setting: The Walking Dead S02 episode 1 "What Lies Ahead" and episode 2 "Bloodletting"

Salvation

Chapter 2 - Prayers

Rick and Shane were discussing how they were going to proceed with the search so they had to wait. Daryl hated to wait because they had wasted way too much time already. Precious time they could've spent searching for Sophia. He also mainly hated to wait because this way, he couldn't get away from the newbie. The Irish weirdo was sitting on one of the many graves that were a bit further away from the group, with his arms folded, staring at him. He just kept staring at Daryl in a way that made the hunter feel uncomfortable all over again. He didn't get what the fuck was up with the guy, the staring, the picture he had of his creepy lookalike, generally everything was off about him. He didn't like that whole thing. Not one bit.

Lori walked over to the blonde guy and handed him a water bottle and something to eat from her backpack, but he just shook his head. Daryl couldn't understand what they were saying, but after some talking the newbie eventually took the provisions. What a shame. He'd rather see him fucking starve to death or some crap. At least this way, he'd stop wasting their time, stop staring.

Soon enough the Irishman focused on the food instead, but he wouldn't eat or drink for a very long while. He just started at it, moved it around in his hands as he got lost in his weirdo whack thinking world. He glanced up every now and then, cautiously waiting for Lori to turn around, to get away, to see the rest of the group get involved in the discussion. No one was paying attention to the guy for a moment, and it seemed like he'd been waiting for just that.

At first, Daryl thought he was going to snap. That he was going to attack them, whistle for his buddies to come. Or that he was going to draw a secret weapon when he turned his back on them, turned away. Daryl already prepared himself to get into a fight, to stop the guy and finally put him down. But when he got moving, when he angrily changed his position, he suddenly saw what was up with the whole turning around deal.

The Irishman was gulping the water and food down rapidly. It certainly wasn't a flattering sight. That was probably the reason why he had turned around after all. By the speed he was going, it was obvious that the guy had been close to starving, that he was incredibly hungry and had only tried to turn the food down out of curtesy, or for whatever other weird reason.

The Irishman stood there in his silly and tight gray shirt and those dirty jeans that hung down on him like a sack. He looked very thin, emaciated even. One could see his ribs through the shirt. Judging by the general state he was in it was no surprise. Had the guy really just knelt there? Stopped eating, stopped taking care of himself in general at some point?

Daryl wondered how long he had been inside that church. He wondered why he was the way he was. What was up with the picture and the 'Murphy' deal, if this Murphy guy was the reason why he looked so pathetic.

He didn't even know his name.

The hunter shook his head angrily when he realized that he had started to pity the newbie. He didn't want to care. He didn't want to know his name. He didn't even want him with them. Newbies just meant trouble. Crazy newbies were dangerous. And that Irish nutjob was most certainly crazy with all his staring and whacking about. He had no idea why Rick and Shane had allowed him to join them in the first place. He was filthy after all, had mad eyes, couldn't even take care of himself, had obviously been through some fucked up shit. He could tell that the guy was going to snap sooner or later, couldn't be trusted, and he sure wouldn't trust the guy. Seriously, what was the point? It was way too obvious that the guy meant trouble. Daryl narrowed his eyes and continued to glare at him, secretly threatening him with the look.

Shane came over to them and snapped the hunter out of it.

"Y'all gonna follow the creek bed back, okay?" he said and looked at Daryl. "You're in charge. Me and Rick, we're just gonna hang back, search this area another hour or so just to be thorough."

Daryl frowned. It certainly just seemed to get worse and worse with this whole thing. First they took in a complete stranger who was obviously dangerous, and now they were going in smaller and smaller groups. Probably making it even easier for the weirdo to pick them off one by one.

"You're splitting us up. You sure?" he simply asked though because even if something happened, it wouldn't be his problem. That was something all these stupid people had to deal with on their own then. Shane gave him a nod and looked back towards the rest of the group.

"Yeah, we'll catch up to you."

Daryl gritted his teeth a bit and glared at the Irishman once more, threatening him with the look, grabbing the crossbow tighter. He let out a little sigh because he already knew what was up next anyway. In the end, he still asked the question he knew the answer to.

"What about the newbie?"

