Hello everyone. It's weird writing a story about something that's not Teen Titans and I find it a little stranger to be writing about people, not cartoons but I've read so many of your wonderful Walking Dead fics that I had to write one too. I'm obsessed with the show and of course like everyone else obsessed with Daryl. I read a lot of things, fanfics and articles and such about his character and I really studied him while watching the series. I'm trying to write him to the best of my ability in a way I think he would act and behave.
That being said this is my first Walking Dead fic but I hope everyone likes it. The romance is not going to be there right away but I promise it will eventually.
The highway was quiet as the first trucked pulled up on its lonely corpse filled streets. Rick, Carl and Hershel exited the vehicle and took in their surroundings. The place was just like he remembered it, a graveyard of human and machine bodies. The young boy hopped onto the hood of the truck and climbed to its roof lookin around him. He pulled out his binoculars and made a complete 360 looking for any sign of life.
Nothing. There was no one there, no one coming.
"We have to keep moving" The sheriff said aloud. The boy shook his head
"We can't leave mom"
"Carl" he started
"No we have to wait for mom and the others" He demanded
"He's right Rick, maybe they'll find their way here. I have to wait for my girls" Hershel spoke
Just then a soft moan came from in front of Rick. He drew his knife and signaled for the other two to get down. Carl lay down on the top of the van while Hershel slid down to the road and held his gun close to him. The walker limped over to where Rick was standing and right when it realized there was food; Rick already had a knife in its skull. It fell to the ground and remained still.
"This is why we can't stay" Rick whispered gesturing to the body. "There are bound to be more" The boy got down from the top of the truck and looked his father in the eyes.
"I won't leave mom" Carl answered from atop the roof. Rick sighed heavily and looked at the boy who was trying so hard to be brave. After everything that the kid had seen, the dead coming back to life, people being eaten alive, the death of little Sophia, the kid was trying his hardest to be like everyone else in the group.
Rick knelt down to his son and looked in the eyes. How could he tell him that his momma was most likely dead? He would be surprised if anyone managed to make it away from that hell.
"It's not safe here" He finally spoke. The boy dropped his gaze and shook his head. That was it then? His mother was gone.
His father suddenly turned around and looked to meet his gaze. He couldn't see anything on account of all the cars but then he heard it. In the silence of mid day he could hear the rumbling, and it was familiar to him. It sounded like….a bike?
His father smiled and he knew something was alright.
Just then Daryl rode in on his brother's bike with Carol on his back. What a hell of night that was riding through the forest collecting all them people. Two other cards were trailing behind slowing to a stop and parking when they got to the road.
Daryl reached the road and cut the engine of the bike. The woman at his back unwrapped her arms from his waist and stepped off going to hug Carl. His hand met with Rick's when he came over and then the other two vehicles came behind him. Beth and Maggie came flying at Hershel while Glenn stepped out the car wiping his forehead.
"Oh thank god" Lori cried bolting from the car and hugging Carl and her husband. T-Dog hung from the door of the car watching with a smile as everyone came together.
They all looked around saw what was going on. Hope. There was finally a sense that something was going right in the world when somehow all of them had managed to come back together.
"How'd everyone get here" Rick asked
"I found em all zig zagging through the forest and led em here" Daryl spoke.
"Were all that's made it" The sheriff spoke.
"Shane?" Lori asked. There was a long pause but Rick finally shook his head. She would find out eventually but now was not the time. Her head fell in defeat.
"Andrea?" Glenn's voice asked
"She saved my life then I lost her" Carol spoke.
"We saw her go down" T-Dog spoke morosely.
"Are you sure?" Carol asked. When no one answered Daryl started to jump back on his bike.
"Imma go back" Daryl spoke.
"No" Rick commanded "You can't go back. She's either far away from there or she's dead"
"Let's just move on. We need a plan" The sheriff spoke. "Where's the map"
Carol, Lori, Beth and Carl stood back and watched everyone else try and debate a plan on where to go. The farm was completely taken over and there was no real idea on which direction the giant herd would move. After Shane started to go haywire his position of second in command fell to the gruff foul tempered Daryl but Rick still had the biggest say in what happened to everyone.
