Wasn't planning on posting yet, but...I decided to be nice this morning and go ahead and post anyways. I might only have one or two more post this week...we'll see how it all goes. Might even surprise myself, LOL.
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Now for the good stuff!
**WARNING: STRONG LANGUAGE! You Are Warned**
DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT own any of The Walking Dead characters and I'm NOT making any money off of them! I only claim the characters I created for this story (Kim Monroe, Jim & Anna Gibson, Leslie Peters, Max & Seth, Clint Dixon).
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Turning over in her bunk, Kim's eyes opened, blinking slowly and looking around the dark cell. Hearing Leslie's breathing below her as the girl slept, Kim pushed up on her elbow, and looked around, straining her ears. She thought for sure she'd heard something but wasn't sure. The prison at night held so many different sounds it was hard to tell sometimes what was from the building and what came from their group. Hearing the sound again, she looked towards the cell door and crinkled her brow as she sat up fully and then heard the faint sound of someone whispering. Climbing down, she slipped on a pair of flip flops and taking her flashlight, she pushed the blanket back, leaving out the cell.
Without even turning on her light, Kim's eyes quickly adjusted and she could make out the two forms that were up on the perch. Walking over to them, Kim watched as Daryl shoved a shirt and a box of ammo into his backpack. Clint was watching his older cousin, handing him a gun that Daryl had pointed to. Neither had noticed her and Kim whispered so they could hear her, "What the hell y'all doin up this early?"
Clint looked over at the her, not saying a word and when Daryl didn't respond, she breathed out his name softly, "Daryl? Please, talk to me."
Standing, he handed the pack over to Clint and the boy slipped it onto his back. Closing the distance between himself and Kim, Daryl looked down at her, "Got somethin' I got ta do. Go on back to bed, woman."
Crossing her arms over her chest, she shook her head, "No." Searching his eyes the best she could in what little light the moonlight provided from the windows, she breathed out, "You're goin' after your brother aren't ya?"
Starring into her eyes, Daryl face remained expressionless, "I ain't leavin' him out on some road ta rot. He deserves better then that."
"They'll be walkers all over the place. You can't go by yourself. Wait for Rick to wake up..."
"Why? So he can try to talk me out of it? Merle might have been an asshole to a lot of people, but he's still my brother," he growled and then reached down, getting his crossbow from the floor.
Watching him, he pushed past her, going for the stairs. Reaching out and taking hold of his arm, Kim stopped him, "Let me go with you." He turned around, looking at her and she added before he could say anything, "I can at least cover your back while you get Merle. Daryl...please. At least let me help you."
Glancing at Clint and knowing the boy wasn't as skilled as Kim was, he then looked back at her and nodded, "Get your shit ready. We leave in five minutes."
Nodding, she let go of his arm and he headed back down the stairs behind Clint. Heading back to her cell, Kim went in, gathering her pack and making sure to put her knife and pistol inside before getting her jeans and a warm sweatshirt. Quickly dressing, she then got her machete, coat and boots, slinging her pack over her shoulder and headed out. Heading downstairs, she went into the commons area, finding Daryl and Clint there waiting for her as Clint put some food into another pack. Slipping on her boots, she laced them up and then put her coat on. Taking her pack and machete back in hand, she nodded to them and they headed out to the truck.
Axel and Oscar were on watch and Daryl signaled for Axel to come down out of the tower. Telling the man to get the gates open for them, Daryl then got in behind the wheel with Clint sitting inbetween himself and Kim. Starting the truck, he got it turned around and went through the first gate and drove down to the second. Waiting on Axel to run down to get the other two, he looked over at Kim, "Sure you want ta do this?"
Looking over at him, Kim raised her brow, "Yeah...you'd do the same for me. We're doin' this right, remember? That means stickin' together."
Giving her a single nod, he looked back out the windshield towards the road, "When we get there, I need you both doin' exactly as I say. Don't need to be diggin' more graves."
Axel opened the first gate and Daryl pulled through, waiting for the second was opened. Once they were outside the gates, he stepped on the gas, barreling the truck down the road. They drove for almost two hours in silence until they came to the outskirts of the town of Griffin. Pulling over at the city limit, Daryl shut off the truck, his eyes scanning the road ahead of them, "How much further, Clint?"
