Chapter 62
Abraham was clearly devastated. He knelt at the back of the caravan for a long time, and Maggie and Rosita tried to persuade him, but to no avail.
"Sometimes men can be really frustrating when they're stubborn," Lina sighed, watching Abraham's retreating figure.
She had been staring at Abraham for quite some time.
Daryl put down his tools, frowned, and looked at Lina. What's so interesting about that?
“Glen said there’s a stream over there, you can go see if you can catch some more fish.” Moore raised an eyebrow at Daryl, took the tools from his hand, and looked at him absentmindedly. Tsk, it’s unbearable.
Daryl nodded. Where there's a river, there's prey; after all, animals need water too.
"Lina, want to go hunting?" Daryl asked, picking up his crossbow and walking over to Lina.
"Okay, okay!" Lina jumped off the back of the car, slung a backpack over her shoulder, and happily took Daryl's arm. This could be considered a date!
Rick and Herschel were discussing their next steps when they caught sight of Lena and Daryl, who had strayed from the group. Rick quickly gestured for Herschel to stop, then ran forward a couple of steps and shouted, "Hey! Daryl, don't go too far or stay too long!"
Daryl raised his hand from a distance to indicate that he had received the message, and Lina turned around and made a face at Rick. Although they were far enough apart, Rick could still see it clearly.
Rick smiled helplessly; she seemed to be in a much better mood, which was good.
Rick glanced back at Herschel, who gestured to Rick to control Abraham.
Rick touched his face dejectedly, hoping that a fight wouldn't break out soon. To be honest, he was a little worried about being beaten up by Abraham, since he wasn't sure he could beat Abraham.
Taking a deep breath, a weary Rick was about to resume his leadership duties and reunite the team.
*
“They’ve scared the fish away,” Daryl said, glancing at the murky water. “There should be bait to attract them.” Earthworms and worms, for example.
"I don't want to dig for bugs," Lina pouted unhappily. They could have gone for a walk in the woods, but Rick wouldn't let them go far, so Daryl decided not to go either, and just wanted to see if they could find anything in the river.
Daryl glanced at the unhappy Lina, somewhat puzzled. Why was she unhappy again? "What's wrong?"
"I thought we could go somewhere else, like hunting or something," Lina pouted. She had no interest in fishing; it was incredibly boring.
“Hmm,” Daryl thought for a moment, “let’s go see if there are any squirrels.”
“It feels like you’re going to wipe out all the squirrels in America,” Lina joked.
Daryl shrugged. Squirrels are the most numerous and common, and they're also quite stupid.
Speaking of squirrels, Daryl remembered the squirrel fur Abebe he had prepared for Lina. The skin was peeled off, but it exploded along with the bus yesterday.
Thinking of this, Daryl also felt some resentment towards Eugene, as he had finally come up with the idea of doing something for Lina.
Although it's nice to be with everyone, people in relationships need some space!
Without any third wheels, Lina freely and domineeringly inserted her fingers between Daryl's fingers, firmly grasping his hand.
Actually, this is really inconvenient for hunting.
But Daryl said nothing, he simply gripped Lina's hand tightly as well.
Daryl is very good at finding squirrel nests, and these little creatures also have some lovely little habits, such as hoarding food.
Even if Daryl doesn't hit the squirrel, he can still find some nuts inside.
Lina is very strong; she can easily squeeze out the nuts with a simple pinch. There aren't many nuts, but they're enough for Lina to eat as a snack.
“It would be even more delicious if we fried it,” Lina said as she ate. Even when she was digging into squirrel holes, Lina did not let go of Daryl’s hand. Daryl did not try to pull his hand away either. He simply used his free hand to grab two handfuls of nuts and stuff them into Lina’s pocket.
Lina's hands were now busy; she held Daryl's hand with one hand and cracked nuts with the other, eating some for herself while also giving some to Daryl.
Daryl ate a few and then didn't want any more. There weren't many to begin with, so let's save them for Lina. Kids just love snacks, right?
Lina, unaware of Daryl's thoughts, assumed he simply didn't want to eat anymore and quietly began to eat.
"Are we going to take a detour to Washington?" Lena asked.
"I don't know, whatever," Daryl said indifferently, since the road ahead was definitely impassable anyway.
“Actually, I still think you’re strange,” Lina swallowed the nut in her mouth. “You seem to be able to do whatever you want, letting everyone decide what to do. Don’t you have any places you want to go?” Lina asked curiously.
"Do you have one?" Daryl raised an eyebrow at Lina.
Lena was momentarily speechless. "But there are places I don't want to go..." Lena murmured softly. She knew what Daryl meant. Wasn't she the same as Daryl? As long as she was with everyone, anywhere was fine.
