Climbing out of Hell Chapter 37, a walking dead fanfic

Shotgun-Randy Roger's Band

Once I was a gamblin' man
I kept my pistol by my hand
Got my work done by the light of the moon
Evil deeds made up my mind
I traded peace for troubled times
Wickedness and whiskey were my fuel
Oh but now I keep it locked away...

I might have hung up my shotgun
But i didn't put it up so high
That I can't reach up and get it back down
If you give me a reason why
Still got a few shells itchin' to see the light of day
A couple of rounds of buckshot will go a long long way
Once I had a good run
But I hung up my shotgun

No one lives that life too long
Just in time somebody can along
With her help I just might save my soul
Sometimes I wake up at night
From dreams of fire burning bright
I pray that I don't ever lose control
And so now Ш keep it locked away...

I might have hung up my shotgun
But I didn't put it up so high
That I can't reach up and get it back down
If you give me a reason why
Still got a few shells itchin' to see the light of day
A couple of rounds of buckshot will go a long long way
Once I had a good run
But I hung up my shotgun.

Waiting. It was painfully difficult to know that someone wanted to kill you, and here you were waiting like live bait. For Daryl it was like the equivalent of waiting for an Asteroid to plow into earth. He missed being with Trinity, but knew she was at least safe. The Clayton police detectives were randomly hidden in the neighborhood around the Dixon home while Merle and Daryl were trying to act as if they didn't know what was going on. Not knowing when or how Mitch and Ed were going to try to attack them was nerve racking to say the least.

Daryl cleaned and re-strung his crossbow and then cleaned all the guns that they owned as well. Merle was limited in what he could do with the weapons since he had limited abilities with just the one hand. However Daryl had no doubt that once Merle was completely healed and could get his prosthetic hand, that Merle would be able to do just as much as he could prior to the accident. He had faith in his brother's abilities and knew with Merle that failure wasn't an option.

Merle and Daryl made their way out to the front porch to smoke a cigarette and chat. Daryl asked Merle a question "Merle why do we seem to be a magnet for fucking shit all the time?"

"Because we are Dixons, and Dixon's don't ever get anything easy. I wonder if Carol and I should move the fuck out of this shit hole town. Maybe go up north with you and Trinity. I could start a motorcycle business, or get a job as a mechanic. I'm ready to be done with this place."

Daryl replied excitedly "You would consider moving? Of course, that would mean that we would leave Jonah and Michonne behind, but we could still keep in touch on a regular basis. Trinity and I had already planned on doing that once we left. It ain't but and hour and half away."

"Don't get your hopes up, it's just a thought. Carol's got a good job and I don't want to leave Jim in a pinch. He ain't been nothing but good to us." Merle told him.

"Well if you decide to move, you can stay with Trinity and me until y'all get set up. That goes without question." He told his older brother.

Merle was quiet for a moment, and then he spoke softly "You know I'm sorry for all the shit you have been through. If I hadn't been such a fuck-up then maybe I could have prevented him from doing to you what he did. I regret all of it."

"Ain't nothing to regret and you can't apologize for the shit he pulled. You were a total fuck-up, but your not now and that gives me hope that I can be something too. I wanna be something just to spite the son-of-a-bitch."

"Were you serious about testifying against him openly in court? You know if you do that, there won't be any secrets anymore." Merle asked his brother.

"Yeah, I was serious. It ain't about me though; it's about him getting what he deserves. People are gonna say what they say, but he is a sick fuck, and I'm tired of keeping his secrets and I know he can't get to me anymore. I ain't gonna lie and tell you I'm fine, because I'm not. But I will be damned if I will feel sorry for myself." Daryl replied.

"Got another question for you little brother, and I don't want to embarrass you, but I'm sure old Gene never had 'the talk' with you about the act of lovemaking. Now don't think I'm telling you it's OK for you and Trinity to go at it like rabbits, but I want to be sure you know about the mechanics and birth control and shit." Merle said.

"This coming from the man who knocked up a married woman?" Daryl said jokingly.

"OK, you got me there, but that was because it wasn't a planned interlude. Which is one of the reasons the thought of you and Trinity fooling around scares the shit out of me. When those teenage hormones get to raging, ain't nothing gonna stop that train."

Daryl bristled with embarrassment at what his brother was saying to him. Daryl did have questions, but he didn't think there was any way he could ask Merle. "Nah, I'm good. Still a little pissed at ya for what you did when you pulled me off of Trinity. You embarrassed her too." Daryl told Merle.

"I might have over-reacted, but I just don't want y'all jumping the gun and the next thing you know I'm an uncle and you're a daddy with nothing more than your diploma. Y'all got a future and a chance to get the hell out of this life, and I don't want ya to screw it up. Got it?"

"I got it. Don't mean any of this is easy. I ain't never even had a girl before, never kissed no one, nothing, but it seems like with Trinity I just want to be with her…all of her, and my damn body betrays me all the time." Daryl admitted to Merle.

