Chapter Seventy
Beth was stabbing her knife in the mud beside her, sighing as she was feeling the need to do something but they were merely sitting here, doing nothing. She occasionally was looking at Daryl who was still sleeping after she'd forced him yet again during the night to get a few hours asleep or else he would stubbornly stay awake. She didn't understand how Riley had been able to handle that kind of behavior, but she figured it would most likely be taking tiny steps and perhaps a bit of pushing.
When she thought of Riley and Daryl's relationship, her thoughts went over to Zach, wondering if he'd made it out the prison. She'd regretted leaving him behind when she tried looking for the kids, but she fiercely hoped that he had been on the bus. She wondered if he was thinking of her in this moment. Even though their relationship was rather new and nowhere near the bond her sister and Glenn nor Riley and Daryl shared with each other, secretly she'd hoped that she could also reach that kind of bond with Zach. He was so kind and attentive but also protective and brave.
Her heart tightened when she thought of her sister too, wondering where she was. She was sure Maggie would've made it out of the prison; her sister was strong like that. Maggie had always been the brave one.
She heard Daryl mumble something in his sleep as he turned over on his back and she strained her ears, trying to make out what he was saying. She hadn't said anything to him about it, but every night he'd been tossing and turning as well as mumbling things in his sleep. He mostly mentioned Riley and his brother. She knew he was worried sick about them, but he wasn't saying anything about it to her, nor did she dare to ask.
She suddenly saw movement in the corner of her eye before she saw Daryl rubbing his eyes as he woke up. He slowly sat up, briefly looking at her before he reached for a bottle of water.
She pursed her lips, trying to figure out how she was going to do this. She didn't want to go out on her own, but she didn't want to waste another day here, merely staring up at the sky. The fact that Daryl wasn't a talker was really starting to get on her nerves as well.
"We should do something," Beth suddenly said to him, feeling the pressure slowly release from her body as the words flowed out of her mouth. At least she got it out right?
It didn't come as a surprise that he didn't reply since he merely took a sip of water and she rolled her eyes and stood up. "Earth to Daryl, we might as well do something?" She then told him and now she was actually surprised that he now actually looked at her, clearly gaining his attention. "If we're not searching, I might as well do something I've never done before." She added before she turned on her heel, leaving Daryl sitting there looking rather confused.
What the hell is she talking about?
After several minutes though, Daryl was growing rather anxious to have Beth walking out there by herself. He sighed as his protective nature kicked in before he stood up; grabbing his stuff before he walked into the direction the blonde had walked off to.
"Are you sure you've not been a nurse before all of this? You're doing it even better than I would," Connor mentioned as Riley had refreshed his bandages. He noticed the small smile on her face as he was looking into the large mirror in the corner of the room. Riley had pulled up a chair to have him sit on while she would check up on him.
"I've had a lot of practice on my husband, that man dives headfirst into danger," she mentioned without thinking, reaching for the small bandages in the first aid kit on the table beside her.
"He sounds a lot like my brother," Connor mentioned and she briefly looked at him before she started to inspect the swelling on his left eye.
"It looks better than yesterday; the swelling is a bit less." She told him and he nodded as he'd seen his own reflection in the mirror. He still looked like he'd been used as a punching bag, which in fact was true, but at least he could see with both eyes now.
She carefully removed the dirty band aids from his face before she replaced the ones on his nose and eyebrow. "You sure it's not broken?" She asked as she carefully touched his nose, making him frown at the stinging sensation but he didn't pull away. "I mean, I'm no expert but it doesn't look good."
"Nah, it isn't broken. It hurts like hell but it's only bruised," he told her and she nodded, throwing away the dirty bandages.
"That crossbow," he suddenly said and she looked at him, seeing him motioning towards her crossbow she'd placed on the bed. "Were you a hunter before this all started or something?"
She smiled, shaking her head before she sat on the bed next to her weapon while Connor turned in his chair so he could look at her. "I didn't have any fighting skills before this all started actually," she mentioned as she placed her hand on her crossbow. "My husband taught me how to use it."
"Really?" Connor said, making her look up at him.
"Yeah, he's a hunter," she replied and he noticed how she didn't referred to the man in the past tense. "When our group formed, he was the one who provided the meat."
"You weren't together before the outbreak?" Connor asked and Riley shook her head.
"No, we met after," she replied as she thought back at the beginning of their relationship. "It was the whole opposites attract kind of thing, he was very determined to not get involved with me but I guess I won in the end," she explained with a smug look on her face and he chuckled.
"Stubbornness does get you places," he said and she softly laughed.
"True."
"But if you don't mind me asking, how come he isn't here with you?" He then asked as he'd been meaning to ask her that from the moment she told him Rick wasn't her husband. If this man was a hunter and clearly had been involved into teaching Riley how to use a weapon, it did seem he wasn't the type of guy who would go down so easily.
Riley looked back towards her crossbow, recalling back the moment. "We got separated when our home got overrun. A lot of our people got separated from each other, I've no idea what happened to them," she said and he saw the tears forming in her eyes. He stood up from the chair before sitting down beside her.
"I'm sorry; I shouldn't be asking you all these things."
"It's okay, it's normal for you to have questions," she replied, rubbing her eyes but he stayed silent, staring at the window in front of him. "You want to see him?" She asked and he looked back at her in confusion. "I have a picture," she added before she reached into the back pocket of her jeans, showing him the picture of Daryl and her together.
He took it from her hand, staring at the smiling couple looking back at him. He frowned when he looked a bit better at the man on the picture though. "He looks familiar," he said and Riley looked back at him in surprise.
"What?"
"Yeah, I think I've seen him before," he told her as he stared at the picture and she was just confused now. She couldn't remember Daryl telling her about this.
"But where? Before this?"