Getting his barrings, Clint looked around some and then pointed up ahead of them, "Once we hit that stop sign, we need to go right and around the streets we had barricaded off. I know the way around 'em. We were headin' east out of the town."
A few walkers milled about and Daryl took in a deep breath and looked over at Kim, "Have that machete and gun of yours ready. If'n there is too many still...we'll have to wait it out close by."
Blowing out a tuff of air, Kim hesitantly nodded, "Gonna be hard to find a safe place to wait 'em out, Daryl. If we can't get to the other side it might be best if we head back..."
"I ain't leavin' without Merle," he replied, his voice raising slightly. Clenching his jaw, he started the truck back up and put it in gear. Getting back onto the road, he shook his head as they headed into the town, "He got left behind once before...I ain't leavin' him behind again."
Pulling her gun from her pack, Kim checked it, making sure the clip was full and then slipped it back in. Leaning forward, she slipped it into the back of her pants and then pulled the machete from the floor. Sitting back once more, she glanced over at Daryl, seeing his eyes focused on the road and then looked back forward. Clint directed them along the streets, only a few walkers moved about that were straggling behind. When they got closer to where the he'd last seen Merle, Daryl slowed the truck and pulled over.
More walkers littered the road, some hunched over bodies and tearing flesh from the bones. Even with the windows rolled up, the smell of death, rot and decay filled the cab, causing Kim to turn up her nose. No matter how much they had been in places that walkers or bodies occupied, she could never get use to the smell. Covering her nose with the back of her hand, she breathed out, "There has to be at least two dozen walkers."
Spotting the car, Clint pointed towards it just up the road about a quarter of a mile, "There...that red Ford Taurus up there. Mike was in that truck behind us with Alex and Chris was in the green Windstar." Crinkling his brow, he shook his head, "Doug and Randy's one's are missin' though."
"Maybe they got out," Daryl said softly as his eyes remained on the red car. With what little walkers there were, Daryl knew there was a good chance things would go south for them in a hurry. The three of them would have to work together to take them out in order to get Merle's body out of there without them ending up the same. Reaching up under the seat, Daryl felt around, finding the back up knife and pulled it out.
Handing it to Clint, he turned to the both of them, "Here's the plan, the three of us are gonna have to go in together. We stay close, back's to each other like a triangle. It'll be the only way to do this. We move together and not break the formation. Once we take these fuckers out then we'll get Merle and get the hell out of here." Looking at his cousin, he nodded to him, "Merle teach ya how to use one of those?"
Nodding, Clint looked at the knife, "Yep. Merle would take me out to practice. Aim for the eyes he always said."
Eying the boy, Daryl nodded, "Yeah." Looking back up and meeting Kim's eyes, he sighed, "Let's get this done...stay safe."
"You too," she whispered. Getting out the truck, they carefully closed the doors so they wouldn't attract any of the walkers to the vehicle. Meeting at the hood, they got into formation and started forward. Kim's heart beat hard against her chest and she breathed out softly, "Thank god for winter and thick coats...might help from being bit."
"Don't count on it," Daryl replied as the closet walkers began to notice them. Tensing up, he clenched his jaw and raised his arm's, ready to defend them against the walker's, "Get ready."
Kim gripped her machete tighter, her eyes on the walkers as they approached. Raising the blade up, adrenaline began to rush through her body. Countless times they had fought against walkers together and with the others, protecting themselves and others from the blood thirsty corpses. As a shriveled up shell of a man got within striking range, she swung the blade downwards, the metal crashing down through it's skull and killing it for the second time. More and more came at them, Kim would kill one only to have to kick at another to push it back before stabbing it through the eye or severing it's skull.
The trio worked as a unit, almost robot like, slowly inching their way up the street and littering the ground with corpses, brain matter, and sticky coagulated rotting blood. Once the last walker went down at the hands of Clint, the three looked around, their guard still up and waiting to see if any others made their presence known. Sweat, and blood dripped off all three of them and the heavy stench of death filled the air around them almost making it hard to breath.
Panting some from the excursion of fighting off the walkers along with the adrenaline rush they all seemed to have had, Daryl breathed out, "Either of you bit or scratched?"
"No, I'm good," Kim said as she tried to slow down her breathing and glancing over to Daryl's cousin.
