Carry Me Home

Caitlyn Walker had wandered across the group at the Quarry two nights after the dead started to walk in Georgia. With her mother, father and one of her older brothers dead, she decided to risk her life and find others like her. But that was after she had put a bullet in each of their heads. She had found this group, and they had taken her in with the promise to keep her safe. Not that she needed protecting, she just wanted to feel needed. Caitlyn kept to herself mostly, sitting in her tent or just outside when the temperature got too hot. She was constantly carving things into wood, or drawing on her sketch pad. One of the blonde sisters, Amy, had complimented her work and she had just smiled in reply.

Caitlyn stood at 5'6, with light brunette hair that just passed her shoulders. She had a tongue and eyebrow piercing, which some of the other members disapproved off. The brunette also had three tattoos. On her left shoulder blade she had 'Sometimes the hardest thing and the right thing are the same thing' tattooed in black ink, on her ribs she had 'Silence is the most powerful scream' and on her collarbone she had 'Inhale the future, exhale the past'. She had never regretted getting the quotes tattooed onto her body, because they had helped her so much at times in her life.

On this particular day, a group had gone out on a supply run for various bits and pieces so they needed mores hands to help out. Caitlyn had grabbed her washing and was heading down to the Quarry when Carol and Amy had joined her. She smiled at them, but stayed silent on the walk down.
"So, Caitlyn. What's your story?" Amy asked, fiddling with one of the shirts in her arms.

Caitlyn shrugged in response, "Don't really have one."

"Oh, come on. Everyone has a story. Where do you come from?" Carol asked, looking at her.

"Here, there and everywhere, I guess." This ended their conversation, which Caitlyn appreciated because she still did not enjoy talking. The key to making friends was talking, but she did not feel ready following the events she had seen at home before she left.
The three women sat down and started to wash their clothes, Caitlyn humming to herself as she did. That was the only noise except for the water splashing and the sound of brushes on the fabrics. After a long silence, Caitlyn finally spoke again.
"Isn't that Lori's shirt?" She asked Carol, who was scrubbing a blue vest top. Carol nodded in reply, causing Caitlyn to speak again. "Can't she do her own laundry? We aren't her slaves, we aren't anyone's slaves."

"It's best not to say anything, Caitlyn. She did just lose her husband-" Amy was saying till she got cut off by Caitlyn.

"Yeah, and? She had months to prepare herself for his death, he was in a coma. I lost my mother, father and one of my older brothers to those freaks. I was the one to shoot them in the head. I don't even know if my other brother is still alive. But you don't see me begging other people to do my shit, you don't see me ordering others to look out for my kid so I can bang my dead husbands best friend."
Caitlyn stood, putting her wet clothes back into her bucket before heading back to her tent. Tears blurred her vision as she bumped into Daryl Dixon's shoulder, when she walked past him.
"Oi, watch it!" He called to her, having not seen her face.

"Just fuck off," Caitlyn shouted back to him, her voice cracking. "You can all leave me alone!"
Daryl sensed something was wrong with the younger female, but decided to leave her too it. Emotions was not something he dealt with well, and it seemed like she wanted to be left alone so why should he worry? He continued on his walk to go hunting, passing by the girl's tent as he heard her crying on the inside. He let out a low sigh, before trekking back and banging on the tent fabric. As a younger brother, he knew exactly how he would feel if Merle didn't come back from the supply run.
"Go away!" was the response he got.
He let out another sigh, grabbing a fistful of his hair. He unzipped her tent and slid inside, looking at the young female who was curled up on her sleeping bag and facing away from him.
"Uh, Caitlyn, right?"
The female turned, wiping her eyes and looking at him. Daryl Dixon was in her tent. Daryl Dixon, younger brother to the drug-addict redneck, Merle. The guy who constantly eyed her when she did leave her tent.
"Leave me alone. Tell your brother he's not my type."

"I didn't come here for that..." Daryl frowned, looking at her. His brother was flirting with this young girl? "I came to ask if there was any specific meat you wanted me to catch, 'cause I'm gonna go hunting."

"I like squirrel, and rabbit," she replied with a small smile. "You don't usually ask the others what meat they want."

Daryl shrugged, "The others wouldn't understand it if Merle didn't come back." He moved his gaze away from her, eying up the crossbow in the corner. "I know nobody likes him... He hasn't given them reason too. But he's still my big brother, and he's all I got."