"I say we go east, towards the coast" T-Dog motioned.
"What about Nebraska?" Glenn asked.
"Could be a good idea" Rick answered "But let's weigh our options. Nebraska would be a long trip, and we don't have the luxury of wasting fuel"
They all nodded and the debating continued
Carol sighed heavily as she looked at her surroundings. It was lonely, dead and everything smelled terrible. But there were no signs of any walkers yet, but she knew they would be here soon and by nightfall it would be suicide to stay here. The debating was still going on however. She looked to the members of the group but found that she couldn't draw her gaze away from a certain man in a winged jacket.
She wandered across the field of the one peaceful farm. The only light she had on this terrible night was the beams of orange light from the barn that had been set on fire. She was alone. Andrea had saved her life and then she lost her. The moans of dead were everywhere around her and she found herself slowing down. She had been running away from them all night. She gasped and turned around to see a large group of them still stumbling quickly towards her. They were catching up to her faster then she could run away.
She turned the gun on them and aimed at one of their rotten heads. She pressed the trigger but instead of a shot, she heard the devastating sound of a click. She whimpered as she turned around and held the empty gun to her, fleeing in the opposite direction. She sobbed heavily as she tried to keep running. She looked over her shoulder to see that they were closer to her now. She looked all around her and fled towards the fence that was ahead. One of them managed to touch her wrist in an attempt to get her and she screamed out.
Help she cried. But she was afraid that no one could hear her. Maybe the others were already dead. Maybe they had left her here to die. No they wouldn't do that, they would leave because they thought she was dead right? No one would come back to save poor Carol. She struggled keep her pace as her breathing got heavier from all the running, the smell of decay, the smoke in the air. The fence was so close to her. She could see it now. But what she could also see was walkers. They were stumbling around absent mindedly. They didn't rush around like the ones on the farm. They just waited in case a hopeless straggler like her came along, dumb enough to find herself in their midst, trapped, alone and without any ammo.
So this is how it was supposed to end. She looked towards the sky. She was a religious woman, she prayed all the time for her daughter's safety and her own. Why then had God done this to them? Why was this in his plan? Why was Sophia part of his plan? She only hoped that it wouldn't hurt for too long, and then she would be able to see her daughter again. She wandered to the edge of the field where the fence was and saw the opening in it. She had just a few feet of space before there were more walkers.
That's when she heard the low steady rumble that was coming towards her. A single headlight shone through the darkness of the night and she was nearly blinded by it, but she ran towards it. She heard the moaning behind her but she was relieved when she saw Daryl upon the bike. He slowed it to a crawl.
"C'mon we don't have all day" He spoke gruffly. She nodded and swung her leg over the seat of the bike, kicking a walker in the face in the process. She heard something that sounded like an amused chuckle come from him. Her hands were around his thin waist and before she knew it they were speeding off down the gravel road. The walkers tried to keep up with the machine but they couldn't. She gripped his waist tighter as they picked up speed and placed her cheek against his back.
"Thank you" She whispered and she knew she wasn't talking to God this time.
"Heading east would be suicide" she finally heard Rick say. She snapped out of her flashback and looked at her surroundings. Still in the same hell hole of a highway.
T-Dog slumped in defeat but nodded. Rick was right of course.
"If we head east were eventually going to be cut off by the coast. We can't be backed against the wall like that and we sure as hell aren't going to swim or find some magic boat"
"Even if we could get offa the mainlain, the hole worl's infected. We won't find no savior across the sea" Daryl agreed. The group around him nodded. The Dixon boy never really had a lot of say in this group at first. They all thought he was crazy redneck, and while that may be true it was his decision to become a major role in this group. Rick saw something in him and compared to Shane he knew he was a whole lot better for this group. Rick trusted him.
