CHAPTER I: A NEW HOME
I hadn't seen him in the two days we've been in the prison. The first day, just when I saw him, I saw he was the one I was looking for, but before I could even spoke to him, he was gone, and I didn't saw him anymore. I knew all the others; Rick was the leader of the group, an honest, and kind and quite of attractive man, Carl was his 12"year"old son, and I heard he had a baby too, but I hadn't seen him. Hershel was the doctor, he was a vet, actually, and I hadn't had a moment yet to talk to him, but he seemed a quite nice old man. His daughters, Beth and Maggie, were maybe the people I had intimate the most, and Maggie's fiancé Glenn, they treated me pretty good. Carol was there too, a woman with a short, grey hair and a sad expression, I've only interact a couple of times with her. And Michonne and Andrea, sure, I knew them from Woodbury.
And at last there was him, Daryl. He has to be him. He wasn't as I expected, but he had that badass look that he shared with his older brother. At the sunset of the second day I saw him, just in the opposite side of the prison, sitting on the floor against the railing, sharpening a knife. He had his brown, dirty hair all messy, a sleeveless shirt, a leather waistcoat, some dark jeans and a pair of black biker leather boots.
"Hey." I told Maggie and Carol, who were leaning in the banister with Andrea.
"Hi, Alicia!" Maggie said "How's the movin' goin'?"
I smiled.
"I've finished."
"I'm glad to hear that."
Andrea wasn't even looking at me. We didn't like each other much.
" I wanted to ask you guys…" I said, going beside Maggie and pointing at Daryl in the distance. "Who's that guy?"
Maggie raised an eyebrow at me.
" That's Daryl. Did you knew Merle?"
" Oh, yes she did." Andrea said.
Maggie frowned, surprised.
" Well, Daryl's his little brother, though they aren't similar at all."
I looked at Daryl.
" He doesn't seem an asshole like Merle was."
Carol smiled.
" He's not. He's quite a loner…"
I pressed my lips and went down to the floor, jumping from bellow the banister.
" I'm goin' to talk with him."
" You probably just bother him…" Carol said. I shrugged my shoulders and I went to his way.
When I was just at a few steps from him, he looked up, examining me. I was wearing a black T-shirt and some denim shorts with a pair of mountain boots. My long loosed black hair was floating with the wind and I had to remove it from my face. He raised his eyebrows. Wow, he was handsome. He had amazing blue eyes, and well defined lips, rounded by an unshaven goatee. He had a strong complexion and broad shoulders, his arms were strong, awesome muscles. Damn, he was a hell of a man. In front of him, on the floor, there was a crossbow.
" Hello." I said, smiling.
" Hi." He responded, looking at me confused.
" Can I have a sit?" I asked, pointing at floor beside him. He shrugged his shoulders, so I sit down. "You are Daryl, aren't you?"
" Yep." He said, and turned his head to look at my face. It seems that he was gonna look me passing me by, going back to his knife as soon as he could, but he kept staring at me, his blue eyes piercing my green eyes, and he leaned on the railing.
" I'm Alicia." I said, offering him my hand. He looked at it, trustless, but then he shook it, strongly. "Wow, you'd strong hands."
He shrugged his shoulders, letting slowly go my hand.
" Yours' soft."
I inclined my head.
" Thanks, but it's better to have strong ones." I said, looking at the crossbow. "That's the only way you can handle this…" I said, stretching out my hand, but Daryl took my wrist.
"Don't touch it."
I smiled. I knew this kind of men. They were tough and strong, sure, and they never needed anyone's help. Actually they turned into that 'cause no one's ever helped them or let them show any weakness, so they wore a shield 24/7. Just my type. Damn.
" Ouch." I said, and he let go my wrist, almost closing his eyes a moment, looking how I was rubbing my wrist with the other hand.
" Didn't mean to harm you." He said. "Just…"
I laughed, and he looked at me confused.
" Don't worry. I understand. I neither let anybody touch my axes. They're like an extension of my arms. It's ok."
He raised his eyebrows.
"¿You fight Walkers with axes?"
I smiled.
"Fuck, yeah. I'm not a good shooter with a gun or a bow. Even less a crossbow."
He giggled a little.
"It has its trouble."
"One day you'll teach me." I said.
He looked at me, raising an eyebrow.
