Another run, another day. They had to find more weapons and food, that's the only thing that really ever goes through their minds anymore, that and where will they rest for the night. They had found an old warehouse that still had chains over the doors. Rick had told them that was their stop. Lori, Beth, T-dog and Hershel stayed at the cars. Carl stood watch at the gate to the warehouse. Glenn, Maggie, Rick, Carol and Daryl were the group to scope out the place. The group makes their way to the entrance, after killing two walkers limping around by the gate. Daryl had the axe and slammed it into the chains a few times till it finally gave in. The group listened for a few minutes to see if any walkers would be waiting on the other side but they didn't hear anything. Daryl passes the axe to Maggie and gets his cross bow ready.
"Stay in a line, check every corner, no more than five steps apart." Rick growls. He heads in first, his colt at the ready. Maggie, Glenn then Carol make up the middle with Daryl bringing up the rear. It was dark, minimal sunlight could get through the small windows that dotted the walls here and there. It was spacious in the middle with two stories of storage rooms on all sides of the walls. In the middle of the place was a security box that had some of its windows broken. Rick let the group pass him as they made their way into the place. Daryl took lead then and let Rick keep watch of the place in case walkers tried to box them in. Daryl was the first to reach the first storage room. It was locked.
"We ain't got no key." He mumbles. Carol walks slowly to the security box in the middle and peaks inside. It was dirty with a carpet of papers. She sees that the doors open automatically. Carol peaks her head out again and shouts as quietly as she can.
"The doors are automatic." She hears Daryl curse colorfully in his gruff southern drawl. Rick comes over to her.
"Worked a place like this. Has keys in case of emergencies." She looks around the small space with Rick for the keys. Carol finds them after a few minutes of tense silence. They were under a pile of papers near the door.
"Found the little shits." Rick looks to her and nods, eyes softening just enough to show he is pleased. She smiles back reassuringly. It's been a few months since the farm, Lori showing but not too big. The group has started to learn Rick's new way of showing emotion. Slight changes in his hard stare meaning different emotions and the occasional brow movement helping them to decipher his moods. He doesn't touch anymore. Only when someone needs help does he let himself touch others. The group was resentful at first but came to accept and understand Rick's motives for being this way. Daryl was a big help as well. Getting on the group to let Rick deal with his shit in his own way. Carol leaves Rick to go back to the group. They were on edge, having to wait those few minutes instead of getting in and out like they would prefer. She unlocks the door and Daryl enters, crossbow raised. It was rather bare. In the back it had thick bags of white and the rest was junk that not even they could use. Daryl looks around however. The rest go to the next storage unit and leave Daryl to investigate. He wonders over to the bags of white and sees something shiny in one of the bags. He bends down for closer inspections and sees it's a rather large knife hidden in the bag. Daryl takes his own knife and cuts the bag open violently. He coughs when a cloud of white engulfs his face, blowing it away once the initial coughing spell was over. Daryl growls and takes the knife. It was basic in shape, a little longer then Daryl's wrist to the tip of his middle finger. The back of the blade was serrated with a smooth front. Daryl smirks, at least he found something. Carl had been wanting a new knife anyways. Leaving the storage unit he looks over to see his group already to units ahead. He starts to jog over but the floor starts moving. He stops and wobbles over a bit. He looks to his left into the storage room and sees a creepy manikin standing close to the door. Daryl shakes his head as it gets fuzzier. He looks back at it and sees a walker. He jerks, getting his knife. He dives at it and stabs it with his whole body flung into it. The walker goes down and Daryl looks to his team. They were looking worried. He was about to say he was fine until another jumps at him. He starts fighting it away, pointing his knife at it. Then it falls to the ground in a huddled position. He stabs it anyways, not caring why it would do such a thing, not like they can feel fear or anything. When it falls over, Daryl flinches with a small gasp. It was him, on the floor, bleeding out. He looks over at his group again, now coming toward him, saying words of worry and comfort. Daryl backs away from them, seeing their faces become rotten and bloody.
"The fuck?" He growls though it falls weak, scared. He looks at his body again, on the ground to see it getting up and looking at him with eyes filled of blame and anger. More walkers start coming out of the shadows and Daryl grabs his hair while shaking his head. "What the hell is going on?" He whispers. Something grabs him and he pushes it away hearing it land on the ground with a deep thud. Daryl runs back to the door, hoping some light will get his head clear. He runs into something however.
"Daryl, what's goin on? You alright?" Rick's voice cuts through the fog in Daryl's head. He tries to push away but Rick hold him by the arms firmly.
