Hey guys!

Here is the next chapter. We're getting closer to the herd attack and I'm kind of excited to be moving towards future things like the CDC and the Farm.

Also, I edited my end note on the last chapter to address some confusion over something I wrote in Caryl's discussion in the last chapter. Please go have a read of that when you get a chance.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Edit: I forgot to put a warning for Merle's racist language in this chapter. So, yeah, warning for Merle being racist.

Upon reaching the box truck, Daryl had watched Rick curse as he discovered they had a fuel leak. Because of course they did. So, their group had had to double back into the city, first to find a gas can and then to find gas to fill it with. They also needed to find some tape to temporarily patch the leak. This had to be some kind of fucking joke at this point.

It hadn't taken too long to find a can thankfully, but finding gas was proving to be a harder task. Every car they had tried had only offered a small trickle. It seemed that someone had come through and siphoned all the gas already.

They had come across a parking lot and had split up into small groups. Rick, Glenn and T Dog went down one section while he and Merle went down another. Each group had a hose to test with and the plan was to alert the other group if they hit the jackpot.

Merle was roaming free once more. Even if he'd wanted to cuff him again, Rick had had no cuffs left. Daryl just tried to ignore Merle. He was still pissed about what had happened earlier. He was even more pissed with himself for expecting anything different from his brother.

"Anything?" Merle asked as Daryl tried another tank. He shook his head. It was empty. The hose dripped a few tiny drops of liquid and nothing else. They moved on to the next car.

"Why you givin' me the cold shoulder, baby brother?" Merle asked next, crossing his arms and leaning on the car. Daryl glared at him.

"Why'd you think?"

"Oh, come on! I woulda come back for you!"

Daryl scoffed.

"I woulda," Merle insisted. "Once I figured out a way outta those damn cuffs, I woulda found a vehicle and made my way back to camp."

"Yeah," Daryl huffed, spitting out a drop of fuel. "So you could rob it."

"Well, that too," Merle said with a shrug, not even trying to deny it. "That's been the plan all along."

"I told you, it weren't my plan," Daryl said, feeling his frustration build as he got to his feet again. "Those people don't deserve that shit."

"No, of course not," Merle said mockingly. "'Cause you and Officer Friendly and that chink and the nigger, y'all are best friends now, ain't you?"

For the first time, Daryl found himself feeling annoyed by his brother's racist words. He was starting to warm up to these people—for some strange reason—and his brother was reducing them to the sum of their backgrounds and not in a nice way. He finally found himself understanding a little why people hated those words.

"Better them than you!" Daryl growled back scathingly. Merle's expression hardened.

"Now you wait just a goddamn minute!" he said. "I'm the one that's been there for you, I'm the one that's looked after you all these years."

Daryl stared at him incredulously. He couldn't really believe that, could he? Was he so damn blind to his own actions? Daryl already knew the answer to that question.

"Are you crazy?" Daryl spat. "Looked after me, my ass! I'm the one that's looked after you!" he countered, pointing at Merle. Daryl started to pace in the small area, forgetting his task of searching for gas.

"I'm the one that's always cleaning up your messes! I'm the one that's always draggin' you outta some drug den, never knowin' if you're gonna wake up! I'm the one that sits at home for weeks on end not knowing if I'm gonna get a call from the cops sayin' you're fuckin' dead in a ditch somewhere!"

All the hurt feelings he'd had over the years about his brother were just spewing out of him now. And Merle? Merle just stood there looking dumbfounded as if he had never realised the impact of his actions. That was most likely the case. Merle never thought too deeply about anything.

"You've nearly got me killed so many damn times, I've lost count! You've made me lose so many jobs 'cause of the shit you always pull! You're always talkin' 'bout how you raised me, how you was practically my parent growin' up. Well, you got it backwards. I'm the one that's been raisin' you! Tryin', at least," Daryl trailed off, his yelling calming to almost a whisper. He didn't realise how good it would feel to finally say everything he'd held holding inside. It felt like a weight had lifted from his shoulders.

"I… I never meant to make y' feel that way, Daryl," Merle said, his tone and eyes pleading.

"Well, you did," Daryl replied, hearing the hitch in his voice. "Way I see it, I'm better off with these people."

Merle shook his head. His eyes were still haunted. Maybe his brother did have a conscience hidden in there somewhere. Daryl wasn't going to take back one word though. It had all been true.

"They ain't your blood," he said. "I'm your blood."

Daryl scoffed.

"Our 'blood' ain't shit!" he shot back. Merle didn't respond because even he couldn't deny it. Dixon blood was nothing to brag about.

"You don't belong with 'em, Daryl," Merle continued after a beat. "They ain't never gonna respect you. Ain't never gonna care about you."

Daryl nodded his head. That was probably true and he wasn't expecting it anyway. But the way he was feeling now, even a bunch of strangers was preferable to being subjected to Merle again. He had let it go on so long because he thought he couldn't live any other way. Today had been a wake up call. The world was over. He could do whatever the hell he wanted now. He could make a whole new life for himself and Merle didn't have to be part of it.