"No, I mean," Connor started as he was prying his memories. "I remember when I was in this town with my brother, I saw him. We met, he was on edge," he started rambling more to himself than to Riley. "Yeah, I called him Archer because of his crossbow. He didn't want to tell me his name. He was really defensive. He was looking for supplies for…" he trailed off before he looked back at Riley in surprise as he finally realized it, "you."
Riley's eyes widened. "How could you have met him? He's never said anything about it before," she said, actually beginning to think that he was lying.
"No, wait, hear me out," he said before he held up the picture. "I still remember this so vividly because it was so strange that this kind of man was actually searching for tampons in a drugstore. It was this guy," Connor said, pointing at Daryl in the picture. "I offered to take him and his people in but he turned me down. He asked me if I was from this town, I don't remember the name, said it was run by this psycho leader. I gave him a map, just in case he decided to join my group."
Riley's eyes widened at that news. The map Connor that mentioned, Daryl had shown it to her, it had been marked with several places to meet up with these two men he'd met in town once when they'd left their group at the prison.
"He-he had told me about this," she then mentioned before tears pooled in her eyes at the memory and the surprise that Connor had actually met the hunter. "Oh my God, I can't believe you actually met Daryl," she said before she wiped the tears from her eyes yet again. "What a small world."
"Daryl?"
"Yes, Daryl Dixon." Riley mentioned and Connor's eyes widened at hearing that particular name before he looked back at the picture in his hand, realization hitting him hard as he could see it now, memories of his childhood pouring in, growing up, becoming stubborn teenagers. That's why the man had looked so familiar to him but he couldn't place it at the time. How could he even forget? It all made sense now, his behavior, his defensiveness, his southern accent, everything. It was him, only older.
"No way," he said in astonishment.
"What is it?" She asked as he was staring at the picture which such intensity it made her worry.
"You're his.. wife?" He then said in whisper before he looked at Riley as if he'd just met her.
"I, yes we, why?"
"Holy shit! That was Daryl!" He nearly yelled before he stood up, realizing it had been a bit too fast as he felt a sharp pain in his ribs, instinctively placing his hands on them. "Fuck that hurts!"
"Be careful! You're still injured you know!" Riley warned him as she stood up as well, her hands hovering over his hands, not knowing how to respond to his sudden change in behavior.
"I can't believe it! He was right in front of me and I didn't even recognize him!" Connor exclaimed as he started to pace back and forth while Riley was standing there motionlessly, nothing making sense of the entire situation. "I told my brother at the time, I said he reminded me of someone but I just couldn't place it. Sam thought I was talking out of my ass but I was right!" He added and Riley was still as confused as ever. Who was Sam?
"He's older, but I'm older too so, it makes sense that we didn't recognize each other, holy shit!" Connor exclaimed before looking back at Riley. "And now I just met his wife! I can't believe he even got married, if I know one thing Daryl sure as hell wasn't the type of man to get married but damn he did it!"
"Whoa, okay slow down! You're rambling and I'm not making sense of it all what so ever!" Riley then said in near frustration.
"He never mentioned me?" Connor asked and Riley frowned in confusion. "Connor? Connor Flannery? Daryl and I met when we were like, what, eight, nine years old?"
Riley's eyes widened at that particular detail in his story. "No way." She only managed to say before she sat back on the bed, this being all too much to take in. This was Connor? The Connor Flannery? Daryl's childhood friend?
"So after having to leave my hometown as it got overrun, I've just been gettin' by," Merle explained to Joe as they were walking down the road. Merle had to lie his ass off when Joe asked him about his past, knowing that mentioning even one detail of his group to these men would endanger them.
"No siblings or kids?" Joe asked but Merle shook his head.
"Nah, at least, not that I know of," he smirked and Joe chuckled.
"You've never encountered any groups?"
"I did, but nah that shit ain't for me. It just holds you back, endangers yourself. I mean, kids and women can't fight."
"True," Joe said with a smirk and Merle briefly glanced at the man by the way he said it, seeing this sinister look on his face that actually gave him chills. Merle knew that this group was no good, he'd seen them with Riley before. But if he was going to survive he needed to play along. At least for now, until he could escape. This Joe guy hadn't mentioned he wasn't allowed to leave, but he sure as hell didn't want to lead these men back to his own people.
"How about that hand?" Joe then asked, motioning towards Merle's knife that was attached to his metal stump with duct tape. "Or well, lack of it."
"Pfft," Merle said as he rolled his eyes when he recalled the memory, knowing he didn't need to lie to explain that particular ordeal. "I got handcuffed to a roof."
"No shit," one of the other men said, Merle not remembering his name. "How did that happen?"
"When this shit all started, I encountered a group. We were gatherin' supplies and I just found somethin' to ease the tension."
One of the other men in the group barked out a laugh. "You got high as a kite?"
Merle smirked in agreement and a few others actually chuckled. "Let's just say that didn't fly well with the others, so one of them handcuffed me to the roof. And after the fuckers ran off, well I had to get away so, yeah.." he trailed off.
"Damn, that requires some balls of steel," Joe commented and Merle smirked again.
"So what's the deal with ya'll? You guys friends?" He then asked after a few moments of silence and Joe chuckled.
"I wouldn't exactly call us friends. But in this world you need people. If you just follow a set of rules and stick to 'em, nothin' can stop you."
"And what exactly are those rules?" Merle then asked, not really liking the sound of it. This so called group was clearly detached from each other. Just of bunch of sick, selfish, arrogant murderers thrown together by this world. The kind of people others would avoid at all costs.
"Don't lie. If there is one thing I can't stand is liars," Joe explained and Merle nodded his head even though he already knew he was in the red zone regarding that matter. "You gotta claim your own and no stealing."
"And what if ya break 'em?" Merle then asked.
"You get your ass kicked," Joe explained. "It depends on what shit you pulled and what the mood of that day is."
