Yay the next chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I'm to lazy to type your names again ;P Instead, I will dedicate the chapter to my favorite review, and so I dedicate this chapter too…JackAndHoney! You get a cyber cookie, yay!
On with the story!
Daryl's POV One Week from Incident (End of last chapter)
After cleaning and cutting the deer, he laid down the sheet he had gotten from the camp and bundled it up. On the second night after he had returned Sophia, he still thought he was too dangerous to go to camp. However, he was alive, and he wasn't going to let the group live on canned beans if he could help it. That was too cruel a fate for anyone.
So he had snuck into camp, (with surprising ease, he hoped walkers didn't have such an easy time) grabbed his crossbow, arrows, and knife, and then went hunting.
After killing the deer, he was going to deliver it to camp, before realizing he didn't know if anyone knew how to properly clean a deer and eat only edible parts. So here he was, bundling up the freshly killed deer to bring to camp.
3 miles later
He approached cautiously, making sure he wasn't seen. He held his breath as Glenn and Dale went by, discussing the different mushrooms and how to tell if they were poisonous or not. Rolling his eyes, and quickly crept out behind them and set down the package of fresh meat, before retreating back into the woods.
Dale put his fingers in his mouth and let out the loudest whistle he could muster until Glenn and Dale came over, and then sprinted away, hoping the leaves behind him would stop rustling by the time they got there. He kept going for about thirty meters, before climbing a tree and peering through the branches. He strained his ears, and was able to hear Dale calling to T-Dog.
He couldn't hear the exact words, but soon T-Dog had sped off, and in his place came Rick. They talked to each other, grim expressions on their faces. Daryl fought the urge to roll his eyes.
"Come on, take the stupid deer!" He mumbled quietly. If they didn't take the deer he had worked so hard for he was going to come out there and hit them on the heads, danger be damned. T-Dog ran up again, holding something Daryl couldn't see clearly through the trees. They talked more and Daryl huffed, beginning to lose patience.
Luckily for them, after a surprisingly long silence, Glenn and T-Dog picked up the deer and headed back to the RV, but Dale and Rick stayed.
"Daryl, are you there?" Rick called. Daryl froze, shocked. How did they….It doesn't matter. They can't know I'm here, it's too dangerous, he thought.
"Daryl, please, if you're there just give us a sign. We all miss you," Dale pleaded. Daryl fought the urge to snort. Miss him? No one cared for him over there. Dale was just being the nice guy he was, as was Rick. They waited a few more moments, before sighing and walking back to camp.
Daryl released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding, and then climbed down the tree, shouldered his crossbow and headed back into the forest.
It was better if they didn't know.
-Two weeks later (Barn incident has happened without Sophia)-
Daryl swung the six squirrels on his shoulder, heading towards the farm once more. It was nighttime, and he squinted into the darkness. Was that…Dale? Yes, it was, he was staring at some shape on the ground. But what was behind….?
Dale fell to the ground, yelling. Letting out a curse, Daryl leapt into action, dropping the squirrels and running as fast as he could across the field. He neared the pair just as the walker began to tear into Dale. Daryl didn't slow down and he pummeled into the side of the walker, rolling with it and taking it away from Dale.
Taking out his knife, he stabbed it swiftly in the head, ending its existence. Instantly he was up again, kneeling by Dale. He noted the other survivors looking for who had started screaming, and he only paused for a second before jumping up and waving his arms.
"HELP! OVER HERE!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. He knelt down again, cursing once more as he noticed Dale was bleeding….a lot.
He shrugged out of his jacket (another thing he had stolen from the camp, it got cold at night) and pressed it on the wound. It was soon soaked with Dale's blood.
"Dale hold on. Hey, I'm here, I'm alive. If I pulled through a bite you can pull through a little tear, right? Hang in there Dale, help is on the way," Daryl said, trying to be soothing.
"Daryl? Wha – oh my god, Dale," Rick looked as though someone had shot him, the shock of seeing Daryl and Dale about to die freezing him up for a moment.
"Get Hershel!" Daryl snapped.
"R-right…HERSHEL! HERSHEL WE NEED HERSHEL!" Rick began yelling at the top of his voice. Daryl tuned him out and the rest of the group that had just arrived. He focused on Dale, who was staring at him with wide eyes. Luckily Daryl had been close enough that the damage wasn't too bad, but if he didn't get help soon he would die.
"What blood type does he have? We need some, stat," Hershel asked, barely having to glance at the blood-soaked jacket to know it was bad.
"He has O Negative. He told me when he found out Carl had needed blood," Lori said quietly, holding a crying Carl to her side.
"Of course," Hershel sighed. O Negative blood was quite rare, and just because Dale was blessed with blood to give to others and not receive, he was going to die.
"I have O Negative blood," Daryl spoke up. Everyone's gazes switched to him, as though suddenly noticing he was there.
"Daryl! You are alive!" Glenn gasped, the first to break the silence that followed.
"Man dying here?" Daryl pointed out, snapping everyone out of their shock.
"Glenn, go to the house and tell Maggie what's going on, she'll know what to do," Hershel told the young asian, who nodded and took off at a sprint. The wait afterwards was agonizing, the silence only broken by Dale's wheezing.
Daryl was glad when he returned, with Maggie and medical supplies in tow. It was awkward with all those people staring at him….and Dale dying of course.
-Switch of POV to Group in General-
Daryl had to give three whole pints of blood to keep Dale going while Hershel sewed him up. Afterwards Daryl nearly passed out, and was helped to the house by Rick and T-Dog, while Glenn, Shane, and Maggie gently carried Dale to the house, where Hershel would look after him.
After settling Daryl into the RV, and checking on Dale one last time, Rick called the group together for a meeting to discuss something that had been bugging all of them for the last three weeks, and was now practically screaming to be answered –How the hell was Daryl alive?
BWAHAHA CLIFF HANGER! Lol thank you so much for all the reviews, I really appreciated it. Criticism is welcomed – Am I going to fast? Do you like it? Hate it? Suggestions for how you want the story to go? Please tell me and thank you for reading!
Oh and BTW I know Sophia wasn't really mentioned in this chapter….She was just hanging out with Carol lol….who was on the edge….not talking….in shock…..;P