"Maybe not, but I can't do it anymore Merle," he said, not even yelling at his brother anymore. "I can't go back to that life again."

Daryl moved away to go check in with Rick and the others. The cars here had nothing to offer. Hopefully they had more luck than he did. That might improve some of this shitty day, at least.

"Daryl," Merle called, making him pause. He didn't turn around but he listened, curious what his brother would say. "What if… What if I changed? What if I tried to do better?"

Daryl squeezed his eyes shut. He wanted so badly to believe his brother's words, but the thing was, Merle had made these empty promises to him before—sometimes through the speaker of a phone with a pane of glass between them in a prison—and each time, he'd stupidly believed it. Well, not this time. This time he wasn't going to fall for Merle's shit.

"I'll believe it when I see it," Daryl said with his back still turned.

He continued over to the others, not looking back to see his brother's reaction. He knew if he did, his resolve could waver. He didn't want that. He needed to hold his ground and make Merle see that he was serious. He wasn't going to ice his brother out completely—he was still his brother after all—he had just realised that he was allowed to take a step back. He didn't have to be 'Merle's little brother' anymore. He could be himself—whoever that was.

"Guys!" Glenn yelled, pointing at something in the distance. "Heads up!"

Daryl whirled around and swore as he spotted a sizeable herd ambling towards them. Their group started running from the parking lot. Rick indicated a building not too far away. They all hurried over to it and shoved at the doors. They swung open easily so they moved inside before slamming them shut.

Immediately, they were greeted by a few sparse walkers that were easily taken care of. When it was quiet again, they took stock of where they were. It looked to be a simple office building lobby with a front desk and a few scattered couches here and there.

"Let's get these couches pushed up against the door," Rick ordered, hardly wasting a moment.

They worked together—including Merle, surprisingly—to get the doors blocked up. Once they were satisfied with the job, Glenn wandered over to the window to take stock of what was happening outside. From his expression, it wasn't good news.

"Glenn?" Rick asked, not needing to voice the whole question. The kid gulped and shook his head.

"There's tons of them out there," he said with wide eyes. Rick sighed and pinched his nose.

"Alright, we'll wait it out here for now until we can figure out a plan," he said, getting back to business. "Glenn, stay by that window and keep an eye on things. Let us know if anything changes."

Glenn nodded and maintained his position.

"Daryl, why don't you and Merle go see what's in the office. There might be something useful in there," Rick suggested. Daryl gritted his teeth against his urge to complain about being paired with his brother again.

"Come on," he muttered to his brother. Merle gave him a slightly wounded look but fell into step with him.

Daryl could still hear Rick talking as they got further away from the lobby. The words were muffled but he assumed that he was assigning T Dog his 'task', whatever that may be. Daryl thought the office would be a waste of time—what could there really be in a dusty old office to use anyway? He didn't protest though. Searching this dumb office would give him something to do and that was good. Daryl had never liked staying idle for too long.

The door was locked, of course, but it had been easy to pick. As soon as the door opened, Daryl felt his eyes water at the smell. Inside, there was a body. It was lying on the floor and most of its head was missing. The smell of death and rotting flesh pervaded the small space something awful. Thankfully, he and Merle both had strong stomachs.

"Damn, someone oughta crack a window in here!" Merle mused as he waved a hand in front of himself. "'Least the dumb bastard was smart enough to shoot 'imself in the head."

Daryl focused on ignoring his brother as he started opening drawers. There was lots of useless shit, like paperwork and folders. He shoved them aside, trying to find any hidden gems lurking amongst them. No luck. He closed the last drawer with a huff.

The desk was pretty bare too. On it was just more standard office crap—papers, pens, a computer—nothing they needed. He took the box of paper clips though. They would be always be useful in some way.

Daryl stepped away from the desk and turned to see what the hell Merle was up to. His brother was in the middle of trying to jimmy the lock on a cabinet in the far corner. He didn't know why he was bothering. It was probably just more crap they didn't need.

"Wastin' you're time there, Merle," Daryl commented, breaking his unspoken vow of silence with his brother. Merle glanced at him before returning to his task.

"Never know, brother. Could be somethin' good in 'ere. Like your friend Rick said, it's worth checkin' out."

Daryl rolled his eyes at Merle's attempt to start an argument about Rick again. He wasn't rising to the bait this time. He just leaned against the wall and waited. A few beats passed before Merle made a noise of triumph. The doors of the cabinet swung open but Daryl couldn't see the contents from where he was.

"Anything?" he asked, unable to help his curiosity.

"Fuckin' goldmine!" Merle cheered and Daryl straightened up. Could this place actually have been hiding something useful after all?

Merle turned around and Daryl's hopes dropped. For fuck's sake, he muttered internally. In his brother's arms was a horde of candy. He could see various kinds, like M&Ms, Skittles, Kit-Kats and God knows what else.

"Officer Friendly had the right idea 'bout searchin' this place, I'll admit that," Merle said as he carried his haul over to Daryl's bag. He dropped it all in, save but one Kit-Kat that he set to unwrapping.