"Sounds fair," Merle replied even though he thought it was batshit crazy. Getting beat up when you did something wrong? He figured that it wasn't just a slap in the face if he saw what kind of men were in this so called group.
"It does, doesn't it?" Joe said, sounding rather proud of himself. "If we all follow these simple rules, nothing can stop us."
"So where ya'll goin'?" He then asked, deciding he wanted to have some information as well.
"Nowhere in particular. For now we're heading back to this small town we were at earlier. We've been on the road for a long time, we need some resting as well as more supplies." Joe explained and Merle nodded in understanding.
"Care to join us?" Joe then asked and Merle shrugged his shoulders in indifference while he was already trying to think of an escape plan.
"Why the hell not?"
"I wonder if that guy is still laying there in his boxers," one of the men suddenly said with a smirk on his face as he briefly looked back at them and Joe chuckled darkly.
"Yeah, we did that guy good," he replied before he rolled this golden ring between his thumb and index finger, one he had hanging around his neck, a movement that didn't go unnoticed by Merle.
"Yup, and I scored myself a brand new outfit," the man with the bow said rather arrogantly and Merle didn't even want to know what'd happened to that guy they had encountered. He most likely was already stumbling around that town, not breathing.
What in the fuck did I got myself into?
"I want a drink," Beth said after walking at least an hour in silence with Daryl trailing behind her. She rolled her eyes as he didn't reply yet again before she suddenly stopped, Daryl almost walking into her but managed to stop himself just in time. She turned around, raising her eyebrow at him at which he frowned.
"What?" He grunted before he looked past her, watching their surroundings.
"I said I want a drink," she repeated and before she knew it he was already digging inside the trash bag he was carrying along before offering her a bottle of water but she sighed.
"Not water, alcohol," she clarified and he looked at her like she'd grown a second head.
"You wanna get drunk right here, in this place?" He said while he put away the bottle of water and she shrugged her shoulders.
"I've never had a drink before, might as well do it now."
"That's stupid." He said and she placed her hands on her hips, clearly annoyed.
"You know what's stupid?" She started, making him snap is eyes back at hers by the tone of her voice. "The fact that we've been together in these woods for several days now and you haven't said shit!"
He glared at her, clearly not liking her choice of words. "You watch yer mouth girl."
"Or what? You're gonna glare me to death?!" She replied and his hand balled into a fist, the movement not going unnoticed by Beth. She was surprised that she actually saw some kind of emotion from the hunter now since he'd been practically void of them for the entire time.
She sighed, trying to calm down before she looked back at him. "Look, I know we're in a very shitty situation," she started, "but this silence between us is getting really annoying."
He sighed as he obviously didn't want to be in this situation, deciding to turn his head and watch their surroundings but Beth crossed her arms. "I know that you want her here, I get it." She then said and his eyes snapped back at hers as he knew right in that second who she was referring to. "I want her here too, and my sister, Glenn, Zach.. my father.." she trailed off and Daryl's jaw tensed. "And I know it hurts to even think about it, but if we don't talk to each other it's going to drive us insane."
Daryl wanted to drive his fist into the nearest tree. Why did she have to bring this up? Wasn't it already difficult enough to be apart from everyone they cared about? Why did she keep on insisting to talk about it? He didn't want to talk about it, he didn't want to think about it, and as a matter of fact he didn't want to feel anything right now. He was already glad that he could force himself to keep on walking, one foot after the other. The fact that Beth was with him actually did keep him from going into desperation but it was only by a fraction. He could feel himself slipping the more time passed. But the more she went on and on about it, it just felt like he was about to burst.
"Daryl?" Beth's voice suddenly cut his train of thought and his eyes snapped back at her, seeing her looking at him in wonder.
"I don't wanna talk about it," he grumbled and he walked passed her, leaving her standing there in confusion. She had seen it in his eyes, his inner turmoil, knowing it was just boiling behind the surface. She sighed before following him, wondering if he would ever let down that humongous wall he'd put up.
The others in the group had a rather difficult time to believe Connor actually knew Daryl, especially Rick who was still rather wary of the stranger Riley had saved. But after asking a whole lot of questions, they were convinced that this man shared a history with the hunter that the others, nor even Riley, knew about.
"I still can't believe it," Riley said to Connor as they were taking stock of their supplies. "It's like you know a whole different side of Daryl I've never known."
Connor smiled as he placed a can of carrots in a bag. "Well, I think you know him better than I do. It's been so many years ago after I've last spoken to him. Things between us didn't really end well.." he trailed off and Riley pursed her lips when he mentioned that.
"He told me about that," she said and he looked back at her in surprise.
"He did?"
She nodded before she thought back at the conversation she had with Daryl. "Said he was fired on the day you called him, he was pissed and he was drunk, so well, those things don't really mix well together, especially for him."
"True, I had chosen a very great moment to talk to him," he said rather sarcastically, remembering their last conversation all those years ago.
"He never said it, but I think he felt guilty. You know, for pushing you away," she mentioned and he frowned as he thought about the matter.
"I actually went back after a few months," he said to her and she looked back at him in surprise. "He wasn't answering any of my calls, I was worried. I tried his father's house and his uncle's but no one was there. The neighbors told me Daryl skipped town with Merle, didn't know if he would be back or not." He added before he sighed. "I always regretted not trying harder."
"I don't think Daryl would've let you try, he's a stubborn man." Riley said and Connor chuckled before placing the last bag on the floor.
"I know it's been a hell of a lot of years ago, but it's like having a small piece of him back by meeting you."
"I feel the same," she replied and was about to say more but was cut off by Michonne entering the hallway.
"Rick wants to talk," she said to the pair and Riley nodded before they followed the woman as she headed to the kitchen.