"Where?" Daryl was a little curious about the place Lina said she didn't want to go.
“…my home,” and Alexander, Lina added in her mind.
Darylton paused for a moment, "Where do you live?" It seemed they had never talked about the past; Lena had only mentioned her car accident.
“…Washington,” Lena said, pursing her lips.
Daryl was somewhat shocked. "You went all the way from Washington to the vicinity of Atlanta? Seriously?" Logically speaking, it should be quite safe there, at least safer than outside.
"It's all the same," Lina said dismissively, adding that the chaos was still the same.
“When I escaped, the army did start clearing things out, but my great-uncle and his family lived in Chinatown. At that time, Chinatown was having a huge event, and it was packed with people. They just shut it off and let the people inside fend for themselves,” Lena said, pursing her lips. Of course, this excludes the white people who wandered in by mistake. “I used to live in Virginia, but I heard I only moved there recently. Before that, I think I lived in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio. Anyway, I haven’t been back to Virginia since my parents died, and to be honest, I might not even remember where my home is.”
"And you?" Lina asked.
“Right in Georgia, with my dad and his friends, but,” Daryl said, they were all dead.
Lina nodded, and couldn't help but ask the question she was most curious about, "What did you do for a living before the cataclysm?"
“A deliveryman,” Daryl said, “you actually think I have a job? Most people would think I’m unemployed or in jail.”
"...You're not that bad," Lina said unhappily. "Even without the cataclysm, you would definitely have achieved something great."
"..." Where did she get her confidence from? But to be honest, Daryl was actually quite pleased with it.
From Lena's brief revelation, Daryl could sense that her family was probably much better off than he had imagined; no man would want to lose face in front of his woman.
Especially before the cataclysm, he and Lina were worlds apart.
"Hey!" Lina excitedly grabbed Daryl's hand and shook it, her eyes shining as she stared at a squirrel in a tree not far away.
Daryl had to pull his hand away from Lina's and set up the crossbow. Lina watched enviously from the side, "Can I try it?"
Daryl placed the crossbow, already loaded with arrows, in Lina's hand. Lina easily raised the crossbow and fired at the squirrel.
"Yay! Did you see that?" Lina excitedly put down her crossbow and looked at Daryl. Daryl nodded approvingly. "You've practiced?"
Little did Lina know, "I'm a good shot and I'm strong, so this should be easy for me."
"Maybe," Lina said. There were no calluses on her hands from long-term training. Maybe it really was just talent?
Daryl picked up the squirrel, pulled out the arrow, wiped the blood on his coat, and put the arrow back in the quiver.
Lina shook her head helplessly, "Whenever I see you being so careless about details, I actually really want to return you."
Nobody likes a dirty man, not even if he's incredibly handsome.
But they are in the apocalypse now, so no one should look down on anyone else for being dirty, because they are all pretty much the same.
Daryl glanced at his coat. Okay, okay, he'd be more careful next time, if he remembered.
However, he didn't really like the word "return." Daryl hung the squirrel on his waistband and strode toward Lina.
Lina didn't notice Daryl's deep gaze. She lowered her head and continued fiddling with Daryl's crossbow. She could try to make a crossbow herself. After all, these existed in ancient times. With a few modifications, she should be able to make some low-end versions of crossbows.
Daryl took the crossbow from Lina's hand, placed it at his feet, and then grabbed Lina and pinned her against the tree.
Before Lina could react, she was enveloped in a scorching heat in front of her, creating a contrasting sensation of fire and ice against the rough, cold tree trunk behind her.
Lina reacted and naturally wrapped her arms around Daryl's neck, clinging to him.
His stubble was really prickly, Lina thought vaguely.
If it weren't for the inconvenient timing and location, Lina would actually have brought a baby carrier, but she didn't want to go into the jungle; it was a bit scary.
Lina felt Daryl's rough hands rubbing back and forth on her waist, with a subtle upward tendency.
Lina lightly bit Daryl's lower lip, her lips lingering on his, and mumbled, "Don't take off my clothes."
Daryl reluctantly withdrew his hand and, through Lina's clothes, stroked her back. Even through the clothes, Lina could feel the calluses on his hand, tickling her back as it rubbed against her skin, causing Lina's toes to curl up involuntarily.
Hmm, Lina's heart was itching, her eyes welled up with tears, and she glared angrily at Daryl, wondering why he had to provoke her here!
Lina angrily fixed her gaze on Daryl's Adam's apple, and mischievously gave it a light bite, determined to make things difficult for both of them!
Daryl grunted and hugged Lina tightly. He behaved himself now; who knew what mischief Lina would get up to if he provoked her again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
