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:mistphoenix
"Alright, everyone's getting a search grid. If she made it to the farmhouse Daryl found she might've gone further east than we've been lookin'." Rick stood leaning over the map on the hood of the truck.
"I'd like to help." The boy everyone had come to know as Jimmy stepped up, eyeing the group. "I know the area pretty well and stuff."
Jerking on a flannel shirt, Daryl surveyed the boy, doubting his ability.
"Hershel's okay with this?" Rick asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, he said I should ask you."
Skye had a feeling the boy was lying with the way his eyes darted around while he answered the question, but all he wanted to do was help.
"Alright, then. Thanks."
"Nothin' about what Daryl found screams Sophia to me. Anyone could have been holed up in that farmhouse," Shane said from the passenger seat of the truck.
"Anybody includes her, right?" Andrea shifted.
"Whoever slept in that cupboard was no bigger than yay high." Daryl held a hand up indicating someone about four feet tall, sounding disappointed someone was questioning his judgment.
"Makes perfect sense to me," Skye smiled at him.
"Good lead," Andrea agreed.
"Maybe we'll pick up her trail again." Rick gave Daryl a trusting look.
"No maybe about it. I'm gonna borrow a horse, head up to this ridge right here." Daryl pointed at a spot not too far from where they were. "Get a bird's eye view. If she's down there, I'll spot her." His tone was softer, more relaxed. It was very different from the rough agitated one they all knew.
"Good idea," T-Dog crept up. "Maybe you'll see your Chupacabra up there, too."
Skye couldn't tell if he was joking or mocking him.
Rick looked between the two men. "Chupacabra?"
"What? You never heard this?" Dale seemed surprised.
Daryl placed his hands on his hips ready to defend himself, which got Skye all the more interested.
"First night in camp, Daryl tells us the whole thing reminds him of when he went squirrel hunting and he saw a Chupacabra."
Daryl nodded at the group as Dale filled them in.
Jimmy let out a snort.
"What you brayin' at, jackass?"
"So you believe in a bloodsucking dog?"
"You believe dead people are walking around?" Daryl shot.
Skye had to admit he had a point. After this, who knows what could be real. She found herself to be a lot more open-minded nowadays.
Jimmy reached for the gun on the hood, but was stopped by Rick.
"Hey, hey. You ever fire one before?"
"Well, if I'm goin' out I want one."
Daryl swung his crossbow over his shoulder and walked around them. "Yeah, and people in hell want slurpees."
Standing up from the car, Shane spoke to the boy. "Why don't you come train tomorrow. If you're serious, I'm a certified instructor."
"For now he can come with us," Andrea spoke.
"He's yours to babysit then."
"Alright, Andrea, T-Dog. Why don't you guys take this area here." Rick's finger fell to the map. "Shane, you and Skye take this grid here."
While Skye looked to where Rick's finger rested, Shane looked up to see he was receiving a warning glare from Daryl, making him think back to the CDC.
Ignoring him, Shane said, "Alright, girl. You got everything you need?"
Skye held her gun up.
"Alright, then. Let's move out."
An awkward silence hung between them as Shane and Skye searched their grid. Skye kicked at the ground impatiently.
"Whatcha think' about?" Shane looked back over his shoulder at the brunette.
"Just family. Friends."
Shaking his head in disapproval, he said, "Don't waste your time on thoughts like that."
"And why's that?" She couldn't wait to hear his reasoning for something like that.
"Everything from before is gone. Classmates, work associates, friends… family. All of 'em. Ain't no thoughts goin' to bring 'em back."
"Doesn't make me miss them any less, Shane. I don't want to forget them."
"You should. There's no reason to dwell on the past. It's hard enough acceptin' the world as it is now without throwing guilt about the past into the mix. We need to move on."
"I'm sorry I don't find that as easy as you do," she said disgusted.
"We'll be adding more to that list if we keep following, Rick. So you better get used to it."
"That's awful, Shane."
"We're all spread, Skye. Riskin' everything for a little girl we ain't gonna find."
