New Meanings to Old Words: Love
HI! I'm working hard to get this rollin' since I left y'all hanging as I VACAY'd it up. This chapter is doing a bit of backtracking, we're catching up with Daryl and the boys as they search for Sophia-some of you may ask, why the fuck do we need that? To that I say…DARYL DARYL DARYL he needs some screen time ya know?
As always, read, review and most of all enjoy!
~michelle
Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Callie and the crew of misfits (Danny, Miles, Jenna, Mike, Nina, Ben and Gracie).
Famous Last Words
Daryl squinted his eyes in the afternoon sun and slid his gaze to the branches overhead. Letting out a long low sigh through his nose he let the strange pattern of bright sunlight that was filtering through the leaves and branches to imprint itself upon his brain. Maybe, just maybe, if he stared long enough at the sun he'd be able to distort the fuckin' image behind him into something more pleasin'.
Closing his eyes he, said a tiny prayer to his good ol' fuckin' boy JC and turned so that he could peek over his shoulder. The growl that emitted in his throat and rumbled through his chest was luckily low enough that the two bumblin' idiots trudging up behind him couldn't hear it.
"So where the fuck we goin', Dixon?" T-Dog's booming voice echoed around the woods and Daryl rolled his head along his shoulders in an effort to douse the anger. Nah, it wasn't anger. It was annoyance, plain and simple; boilin' fuckin' annoyance.
"What you think I got a map or somethin' that has a little star that says 'Sophia is here' that I'm followin'?" Daryl spat back sliding his eyes to the kid picking his way along beside T-Dog. He watched Glenn snicker at his response and he shook his head. "We're combin' the woods, lookin' for a trail. Ain't got not 'where' to it, Dog."
"You do know where we are though, right?" Glenn's voice sounded causing Daryl to once again shift his attention over his shoulder. He raised a brow and watched Glenn's eyes widen a bit as he shifted to look behind them. "I mean you know how to get back to the farm right?"
Daryl's mouth opened in response but he snapped it shut and turned his back on the pair of fuckin' idiots behind him. He shook his head and moved forward leaving them to catch up. Kind of fuckin' question was that? Did he know how to get back to the farm? They'd only fuckin' left two hours ago, and they hadn't really done nothin' but go straight back towards that fuckin' church ground.
Daryl shook his head again a little part of him was tempted to get them 'lost'. Make the two dumbfucks behind him really live off the land with him for a couple days. They thought life at the Quarry was roughin' it, he'd be happy to fuckin' show them what roughin' it really was. He was so tempted that his feet began leading him off of the pathway up to that church and off into the woods a bit.
Daryl squinted his eyes, and looked back over his shoulder his steps immediately coming to a stop at the sight of T-Dog and Glenn picking their path around the woods to where he stood. He was tempted, but there was no way he would or could do that. Not with Jenna on death's door and Callie sitting on the precipice of falling apart at the seams.
Daryl's hand went to his back pocket and he pulled out the black plastic gas cap that he'd stolen from the Hummer. She'd probably stumbled upon her newly gas-free vehicle by now, and the thought of her face at the moment of discovery had him wishin' he'da told Ben to snap a fuckin' picture for him.
She'd be pissed, and that tiny little line woulda formed between her slim dark brows as she furrowed them at him. That line he always wanted to reach out and smooth with his thumb, but never had. Those pretty hazel eyes would have been twinklin' with anger and amusement and that sexy little bit of mischief that always seemed to linger just under the surface. And no matter how hard she woulda been workin' to glare at him, he'd still have been able to see the slight tilting of her lips into that little bit of a smirk. That smirk that always popped up when he did something she didn't like, but still made her laugh.
Fuck, the only time he'd ever seen her really growlin' stompin' mad at him had been in Atlanta when he'd gone off without her to check Merle's bloodtrail before everyone else had gotten up.
Callie Marcus, his little fuckin' hypocrite.
Daryl's thumb worked over the rough edges of the plastic cap so lost in his thoughts that he didn't register Glenn and T-Dog catching up to him until the Chinaman opened his fuckin' mouth.
"I still can't believe you did that," Glenn said a little out of breath. Daryl's eyes snapped to the kid and caught the tilt of his lips as he stared down at the cap in Daryl's hand. Glenn caught Daryl's eye and jutted his chin towards the cap before looping his hands into the straps of the red emergency backpack over his shoulders. "I mean don't you think she's gonna be pissed?" Glenn continued, raising his brows at Daryl. "I'm sure she'll understand the sentiment-"
"Ain't no sentiment to that," T-Dog huffed cutting off Glenn. Daryl's glare slid over to the sweaty black man wiping his bald head with a blue bandana. "That was a gauntlet being thrown."
"Huh?" Glenn said his confused gaze slipping from T-Dog to Daryl and then back. Daryl kept his eyes on T-Dog, honestly a bit amazed and slightly angry that the man had apparently picked up on something he thought to be a private thing between him and Callie.
