been on edge because of everything that was going on. She didn’t want to do anything that might upset him.

It was almost as if he read her mind. He turned around and grabbed her, roughly pulling her against his body. His arms wrapped tightly around her body, holding her as if she were going to float away at any moment. She buried her face in his chest and breathed in his scent. She could smell the dirt and sweat, but the fragrance of the woods overpowered that. His scent brought her comfort.

”I love you.” She whispered, knowing full well that he probably wouldn’t say it back. He didn’t. And she was okay with that, because she knew that he loved her. He told her once, but it was his actions that showed it. He would always make sure that she was safe, always secretly gave her a little extra squirrel meat, and he would physically show her that he loved her. He put her first, always, no matter what.

Raine finally pulled out of his grasp and the two of them continued on through the woods. They walked in silence until they came to a large clearing. Her eyes widened as she stared out across the overrun prison. This was it. This was what Rick was talking about. It would be a hell of a fight getting in, but they could make it work. They had to.



“It’s perfect.” Rick stated as he stepped through the newly cut hole in the fence. “If we can shut that gate, prevent more from filling the yard, we can pick off these walkers.” He explained as the group walked up to the main entrance of the gate. Raine couldn’t help but smile to herself. It seemed like an insane idea and it was, but his could work. They had to try.

”We’ll take the field by tonight.” Raine added in, resting her hands on her hips. “So, how do we shut the gate?”

”I’ll do it. You guys cover me.” Glenn volunteered, stepping forward.

”No, you, Maggie, and Beth draw as many as you can over there. Pop ‘em through the fence. Daryl, Raine, go back to the other tower. Carol, you’ve become a pretty good shot. Take your time. We don’t have a lot of ammo to waste.” Rick looked around at everybody, a small smile fighting its way onto his lips. Raine nodded her head in agreement and reached into the bag of guns for her sniper rifle that she found.

Slinging it over her shoulder, she followed closely behind Daryl. When they reached the tower, he turned to face her. His hand found her soft cheek and he smirked down at her. Raine leaned up and gave him a quick kiss before swinging the door to the tower open. They ran up inside, Carol finally catching up to them.

When they reached the top, they didn’t hesitate to get ready to shoot. Rick darted across the field and Raine propped her foot up on one of the rail bars, the stock of the rifle pressed firmly into her shoulder while her elbow rested on her elevated knee. She closed one eye and peered through the sights with the other.

Shooting those creatures had literally become second nature to her, it was as easy as breathing. The loud gunshots were something that she had leaned to block out, she just shut it all down.

Raine saw Rick close the gate and get up into the nearest guard tower. She let out a relieved breath and grinned.

”Light it up!” Daryl yelled, twirling his finger in the air. Raine brought up her rifle again and began shooting the rest of the walkers along with everyone else. In no time at all, the yard was cleared of all reanimated corpses. Raine quickly exited the guard tower and made her way to the prison yard.

She breathed in deeply, taking in the air. It held the stench of death from all of the bodies, but once they got them moved the air would clear and it would be fresh again. The snarls from the walkers on the other side of the fence was a little overwhelming, but it was a simple thing to ignore. They had space again, they had room to move around. How could they not be happy about that?

”We haven’t had this much space since we left the farm!” Carol exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

Daryl walked right over to Raine and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her into his side. Over the last eight months, he had gotten used to displaying affection to Raine in front of the group. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with it, but he couldn’t help himself. As long as the group kept their mouths shut, he was fine. He gave her a hard kiss on the lips that lasted a little longer than usual. When he finally pulled away from her, she smiled up at him, her stomach fluttering violently.

For the first time in eight months, she felt like everything was going to be okay.