The Irishman raised his head a little bit and looked back at him when he heard that they were talking about him. His eyes really looked crazy. When he suddenly gave him a small smirk, it didn't exactly make the whole thing any friendlier or less worrying. Quite the opposite, the smirk made the blonde look even more fucked up. The blonde then got up from the grave he'd been sitting on, shoved his hands into his pockets and got moving. Daryl growled and tried not to punch the guy's face again when he came closer. He just ignored him instead. Shane looked at Rick to get his opinion and the policeman let out a small sigh.

"Take him back to the RV. Looks like you're pretty exhausted. Daryl knocked you out good" the policeman said to the Irishman and Daryl scoffed. The hunter folded his arms and looked away. Rick looked at his wife in the meantime. "Lori'll take a look at your head back at our camp, see what we can do for you."

"'m fine" the newbie murmured once he was with them and Shane smirked cockily.

"No offense but you look terrible, buddy."

Daryl snorted. Understatement.

"All right, off you go now. I don't want you to run out of daylight" Rick said and ended the conversation between them before things could escalate once more. Carl approached his father then.

"I wanna come with you. I'm her friend."

Both Rick and Shane looked at each other. The latter shrugged with a smirk on his face. Lori grabbed her son by his shoulders and smiled.

"Just be careful, okay?" Carl nodded.

"I will."

Lori grabbed his face and sighed.

"When did you start growing up?"

Daryl rolled his eyes and turned around to check their surroundings for walkers, pissed off by the scene. Right now, he was pretty much pissed at everyone and everything. And it only got worse when the newbie once again tried coming closer and closer to him. They were pretty much almost standing right next to each other already but for some weird reason that didn't seem to be enough for the guy. Daryl tensed up and slowly started shifting away, but the Irishman wouldn't stop following. Rick was currently offering his wife his gun but Lori wouldn't take it, so the hunter saw this as the perfect excuse to get away from the Irishman without having to punch him again. He shifted forward and offered her the gun he'd found back at the abandoned camp in the woods earlier. He preferred his crossbow anyway, so he put the gun right in Lori's hand.

"Here, got a spare. Take it" he muttered and then walked past her so he could get away from all of them, moving towards the woods. He didn't want to be near the church any second longer, and part of him seriously hoped that the newbie would decide to stay here if he only ignored him enough and made it very clear that he wasn't this Murphy guy. But of course he wouldn't. When Daryl started walking the Irishman followed him on an instant.

Daryl moved through the woods almost graciously, used to the uneven ground, the tripping hazards and countless tree stumps he walked past as if he were making his way through a maze. It was a bit cooler in the woods and he certainly appreciated it, and he once again fell in love with the smell almost immediately. The woods were still the most comforting place he could think of, the only place that had a calming effect on his temper. He simply kept walking straight, trying to ignore the fact that he was being followed by all these other people he couldn't even stand, followed by that one specific person that already annoyed the crap out of him the most. He kept his eyes fixed on what was in front of him for as long as he could, pretending to be on a simple hunt, but the illusion wouldn't exactly last that long. Because way too soon for his liking the women had to stop because they needed a break.

"So this is it? The whole plan?" Carol asked somewhere behind him and made Daryl slow down and turn around. She was already sitting down on a tree stump. The hunter wanted to just keep going, but even he had to admit that maybe they could use a small break to get their shit together again. And he figured that Carol, out of all people, needed a break from the stress of losing her daughter the most. So he let out a little sigh and leaned against a tree, resting as well.

"Guess the plan is to whittle us down into smaller and smaller groups" he said, looking around at the others until he fixed his eyes on the blonde once again. The stupid Irish weirdo who was once again approaching him and came to a halt right next to him, leaning against the other side of the same tree he was leaning against. He kept looking at Daryl who immediately broke eye contact got back to pretending that the guy didn't exist, just so he didn't get any ideas.

"Carrying knives and pointy sticks. I see you have a gun" Andrea said and gave Daryl the distraction he desperately needed before he punched someone again. Andrea was looking at Lori who sat down and searched her bag for some water.

"Why, you want it? Here, take it. I'm sick of the looks you're giving me" Lori answered and Andrea scoffed. She took the gun and shook her head. Daryl rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth a bit.

Great, not only did he have to watch over some crazed and pathetic freak, he also had to suffer through a premature bitch fight, the hunter thought the moment Lori got into a full blown rant. Telling everybody about how none of it was her husband's fault, how they should blaming him, how there was no way for them to undo any of the things that had happened to Sophia.

