"Hey! Y'all boys up?"

I jolt upright, look 'round to see who's talkin'. Fuck. I'm still in our tent, Merle snorin' next to me. Bastard's gonna be hung over today. I rub my hands over my face an' reach for the zipper, pullin' it open slowly. Before or after the end of the world, it ain't ever gonna be a good mornin' when your wake up call's a fuckin' cop.

"We got stuff to get done today. You an' your brother come on out when you're decent. Meet me by Dale's camper." Shane sounds irritated. I can't fuckin' imagine what stuff he's got for us to do. Just got here last night an' already bein' put to work. I reach over an' shake on Merle's boot.

"Merle, get the fuck up." He kicks at me, but don't wake up. I reach over him an' grab my shirt, pull it over my head an' toss his own shirt at his face. He sits up an' swings. Fuckin' idiot.

"The fuck was that?" He's lookin' 'round, eyes still bloodshot. When they fall on me, he looks pissed. "Fuck you do that for, asshole?"

"Your good buddy, Officer Shane, wants us to meet up at the camper. C'mon." I bend over an' shove my feet in my boots, don't even bother to lace 'em. Merle pulls his shirt over his head an' starts workin' at his own boots when I step outta the tent. I forgot how close all of us were. Jesus, the Mexican's car was practically on top of us. I twist my back an' run my hands through my hair. Merle steps outta the tent, spits on the ground. We see some of the group standin' at that RV, so we head over. I fuckin' hate dealin' with other people, 'specially strangers. Merle really knows how to get us in some shit. When we get to the rest, I just make out an argument.

"I go alone. I've always gone alone on the supply runs!" Dunno why, but the chinaman's pretty pissed off. He ain't nearly as pissed as Shane.

"I'm not arguin' with you, Glenn. Non-negotiable. We need a lot more shit this time, you need the extra manpower." I notice that black guy agrees with Shane.

"Glenn, what if you get out there, get all our shit an' run into trouble?" Shane nods.

"T-Dogg's right. That happens you not only prevent us from gettin' the supplies we need, we'll also be down a man." The kid looks like he wants to argue, but Shane keeps talkin'. Completely cuts off any further discussion. "Non-negotiable." An' then he storms off. Merle clears his throat, decides to speak up an' figure out just what the hell's goin' on.

"Y'all mind fillin' us in on whatever it is you're plannin' to do?" The blonde speaks up.

"Jesus, don't tell me Shane wants the two Duke Boys to tag along." I can tell already she's a bitch. I keep my mouth shut. I know better than to mouth off when we're outnumbered. Can't say the same for my brother.

"Come again, sugar tits? You got a problem with me an' my little brother bein' here? 'Cause you seemed awful happy last night when Shane told y'all we could hunt. Fact, I don't reckon I even heard you complain. Daryl?" I don't look at any of them, just at the ground. Merle scoffs at me. "I think what my tongue-tied baby brother meant to say was, he ain't heard your complaints, either. So how 'bout you hold off on the snobby bitch routine an' tell us what we gotta do." I glance up to see she is frozen to the spot, hands on her hips, mouth wide open. The Mexican speaks for her.

"Look, we need supplies. Glenn, here, usually makes the runs solo, but this is a bigger haul. We're runnin' low on the basics." I still don't understand what the fuck they're goin' on 'bout. The fuck they mean, supply run? When neither of us say anything, the black guy chimes in.

"We're headin' into the city. Glenn knows all the ways in an' outta there but we need a larger party. We already got me, Morales, Jacqui an' Andrea. We could use another man." I pick up on the singular. I don't even think before I speak.

"Man? Why we both standin' here if you only need one other guy? How 'bout the old man up on his fuckin' perch?" I point up to the old guy standin' on the camper, rifle in his hands. Blonde speaks again.

"That 'old man' watches the camp. We need him here." She won't say it. It's 'cause he's fuckin' old. Merle's patience is wearin' thin. He already spit twice just standin' here.

"Y'all take one of us, where's that leave the other?" The Mexican answers.

"We can't live off canned foods forever. We're almost out and that's part of the reason we're headed that way. Shane said you guys were hunters. The one that stays behind, hunts." I look over at Merle. He winks at me an' starts before I can stop him.

"Well, Daryl's your man. He takes that bow of his out there an' brings in the meat. I guess I'm takin' my chances in the city." Nobody argues with him, not even me. Not in front of all them. We split up so's they can all get ready. Merle slips back in the tent to grab his leather vest an' his rifle. Away from the crowd, I can speak my mind.

"The fuck you thinkin' runnin' on some suicide mission? We don't know these people. What if they put a bullet in your head when they figure out what a backwoods, racist son of a bitch you are?"

"Little brother, don't go worryin' 'bout Ol' Merle. I can take care of myself just fine. 'Sides, I'd like to get a look at whatever they got stashed away. You go off frolickin' in the flora an' the fauna, leave the dirty work to me." I can't believe he's fuckin' doin' this. I wanna talk him outta it, tell him we should just pack our shit an' hit the road. But the words don't come to me. "So, how 'bout one of them Reds?" He's such a jackass. I pull my smokes outta my back pocket an' hold the pack out to him. He puts one behind his ear an' the other to his lips, flicks his zippo an' takes a long inhale before he speaks again.

