Just and FYI-There are a lot of religious references in this chapter. This is definitely not a story about Daryl Dixon finding religion. It just happens to be the backdrop of the life of one of the main characters. I don't want to express my personal views one way or another and feel that what ever you believe or don't believe is strictly a personal choice. I just don't want to offend anyone.

Personal Jesus

Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who cares
Your own personal Jesus
Someone to hear your prayers
Someone who's there
Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer
Take second best
Put me to the test
Things on your chest
You need to confess

I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver
Reach out and touch faith
Reach out and touch faith
Your own personal Jesus

Feeling unknown
And you're all alone
Flesh and bone
By the telephone
Lift up the receiver
I'll make you a believer

I will deliver
You know I'm a forgiver
Reach out and touch faith
Your own personal Jesus
Reach out and touch faith

The sun was just beginning to appear in the sky when Daryl heard an all too familiar sound. The clink of a bottle hitting a wall, stumbling feet and a string of profanities that would make the devil blush. He heard yelling, "where is that useless mother fucking pussy of a son of mine?"

Fuck, he was in for it now. As quickly and quietly as he could, he opened up his window and went out landing in the area between his and Trinity's house. He marveled at the difference in the two homes. His home had broken windows, peeling paint, missing shutters, and a blue tarp over the roof where a hole from a long ago storm ripped off a portion of the covering. Her home was immaculate. The grass was perfectly green and mowed. The house was pristine, the porch was warm and inviting with Ferns and rocking chairs, and all the windows were perfectly clean with lace curtains peaking through.

Daryl now found himself outside missing a shirt, barefoot, and no place to go. He leaned up against the house and pulled out a cigarette he still had in his pocket from the night before. He would wait for his father to pass out and then go in to retrieve his clothes and disappear for the day. As he took long drags off of the old Marlboro he had taken from Merle, he noticed the curtains moving in the Murdoch home. He looked up just enough to see Quinn Murdoch staring at him with venom in her eyes. He dropped his head so he wouldn't have to see the look she gave him. Quinn Murdoch looked at him like he was dirt under her shoes, and the hatred in her eyes was almost as scary as facing his drunk of a father.

Daryl sneaked back in his window after he stopped hearing his father banging around the house. He grabbed his shirt and shoes and headed back out the window to the woods. His Dad's disability check would be coming today, which meant as soon as the mail came, Gene would disappear to the bars for at least a day until he either was broke or got arrested.

Daryl headed deep into the woods to a spot he would often retreat too when things got too bad at the house. At the present moment Daryl was hungry and tired, but relieved that he had managed to escape his fathers drunken wrath. School would be starting back in a few days and Daryl was glad because it meant that he would at least get to eat breakfast and he would be out of the house during the day while his father would be there sleeping off the previous nights drunkenness.

Daryl spent a good part of the day in the woods. He had found a rock and attempted to kill a squirrel that he decided would be something to eat as soon as his dad got out of the house. Unfortunately, he wasn't skilled enough to kill it with just the rock. Daryl had always enjoyed hunting when he was lucky enough to borrow a rifle or a shotgun from one of Merle's friends. Daryl dreamed of the day that he could afford to buy himself a weapon. He had always wanted a Crossbow, they were quiet and efficient, and required you to have above average skills. Merle's friend Jim had taken Daryl out hunting once and let him try out his crossbow, and Daryl fell in love with it instantly. Unfortunately Daryl's circumstances presently couldn't even afford him a slingshot.

Around four in the afternoon Daryl finally emerged from the woods. He headed towards the house and was relieved to see his Father's truck was gone. He wouldn't need to worry about the evil bastard until at least tomorrow morning. He was starving and went through the fridge and cabinets and was able to find some stale bread and peanut butter. He toasted the bread and made a sandwich and then flopped down on the couch to eat.

Merle had disappeared at some point during the night, and Daryl had guessed he had gone to find another fix or get laid by some local tramp he had currently been messing with. Where as Daryl had been completely mortified about the situation he had grown up in and the reputation his family had engrained on the town, Merle actually seemed to embrace it. Merle Dixon didn't give a shit about what people thought of him, or any of the repercussions his actions would instill. People were just about as scared of Merle as they were of his father and Merle like it that way.