"It was almost as good as a glove slap to the face," T-Dog said raising his brow at Daryl and smirkin' in a way that almost had Daryl wantin' to return the gesture. Instead he glared and slipped his gaze to the still confused Glenn. T-Dog smacked his large good hand against Glenn's shoulder, keeping his wounded other close to his body. "He ain't tellin' her to stay put, man. He's fuckin' darin' her to try and go." T-Dog chuckled a bit and winced as he moved the hand of his injured arm wrong. Shooting Daryl a raised brow and a humored look he pointed a finger, "You two got a fucked up sorta relationship, man."
There was a beat of silence while Glenn just stared at Daryl, and Daryl really couldn't help but smirk at the younger man.
"Seriously?" Glenn said finally and Daryl rolled his eyes as Glenn shifted his attention from him to T-Dog and back a few times. Daryl growled a bit and shoved the cap back into his pants pocket and rolled his shoulders as embarrassment and anger settled over him. Glenn shifted his attention back to the still shaking head of T-Dog, his eyes wide as he looked at him. "That's just-"
"Fucked up," T-Dog said quietly chuckling. Daryl's shoulders hunched a bit in anger and he glared over his shoulder.
"Will you two shut the fuck up already," Daryl spat earning a shocked look from both men. He turned fully to face them and shot his arm around the woods, marveling a bit at how far from the path up to the church he'd taken them. There wasn't anyway he was gonna turn 'round and make them think any less of him than they already fuckin' did. Snarling he turned and began to trudge further up the incline into the woods. "I'm out here tryin' to find Sophia. You two ladies wanna sit and gossip 'bout shit then you can just turn the fuck 'round and head back to the farm."
Glenn and T-Dog stared after Daryl as he wacked away the defenseless foliage and grumbled until the man disappeared from view. Glenn's eyes slid to T-Dog who was shaking his head and clenching the fist of his wounded arm. T-Dog's eyes slipped to Glenn and he let out a sigh.
"I think we hit a chord there," Glenn said finally grimacing and rubbing at the back of his head. He scratched his hand through his hair.
"Yeah," T-Dog said nodding his head listening to the sound of Daryl's angry hacking not far away. "Much as it fuckin' pains me to say it," T-Dog said sighing again. "He's got a point. We outta focus on finding Sophia."
"Yeah," Glenn said. Both men locked eyes, neither one wanting to voice their growing concern over whether they would ever find the girl. Both minds going to Jenna laid up in a bed at the Farm; and causing them to wonder just what state Sophia would be in when they did find her.
Without another word they started up the slight incline following the sound of Daryl's angry swiping at the branches. They only walked for a few seconds before they both stopped in their tracks. Daryl stood at a tree, cutting small twigs off and putting them into his quiver for later stripping. Daryl stopped his cutting and slid his gaze over his shoulder spearing them with a half-hearted glare. He shook his head and started walking again without a word spoken. Glenn and T-Dog exchanged a humored glance.
"You even think he realizes how much he's changed?" Glenn asked quietly. T-Dog let out a disgruntled grunt and shook his head as he started to follow the angry redneck.
"For the love of fuckin' God, don't let him hear you. Swear that fucker is two seconds from actually leavin' us out here to fend for ourselves." T-Dog responded, earning a wide eyed response from Glenn.
Glenn hefted his backpack a bit higher on his shoulders and shook his head as he followed behind T-Dog. Letting his eyes slide behind him he idly wondered how things were going back at the farm.
Hours later, Glenn shifted in his seated position on the ground and smoothed his hands over the survey map Maggie had given him of the area again and settled his hands upon his knees. Tilting his head to the side he leaned forward and traced the area she'd showed him to be the farm, then moved towards the church ground.
"You and Callie got this mad obsession with maps," T-Dog said, causing Glenn's eyes to lift over to the tired looking man. He was propped up on a fallen tree, his head dripping sweat that he kept trying to sop up with his already wet bandana. His eyes closed and he winced a bit as his hand moved in an awkward manner.
Glenn shifted around, grabbed for the red backpack settled on the ground next to him and rummaged for the bottle of pain meds he taken out of Merle's stash before they left. Grabbing another rag and a bottle of water he tossed them to the man's feet. T-Dog nodded his thanks and Glenn returned his attention to his map.
"A man is only as good as his map in times like this," Glenn said quietly as he again traced the area around what he knew to be the church grounds. "Callie understands that," Glenn said peeking up at T-Dog watching him down the painkiller. "We've been through this."
"Yeah, yeah," T-Dog waved his arm around and smiled a bit. "Still think y'all are ridiculous 'bout the way ya mark 'em up and keep tracka everything."
Glenn shook his head but smiled knowing that the maps were a bit ridiculous. He and Callie had pretty much bonded over their obsession with their maps of Atlanta back at the Quarry. They each took great care in marking off safe areas and not-so-safe areas. It was tedious, and probably completely unnecessary, but it had kept them safe on their trips into town. And from what Callie had told him one night, her marked up map that he'd helped her with had pretty much saved her ass when they went back into Atlanta for Merle.
