Okay, so this is my first Fanfic. I spent a little over a month working on it and I decided to post it :) I had a lot of fun working on it since we don't really learn much about Daryl's father in the TV show, so I took up the idea and came up w/ this! It's already completed and this is the first chapter. Please read and enjoy! I'm open for suggestions, requests and ideas! Thanks!
"Bored," I muttered to myself. "Bored bored bored. Damn."
I was leaning against the wall, my arms crossed, staring glumly at the ground, kicking the cement floor with my heel in annoyance. Across the room, Beth was sitting at a table, cradeling Lil' Asskicker. A towl was draped over her shoulder and she poised a bottle upright above the infant's face, allowing her to happily suck the formula. Beth jiggled Lil' Asskicker, calming her whimpers and rearranging the bottle in a better position for her to drink. Hershel sat beside Beth, peering over her shoulder to get a good look at the infant, and Maggie, who was standing behind them, was cooking a stew in a big pot on the stove. She occasionally glaced over her shoulder, just to be sure everything was alright, before she resumed cooking. Everyone was occupied, everyone was busy, except me. I pursed my lips as I watched them, the only activity I found interesting. I sighed.
"Is there anything else I can do for ya?" I offered.
"Thanks," Maggie replied. "But I can handle it."
"Judith is okay" Beth assured me. "Unless you want to hold her?"
I shrugged and looked away, rolling my eyes. Hershel noticed, and spoke up.
"I know, Daryl," he called to me.
I remained quiet, slightly annoyed that he understood how I was feeling. I looked down at my feet, digging my toe into the ground absent-mindedly.
"Rick, Glenn and Carol promised they would be here soon. They didn't go far. I'm sure they're fine..."
"I'm not worried," I huffed. "I'm bored. Ain't nothing to do but shit."
Hershel shifted in his chair, uncomfortable with my cussing. Beth merely glanced, then continued to feed Lil' Asskicker. Maggie didn't even stop to turn; she continued stirring, churning the stew into a thick broth for dinner. Just thinking of the stew reminded me of how meager my meals have been for the past few days and I realized just how hungry I was.
"Have you checked the perimeters?" Hershel asked me.
"I got all along the fence," I replied hoarsely. "Them bastards are just waltzing around in the field now."
"How's our ammo?" he inquired.
"Got enough to kill five herds," I answered, refusing eye contact. "About 1,000 rounds."
"What about your arrows?"
"My bow's fine," I retorted. "Ain't nothing to do."
"What do you do in your free time?" Hershel asked.
I looked at him in disbelief.
"There ain't no time for free time anymore," I snarled at the old man.
"I wouldn't say that," Hershel said craftily. "The world could use some skills, some arts..."
"Who do ya think I am? Some artist? What am I supposed to do? Paint portraits of Walkers?" I scoffed.
Hershel laughed heartily, which only teased my stressed behaviors.
"I ain't nobody like that," I muttered. "Don't got the skill; don't got the time."
"There must be something for you to do," Maggie piped up.
"...like helping Rick..." I interrupted. "Like I wanted to do in the first place..."
"You know Rick told you not to go," Hershel said sternly. "He specifically chose Glenn and Carol."
"So Carol can go and I can't..." I growled to myself. "Super."
"He wanted you to stay and guard," Hershel said, pretending he didn't hear.
"Glenn coulda..." I spoke up.
"He has been...for too long. It was Rick's decision and you should give Glenn a chance to leave the prison too. He's been hauled up here longer than you have..."
"Hate these damn cages," I told myself. "I feel like that damn skunk that Merle caught and kept, until I free'd the fella, then he sprayed me and ran away. Smelled like shit for months. Poor bastard..."
All through the afternoon, I meandered around the prison, desperate for entertainment. I polished my already-clean arrows with the filthy rag dangling from my back pocket, tried folding laundry but failed and gave up, I searched the Nurse's station and cafeteria for spare supplies but left empty-handed, and spent the rest of the day perched in the guard tower, solemnly leering in the distance, awaiting the arrival of the green van.
