Whispers of the Past || TWD

Chapter 4: Reunited

Cassie turned around and began walking again, until she heard Daryl call out, "If ya change yer mind, we're headin' to Terminus."

"Sounds sketchy," She called back.

"Yeah, maybe." A pause. "Just follow the main tracks and you'll see the signs."

"Okay," Cassie turned around one last time, and gave him a mock salute.

~~~

Weeks, maybe months, passed and Cassie couldn't stop thinking about Daryl and his group. She felt bad that she just up and left, not even saying goodbye. 

She wondered how Rick, Michonne, and Carl took the news when they found out she was gone. Probably relieved, she thought, kicking a rock with her foot. 

Cassie was horrible with directions, but she knew for a fact that she was nowhere near Terminus. She was starting to regret not staying with the group. Not because she liked them. She didn't. She just needed someone who knew directions. 

Cassie gave a frustrated sigh, fiddling with the knife Daryl gave her. 

She was bored. 

She wondered how they were doing. Did they ever get to Terminus? Cassie frowned. The place probably never even existed in the first place. Just a fairytale. 

Imagine. A sanctuary. Cassie nearly laughed at the stupidly naive thought. Carl was right. Safe wasn't a thing anymore... and it never will be. 

Cassie continued to mope along the train tracks. She was tired and hungry and thirsty and bored; God, the things she would do to just sit down and eat a nice, hot meal. Her stomach grumbled loudly, as if she needed the reminder that she was starving. 

~~~

Aaron asked Daryl if he wanted to go on scouting missions with him, since Eric hurt his foot. 

Daryl didn't hesitate to say yes, which surprised Aaron... to say the least. When he asked why Daryl was so keen on going, all the man could answer was he was looking for someone. 

Daryl wouldn't say who.

Ever since those couple days before Terminus, Daryl had been thinking about Cassie. He wondered if the kid was alive. Did she ever make it to Terminus? What if she made it there before them and they... Daryl shook the thought away.

She was a strong kid. He knew she'd be okay. Still, not that he'd mention this to anyone, he worried about her. 

Daryl thought this as him and Aaron travelled down the road looking for signs of potential members for Alexandria. 

"Hey," Aaron said, getting his attention, "Look up there." The man pointed to some smoke further up in the woods. A campfire.

"Come on," Daryl grunted.

The two men walked into the woods towards the smoke. 

When they came upon the campsite, Aaron immediately froze looking at a pile of hacked off limbs. Daryl followed the man's line of vision. 

"This just happened," He said.

Aaron stared at him, concern written all over his face. "And that?" He asked, pointing to a naked woman tied to a tree.  

Daryl glanced up and his heart dropped. He couldn't help it, but his mind silently prayed it wasn't the girl he met a couple months prior. 

They walked closer, and Daryl hated the small sigh of relief that escaped when he saw the face. It wasn't Cassie.