"Daryl's right. And so is Glenn. This side of the country isn't safe. The whole world isn't safe anymore but at least out west, the population is more spread out then these crowded cities. We don't go as far out as California but we don't go down to Texas"
"What about up north?" Maggie suggested
Rick thought about it for a moment. "That might work. If we go up towards Canada, the Dakotas, somewhere around in that area it could be better."
"The further north we go the colder its going to get" Hershel spoke out.
"That could slow the walkers down" Glenn responded
"But it also means we'll have to be prepare for the cold. Winter is already coming here and we are not ready for it. It may be a while before we get up that way but it'll turn winter again and it'll be colder then the Midwest" Hershel spoke.
Rick sighed heavily looking to the people around him. They were counting on his and he didn't want to let them down.
"Alright here's what were going to do" He said and paused "Daryl get the others over here" He spoke. Daryl nodded hitched his crossbow over his shoulder and walked to get the others.
Carol closed her eyes a sighed heavily. There wasn't even any wind this morning to tone down the already hot Georgia sun. She heard the footfalls of someone approaching and saw that Daryl was coming towards the group.
"C'mon" He spoke gruffly to the whole group. "Were getting ready ta move"
The group nodded and walked past him and towards the rest of the group circled around the hood of the car where the map resided. His eyes lingered on the scared blue eyes of Carol locking gazes with her. His gaze was comforting, in an odd sort of way. He had no emotion on his face that even resembled understanding or compassion but somehow she felt….better. She nodded and he dropped her gaze, turning around and heading back towards the group. When she caught up she stood just behind him wiping her sleeve to her forehead.
"Everyone" Rick's voice broke the ongoing conversations. "We've decide that in the best interest of everyone in this group that to survive we need to get out of George and away from the east coast. It's too populated and so were going to head out west and then to the north"
"But it'll be cold up there" Beth squirmed.
"And wont that be bad for the baby?" Lori asked palming her stomach.
"Winter is already almost here. Even as we move west it will get colder, were going to have to deal with the cold sooner or later, and were going to have deal with it as it comes" He answered. Lori looked to Hershel.
"Listen to Rick on this one. Everyone will be fine as long as we can get some supplies somewhere" The old man spoke
"But what if we can't?" She fired back. "If you haven't noticed, the world has gone to hell here and were not the only ones trying to survive. We night never come across those kinds of things, let alone enough food, water, medical supplies"
"We'll just keep moving. Never stay long in one place, always looking for opportunities for supplies. We knew this day would come that we would have to move on and start living like this again. We didn't think it would be so soon but it is what it is and we have to deal with it
Lori hung her head in defeat. He was right; there wasn't a way to avoid this.
"And we may not eat like kings but we'll always have food. We know Daryl here to be a good hunter" he said gesturing towards his second in command. He nodded with a gruff.
"Now did anyone manage to get some supplies out?" He asked looking amongst the survivors.
"We managed to pull a bag of some linen, a few blankets, some medicine, some food and few kitchen essentials" Beth spoke meekly.
"Glenn and I don't have much, we have what was in the car and some stuff that I carried from the house" Maggie spoke.
They certainly didn't have much going for them.
"What about weapons? Ammo?" The sheriff asked. Everyone displayed their weapons. Most of which were low on ammo or completely out.
"The gun bag?" He asked and everyone shook their heads. No one seemed to have it. Rick sighed.
"We'll deal without it. We'll have to find substitutes on road"
He looked around to the group of survivors. They were defeated, exhausted, scared and hungry and right now there was nothing much they could do.
"We better get a move on. Try and find some place to maybe settle down in before it gets dark" He spoke. The group nodded and started to break away.
As they were getting ready to depart from the highway which they spent so much time on Carol found herself standing behind the blue car where there were cans and bottles piled on the back end of it. She whimpered to herself, trying to stifle back any more tears that were making their way down her cheeks. She swept the items they had left for her baby girl into a sack that had other food items in it and when she was done set it on the ground.