"That doesn't sound like a question."
"It wasn't. One day you'll teach me. You'll see."
He stared at me puzzled for a second and then he went back to his knife. I cleared my throat.
"Actually I wanted to talk with ya." I said. "Well, I was Merle's friend, there in Woodbury."
Daryl didn't look at me.
"No offense, woman, but Merle ever had any friend like ya in all his life."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Well, we get quite well with each other, and he told me about ya several times."
It seemed he went paler in a second.
"I don't get how ya get well with Merle."
I pulled a face.
"I feel sympathy to the people that save my ass, even they're misogynic suckers. No offense."
He smiled and looked at me. Fuck, he had a really beautiful smile.
"Ya're not offendin' anybody. Merle was a dick. But he was my brother."
I moved my head.
"So he died." I sighed. Just as I feared.
"Yup."
"¿How?"
Daryl bit his lower lip. This man was a living temptation.
"Don't wanna talk 'bout that."
I smiled.
"You don't want to. But I wanna hear it, and you need to tell someone."
He looked at me, directly into my eyes and I kept his look, trying to seem self"confident.
"He went into an ambush they made for us, alone. He wanted to kill the Governor. He killed eight of Governor's men, but not him. When I get there…" he closed his eyes" When I get there he was turned into one of them.
I closed my eyes. I put my hand in Daryl's shoulder (his warm tanned muscled shoulder) and I felt how he got rigid under my touch.
"That's crap." I said.
"Yeah." He said.
"Did you kill him?"
He nodded, and although he didn't say a thing, I felt he was more comfortable underneath my hand. He looked at me, puzzled.
"Who the hell are ya?" He said, almost laughing.
"Well, I told you. I'm Alicia." I smiled at him, the loveliest smile I could make. He laughed. He had a really beautiful laugh. I took off my pocket a package of cigarettes and I offered him. He looked at it, and then he nodded.
"Sure. Why not?" He said, taking one. We lit them and we looked at each other. My heart jumped. "So…"
"So I was on Woodbury. I just moved here with the rest, you guys built here somethin' quite similar to a home." I took a drag.
Daryl frowned, looking at me, and then he raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth.
"Yeah, now I know ya!" He said. "Ya were that girl hid in that dirty cellar, right? Ya look different know."
"Well, I'm cleaned now. Yeah, that was me."
"Why ya were there?" He asked, taking a drag.
I grimaced.
"Well, that's a long story… let's just say I hate the Governor just as you and your group."
He frowned.
"But ya said Merle was friend of yours. How's that?"
I smiled.
"Are you friends with Andrea?"
He nodded.
"Yup, I guess so."
I raised an eyebrow.
"I ain't. But I can be friend of yours, don't you think?"
"Dunno. Yeah." He nodded.
"Well, that's it. Merle and the Governor were friends, and Merle and I were friends, but I hate the Governor and I guess he doesn't like me a lot…" I laughed. "Well, he doesn't like me at all."
Daryl breathed out a puff of smoke.
"Merle was nice to ya?"
I smiled.
"Well, he was Merle. He wasn't nice, he was just… him." I shrugged my shoulders. "You liked him or you hated him. He seemed funny to me. He made me laugh."
Daryl nodded.
"I can tell why he liked ya."
I raised my eyebrows, smiling.
"Why's that?"
He shrugged his shoulders. I laughed.
"You're not like I expected." I said. "Merle talked about you like his little brother, and I always imagined you… Don't know…"
"I guess Merle told ya I was a pussy." He said.
"Nah. He missed ya."
We kept smoking in silence, both of us thinking about Merle. I could notice he was upset.
"You know, Merle tried to convince the Governor to let me kill walkers with the rest of the guards or the explorers that looked for food and supplies."
"Really?"
"Yup. But he didn't let me. 'Cause I tried to run away a couple of times, you know…"
He smiled.
"Ya wanted ta kill walkers?"
I nodded.
"Hell yeah."
"They don't scare ya?"
"Well, sure, but before I arrived to the town I was on my own and I was getting by quite well. Being locked up at that town was… frustrating, somehow."
He nodded, like he understood me.
"Ya were alone?"
"Yup."
"How's that?"
I smiled.
"Well, it's easy, everybody died."
He seemed uncomfortable.
"Oh. I'm sorry."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"Don't be. That's how things are now."
