MigratingCoconuts06 - Thank you so much for your review. I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. I hope that you'll like this one even more!
ItalianBreadstick - Thanks a lot for taking the time to read a review. I definitely updated sooner than I thought I would've. Enjoy!
MulishaMaiden - Thank you very much for your review. No, we definitely can't blame a girl for trying. With someone like Daryl Dixon, how could we possibly? Thank you for your comment on how I write the characters. I hope to portray them accurately, and it always makes me smile when people comment on how good of a job (or not) I'm doing with that.
Leyshla Gisel - Thank you! It makes me very happy to know you think Daryl is in character. For a minute, I thought I might've been straying from the Daryl Dixon that we all know and love. I hope you enjoy this next update!
leeshxcore - I'm really glad that the last chapter caught your attention, and I hope that this one, and the remaining chapters, do the same!
I want to, once again, thank everyone for the amazing feedback I've been getting from this story. I updated rather quickly with this chapter, and I hope that everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I definitely have some interesting ideas for this story, so stick around and watch as it all unfolds.
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Cass had never had the privilege of having an older brother. She had never had someone in her life that lived to look out for her and make sure no one bothered her. Go figure that now, after the world that she knew it had ended, she found her big brother in Merle Dixon.
Cass couldn't fathom the words of utter joy when Merle drove up to her and Daryl. All she could do was run to the driver's side of his crappy, broken down truck and throw her arms around him in a tight embrace. She shut her eyes, tears of happiness burning at them.
Merle let out a breathless laugh into the cool air when he felt Cass wrap her arms around him so tightly he could barely breathe. He patted her on the back and smiled gently.
Finally, Cass pulled back, looking up at him through teary eyes. "Merle, I didn't think I'd see you again." She admitted. She wasn't ashamed of letting it air that she had feared the worst for him. She knew that all of them had the same fear once Merle had separated from the group. After all, they were stronger in numbers.
"Ah, hell. You know it'd take a lot more than some bloody walkers to take me down." He assured her, grabbing a hold of her cheeks.
God, this girl was something else. How did she give him so much hope in a world that had gone to complete shit? He would probably never know how she did it, but he couldn't have been more grateful. There was nothing he wouldn't do to keep this girl safe.
"How did my brother treat you while I was gone? Do I need to kick his ass, too?"
Cass heard Daryl grunt from behind her and hesitated for a split second. Truth be told, he hadn't treated her very well. But after the tension she saw between the two brothers back at the house, she wasn't about to add fuel to the fire.
"He was fine, silly. I was scared to stop here and wait for you, but he was determined to stay put until you cam back." She lied. Well, that first part was a lie, anyway.
Merle's smile widened as his eyes fell back to his brother. Cass released her grip on Merle as he made his way over to Daryl. Clasping one of Daryl's hands in his own, the other patted his baby brother's back, in a hug they had since they were teenagers. You know, one of those man hugs.
"That's my little brother." Merle said proudly.
As Daryl hugged his brother, he felt Cass's eyes focused in their direction. He glanced past Merle's shoulders and saw Cass watching them silently. No, not them. Him. He bit back the guilt he felt towards her and rejoiced silently in being reunited with his brother.
Merle pulled away and stood so he was facing both Cass and Daryl. He rocked back on his heels, digging his hands deep into his pockets. "So, what now, kids?"
"What happened back at the house?" Cass asked. Truth be told, she had no idea in hell of what to do now. Maybe if she killed more time asking questions, someone could come up with a plan of some sort. Because Lord knows she didn't have one.
"It's gone. I set it on fire, along with a shitload of them walkers." Merle said without flinching.
Cass's heart sank into her chest. That was the first place she had felt safe in since the dead began rising from the dead. That was her last hope and her only security blanket as she knew it. And now it was gone.
"So what are we supposed to do now?" She pushed.
"We keep moving." Merle answered. "If we found one house, we'll find another."
