LABYRINTH | TWD

6. While it Lasted

Dakota let out a long breath, hopping from the car and stretching her arms up to the sky, enjoying the mixture of the cool breeze and the warm sun against her skin.

It was her first time in months outside of the prison walls, and she was enjoying every second of it.

For a while, she had bugged Rick about letting her leave, to go out on runs and help her group out, but the man was unrelenting as a brick wall. Which was why she was shocked that he had agreed to let her leave now.

She could only suppose that it was because she would be with both Michonne and Hershel, two adults of whom he trusted completely.

Whatever it was, though, the girl wasn't going to argue nor was she going to complain.

"You gonna soak up the sun for the rest of the evening or are you gonna help us out?" Michonnes teasing voice broke Dakota out of her thoughts.

The red haired girl smiled, turning to the two, who had begun dragging the walkers bodies off of the trailer and piling them in a clearing in the forest, and made her way over to help them.

As she did, she began humming a song under her breath, one she didn't know the name of, but was on the mixtape of the walkman that Michonne had brought back to the prison for her a little while ago.

She and all of the other kids had gotten very familiar with all of the songs on it- minus American Pie, which the girl refused to play- in their time staying secluded from the rest of the prison.

Now that there was medicine and people were getting better, they were all free to go where they pleased, be with their families and friends again. It made her happy, knowing that while there were some devastating casualties, they as a group bounced back from it. They always would.

The three worked in near silence besides that, chatting away a bit every once in a while when a topic made an appearance, until all of the walkers were in one heaping pile on the dirt in the middle of the trees.

Hershel clasped a hand on Dakota's shoulder, looking down at her with a broad smile as Michonne tossed the last one, "Thanks for the help, we couldn't have done it without you."

She smiled widely at him in return, "Don't mention it, I needed to stretch my legs."

His grin didn't falter, though it did soften a bit as he regarded her for a moment, "You're a good kid, Dakota. Never lose that spark inside of you that makes you who you are. Can you promise me that?"

Dakota looked up at the older man, the one that had never anything but kind and compassionate towards her. The one that had wiped away her tears whenever she was frustrated back on the farm, or listened whenever she needed to vent about something.

The man she was proud to call a part of her family, "I promise." She spoke, features alight and gaze dancing, "Only if you can promise me never to get any older."

Hershel laughed loudly, throwing his head back and squeezing her shoulder, "I don't know so much about that, but I'll see what I can do." He winked at her.

Michonne made her way to stand beside the two, an empty tank now in her hand, which had been filled with gasoline that she had just dumped all over the corpses.

"Care to do the honors?" She nudged the young girl with her shoulder, passing her the matches.

Her grin spread further on her face as she lit the small flame, watching it flicker against the stick for a moment, before dropping it onto the walkers, watching them catch fire swiftly.

The trio stood there for a moment, regarding the ablaze bodies, deep in their own thoughts, before turning back and beginning to make their way to the vehicle once more.