So he knew that no matter what, they would both continue to mark up maps until the day they died. Callie's pride and joy was her map of the entire state of Georgia, the one she'd marked with each place she and Danny had traveled. Each spot they had picked up the kids, each spot they had lost someone, every dead town, or ransacked gas station. It was extensive and well maintained and something Glenn envied in a weird sort of way.
He had only just begun to mark up his own map of Georgia.
Glenn's finger trailed along the paper and tapped at the church. Figuring in the distance he estimated they'd walked, along with the length of time they'd been walking, they should have been there by now. As if on cue, a shadow fell over his map and Daryl crouched down in front of him. Glenn lifted his eyes to the redneck and watched him suck in what sounded like a disgusting breath before spitting off to the side. Glenn grimaced and watched as Daryl tapped his finger on the map a bit. Glenn raised a brow as Daryl leaned back and put his elbows to his knees.
"I thought we were headin' to the church?" Glenn said looking up at Daryl and squinting through the glare of sunlight that shafted over the dirty redneck's head.
"We know what's at the church," Daryl said shrugging and Glenn raised his brows. "Figured it'd just be a waste of time."
"Coulda told us you changed the plans, man." T-Dog snapped causing Daryl to look over his shoulder at the man still obviously fatigued from their trek. "I been walkin' round lookin' for that fuckin' church all day."
"Maybe y'all should just develop a better fuckin' sense of direction and stop harpin' on me to lead your asses everywhere," Daryl said snarling just a bit as T-Dog shook his head. Daryl then shifted his eyes to Glenn and shocked the kid when he pulled out a small switchblade and stabbed the area he'd pointed to a moment ago.
"Hey!" Glenn yelled glaring up at Daryl as he got to his feet.
"Maps only good if you can fuckin' use it, Chinaman." Daryl said quietly. Glenn shook his head and pulled the knife out of the map tossing it at Daryl's feet. The kid smoothed his hands lightly over the now sliced portion of his map and let out a long irritated sigh.
Daryl stared down at the kid, instantly feelin' a bit of guilt for his actions. He knew he was gettin' pissed at Glenn for something that the kid. The kid may have been a guru when it came to getting around fuckin' Atlanta but drop the kid in the woods. What the fuck did he expect? At least he was tryin'.
Deep down he knew that stickin' that knife into that map wasn't really a dig on Glenn. It was frustration plain and simple. Daryl was tired. He was tired, sweaty and fuckin' pissed that they hadn't run into any sign of Sophia.
His brain was half into this search and half back at that fuckin' farm house with Callie. He'd honestly figured that showin' up last night, holdin' her kissin' her, woulda helped. Woulda let him focus on what he needed to do.
Wishful fuckin' thinkin, little brother.
Yeah, he knew that. All that time with that woman did was further cement his want to be with her. Because while he knew she'd be pissed 'bout the Hummer, and that she would take his warnin' of sorts into consideration, it wouldn't stop her from leavin' with Jenna if she felt the need to. The woman had been dreadin' the conversation she was gonna have with the Doc all damn day. She hadn't even eaten she was so upset.
So it wasn't farfetched to think she'd just run off with Jenna before he got back. And that though is what had him walkin' them in fuckin' circles for a half an hour. Lucky for him, Aimless and Clueless were too busy tryin' not to trip over their own damn feet to really notice.
Then there was T-Dog, lookin' like shit warmed up and smoothed thin over a piece of fuckin' toast, and still trudgin' along. He was slowin' them down. And that was pissin' Daryl off. But he found himself growin' this begrudging respect for the man every time he waved off Glenn's helping hands and sped up his steps so that he was in line with Daryl.
Before falling back to the back of the pack again.
Daryl'd found himself starin' over his shoulder more times than he'd been looking forward, just to check that the man hadn't fuckin' fallen over. Which was why Daryl had made them take the break, so that they could all catch their breath. And Daryl could try and school his growin' annoyance.
"Well, now that I know where we are," Glenn said in a smartass tone causing Daryl to glare down at his dark haired head. He shifted a bit and slipped his fingers along an area hand-marked, obviously by Glenn himself, with a few little tiny squares. "From what Maggie said that there are some old farm houses scattered around up here. She said they used to be rented out to tourists in the summer but not for some time," Glenn looked up at Daryl and gave a bit of a snarling smirk. "And 'cause I can read a map," he continued in a snide tone. "I'd say we got about another two hours of hiking before we reach them."
Daryl stared down at the kid for a minute then nodded his head and bent down to retrieve his knife. Staying crouched down he slipped his gaze from the haughty fuckin' Glenn to the map and then back to the kid.
"What you do before all this again, kid?" Daryl asked quietly, tryin' real hard not to gain the attention of the slowly rising T-Dog not far off.