"I gotta admit. I sure as shit ain't happy headin' out with the fuckin' meltin' pot. Damn. All the camps we find, it's loaded with blacks, spics an' chinks. Jesus Christ on the cross. That right there's a sign I'm bein' punished if I ever seen one." I grab my crossbow an' we head back over to the group. I can tell already Merle ain't happy. He's headed out with blonde, two blacks, the Mexican an' the chinaman. Blonde won't look him in the eyes when she speaks.

"I'm sorry. About the Duke Boys comment. It's Dixon, right?" Merle gets that look in his eye, the one where he knows he's the top dog in a pack. I've seen that look too many times to count.

"That's right, Blondie. Name's Merle, that's Daryl." She blushes, but it ain't the flatterin' kind. He really embarrassed her earlier. Ain't like she didn't deserve it. The Mexican introduces hisself as Morales. The black guy's T-Dogg, Jacqui's the black lady, we already figured out which one was Glenn, an' Andrea's the blonde. I sling the bow over my shoulder. I'm already sick of the get-to-know-you shit. I can't hold my tongue no more.

"Y'all know what you're doin', headin' down in the city like this? Weren't it overrun?" Andrea looks right at me, I drop my eyes to her feet when she talks to me.

"We trust Glenn. An' now we have the extra man. We'll be fine." Morales claps his hand to my shoulder an' I shove down the urge to push him away. Merle catches it, only smiles at me like the bastard he is. Morales tells me to make sure to bag the biggest buck I can find. Merle drops his cigarette in the dirt an' grinds it out. The others start to head for the road, but Merle hangs back.

"Don't let me down, boy. I expect some kinda meat when I get back. Hell, I could even go for stewed squirrel. I'll see you in a bit." With that, he takes off after the others. Part of me feels wrong that I didn't say bye. That I didn't tell him to be careful. Hell, I know better. If I'd say stupid shit like that he'd tell me to knock the sand outta my pussy. Old man on watch looks down at me.

"Daryl, is it? You can head out through those trees over there, son. Good luck." I bite back the urge to tell him I ain't his son. I look 'round the camp as I make my way out. There's still a big group even with those gone. The little kids runnin' 'round playin' an' shit catches my eye. Much as I wanna get the hell outta here, I can't help but think they're dependin' on me for a meal. I ain't ever been responsible for nobody but myself. I have a heavy feelin' weighin' on me that I just got a whole lot more responsibilities. That fuckin' sucks. I need to bag somethin' out there. I know what it's like to be a hungry kid. Fuck. This place is gettin' to me. I'll bring back some food. But soon's Merle gets back, we're gettin' the fuck outta here.


I've been trackin' for hours now, it finally looks like it's gonna pay off. The deer's right in my sight. Movin' more than I need it to, but I just wanna get it. A rope of squirrels ain't gonna feed all them fuckin' people. In the back of my mind, I think of how bad those little kids could use the food. I shoot off an arrow an' hit it in the hip. Motherfucker. I needa clear my head. Stop thinkin' of starvin' children. I load back up an' chase it. Ain't like it don't know I'm after it, I already blew it by aimin' too far off. A chillin' thought comes over me.

I think of what the old man woulda said 'bout that shot. He'd probably throw one of his empty bottles at my head. He always taught us to steady our breathin', make the aim an' pull one smooth motion. Merle ain't ever been as good a shot as me. It makes me think of how he volunteered me to hunt. I almost think he did it outta pride, but I know better. My brother don't hold pride in no one but hisself. Somethin' else our father passed on.

I aim at the deer again, only to catch it a few inches further from the first. Dammit. That animal really took off, even with two bolts in its hip. Now I have to track. I spend all fuckin' day followin' that bastard's trail. From the looks of it, the thing weren't bleedin' too much. What little blood I do spot heads me east. I see a squirrel up ahead, an' nail his ass to the tree. I pull him down an' string him up. It's only then that I realize how fuckin' hungry I am. I ain't ate shit all day. I feel like a fuckin' idiot. I find some mushrooms on the ground. They could be poisonous for all I know, but I eat 'em anyways. After a few minutes I'm still standin' so I carry on.

I ain't sure how many miles I'm out, but I notice the sun settin'. I could either find a spot to hide out, or I can head back to camp. I figured I'm better off stayin' on the trail of that deer an' sleepin' out here. I ain't dumb enough to just drop to the ground, so I climb up a decent sized tree, just a few feet up. I mount a branch an' straddle it. Ain't the most uncomfortable place I ever slept. I take off my extra squirrel line an' tie myself to the tree. I knot it at my waist an' hang my full squirrel line on the branch next to me. I could hang up the crossbow, but I'd rather have it right where I can get to it. The last thing I think of before I go to sleep is the stupid grin that'll be on my brother's face when he sees my kills.