Author's Note: I don't own anything having to do with the Walking Dead only Daisy (Ace) belongs to me
Big thank you to my biggest supporter and unofficial beta wandertogondor!
Any suggestions/comments/critiques are all welcome!
Chapter 4
Somewhere in my subconscious I knew the smart thing to do would be to go back and get Daryl. We would be able to cover more ground if the two of us were looking for Merle together especially since he was a better tracker than me but I pressed on with fear and concern clouding my judgment.
"Merle," I loudly whispered praying he would be able to hear me though I had a sinking feeling growing in the pit of my stomach that he wouldn't. That's when I heard it, a single twig snapping off to my left. I froze for a moment and shoved the dog tags in my jeans pocket just in case I needed my hands free. "Merle?"
If I could only be so lucky, instead of some degrading sarcastic comment from my eldest brother that I was almost praying for by now my answer was a hungry growl. I immediately aimed my gun and shot what I assumed to be a lone walker in the head only I had been very wrong and foolish as more appeared drawn closer to me by the sudden loud noise. There was a fleeting moment when I was torn at what to do; I could try and stand my ground, take out as many walkers as possible or I could run back to camp for much needed backup but that would also mean putting the others at risk. The decision was made for me when the sound of multiple gunshots were heard from the direction I had come from and I ran as fast as I could back to camp taking out the ones I could along the way.
*Flashback*
I had been on my own for two weeks when I had gotten myself into some real trouble. Taking out walkers wasn't that bad when you were one on one, they didn't seem as enraged and it was easier when you didn't have to worry about another one sneaking up behind you, but it was a different story when they roamed in small groups. I was out in the woods trying to find some kind of animal so I could feed my hungry stomach when I first heard the disgruntled growl.
I crouched behind a tree almost praying that if I stood still enough it would stumble past me and I could go on about my hunting but I had been fooled by thinking there would be only one. Two more came from the left side and my breath caught in my throat. This was it, I was going to die. Climb the tree you idiot, get leverage on them, and shoot the bastards, I heard my eldest brother's voice echoing in my head but I was barely tall enough to grab onto the lowest branch. Luckily, there was a large rock next to the tree and I used it as a stepstool so I could grab the branch. I tried pushing myself up but I had drawn attention to myself and one of the walkers grabbed my right leg before I could pull it all the way up.
"No, no, no," I screamed shaking my leg as hard as I could while still trying to pull myself up onto the branch. Just as the walker was about to take a bite out of me the boots I had been wearing came off causing the walker to fall to the ground giving me the opportunity to get to a higher branch.
Once safely in the tree I shot each of them in the head taking out any immediate danger but ended up spending the night up on that branch anyway too terrified to get down.
*Present*
The last couple of days I had been complaining about being with a group but for the first time I was thankful I was not alone.
General Point of View
Daryl had gone back to cooking the squirrel after Daisy stalked off into the woods. She was a Dixon after all and once they had their minds set there was little, if anything, anyone could do to change it. He couldn't help but feel a small sense of pride that after all this time and being on her own she had survived.
The rest of the group continued on with their fish fry until Amy broke the silence, "Do you really think it's a bright idea to piss off the Dixons?"
"You're defending Merle?" Andrea questioned in disbelief.
Amy shook her head, "No, but pissing them off doesn't really sound like a good thing to do."
"Didn't say anything that wasn't true and if you ask me," Shane answered looking over to Rick almost like he was trying to plant a seed in his friend's head. "She's a danger to this camp."
"Now, I don't believe that," Dale spoke up ready to take a defensive stand. He was a special kind of man that had the ability to see a person for who they really were instead of the shell they presented to the rest of the world. "I'm pretty sure that if Amy was being insulted Andrea would stand up to whoever it was. Same thing goes for Lori, Rick and Carl. I'm not saying she went about it correctly but she did the right thing standing up for her family. Any one of us would have."
"I like her," Sophia whispered to Carol, "She's not afraid."
Carol gave her a sad smile as she ran a hand through the girl's short hair. This wasn't the life she wanted for her poor Sophia and she thought about her husband laying bruised and bloodied back in their tent. The world had been an evil sadistic place before the virus hit and now, well now hadn't been any easier.
Amy excused herself to use the bathroom in Dale's RV and conversation resumed around the fire until she came out asking for more toilet paper. Before anyone could answer a scream pierced the air as a walker bit into the young girl's arm. Daryl had his hand on his crossbow the second the scream erupted from the other side of the camp. He skillfully shot it in the head and as he got closer to where the rest of the group was even more walkers could be seen making their way up the small hill.
Chaos ensued as the group tried to defend their camp. Rick had tossed Daryl a gun since there were so many and he couldn't get the crossbow reloaded in time. Everything was happening at once; screams of people getting eaten, gunfire, the growls of walkers and the hope that they would make it out alive.
Daryl only had one thing on his mind, or one person rather, as he took down walker after walker. There almost seemed to be no end in sight and he felt a weight lift from his chest as he saw his sister running towards the group taking down her fair share as well.