"Delivered pizzas," Glenn said quietly in return a small smirk tugging at his lips as he shook his head. Daryl watched him again slide his eyes to the map and run his fingers over the tear that Daryl had made in it. "I know it doesn't really sound so exciting or dangerous but," he looked up and over towards T-Dog who was now standing next to them also looking down at the map. "Try gettin' a gun pulled on you every other day and beat down a couple of times by a bunch of bangers, hoods or what-have-yous," he slipped his hand into his hair and then pointed a singled finger to the map before him. Daryl watched in idle curiosity as a sort of hardness he'd never really noticed the kid to have before worked its way on to his face. When Glenn looked up he stared hard right at Daryl. "Learning my way around that city, and learning how to read maps," he slipped his gaze up to T-Dog. "Marking my map with safe areas and not-so-safe areas that shit kept me alive back then. So, I figure it isn't such a bad idea to keep doing it now."
Daryl stared at Glenn for a while, the two of them sharing a bit of a fuckin' moment right then that had Daryl smirkin' when he got to his feet. Respect was funny like that; often earned in the strangest of ways. T-Dog was nodding his head slightly at Glenn's words, understanding fully what a danger it could be to walk the streets of Atlanta. Especially with a fuckin' light on the top of your car that said you had money on you. Shit he'd heard enough stories about delivery guys being murdered for less than fuckin' fifty bucks.
"Well," Daryl said getting to his feet and brushing his hands on the knees of his pants. "Least you got some kinda useful skill," he shot a poignant stare at T-Dog before stalking off to grab his shit.
"Oh what?" T-Dog said lifting his arms and following the redneck's departure with his eyes. "You sayin' I ain't got no skills?" Daryl shrugged and smirked over his shoulder and Glenn chuckled a bit as he started to fold up his map. "Laugh it up, Chinaman," T-Dog said pushing Glenn a bit as the kid got to his feet and stuffed his map back into his backpack.
"C'mon, it's Daryl," Glenn said waving a hand at the back of the man who was too busy staring off into the woods to be paying attention to them. "I think something's aren't ever going to change."
"What's that supposed to mean?" T-Dog said shoving the bottle of water and pain killers angrily back into Glenn's chest.
"That you're always gonna be 'useless', and I'm always gonna be 'Chinaman'," Glenn shrugged and smiled. "At least one of them is true," he gave T-Dog a wicked smile and the black man started shakin' his head.
"You know what?" T-Dog pointed a finger at the quickly retreating Glenn. Glenn turned around and half walked-half skipped backwards as he smiled at T-Dog. "You're 'bout to be reminded what it was like gettin' a fuckin' beat down every day, man."
"Bring it on," Glenn said as he slipped his arms through his backpack and spread his arms wide. The grin on his face had T-Dog snarling, but it was half hearted. He shook his head instead and got an evil grin on his face as he continued slowly after the two men.
"So," T-Dog said in a happy tone that had Glenn's smile immediately fading. "That Maggie-girl show you anything else you wanna share?"
Glenn's eyes went wide for a second before they narrowed and his head began to shake. He slipped his gaze over his shoulder and looked at Daryl for a second before returning his pleading expression to the now full on grinning bear of a man approaching him, mouthing the word 'don't' over and over. T-Dog tossed his arm around Glenn's shoulders and turned him around as he raised his voice a bit.
"What you don't want the redneck to know 'bout your little crush on the farmer's daughter?" T-Dog said grinning wildly as Daryl shifted his attention behind and directly onto Glenn. The now red-faced Glenn had his chin against his chest and a hand settled in the dark waves of his hair.
"That right, Chinaman?" Daryl drawled out in a sly tone that had Glenn cringing as he looked up. Just as the kid was starting to shake his head in the negative Daryl shifted his eyes to the smiling T-Dog. "Which one?"
"Jesus, dude, the older one!" Glenn yelled his eyes narrowed at the ridiculous question. Daryl smirked wider and Glenn realized that he'd pretty much walked straight into that one. "Aw man," Glenn muttered as Daryl just nodded and turned his attention back to the woods. Glenn looked to T-Dog and shook his head. "You are cruel."
"Just get this clear now," T-Dog said squeezing his hand on Glenn's shoulder before pointing a finger in his face. "There ain't nothin' useless 'bout knowin' how to read people, and when to keep your mouth shut."
"Right," Glenn said shaking his head and taking in a deep breath. "You do realize he's gonna make my life a living hell now right?"
"Daryl?" T-Dog said in mock shock as his eyes went wide. "Nah, man. He's changed."
"You suck," Glenn said breaking T-Dog's arm from around his shoulders and stalking off after Daryl.
Up ahead Daryl listened as the two men at his back continued to talk, and he really couldn't help the tiny bit of a smile that rode his lips. He sometimes enjoyed that most people thought he was too 'in-tune with nature' and 'into his own shit' to be payin' attention to them. It let him sit and listen and learn without havin' to worry 'bout people noticin' him doin' it. Only person who ever caught on to him was Callie.