The hunter kind of reckoned that maybe she did have a point, but he still didn't give much of a shit. Arguing and talking about it right now wasn't helping anybody, it only made things worse and slowed them down even more. That wasn't helping Sophia. Nothing else. He looked around the woods once again, trying to find her, but sooner or later his mind always got back to wondering why the heck he was even with those people in the first place. Just so he didn't have to be alone he figured. Because they had been the last ones to see his brother. But even then. All their fucking drama, all their yapping about gave him more and more reasons to consider leaving. If it weren't for the girl, weren't for Carol who he was looking at now.

He wasn't one to leave lost children behind. He wasn't one to let mothers grieve if they had a pretty decent chance to stop it all with his hunting and tracking skills. And yet, here they were. Fucking bitch fighting and drama. He wanted to go vomit somewhere.

Daryl's heart skipped a beat when something suddenly nudged his arm. Startling hard, the hand on his crossbow inched towards the trigger, but then he remembered what or who was standing right there. He caught a glimpse of a tattooed hand on his lower arm, a trigger finger that read 'Veritas', then he immediately turned his head, looked up and gave the Irishman who had just nudged him a death glare.

"What's she talkin bout Murph, what happened?" the Irishman was asking the hunter and looked at him curiously. For a long second, Daryl glared right back at him now that they were so close to each other. Taking note of the haggard face, the messy long stubbles and half beard, the crazed icy blue eyes, the scar on the guy's eyebrow. Even now the man seemed to pretend they knew each other.

Daryl growled and moved away from him.

"Why should I tell yah? Touch me again and I break every single one of yah bones, leprechaun."

The newbie narrowed his eyes at him.

"Stop callin me that, alright? My name's fuckin Connor, nat leprechaun."

"Whatever" Daryl growled and started walking again. He just knew that no matter how many times he told this freak to fuck off - he was going to be a pain in his ass anyway. No matter what, at least he knew his name now. Connor.

They heard a gunshot. Daryl urged them to keep going no matter how often Lori turned around and worried about her son and husband. They couldn't risk another slow down. The newbie had slowed them down enough already. He still wouldn't say much but even now Daryl felt how he kept staring at his back. Walking faster and faster, Daryl couldn't get away from that though, because Lori suddenly stopped walking once again.

"I heard a gunshot" she said and wouldn't move. Daryl scoffed and tried to keep walking.

"We all heard it."

Lori stood her ground and looked at the hunter, slowing the entire group down along with her.

"Why one? Just one gunshot?"

"Maybe they took down a dead one" the Irishman spoke up then after what felt like hours of not talking and interacting with his environment. That was reason enough for Daryl to finally halt as well, and he just turned around and glared at the guy. He didn't have the fucking right to interact with their group. He didn't have the right to get involved in any of this. Because the more he talked to them, the more he tried to become part of all this, the less likely it was going to be that they could get rid of him. Daryl turned around and walked back a bit, trying to stop any of this, but it was already to late. Lori was looking at Connor, talking to him. Dragging him right into her drama as well.

"Rick wouldn't risk a gunshot to put down one walker. Or Shane, they'd do it quietly."

Connor bit his bottom lip and nodded, stepping back a bit with a shrug.

"Sappose yer right. They seem smart enough. Just a suggestion."

Just a suggestion, Daryl imitated the Irish guy's stupid voice and accent in his mind and even rolled his eyes a bit. Jesus fucking Christ was this guy annoying and stupid. He better fucking shut up and…

"Shouldn't they have caught up with us by now?" Carol asked and kept the conversation up, much to Daryl's dislike. She was looking at him and waiting for him to reassure her.

"There's nothing we can do about it anyway" he simply answered and turned around, trying to get them moving again

"We could go back" Connor suggested right then and Daryl stopped once again, turning around and then walking right back towards the Irishman in an aggressive manner because he was finally fed up with his talking more and more.

"Wanna run around these woods chasing echoes? Yeah, yah look just like it, freak" he snarled and eyeballed him. The Irishman narrowed his eyes at him and was just about to say something when Lori spoke up.

"So what do we do?"