Daryl finally got up off the couch and decided to take a shower to get ready for the revival he would be attending later in the evening. He chuckled to himself about the fact that he was voluntarily going to church. Daryl didn't even know if he believed in God and he questioned how a loving God could allow Daryl to go through the circumstances he had already been through in his seventeen years? Maybe he could find some sort of answers about the whole dilemma tonight but that didn't really matter that much to him. He wasn't fooling himself into believing he would "see the light" and to be honest the only reason he was attending church was so he could get a hot meal and maybe talk to Trinity. He liked her even though he had only met her for a few moments, not in a romantic way, but he liked her all the same.

Daryl arrived at the "Pentecostal Holiness Church of the Living God" a few minutes early. Nervously he entered into the building and was immediately greeted by Trinity's father, Pastor Albert Murdoch. The man was kind and warm and had a friendly smile, very similar to the qualities that Trinity possessed. He reached out and extended his hand to Daryl "Good to see you again Daryl and I am really glad you could join us. Hope you will enjoy the service tonight and I hope you choose to join us all for dinner and fellowship afterwards."

Daryl nodded and quietly responded, "thanks" to the man.

In true Daryl Dixon style, Daryl sat on the very back row of the church, alone in the darkest corner he could find. He wanted to completely avoid any attention that might be placed on him. To say he was out of his comfort zone was an understatement. He tried to push away all the looks that he was getting from people in the Church. They were either shocked to see Daryl had actually attended the church, or shocked that he had somehow managed to escape from his abusive father for an evening.

Trinity spotted Daryl when he had entered into the sanctuary. She noticed that he had kept his head down and seated himself in the farthest corner he could find. She made her way over to him and extended her hand,

"Well Hello Daryl. You don't know how happy I am to see you here tonight. I really didn't think you would come, but I am glad you did. If you wait after the service, we can go over to the fellowship hall together and you can eat dinner with me." She said both telling and asking him at the same time.

He looked up at her and whispered out "Ok, I would like that." She could sense his awkwardness but she also sensed something else, could it be that he was actually seeking friendship? She began to realize that she had never seen Daryl with any friends. He was always alone, avoiding people at all costs. He was quiet, and she couldn't help but notice he had a broken quality to him that a seventeen-year-old boy shouldn't possess. She knew she had her own demons, but she at least had the love and support of her father and her brother Jonah, who was currently away at Seminary.

The service began with announcements and prayer requests. Daryl felt there was hypocrisy in several of the prayer requests because it seemed a lot of the people doing the requesting were either doing it to get sympathy for themselves, or sticking their noses in situations that they had no business being a part of. He also wondered how many of these people would actually take the time to pray for the requests being brought forth to them. He was sure no one had ever prayed for him and wondered if anyone had even been concerned enough about his situation to think about requesting a prayer.

The highlight of the service for Daryl had been when Trinity sang a powerful version of "Amazing Grace". It was one of about three hymns that Daryl had ever been familiar with. His mom used to listen to Elvis gospel albums when he was younger, and this was one of the songs he remembered. The Angst and emotion in her voice as she sang the hymn was powerful. As she sang she raised her hand up in typical Pentecostal fashion, as if she was trying to reach for the Lord himself and tears slid down her face. There was something about her face and the emotions she was displaying that told him it wasn't a love of the Lord she was feeling, he could see misery and hurt on her sweet face. He suddenly realized that there was more to Trinity Murdoch than his initial first impression.

The Evangelist made his way to the pulpit and Daryl couldn't believe who it was. It was none other than Ezra Jacob Andrews, famous television evangelist and preacher of hell fire and brimstone. The man would preach with a Fury that would make the most innocent of individuals feel like dirty sinners. To be honest, Daryl had never been impressed with the preacher or his messages and had been subjected to him several times because Merle used to watch the man on TV pointing out what a fraud the Man of God was.

Andrews whipped the congregation into a fury and the service busted wide open. People were falling out in the aisles, speaking in tongues, and making a mass exodus up to the altar. Daryl had to commend the man's showmanship, but to him, that was all it was. There was a lack of sincerity in the message he delivered, but plenty of drama and "buzz" words that would garner strong reactions from the church members. He watched Trinity as she sat up in the pulpit with her parents. Albert would nod in agreement occasionally, but that was about all the reaction the man could muster. Trinity had very little emotion on her face, and Trinity's mom Quinn looked like she was hanging on every word the man said. It was a strange combination of reactions that left Daryl with more questions than answers.