"Shit boy, ain't nothing to be ashamed about if you get a hard-on. Let's 'em know you are interested. Maybe you and Trinity should have a conversation about her getting on the pill, just in case something does happen." He told his brother.

"We ain't never really talked about that stuff." Daryl told Merle.

"That right there is the reason you don't need to be having sex then. If you can't even talk to her about it, then you ain't ready." He lectured.

Daryl nodded. Merle was right about what he said about them not being ready. He knew if Merle hadn't stopped them that time on the couch, they most likely would have had sex and probably wouldn't have even thought about birth control until it was too late. The least Daryl could do was purchase some condoms just in case. On the other hand, he did promise Jonah that they would hold off until they were legally married. Either way Daryl needed to be prepared just in case they couldn't fight off the temptation.

Merle lit another cigarette when they heard the phone ring. Daryl went in the house to answer it.

"Hello" he said.

"Daryl were in trouble. I spotted Dave and Tony over here in the parking lot. They are scouting around and I think they are looking for us." Trinity said, barely hiding the panic in her voice.

"Hang up and Call 9-1-1 now, I will be right over." He told her as he grabbed his keys off the counter to leave.

He went running out the front door shouting at Merle "Dave and Tony are over at Jonah's apartment complex, they got to be there looking for 'em."

Merle threw his cigarette out and headed down the porch steps behind Daryl as they headed to the truck. Before they made it to the truck they heard the sounds of gunshots whizzing by them. Both brothers dropped to the ground to stay out of the line of fire. Daryl belly crawled up the porch to grab his crossbow and loaded it.

Merle shouted at his brother "Where the fuck are the cops?"

"Not sure they expected them to come in on foot. Stay down before you get your other hand shot off." Daryl told his brother.

Merle produced a handgun and had it at the ready for anyone that he could spot. They had yet to see anyone and they weren't sure how many people they were dealing with. Daryl got up to see if he could locate the shooter, but the darkness obstructed his view. He made a move to get to a higher location, only to have gunshots fired at him again. Whoever was shooting at them was using an automatic weapon. Daryl saw the neighbors lights come on immediately after the last round of gunfire and prayed that someone was calling the cops.

Within a few minutes his curiosity had been answered and a swarm of police cars came forth and surrounded the house. Gunfire broke out and Daryl and Merle were caught in the crossfire underneath Daryl's truck. Mitch had brought reinforcements with him and this time he wasn't playing. There were at least three of them firing from different locations. They had come into the area on foot under the cover of darkness and had been able to bypass the cops.

Chaos was everywhere and Merle saw a chance for his brother and him to get into the house for better cover. "Go Go Go, now into the house Daryl." He shouted. Daryl rolled out from under the truck and made a dash for the house. Shots were flying everywhere, friendly and not-so-friendly fire. Daryl made it inside the house first and Merle followed quickly behind him.

There was the sound of crashing glass in the bedroom and Merle ran to investigate, telling Daryl to stay put and stay down. The house was dark so no one inside would be illuminated and Daryl had to feel his way around the house. He heard a single gunshot from the room and a loud thud. His heart began to race and he feared the worse for his brother. Without thinking Daryl ran to his brother's bedroom and found Merle standing over an unconscious Mitch down on the floor. The shot had missed Merle and the noise that Daryl heard was Merle muscling Mitch to the ground and rendering the man helpless. Even with just one hand Merle was a bad motherfucker.

"Got the sorry bastard little brother" Merle said as he stood up over Mitch's body heaped on the floor. Merle leaned out the broken window and let out a whistle to let the cops know they were in the room and they had survived. What Merle didn't see was that Mitch had rustled from his unconscious state and had picked up his handgun on the floor. He rose to put a bullet in Merle's head, but Daryl reacted first and fired off his crossbow, impaling the man in the heart and killing him instantly. Merle had a look of shock on his face realizing what had happened. He had been sloppy in not picking up the gun lying on the floor, and as a result, his seventeen-year-old brother had just taken another man's life.

Daryl stood there in shock. He knew he had to react to save his brother's life, but now he had another man's blood on his hands. One look at the dead man on the floor with one of his bolt's protruding through his chest caused Daryl to go pale and weak in the knees. Merle ran to his brother's side to keep Daryl's legs from going out from under him.

"Daryl don't look anymore. You did what you had to do. It was self defense brother. Let's get out of here." He said.

"Shit Merle, We gotta get to Trinity and Carol, they were in trouble too." He said trying not to think about what he had just done. His woman was in trouble and he needed to focus on that right now. The two brothers went bounding out of the house, noticing that the gunfire had ceased. Detective Jones came over to the men and let them know that they had apprehended the other shooters.

"There's a dead one in my room. We gotta get to our brother's house, they were being attacked too." Merle told them.

"They are fine. Trinity made the call in time for two of our officers on local patrol to capture the suspects. Those two were young and not very experienced in whatever it was they were doing. They went down without a fight. Your family is safe."

One of the officers came out of the house and whispered something to Detective Jones. "Daryl, we are going to need to take your crossbow as evidence."