"You dumb asshole," Daryl grouched. "Thought you found somethin' worthwhile!"

"I did," Merle insisted through a mouthful of chocolate. "Think 'bout how those sweet little kiddies you care so much 'bout are gon' feel when they see this shit."

Daryl glared at his brother.

"Yeah, like you was gonna give 'em any."

Merle's expression turned offended.

"The hell kinda man you take me for, Daryl? You think I don't know how to share?"

Daryl scoffed and picked up his pack, closing it up and swinging it onto his back again.

"I grew up with you," he pointed out. "I know you don't know how to share."

Merle seemed to chew that over before shrugging, popping the rest of the chocolate into his mouth.

"Well, maybe I'm turnin' over a new leaf," he said, screwing up the wrapper and tossing it to the floor. "This'd be a way to do it, right? Get all those kids callin' me Uncle Merle or some shit?"

The image was so ridiculous that Daryl couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. It was almost a genuine one. Merle seemed to notice because his eyes lightened and there was a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Come on, let's get back to the others," Daryl said to break the almost light hearted moment. He wasn't ready to not be mad at Merle yet. His brother looked disappointed but he didn't argue. He just followed dutifully.

As it turned out, T Dog's task had been to go ransack the vending machines in the lobby. There was a multitude of snacks and drinks sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Merle looked displeased by the haul and crowed proudly—and childishly—that what he found was better. Rick, T Dog and Glenn looked at him oddly before they all seemed to collectively agree to just ignore what he said.

"We got a plan?" Daryl asked, wanting to hurry up and get the hell out of here.

"That herd is still out there but their numbers have depleted a little," Rick explained tiredly. "They'd still be a struggle for us to deal with. I think our best bet is to wait it out until morning."

Daryl frowned.

"'Til morning? What happened to that shit you were spouting 'bout wantin' to get those guns back to camp?" he asked, his tone a little harsher than he'd meant. He didn't like the idea of spending a night in the city.

"I meant it but that plan is no good if we're not alive to put it in action," Rick replied, not looking bothered by his tone.

Daryl sighed. He knew Rick was right. They worked well together but taking on a herd this size was risky. They couldn't use those guns because it would only call down more of them. Their best chance was to wait and see if the herd walked off by themselves, then deal with any stragglers.

"Fine," he muttered in acquiescence. Rick gave him a look that clearly conveyed his shared frustration with the situation but also conveyed his gratitude at Daryl being reasonable.

"You think we should head upstairs?" T Dog asked next. "See what we can find up there?"

Rick put his hands on his hips as he considered the idea. After a moment, he shook his head.

"I don't think it's a good idea," their leader said. "Too risky. We don't know what we could be walking into up there."

"Here, here, Officer Friendly," Merle crowed in agreement from his spot splayed out on one of the remaining couches. "Ain't riskin' my behind no more today."

The group—as had been the case all day—collectively ignored Merle's comment.

"I don't think we'll have any trouble but we'll set up a watch rotation," Rick said. "I don't mind taking watch tonight so you guys can sleep."

Daryl immediately negated that idea. He never liked nor trusted having someone else on night watch, especially when he didn't know enough about their skill set.

"Nah," he cut in. "I'll take night. You three can divvy up the rest of the shifts between you."

"Are you sure?" Rick asked, looking appreciative and, thankfully, not offended by his decision.

"I'm sure. Ain't gonna sleep good in this place anyway."

Rick nodded in acceptance of that.

"I guess Glenn can take first then. T, you go second and I'll take last before you, Daryl."

Glenn and T Dog nodded their agreement of the allocations.

"What 'bout me?" came the irritating voice of Merle. Daryl scoffed but said nothing. His brother really couldn't believe they'd be stupid enough to put him on watch after the shit he'd pulled.

"No offense, but I just don't trust you enough to hand you that kind of responsibility," Rick told him. Merle huffed but shrugged.

"Whatever," he grumbled. "Jus' means I get to sleep more."

Daryl shook his head at the display. His brother seemed genuinely offended that they hadn't offered him a shift. His delusions about himself were ridiculous and Daryl wondered if he would ever wake up to it. Probably not.

Daryl found himself a couch of his own and dropped onto it, intending to get some rest before he had to take watch. The couch was lumpy and there were clearly some springs that were broken inside. It would do though. He had certainly slept on worse beds. He closed his eyes.

"You aren't hungry, Daryl?" he heard Rick's voice ask. He didn't bother looking at the man as he replied.

"Nah."

Rick seemed to accept that as his footsteps faded away. Daryl could hear the group chatting a little as they had a pseudo dinner from the candy and junk they'd pilfered from the vending machine. He did his best to block them out. He was too worked up to eat anything. He had never liked staying in places he wasn't familiar with. There were too many risks involved if you didn't know a place like the back of your hand.

He couldn't wait to get the hell out of this place and get back to camp.

There you go.

Hope you liked this one. We'll be syncing up our two storylines next chapter and swapping between them as we get closer to the herd attack. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised by something in the next chapter. At least, I hope you will be.

Thanks for reading and let me know what you think.