She just stared for a moment. The white writing of their message to help her find her way home was faded with the rain. Only a few words could be made out. The one that caught her attention was the name of her daughter. Only weeks, or was it days ago her little girl was trapped under that car right beside her and lost to her. She never blamed it on Rick; he was trying his best to save her.
And Daryl. He had done everything he could to try and find her little girl. He was in the woods constantly, trying to track her down. He had found her doll, the best piece of evidence in finding her and he did it out of what? Compassion? Maybe. It would be hard to believe that the Dixon boy had any compassion in him. He seemed too rough for that. But then why was he so compelled to try and find her daughter.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and fought the urge not to scream. She expected a walker but found herself face to face but none other the Daryl. His mouth was pulled back in a frown and his eyes were focused on the words in front of him.
"It'll be okay" He spoke finally and then paused, choosing his words. "I'm sorry bout your little girl" He tried not to notice the tears coming down her cheeks. Crying always seemed to bother him and he sure as hell wasn't used to it. No one in his family ever cried cept his mother and look how that turned out.
"It's okay" She answered him with a forced smile. "She's in a better place" Looking up towards the sky.
He looked up himself, wondering why anyone would believe in a god now, but to each their own.
"Time ta go" He mumbled. She nodded wiping he eyes and nose with the sleeve of her shirt. She looked at the car one last time before turned around and following him towards the rest of the group.
"Coming with us Carol?" Lori asked settling herself in the front seat of the red truck which Rick was driving. In the back was Hershel, Beth and Carl.
"No, I was gonna go with Daryl" she spoke, finding his face. His face was indifferent but he nodded with a short grunt and sat down on his bike starting the engine. Lori gave a quick smile and turned around to talk to Carl.
Carol looked around and saw that T-Dog had taken the liberty of driving the Hyundai with Glenn in the driver side and Maggie in the back. The suv had become the carrier of all the supplies.
"Hold on woman" he spoke. She pressed her knees together, wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her forehead to his back. The red truck pulled away from the wreckage first followed by the suv and Daryl bringing up the rear of the group. His eyes were trained on not just the road in front of him but to both of his sides, looking for walkers as they sped down the highway. There were a few stragglers here and there but they never came close to the group as they sped away.
Of all the shit in the world and all of the things that he dealt with, past or present nothing seemed comparable to the mess they were in. Day to day survival was the new way of life and for a lot of people this wasn't normal. He'd spent months alone, wandering the forest when he was a kid but there were never dead people rising and tryin to eat him.
In the midst of this apocalypse the thought had occurred to him that he and his brother were still completely alone and when his brother hadn't been found in the city that day, well that just left one Dixon boy to defend for himself. And although he'd much rather keep to himself, these people, these group of strangers, though still weary of him, were accepting of him and now looked upon him as someone important. In a way, these people were family. The thought might not have been there before, but he was starting to accept it especially after that little girl.
His blood began to boil when he thought of that son of a bitch who wanted to call off the search for Sophia. Who gives up their hopes on a child? He certainly wasn't no family man, or really that compassionate but she deserved a chance. This brought another unknown feeling to him. The way that he had taken on trying to find Sophia, how he tried to instill hope into her scared mother. Why did that come so naturally to him? He'd always been an emotionless hick from the hills. No love from his family and certainly none in return. But he wanted to protect that little girl and bring her back to her mother knowing that she was suffering, maybe more than any of them other people.
He felt her shift against his back and her conjoined hands that were around his waist settled lower down across his thighs. Something stirred in him but he shook it off, concentrating on the road and the area around him rather than his dumb ass thoughts.
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Hours of riding later he noticed the brake lights ahead of him and slowly came to a stop pulling up alongside Rick.
"According to the map and to Hershel there's supposed to be some kind of small little town right up the road from here. Daryl nodded and looked around him, the place seemed quiet for the moment, and he couldn't make out any walkers.