"What the fuck for? I had to do what I did to keep the bastard from killing my brother…"

"Daryl its only procedure OK. There are at least fifteen witnesses here who can attest that you didn't do anything BUT defend yourself. You will get the weapon back either tomorrow or the next day once they do a ballistics check on it and photograph it for evidence."

Daryl calmed down after Detective Jones assured him his precious crossbow would be returned. "We're gonna need to bring you guys down to the station for questioning, once again, no need to panic, it's strictly protocol. Your gonna need a place to stay for the night too so the forensic guys can come in and process the crime scene."

"Look, we just want to see our family, can we do questions in the morning?" Merle asked.

"Afraid not Merle. There are three dead criminals on your property and hints of a connection to a large drug operation. We really need to get this taken care of tonight. You can make some calls when you get to the police station and then we will begin the questioning. Shouldn't take anymore than a couple of hours."

"Hours? I got class in the morning." Daryl complained.

"Son I appreciate your dedication to schoolwork, but this right now takes precedence. We will do the best we can." The detective told Daryl.

When they got to the station Merle made the call to Jonah and explained what happened, he heard Carol and Trinity hollering in the background demanding to be taken to the station to be with there men.

"Jonah tell them not to get their panties in a bunch. We gotta find a place to stay tonight after we get out of here. Tell them to focus on that and I will call you when we are done. I'm a little concerned about Daryl, he hasn't had time to fully process what happened, but his reaction when it first happened didn't leave me feeling too good about his mental state. He's already dealt with so much trauma lately that I am concerned this might mess him up in the head."

"OK Merle, do you want me to say anything to Trinity or not? You know Daryl better than any of us." Jonah inquired.

"Go ahead and fill her in. She deserves to know and maybe she can help keep him sane when we get out of here." Merle told Jonah.

Daryl and Merle answered questions until two in the morning. They now had more than enough evidence to link these men back to Ed Peletier, and to link Ed Peletier to the murder of Amber as well. With the information they had gathered from Shane, the information that Dave and Tony had given up earlier in the evening, and the attack on the Dixon's, Ed Peletier was looking at life in prison.

When they were done with questioning Merle called Jonah to let him know what was going on. "Any luck on the ladies finding us a place to stay?"

"You're staying here at my place tonight. You and Carol can have my room, and Daryl, Trinity, and I are staying in the living room on the pullout couch and air mattresses. It's a tight fit but it's temporary." He said.

"Music to my ears little brother. I just need a place to lay my head. We will get out of your hair as soon as we can."

Merle and Daryl headed over to Jonah's, but were allowed to swing by their house to get a few items and a change of clothes. Daryl was exhausted and had been quiet on the ride to Jonah's. Merle wasn't sure what was going through his baby brother's mind, but when Daryl was quiet like this it meant he was deep in thought.

"You know if you wanna talk about it, we can." Merle said to him.

"I'm fine. Just keep seeing that guys dead eyes in my mind. I did what I had to do." Daryl said, as if he was trying to convince himself. Just earlier that day he had said his final goodbye to Gene, and now all he could keep hearing in his mind was his father calling him a "pussy" for feeling even the slightest bit of guilt for taking a human life.

"Been a hell of a day Baby brother, but we survived. Now if we can get a bed, some food, and our girls we can finally relax." Merle told Daryl.

Daryl was looking into the darkness as they pulled into the apartment parking lot, still not really speaking. They made it into the apartment and Trinity and Carol immediately embraced Daryl and Merle, even going so far as to check them for injuries.

Trinity grabbed Daryl into a big hug, and he wrapped his arms around her holding her tightly and listening to her heartbeat. The scent of her hair, the warmth of her body, and the feel of her kiss instantly relaxed him. "I just want to get some sleep, and we can talk about it tomorrow. It's been a long day." He told her.

She nodded and simply said, "I understand. I love you baby"

They lay down on the pullout couch with Jonah just a few feet away. Daryl didn't even change out of his clothes he was so exhausted. He slipped into a deep sleep immediately as his body shutdown. They were all awoken at six in the morning with the telephone ringing. Jonah answered the phone and Trinity noted that the expression on his face suddenly went grim.

"What is it Jonah?" She asked when she the concern on his face.

"Ed Peletier beat Quinn this morning. She's at the hospital in ICU and they don't expect her to survive the day." He told his younger sister.

"Oh my God Jonah, what do we do?" Was all Trinity could ask.

So not that super exciting of a chapter, and I apologize. But I was so ready to be done with Mitch and his crew. Then next chapter is going to be emotional for Trinity and Jonah. Yes, Quinn is definitely a flawed individual, but she is still their mother. Will Quinn redeem herself in the end?

Please leave me some reviews. Not sure how much you guys are still liking this story...It is slowly winding down and then it will be time for a sequel. Just curious...would you rather me do the sequel to this story first or "When life gives you lemons" my other story I have written (For those of you who haven't read it, check it out and let me know what you think)...

Take care and I hope this stupid winter ends soon...I'm ready for warm weather and sunshine!

Ciao for now-

Missy

XXOO