It wasn't long before they were on the road once again. Daryl had put Merle's bike in the bed of the truck, securing it as best as he could given the supplies they had on hand. With the bike in place, Cass slid into the car and sat in silence between Daryl and Merle.
Cass stared straight ahead, feeling the contact of both brothers' legs against her own. Her thoughts swirled around and around about her interactions with Daryl. She didn't understand it. He seemed to like kissing her before. What was wrong with her now, only a few hours later?
She listed off all the possibilities of what could cause him to be so distant so quickly. Maybe her breath smelled. Maybe she smelled. Hell, they all smelled. That was simply not a valid argument at this point.
Sighing louder than she would have liked, Cass pushed her thoughts to the back of her mind. Now was not the time to worry about such childish stuff. They were always just one step away from being walker food, God damnit. She had much bigger fish to fry, and it was about time she acted like the adult that she was. She wasn't in high school anymore. Now wasn't the time for meaningless boy drama.
"Maybe we should try and find somewhere with other survivors. A police station, maybe?" Daryl suggested, breaking the silence inside the truck and keeping his eyes forward.
"The police? There ain't no way in hell, brother."
Daryl couldn't help but smirk at his brother. "They're not going to arrest you, Merle. They can't throw you in jail anymore."
Merle scoffed. "I'm sure that won't stop 'em. They'll probably just handcuff me to something else and leave me for dead."
Cass grimaced at the thought. Merle may come across as a bad guy sometimes, sure. But there was no reason for cops to have such distain towards him. Well, maybe there was. After all, she didn't actually know him before all of this happened. He could've been a serial killer, for all she knew. Although she didn't like to give a thought like that so much as a second glance.
"I think that sounds like a good idea, though, Merle. The police can help us. Protect us, even. We should at least check it out." Cass suggested. She had to admit, something about finding police officers appealed to the desperate need for safety that she felt twenty-four seven. Maybe she could finally relax knowing she was in the security and under the protection of police officers.
Merle grunted in response. He couldn't say no to her. Damnit. When did he get so soft?
"Don't we have to go back into the city for the cops? I don't know about you, but after that close call back at the house, I don't feel too excited to go back there right about now."
Cass shook her head. "The military set up an emergency stop a few miles down. I remember hearing them talk about it non-stop when all of this started to happen."
"Alright, then we'll head there. But God help both of you if those pigs come at me." Merle told them, keeping one hand firmly gripped to the wheel in front of him.
Cass turned to him and smiled, patting her hand on his knee in reassurance. "Don't worry, Merle. We won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
Merle's eyes glanced away from the road and focused on the young girl beside him. He gave her a quick smile and turned back to the road, the curve in his lips slowly fading away.
Merle was no idiot. He knew that Daryl had his back. Hell, he knew that even Cass would have his back, despite how tiny she was. And he felt the same way towards his brother and the young girl he grew to think of his own. Nothing was ever going to happen to any of them. Why? Because they all had each other, and none of them would let it happen. At this point, all they had was each other.
Cass managed to fall asleep while Merle drove silently to the military base camp. She couldn't even remember how long it had been since she managed to sleep so calmly and easily. But she wasn't about to complain. She was too busy sleeping to, anyway.
The drive to the army base was probably one of the longest drives of Merle's life. Even longer than his drives to jail, if you could believe that much.
The older Dixon brother didn't know what to think as he sped along the highway. Would the army still be set up there, or would they have fallen back to a safer location? Would they have another base set up somewhere else where they brought other survivors to for safety? Would this be the end of their horror story? Or was Merle just giving himself a false hope of something that no longer existed?
He tried to quiet the thought in his head, but he couldn't help but wonder. Last he heard of the military, they were quarantining parts of the city. And by "quarantining" he meant gunning down civilians in the middle of the havoc ridden streets. Of course, that was just a rumor. But with Merle's history with the military and police, he wouldn't be at all surprised if that were the case.
They weren't too fond of the Dixon brothers, so this ought to be all kinds of interesting.
