Endure and Survive (Sequel to How We Live Now)

Chapter 20

1 month later....

After a month of adapting to the new people at the prison and getting a system going, we finally started to feel like a community. The crops we had planted in the field had started sprouting and we had managed to find a few pigs and some horses which was a real blessing considering we had been running low on food and finding gas was getting harder to do. On one of the runs that we made, we managed to find a prosthetic leg for Hershel that finally got him off the crutches. I think I may have cried more than the others. I knew that he didn't like being limited to what he could and couldn't do so on that day, I cried tears of joy for him. We were all happy. For the first time in a long time, we were happy. And I was able to find out that I wasn't pregnant. Another weight that was off my shoulders. Daryl happened to overhear me assuring Hershel that I wasn't and because of that, we got a lot closer. And as of recently it was as if the two of us couldn't manage to have a conversation without feeling some sort of awkwardness. I didn't want to be too forward and admit how I felt about him cause that would probably scare him off. And I didn't want that. I didn't want to lose him by messing up what we had. We were good and whether or not we became something more, I was okay either way. So long as I didn't lose him, I was okay.

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I was at one of the fences taking care of some walkers with some of our people. We each had handmade pikes that we'd use to take them out. A group of them had managed to gather at a particular spot. We had no idea how they all managed to do so but keeping them at bay was all we cared about. I wasn't sure as to how long I'd been at it. It seemed with every two walkers I put down, four more would show up again.

"Kari. Let someone else take over for you. You've been out here since before the sun came up," Karen said after I had put another one down.

"I'm fine, Karen," I said.

I was about drive my pike into another one when someone reached out and put it down. I looked over to see Daryl standing next to me. I sighed and let him have it.

"Have you eaten anything yet?" he asked.

"I had an apple earlier," I said.

"Come on," he said.

"Daryl, I can keep on going," I said.

"I wasn't askin'. Come on," he said.

He went over and hung up the pike where we hung up the others.

"Thanks, Daryl," Karen said.

I turned to look at her and was about to say something but Daryl stood in front of me and had me turn back around. I rolled my eyes but did as he wanted.

"An apple is all you eat before coming out here and doing all this work?" he asked.

"At least it was something," I said.

"We got meat now. Why the hell you ain't eatin' it?" he asked.

"I am. I just...I didn't before I started. I'm sorry," I said.

We got over to the grill where Carol was helping to plate the meat.

"Hey, guys. How's it going?" she asked when we got there.

"Good. Daryl seems to be upset with me though," I said.

"How come?" she asked.

"All I had was an apple," I said.

"Kari. You know Daryl is not a fan of apples," she teased.

The both of us started laughing.

"Alright. Will you just give me a plate so that she can stuff her face?" Daryl said.