Beyond Terminus (Book Two)

Chapter 39: Alexandria

"Excuse me," Aaron calls as he renters the room "Excuse me! Everyone." We all look at him, and he clasps his hands together. "Thank you. You saved Eric. I owe you. All of you. And I will make sure that debt is paid in full when we get to our community. When we get to Alexandria."

"Virginia?" I ask.

He nods. "Now, I'm not sure about you, but I'd rather not do any more driving tonight. Maybe we can hit the road tomorrow morning."

"That sounds fine," Rick agrees from behind him. "But if we're staying here for the night, you're sleeping over there."

"You really think we got to do that?" Maggie asks.

"It's the safe play. We don't know you."

"The only way you're gonna stop me from being with him right now is by shooting me," Aaron says, and I assume he's talking about Eric.

We all wait in a tense silence. Aaron tries to push past Rick, and Glenn stops him. He leans over, whispering something to Rick that we can't hear. After a while, Rick nods.

"Alright."

We all split off, settling down to sleep. Daryl swings his crossbow off his shoulder, settling down on a quilt.

"Are you actually gonna sleep tonight?" I ask, wrapping my arms around his midsection.

"Mmhmm," he mumbles, shutting his eyes as he lays down.

I smile, drifting off to sleep.

----------

The next morning, we start our journey. Most of us ride in the RV, talking or playing card games. Daryl and I sleep on the couch, completely exhausted.

No one disturbs us.

We're awoken when the RV breaks down, and Daryl and I sit on top of the RV, keeping watch while Glenn and Abraham fix the battery.

Daryl focuses on something intently, his hunting knife scraping and chipping at something that he doesn't let me see. I roll my eyes, smirking a little.

The RV rumbles to life soon enough, and we all cheer as we climb back in for the final stretch.

I play Dutch Blitz with Daryl, Carol, Eugene, and Tara as we journey onwards. Since there's only four players per game, we rotate. Winner sits out for one round.

I beat them in nearly every round I play in, since none of them had ever played before. Eugene picks up the game fast, and he starts winning a few rounds, as does Carol.

"Blitz!" I shout, smacking my last card onto a pile.

"Damn it! I just don't get this game!" Daryl yells.

"Don't be a sore loser, man." Tara laughs.

The RV rumbles to a stop, and we stop. Abraham and Rosita look back at us, and Noah emerges from the back room.

"We're here," Rosita says.

We all get up and leave the RV, looking to the gate. I listen, wondering whether it will be silent and menacing; like both Woodbury and Terminus were.

Instead, I hear the soft strains of music playing. My mouth falls open in a small gape, the sound of the instruments blending together so achingly familiar it makes my heart flip flop. With the music, I can here the laughter and shouting of children mixed with people chatting.

Daryl's hand wraps around mine, and my chocolate brown eyes look into his sparkling blue ones.

"You ready?" he asks.

I squeeze his hand and smile. "Ready."