"What're we doin?" He asked
"We'll ride up a bit further and then get out and scavenged the town on foot. See if there's anything there. We'll talk about where were staying for tonight when we get done"
He nodded as the car pulled forward. Carol waved to little Carl inside the truck before they were already up the road, the suv following them.
"Do you think they'll be anything up there?" She asked him
"Don't know. Guess wul find out" he spoke pushing the bike forward and speeding up to catch the others. The forest around her blurred by and she found that if she looked out that she got dizzy. She sighed heavily and pressed her cheek against his back and closed her eyes.
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She wasn't asleep, there was no way to fall asleep on while riding on the humming vehicle below her, but she did day dream and at first everything was perfect. She remembered the sun and her house and her life before this with Sophia before the world had gone to complete and utter hell. But her daydream was not perfect because in it was Ed. The man that she thought she was in love. He said he was there to protect her, but all he did was knock around, hit her and tell her what to do. He didn't even like their daughter. It was always the same with him do as your told or get punished. She remembered all the slaps across her face he had given her and then she forced herself to open her eyes.
He was never going to be there again, but no matter where she went or how long she lived he'd always be with her. She noticed that the bike was slowing down and tried to peak around the narrow back on the man in front of her. She released her grip from around his waist and tightened her knees against the seat. She couldn't see much around him but she was able to see the brake lights ahead of her.
"Here" He spoke and then cut the engine to the bike, not wanting to draw any more attention to the area.
She released her grip and hopped off the bike. Her legs were wobbly under her from the hours of holding onto the bike. She stood there for a moment stretching her muscles and trying to regain her footing. She watched as Daryl grabbed his crossbow from the bike and turned to face her. He stared at her for a minute his eyes locking with hers before shuffling around to the side of the bike and grabbing a bottle from the side pouch. He held it out to her which she accepted and took a sip. Knowing that water was precious right now and they had to ration everything.
She placed it back in the pouch where he got it from and then met his gaze again. She found herself never wanting to look away from his steel blue eyes. After a moment he involuntarily sniffed and gestured for her to follow him. He had already turned his back when she found herself nodding. How silly she must look, acting stunned. She quickly regained her composed and followed him to where the group had convened.
"It was once a little trade post before the world came to this" Hershel was saying when she met up with the group.
"If anyone hasn't picked it clean. There should be most of the basics here. Food, water, medicine, maybe even some leisurely items" He spoke
"Not like they're really necessary now tho" Lori spoke gravely.
"The old man shrugged. We gotta keep some sort of enlightenment
"Yeah and all the books were in the RV" Glenn said solemnly. Everyone quiet for a moment remembering Dale.
"Well lets all be quiet about this. Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog you stay with me, we'll go up there. The rest of you stay in the vehicles here"
"Dad I wanna go" Carl spoke
"Absolutely not. You stay with your mother. She needs you here' He spoke firmly. He gave up instant and fell into an embrace with his mother. He nodded and motioned for the men to follow him.
Carol watched as the men set off for the town. Daryl loaded an arrow into his crossbow and held it out in front of him constantly checking his surroundings. Soon they were far enough up the road without incident that the group that was left behind turned and looked towards each other.
"Well let's see if we can look through and organize what we have in the way of supplies" Lori motioned, trying to keep their minds on something. They nodded and hurried to the Suv and the back of the truck.
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Daryl took point as they traveled towards the town and gave everyone the universal signal to stop. Everything was silent around them. His hunter instincts heard nothing move, well, almost nothing. He turned quickly and let an arrow fly. It nailed dead center against a tree and a squirrel that was racing up it. He lowered his bow with a smirk and went to fetch his kill.
"Dude really?" Glenn asked. Watching him pull the arrow out and placing the kill on the rope around his waist. "We thought it was a walker"
"Aint no walkers here" he mumbled before reloading his bow and advancing on. The young boy rolled his eyes but followed him. As they came over a slight hill they saw the old worn out wood building that Hershel had told them about. Painted on the side were the words trade post, but it looked completely abandoned like the rest of the world.