Daryl again rubbed at the bridge of his nose as the image of the woman invaded his brain. Growling and snarlin' at the fact that he couldn't seem to go fuckin' five minutes without it happenin' he again took out his frustration on the idiots bringin' up the rear.
"C'mon, girls," Daryl shouted back over his shoulder instantly causing the two to stop their continued mumbled talk. "Quit your yappin' and keep up! Ain't gonna keep stoppin' to wait for your asses. We're wastin' fuckin' daylight out here." He smiled a bit wickedly and shot Glenn a look. "Gotta get Chinaman back to his little farmer's daughter." Glenn's mumbled 'son of a bitch' caused T-Dog to let out a loud boisterous laugh and Daryl to give a chuckle.
They continued on, and just like the little smartass map readin' sum'bitch said, after about two hours they came into a small clearing. A rundown shack of a house that probably could have been described at one time as a cute little farmhouse stood surrounded by the overgrown trees and grass. The area was obviously untended for quite some time, just as Glenn's girl had told him. Daryl's footsteps came to a slow stop as his eyes slipped over the area and then behind him to where Glenn and T-Dog were slowly making their way towards him, their eyes squinting in the almost blinding glare of the straight on overhead sun.
Daryl held up his hand and they slowed to a stop, allowing him to listen more clearly to the sounds around them. The whole place probably coulda been described as 'picturesque' or 'serene' in some long ago world, but right now that house sat there loomin' in the bright sunshine and all Daryl could think of was the horror they'd found in that church.
"Whole place could be crawlin' with geeks," T-Dog said quietly from behind him and Daryl snarled a bit as he looked over his shoulder.
"Think I don't know that?" Daryl snapped back, he shifted his eyes to where Glenn was working his way further into the grass and shook his head. Following behind the kid he easily overtook him and worked his way towards the house.
Biting his cheek, Daryl stopped at the bottom of the porch steps and stared up at the door just as Glenn and T-Dog settled beside him. Lifting his thumbnail to his mouth he rubbed it along the stubble underneath and then tapped it a few times. Shifting his eyes to his fuckin' 'back-up', he rolled his eyes. As much as he hated to admit it, he was wishin' Rick was with him. The two of them had this shit worked out.
Grumblin' his distaste for fuckin' everything he popped his crossbow off his shoulder and notched a bolt. Beside him he saw Glenn and T-Dog pull their guns and he spun to face them, narrowing an angry brow.
"I'm goin' in alone," Daryl spat his eyes holding hard to them as they looked up at him in shock.
"What?" Glenn said in a surprised tone, his eyes going wide as he stared at Daryl. "No," he shook his head and looked up at the house and then back to Daryl. "That's a big house, there could be a lot of-"
"Your girl said ain't no one been up here for a long time, right?" Daryl said almost angrily as he held the kid's still surprised stare.
"That don't mean nothin' nowadays, man." T-Dog added in quietly watching with a bit of a frown. "Anyone coulda found this and thought it would be a nice safe little place to hole up 'till shit had blown over."
"Well, I guess I'll just have to be real careful then," Daryl said in a mocking tone that had T-Dog shakin' his head. Daryl held his gaze for a minute and T-Dog finally scoffed.
"You just don't trust us to have your back," T-Dog said in a sort of amazed tone that had Daryl just about ready to fuckin' snap.
"I don't see a point in the three of us workin' our way through a fuckin' house, when one can do it." Daryl said shortly pointing a finger into T-Dog's chest and then over to Glenn. "Now quit your fuckin' belly achin', ain't like either of ya are gonna be mournin' my loss if somethin' happens. Not with Maps here to lead y'all back home." Daryl shook his head and turned away starting up the stairs. He tossed a look over his shoulder and glared. "Check the perimeter and keep your fuckin' eyes open for geeks." He turned fully and shot them both a look. "And for fuck's sake if you find one take it out quietly. Call a whole fuckin' horde down on us if you two decide to go Rambo."
The last thing he heard was T-Dog's scoffing before he faced the door and pushed it open. Daryl took a long breath in through his nose and let it out slow through his mouth as he worked past the door. He repeated that action two more times as he let his eyes roam the dimly lit interior of the probably once nice house. His eyes skimmed the random open doorways, hallways and stairwell and his wish for Rick at his back came back full force. Again swallowing it he snarled and pressed his back to one wall before sliding around the first doorway, crossbow raised and ready.
His ears should have been able to pick up the sounds of Glenn and T-Dog stumblin' about like the loud fuckers they were, but he was so intently focused on the house all he could hear was the low moan of the wind hitting the side of the house and the creaking of floorboards under his feet.
He worked his way slowly around the house, his boots shifting in what he felt too loud a manner along the dirt and debris covered floors. Daryl's nose twitched as a sound from upstairs had him his heart beating at an almost erratic pace and his head angling a bit to check the stairwell as he passed. He found himself looking over his shoulder for Rick, and then shaking his head hard knocking it purposefully on the doorjamb beside him to clear it.
