No Rest For the Wicked ~ A Walking Dead Fan Fiction

Chapter 31: Long Road Round

Chapter 31

Long Road Round

Third Person~

In the cold, frosty air of early dawn, Daryl slowed the motorcycle to a halt. Kate had her chin propped on his shoulder to hold her head up and he was afraid she was going to fall asleep and off the bike.  Truth be told, after the lengthy night they'd had, he wasn't far from that fate either.

"Hey, why are we stopping?" She mumbled sleepily when the engine cut and her tired voice could finally be heard with straining it.

"You're gonna fall off." He muttered, getting off to work out his sore muscles.

"Am not." She said indignantly, getting up and doing some much needed stretches as well. Her butt had fallen asleep from sitting the same way for so long. "Where are you taking us, anyway?"

"Away from the herd. You got someplace else in mind?"

"The traffic snarl, where we left the supplies for Sophia."

"Why there?"

"It's where everyone else is going to go. And don't you dare say there might not be anyone else."  She said, eyeing sharply.

"I wasn't gonna."  Daryl replied simply.

"Good. Let's go then." Kate hopped right back on, even though her sore body was protesting ever sitting on that bike again.  She slid forward, taking the front half of the seat. "Can I drive?" She asked, experimentally holding the handlebars. It seemed like a long reach.

"No." He grunted. "Now back up." She sighed and obeyed, having figured that would be the answer before she even asked.  The motor revved to life and they took off again. It wasn't long before they pulled onto the highway and caught sight of the back of the Hyundai and the truck heading in the direction of the traffic snarl as well.

"Oh my God! Honk! Honk!" Kate yelled, waving wildly with one arm, while gripped Daryl for dear life with the other.  In part it was to ensure she didn't fall off, and because of the sudden tension revived in the pit of her stomach that all the people she last saw in that car might not be there now. "Does this thing even have a horn?"

"No."  But it didn't matter because the others had noticed them and were stopping.

Glenn, Maggie, Elsie and Carol spilled out of the Hyundai, Lori, Beth and T-dog from the truck. Kate was off the bike before it was completely stopped, almost knocking it, with Daryl still on it, over if the process. She dropped to her knees and crushed Elsie in a bear hug.  The little girl clung to her, burying her face in Kate's wind-tangled hair.   Once they broke apart Kate stood and was enveloped by Glenn and Maggie, Elsie caught in the middle of the group.

"I thought we lost you!" Maggie cried, sniffling into her shoulder.

"Come on, have a little faith in me!" Kate was grinning from ear to ear as she pulled out of the group hug, though her eyes, too, were misty.  She quickly went to Beth then Lori, T-dog and Carol. Daryl was pulled through the circuit behind her.

"You didn't find Carl?" Elsie asked, the light in her face from reuniting with Kate already withering and dying out.

"No, no I didn't." Kate admitted shamefully, not able to look Lori in the eyes. "But that doesn't mean they didn't make it. When I saw them last they were headed to the house where they could have got themselves a car and got out of there."