"No tellin if anythin is still there" Daryl spoke to the rest of the group
"We have to try" Rick reasoned. That was good enough for the rest of the party. They traveled in a tight diamond like formation. Daryl in the front, Rick and Glenn on the sides and T-Dog at the back. They watched and moved constantly to survey their surroundings from every angle. The building had an old style saloon sort of entrance with the swinging doors, which were surprisingly intact. Daryl raised his hand for them to stop again and they all stood like stone in place. With his crossbow in front of him. He pushed his way through the swinging doors and into the building looking quickly to the right and left of him.
"Clear" He spoke and the other men quickly followed him inside the building. It looked like an old time store. Boxes which were once filled to the brim with produce from the local farms were either empty or filled with rotten fruit. There weren't many shelves in the place and the counter up from was mostly bare. In the back however they noticed a small sort of bar.
"Lucky day gentlemen" Daryl spoke immediately heading for the bar. The others shook their heads and fanned out to search the shelves. The place wasn't totally ransacked but there defiantly wasn't much left to offer. They quickly filled a bag they'd brought with some canned goods a few bags of stale sliced bread and some medical supplies in the way of bandages, bottles of hydrogen peroxide and there was even one bottle of heavy strength aspirin. Daryl had contributed a half bottle of whiskey and a whole bottle of some kind of wine to the bunch with a smirk.
In the back on some pegs on the wall there were a few hats and a few items of clothing and below that were, oh yes, quilts made by the women of the town to be traded as well as a few animal furs. Glenn gladly gathered these items up and smiled as he held them at his side
"Not many of them but we can share" he spoke and the group nodded. At the front where the single cash register was there was a counter on which there was a few stands which were holding up a few paperback books, as well as a container of candy. Rick stuck his hand in the bucket and grabbed a handful of assorted sweets and placed them in the back.
"For Carl" He spoke.
"Hey I like chocolate too" Glenn complained. The others rolled their eyes. They shoveled in a few of the books that were there. They grabbed a few more things on the shelves such as chap Stick, two decks of cards and some gum.
"Looks like that's about the last of it" Rick spoke. He hefted with the bag over his shoulder as the guys made their way back towards the exit.
"Wait" T-Dog spoke stopping the group. He picked up a magazine that was lying on the floor. On the front was a women barely dressed barely in camouflage clothing and a gun in her lap. It read 'Chicks n' Guns' "For you man" He said with a grin handing it to a stone faced Daryl. He glared up at the grinning black man, at first wanting to strike him but he swallowed his anger and a little embarrassment and he took it quickly folding it and shoving it in his back pocket. Damn, people thought everyone like him was the same, loving chicks, guns, the great outdoors, no personal hygiene and booze. He raised his crossbow and exited first looking around him before motioning the guys to follow him. They were heading down the road at a steady pace before they heard the first moan. Everyone drew their weapons quickly and looked around them. To their right there was a break in the trees where they quickly spotted a group of walkers heading towards them.
The group stumbled quickly towards them, already noticing that they had a meal in front of them. Rick set the bag down by his side and pull out his knife. He really didn't want to have to use a gun when they were so far away from where they left everyone else. Daryl waited until they got closer to fire his first arrow. He only had so many with him and didn't want to run further into the group to get back any that he lost. Not that he would miss his targets of course.
"There aren't that many. We can take em out easily and then run back as fast as we can to the cars" Rick spoke
"We'll have to be quiet, running will draw their attention to us" Glenn spoke holding on with white knuckles to the pipe he was carrying.
As the first three walkers neared the men, Daryl launched his first arrow, bedding itself within the eye socket of a poorly dressed male walker. The others walked over the trampled body and as they came closer the boys broke from their formation to reek hell upon the living dead. T-Dog swiftly drove the large knife he wielded through the top of the head while beside him Glenn forced his pipe through the eye. Another arrow whistled through the air landing straight in the middle of the forehead of another.
