Hello guys, favs and followers, next chapter is on.
This one is all about Daryl. Put some work into it, wanted it to be as Walking-Dead-realistic as could be o)
Enjoy reading and tell me what you think!

Daryl rode on a horse he "borrowed" from the Greens stable, as he and Merle would call it, to find Sophia. The trees looked all the same, but for Daryl they were not the same at all. Between this labyrinth of trees he could tell all the different kind of plants. There were a lot of maple trees and a wild berry bush to his left. It was untouched, still full of berries. Why did the view of a wild berry bush reminded him of a yellow bucket?

He led the horse to turn left. He had already found the little doll Sophia had with her when she ran away. She must be near. His thoughts were with this little girl who was alone and afraid. He had to find her. "Sophia!" But there was no answer.

Suddenly the horse began to snicker and buck. He tried to stay in the saddle or at least calm the damn horse down. "Woh, woho." But the horse threw him off. Everything happened so fast and in the next moment Daryl rolled down a hillside through leaves and branches, but couldn't get a hold on anything and fell into a small river. "Outch …" He felt a sudden pain. Not only did his head hurt, as he looked to his hip he saw one of his arrows pierced through his side. He tried to move it, but immense pain went through his body and he passed out.

"Why don't ya pull that arrow out … could bind your wound better." Bloody and weak, Daryl waked up, still at the bottom of the ridge. "Merle?" He could not believe his brother was sitting in front of him. Merle gave out a short laugh. "What's goin' on with ya? You're takin' a siesta or somethin'?"

"Shitty day bro!" Daryl tried to blink the fog of dizziness away.

"Want me to get ya a pillow? Maybe rub your feet? Or get ya that sweet little brunette bad ass to massage ya good spots?"

Daryl was tired and injured, he must be hallucinating. "Screw you!"

"You're the only one screwd from what it looks like! All them years I am trying to make a man out of you. This is the ending? Look at ya! Lying in the dirt like a used rubber. You're gonna die out here lil' brother. And for what?"

Daryl felt like taking a last breath. "Girl!" He blinked hard to focus. "I lost a little girl."

The vision of Merle was all blurry, but his voice was all clear … the raspy voice of Merle made him stay conscious. "So you got a thang for little girls now?"

Daryl didn't want to discuss anything with that hallucination-Merle. "Shut up!"

"I thought ya more fan of little Miss bad ass. Thought that brunette was ya taste. Didn't ya observe her every move?!"

Daryl swallowed. "I said shut up!"

"Oh, touchy." Merle leaned over Daryl. "Gotta notice, you weren't looking for old Merle no more. Not even for that brunette to fuck."

Daryl interrupted him. He was damn looking for his brother. "Tryin' like hell to find ya bro." Daryl's words were slow, almost like a whisper.

"Like hell ya did. You split man. Left out first chance you got." Merle seemed so much more vital than in the past. In any case better than Daryl was at the moment.

"You left out. All you'd gotta do was wait. We went back for ya. Rick and I …"

Merle cut him off. "This Rick who cut me to the roof top in the first place. Forced me to cut off my own hand. Is that who we're talkin' about here?" Daryl's eyes tried to focus. Everything was in foggy shades, but he could see both of Merles hands. "You his bitch now?"

Daryl tried to move but was too worn out. "I ain't nobody's bitch."

"Right. Not even have a bitch yourself no more. Miss Bad ass would've made a great little …"

"Fuck you." Daryl was tired of his brother's accusations. He wanted to rest, sleep off the pain.

"Didn't look for me, didn't look for her … ya got a plan or what? I thought ya wanted her all for yourself."

"Keep on joking…" Daryl felt again the hands of unconsciousness reaching for him.

"You're a joke is what ya are …" Daryl drifted off again, he just couldn't stay conscious. All he heard was some of Merle's nasty words. "Playing arrow boy for this bunch of pansy asses and democrats … you're nothin' but a freak to them. Redneck trash … Is all ya are. Heard them laughin' at ya behind your back. You know that don't cha?" Daryl did his best to not try to listen to hallucination-Merle, but he kept on bitching. "But I got news for ya son. One of these days they gonna scrape you off their heels like ya was dog shit." Daryl closed his eyes again, soaking in the words like they had a meaning to him. "Hey. They ain't your kin … your blood." Daryl thought about it for a while. He felt Merle grabbing him hard. "Hell if ya have any damn nuts … you go back there and shoot your pal Rick in the face for me."

Merle touched his face. "Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody ever care about you accept me lil' brother." Daryl couldn't believe his brother was touching his face and speaking to him. "Ain't nobody ever will. Not even that bad ass. Smiling at ya like she knows shit." Daryl closed his eyes again. "C'mon get up on your feet or did I have to kick your teeth in." Merle kicked him and tried to wake him up. "Let's go!"

When Daryl opened his eyes, not Merle but a walker was at his side, nibbling on his shoe. His eyes went wide and he hastily kicked the walker in its face. He stood up and fought back the zombie and smashed his head with a big branch. But there was no time to rest. Another walker was already coming after him. Daryl saw his crossbow, but the only arrow left was the one in his side. With a quick move he pulled the arrow out of his torso, ignoring the pain, and loaded his crossbow while lying on the ground. Just before the walker descended on him he shot it.