"I know that feeling," Caitlyn said, nodding as she sat up and followed his gaze. "My dad used to take me out into the woods when I was younger. Taught me everything I know, my old man."

"So, you hunt?"

"I wouldn't have lasted as long as I have without hunting," she explained. "You will never see me around that fire with the other members."

Daryl let out a breath, seeing a hunting knife just beside the crossbow. An idea hit him and he decided to tell her, "Why don't you come hunting with me?" He suggested, his eyes catching hers. "It might take your mind of the things you saw."
It took a moment before Caitlyn agreed, asking him to give her a moment so she could grab all her gear together. He nodded, and moved outside to wait for her. It wasn't long before she came out and they both set off into the wooded area, both walking silently. It was Daryl who eventually broke the silence.
"You said you know how I feel. What did you mean by that?"

Caitlyn glanced at him before moving it back to the ground, "I had two older brothers. One passed at the beginning, along with my parents. The other one was in prison, last I heard. Don't even know if he is alive."
The younger Dixon frowned at that, watching her expression which gave away how three members of her family had passed. He instantly felt sorry for her, not being able to imagine what she had seen.
"I would stay locked in my room when I wasn't working. I used to work at a hospital, as a nurse. Anyway, I was home that morning, following the night shift. Turned on the news and that's where I saw the first glimpse of the world to come," Caitlyn said, starting to tell her story. "It took me by surprise, but then the news reporter said that it started with a bite, I knew I was screwed. When I came home, my mom told me about a lunatic biting my dad in the night. I heard her screams, and my brothers shouts and I knew that my dad had turned. And I just stayed in my room, like the coward I am. I didn't even have the guts to go out there and save them." Tears were flooding her face once more, making alarm bells go off in Daryl's head. "One of the last reports I saw was about how to kill them. And so I did. One bullet for all three of them. Then I set off, searching for places to hide that weren't in the city."

"You aren't a coward, Caitlyn. You were just scared," Daryl said, before holding his hand up to silence her as he eyed a deer. Caitlyn nodded, acknowledging the deer's presence before circling around silently to the other side. Daryl moved his gaze to her before aiming his crossbow, and hitting the deer's rear with an arrow. The deer ran off, startled causing both of the hunters to slowly track from behind.
"I wouldn't mind deer jerky," Caitlyn commented. Daryl chuckled in reply.

From ahead, Caitlyn heard Daryl let out a groan. She quickly ran up, seeing what caused this reaction and stood wide-eyed, staring at the deer with it's throat ripped out. They had been tracking this deer for days.
"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this... Filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" He kicked the carcass with a grunt.

"Calm down, son. That's not helping," Dale spoke softly, eying up the younger Dixon.

"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "on golden pond"? I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we could cut around this chewed up part right here?" He gestured to the area.

"I would not risk that," Shane replied.

Daryl sighed, "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel... About a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

"Don't take all the credit for the hunting," Caitlyn said from behind him, moving into view as the Walker started to move it's teeth.

"Oh god," Amy groaned from behind the men, looking away.

"Come on, people. What the hell?" Daryl said as he shot through the eye of the head with an arrow. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?"
The group start to head back to the Quarry, Daryl shouting out for Merle. Caitlyn stood furthest back, eying all the people she passed.
"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up!"

"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you," Shane said, coming up from behind him.

"About what?" Daryl asked, turning around.

"About Merle. There was a... There was a problem in Atlanta."

"He dead?" Daryl said, expecting the worst.

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!"

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," the guy behind Shane said. Caitlyn frowned at his presence, who the fuck was this guy?

"Who are you?" Daryl asked, voicing the thought that Caitlyn was thinking.

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes, do you have something you want to tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

"Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and left him there?!" It was obvious to Caitlyn that Daryl was losing his temper.

"Yeah," Rick replied simply.

Daryl went to attack him, but was shoved off. Daryl pulled out his knife, causing T-Dog to shout.
"Hey! Watch the knife!"
Shane came up behind the younger Dixon, putting him in a choke-hold.

"Okay, okay."

"You'd best let me go!" Daryl yelled.

"Nah, I think it's best if I don't."

"Choke hold's illegal," Daryl stated.

"You can file a complaint. Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that? Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asked.

"What a bunch of fuck ups," Caitlyn mumbled under her breath, going back to her tent. She put her crossbow in it's corner, and sat down on her sleeping bag. The young brunette shook her head as she started to skin the squirrels that she had caught. Although she didn't know Merle very well, she knew that he didn't deserve to be left up there.