"Head outta your ass, boy." Daryl's mind repeated. "Ain't no one gon' have your back all the fuckin' time. Don't get used to that shit." His brother's words, echoing from a long ago lesson that had earned him a few of the scars that littered his back. The feel of Merle pulling each tiny shard of glass outta him was still so potent a memory that he actually fuckin' shivered a bit. Smacking his head again against the wooden beam beside him he blinked hard and made his way into the tattered remains of the kitchen.
His eyes scanned the kitchen quickly, working through the shadowed corners and over the dirt covered surfaces as he moved. He sidestepped a couple of broken and knocked over chairs heading for the doorway to the next room. His eyes skimmed over the counters and cabinets wondering if there was anything in there to scavenge. Just as he was about to exit his eyes caught on the trashcan, and he felt his brow draw tight in confusion.
Biting at his cheek he bent a bit and retrieved the empty can of tuna, turning it sideways a bit to let the water run out. Slowly he lowered his nose and sniffed at the can, and was surprised to find that the while the smell wasn't one of his favorites it wasn't yet tinged with the repugnant stench of rot that this place would have led him to expect. Nah, this can was fresh.
Daryl's eyes lifted, that tingling, familiar sensation of fear ran up his spine. His crossbow snapped up and his shoulders stiffened anchoring its weight as he stared at the small cracked door of what he figured was a pantry. He felt the bead of sweat slip its way down the side of his face and tucked his bottom lip in between his teeth as he slowly worked towards that cabinet. He was spookin' himself, he knew it. That fuckin' pantry wasn't big enough to hide anything that could hurt him.
His nose twitched to the side before his nostrils flared as one thought coursed through him. He rushed the door and flung it open, his crossbow still raised 'cause he wasn't a fuckin' fool. His eyes swept the shelves and the miscellaneous canned food still housed within. His crossbow lowered as slowly as his eyes until both came to rest sighted on the floor.
And a bundle of blankets with a dirty little pillow pressed up in the corner.
He wasn't even able to control the flash of memory that flared to life. The numb feel his own legs had taken on when he'd crammed his body into a cupboard smaller than that seemed to tingle over his legs again. The way his head kept hitting off of the top of the shelf each time he jumped with fright with the sound of his daddy's voice or the thump of the man's fist hittin' off of one thing or another. How tightly he'd held his arms 'round his shakin' legs and shoved his face into his knees desperate to keep from makin' a sound and givin' him away.
How the bastard found him anyway.
"Daryl," Glenn's voice startled Daryl out of the memory causing his head to shake violently as he shifted his glare towards the doorway. He met Glenn's gaze and knew something musta been showin' on his face, cause the kid's brow furrowed a bit and his mouth opened to say something. Daryl snarled and turned away wiping his forearm angrily over his eyes before jutting his chin towards the cabinet.
Daryl moved away and let Glenn sidle into take a look. The kid shifted his eyes to Daryl as he backed away and then back to the cabinet. Daryl settled his backend against the dirty counter and ran the back of his hand over his mouth and continued to stare at the blankets until Glenn's body blocked them from his view. T-Dog slid into the room sparing a glance at Daryl before slipping beside Glenn.
"You think Sophia -" Glenn looked over his shoulder at Daryl unable to finish his own question. Apparently in his mind it was unthinkable that a child would have to suffer so. Daryl felt his lips rise in a mirthless smirk and he pushed off of the counter.
"Yeah," Daryl said walking a few steps and kicking his foot into the trash can. "Fresh can of tuna sittin' on top of all this shit. Bundle of blankets, nice safe little place. She's a smart kid." Daryl looked up and let his eyes slide to both men.
"So we're close," Glenn said hopefully his eyes slipping from T-Dog to Daryl and then back. "Right? This is good? This is a good sign?"
"Y'all check outside," Daryl asked over his shoulder as he moved towards the open back door. T-Dog was moving fast behind him, he could hear the fucker's labored breathin' almost at his back as he exited.
"Clear," T-Dog said in a hushed tone. "No sign of Walkers." Daryl sniffed and pushed through the broken screen door out onto the back porch. He bounded down the steps and looked around the fuckin' picturesque clearing.
"Sophia!" Daryl yelled his head moving around as he looked around. "Sophia!" Darkness was falling faster than he'd expected it to; the sky above was tinged now with the duller hues of dusk. "Sophia!" He looked over his shoulder watching T-Dog and Glenn stare at him from the porch and he shook his head. Sliding his hand into his hair he spared another glance up at the sun and then back at the two men staring at him. "Hey, Chinaman," Glenn perked and Daryl caught his eye. "You got extra water and food in that pretty lil' backpack?"
"Yeah?" Glenn said shifting his attention to T-Dog beside him.
"Go put it in the cupboard," Daryl said scratching his hand through his dirty hair and then running it down his face. He didn't hear any movement so he turned to look at them. "We're gonna lose the sun. Figure we got 'bout 'nough time to do a quick sweep of the area, see if I can find her trail, before we have to head back." Daryl shrugged at their blank expressions and grimaced. "She might come back."