"We should be heading out soon," Rick said to them as they all took a seat at the kitchen table. "I don't like the sound of that group Connor told us about. I don't want to risk encountering any of them."
"We should gather some more supplies though," Riley mentioned since they had two more mouths to feed now and their supplies weren't covering it. "If we're going out there on the road again, it's no telling when we'll be coming across another neighborhood."
"She's right," Michonne nodding her head in agreement. "I can search through some houses."
"I'll join you," Riley offered, "we've already searched through some, but there are still a few more we haven't checked just yet."
"I wanna go as well," Carl then opted while he walked into the kitchen with Patrick following, clearly having listened to the entire conversation. The teenager looked at his father who was clearly pondering over the matter before he gave his son a nod of his head.
The mood between Rick and his son had shifted a bit after the teenager had a scare that he could've potentially lost his parent. It didn't mean all was well, but at least there was some improvement.
"Can I join too?" Patrick then asked. Even though he didn't like the idea of leaving the safety of these walls, he knew he had to force himself or else he would never be able to gain the skills he needed in this world. Rick briefly looked at Riley since she knew the teenager a lot better than he did and she gave him a nod of her head. If she thought the teenager was up for the task, he wouldn't disagree.
Rick nodded in agreement and Patrick gave a sigh of relief.
It was decided afterwards that Connor and Rick would stay in the house in the meantime, as they both were still injured even though both men were rather good in hiding the fact they were hurt.
After the small group had left the house, Rick had shoved the couch against the door again, just in case walkers would show up on the porch. He then moved towards the few bags in the living room.
"When they get back we'll need to leave soon. Gotta put everything in one or two bags." He said to Connor who nodded in agreement, figuring it made sense to not stay in one place for too long. He saw in the corner of his eyes that Rick briefly touched his ribs after he'd placed the last bag on the ground, wincing in the process.
"You want me to check on that?" Connor offered and Rick looked at him, thinking about the matter since Connor did have medical skills. Didn't mean he trusted the guy even if he knew Daryl. In fact, after everything that had happened in the last few days, it had made him even more skeptical of strangers than he'd already had been before.
"I'm good," he eventually said and Connor wanted to roll his eyes but refrained from doing so. As Riley had mentioned before, Rick had been the leader of their group so he could imagine what the man was going through as he'd been one himself as well, even though he had been sharing that burden with his father and brother. Being in that kind of position made receiving help and trusting others difficult, especially if you had to be doing it on your own. And he'd actually learned his lesson the hard way. But even after all of that, he still tried. If he wouldn't do that, what else was there to do? Just give up and die? No, he wasn't that type of man.
"Look, I know we don't know each other and I'm practically still a stranger," Connor then said and Rick looked back at him. "But in this world it's getting to know people all over again. I'm willing to try, but the real question is, are you?"
Rick seemed to think over that fact before he did seem to make up his mind. "All right," he then said before he looked around, "where did Riley leave that first aid kit?"
"It's strange to think that Connor knows Daryl," Riley mentioned to Michonne as they were walking down the street, Patrick and Carl trailing behind them.
"It's a small world," Michonne replied and Riley gave her a small smile.
"That's exactly what I said as well."
"Doesn't mean we can trust him though," Michonne warned, making Riley look at her. "People change, especially nowadays they're very good at hiding their true intentions."
Riley sighed as she stared at the ground. "I know I can't lower my guard, but still, it's a nice feeling to actually have a small piece of him back."
Michonne looked at the younger woman from the corner of her eyes, seeing the grief on her face. She had asked where Daryl was when she'd finally found the small group and had seen the fallen look on her friend's face when she'd mentioned how she'd got separated from him. Even though she too felt an enormous feeling of loss, she knew that Riley was heartbroken.
She placed her hand on Riley's shoulder, making the younger woman look back at her. "If I know Daryl, he's probably already searching for you right now," she said and Riley gave her a sad smile. "Trust me that man won't stop until he finds you."
"I know, it's just.. I regret not staying at the prison, or at least make an attempt on finding him. I was too weak," she mentioned, quickly wiping the back of her hand against her eyes as she could already feel the moisture forming, not wanting the other woman to see.
"You were injured, it would've been suicide." Michonne said and Riley merely nodded her head, not being able to respond. It was difficult to talk about what happened. She actually felt like crawling into a ball and just cry her eyes out. But she knew she had to push forward, keep faith.
"I went back," Michonne suddenly said after a few moments of silence and Riley looked back at her in surprise but Michonne kept staring up ahead.
"Nothing was left," she mentioned and Riley lowered her eyes at that news. Their home was really lost, the place they'd felt safe for so long, just gone.
"Did you see anyone?" She hesitantly asked the woman and Michonne looked back at her.
"Only Hershel, I made it quick."
Riley felt tears forming in her eyes yet again, looking towards the road. She still couldn't get that image out of her head. Hershel had practically been everyone's father, giving advice when needed, helping them grow their own food, he was family. And he'd just been ripped out of their lives like that. The pain Maggie and Beth were in, she knew the feeling all too well. Even though so much time had passed, she missed her own family tremendously. And to now having lost her new family, it was crippling. She didn't dare to think ahead and see what the future would behold without them, she needed to take it one day at a time. Keep hope that they would find the others. They had to.
Miles away from Riley's group, Daryl and Beth were still walking through the woods. If the hunter could hear how the others would talk about him he would most likely feel even more guilty by the state he was in now but he couldn't help it. Losing the prison, his family, Merle, Riley, it was all too much. He was shutting down, he wasn't allowing himself to feel.
Even though they weren't talking, Beth could feel this sense of rising anger radiating from the hunter, noticing it in his behavior. The way he was taking down the walkers they were encountering was with a lot more force than needed. She wondered if she'd taken it too far earlier.
"A motorcycle mechanic," she suddenly blurted out and Daryl turned his head to look at her in confusion.