"How can you be so sure? You can't give up that easily, Shane."
"We're chasin' a ghost. This right here, right now. That's exactly what we're doin' and it's a waste of time." He cast a sideways glance at her. "And I think deep down you know that, too. She's gone."
In an instant, he was up in her face.
"Ain't that, right? Just admit it."
"You don't know the first thing about what I think."
Shaking his head, he rested his hands on the gun that hung from his neck, stepping back in disbelief. "Yeah, whatever, girl." He walked past her.
Close behind him, she saw a blue cloth marker nailed to a tree.
"That's Andrea and T-Dog. We must've stumbled into their grid."
"Guess so." She turned around.
Sighing he stepped around her. "Skye…"
Stopping, she waited, looking into his eyes.
"I never apologized for that night when we arrived at the CDC."
Skye shifted uncomfortably.
"It wasn't me. Wasn't in my right mind."
"Alcohol isn't an excuse, Shane." She went to move by him.
He stepped in front of her. "That's not what I'm sayin'. Someone got into my head, made me feel… worthless. I just –"
Skye held her hand up, silencing him. "It's okay. I forgive you." And she truly did. Her belief was that if they couldn't learn to forgive each other, then the walkers had already won.
He nodded. "Thanks." Letting out held breath, he added, "And about this whole Sophia thing, it's not that I don't care about the little girl. It's just that I don't want to see others getting hurt or even killed because we're all out here searchin'."
"I understand, Shane. I really do. But don't let that change you. You can want to protect the group all you want, but don't let it turn you into some animal."
Shane stared off into the woods, thinking over her words.
"Now, come on. We should start lookin' some more."
Aiming down his sights, Daryl pulled the trigger, sending a bolt through the air to pin his prey to a tree trunk. As the horse he rode walked past it, he yanking the arrow from the tree with the squirrel still attached. Reaching back, he shoved their dinner into the bag behind him.
"Whoa." He pulled back gently on the reins, stopping the horse.
In the stream ahead, a dead tree lied across the water, but it was what it was blocking that caught his eye. A doll. Daryl leapt down from the saddle and made sure to tie the horse to a nearby tree. Crossing the stream to the stranded toy, he picked it up, recognizing it at once.
"Sophia!"
Hurrying back to the horse, he whipped his leg up over its back and continued towards his destination, the top of the ridge. Some birds burst out from a bush on his right, startling the horse a bit.
"Whoa, easy," he soothed.
His eyes were straining to search every inch of the woods around him, but failed to catch sight of the danger ahead. A snake struck at the horse, making her rear up in a panic. Unable to calm her, he was flung from her back, his body tumbling through dirt, sticks, and hard rock to come to a halt at the bottom. After landing in the water, he cursed at the sharp pain in his side.
"Son of a bitch!"
Leaning up slightly, he saw one of his trusty arrows jutting from his abdomen. Trying to gain some strength, he lied there a minute before attempting to crawl to the sandbar. He only got two steps in before falling hard to his knees again. Ripping his sleeves from his arms, he tied them together to create a tourniquet to keep the arrow from moving. Despite his injury, he was determined to make it to the top. Looking up he realized he was going to have to climb. Movement in a bush nearby caught his attention and he became aware that his crossbow was no longer on him. Grabbing a long stick he began to drag it around in the water in search of his weapon. Feeling the stick get stuck on something, he reached into the water to find the smooth feel of the bow. After finding it, he turned to face his next obstacle.
It was a long treacherous way up, but Daryl now only had to conquer the last foot. Getting himself pumped, he swung himself upward but fell short. Losing his grip on the root, he fell all the way back down. Then it was black.
Beginning to come to, the trees above were a blur and Daryl could hear the sound of the stream, frogs and footsteps in the sand. Vision clearing, he found himself looking into the blue eyes of his older brother.
"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy? You could bind your wound better."
"Merle."
"Hmm. What's goin' on here? You takin' a siesta or somethin'?"
