AN: hey, so things have been hectic and a little stressful. Still
Not feeling 100% but getting there. I have been having some writers block and I decided to sit down and write to break it and started something new. Not sure about this. Probably just 3-5 chapters. Trigger warning for a heart attack.
I do not own or profit from The Walking Dead
Chapter 1
"Merle...maybe you should lay off the steak man, you don't look so good."
Daryl hissed out as he watched Merle attempt to beat the current record at Murphy's House of Steak. 72 ounces of pure grilled meat in half an hour for the privilege of having your picture up on the wall.
This was the type of shit Merle lived for.
The Dixon's were old money by this town's standards. His great grandpa had invested in a plot of land all those years ago that had sat on vast quantities of natural gas.
When the government and other drillers had come sniffing out the land his great grandpa had been smart. Invested wisely. Leased the land instead of selling. Doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled his money. Then he went ahead and made more. Investing all over town, in every business he could get his hands on. The Dixon's were millionaires many times over, thanks to his great grandpa. Every Dixon since then had just managed not to fuck it up.
His father had blown through women, and booze and cocaine and taken Merle along for the drive. His mama had found her happiness in the not bottom of a bottle too. Drinking herself to death, when she couldn't take his Dad's cheating ways no more.
The old man had crashed off the highway on his motorcycle ten years ago and Daryl was certain he'd been stoned out of his mind on blow. The town had in essence held a mourning. All the phoney asshole's wailing about how sad his daddy's passing was, when he knew just like him, not a single one had given a shit. The old man had barely looked his way his whole entire life, other than when he was drunk and wanting someone to beat on. There was no way Daryl was gonna miss him when he was gone.
Daryl had drowned himself in women. The town's most notorious playboy. It was easy, they all wanted him for his money. It was something he didn't need to put any effort into. Something that filled the void in his life. Well maybe it didn't fill the void, just filled time, or killed time. As he sat around watching Merle get stoned, or drunk, or try to stuff 72 ounces of steak down his gut.
"Merle" Daryl said again. The crowd surrounding them was chanting "Do it, do it!" Anything to suck up to a Dixon. Merle's face was a disturbing shade of grey as sweat seemed to pour from his scalp.
"Merle.." Daryl said again
"I'm alright, it's just the meat sweats baby brother." Merle said filling his mouth again.
Merle was forty years old and looked every day of it and more. He'd been solidly determined to abuse his body in every way possible since Daryl could remember. Daryl was about to send the crowd away when he noticed Merle grab his chest his face becoming pinched white. His lips turning an odd shape of blue.
"Merle!" He yelled as the chanting of the crowd slowed down and trickled to a whisper as Merle Dixon fell to his side then to the floor. Gasping as he grabbed his chest.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Tara, why did you insist to come here..." Carol rolled her eyes as the chants of "Do it, do it... " filtered to their table from the latest idiot taking Murphy's House of Steak's 72 once steak challenge "you know I'm a vegetarian" Carol finished.
"Pfft Vegetarian you need to live a little, plus they have great pie...and the hottest's waittresses." Tara finished with a grin.
Carol giggled bitting into her salad the only vegetarian item on the menu. "You're horrible, and you're paying for dinner." She said.
"Hey it's not my fault, you won't bat for my team. Now I'm looking for love in all the wrong places." She teased with a grin. "Cheers to you, finally seeing fit to come back state side. Doctor's without borders loss is our gain." Tara said picking up her glass.
"I don't know if I'm staying, I'm just home for Christmas, I have to decide if I'm going back in January. They need all the nurses they can get." Carol muttered as Tara popped fries in her mouth.
b"Then they should call it nurses without borders...to quote the crowd, stay home, Do it, Do it, Do it." Tara said as she started pounding on the table.
"Who the hell is taking the challenge anyway?" Carol asked craning her neck.
"Merle Dixon" Tara responded "The waitress told me while you were at the bathroom.
"Well that makes sense then." Carol said shaking her head. The whole town knew of Merle and Daryl Dixon's exploits. She'd actually graduated with Daryl. He'd been in the superficial way that high schoolers tend to love rich kids the most popular boy in their class. She'd always thought he'd seemed sad somehow.
She'd parked herself firmly In nerd territory with Tara and had been happy to be there. School had always been of utmost importance to her. Nothing else mattered. Full scholarship had been her sole focus.
"Ahh They are harmless, well Daryl maybe. He just drowns his sorrow in pussy." Tara said with a grin.
Carol let out a snort when suddenly the crowd seemed to gasp. She heard a loud crash and silence as the name Merle was cried out.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The crowd stilled, staring at Merle in shock, not a single person making a move as Merle lay on the ground gasping clutching at his chest. Daryl half expected him to jump up, flash his trademark grin and start eating again. But the gasp turned into a hiss, and then the the hiss stopped and suddenly Merle was lying on the floor, not moving.
"Out of my way"
Daryl turned and watched as someone made their way to the front of the crowd. Elbowing her way through. She burst through the front of the crowd, and straight to Merle's side. The panic was starting to take hold in Daryl's gut, but he'd managed to speak.
"Is he ok?" He croaked as he watched the woman, put her face to Merle's mouth like she was listening for something while watching his chest.
"Tara!" The woman said as she started what looked to be CPR.
"Already on the phone with 911 Carol" another women answered from the crowd.
The woman, Carol worked at doing chest compressions on Merle's chest. As she turned to Daryl "I think your brother's having a heart attack" she panted as she kept working through the chest compressions and some breaths to Merle's mouth.
She looked up at a waitress " You guys got a mini defibrillator here?"
The waittress wide eyed shook her head no. The woman, Carol shook her head, muttering to herself " Figures No AED and this place is a heart attack waiting to happen." She huffed out shaking her head then giving more breaths.
Daryl couldn't breath, he watched her hands move with assurance pounding life back into Merle's chest. This couldn't be happening. Merle couldn't leave him. He would be alone, he would have nothing. His own life seemed to flash before his eyes, one meaningless encounter after another. This couldn't be happening, not now.
The ambulance arrived soon afterward.
Daryl was amazed at how calmly they worked over Merle. His whole life was hanging in the balance and none of them seemed panicked as they worked. One of the EMT's recognized the woman Carol.
"Carol Miller?" He asked incredulously, as he took over compressing Merle's chest for the obviously tiring Carol.
"Hey Glenn" she said with a smile helping to open the buttons of Merle's shirt even more. He saw her momentarily pause, glancing down at what he knew was a myriad of scars crisscrossing Merle's chest. Her eyes met his for a moment, their was no judgement just a profound sadness, and she turned to her friend "Tara I don't think we need an audience for this."
Her friend immediately started moving the crowd back "Alright people move it or loose it" Tara said as she opened her arms moving the crowd back to a respectable distance.
Her eyes met his again briefly as she slapped some pads on Merle's chest, as the other EMT, stuck a tube down Merle's throat.
Suddenly they were all yelling clear, moving back a few feet, as a thump of electricity zoomed through Merle's chest.
"I got a rhythm I like, let's load him and go" The one named Glenn said as the loaded Merle on to a stretcher. "Good Job Carol...you saved him." Glenn said before turning to Daryl "you coming with?" Daryl nodded.
Turning Daryl watched as Carol went back to her seat, a few pats on the back which she brushed off modestly. She turned then, their eyes meeting again. He felt it. That feeling like she could see right through him, like she could see into his soul somehow. He suddenly found himself just wanting to be held by another human being, as he rushed out the door, chasing Merle's stretcher, he'd never felt so alone in his life.