Glenn nodded then and immediately turned to head into the house again. T-Dog stood there staring at Daryl for a moment before nodding and following the kid inside. Daryl cupped his hand over his mouth and stared at that house for a minute before shaking his head. He began to walk a bit aimlessly through the tall yellow-green grass, his mind's eye still settled on that cupboard.
Daryl's eyes caught a flash of white ahead of him and he felt himself drawn to a shaded spot under a tree not far off. He squinted at that bit of white until finally he was right in front of it. He crouched down and looked at the simple white flower in awe.
A Cherokee rose.
He stared at that rose for he didn't know how long, his crossbow finding a place on the ground at his side as he let his fingers glide over its soft petals. He let out a huff that was more of a chuckle than anything else and plucked the flower. He spun the thing in between his dirty fingers a few times before opening his own satchel and placing it inside as carefully as he could.
A distant sound caught his ears, and had his head perking up and out towards the forest they'd just come from. His eyes squinted hard and his jaw clenched tight as he stared. The sound repeated less than a full minute later, but he couldn't be sure just what he was hearing. It was too far off in the distance to really be sure, but he swore those sounds were gunshots. Daryl's hand slid towards his crossbow, his fingers grazing over the weapon as he continued to strain against the distance to see if he could hear the sounds again. But there was nothing.
Nothing but the deathly silence that had surrounded them before. Daryl sat there for another few moments just staring off into that slowly darkening forest trying to figure out what the fuck he heard.
"Everything a'right?" T-Dog's voice called from a ways back and had Daryl's attention shifting over his shoulder to the two slowly approaching men. "You find somethin'?"
"Nah," Daryl said letting his fingers curl around the crossbow. "Just thought-"
The growl had his head snapping forward, just in time to lock eyes with the dead man lunging through the overgrown brush before him. Daryl's hand gripped tight to his crossbow but he let go as the Walker's hand collided with his shoulder. His body fell hard to the ground, the breath instantly knocking from his lungs as the full weight of the Walker descended upon his now prone form.
Daryl's arms pushed hard against the clawing, monster growling and snapping on top of him. The once man's dead putrid breath fanned across his cheek and neck as he turned his head to avoid its snarling frothing mouth.
"Holy shit!" "Jesus!" "Oh God!" the mingled voices of Glenn and T-Dog could be heard, as well as their rushed footsteps through the grass as they made their way towards him.
"Fuck," Daryl said in a huffed breath. Daryl was working to get his right hand settled into a good spot at the throat of the Walker, his fingers digging and clawing into its decaying flesh as he slid his hand over the protruding shoulder bone. He felt the bone crack under his hand and the thing fell forward a bit. "Fuck!"
Daryl's other hand, which had been clawing for his crossbow that was just a finger's length out of reach gave up and joined the press. His legs were bent at an odd angel but he had the leverage needed now that he just had to shift his hips and flip the fucker and then-
The sound of two closely fired gunshots was unmistakable this time. The firearm going off so fuckin' close that the sound rang in his ears for a few seconds. The Walker's head exploded, brains and other gore flying onto the remaining Cherokee rose buds. Daryl growled as the dead weight the Walker suddenly slumped onto him. Rolling his hips, as he'd fuckin' planned on doin', he was able to come up on his knees and glare at T-Dog and that fuckin' smokin' gun held out in his hand.
Silence fell for a beat before Daryl let out a rush of breath he'd apparently been holdin'.
"Thought you fuckin' said it was clear?" Daryl huffed out breathlessly. Settling his hands on his knees he shook his head and took in a steadying breath.
"Yeah, well," T-Dog said lowering his weapon his eyes still on the now dead Walker. Shaking his head the black man shifted his eyes to the winded man on his knees beside the undead fucker. "That's before you came out here screamin' 'Sophia'," T-Dog finished, earning a stiff middle finger and a glare from the redneck.
"You okay man?" Glenn's voice sounded from Daryl's side and Daryl turned a bit to look at the kid hunched over near him. The kid was obviously hesitant to reach out and touch him and Daryl waved off his concern but grabbed onto his shoulder. Glenn, shocked by the fact that Daryl was reaching out for help, hesitated a moment before steeling his legs and actually working to get the man to his feet. "Did it get you?"
"No it didn't fuckin' get me," Daryl spat as he pushed fully to his feet and then away from Glenn. "Dumbass."
Glenn rolled his eyes over to T-Dog who closed his and then shook his head a tiny smile on his lips as he put his gun back in its place at the small of his back. Daryl angrily snatched his satchel and crossbow from the ground and then turned a snarling face towards the two men.
His gaze slipped from Glenn who was still watching him with a slightly worried eye, over to T-Dog who was smirking as he bit at the inside of his cheek. He held the black man's gaze for a minute, his eyes slipping down to the large bandage covering most of his forearm. Daryl's eyes slipped back up to T-Dog's and he watched the black man give a tiny, almost imperceptible nod. Daryl ran his thumbnail over his bottom lip twice before dropping his hand and returning the nod.