"Same as we've been. Beat the bush for Sophia, work our way back up the highway" the hunter said and kept looking at Connor, standing really close to him, trying to provoke him into a fight to get his true self out there, to make everybody see how fucking crazy, stupid and annoying he really was, just so he could get him to leave. But the guy wouldn't react to any of that in any way Daryl expected him to. He simply just stared right back at him, seemed to suck in every little detail of his face with his eyes. It was obvious that the hunter's face was zapping him out of the here and now, made him think about something else entirely. He was never going to get into a fight with him because that distraction would always be there. When nothing would happen, Daryl just scoffed and turned away with a frustrated frown, stomping away.

The group followed him and after a very long moment of awkward silence and quiet walking, Andrea seemed to think that it would be a good idea to distract all of them from all the tension in the air.

"I'm sorry for what you're going through" Daryl heard her say to Carol right behind him, and he discreetly listened up a bit.

"I know how you feel" she went on.

They all knew how that felt. He did, too. Losing family. No matter if it was Carol losing Sophia or Andrea losing her sister or him losing Merle. It always would be shitty. The only difference was that neither his brother nor the little girl were fucking dead.

"I suppose you do. Thank you. The thought of her, out here by herself. It's the not knowing that's killing me" Carol said and almost started crying again. "I just keep hoping and praying she doesn't wind up like Amy."

"Who's Amy?" Connor asked after a moment, somewhat further behind them. Daryl moved his head a bit to the side so he could catch a glimpse of the weirdo. Lori had kept him company ever since they had first stopped, keeping to what her husband had told her to do. Looking after the whacko.

"Andrea's sister. We lost her a couple of days ago."

"Oh. Right. Sorry fer the loss"

Daryl fought hard not to scoff loudly. As if the guy'd fucking care. Only god knew how many people the loony had killed already. He certainly looked like it anyway. And he was all by himself, so one more reason to think that….

"Know the feeling" the Irishman added then though, and this time, Daryl actually did slow down so he could look at the guy properly. For a short moment, he caught an unfiltered glimpse of the sudden deep sorrow and depression that was lingering under that mask of starvation and exhaustion. But then the blonde was looking up at him, having noticed the look he was being given. He stopped looking sad on an instant and gave him a crazed and 'happy' smile. The hunter gritted his teeth angrily and quickly looked away, angry with himself for having been caught staring.

He walked on and wouldn't look back anymore, but the moment had left a lasting impression on him. The picture the picture the picture. His mind went back to it all the time now. Now that the guy had made the comment, all of it made more and more sense. The staring, the state the guy was in. Whoever this Murphy had been, that weird guy who looked so much like him, he was gone some way or another. That was the reason why the Irishman kept staring at him. That was the reason he pretended that they knew each other.

How fucking perfect. Just his luck. Now he seemed to have a missing or dead guy's face on top of all the other shit. This day just seemed to get better and better.

"We're all hoping and praying with you, for what it's worth" Andrea said and Daryl had enough of everything. The fact that he looked like a dead or missing guy. The fact that they were all such pathetic cry babies who shouted dead all over and seemed to love giving up on everybody and pretending more than actually trying anything at all.

"I tell yah what it's worth - Not a damn thing. It's a waste of time, all this hopin' and prayin' and yappin' about. We're gonna locate that little girl. She's gonna be just fine, and shit's gonna work out. Am I the only one zen around here? Good lord."

He shook his head and started walking again. He was surprised when Connor wouldn't follow him instantly. He just stood there and waited for Carol. "I'm sorry you lost yer girl" he said right after him and Carol smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"Ye shouldn't listen ta this guy, though. There's no need ta stop praying. The lord'll hear yer prayers. He always does" he said and looked at Daryl s back.

"He heard mine."

"We'll lose the daylight before too long. I think we should call it. Let's head back."

When Connor heard those words he let out a relieved sigh. He wasn't exactly someone to complain a lot, but searching these woods for hours on end had done him no good. He knew that if he went on like that much longer, it could actually knock him out or kill him. He was exhausted, tired, thirsty and starving. He'd been inside that church for days. Without any sleep. Without any food or water. He'd just knelt there. Praying for all of it to fucking end. Praying to god to get Murphy back. He now had to admit that all of this had been stupid, that he had not been himself for way too long. And yet, his prayers had still been heard. He had his brother back. The guy everyone kept calling Daryl.

He knew this wasn't Murphy.

He knew what had….

