Hey everyone! This is my first story for the Walking Dead.
A little one shot that has been on my mind for quite some time.
"I'm going." Alexis stated, tucking her knife in the back pocket of her jeans.
"The hell you are!" Daryl growled at her, as he stepped forward away from the group that had formed near the RV.
"Why not? What the hell am I going to do here? I'm bored. I want in."
"Yer not goin'." The redneck said, "Go feed them chickens or somethin'."
"Fuck you." Alexis said through gritted teeth, stepping away from him and joined the circle.
It was time for a supply run. It had been a while since the last one, Maggie had refused to go since her incident and didn't want Glenn to go either, but supplies were getting low and people are getting antsy. The moment Alexis had heard that Daryl, Glenn and T-Dog were going, she had chimed in, weapon in her hand. She needed to get out of the farmland, she needed to feel adrenaline. The women were driving her crazy.
"Are you sure?" Rick asked, with his eyebrows raised as Daryl rejoined the circle.
"Yes. I'm sure. Please." She looked up at Daryl, her green eyes pleading.
"Well alright then." Rick said. "Ya'll know the drill. If you're not back by nightfall, we're coming after you."
Daryl growled at her as he walked away and she smiled in victory. This was going to be fun.
xxxx
The ride to the town was silent as they followed behind Glenn and T-Dog. He was livid, why couldn't she just listen to him? No. She had to go all feminist on the group, shutting them up and convincing them to let her go. That feminist bullshit didn't work on him; it was the stupid look she gave him asking him to let her go. That's what got to him.
He was supposed to be a tough redneck, but he gave into anything she wanted. Merle would never let him live it down, the fact that a girl had been able to get into his head.
Finally reaching the supermarket in the town, the truck halted to a stop. He turned off the engine and sighed, running a hand over his face. He couldn't even concentrate; he was going to be more worried about her than actually getting the supplies they needed.
"Daryl." Her soft voice interrupted his thoughts, "I know you want to take care of me. But I need this. I need to do something. I can't be sitting around and cooking for everyone all day. It's not me."
The redneck grunted in response.
"C'mon D, I'm sorry." She pulled herself closer to him, nestling under his arm.
"I'm supposed to protect ya." He looked down at her, "Yer all the family I got left."
"I'm not going anywhere, okay?" She said and then pushed her head up and connected their foreheads.
He pulled back and ruffled her hair while opening the door to get out, "C'mon. You ready?"
"Ready." She smiled.
xxxx
It happened so fast; Alexis was too busy smashing the walker's head in, she hadn't heard the crawler make its way to her.
She felt it grab her right leg but by the time she looked down, it's teeth had already sunk into her calf. Her scream rang out throughout the supermarket, grabbing the attention of the men as they abandoned their cart full of supplies.
Alexis fell to the ground and swung her baseball bat, connecting with the crawler's head. She continued hitting him until it let go of her leg, and it's brain was splattered all over the aisle.
The three men had finally gotten to her, and they stood in horror at the scene before them. The female looked up at them and whispered a weak, "I'm sorry" as tears ran down her face.
Daryl rushed down to her and wrapped his rag around her bloody leg. Glenn knelt down, grabbing his head in angst. T-Dog stood by them, in tears.
"We gotta get her back! Herschel needs to see her! We gotta move fast!" Daryl yelled at them, whilst applying pressure to her leg.
"Daryl.." Alexis started, but the redneck cut her off.
"I told ya, stupid bitch! I told ya not to come! I fuckin' told ya!" He shook her shoulders, yelling at her, tears forming in his blue eyes. His emotions were taking over and he didn't care who saw.
Alexis cried harder as the youngest Dixon yelled at her. Daryl wasn't one to show much emotion, and when he did, it hit her like a ton of bricks.
She clenched her teeth in pain; the bite on her leg was starting to burn, traveling up her body. "Glenn, T-Dog, go load up the trucks. You can't risk being here too long. Go on now."
She was ready to die. She had been ready the moment she realized she was bit.
Glenn and T-Dog hugged her, saying their goodbyes and walked away, their footsteps heavy and their shoulders slumped. She might've been ready, but the others weren't.
"Just do it. Do it now. I'm in pain." She begged, holding onto her leg, breathing hard.
He grabbed her shoulders and shook her, "Yer such a stupid bitch. You stupid fuckin' bi-" His rant was cut off by a sob that came from his throat. He pounded the floor next to her in anger, tears falling from his eyes.
"I don't want to turn into a walker. Kill me now! Do it you fuckin' pussy!" Alexis yelled a mix of pain and tears.
Daryl looked up from the ground at her, his face red from all the emotions flowing through him at the moment. Heartbreak. Sadness. Desperation. Anger. Loss.
She was his woman, she had always been his. From the moment he had found her during one of his hunting trips back at the campsite. He claimed her as his, and she had been alright with that.
Their bond was something that went beyond the group's comprehension. They weren't together in the aspect of a couple; they were just there for each other, always. She was the one that had always been there for him, no matter much they never saw eye to eye. She stood by him in every decision he made, she had been loyal to him. She was his best friend, she took care of him. Something Daryl had never imagined he would ever have. He had vowed to protect her until his last breath, and now here she was, minutes away from turning into a walker. He let her down.
"It was my fault Daryl. I let my guard down." Alexis said through tears, reading him like an open book.
"Do it. Please." She continued begged.
"I can't..."
"Daryl don't do this to me. Don't let me turn into them. Don't you dare."
He grunted and wiped his face, the tears continued to fall as he grabbed his gun from the back of his jeans and pulled it out. He sat down and picked her off the floor, pulling her into his lap.
Daryl wasn't a man of words, his eyes were his words. Alexis smiled weakly, feeling the life being drained out of her, "I love you too D."
He kissed her forehead and she sighed contently. That had always been her favourite sign of affection from him. It was rare, but it was his way of letting her know that he cared for her. That he loved her.
His other signs of affection were simple as well, making sure she was fed first, being overprotective, sitting beside her, always having his eye on her, touching her shoulders, those let her know he cared about her too. But the kiss to the forehead always got to her.
Shaking, he raised his gun to her head as he held her, "I love ya 'Lex." and pulled the trigger.
The sound was heard from outside the supermarket, making Glenn and T-Dog cringe as they waited for Daryl.
xxxx
That was it. Just like that, it was over. No more pain. No more tears. No more suffering. She was gone. He was angry with himself. Angry for letting her down, angry for letting her get to him, angry for crying. He wanted to scream, to break everything in the store, but his body didn't let him. His arms held onto her limp body, holding her tight, without his consent.
He knew he had to get moving, he couldn't risk the lives of Glenn and T-Dog by having them wait for him outside any longer. They had to get back to the farm, and they had to keep moving. His arms finally unwrapped her frame as he slowly put her down on the floor. He took the rag from her leg and shoved it in his back pocket, along with his gun. He gave her one last, meaningful look as he bid his goodbye before picking up his crossbow and walked away.
Daryl walked out of the supermarket, wiping his face trying to get rid of the tears. Not a word was said between the men as they waited for Daryl to recollect himself so they could get back to the farm. They knew better than to say anything.
Daryl looked down at himself; he was covered in her blood. His shirt, his arms, his hands, his face. Everywhere. Glenn tried to give him a rag to clean himself up but the redneck grunted and walked past him; opened the door to his truck, threw his crossbow in and hopped inside - gripping the steering wheel.
Glenn and T-Dog pulled away as Daryl followed behind, not once looking back. On the way back to the farm, he caught himself looking at the empty spot beside him. Her spot. He sighed, wiping furiously at his eyes. He was alone. Again.