He examined the area, no walkers. He bound his wound and took his knife out. He walked over to the dead walker and started to cut off the walker's ears. What cha doing? Daryl immediately stood up and looked around. "Merle?" But there was no one to be seen. He looked around again. Don't listen to your damn brother. He's no good. The voice seemed to be in his head, it was the one of a girl. Of that girl! "Ella?" He sat back, holding his head. Pressing his thumbs in his eyes, like he could rub out the voice. He wished more to have seen her hallucination than the one of Merle.

You are good Daryl! I know you have the guts to stand up and keep on fighting. Daryl sniffed. Had he been eating magic mushrooms at camp or drank some of the dirty water of the river he had lain in? But he had to admit, the soft voice of Ella was a welcome relief to Merle's insulting. He smiled. If there is any way to get up there I know you are the one to make it. "It's all hallucinated. Nothin' is real." He looked at his boots and took one of the bootlaces to string the walker's ears. He stood up and tied the ear-necklace around his neck. "No comment on that you guys?"

With a sneer he made his way to the foot of the ridge. Don't do that to yourself Dar'. He flinched at her sudden voice. He always hated when people shortened his name, but Ella was the only one he didn't tell to shut up about it. His father had called him that name too many times and they were no happy moments to remember.

They are your friends, I am your friend. "You are gone." He looked up to the top, looking for a good way to climb up. I followed you, but you were all gone.

"Your fault. I said stay at the camp." He hoped Ella's voice would shut up now. He had felt guilty at first but now that his brother worked him up he was mad and angry. "You hear me, your own damn fault!" Alright, if it makes you feel any better. But I kept on looking for you all the time.

"Shut up."

Maybe that's the difference between us. I keep on looking for the people I care about. You don't look for Merle no more, didn't look for me at all. Daryl couldn't believe he was talking to two hallucinations at one day. He could take Merle's words, he lived with him many years. He heard his bashing and insults all the time without listening. But Ella's sweet voice was not that easy to not listen to. "Why do you care, why haunt me?"

He turned around hoping to see the bright green eyes and the brown tousled hair. But the scenery hadn't changed. No Merle, no Ella. Her voice started to drive him crazy. At the very moment he could see her right in front of him with her short torn blue jeans, her yellow dirty shirt … her smiling lips and eyes. What about this girl that he felt inner warmth when he saw her? "Get your pretty ass here and tell me yourself!" He screamed at the trees around him.

I care about you Daryl, way too much. I want you to know that you're a better person than him. These people are your friends, new family. Stop letting the past take you down. Daryl sighed. "You keep talkin' shit." He couldn't believe she could care about him. No one ever did.

I do and won't stop. That could not be true. Ella was gone. It was all phantasm. He would never know what she had felt or could have felt. Is that why he heard her voice? Because he wanted to know what her intentions were when they had sat together at the camp so many times? Because he wanted to know why she had spend time with him, while the others had avoided him? Just don't give up!

Daryl shook his head, shook away hallucinated voices, and started to climb up the ridge. He wanted to leave all the hallucinations and voices behind at the riverbank. But when he made his way up, he heard Merles laugh. He looked up and again the hallucination of Merle appeared. "Whats the matter Darylina? Is that all you got in ya? How about balance and climb!"

Daryl felt pain all over his body when he pushed himself to climb up. Ella's voice was gone, now Merle appeared again. He rolled his eyes in pain and frustration. He was hallucinating without being drunk or high. "I liked it better when ya were missin'."

Merle laughed. "Now come on, nobody likes that. I'm on your side."

Daryl grabbed a branch to pull himself up. "Yeah? Since when?"

Merle just looked at him smiling. "Hell, since the day you were born baby brother. Somebody gotta look after your worthless ass."

"Ya never took care of me. You talk big game, but ya was never there. You ain't here now. Some things never change." Daryl tried to push forward, but his wounded side made it hard.

Merle spat back at him. "I'll tell ya what. I am as real as your chupacabra."

"I know what I saw." Talking and climbing at the same time with an injured side and an annoying brother in his ear was not that easy.

"Yeah and I am sure the mushrooms you took had nothin' to do with it right?!"

Daryl was beginning to lose his temper. "You best shut the hell up."

Merle bawled. "Or what? You gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me? Well, come up and do it then. If you think you are man enough." He laughed an evil laugh. "Take off them damn high heels and climb son." He laughed again while Daryl was still fighting to get up the hillside without passing out from pain. "Got no balls to climb up, got no guts to just take the brunette. Did I raise fuckin' trash of a redneck, all whiny and wimpy?"

"Fuck yourself. Leave her out of this shit." Daryl was already half way up. Almost there.

"Ah … that was her name. I merely remember her ass and busty front." Daryl screamed in pain as he pushed himself up. "You know what …. If I were you I would take a pause brother, cause I just don't think you're not gonna make it to the top." Daryl was almost at the top. Merle squatted down. "Come on. C'mon lil brother!" With a laughing voice he held out his hand. "Come on and grab your friend Rick's hand!"

In the moment Daryl reached the top with his right hand, there was no hand and no Merle no more. With all the strength that was left in him he pushed himself up, breathing hard. As he stood up, with his hand on his weapon he looked around. "Yeah, you better run!"

On his way back to the farm there was no Merle and the voice of Ella was gone. All this shit talking about her caring about him was nonsense. Merle was right. No one went looking for him and he was the only one looking for Sophia. It was all true, he was white trash, a pain in everyone's ass. No one would ever care about him.

But he remembered Ella's voice telling him with an intense strength in her tone that she did care about him. All bloody and muddy he stumbled in the direction of the farm.

How you like it? In the next chapter is a hell lot of happening ... will update tomorrow or day after!
See ya soon ... xxx