He closed his eyes for a tiny moment and leaned forward a bit, catching his breath, shaking his head gently. No. This man had his face and his voice, so how could he not be him? Stupid him. The heat, the sun, the lack of food, water and sleep was playing tricks on him. Of course this was Murphy. Of course this was his brother. God had heard his prayers just like he'd made them stop after he'd prayed for them to take a break.

It didn't truly matter how confusing and exhausting and terrible all of this was.

He was grateful. Those people had helped him and probably saved his life. They had taken him with them no matter how intimidating he looked right now. He knew exactly that he looked like shit. They had still given him a chance, which was the main reason why he didn't want to ask them for yet another favor, hadn't bothered asking for them to take a break. He had kept walking instead. But every mile they walked through the woods wore him out even more. He could hardly stand any more, and he knew he was going to pass out soon. Passing out probably meant dying now, because he really wasn't sure if they were going to give him another chance after what they'd already done for him today.

"We'll pick it up again tomorrow?" Andrea asked and Lori nodded.

"Yeah, we'll find her tomorrow."

Connor looked up a bit, still breathing hard and trying to rest. He caught glimpse of Carol who looked extremely disappointed and sad. He felt sorry for her and knew exactly how she felt, but even then he couldn't deny the fact that he was so incredibly fucking relieved that they were going back to this RV of theirs where he could rest, where he could sleep without the prospect of getting eaten alive by a bunch of walkers in a church. He didn't want to die anymore. That was the problem now. He'd been pretty far down the line already.

"How far is the interstate from here?" Lori asked the man everyone called Daryl.

"Not much. Maybe a hundred yards as the crow flies" the hunter answered and Connor let his head drop a bit with an exhausted sigh. He could hardly keep up with them already and he knew that the man who looked so much like his brother wouldn't slow down on their way back either, which was exactly what he did.

He simply led them in a different direction right from the off, without giving the Irishman any more time to rest a bit. The blonde knew that the other man was doing this on purpose to make it harder for him to follow. He knew that he was trying anything to get rid of him. But there was no chance he was gonna give in now. No matter how hard it was going to be. Connor clumsily managed to straighten up and followed him on an instant, just as the many times before.

Just walking and stumbling after him, quickly losing track of time and place and purpose. One foot in front of the other, accompanied by the constant painful growling in his stomach. He didn't know how much time had passed when Andrea started talking again. He was half delirious by the time he noticed that he and her were actually pretty far behind the group, had swayed to the right without the others noticing because Murphy was having a strict lead.

"Too bad we're not crows" Andrea murmured in front of him and growled. "As the crow flies my ass."

She got caught in a spiderweb and tried to fight it off, slowing them down even more. Connor figured that he could use this moment to stop walking for a second, pretending to wait for her and help her. He knew that as long as he was with her, he wouldn't lose track of the others and that they were going to wait for her. This was an excuse to rest. Stumbling to his knees a bit he stared at the leaves and grass on the ground for a bit, his vision blurring and his head seemingly spinning. For a moment, nothing mattered, he wasn't even really here. He just stared at the dirt and leaves on the ground and moved his fingers across them, grasped them, tried to anchor himself in the here and now, let himself feel that this was really happening. Murphy was walking right in front him now. It actually made him smile despite the dizziness and exhaustion. When he finally looked up again to check where the group was, all he managed was catch a glimpse of a walker who was suddenly approaching Andrea fairly quickly.

"Watch out!" he tried to shout for her but his voice was croaky and a pathetic excuse of a shout, not helping at all. The walker was already on her and made her stumble and then fall back. She started screaming and fighting in horror. Although the Irishman desperately tried to help her, tried to move a bit, he actually couldn't move at all. Not just because of the exhaustion and dizziness, but also because her screaming and the whole scenario sent him right back into massive shock.

No matter how hard he tried to fight it, the flashbacks were coming. Violently. Freezing him right in place. There was chaos all around him and he couldn't move, couldn't stop staring with wide eyes. One moment it was Andrea on the ground with a walker, the next there was Murphy. Murphy screaming. Murphy fighting. The leaves were gone just like the trees, replaced with sharp and icy snapshots of Boston's skyscrapers and bloody asphalt. The real world. In the woods, the others came running right towards them, trying to help Andrea. He didn't know if it was really happening or just another hallucination, but for some weird reason, there was suddenly a horse with a girl in the saddle, knocking the walker right off of Andrea with a baseball bat.