"Same 'ere," the boy said as he stayed in a defensive posture like Merle had taught him.
Seeing that they were in the clear so far, Daryl glanced over at Kim, "Let's check the car. Keep your guard up though. Got a feelin' there is more geeks round here."
Nodding, they moved closer to the car, taking out the stray walker that would emerge from the woods, between buildings and behind other vehicles. Coming to the open door, Kim watched Daryl, seeing how he was fighting his inner demons at seeing what was left of his brothers corpse. His jaw tensed and his shoulders slumped, his eyes seeming to water before hardening and letting the rage take over that he was feeling inside.
Running a hand through his hair, Daryl began to pace, his sights going from the car, to the pavement under his feet and then back to his brother. He'd never been able to tell Merle he was sorry, sorry for all the shit he'd done to him when they were younger men, sorry for not looking hard enough for him, sorry for not being their to have his back. His brother was now gone for good and there would be no coming back again for Merle Dixon.
Quit bein' a pussy and do what you gotta do, little brother, Merle's word rang out in his head, words he'd heard countless times throughout his life. Man up, boy...don't make me have to kick your ass again, Darlena. Best get your shit together. Balling up his right fist and pushing it against his temple, his pacing increased as did his breathing. Daryl was on edge which was something that Kim and Clint would have to to tread lightly around.
Knowing Daryl had left the key's in the truck, Kim looked over at the boy, keeping her voice low but her sights went back to Daryl, "I'll move the truck closer. Stay with your cousin and watch for walkers." He gave her a single nod of his head and Kim headed off, back to the truck. Slipping in behind the wheel, she released a breath and then started it up. Pulling around the bodies that now littered the road, she brought the truck up closer to the car and shut it back off.
Getting back out, and getting the sheet from the back that they'd brought with them, Kim walked back over to them, seeing Daryl had finally stopped pacing. Biting her lips, she spoke softly, breaking the silence, "Daryl...we need to get your brother and get him back now."
His eyes starred at what was left of Merle. Part of his face had been torn off leaving him almost unrecognizable, his chest was open and mangled and missing tissue, muscle and some of his organs. His left arm was all but gone, only the bone with and some shredded tissue hanging from it. His right arm rest on the seat and was covered with blood that had ran down to the metal handmade prosthetic that more then likely he'd made at some point after leaving Atlanta.
Kim's voice broke through the haze and he finally tore his eyes from the gruesome sight before him. Looking at her, he breathed out softly, "What?"
"We need to get him back...I'll help you get him in the truck," she repeated, unsure if he was really hearing her. When he looked back, he nodded and then hesitantly moved closer to the open door. Taking in a deep breath and already knowing he would have to make sure his brother wouldn't reanimate on them, he clenched his knife and moved to the side of the door. Swallowing the lump in his throat, his raised his arm, hesitating for a few seconds before bringing it down and sinking it into Merle's skull.
Lowering her eyes, Kim knew this was tearing Daryl up inside. He'd talked to her at length on many occasions about Merle, telling her some stories about their childhood and a few about them as they got older. She'd felt the same pain when she'd had to put her dad and Tim down and it was a pain that didn't seemed to ever go away. Granted it had dulled, but it was still there with her.
Laying the sheet out on the asphalt, Kim glanced at Clint, seeing tears in the boys eyes. Both of them would need someone to help them through this loss and Kim vowed to do all she could for them both. Going over and standing next to Daryl, she placed her hand onto his forearm and whispered, "Let's take Merle home."
Not making eye contact with her, Daryl remained silent and reached in, carefully pulling his brother's body out from behind the steering wheel. Kim moved aside to allow him to move past her and then just as carefully as he did, picked up Merle's feet so they would not drag the ground. Placing him onto the sheet, Daryl stood back and watched as Kim wrapped the sheet around his body and then secured it into place. Looking over at Clint, Daryl saw the boys tears and before he lost it himself, he looked away.
Almost a half hour past before Daryl closed the back end of the truck, and then climbed in over the tailgate, sitting guard over Merle's body. Kim remained silent, nothing she could say to him would make him feel any better or at ease with himself in that moment. It would take time, time she was willing to give him. Motioning for Clint to get in, she got in behind the wheel and fired the truck up, turning it around and heading back to the prison.