"Get t'fuck off me." He growls, looking over his shoulder and letting some of his panic show through. Rick's brows nit together in worry as he watches him. The group is coming over, leaving the room they were checking out in favor of seeing why Daryl has lost it. He shakes his head at them and flicks his chin back to the units. They stop, not liking the order but going back to work. Once they all go back, Carol being the last to turn away, Rick looks to Daryl to see him fall to his knees. Rick follows slowly, planning his next move carefully. Then he sees white in his dark brown hair. Rick lets go of Daryl's arm squeezing the other slightly tighter to tell Daryl he still has him. Running his hand through the lightly powdered hair Daryl flinches hard but doesn't fight back. His eyes are squeezed shut but his ears prick up as if he was hearing something though it was quite to Rick's ears. Drugs. Is all rick thinks, to be sure Rick clears his throat.
"Daryl, I need you to open your eyes." He demands softly. He notices the increase in breath and heart rate, but wants to see his eyes to be a hundred percent sure. He shakes his head, taking his hands to his ears, covering them roughly. A slight whimper escapes Daryl and Rick tries to remove his hands. "Nothing is going to hurt you. I need you to look at me so I can see if you are for sure under the influence of drugs." Daryl growls. He had narrowed it down to either a never ending nightmare, or drugs. He was hoping for the drugs but now he isn't so sure. Grudgingly, Daryl opens his eyes and looks at Rick. He closes them again but not before Rick sees that, yes, he was drugged and he saw fear in his eyes. Rick doesn't know what Daryl saw but there isn't much that scares Daryl so he decides to let him keep his eyes shut and wait till the group is done scavenging. Rick puts his hand gently to Daryl's head and slowly guides him to his shoulder. He then sits on the ground, knowing he will be here a while and pushes Daryl more into his chest. Daryl struggles a bit, not wanting touch. Rick keeps him there however, using as much strength as he dared to keep Daryl there. This wasn't easy for him either. He hasn't shown this much affection since the farm. Since before Shane died. Rick swallows. He feels Daryl shake slightly and hears some mumbled phrases here and there.
"He ain't gonna find me. He's dead. The bastard ain't there." Rick knows only two people that Daryl knows is dead, both of which family. Daryl struggles suddenly and fights Rick tooth and nail. "Gotta get outa here." He growls, eyes wide as if he was in pain.
"No one is here Daryl, it is just you and me." Rick projects over the erratic hunter. Daryl looks at Rick, as if finally seeing him. Could the drug be wearing off already? He knew of some drugs that went away quickly but isn't sure which one, each has its own catch at the end and he is hoping Daryl got the easier one he knew of. Daryl finally looks to be calming down and sits in front of Rick looking at the minimal floor between them. A few minutes pass and Daryl starts fidgeting, chewing the side of his thumb. Rick notices Carol, Glenn and Maggie are on the last few. They looked to have a decent haul as well.
"Ain't crazy." Daryl mumbles around his thumb. Rick sighs.
"I know. Shit happens" Daryl nods and leans his head to the side on Rick's knee. His other leg was draped on the ground around Daryl with his legs weaving through Ricks and around the back of him. It was close, it was borderline intimate. Right now though, they were not worried about that, they had a close call and by the looks of it, it's over. Daryl squirms as the group finish their work.
"I feel sick." Rick untangles himself quickly and helps Daryl up. He sways a little, leaning on Rick as they make their way to the exit. Once they meet the sun Daryl pushes himself away and onto the ground, vomiting. Rick kneels beside him and holds his waist. When the minimal amounts I his stomach and bile finish coming up Rick speaks.
"Itchy lungs?" Daryl nods weakly and leans into Rick. He catches him, turning him over to see he has passed out. Rick groans lightly.
"DMT." Daryl was lucky. The drug is mostly natural and mild when inhaled. If he had inhaled much more, the after affects could have killed him or he could have overdosed. Carol comes out and goes over to them.
"Could you go get T- Dog. I will need help carrying him." She nods, lingering a few seconds in worry. And so they carried him, Carl cradling the cross bow till they reach the cars. Lori looks worried but doesn't go near, Rick having started moving away from her now. Once they got him in the car safely, Rick looks to T-Dog. "Drive his bike, be careful." He nods being gentle as all hell mounting the machine, Daryl's baby. He would wake up pissed, and he may throw up some more but Rick will handle it, he always does. No one asked what happened and no one mentioned how gentle Rick was for the first time in so long. Daryl is more careful on mysterious bags now though, and Rick may touch his shoulder more often when he thinks no one is watching.