Daisy's Point of View
The gun quickly ran out of bullets and in one fluid motion I let it fall to the ground as my hand pulled the knife out of my belt. Rick shouted for all of us to go towards the RV but I barely heard him over the deafening noise of the gunfire. I took out a couple walkers that got too close but I left the rest for the people still with guns.
My mind was only on survival until I saw a familiar face laying with his back against the ground and using his shotgun to keep the walker's hungry teeth away. I hate to admit but for a brief moment I thought about leaving him behind but I couldn't bring myself to be that cold hearted. So, I stepped up beside the walker and put my hand on its shoulder for leverage as I jammed the knife through the back of its skull before rolling it to the side.
Shane looked a mix between relief and shock that I was the one who came to his rescue. I didn't wait to help him up or even to see if he was alright, my conscious was clear.
The Next Day
No one had slept that night, half the camp had been wiped out, and while most mourned their dead I worked silently making sure the walkers were put down as I kept an eye out for the gun I had dropped.
"He dead?" Daryl walked over to where I had just finished bashing in a walker's skull to make sure it wouldn't wake up when someone went to move it to the fire. I hit the walker in the head one more time with the sledgehammer I had been given before I nodded. Daryl rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head a little, "Not who I was talkin' bout."
It hit me like a ton of bricks when I realized he was talking about Merle and after a deep breath I pulled the dog tags out of my pocket, "found these last night before things went to shit."
Daryl just gave me an impermeable nod, "Hey, Asian get over here."
"I'm Korean," Glenn corrected as he helped Daryl drag the rather large walker over to the fire.
Once they had moved his body I saw my gun and quickly placed it in the small of my back. I'd have to get more bullets for it but there was something comforting about having it with me though for the life of me I would never quite figure out why.
*Flashback*
Mom had died a few months ago, Merle was doing his first stint in the juvenile detention center, and dad was going off the deep end.
D3aryl had moved up to the middle school so this was my first year being in elementary school without the safety of my brothers. I waited on the sidewalk in front of my school where Daryl had told me to wait from him to walk me home since a few of the neighborhood boys had started bothering me but he never showed. I was filled with a horrible feeling as I walked home alone; he had forgotten me.
I was wrong though and as I walked through the front door I heard an awful whipping noise. Curiously, I inched around the corner to see my father hitting Daryl repeatedly across his chest with a leather belt. I don't even know what Daryl had done, it could have been something as simple as looking at our father the wrong way, but no one hurt my brothers even if that person was my own blood. I spotted dad's gun on the counter and without thinking I grabbed it.
"Stop!" I shouted as I aimed the gun at my father with shaky hands.
My dad paused for a moment as his gaze shifted to me, like he realized for the first time I was even in the room, before letting out a boisterous laugh. "Whatcha goin' to do, shoot you're ol' man?" I hadn't thought that far, I just wanted him to stop him from hurting Daryl and I stood there like a deer in headlights my whole body trembling with fear as he took a couple steps towards me. "Give me that," he snarled, snatching the gun from my hand before hitting me across the face with the butt of the gun. "You need to learn your place, little girl."
Once my father had stormed out of the house, most likely to head to the liquor store, Daryl made his way over to where I was sitting on the floor still shaking with fear ignoring his own wounds to make sure I was alright.
That was the one and only time I had ever stood up to my father.
*Present*
Somewhere along the course of the day Rick and Shane decided that the group was going to try the C.D.C. for answers and the hope of a more secure shelter. I didn't think too much about it until I saw Daryl taking down his tent and packing it in the back of his truck.
"You're leavin'?" I questioned angrily.
He walked passed me to start packing up the rest of our things, "We're leavin'." He corrected.
"Why 'cause a cop told you to?" I scoffed and started taking my things out of the back of the truck. "Go on if that's what you want but I ain't leavin' here without Merle."
Daryl took my stuff and threw it back in the bed of the truck and motioned with his head to the ropes that held Merle's motorcycle in place. "I'll tie you down if I have to but you're going."
"And how pissed is he going to be when he finds out we left him here alone to die," I snapped but Daryl was unfazed by my anger and all but picked me up and set me in the cab of the truck.
We rode in silence for a half hour as we brought up the rear of our line of cars. My anger still rolling off of me in waves and I half thought about throwing myself from the cab until Daryl spoke up.
"Nothin' can kill Merle but Merle. He's the toughest son of a bitch I've ever met, give him a hammer and he'll shit out nails…" he trailed off and got quieter, "besides he'd want me to get you out of there."
That horrible feeling of being forgotten washed over me again for the first time in years as I kept my eyes straight in front of me, "Should've thought about that a few months ago."
"What?" he questioned glancing over to me for a few seconds before returning his eyes to the road.
"Nothing," I muttered taking the gun out of the small of my back and laying it on the seat so I could get more comfortable.
Daryl looked at the gun, "Where's you get that from?"
"It's the ol' mans," I answered, closing for a minute and swallowing hard to forget the day I had come looking for my brothers in our old home.
"Dale's?" he questioned in disbelief.
I shook my head, "Dad's."