It wasn't until sunset that I spotted the car, full-throttled and eating the road towards the prison. I sat up, squinting as I watched the vehicle enter the field and pull up to the road. Carl, who had been hanging outside, was there to open the gate, allow the car to enter, and seal the entrance shut from the Walkers. My heart racing, I picked up my crossbow and jogged down the stairs to meet them.
"Daryl!" Rick called to me.
I jogged to reach him as he shut the driver's door.
"How was the run?" I asked him.
"Not good," Rick admitted. "But I think we found some things that will be useful."
"How was it out there? Were there a lot of them?"
"More than I can count," Rick said bitterly. "We kinda...ran into a close call..."
Glenn stepped out of the passenger seat, slammed the door, and stormed away. In his hand, he gripped his sickled-machete with white knuckles, the blade dripping in blood. His hair was messed up beneath his blood-splattered cap and sweat was soaked beneath his armpits. He was a total wreck.
"What's wrong with him?" I asked Rick.
"Like I said, we ran into a close call. Glenn nearly escaped. Tripped down the stairs, kinda blacked-out, and a Walker jumped him. I put him down just in time."
"Where did ya'll go?"
"Some well-stocked store. There was this huge Walmart place off the highway, about 15 miles away. Hardly touched. Found what we needed; blankets, medicine, tools; we cleaned that place out. Barely fit in the car." Rick gestured to the bundled materials tied at the roof of the car.
"Damn lucky," I told him.
Rick nodded tiredly.
Behind the car, another door opened. Through the tinted windows, I saw Carol step out, talking excitedly to herself.
"...oh, and just wait until you meet Hershel. He can help with that..."
"If it weren't for Carter, Glenn would have been slaughtered. Glenn's mad though. Claimed he could have taken care of himself, but I'm sure he would have been bitten. It has been hard..."
"Carter?" I repeated, growing suspicious. "Who the hell's that?"
"Yeah, new guy," Rick replied. "He saved our asses. Warned us just in time as a herd of Walkers migrated into the town. Glenn's back was turned again and Carter nailed the Walker. I'm almost surprised he didn't notice. Might just be a bad day..."
"Carter?!" I interrupted him. "You took ANOTHER person here?...when the Governor could be closing in?! Are you THAT stupid?!"
"He's an honest man," Rick assured him. "We owed him gratitude and offered him a stay here, just until he's back on his feet."
"Here? But..."
Just then, Carol rounded the corner. She emerged from behind the car, chatting nonchalantly to herself in an eager tone. Until, I realized, she wasn't alone. A lanky man lingered by her side, responding to her questions while watching her interestedly.
"Speaking of the new guy..." Rick said pleasantly. "Carter?"
Carol stopped talking and stood aside, grinning as Rick approached him. The man's face lifted and his lips pulled into a smug half-smile, as if he knew a secret that Rick and Carol were oblivious of.
"This is it," Rick announced. "Safest place we could find. And this is Daryl..."
The man's eyes traced Rick's gesturing hand to me. He turned to face me, nodding a "hello" until his eyes met mine. Carter's smile faded slowly, his eyes glazing over me with horror stricken in his face, his pupils dilated with shock. He looked me up and down in disbelief, his mouth slightly open in surprise. Then I returned the gaze.
The man was tall, about the same height as me, with a dark, shaved head. He had high cheekbones and a sharp jawline, and his skin was a light olive from a prolonged exposure to the elements. He was filthy, smelled like crap, and his clothes were bloodied. It was as if he took a dirt bath then showered in Walker blood. But what stood out the most was his eyes. They were a light blue, matching a cloudless sky, watercolored with various shades green and speckled with hazel. They grew larger as we locked eyes, each of us observing the hues in our pupils. I knew those eyes...
I couldn't speak. I was beyond the inability to speech. My limbs froze, my face fell, and I trembled slightly, swaying as if I were about to pass out.
"What...what the...?" I sputtered.
"Is that anyway to treat your ol' man?" Carter said slyly, a smile rising to his lips.