"Huh?"
"That's my guess, for what you were doing before the turn," she elaborated and he frowned at her. "Zach, he told me about that game you guys had, guessing what you were before." She added and he looked back ahead. "So was that it? Did he ever guess that one?" She pressed when he didn't reply and he sighed.
"Doesn't matter anymore."
"Why not? Even though jobs aren't there anymore, it's still something you can talk about," she mentioned, "talking about things before all hell broke loose to feel normal, as far as we can in this world."
"Yeah, well, it never felt normal to me," he said to her, clearly ending their conversation right then and there.
It was silent after that and Beth sensed that Daryl was walking towards something by the way he was making several turns, clearly familiar with this particular location but she kept her mouth shut, deciding not to push him for now.
She frowned in confusion however when they stepped into an open spot before she noticed a rundown house. "What's this?"
"I've found this place once with Michonne on one of our runs," he replied before he looked back at her. "Said you wanted a drink right?"
Beth looked at him in surprise. "Well yeah, but I was expecting some kind of liquor store or I dunno, a bar," she replied and followed after him when he walked towards the house.
"Nah, this is better."
After checking the surroundings of the house, not detecting any walkers, Daryl walked to a small shed attached to the house, opening the door. Beth peeked over his shoulder, seeing a wooden crate filled with a few glass jars which held some clear liquid substance. Daryl grabbed a few more from a nearby shelve and stuffed them inside the wooden crate before he turned around, giving her a clear view of what he was carrying.
"What is this?" Beth asked as she followed after him over to the house.
"Moonshine." He said as he briefly looked back at her while setting down the wooden crate beside the door before opening it.
Beth smiled since he'd clearly helped her and waited at the door until he motioned for her to come in after he'd checked the house. She carried the crate inside, looking around to see the fallen state the house was in. Newspapers covered the floor, holes in many parts of the walls, the kitchen cabinets nearly falling off the wall while almost all the windows were broken. She briefly frowned but walked over to the small table in the kitchen, setting the wooden crate on top of it before she sat down on a nearby chair.
She picked up a glass, wiping it clean with her shirt before opening a jar of Moonshine, pouring a little of the liquor inside the glass.
"You don't want anything?" She asked as she briefly looked at him but he shook his head.
"Somebody's gotta keep an eye out," he mentioned, looking out of one of the windows, thankfully not seeing anything.
She shrugged her shoulders before looking back at the drink in her hand. Her dad had told her that this kind of drink could make you go blind. She sighed before she raised the glass to her mouth, taking a sip. She grimaced at the taste of the liquor, feeling it burning in her throat.
"It's disgusting," she told Daryl and he shrugged in response. He then moved away from her towards the window again, trying to find something he could cover it with. He then noticed a few of nails and a hammer on the kitchen table before he went to work.
Beth rolled her eyes at the lack of words she got out of him before she got up, bringing the glass with her and sat down on the floor beside an old lounge chair, thinking that at least her mission for the day had been accomplished, they'd gone out and done something.
She looked at Daryl who was now busy attaching the wooden board to the broken window, wondering how she was going to get him to talk. She took another sip of her drink, thinking that the second time it didn't taste that bad anymore.
After Rick and Connor were done gathering the supplies in the hallway, Rick felt rather dizzy. He still wasn't feeling like his old self. It had take a lot of convincing from Connor's part to let Rick take a rest upstairs while he would keep watch in the living room. Even though Rick still had many doubts, he knew that if he didn't take some rest it would take its toll on him on the long run.
Connor was laying downstairs on one of the couches. He too didn't feel all that great, but he knew it was important to keep watch, especially since Rick did put some trust in him. It had been about three hours that the others had left, so he was expecting them back any time soon.
He suddenly heard a few noises outside and he quickly got up, wincing a little since his ribs protested at the movement but managed to get to the window, peeping through one of the curtains. His eyes widened when he suddenly a group of men walking on the road.
No way, he thought in shock since the men looked awfully familiar. He quickly moved away from the window again, wanting to go upstairs to warn Rick, but he stopped when he almost passed the two bags on the floor.
Fuck, we can't leave this here, he thought, knowing it was difficult to find food nowadays, before he quickly started to grab the bags, knowing he needed to be quick. He knew it was only bound to happen that the hostile group would find them in this house.
Meanwhile upstairs, Rick had actually fallen asleep even though he had initially forced himself to stay awake. But apparently he had been a lot more tired than he was realizing. He was currently oblivious of what was going outside. It was only when he heard rapid footsteps on the stairs he woke up, surprised when Connor almost barged into the room with bags in tow.
"We gotta get out of here," he said, quickly placing the bags on the bed. "That group, those men who attacked me, they're right outside."
Rick's eyes widened and he quickly got up from the bed to move over to the window, slowly moving the curtain away for only an inch. He counted four men, but he could actually hear a few voices from the side of the house as well, knowing there had to be more.
"How many are there?" He asked Connor.
"Last time I saw them there were seven. But I think I counted eight now," he replied, briefly wondering if he'd eyes had betrayed him.
Did that guy just had a knife for an arm?
Meanwhile Rick wanted to curse out loud at what Connor just told him. He knew they couldn't take on that amount of people with just the two of them, especially since they were armed while both him and Connor were still injured.
"We need to get the hell out of here," he said and Connor nodded in agreement.
"Well, the front door isn't an option," he said, "I removed the couch so they don't know people are hiding in here."
"The back?" Rick asked while he grabbed one bag from the bed, handing the other over to Connor.
"We can try but I don't know how-"
Connor was suddenly cut off when they heard the door open downstairs.
"Nothin' in these houses. I knew it was a mistake to go back here." A man complained.
"Shut it Len, we only checked a few houses," another man replied.