Life for a life.
At that point both men smirked at one another. Daryl and Glenn made their way towards the waiting T-Dog.
"Thought I said to do shit quietly?" Daryl said glaring at T-Dog half-heartedly as he passed him by and headed towards the woods that would lead them back to the farm.
"Thought you said you could handle shit on your own?" T-Dog shot back as he and Glenn fell into step behind him. Daryl gave a gruff grunt and shook his head, all the while mumbling something that sounded like 'had it under fuckin' control'. T-Dog shifted his humored gaze to Glenn and furrowed his brow to see that the kid had stopped walking and was just staring at them. "What's up?"
Daryl shifted around at T-Dog's question and narrowed his eyes at Glenn who was staring at him.
"I thought," Glenn lifted a hand to the area around them. "I thought we were gonna look around a bit." T-Dog's eyes shifted back to Daryl and Daryl bit at the inside of his cheek as he regarded them both. Daryl stared hard at the two men for a few moments before finally letting out a low sigh.
"We're losin' the light," Daryl said finally earning raised brows from both men. "With you two hopeless fucks, I'd rather not risk being stuck out in the woods in full dark." Daryl began walking then waving a single hand over his shoulder. "Far back as ya both fall you'd be lost in no time. Then I'd be worryin' 'bout lookin' for you two idiots and that girl."
T-Dog rolled his eyes and Glenn shook his head, the both of them sharing and exaggerated look of exasperation with the redneck's attitude. But instead of grimacing they both followed behind with small smiles and a bit of a quicker step.
Daryl heard them coming up on him and he slowed his gait a bit to let the gap lessen. His eyes searched around the woods as they exited the clearing, searching for any sign of Sophia. T-Dog and Glenn settled in beside him and he shifted his attention from one to the other.
"Figure we can head back here tomorrow," Daryl said quietly, both men nodding and smiling just a bit that he'd assumed that they'd be alright with coming out with him again. "More light. Who knows, maybe she'll have come back."
"Maybe," Glenn said nodding as they continued on. "I left the emergency blanket that was in the pack too." Daryl shifted his eyes over to Glenn and the kid blushed a bit under his scrutiny. "It's getting colder at night now, so I figured-" Glenn lifted a hand and Daryl nodded.
Daryl settled his crossbow a bit more comfortably on his shoulder and worked his way easily along the brush, Glenn and T-Dog working to keep in line with him this time. The darkness that had already settled into the forest was unsettling to all three of them, but for Daryl it bore a bit more of a foreboding feel than it ever had before.
The muffled sounds in the distance were still echoing around in his brain. There was no way he could be sure that they were gunshots. But there really wasn't anything else he could think of that made that sort of sound. And it was those muffled sounds that had been the real reason he'd decided to cut their search short for the day. And the racing thoughts in his head that had him almost involuntarily speeding their progress back towards the Greene's farmhouse.
Thoughts of Walker bodies littered throughout a field of green surrounding a church flew to his mind. The words 'target practice' and 'still in these woods' chilling his blood faster than the cool breeze of fast coming Fall season.
Gunshots in these woods had already dished out harm to one member of their group; he'd be a fuckin' fool to ignore them again. Daryl pressed his hand into the pocket of his cargo pants, the one that bulged with the black plastic gas cap from the Hummer and that fuckin' lucky gold badge of Gracie's. He pressed it hard into his thigh until he winced from the pressure he applied.
That woman better not have done something stupid.
Again.
I am not afraid to keep on living
I am not afraid to walk this world alone
Honey if you stay, I'll be forgiven
Nothing you can say can stop me going home
These bright lights have always blinded me
These bright lights have always blinded me
I say
I see you lying next to me
With words I thought I'd never speak
Awake and unafraid
Asleep or dead
~Famous Last Words / My Chemical Romance
AN: Okay, so there was a bit of a mash-up in here. I had the Daryl asking Glenn what he did for a living scene added WAY LATER than in original series. And we've got some action of Cherokee Rose fitting in, while we won't see the rest until later…
Side Note: I just really had to add this in, 'cause really it came to a shock to me… but recently I was watching Season 2 ON DEMAND and well… I realized that I had apparently never seen Cherokee Rose. WTF people…how the hell am I writing this shit? HONEST TO GOD. Bless you guys for dealin' with my ignorant ass. (So ya know, I watched it. )
Mystery Guest Reviewer: Honeyconcha is that you? That closing line…that sounds like you… Anyway…. OMG OMG OMG yeah buddy I update like the crazy person that I am! Thank you so much for your super kind words. I'm so glad that everyone is enjoying where I'm taking our minor characters, and can only hope that y'all really keep liking what I'm dishing out. I LOVE YOU ALL!
Much love
See ya next chapter!
Forewarning: Next chapter is going to backtrack again…and explore those muffled sounds. Were they gunshots? Wait and see!