Glancing at my watch I stalked out the door, figurin' that the light was gonna be gone. As I passed the alley I felt sweaty hands grab me and yank me back. My back hit the wall and I looked up at my attackers face. He was huge; my eyes were literally level with his breast bone. He clamped a hand on my mouth and jerked his head to the side, motioning to the pack of walkers heading by. I growled against his hand and froze, thankfully there was only three or four and they passed us by with no notice. Pushing the asshole who grabbed me away I Grabbed my crossbow from where it had fallen and started to stalk away.
"Wha', no thanks for saving your purty little ass?" I froze, instantly flashing back to my brothers friends, back before he lost his wife and baby, back when he still smiled. His friend had grabbed me and kept me from falling on a step, instead of letting go he had dragged me to the shed and rapped me. Annabel-Lee had found me hours later. Merle was furious and beat the shit outta the man. That was the same thing he said to me right before he took me dry the first time. When I came to I was curled in the big man's arms crying into his shoulder, begging my attacker to stop. He was carefully keeping watch to make sure the noise wasn't attracting any walkers but at the same time he held me securely and made soft, comforting shushing sounds. His hugs reminded me of Merles before Annabel-Lee. Eventually I calmed enough that I could pull back with a shy, mumbled thanks.
"um, who're ya?" I looked up at eyes that were so blue they reminded me of the ocean just after a storm. A full beard in the darkest black I had ever seen framed his face. I was average in height, but this guy towered over me by about 9 inches and outweighed me by at least 200 pounds. He was dressed in worn but decent jeans and a cotton wife beater under a flannel plaid shirt. Redneck truckdriver if his cap is anything to go by. Having made a full review of him I stepped back completely and nodded my head in thanks. He smiled.
"My names Benjamin Harris. I just got back home to Atlanta from a long haul when the zombie shit started. I been slowly makin' my way outta town to a huntin' cabin I have but I ain't had much luck. It's hard by myself." I looked up at him for a moment then offered a shy smile.
"My names Daryl Dixon. We have a group, just outside of Atlanta. If you want you can join us there for a little bit. My brother Merle can be a bit of a jackass now that his wifes gone, but iffin he's sober then he'll be decent. Rick and Shane were officers before and they are unofficially officially in charge. We're rag tag but we've survived okay so far." He studied me then nodded. Stooping, he grabbed the backpack, machete, and guns that I hadn't noticed, then handed me the crossbow I had once again dropped. I took it then took off. He easily kept up, which surprised me given his size, must've been all muscle. It only took us a couple hours before we got there. Shane and Rick were walking the perimeter, Shane had his arm wrapped around Ricks shoulder. Lori was wrapped around Glenn, Andrea was curled up against Dale, and surprisingly enough Merle was holding a crying Amy. When I walked into camp everyone jumped to their feet.
I startled slightly at the sudden movement but stepped into the firelight, Ben following me easily. Merle immediately slid away from Amy, after kissing her brow, and rushed me. Grabbing me into a fierce hug he told me about the group of raiders they fended off while hearing all about the crossbow wielding redneck the shot. I simply hugged back, enjoying my big brothers comforting embrace. When Merle stepped back Shane and Rick stepped forward, both had hands on their guns, ironically Shane was Left handed and Rick was right.
"Who's your friend?" Shane's eyebrow was up in his hairline and Rick kept glancing up at Shane.
"His names Benjamin Harris, he saved me when I almost walked into a group of walkers. I offered him a safe place to stay."
"That wasn't your place Dixon." Shane's low growl caused me to imperceptibly flinch back; the stranger stepped forward and slightly in front of me. Merle immediately stood at his side blocking me from view.
"I don' wan' no trouble, but don' threaten him. He obviously hunts and does some of the runs for you. His brother looks sober and doesn' look to happy, back off Walsh." I cocked my head to the side and gently tapped on his shoulder. He turned slightly and looked at me with questioning eyes.
"How do ya know Shane?" He smiled slightly at my shy phrasing, obviously recognizing that my attack from earlier had seriously knocked my confidence.
"Shane Walsh and Rick Grimes, both Sheriffs Deputies, my brother was a druggie, they did a bust and he was there, got shot doin' something stupid. Now that's all well and good but Shane here wouldn't let me take the body, had him cremated and then sent off somewhere. That is how I know him. But it doesn't matter anymore. He's dead. Now, Daryl has said it was okay, I'll take his word for it and join him and his brothers' area of camp, providin' that it's okay with you Merle?"
