Sneaky

Chapter 130

My breath misted in big clouds of white dry vapor as I breathed into my hands and rapidly rubbed them together like I'm lighting an imaginary fire.

We got my beauty just in time.

Daryl shifted next to me, pulling his jacket tighter as we both sat up top, watching over our little camp like guardian angels.

The car heaters are great but we don't have the resources to run them all night, so pulling off the road down a little service street (we checked) and setting up a little camp, semi-sealed in by the cars so we could light a fire was the best option.

I don't mind camping, but when it's colder than a yeti's eyelashes it's not my favorite thing in the world.

We need to find a place to stay through the winter. It's just barely started snowing and if it gets any colder than this, we'll freeze to death.

The storage units would've been safe but they were dirtier than a pig's pen and the others all got itchy feet stayin' there.

I'd take an enclosed unit over the bare winded cold though.

A shiver wracked through me and I pulled the blanket Lori gave me 10 minutes ago tight around myself. I scooted closer to Daryl and stretched my arm out.

He looked at me as I wrapped half of it around him.

'I don't give a mermaid's golden belly button if he thinks it's awkward. It's colder than an abominable snowman's left foot.'

Daryl let me do as I pleased for once and we must look like two fluffy perched birds on a telephone wire bracing from this cold.

I tugged my ugly zig-zag striped yellow & blue winter hat down farther over my ears and snuggled down into my new spot, three inches to the right from my previous one, regripping my gun in my hand.

Daryl laughed at me so hard he would've thrown out his back if he were 10 years older when he found this monstrosity in some glove box when we stopped to get the truck some extra gas cans of fuel yesterday.

I will get him back though. I'm lookin' for a nice bright Barbie pink for him. I don't care if it's a hat, gloves, a scarf, one sock, whatever. So long as it's an amazing shade of princess pink. And I'm going to make sure he wears it at least once.

I turned a little, glancing over my shoulder at Randall & T on the opposite side of the ring of cars, on the roof of the old red truck with the covered bed. Both of them look like marshmallows bundled up in their own winter coats and wrapped in blankets.

Daryl was stubborn (when isn't he) and refused a blanket before when they were offered, but tough.

I'm a wimp when it comes to freezing temperatures and I swear on Abraham Lincoln's beard, he is a human space heater.

It's not my fault and I take no responsibility for almost gluing my entire right side to his.

"Feels like breathin' ice cubes out 'ere." Daryl shifted, pulling his shoulders almost up to his ears. His bent knees shifted so his foot is a little farther in front of mine which are practically collapsing my chest cavity with how tight I've pulled them into myself.

I've got like 4 layers on including a long sleeve, sweatshirt, and a winter coat that's just a little too big for me. There's a fire at my back, and Daryl against my side, and it's still too cold.

I looked out at the twilight hour forest, giving me serious Forbidden Forest vibes.

"The temperature's getting dangerous." I barely realized I muttered it aloud, through my borderline blue lips.

"Let's hope it doesn't get any lower." Rick climbed up on the hood to my left, looking out at the forest. "We can't afford to move unless we have to at this hour."

I hummed in agreement, shivering again and tried to sink deeper into the warmth, pulling my knees tighter into my chest and the blanket as far around me without pulling any away from Daryl as possible.

The modern age has been spoiled with the ability to condition our in-shelter environments down to the degree. We've forgotten how to handle ourselves in extreme conditions.

"Here." Ricked leaned over, putting one foot above the windshield to brace as he held something wrapped in a red cloth out to me. "Take this. It'll help keep you warm."

Wow, that sounded like something out of a video game. 'It's dangerous out there. Take this.'

I unwrapped my hand only as far as I possibly needed to, to reach for it and almost slammed my wrist into the hood when he let it go.

What is this thing, a piece of the street!?

I hefted it into my lap and immediately melted over it. Snuggling it like a heated teddy bear.

Rick chuckled and Daryl quirked a brow at me.

"Haha" T-Dog laughed from the other side of the circle. "I can almost hear ya purring from here Shadow Cat."

I flipped him the bird without care as I snuggled the insanely warm rock (more like boulder) in my lap, trying to wrap myself around it and get as many points of contact as possible as it was swallowed into the darkness of my half-blanket shield.

Daryl reached across me, almost bumping the scruff of his chin against my forehead but I couldn't care less, and pulled another rock

'How was this magic performed? Which one of you is the wizard hiding in plain sight!?' ooo, why did that sound like a comedian in my head?

Hot rocks though, that was brilliant.

The heat's leaving pretty quickly though. My core is warmer, but this isn't anything more than a last resort preventative. Unless you could keep the rock warm somehow. Maybe if you heated one or two while using another.

"Tch" Daryl scoffed and I looked at him shaking his head. "I can't believe yer brains still workin' right now."

Mind reader!

I cuddled up to my rock a little more, unable to resist closing my eyes and just enjoying the small bit of warmth.

This rock smells like warm mud.

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Quick announcement, I'm moving again! (I know, I move a lot) but by the 22nd of this month, I will be living by a beach again. Next week's chp might be a bit short due to everything that's happening and as usual, if it's late I will do a double update or maybe another side/bonus story to make up for it.

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