The service began to wind down with Trinity leading the congregation in a closing hymn. Daryl was impressed at how well the girl could sing. She had a talent that was miles above anyone else he had heard sing before. It made him question why she was singing here in this little church and not out in Nashville somewhere trying to market her talent into something she could turn into a paying career.

As things were coming to an end, an older woman known as Eliza Devonshire approached Daryl. She was known to be the town gossip and made it a point to be involved in a little bit of everyone's business. Daryl's breath hitched as he looked up and saw her standing there.

"Daryl Dixon, the Lord has revealed to me that I need to lay hands on you and pray for your lost soul." He gasped as she reached out for him. Before he knew it, she had placed both her hands on his shoulders and began to pray loudly, alerting others in the vicinity and apparently giving them sort of non-verbal signal to join her. The next thing he knew there were no less than five individuals laying hands all over his body and praying in some sort of gibberish he believed to be them speaking in tongues.

Trinity witnessed what was going on with Daryl and she saw a panic over take his face and body. Knowing a little something about the type of abuse he went through at the hands of his father, she suspected he was about to have a panic attack. She needed to get over there and diffuse the situation before something bad happened. She jumped down off the stage and began to make her way towards Daryl, not catching the look on her mother's face as she saw her daughter headed towards the young man.

A shortness of breath began to overtake Daryl and he began to feel dizzy. Before he knew what was happening the voices were becoming muffled and darkness began to overtake him. Trinity made it to him just as he passed out from being overwhelmed by the zealous crowd. She kindly asked them all to step back and then gently shook him to get him to come back around.

His face was flushed and he was breathing rapidly, but his eyes slowly began to open as Trinity began to say his name in a soothing tone. "Daryl can you hear me? I've asked everyone to leave and it's just me here with you right now. Can you get up and go with me, we need to get you out of here." She said.

He nodded and got up as she took his hand and led him out of the sanctuary. She wondered how long it had been since he had eaten or had a decent night's sleep. His facial features were too worn for someone his age and he looked like he carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. She decided at that point that she was going to make an effort to get to know Daryl Dixon. He looked like he needed a friend in his life, and she wanted to be that friend for him.

They entered into the fellowship hall where some of the ladies were making the last minute preparations of the dinner. Trinity took Daryl and brought him to one of the Sunday school rooms that were off to the side of the main dining area. "Why don't you sit in here so you can have some privacy. Just how long has it been since you have had anything decent to eat Daryl?" She inquired,

Embarrassed, he quietly responded, "A while. I'm sorry to be a bother."

"Oh Daryl, your no bother at all. Just stay here for a few minutes and I will be back. No one will come in here and try to bother you while I go and fix you a plate." She said with a true sincerity in her voice.

A few minutes later she returned with a plate piled high with steaming hot food. Daryl's eyes grew wide as he saw the feast laid before him. She handed him a fork and napkin and said she would be right back. She then returned with a large glass of sweet tea for him to drink with his meal.

"Thank you Trinity. I don't know if anyone has ever been this nice to me before" he said.

"It is no problem at all Daryl. I'm sorry you got tag teamed tonight by Eliza and her crew. They are just a bunch of old busy bodies who like to make dramatic demonstrations of their faith. Unfortunately, if you were in the desert dying of thirst and there was only one bottle of water, she would let you die before she would share with you. But pretend you didn't hear me say that." She joked.

He liked her. She was easy to talk to, and had an honesty to her that very few people seemed to possess. He thought she was cute too, not a striking beauty, but cute with a naturalness to her. He asked her a question, "So I can't believe that a church as small as this one managed to get TV Evangelist Ezra Andrews here to preach a revival. How did your father manage that? I always thought Andrews had a tendency to follow the money trail."

"Oh trust me, he definitely follows the almighty dollar, but he also happens to be my Grandfather." She said, causing Daryl's mouth to drop open.

Well I hope you like this chapter. Please throw me a review and let me know what you think. I will try to get the third chapter up later tonight or possibly in the morning.

Once again, Review Review Review, it helps to keep me on point and I love to know what other's think or would like to see the story go.

Thanks

Missy

XXOO