The bodies of the walkers fell with thuds as they hit the ground, finally dead for good. The fighting stopped and then men breathed heavily waiting for something else to happen. They sighed in relief for a second before hearing T-dog shouting. A walker was trying to grab onto his arm. He wrestled with the dead thing trying to fight for a good angle to stab at its head. When he couldn't find one he swiftly brought the knife under its jaw and jammed the knife upward. It gurgled and fell to the ground when he pulled it out.
"Nice' Glenn spoke to the man who with wide eyes nodded.
"Les get movin" Daryl spoke before grabbing his two arrows and leading the party back down the road.
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It was just starting to get dark when Carl, who was keeping look out with his binoculars started to wave his hands around.
"They're back' he announced. He got down from the hood of the car, nearly stumbling over the body of a walker that had come to their camp. But they had taken care of the two walkers easily. The Hershel stepped opened the door and stepped out, his gun in hand and walked to meet the men.
He noticed immediately the large bag that Rick had slung over his shoulder and immediately his girls went to relieve him of it.
"This sure is heavy' Maggie said with a smile across her face.
"We brought back a lot of stuff. Food, medicine, water…" Glenn started
"Booze" T-Dog spoke with a grin looking at Daryl, who added it to the pile.
"And Glenn found some blankets, quilts and animal skins" Rick added. The girls squealed excitedly but were hushed
"It aint a lot" he continued. "But its certainly something"
"Any walkers while you were out there?" Lori asked concerned. "We had a few here ourselves"
"Had a few. But we took care of em" Daryl spoke.
"What should we do about tonight" Carol asked
"I think out best option is to get away from the place and find someplace up the road a little ways where we can park everything and spend the night" rick spoke
"I think we should stay here" Carol spoke
"Carol we can't stay here, we already killed some walkers today, and they might have been attracted to sounds"
"I think that more noise will attract them and the bike is certainly a lot louder than a few women squealing"
Rick looked back to Daryl he trusted with for his opinion on the matter
"I think she's right" He spoke. "This thing aint no car. Its loud as hell and with walkers twice as active durin the night their sure to come runnin"
Rick nodded. "Alright we stay the night. We'll set up watches from tops of the cars, two at a time while everyone else sleeps. We'll get moving as soon as the sun comes up"
Everyone agreed which quickly faded into silence.
"No hot food tonight then?" Carl asked breaking it a few moments later. Rick shook his head.
"Not tonight. It'll have to be quick and cold tonight. We have some canned goods here and a couple of loaves of bread, they're stale but they'll have to do. Don't have much of a choice. We'll eat here quickly then move on" He announced before turning around and walking towards where they came from looking around for any sign of trouble.
The girls started unloading the bag and organizing it with the rest of the things that they had. They chose a few cans. Two of peaches and one of corn and grabbed two slices of stale bread for everyone. They passed a few bowls around, everyone sharing. The grimes had their own as well as Hershel and Beth. Glenn and Maggie shared another with T-Dog. Carol shared her bowl with Daryl who told her to eat what she wanted and he'd eat the rest. She looked at him sitting on the ground with a knife in his hand expertly skinning the squirrel he had shot while the men were away. He quickly gutted it and set the skin on the pouch of his bike.
Carol stood up and rummaged through the bag where they had put all of the food and came out with a large paper sack and another paper bag.
"Here" She offered to the Dixon boy who was still quiet and still without food.
"Was this" He asked
"Salt. The meat will go bad if you just leave it."
For the first time since the events on the farm and since all the fighting that had gone on he produced the smallest of smiles. It caught her off guard for a moment before he took the bags away from her.
"Good thinkin woman. I knew you were smart" She went to say something in return but he was so focused on what he was doing that she quickly forgot it and other then handing him what was left of the bowl, she didn't speak to him for the rest of dinner
When everyone was done eating, they collected the bowls, empty cans, the bag of salt and now the bag with salted squirrel and stuck it into the back of the suv.