"My shitty day, bro."
"Like me to get you a pillow? Maybe rub your feet?"
"Screw you," Daryl spat.
"You're the one that's screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent tryin' to make a man of ya, and this is what I get? Look at ya, lyin' here in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here, little brother. And for what?"
"The girl. They lost their little girl."
"So you gotta thing for little girls now?"
"Shut up."
"'Cause I noticed you ain't out there lookin' for old Merle no more."
"Tried like hell to find you, bro." Daryl's voice was weak.
"Like hell you did. You split man. Let out."
"No, you let out. All you had to do was wait. We went back for ya. Rick and I. We did right by you."
Merle gave him a look of disbelief. "This the same Rick that cuffed me to the roof in the first place. Forced me to cut off my own hand."
Daryl looked and saw that his hand was still intact.
"This who we're talkin' 'bout here? You his bitch now?"
"I ain't nobody's bitch."
"You're a joke is what you are. Why you stayin' round these fools anyhow? Can't cut it on your own?"
"A girl." A pair of blue eyes flashed in his mind.
"Hmph. Right. You're nothin' but a freak to them. Redneck trash. Yeah, they're laughin' at ya behind you're back. You know that, don't ya? Well, I got news for you, son. They're gonna scrape you off their heels like you were dog shit."
"She won't."
Merle cocked his head to the side.
"She ain't like that."
"She ain't your kin. Not blood. And now listen to me. Ain't nobody gonna care 'bout you 'cept me. Not Rick. Not some girl. Ain't nobody ever will. Now come on. Get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in."
Merle began to jerk at Daryl's pant leg, but when Daryl opened his eyes it was no longer his brother, but a walker trying to gnaw through his boot. Panicking, he threw his boot into the walker's head, knocking it back. Scrambling back, he reached for his bow, but the geek got to him first. He punched not once, but three times, rolling on top of it. It grabbed a handful of his hair and rolled itself back on top of Daryl. Using its momentum, Daryl kept the roll going till he got it on its back. Seeing another approaching he quickly snatched a branch and rammed into the face of the walker underneath him ending its terror on this world. The other walker was a mere ten feet away. Lying back, Daryl pulled at the arrow in his side, grunting as he yanked it free. His breathing came quick as he struggled to ready his bow. Clicking it into place, he loaded the bolt just in time to lean back and fire it right into the walker's skull as it reached for him.
Daryl removed what was left of his flannel shirt and placed it on his wound, fastening it as a better tourniquet. Tightening the knot, he said, "Son of a bitch was right."
Taking a seat on the dead tree, he cut into the squirrel he had recently caught and he fed on its raw flesh. Afterwards, he made his way over to the walkers and took a shoestring from one of their boots. Once more he whipped out his knife and went to collect the rest of his necklace. A few minutes later, he held his new accessory up in front of his face, examining his work. Four ears were strung along the shoestring, and he placed it over his head to hang from his neck. Looking up, he took a deep breath, finding new strength to be able to climb once again. But just as he reached that last foot from the top, Merle reappeared.
"What's the matter, Darleena? Throw me your purse and climb!"
Trying to get a better grip, Daryl shot, "I liked you better when you were missin'."
Merle just laughed. "Now, come on. Don't be like that. I'm on your side."
"Yeah? Since when?" Daryl wrapped a loose root around himself, adding some more security to prevent another fall.
"Hell, since the day you were born, baby brother. Someone had to look after your worthless ass."
"You never took care of me. You talk a big game, but you were never there. Hell, you ain't here now. Some things never change."
"Well, I'll tell you what. I'm as real as your Chupacabra."
"I know what I saw." Daryl gripped at the dirt.
Chuckling, Merle said, "Yeah and I'm sure those shrooms you ate had nothin' to do with it neither."
"You best shut the hell up!"
"Or what?" Merle growled, teasing him. "You going to come up here and shut my mouth for me? You best do it then. You ain't man enough. Hey, kick off them high heels and climb, son." Merle stood laughing mockingly, making Daryl's adrenaline pump faster. "Don't worry, I'll take care of that girl you got back at the camp for ya. I'm sure she wants a real man anyhow."
