No Rest For the Wicked ~ A Walking Dead Fan Fiction

Chapter 19: Guardian Angel

Chapter 19 

Guardian Angel 

Third Person~  

"So what's the story here, Goldielocks?" Daryl asked as they moved through the woods. 

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean you looked scared as hell when we got here. Wanna say why that was?" He prompted. Kate looked out into the forest, chewing her lip. 

"I've got a past." She said at last, not looking at him as she talked. "And people wouldn't see me the same way if they knew about it." 

"And your afraid Hershel or one of em's gonna spill it?" Daryl asked. 

"He never liked me. Spawn of the devil as far as he's concerned. So he just might take it upon himself to warn ya'll about the company you're keeping." She said bitterly. "I even thought he might ask me to leave." Daryl didn't respond, letting silence fall. She glanced at him, trying to read what he was thinking but it was impossible.  

"What was your sister's name?" He asked at last, jumping topics randomly.  

"How do you know I had a sister?" Kate asked, bewildered by his question. "Oh wait, did Elsie tell you about her?" 

"No, though she did tell me you've been to South America. But I was only fifteen feet in front of you and Andrea. You think I'm deaf or somethin?" 

Kate blushed, realizing of course Daryl had heard her story. She wished he hadn't, people always pitied her for it. She hated pity. It was in the eyes of Patricia and Beth every time they looked at her. Hershel's leery, untrusting stare made her heart ache. The only member of her family who didn't look at her with any of the above was Maggie, whom she'd been very close with despite her infrequent visits. "Her name was Rosalyn." 

"Rosalyn." Daryl repeated. "Older or younger?" 

"Older, just by a year though." 

"How'd she die?" This question was delivered bluntly, not insensitively but there was no sugar-coating, which was just the way Daryl was. Some might have found it rude but Kate didn't mind, actually appreciating his straightforward manner. 

"She had cancer. Diagnosed at six years old. Lasted until she was twenty. We used private health care to make sure she got the best. Not on those giant waiting lists all the time. She was lucky to get fourteen years." Daryl nodded, noticing her description included the word lucky. 

"My neighbor had cancer. One year of treatment and it was gone for good. All he ever did was complain about it." 

"Thanksgiving is later down here in the US, we'd come down to the farm for the American one. My mother always said it was right we celebrated it twice cause we had twice as much to be thankful for." Kate remembered. "What else did Elsie tell you about me?" She asked, changing the subject. 

"Not much. Apparently you never fold your clothes. And you talk in your sleep." 

This made Kate laugh. "She's always telling me to clean up the tent... You should see her. She's like an organization Nazi. Half our tent is cleaner than the Queen's palace." She recounted her living space. "And I wonder what I talk about... She never mentioned that to me." Kate mused. 

"You would talk on huntin' trips sometimes. Nothin' I could understand. Just mumbling." Daryl informed her. 

"Well listen closer next time. I'm curious now." She requested, hopping down lightly off a large fallen log she'd climbed over as it was blocking her path. He chuckled.