Authors note: As always guys, keep the reviews coming, loving the reactions I'm getting from you guys, hopefully I can keep it up.

Light and love always.
E
Xxx

Chapter 29

No one dared to move for fear of someone else being killed.

"Y'all are lucky, I coulda got him in the heart and waited till he came back and left y'all to deal with his sorry ass," Merle spat, kicking me forwards, I lost my balance and landed, hard, on my hands and knees in front of Daryl. He didn't miss a beat but knelt down in front of me and checked me over and a knelt back onto my heels. Merle ignored the exchange and walked away from the two of us, heading towards Rick.
"You and me though lawman, we still got some outstandin' shit to be lookin' after," his voice was menacing and low as he walked towards Rick and Shane.
"Just stop it! Stop this bullshit Merle!" Daryl barked.
"Fuck off Daryl, ya sidin' with them over ya big brother? Jesus man, hasn't this shit taught y'anythin'?" Merle stopped short and turned to look over at Daryl who was kneeling next to me with one hand resting on my back gently.
"It ain't like that man, y'know it ain't," Daryl responded, giving me a sideways glance before standing up. I sat back and crossed my legs as I took a deep breath and tried to ignore the stabbing pain in my chest.
"What is it like then little brother?" Merle asked, his voice oozing with sarcasm.
"Man ya fuckin' left! We came back to that dang rooftop to find ya sorry ass and ya left! If ya had just waited another few hours we woulda been there! Hell, I made them all come back and get ya, Rick was the first one to step up and say he wanted to help, T-Dog was the same man. These people have been keepin' me alive. Shit it ain't like it once were!" Daryl was pacing back and forth, his body rigid and tense as his voice got louder with every frantic statement he made.
"We ain't fuckin' colors or religious nuts or anythin' anymore. None of that shit matters now! We gotta try and stick together man and hey here's a thought, fuck ya! If ya gonna come up in here and start fightin' me and mine after all the shit we been through then get y'ass back out that door and go survive on y'own! Ya talkin' shit 'bout bein' out there and findin' it easy as anythin' to look after yaself then fuck off and go back out there man, we don't need no more shit happenin' to us!" Daryl was shaking uncontrollably, his voice was louder than I had ever heard before and it felt like his very body was pulsating with a burning rage.

The whole room was silent. Merle was staring at his little brother, weighing up the options that he had, it was almost like you could see the his brain ticking over and deciding what it was he would choose to do.
"Ya gonna side with them little bro, forget all the shit that happened when we were kids. All them memories and shit just gone?" Merle was completely calm. That unnerved me.
"It ain't about that anymore man, and y'know it aint," Daryl replied, his voice dropping but his body still tense and alert.
"What the hell is it about little brother? Why the hell are ya betrayin' me for this bunch of fucks?" Merle raised his voice again.
"I ain't betrayin' ya bro! I still got ya back, I always have ya know that. But these people ain't all bad, ya just need to give them a chance and I guarantee y'all will see that too!" Daryl yelled back.
"Please Merle, you've done enough damage here as it is," Rick reasoned quietly indicating the lifeless body of T-Dog slumped on the floor.
"And what do I get outta let y'all go huh?" Merle said, stalking over to the body, his eyes never leaving Rick.
"What do ya mean?" Shane retorted turning so he was facing Merle straight on.
"Well," Merle bend down and yanked the knife out of T-Dog's skull with a slight squelch, "if I let y'all go, and don't do any more damage as ya say, what do I get outta that agreement? Cause to me, it just seems like I don't get no dang justice here or anythin' else for that matter," he continued, wiping the blade on his jeans casually as if he had just killed a squirrel. There was a tense pause as Merle's words hung in the room.
"Sanctuary," Rick said softly.
"What?" came the joint response of Lori, Shane, Dale and Glenn.
"Yeah," Rick nodded, his eyes trailing across the room at the group of disheveled and distressed faces staring expectantly back at him.
"What ya talkin' 'bout lawman?" Merle drawled.
"If you agree to have a calm discussion and remain civil, polite, help out around these parts when we need ya and swear ya won't kill any more of us, we'll offer ya a place to stay, somewhere safe where we can protect each other and live together, try and make some sort of plan to survive this mess," Rick was so calm and collected with the offer that no one could really argue.