He could feel the sudden harsh breeze of wind from the horse hit him right in the face as it stormed right past him. That startling sudden movement was what snapped him out of the flashback. Then the others were there. Trying to help Andrea as the girl on the horse came right back and shouted for Lori Grimes. It was all a big mess.

"I'm Lori" Rick's wife said and looked at her in confusion. Connor caught a glimpse of his brother's look alike, of Murphy, real Murphy there once again, not the one from the flashback but the real one, coming right at him with the crossbow aimed at his head.

"Rick sent me - you've got to come now. There's been an accident-Carl's been shot. He's still alive but you've gotta come now. Rick needs you-just come" the girl on the horse explained in a hurry. Just when Murphy had been about to shoot him, he suddenly stopped glaring at him and looked at Lori and the girl on the horse instead. Rick's wife was climbing on top of the animal, too. Crossbow still aimed at the Irishman, Daryl tried to get their attention in the meantime.

"Whoa whoa whoa, we don't know this girl, you can't get on that horse!"

"Rick said you had others on the highway, that big traffic snarl? Backtrack to Fairburn road. Two miles down is our farm. You'll see the mailbox-Name's Greene" the girl said and got the horse into a fast gallop before Daryl could say anything else. She disappeared with Lori right behind her on top of the horse. The group just looked after them for a while, then Daryl finally seemed to remember that he was still aiming his crossbow at the Irishman. He immediately focused on him again.

The Irish weird who was still kneeling there on the ground after the screaming had started. He could see the walker on the ground now and understood that this had been about a dead one, that this hadn't been about the Irish weirdo snapping and attacking one of their group. But still. The guy was kneeling there. Right in front of him. And he hadn't done shit to help Andrea with the walker, getting her into even more trouble.

This was it, this was reason enough for him to finally put the guy down and get rid of him. He kept his crossbow aimed right at this pathetic excuse of a guy who was just staring up at him.

"You nearly got her killed, whacko" he snarled and kept his eyes glued on the blonde. "You plan any of this, huh? Hang back, pick us off one by one?"

"Daryl!" Andrea said when she finally managed to get herself back together again after the walker attack, still breathing heavily. But the attack was momentarily forgotten because of the way the hunter was threatening the newest addition to their group.

" A walker attacked me. He didn't do any…."

"Exactly. Told yah this guy's a waste 'a time."

And still with the staring. The blonde kept staring right up at him, still looking like shit, looking him in the eye until he let his gaze travel lower, fixed his mad eyes on the tip of Daryl's arrow instead. Still not saying or doing anything, he just stared at the arrow.

As if he was waiting for him to pull the trigger.

Daryl frowned a little, surprised to find out that he was actually quite confused by all of this. He had never killed a man before and knew that he actually didn't want to if he didn't have to. He certainly wasn't going to kill a guy just because he didn't stand him. Truth be told, he didn't even know why he seemed to hate him so much that he wanted to kill him. Even if he left all that aside, he was actually surprised to find out that he didn't want to kill this guy. He pitied him with that stupid look he was giving him. All he knew was that this guy was seriously messed up, and that he didn't want to pull the trigger anymore. All he could do was look at him while the other did the same.

The walker which had attacked Andrea suddenly got moving again, right between them, shifting and moving towards Connor, trying to grab him. He grabbed hold of the Irishman's shirt, clung and yanked at it as he clumsily tried to get up to sink his teeth in the blonde's neck. Daryl was still staring at the Irishman just like the other did, never breaking eye contact. The blonde wouldn't take note of the undead who was just about to kill him and just like with the crossbow, he simply seemed to want to wait it out and let it happen.

This guy wanted to die.

Daryl finally really understood that the Irishman wasn't a danger to them or anyone else around him. He looked scary and shady simply because he was a complete danger to himself.

When Daryl finally pulled the trigger, the arrow wouldn't even fly anywhere close to the Irishman.

He shot the walker between them and killed him instead.

For a moment longer, they just looked at each other while Daryl lowered his crossbow. Then he simply scoffed angrily and walked away while Connor remained on his knees for a little while longer, letting it sink in.

"Eh Murph, fuckin wait fer me!" he eventually called out, got back on his feet and tried to follow Daryl once more.