Daryl didn't say a word the entire ride. He shifted himself in his seat so he was leaning more towards the door than Cass. With his arm resting against the edge of the window, he propped up his chin with his fist. Daryl was lost in the passing scenery. It was all so beautiful, he couldn't help but stare. The endless array of threes and passing birds almost made him forget about the countless walkers they had left behind in the city. Almost.
How pathetic was it that he couldn't even remember what life was like before walkers roamed the streets? He couldn't remember what it was like to wake up in the morning and not worry about the possibility of being mauled to death by the hungry dead. And now, it seemed like that constant fear, that relentless clutching of his head was all he had ever known.
"Alright, we're here." Merle announced.
The three survivors stepped out of the truck when it came to a slow and steady stop. Merle held his shotgun tightly in his grip, using his free hand to give Cass a pistol. He'd rather her have something, anything, to defend herself with than to have her depending on them. He would never be able to live with himself if something happened and he wasn't there to protect her. Daryl slung his crossbow over his shoulder and walked around the car to meet the other two survivors.
"Well, it looks like there's nobody left. Big surprise." Daryl muttered, his southern accent hanging on every word.
Everything was destroyed. The tents that were set up had been torn down, the green fabric stained with blood. Bodies scattered the ground, both that of the military and walkers.
Cass swallowed the bile that came up at the back of her throat as they walked by organs and limbs. She remained between the Dixon brothers, her pistol in her hands and aimed at anything and everything. All she needed was to see one walker and she would have absolutely no problem pulling that trigger. All she needed was a reason.
After a few minutes of walking through the disaster that was once a military camp, Merle and Daryl turned to face each other and Cass.
"So what do we do now?" Cass asked quietly.
Merle let out a heavy sigh, his arms relaxing and his shotgun falling to his side. "Well, this place is useless to us now. I don't see anything but dead bodies and guts."
"Yeah, but on the bright side, all these military assholes means a whole lot of guns and ammunition for us."
"So, what, we're going to rob dead bodies now? Is that really what we've become?" Cass could believe what Daryl had just proposed. He wasn't serious…was he?
Merle let out a bellowing laugh that echoed around them. He stretched out his arms and glanced at their surroundings. "Look around, little Cass. It's survival of the fittest out here. We may very well be the last, unlucky, mother fuckers out here. It's time to worry about ourselves and our situation, Cass. It's time to stock up on supplies and move on. Ain't nothing else we can do here!"
Cass opened her mouth, ready to back down and agree with him when shouting erupted from all around them. Instantly, Cass, Daryl and Merle aimed their weapons, darting back and forth between military solider after military soldier. It didn't take long for the survivors to realize that they were completely surrounded by at least a dozen men. All of which had their guns aimed on the three of them.
"Drop your weapons! Drop your weapons!" One of the men screamed, his voice sending shivers throughout Cass's shaking body.
Daryl and Merle moved closer to Cass, their weapons aimed at the men around them, neither brother giving the option of backing down.
"Drop your weapons or we'll drop all three of you where you stand!" Another man ordered.
Cass's heart pounded so loudly in her chest, she almost couldn't hear the orders being barked at them. Daryl growled, his narrow eyes darting back and forth between the men. His finger was hovering over the trigger of his crossbow and he was more than willing to pull it.
A man stepped up and stood before Cass, his helmet covering his face from the terrified girl. "If I were you, little girl, I'd lower your weapon. Don't make us shoot your boys here."
Cass kept her arms forward, her gun aimed straight at the man's chest. Her entire body shook from fear as she glanced at the brothers on either side of her. Both Dixon brothers had guns aimed to the back of their heads. Their stances were defeated, their arms lowered, knowing from here on out, they stood no chance.
Cass let out a shaky breath and hesitantly lowered her arms to her side. She tilted her head up to look at the man standing before her as he pulled his helmet off, resting it in the crook of his arm.
"That's it, girl. Now, boys, would you look at what we got here? Two rednecks with some mighty good looking weapons." His voice lowered, a sick smirk spreading across his lips as he eyed Cass up and down. "And it looks like we got ourselves a girl, too, boys."