The drive was long, not in terms of distance but in terms of Daryl having to listen to Merle's mouth and his many complaints. The brothers made a quick stop at Merle's derelict hide-away to pick up the trailer, along with more hunting gear and they were off again.

They noticed the closer they got to the city, the heavier the traffic became.

Daryl had known his brother his entire life, and as soon as they were on the road he'd recognized the hard set of Merle's shoulders. He could almost see the white of his brother's clenched fists on the steering wheel.

The road passed along quickly as Merle drove and the brothers sat in silence. They'd turned the radio off to spare themselves having to listen to the same blaring message over and over, telling people to head to the nearest FEMA shelter or hospital. They were to report if they were sick or stay locked in their homes until someone came for them.

Hospitals and police stations were the types of places the brothers would be avoiding, 'sides they had no reason to see the inside of a hospital. Not with the police crawling over 'em, and there bein' a warrant out for Merle's stupid ass.

With the traffic getting heavier on the main highways, the brothers took a detour down the back roads headin' towards 'Lanta. These roads were virtually clear.

Daryl looked out the window making sure Merle's bike was still strapped down on the trailer. He wasn't surprised to see it was, given how securely they'd tied it down to prevent any jarring from the road trip. Particularly on this turn off from one of the main highways into the coty, it was simply a dirt road and very rough going.

Lambert's place wasn't far off down the dirt road they were driving. When they arrived Daryl knocked an elbow into Merle's arm, getting his attention and asking, "He good?"

"He's good, lil brotha. He's got himself clean in the military, got a family and everythang now." He risked a peek over at Daryl who was looking straight ahead. "He owes me and had me all set up just in case something went down. We're going to pick it all up. We'll be good up at the cabin until it all blows over."

"No tricks?" Returning his brother's gaze, Daryl's was piercing. Is Daryl returning Merle's gaze

"He's the reason I damn near got clean. After everything that went down."