That was the last push Daryl needed. Digging his fingers into the dirt at the top he clutched at the bark of a nearby tree, pulling his self up and over. Jumping up, he looked to tackle Merle, but he was gone.
"Yeah, you better run!"
Light gleamed off of the metal of Skye's gun as she sat cleaning it. Finishing her second gun, she held it up in front of her, inspecting it with a proud smile. Across the picnic table, sat Shane working with his Glock 17 with his shirt unbuttoned, revealing the nice figure beneath. Skye couldn't deny the man was built and she was finding it hard to keep from staring. Shane noticed and flashed a cocky smile as she averted her gaze. The others bustled around trying to get some food ready after their long day of searching for Sophia.
"Walker!" Andrea's voice rang out from the top of the RV, setting everyone on alert. "Walker!"
"Just the one?" Rick asked as he approached.
Skye saw Andrea bring a pair of binoculars to her eyes. "I bet I can nail it from here."
Skye rolled her eyes. "Of course…"
"No! No!" Rick yelled. "Put the gun down!"
Shane jumped from the table and marched over. "You best let us handle this."
Skye placed her guns in their holsters and followed.
"Shane! Hold off." Rick held his hand up to his partner. "Hershel wants to deal with walkers."
"What for, man? We got it covered." Without further notice, he headed off into the field.
Skye exchanged glances with Rick.
"Dammit," he rushed over and grabbed his gun before the two ran after Shane.
Sprinting toward it, they saw the figure drawing closer. Rick lifted his gun as they stopped just feet in front of it.
Not believing her eyes, Skye pushed to the front of the group, whispering, "Daryl?"
Everyone looked surprised, and why wouldn't they be. His appearance was definitely shocking. It barely even looked like him. If it wasn't for his green eyes she probably wouldn't have known it was him. Dirt, blood and who knew what else coated his skin and wife beater. She eyed the fabric that had once been a flannel shirt tied around his waste, clearly covering a wound. Blood stained the area around his mouth, which wasn't nearly as shocking as the necklace hanging down around his chest. Her heart sank, and it wasn't until he spoke that they realized he was alive.
"Third time you've pointed that thing at my head." His voice had lost its softness it had earlier that day. "You gonna pull the trigger or what?" His eyes looked to Rick's left, gluing themselves to Skye's.
A shot cracked through the air, and Daryl fell to the ground.
"No!" Skye screamed at the top of her lungs. Dropping to his side, she cried, "No! Daryl! Daryl, wake up! Please!"
He was breathing but blood was flowing from his head. As Shane and Rick each grabbed one of his arms, lifting him to his feet, he said, "I was kidding…"
Tears stung in Skye's eyes as she watched them carry him across the field. Her blood began to boil when she saw Andrea running towards them with Dale in tow. It took everything in her not to let Andrea have it.
"Oh my god, is he dead?" Andrea asked as she reached them.
Rick looked past her. "Unconscious."
Glenn fell in step with Rick. "But look at him. What happened? He's wearing ears." Glenn pointed to the necklace.
Rick yanked it from Daryl, and stuffed it into his shirt. "Let's keep that to ourselves."
Skye saw Daryl's legs dragging on the ground and she couldn't take it anymore. "You stupid gun happy bitch!" she yelled, whirling on Andrea. "Why couldn't you just listen when they told you not to shoot!? What're you trying to prove, huh!?"
"Easy, Skye," Shane warned.
"Guys," T-Dog called from behind them.
When they turned they saw him holding up a very familiar object.
"Isn't this Sophia's?"
All their eyes fell on the now unconscious Daryl.
Poor Daryl. :*( This made me really sad writing it. I have to work late tonight and tomorrow, but I will try to get the next chapter posted asap. We have to see what happens when Daryl wakes up, right!? J Reviews,reviews, reviews… Purdy purdy please! J