Connor frowned when Rick suddenly quickly started shoving his bag under the bed. He motioned for Connor to follow his movements as he now rolled underneath the bed. Connor quickly did the same before moving down beside Rick, pulling down the blanket a bit to cover his side.
"Smart thinking," Rick whispered as he did the same on his side before they heard footsteps on the stairs and they both froze, knowing if they were detected, they had to fight their way out.
"How was your catch?" Riley asked Carl as he walked towards her with Michonne. They had decided to split up, each woman bringing along a teenager. Riley figured that Carl had a lot of catching up to do with Michonne, so she went with Patrick.
"A few cans here and there," Carl replied. "She found some Crazy Cheese," he added with a smirk and Michonne smiled before the teenager walked up to Patrick before they started to head back to the house they'd been staying in.
"What's going on with Carl?" Michonne suddenly asked Riley who looked back at her. The woman had noticed Carl had been rather distant and it was making her worry.
"He blamed his father," Riley mentioned. "Said he was busy playing farmer and the Governor had the chance to get up right to our gates," she added and Michonne sighed.
"What happened, it wasn't on Rick.." she trailed off, not being able to get the words out of her mouth. Riley looked back at her, realizing what she was thinking.
"This wasn't on you either, you know that right? You searched, Rick did, Daryl even.., we all did, we couldn't have known."
"If I had just been able to find that bastard, none of this would've happened," Michonne told her but Riley shook her head.
"You can't keep thinking about the what if's, nobody could've foreseen this. We all tried the best we could but it still happened. Now we just need to try and find the others," she said and Michonne looked back at her, knowing she was right.
"You want to play a game?" Beth suddenly asked as Daryl was finished with covering the window and he looked back at her with a frown on his face.
"Game? What game?"
"A drinking game?" She suggested and Daryl immediately shook his head. He wasn't a friendly drunk and especially in this situation, he didn't want to take any chances.
"No."
"Oh c'mon, it's not like there is something else for us to do now is there? The sun will go down in a few hours, so we might as well make the best of it before we go to sleep," she mentioned. "If we stay quiet they won't hear us," she added, referring to the walkers that potentially were in hearing distance.
Daryl didn't reply, but after a moment he just gave up and sat down on a nearby chair. What the hell, he figured. He actually wanted to take his mind off of all the negativity in his head, even if it was just for a little while.
"Okay," Beth smiled, moving towards him to sit down in front of him. "We ask each other questions, like, never have I ever used a crossbow before, and if you did, you take a sip, if you didn't I need to take a sip," she explained.
Daryl sighed, not liking the idea of those questions but eventually shrugged his shoulders in silent agreement. Beth quickly filled the glasses and gave him one.
"I'll start," she said before she looked at the ceiling, seemingly in deep thought. "Never have I ever, driven around town at night." She said and looked back at him.
He took a sip of his drink, immediately tasting the familiar flavor in his mouth.
"Okay, now you," Beth smiled, actually thinking this was a good game to get to know each other.
"Never have I ever.."
Merle entered the house, refraining himself from making any sarcastic remarks as the men inside the house were already throwing things around, claiming items as they went. He sat down on one of the kitchen chairs, rubbing the back of his neck, realizing he was getting tired both from the traveling but especially from being on high alert around these men.
He had realized that they had been heading into the direction he was initially following Riley's tracks, and he was relieved he hadn't encountered the others in any of the houses they'd been in. Every time they'd opened a front door, he was preparing to turn on the volatile men the moment he would hear a familiar voice, but thankfully that hadn't happen. It was also annoying that Joe kept talking to him, making it impossible to keep his eyes on the road, trying to locate the others.
"You're not going to claim anything?" Joe asked as he sat down beside him.
"This chair and table is fine," Merle replied, frowning for a moment before saying "claimed."
Joe chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. "I told the men that we're staying here for the night. Ain't a lot of biters we came across, so I'm guessing it's gonna be a peaceful night." He mentioned and Merle only grunted in reply.
"You're a hunter, aren't you?" Joe then asked. "You know how to track?"
Merle looked at him before nodding and Joe smirked before he stood up. "Good," he said, "we didn't find a lot of food around these houses, might as well get us some venison, hm?" He added and Merle stayed seated, not knowing where the man was going with this.
"Shall we?"Joe said before he walked out of the back door, clearly indicating for Merle to follow him. The older Dixon sighed before he stood up, following after the man. If he was going to survive, he knew he needed to be on good terms with the leader and not rub him the wrong way.
Unbeknownst to him though, Rick and Connor were still hiding underneath the bed upstairs, knowing they needed to find a way out. Their bodies tensed when they heard loud voices coming from the hallway, followed by footsteps coming up the stairs.
At least half an hour had passed as Daryl and Beth had been doing their little drinking game. Beth was starting to become giggly, actually feeling a bit tipsy which she wasn't even aware of. Daryl too was slowly feeling the effects of the liquor as the tension in his body was gradually disappearing.
"I've never been on a rollercoaster before," Daryl said and Beth chuckled before she took another drink.
"Never have I ever… gone into the woods by myself," she said and he rolled his eyes at her poor question before downing another glass.
"I've never owned a horse," he mentioned and she drank again.
"Hmm, never have I ever, been to a bar before," she said and Daryl drank again. It did seem that everything that one of them mentioned made the other take a drink.
"I've never been on vacation," he said and she looked rather surprised before she took another sip of the liquor.
"Never have I ever.." Beth said, looking at the ceiling as she was clearly thinking before she looked back at him, "been to jail."
Daryl tensed at the sudden statement, his eyes narrowing at her in clear annoyance. Yeah he had been in jail for one night, which has been Merle's fault that is, but still. It was rather hitting home that she said that. It simply confirmed what everyone before this outbreak had always thought of him, a simple minded hick, a low life piece of shit, so what would stop them from thinking so now? Beth clearly thought he was.
