Living On A Prayer (Daryl Dixon/ TWD)

Chapter 25

Adasyn

8 months.

It had been eight long months of running, fighting and strictly surviving. We were still looking for a place to build lives for each other - but so far we've had no luck. This world grew worse and worse with every passing day. We were lucky if we ever got out stomachs full anymore. Hell, we were even more lucky if we found a place to stay for more than a couple of hours before the herd caught up to us and we had to run.

And just like the world had changed, so had everyone in our group.

Lori was more pregnant than ever - and I felt for her. It couldn't be easy dealing with a pregnancy in a time like this. Especially with the stress of not knowing when the little sucker could come and if we'd be in a safe place when she had it. Rick was a totally different man now. He was no longer the good guy. He adapted to the leader role quickly - and nobody questioned him. He made a call, you went with it. He had never led us wrong though. And Carl, he amazed me more and more as days passed by. He went from never wanting to touch a gun again to having one of his own with a silencer on the end. He was just as helpful in this group as any of the other men. It was sad that he had to have his childhood ripped away from him like it was but good that he was able to accept the way things were.

Carol wasn't quite as timid as she used to be but I wouldn't exactly label her as a bad ass yet either. She was somewhere in the middle, trying her best to do her best. Beth right along with her. T was probably the only one in the group who hadn't changed much. The only thing different about him was he didn't crack jokes anymore - and that was something he used to do a lot of.

Glenn had stepped up in many ways as well and I was proud of him. Ever since he fell in love with Maggie something changed in him. And when things started getting rough out here - I finally realized what it was. She gave him something to live for - a need to survive. Sure all the people in the group mattered to him, we were a family. But being in love? That was a totally different story. Maggie could definitely defend herself though. She grew accustomed quick and took down walkers with out a problem. Herschel ? He was the backbone of this group. He kept us going - kept us sane. Whenever we doubted ourselves or we wanted to give up, he managed to keep the hope alive. I honestly don't know where we'd be if it weren't for him.

As for Daryl - he had changed the most. He accepted the fact that people needed him and quickly became Rick's right hand man. He helped him make the calls and make the right ideas. But when he wasn't helping Rick, he was helping me. Loosing Ashlyn was hard on me. I felt so guilty for so long and every time I started sinking Daryl pulled me onto shore. There were countless nights he held me after I woke up from a nightmare and even more times where we'd stayed up on watch duty talking about our problems as the sun rose. The death of my sisters was something I'd never fully get over but because of him, I learned to deal with it. We keep living because they don't get too.

This was our life now. We just pushed forward, taking everything day by day - protecting and loving each other with hopes that we'd find our safe haven soon enough.

"We got no place left to go," Maggie sighed, spreading a map out across the hood of the car. "When this herd meets up with us we'll be cut off. We'll never make it South."

"What'd you say?" Daryl asked, looking at Glenn, "bout a hundred and fifty head?"

"That was last week, it could be twice that by now."

Herschel pointed towards a certain spot on the map, focusing hard. "This river may have delayed them. We move fast, we may have time to tear right through there."

"But if this group meets up with that one, they could spill out this way," I said.

Maggie sighed, "So we're blocked."