Light | TWD | Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

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Juliana felt as if she was underwater when she came face to face with Carol. She had been beyond upset when Rick had kicked her out of the prison, and she still had to admit that she resented Rick for it even now. What felt like hours of her standing there, staring at Carol, must have only been seconds before she flung her arms around the woman. Carol reciprocated the hug, wrapping her arms around Juliana's shoulders and pulled the younger girl closer to her. Carol's lips grazed the top of Juliana's hair in a motherly fashion before she pulled away from her, holding her at an arm's length out in front of her, a hand on each shoulder. It was then Juliana's gaze drifted to see Tyrese and baby Judith curled up in his arms.

A heavy breath escaped from her as Tyrese stared back at her in shock before speaking, "Holy shit."

Carol's arms dropped from Juliana's shoulder, "I want to have a reunion but-"

Juliana cut her off before she could continue, "Rick, Michonne, Carl, and Daryl are still alive." Carol and Tyrese exchanged glances between each other before turning their attention back to Juliana.

"Anyone else?" Tyrese questioned. Juliana chewed on her bottom lip, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear at his question, pausing for a moment before answering.

"Daryl and I were with Beth. Someone took her. I don't know about anyone else. But the four of them went into Terminus. I stayed behind; it just didn't feel safe. I should have-"

Carol cut her off, her voice almost sharp as she injected, "No, don't feel guilty for following your gut. They should have listened to you." Juliana could only nod in reply at Carol's comment. She had always been a mother figure to Juliana, telling her things she didn't want to hear, but there were times Carol had told her she had been jealous of Juliana's choice to stay on her own before she met the group.

"We can't wait," Carol told her and Tyrese. Juliana nodded in agreement.

"There's a fence line on the northeast side. It's where I saw them herded into some old shipping containers."

"Tyrese and I will find somewhere safe for Judith. I'll meet you there."

Carol's tone of voice let Juliana know that she was ready for whatever they were going to come across. She took off back in the direction of the fence line while Carol, Tyrese and Judith made off in the opposite direction. Her heart felt like it was running a mile a minute, not sure if it was just the pure adrenaline or nervousness of what could be happening to them. To Daryl.

She moved quickly, awkwardly stumbling over fallen trees and pushing low hanging branches out of her way that only came back to smack her in the face. Her nerves were starting to get the best of her; that glimmer of hope to possibly know that the group had survived seemed so tangible for the first time in forever.

As she came around a rather large tree, a walker stood, aimlessly groaning as it swayed from side to side in the middle of the woods. Juliana's hand wandered down to belt, her fingers wrapping around the handle of the blade Daryl had lent her. Gripping it tightly, she slowly pulled it out, ready for the walker. Moving carefully, Juliana stepped carefully, moving behind the walker. At the last second, she grabbed at the frayed collar of the walker. It let out a growl, it's teeth snapping together before Juliana plunged the knife into the back of its head. Silence followed quickly, the growling and snapping gone as the walker crumbled to the ground like a piece of thrown out paper.

Carol didn't waste her time meeting up with her. She had brought old burlap sacks that had the bottoms cut out into a circle large enough for their head to fit through. Carol explained that a herd was coming, and the easiest way to move around them was to be covered in them. The two women slipped on the burlap, and with the recently killed walker in front of them, went to work covering themselves in decay. Juliana followed Carol's lead, next covering her face in sticky red mud followed by sticky red guts. The smell was horrendous, but it was necessary. Juliana led Carol to the fence line, and it was then they both started to notice the walkers that were slowly beginning to filter through the trees.