He stayed silent for a moment before he spoke. "Is that what you think of me?"
Her eyes widened a bit in surprise at the tone of his voice as he clearly was offended. "What? No, of course not. I mean my dad once had to spend a night in jail because he got drunk," she said, looking away from his eyes at the sudden tension that she clearly felt between them.
"Well, drink up," he bit out and she quickly looked back at him.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" she started but he then suddenly stood up.
"Whatever, I'm done with this game," he said before walking towards the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed.
Beth pursed her lips, feeling guilty with what she'd said. "I didn't mean anything by it, Daryl."
"Really? You seriously didn't mean shit about it?" He said to her, pushing himself away from the kitchen counter as he looked at her, the frustration clearly visible on his face. "You did ask it right, so it was clearly something you assumed."
"I," Beth didn't know what to say, she hadn't really thought anything of it when she mentioned it, she didn't think he would take it that hard.
"Yeah because that's what I am huh? Redneck scum. Well, let me tell you somethin', I ain't fuckin' like that! I ain't goin' drunk out of my mind not knowing what the hell I'm doin' anymore!"
"I didn't say that!" Beth said as she now stood up as well. She surely didn't like how he was taking one simple question. What on earth was wrong with him?
"No, of course you didn't." He bit out. He was about to say more when they both suddenly heard a groaning noise outside since clearly Daryl's yelling had clearly attracted a walker and the hunter reached for his crossbow.
"Well, perfect opportunity here now," he said and Beth looked at him in surprise when he suddenly moved towards her before he reached for her arm, dragging her outside.
"Daryl stop!" Beth now yelled as he pulled her along but the hunter didn't listen, moving down the steps of the porch. The liquor clearly had a bad effect on him and his frustration over the entire situation they were in was clearly reaching its peak.
"What? You said you've never used a crossbow before so here you go!" He said, turning around to see a male walker slowly moving towards them. Daryl shot the walker in its shoulder, the bolt pinning it to the tree behind it and it groaned louder now.
"C'mon Greene, target practice." He said, moving Beth in front of him with ease before raising his crossbow. Beth struggled against him though, trying to get away from him but he had a strong grip on her.
"Stop it! Let me go!" She yelled and he shot off a bolt, right into the walker's heart.
"C'mon now, this is fun." He said, releasing her to reload his weapon. Beth was having none of it though, stomping towards the walker before pulling out her knife, stabbing it in the head.
"Hey! The hell did you do that for!?" He said in irritation as he moved towards her. "I was having fun!"
"Fun? You were being an ass!" She said as she turned around to face him. "If someone would do that to my dad-"
"That is completely different!" He yelled in her face but she wasn't backing down.
"Killing isn't fun!" She yelled right back and he narrowed his eyes at her.
"What the hell do you want from me girl?!"
"Stop shutting me out! Stop pretending like you don't feel anything, like nothing matters! That's bullshit!" She screamed at him. "I know when you look at me you see another dead girl, someone who isn't capable to survive out here. I know I'm not like Maggie or Michonne or Ri-"
"Don't you dare say her name." He cut her off as he'd stepped right in front of her and she could literally see the emotion showing at the sound of his wife's name.
"God forbid you start talking about anything that goes on in your mind," she told him and he grunted before moved away from her, getting the two bolts out of the walker.
"Look who's talking. One dead boyfriend and you don't even know what the hell happened to the other one, but you don't even shed a tear." He grumbled at her and she swallowed before he turned around. "Your whole family is gone and what do you wanna do? Get fuckin' drunk!"
"You don't get it."
"No you don't get it!" He yelled at her. "Everyone is dead!"
"You don't know that!"
"You'll never get to see them again! Never gonna see Rick or Maggie or.." he trailed off, not being able to say her name. Beth saw the look on his face as realization hit him while he'd processed the meaning of his own words. She reached out to him but he brushed her off, turning around since he couldn't face her.
"The Governor went right up to our gates. What if I hadn't stopped lookin'? I'd given up," he mentioned and she tried to reach for him again but he pulled away.
"I could've done somethin'," he said as his breath cut stuck in his throat. "And now.. now they're gone. Your dad, what happened.." he trailed off, looking towards the ground as he couldn't get rid of that horrible image inside his head. "And Riley," he then slowly said, "she's just gone.."
Suddenly he felt Beth wrap her arms around him as she stood behind him and he almost felt the strength leave his body. "I can't, if she's.. I can't," he whispered, the sadness evident in his voice while he lowered his head in defeat, his hair falling over his eyes while he tried to blink away the tears.
Beth felt her heart tighten at his words, hugging the man closer. She wouldn't let him go down a dark path, there was always hope. She just had to convince him that all wasn't lost. They would find the others, they had to.
Miles away from them, Riley stared at the ground while she was walking behind Michonne who had taken the lead. They hadn't found that much more while searching through the neighborhood, just a few more bottles of waters and some canned food. She sighed as she looked up at the sky, wondering if Daryl was also looking up now, seeing the same thing she was seeing.
It hurt a lot to be apart from each other, and of course the scary thought of him being gone forever crept up every now and then but she tried to force it away the moment it would bubble up to the surface. He was still alive and he was out there looking for her, for everyone - they were his family.
She knew she had to have a talk with Rick about what they were going to do once they would leave the house. They had to get away from that volatile group that'd attacked Connor, but she wanted to find others of their group. They weren't experienced trackers like Daryl was, but still, they had to try.
"Stop." Michonne pulled her from her train of thought and she looked at the woman, seeing her looking up ahead with a frown on her face. Patrick nearly bumped into Riley as he was walking behind her with Carl, but his friend had managed to stop him just in time.
Michonne quickly motioned her head towards one of the houses they were about to pass and they followed after her, hurriedly hiding behind one of its walls.
