Chasing Amy (Daryl Dixon/The Walking Dead)

Chapter 64 - Jane Wilson

Daryl turned to me, eyes alight.

"You need t' stay here, I'm goin' around to see..."

I scoffed, tightening my arms around my chest as I stood taller. "It's a baby, Daryl."

"What makes you think it's alone?" He growled, eyes watching the shed carefully. "We gotta think this through."

My lips tightened as I followed his stare. "You can't make me sit back and watch this time," I hissed, "I'm the one who wanted to come out here, and I'm gonna do this."

Daryl huffed quietly, standing guarded.

"Let me do it!" I whispered. "I want to do this, let me prove myself."

I glanced back at him, watching as his lips pursed slightly, eyebrows furrowed as he considered my plan.

His cheeks were still red, hair flustered. However, the unease that held his shoulders tight assured me that any recollection of our heated moment was firm at the back of his mind.

Daryl met my eyes and nodded. "You best not make a sound, so watch your footin'."

I breathed out, a short smile gracing my lips. It felt good to be trusted, especially by Daryl.

Clenching my teeth, I tightened my grip on the handle of my knife - my saviour on many accounts. Hopefully, if anything was to go wrong today, I wouldn't need Daryl's backup...

Things were gonna change.

The smell of the swamp was overwhelmingly musky, and not in a good way. It made my head spin as I took the first few ginger steps towards the lake, being careful not to step on anything that would make noise.

After all, I had the world's most criticising pair of eyes watching me from behind.

Even in the cool midnight breeze, the air surrounding the water was thick and warm, making every breath sluggish and short.

The mud beneath my sneakers was slippery too, adding to my unease as I tried to silently stalk ahead of Daryl. It had the consistency of slime, slipping under my heel with every step.

I took a moment to look back, only to find Daryl just steps behind me.

"Aren't you supposed to watch from a distance?" I breathed.

He met my eyes with annoyance, hands tightly gripping his crossbow.

"Ain't no way in hell." He murmured back, "I can watch your back just fine from here."

I bit my lip grumpily, instantly almost ten times more conscious of every step I made.

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Daryl was always one to follow a gut instinct. And when his gut was screaming so ferociously to turn back and get out, he found it hard to fully devote himself to the task at hand.

Only moments before, he'd seen a woman stripped of her clothes and her dignity, buried inches beneath the dirt.

He couldn't help but frown deeply, walking as close as practically possible to the little woman who cautiously stumbled through the mud. Daryl hated that he thought this way, but an image of Amy lying in that shallow grave haunted his mind.