Janie's Got A Gun (A 'The Walking Dead' Fanfiction)

Chapter Fourty-One: Back Home

"DARYL!" Janie yelled. "DARYL! COME QUICK!"
She listened to the sound of frantic footsteps getting closer and Daryl came into view. He stopped as soon as he saw her, his mouth wide open in shock.
Janie turned around to Carol and her adopted son Henry and smiled.
"Need a ride, stranger?" Carol asked as one of the horses that drew her carriage neighed.

"Dog!" Janie called as they neared their camp and the German Shepherd leapt from a bush and ran up to her with something fleshy hanging from his mouth. "Drop." She said and he released the mangled walkers hand from his mouth. "Good boy."
"When was the last time you ate?" Carol asked Daryl and he shrugged.
"Dog ate yesterday, so did Jane." He studied Carol's angry face. "Fine, let's go hunting."

The pair went off and left Janie and Henry in charge of the camp.
"Can he do any tricks?" Henry asked as he stroked Dog.
"I've taught him a couple." Janie replied. "It's just hard to get him to do them when I have no treats."
"Sit." He said and Dog just stared at him and wagged his tail. "Sit." He repeated and this time Dog bent his legs a little before turning on the spot and staring at Henry once again. "Sit." Finally Dog sat and Henry tickled behind his ear.
"What are you guys doing here anyway?" Janie asked.
"I'm going to Hilltop to do my blacksmithing apprenticeship." He replied. "My mum thought she could convince you and Daryl to come with us."
"What? Babysit?" She asked and he just shrugged. "Daryl's never going to agree to that."

That night Janie woke to Dog barking loudly in the distance. She sat up to see that Daryl wasn't sleeping nearby. Quickly she pulled on her boots and grabbed her knife before running towards the noise. All she could hear was Dog barking, her footsteps on the dry leaves and the blood pumping in her ears, all she could see was darkness, the thick trees completely blocked out the moonlight and she forgot to grab a torch. Suddenly a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and stopped her in her tracks. It was Henry.
"Daryl's in trouble." He panted.

Janie followed him until they came to a clearing, Daryl was lay on his stomach trying to grab Dog who was stuck in a trap but he was surrounded by walkers, grabbing at his legs and arms. Janie quickly raised her knife above her head and drove it into two of the walkers skulls so that Daryl could move forward to reach the rest. She helped him untie Dog and, as she did, a walker that was stuck in another trap started to break free. She rapidly tried to untie the ropes around Dog's neck, looking up every second to make sure the walker wasn't free yet, she had to get it done in time. There was a loud ripping noise and a growl and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the walkers step forward. She didn't know what to do but suddenly a large stick appeared above it and drove through its skull. She looked around to see Henry, holding his blood soaked stick proudly just as Daryl got the knot loose and freed Dog.
"Thanks." Janie panted.
"No problem." Henry replied before turning to Daryl. "My mom really worries about you, you know?"
"Yeah, well she knows where to find me." Daryl grunted.
"She shouldn't have to." Henry replied.

The next morning Daryl and Janie packed up their camp ready to set off to the Hilltop.

Janie looked up at the Hilltops gates, she hadn't seen them in six years. She wondered if the people inside them had changed. She wondered if they missed her or if they had forgotten who she was.
As she got off her bike, Henry approached her.
"Do you think Enid's still here?" He asked.
"Probably, why?" She asked and a large smile stretched across his face. "You like her?" She looked behind her to see Enid stepping out of the mansion, she imagined Henry had too, she walked over to a bench just outside where Alden, a Saviour who moved to the Hilltop after the war, was sat, she bent down and kissed him passionately on the lips. Janie turned back to Henry, who's smile was fading rapidly, and patted him on the shoulder. "Better luck next time."
She looked around to see Aaron talking to Daryl and Tara talking to Carol. Talking about how much they missed each other, but no one had spoken to her, no one had even smiled or acknowledged her presence. It seemed about right.
Just then Daryl turned around to face her.
"Eugene's missing." He said. "I'm gonna go out and look for him."
"Okay." Janie replied. "Be safe."

Not long after Daryl left there were shouts from the lookout tower. Enid ran over and Janie stopped her.
"What's going on?" She asked.
"I think Michonne's here."
The gates opened to reveal that it was, indeed, Michonne but she wasn't alone. By her side was Siddiq and behind them was a group of people Janie had never seen before. A woman with short curly hair stepped forward and looked at Tara before signing something with her hands. A younger girl with dark skin and piercings stepped next to her.
"She said 'thank you for letting us stay here'."
"You're welcome." Tara said sternly.
"I'm Kelly." She pointed to the woman next to her. "That's Connie." She then pointed at a woman with golden hair and tattoos, a woman with a stern face and a bandage around her head and a squat man with a kind face behind her. "That's Magna, Yumiko and Luke."
The group walked through and, as they did, Kelly looked over at Janie, and winked, Janie quickly looked away, letting her hair fall across and cover her face.

Dinner came and Daryl still wasn't back so Janie ate alone. She saw that Henry also ate alone but she didn't want to be a burden or to annoy him so she stayed where she was. She pushed the food around the plate with a fork and just stared at it, she felt like she'd throw up if she ate it. It had been a while since she'd been away from Daryl and she was starting to worry about him, especially after what had happened the night before.

- Princexiero xx