At that he turned his gaze to Merle, patiently waiting for a response. Merle nodded once, shortly, and then grabbed my wrist and dragged me back to our camp area. Ben followed quietly, ignoring everyone. Me and Merle shared a tent because we only had one, but now that Amy was in the picture I didn't know what I was gonna do. The tent was large, spacious even, our campfire ring was neat, kept clean by me, the woodpile was nicely stocked, kept full by Merle, there was a clothesline, and a bucket with a washboard in it neatly at the base of a tree, our campsite was neat and clean. Our cookware was neatly stacked in a wooden box that had been built by our pa for him and ma's 25th anniversary. Of course no one ever believed that our folks weren't drunks and that they did love us. My scars came from the only relationship that I ever had, a marine officer by the name of Roy Black, he was closeted and hated himself for being gay. I took the brunt of that hate, or at least I did until Merle found out what he was doin'.
"Daryl, I got you somethin', it's in the truck." He turned to Ben and started talking to him. I shrugged and headed to the truck, setting my crossbow leaning up against the bottom of the door I leaned across the seat to where the large box was. Opening it I grinned from ear to ear. Inside was the nicest tent I ever saw, a military grade sleeping bag, arrows, bow cleaner and lubricant, a men's toiletry set, a towel, a new pair of boots in my size, and some new socks. With a whoop I spun around and tackled my brother. Thankfully he was in a good mood so I didn't get the shit beat outta me but rather a hug and soft happy birthday whispered into my ear. Grinning I stepped back and smiled at Glenn, he shrugged and smiled back. Amy came over and touched Merles arm.
"Can we tell them, please Merle?" He looked down at her and immediately capitulated.
"Daryl, Glenn, Carol, Rick, Dale, Andrea, and everybody else, Amy wants to tell you that we are in a relationship, we said our 'vows' to each other last night, and in this world that's the closest to a marriage we can get. Amy knows about my past and doesn't care. Anybody caught disrespectin' her will deal with me and/or Daryl." At this his eyes cut to Ed Peletier and then to Shane. I nodded and dropped my hand to the hunting knife fastened onto my belt, a gift for my 16th birthday from Merle. The two that it was directed at looked down with jawlines tense. Carol had Sophia and Carl; she was tending to the fire and dinner while also helping the kids with some basic schoolwork. She was keeping her head down hoping to avoid her husband's notice. Ben was standing off to the side, carefully watching everyone, sizing up who would be useful and who would be a hindrance. I didn't blame him.
Turning my back on the group I went to the truck and scrambled inside to grab the box and haul it out. I slid out, missed the running board and fell with the box landing on top of me. Letting out a groan I pushed it off and opened it again. Grabbing the new boots, socks, toiletries, towel, and then I grabbed my crossbow and headed down to the quarry for a bath. Quickly scanning the area I stripped and waded into the bathing area. There was a rock formation that jutted out and formed a shelf so I could set my towel and toiletries down on it. Ducking under water I came back up and started washing myself off. Finally I was scrubbed clean, and started shaving. I hated always having a scruff and I was ecstatic that Merle had found an old style shaving razor so that I could always shave. Once my chin and jawline was clear I stood up and dried off while walking to shore.
I had just reached the waterline when I felt hands grab me. I turned, thinking it was Merle or Amy, instead it was a walker whose mouth was heading straight for my arm. I screamed and jerked back. Then there were four more, I scrambled backwards towards where my crossbow was but tripped and fell. There were hands and snarling teeth and then I was jerked free, naked, wet, and trembling. Looking up I saw Merle, Ben, and Glenn killing the last of the Walkers. When it was done Glenn gathered up the items I had dropped, handed them to me, nodded, then headed back to the camp. Merle immediately dropped to his knees and pulled me close. I sat there shivering, not making a move to cover myself up. Suddenly I felt warm cotton being dropped around my shoulders, it was Bens. I gently slid away from Merle and pulled it on, buttoning it as I stood. The Shirt covered me from neck to just above my knees and I was swimming in it. One side kept slipping down and revealing my neck and shoulder. It had the effect of making me look vulnerable. I sighed and smiled my thanks at him. He nodded curtly and just stood there. Merle grabbed me again and quickly pulled me to our campsite, pushing me into the tent so that I could change. Bens shadow never moved from just beside the door, keeping watch I guess.