"What's wrong?" Riley asked the other woman who looked at her.
"I think I saw someone on the porch of the house," Michonne then whispered to Riley who looked at her in surprise.
"Who?"
"Not one of our own, that's for sure." Michonne said and Riley frowned before she decided to take a peek from behind the house. She saw one man standing there with a smirk on his face watching his surroundings. For some reason he looked familiar, but she couldn't figure out where she'd seen the man before.
Suddenly there were loud voices coming from inside the house as well and her eyes widened when she heard what they were yelling.
"Claimed! I claim that bed!"
"Oh no," she said to herself before quickly moving back towards the wall and Michonne looked at her in question.
"I know those men. Merle and I have seen them before, when we found Patrick," she mentioned to Michonne who frowned while Patrick's eyes widened at the news before he took step back in fear. Carl looked at him in confusion, wondering why he was acting like that.
"They aren't people you want to come across, ever," Riley added and Michonne briefly looked around the corner of the house again, seeing the man had gone inside again.
"But my dad is still in there with Connor," Carl mentioned with urgency, knowing they needed to do something. "We gotta help them."
"Michonne, maybe we can distract them to buy them some more time and-" Riley started but Michonne held up her hand, silencing the other woman.
"They're already going out the window," she whispered and Riley frowned before she moved beside Michonne to see what was happening at the house.
She saw Rick was slowly moving out of the window, a machine gun in his hand before reaching inside again, seeing he was pulling out a bag that he quickly placed on the roof. Connor then appeared, giving Rick another bag before he stepped out on the roof as well.
"What if they get caught? They're in no condition to fight," Riley said, her hand tightening around the handle of her crossbow.
"Rick knows what he's doing," Michonne whispered, frowning when she saw Rick quickly scanning the ground beneath them.
"Is my dad okay?" Carl then asked and Riley quickly looked at him to nod her head before looking back at the two men.
"He's trying to find a way down," she told him, seeing that Connor was now also checking to see where they could get down without being detected. He then motioned for Rick to follow him since he'd found a spot.
"Be ready to run guys," Riley said to the two boys behind her, "the moment they reach us we need to move."
Michonne saw how Rick slowly lowered himself from the roof, jumping down in a crouch, moving towards the door before briefly looking inside. She could tell he was biting through his pain since he briefly winced as he reached for his injured side.
Both men didn't notice how the others were watching them from afar, Connor waiting until Rick appeared again from underneath the roof of the porch when the coast was clear, and the man motioned for the bags. He lowered the bags one by one, Rick carefully reaching for them before setting them aside. Connor then lowered himself from the roof as well, nearly losing his grip when he felt a shot of pain burst through his stomach. Rick almost moved forwards out of instinct to catch the man if he would fall but Connor managed to tighten his grip on the edge of the roof before he swiftly jumped down as well.
"You good?" Rick questioned him as he saw the look of pain on the man's face and Connor nodded, trying to push the pain to the back of his mind. They quickly grabbed their bags before moving down the steps of the porch.
Rick raised his machine gun, knowing that one of the men they'd heard inside the house could easily pop out onto the porch. Connor suddenly tapped his shoulder and he looked at him, seeing the man pointing forwards. He then looked into the direction Connor was pointing, seeing Michonne standing near one of the houses in the distance, Riley poking out her head from beside the woman as well.
Relief rushed through him at seeing them, glad they were safe. Michonne was motioning for them to wait for her signal since she could see what was going on inside the house and they weren't.
"We gotta stay low, go behind the shed first before going to them," Rick then whispered and Connor nodded, briefly looking beside him to see if there was anyone appearing on the porch.
"She says we're clear," Rick then said and began to move, Connor following his lead, keeping his head down. They thankfully reached the shed just in time the yelling inside the house started.
"I guess they found their friend," Connor said to Rick who nodded his head, since he in fact had killed one of the men they'd encountered in the bathroom when they were trying to escape.
They then pushed themselves off the wall before running towards Michonne and the others who were still waiting for them.
"You okay dad?" Carl then asked his father as the two men had finally reached them, both panting as they were clearly out of breath.
"We… we gotta move," Rick managed to get out, "I killed one of them when we had to escape."
"Shit," Riley said, knowing that wasn't good news at all.
"They were the ones who left me for dead," Connor said, trying to catch his breath as he was holding onto his side, feeling the pain increasing.
"Riley has seen them before," Michonne then said and both men looked at Riley in surprise.
"Yeah, Merle and I saw them when we found Patrick. They're trackers Rick," she mentioned and Rick inwardly cursed since they clearly couldn't catch a break.
"We gotta get the hell out of here then," Connor then said what they were all thinking.
"C'mon, let's go," Rick said before they quickly took off, knowing that they needed to create as much distance between them and that violent group.
~ TWD ~
A/N: Hey everybody! Sorry that it has been so long since my last update. I haven't abandoned this story, I just had real difficulties with finishing this chapter. It was about halfway done but I couldn't seem to get the chapter flowing like normal and it was difficult writing while making alterations.
I hope you are still enjoying this story and that you liked this chapter. It would be really great if you could leave a review and tell me what you think! It helps a lot to see readers react.
Questions: what did you think about Daryl and Beth's argument/conversation? He's hurting a lot, they both are - but he does have a more difficult time to express his feelings about the matter. Do you think Beth can get through to him and give him hope?
Do you think Merle is going to find out that the 'group' the Saviors encountered was actually Riley and the others? What do you think is going to happen next?
Also, what do you think of the show? It has changed so much, I don't really know how I feel about it nowadays. With several characters being gone, it just doesn't seem the same anymore.
Anyways, I will continue working on the next chapter. Do know I'm not leaving you guys hanging, it's just difficult to find inspiration nowadays.
Thank you for reviewing, following and favoring this story! Until next time.
Thanks for reading!