In the Very End: Book One

Chapter 20

*WARNING: Please be advised that this chapter contains mature content and strong language.*

Chapter 20
Quinn's POV

I heard that familar southern drawl: "Quinn!"

"Daryl!" I yelled, running towards the voice.

He grabbed my hand and pulled me into the woods. We ran and ran until the groans and screams left my ears. We stopped in the middle of the woods, gasping for air.

"We gotta find the others," I insisted, turning to go back.

"No," he said, grabbing my waist and pulling me back. "We can't go back there. Not yet."

I realized how close we were, how firm his hands on my hips were. I could smell the musty, but comforting, sent of him. I could feel his hot breaths on my face. Our eyes connected as we just stood and stared.

Finally, he leaned in and closed the space between us. Our lips moved together and my hands trailed through his hair and down his neck. His grip on my waist became tighter and I looped my arms around his neck. He pushed me up against a tree and deepened the kiss. I felt his hands slip up under my shirt. I let my lips leave his and he trailed his mouth up and down my neck.

I couldn't tell if this was love or just doing what we need to do to survive.

___

I woke up the next morning underneath a tree. I felt heat radiating from beside me and I turned to see Daryl already looking at me.

"Mornin'," he said, his elbow tucked under his head, as he shifted his gaze to the treetops.

"Morning," I replied.

He positioned himself in a seated position. "We should go search for the others. We can't stay in one place too long or we'll lose them."

I nodded and stood up. He grabbed his bow and followed me through the trees to find the end of the woods.

"How you doin' on arrows? Ammo only gets us so far."

"Not many," he replied simply.

As we walked, I heard a branch snap. Instinctively, he held his bow up and I held my knife close to my body as I peered around a tree.

"Deer," Daryl said lowly. "Shit. C'mon."

The deer had started to walk away. Daryl let an arrow fly out of his bow and the deer started to run. Daryl took off towards the deer. Focusing on ducking under branches and skipping over stumps, I got lost very easily. I lost sight of Daryl but I could still hear his footseteps. Then, the groans filled my ears again.

"Daryl!" I whisper–yelled.

He was too far ahead of me to hear. I had plenty of options, all consisting of a high chance of getting myself killed. I veered off the trail and headed in the opposite direction of the moans.

I was walking quietly when I was pulled backwards and pushed to the ground. My gun slid across the forest floor and under the leaves. A walker had lunged onto me, black blood oozing from his mouth as he chomped his teeth together. His nails were so close to ripping my stomach open and my knife was edging into my thigh. I had to be careful on how to handle this situation.

As to make things worse, another fell on top of the first one. I winced as my ribs got crushed and the knife stuck into my leg. I mustered up all my strength and pushed them off. While they were distracted on getting up, I crawled towards my gun, fishing for it in the leaves. By the time I found it, the walkers were too close for me to grab it.

I slid my knife out of my belt loop and shoved it into the first walker. Then, I shoved the other backwards so he fell and landed with a thud, growling frustratedly. I stomped over and swung my knife, missing his head. Instead, I stuck it in his mouth. I quickly pulled my knife out and pushed it into his eye. I stood up, huffing loudly.

I lost Daryl and my gun, and I was just inches, literally, from my death. I searched for my gun again, finally finding it before heading off through the woods. I came out into a field and the sight before me made my breath hitch in my throat. I never thought I'd be so excited to see a prison. The courtyard was full of walkers, but nothing we couldn't handle. I turned around and ran through the woods.

"Daryl!" I yelled stupidly.

I kept running, my backpack flopping up and down as I took each leap.

"Quinn, what the hell?" I heard from my right.

"Daryl!" I yelled, backtracking to him.

He started mouthing off; something about me not being able to keep up.

"Daryl, you can yell at me later! Right now, you need to see this!" I said, dragging him through the woods towards the edge where I found the prison.

"This better be good."

"It is," I assured him.

We finally came out of the edge of the woods and he looked dumbstruck.

"Well?" I asked, my lips curving upwards.

He nodded and shifted the deer that was upon his shoulders. "We could get in there."

"Don't you think we should wait for—"

"Nah, we can do it," he insisted.

Before I could protest, he started down the hill and made his way to the prison fences. I killed off a few walkers that lingered around. My mind was bubbling with ideas all the while.

"We can cut a hole in the fence," I suggested. "I'll slip through, make a run for that gate and prevent the others from crowding the courtyard."

"Only if you're beggin' for a damn death wish," he responded. "That's a suicide run."

"You got a better idea?"

Daryl was quiet for a moment, trying to think of another way, but there really wasn't any other way. "Cover me. I'll go for the gate."

"That ain't happenin'," I replied. "You cover me, I'll go for it. You have better aim anyways."

He sighed with defeat and used his hunting knife to cut a hole through the fence. We both slipped through and rapidly tied it back up. A few walkers had taken notice of us and crammed against the fence that I had to get over. I picked up a stick and started jamming it into brains. By the time we had most of them dead, I had blood all over me.

"Ready?" he asked, crouching down to boost me over.

I took a deep breath before nodding and placing my foot in his hand. I rested one hand on his shoulder and gripped the fence with the other. As he pushed me, I pulled. I finally made it to the top, saddling it like a horse. As I tried to swing my other leg over, I slipped and landed with a hard thud. I looked up to see Daryl with a smirk on his face.

"You are so lucky I'm on the other side of this fence, Dixon," I said with irritation.

He waved me off.

I sucked in a breath and took off towards the large guard tower, never taking a second to look behind me. I shot down a couple walkers that were in my way. I was like a tornado, buzzing through the court yard, destroying everything in my path. I was inches from the gate when I was pushed over. I struggled to not let the nasty, flesh eating creature bite me. An arrow then flew inches from my face.

"Sorry!" Daryl called.

I smiled and pushed the walker off of me, continuing towards the prison. I slid the heavy metal gate over which prevented all the others from wandering into the courtyard. I ran back down, dodging walkers left and right and finally helped Daryl inside the yard. As he kept our dinner safe, I slashed out on the rest of the walkers.

I want this prison, and what I want is what I'll get.