Merle stood in thought for a moment, contemplating the option. Personally, I would have thought that the very prospect of protection and what not would have been an easy choice. Apparently Merle was not as like minded as I would have thought.
"There's still the issue of what ya did to me back on that rooftop lawman, I ain't just gonna forget that, ya left me there to die," Merle stalked across the room, his boots clunking loudly with every step he took.
"I understand that," Rick reasoned, "we ain't enemies though. Y'understand that the only reason I locked y'up there was because y'was makin' too much noise. Those walkers would've killed us all if ya had kept firin' ya rifle like ya had been."
"Don't make no difference lawman," Merle hissed, "Ya meant to be an officer, uphold the civil rights and all that bullshit, that means y'aint meant to leave someone chained to a pipe and wait for them to be eaten alive." I hated to admit it, but the man had a point.
"What's fair punishment then? In your eyes?" Rick asked after a pause. Merle's eyes dragged across the room to Daryl who was standing near me, his eyes narrowed and his jaw clenched. If hadn't have known better I was sure he was snarling and growling at his sibling.
"An eye for an eye," Merle said simply.
"NO!" Lori screeched standing up and running to Rick's side.
"Lori, go see Carl," Rick whispered under his breath pushing her back towards the small boy cowering by the wall. Merle seemed to realize that there were more people in the room at that point and turned menacingly towards the little bundle of fear in the corner.
"Or," he dragged the word out, his face contorting into a twisted smile.
"Leave him out of this," Shane said menacingly.
"Back off Shane, this ain't ya fight," Rick growled, shoving his friend in the chest a little harder than was needed.
"How about we make this even," Merle looked from Rick, to Lori, down to Carl then over to Daryl.

What the hell was he thinking?

Everyone fell silent, all eyes staring at him waiting with bated breath to hear the next obscene idea that would escape his sick, twisted lips.
"Daryl," he turned to face the two of us as I staggered to my feet uneasily. Daryl didn't move, didn't respond just stood motionless and watched his brother evenly.
"Ya wanna show me that ya still got my back little brother?" Merle was playing a dangerous game here. The vast majority of this group were unhinged enough to take him down at any moment if they saw him as a threat, Daryl included.
"How," Daryl said flatly.
"An eye for an eye little brother," Merle said raising his eyebrow and stepping back so that Carl was clearly in Daryl's line of sight. Daryl tensed, I was sure he stopped breathing when he connected the dots and realised what it was that Merle was suggesting.
"What ya sayin'?" he asked.
"They left ya brother there to die man, on a rooftop in the middle of a walker infested hell hole. I cut my dang hand off to survive! It's only fair that someone here loses a hand to make up for mine," he narrowed his eyebrows and glared at us.
"No! Y'ain't touchin' my boy!" Lori all but dove at Carl and wrapped her arms protectively around him.
"What the hell are ya askin' me to do Merle! Cut the boys hand off?" Daryl spar angrily. He seemed as surprised and disgusted as everyone else.
"Ya know damn right what I'm askin' of ya brother," Merle responded. A sick grimacing smile crossing over his lips.
"I ain't doin' that man," Daryl said putting his hands up in an 'I surrender' sort of movement.
"Ya got one option boy, ya either do as I tell ya," he looked over Daryl's shoulder at me and took a deep breath, "Or ya little whore of a girl gets it," he drew the gun he had holstered on his thigh up and pointed it straight at me.
"Don't!" Daryl stepped to the side slightly and put himself between me and Merle's line of fire.
"Do it then," Merle insisted.
"Daryl! Don't ya dare!" Shane hissed from his position next to Rick. That tension was back in the room again, weighing heavily on everyone.
"Fuck ya! Y'ain't tellin' me what to do," Daryl barked only glancing over at Shane.
"Please Daryl," Rick started.
"Shut the fuck up!" Daryl yelled, pacing back and forth a little.
"Do it brother, show me that ya still got my back," Merle cocked the gun a little and walked a few steps forward.
"Don't touch her man," Daryl growled looking at me then back at Merle.
"I won't, as long as ya do what I told ya to," he insisted.
"Please Daryl, don't do this," Lori begged, clutching Carl to her even tighter.
"Daddy, please," Carl began to whimper and cry even harder than before.
"What sort of sick shit is this anyway? Ya can't ask someone to do that to a little boy!" Andrea piped up from her position next to Carol.
"Shut it, " Shane pointed at her and glared until she finally gave him a scolding look and relaxed back against the wall.

Daryl was pacing back and forth, his eyes darting across the floorboards so quickly I was sure they were going to burst out of his head. He brought his thumb nail up to his mouth and bit down on it awkwardly. His other hand trailing over his machete on his thigh.
"Do it!" Merle persisted, his voice louder as he took a few steps closer to me. I took a step back, shifting my weight from the ball of my right foot to my left foot.
"Daryl, don't," Shane countered.
"Please, please don't hurt my boy," Lori kept repeating over and over her voice low and full of fear, tears prickling at the edges of her eyes as she clutched Carl trying to calm his hysterical crying down.
"Daryl, I understand ya position but please don't hurt my boy," Rick begged.
"Do it now Daryl or she gets it!" Merle pushed.
"Me or them bro make ya choice!" his voice was louder again.
"Everyone just shut the fuck up would ya!" Daryl yelled at the top of his voice. He turned to look at each one of the petrified faces in front of him before slowly tuning to face me, his eyes full of confusion, concern and a whole host of other unchartered emotions. Merle raised his eyebrows expectantly and waited for Daryl's movement.
"Enough playin' around, either do it or she dies," Merle said finally. Daryl shook his head defiantly, his face contorting into a thin lipped grimace before he swiftly turned, unsheathed his machete and charged towards Carl.