oh come on | twd

• Pick A Side •

Daryl stayed close to me on the way back, claiming he was worried I would faint since I now had nothing in my system. I thought that was stupid since once I was on the move the lightheadedness seemed to dull down, but he insisted he'd rather stay close.

By the time we got back to where we left the others, we seemed to have interrupted some argument. I expected it to be Rosita and Abraham, despite the fact they were so close it was easy for them to have a disagreement since they were so different. Rick was stood over Dad, who sat against a tree, not caring to look at him as Rick began to lecture him.

"You nearly got Tara killed! We're a family here and we look out for each other! That doesn't mean throwing a walker on to her!"

Rick was furious and from hearing what he had said, so was Daryl. I saw Carol squint, looking intently at Dad's backpack, which had fallen down, leaving the top undone.

"What the fuck is that," she stated more than asked, storming forward and snatching the bag to her.

She reached into it and pulled out empty cans and water bottles, throwing them at Dad's chest as he began to walk closer to her enraged.

"Who said you could go in my bag?" Dad seethed, snatching it out of her hands and me and Daryl both rushed forward.

I looked at Carol confused as I took the bag from her hands harshly. Why was she in his bag? But then, as I looked in myself I felt me heart drop at the surplus amount of empty cans and bottles. More than when I had last eaten with him.

"You stole this? You're daughter, all of us, are fucking starving and you've been eating like a king!" Daryl pushed his hands against Dad's chest, knocking him backwards.

Fuck. I knew exactly where this was going. It was what happened last time and I wouldn't let it happen again, not to these people. Dad pulled out his gun, and Daryl froze, anger written all over both of their faces.

"Amelia, grab their weapons, we're leaving."

I froze, conflicted with what to do, not wanting to betray the people who I grew to like.

"Now Amelia!"

I hurried in front of the gun that was pointed at Daryl and turned to him. He didn't stop me as I gently took his crossbow and breathed shakily. Dad snatched it from my hands and shoved me towards Glenn.

"Hurry up before I do this myself."

——————

It was storming badly when we crouched below a tree for some form of shelter from the harsh winds. There were walkers everywhere yet it seemed they couldn't find us as they wandered blindly passed us. I had my body covering the weapons and bags, struggling to keep myself grounded on the floor.

"This is your fault!" I heard Dad shout over the loud groans of the wind, rain and walkers.

"I know. I'm sorry."

We weren't far from where we had left the others, probably a ten minutes walk through the woods. In honesty, I didn't think we would make it through this storm. It was freezing, and trees were falling all around us.

A large tree fell right in front of us, making me pull my feet to me quickly as a way to avoid them being crushed.

I could barely see Dad stand up over the rain and my own hair, but I saw the gun pointed at me. For fucks sake. I breathed heavily through the rain, rain drops pouring down my face.

"You're dragging me down and I'm not keeping you alive anymore."

I didn't hear the click of the safety but I saw it, and I also saw the tree beginning to fall behind him. He halted, maybe debating his decision but it didn't matter as I watched the tree begin to fall. Large cracking of the wood was what made him turn, falling to the ground and trying to back out of the way.

It could've quite possibly been one of the most gruesome things I had seen. His legs seemed to almost explode from the impact, blood and flesh everywhere, chunks coating the tree. His legs were no longer attached to his body.

"AH! Amelia help me! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please!" I didn't even think he knew of his legs being gone, otherwise he'd know there was no saving him.

I stood up quickly, grabbing the guns, Daryl's crossbow. All of the bags were now on each shoulder and I felt overwhelmed with weight.
I struggled with Daryl's crossbow, using both the wind and my legs to pull back the quiver. I found it ironic that the ending of my father's life was by the weapon of the man he threatened.

I reached down and tugged the now loose belt from under the tree. Snarls were all around me now, but I couldn't pin point where so instead I ran, dodging trees until I found a small clearing. I could see a barn, and multiple walkers outside trying to get in.

Daryl's crossbow in hand, I struggled once again to take them down. They didn't even notice me behind them picking them off. I could hear him inside, shouting with Rick and someone else to keep it closed. It sounded like Maggie but I didn't dwell on it.

"I think we're clear." I heard him distantly, and set down the bag of guns, Daryl's crossbow next to it outside of the door. I didn't bother retrieving the arrows, instead running again once trees began falling close to me.

I hadn't ran far. The wind was unbearable and made it tough to breathe through it. I stopped, a stupid mistake, to tighten the belt around my waist. The wind was harsh, making it hard for me to even stay planted on the floor, and I had to grab onto a tree to help keep myself steady. I could feel the vibrations of it becoming unsteady and pushed through the wind to the next tree. 

I was glad I did, because as I grasped this tree, the one I was previously holding on to had uprooted and fallen, taking another tree with it.

"Fucking hell," I tried to say through the rough blowing of air, to no one in particular but I guess I have no one anymore.

Through the violent weather and my persistence to stay alive, all I could think about was the people who I had grew to care about. Did they hate me now for having stole from them? Did they understand that I didn't want to? It didn't matter anyway since I wouldn't be seeing them anymore yet for some reason I still craved for the approval they used to give me.

Maybe I was stupid for believing I could have something so nice. It's not like I deserved it and I definitely didn't earn it either.