"Alright everyone let's get packed up and cozy. Who's first watch with me?" Rick asked, like he really needed to.
"I will" Daryl answered hopping up on top of the suv quickly and loaded his crossbow. Rick nodded and did the same on the top of the truck. Below them the rest of the group shuffled around trying to get comfortable. Daryl watched as Lori, Carl, Hershel and Beth climbed into the red and white truck while Maggie, Glenn, T-Dog and Carol got into the one he was currently positioned on.
The hours of the night drained on. There was a peacefulness that seemed completely impossible considering the world had gone to shit. There wasn't anything left up in these hills and forests that was worth anything anymore. All that mattered was getting all of these people to safety somewhere else until maybe this thing ended. But maybe it never would. If there was never a cure the world would be like this for a long time and eventually it would probably end. People were always dying and there certainly wasn't much new life.
He heard some of the guys talking about once they got to a safe place and once the world ended its sick fuckin joke that they could start repopulating. He sneered at the thought. There certainly seemed to be a lot of romance goin on between these people. How was any sort of love going to help in their situation anyways. Which got him to thinking about whatever it was that he was starting to feel. He'd always been tough as nails and let nobody get to him, but he'd be lyin if he said there wasn't something there. At the moment he shook it off, nothing seemed to be going on right now anyways. So his mind drifted away from those thoughts and he focused on sharpening the knife he carried at his hip.
DxCDxC DxCDxC DxCDxC DxCDxC
Hour later the car door below him opened on both side and T-Dog and Glenn emerged from the vehicle. Daryl looked over the side and watched as Glenn climbed the red suv and onto its top while rick nodded and jumped down. In moments T-dog was behind him
"Get some sleep" He spoke him and Daryl who although still restless followed his command and jumped down to the ground. Nothing had gone on during the watch. There was one point where he heard the rustling of leaves on the ground and the low moaning but it never came anywhere near their camp and so he never fired a single shot. He took the arrow he had ready to fire out of its place and placed it in one of the holder.
He slid into the car which was hot from all the breathing The two girls were in the back. Glenn must have had the window seat because Maggie was leaning against it now. Carol was sitting with her back against the seat with slow even breaths. He sat down next to her and closed the car door as quietly as he could. The sound ruffled Maggie but she never woke up. He swore under his breath as he watched Carol's eyes open and look directly into his.
She heard a noise that cause her to stir from her sleep. She opened her eyes sleepily to meet the intense steel gaze of Daryl. Of course he was the first thing she saw when she woke up. It didn't bother of course, she loved to look into his eyes, she found out she couldn't look away from them.
"Sorry I woke you" He whispered.
"Its alright' she mumbled. She found it too hard to keep her eyes open anymore and so she looked at him one last time, at that rough looking face she was coming to love and closed her eyes again.
As soon as she dropped his gaze and closed her eyes again nervously twitched and found himself releasing his held breath. What about those eyes stirred whatever feeling this was inside him? He didn't understand how the hell he was feeling and he cursed himself for feeling the one thing that he told himself he could not have. Fear. A Dixon boy couldn't be fearful because it left a man weaker. All those times when he was a kid and he whimpered and cried because his family was mean to him? He put those behind him to become to person he was today. Something that was being torn down and he wasn't sure why. But it raised the question. What exactly was he afraid of?
Before the question was answered he felt a pressure against his shoulder and found Carol had fallen over and was leaning against him in her sleep. He sighed heavily and found himself with a small smirk on his face. Something about this woman was changing something in him. He wasn't sure if he liked it and he sure as hell wasn't ready to deal with it, but it was there and the thought didn't seem to bother him. His smiled faded and he grabbed his crossbow from the flow and pulled it tightly against him while his other hand wandered and found itself on top the thigh of the women next to him. He closed his eyes and succumbed to much needed sleep.daryl spoke before grabbing his two arrows and leading the party back down the and fell to the ground when he pulle and , o