He looked at me, biting his lip.
"What?" I said.
"Ya know, Rick's makin' groups, organizin' the people, now that this is crowded. I could tell him to put ya in a huntin' group or cleanin' up of Walkers the other wing of the prison."
I smiled as we got up and started walking to the rest of the people.
"You serious?" I said, looking at him hopeful. "But I don't know how to hunt, actually."
He laughed.
"Ok. Then killin' fuckin' Walkers."
I giggled.
"You're awesome as fuck, Daryl Dixon!" I said, and I gave him a quick hug.
He shook his head.
"Whatever. Let me talk with him."
"Ok, I'll be around. See ya!"
I went up the stairs to the banister where Maggie, Carol and Andrea were.
"Hi girls." I said.
Maggie smiled at me.
"How was it with Daryl? You both seemed to get quite well with each other."
I smiled.
"Yeah. He's nice." I said. "And the sexiest man alive in this whole damn world, right?"
Carol and Maggie laughed.
"What?"
"That's what you think?"
"Oh, yeah. He's…" I looked at him, he was arriving to the big group of people reunited in the yard, Rick in the middle. He walked slowly; he had a nice butt too. Oh, my. I wasn't expecting to meet a guy like him.
"Don't know if you're his type of girl." Andrea said. I smiled.
"Well, he's single, huh?"
"Yes, he is." Carol said.
"Is he gay?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Then I have a chance."
"Whatever." Andrea said. "Brother to brother, huh?"
I laughed. Daryl came closer to us and motioned me with one hand to come to him. Oh, here I go, baby. I jumped to the floor from below the banister.
"In fact," I said when I landed, walking to Daryl, turning my head to look at Andrea. "I ain't the one that was fucking a psycho, so you maybe should shut the fuck up."
She gasped and turned around, going inside the prison.
Daryl frowned at me.
"What was that 'bout?" He said when I arrived to him. I shrugged my shoulders.
"Told you. We're not friends."
"'k. Let's talk with Rick."
Rick was quite busy, so we waited, and I saw Hershel sitting in a wood box near Rick. I went to him.
"Hey." I said, he looked at me. He looked like a nice granddad. "How's the leg?"
He smiled.
"Healed. It's fine now."
I smiled.
"You didn't have any pain?"
"Not anymore. You seem young to be a doctor. Maybe you're a nurse?" He asked.
I laughed.
"No, I wish. But I read a lot of medicine books when I was bored."
Daryl looked at me.
"So, ya know 'bout medicine?"
I nodded.
"Little bit. I healed myself a couple of times. Take a look." I said and I raised my t-shirt to show him a scar above my navel.
"Wow." He cleared his throat. "Looks well."
"It's healed now. But I thought I was gonna die." I said, laughing.
"How's that funny?" Daryl said, still looking my scar.
"It's not. But I'm happy I survived."
"How did you make that? It seem like it was a really bad wound." Hershel said.
"Some guy with a knife, in Dolton. He tried to assault me. I have more, but I won't show you." I said smiling. "I don't want Dixon to blush." I joked.
Daryl pushed me softly.
"Shut up, woman."
"Just kidding." I said, and I winked at him.
It seemed that Daryl flushed a little, but he turned away and I couldn't see his face as good as I would like.
"Hey, Daryl." Rick said, coming to us. "Mmmmm… Alicia, right?"
"Right." I said. "Hi boss."
Rick giggled.
"The girl wants ta be in the cleanin' team. Slayin' walkers." Daryl said.
"Well, ok." Rick said. "But we won't do that until some weeks. That's a lot to do first."
"Ok." I said. "I just wanna be there when you guys do it."
"If you agree, Rick, I think this girl would be useful in the infirmary with me." Hershel said.
"That's ok with me." Rick said. "You agree, Alicia?"
I shrugged my shoulders.
"I guess so. But I'm not a real nurse. I don't know if I will be useful to you, Doc."
"Actually, I'm a vet." Hershel said. "And if you could stitch yourself like that, I'm sure you'll be fine."
"Ok."
"It won't take your whole day, so you'll have a lot of free time."
"Like all of us." Daryl said.
"Maybe someday you can teach me to hunt." I said to Daryl, with an innocent glint in my eyes.
"Maybe." Daryl said, but it seemed that he was trying not to smile.
