I promise that Connor and Murphy's relationship will change soon, back to their old one (but still changed), and shippers, do not fear, the ship isn't abandoned either.
I got more in store for that as well! Okay, on with the new material =)

Resurrection

Chapter 25 - Are We There Yet?

Connor was driving down the highway, not really knowing what he was supposed to feel. His heart was still pounding in his chest, it had never slowed down ever since they had found his brother. The Irishman gently raised his head at that thought, staring in the rear-view mirror, to have a look at the backseat. There he was, sprawled out, lying there, still knocked out cold from Daryl's hard punch. Connor could clearly see the terrible scar on his twins head, and despite the guilt, despite the shame he still had to smile.

Murphy.

Murphy was in the backseat. Right behind him, with him, alive. 340 days without him, but now he was back. Not a hallucination, not a dream figure. He was here. In the flesh. Connor smirked even more and grabbed the steering wheel a bit tighter and then looked back at the road. He was beyond tired after staying awake for two days straight but he needed to drive the car, needed to be in control, needed to take Murphy to a safe place.

It was silent in the car, since his brother was still unconscious and Daryl wouldn't say a word. The hunter was sitting next to Connor in the passenger seat, elbow rested on the door frame and staring out of the window. He still looked rather grumpy, but not -so- pissed anymore, so Connor figured that maybe he was allowed to talk to him again.

"Ye really didn't have ta punch him this fuckin hard" he muttered after a while and Daryl turned his head to look at him with a snort.

"Kid deserved it" he muttered and then stared out of his window again, which made the oldest of the three a bit angry.

"Oi, this is me fucking brother yer talking about. Watch yer tongue" he said, fully enjoying that he could finally play big brother again.
He watched Murphy in the rearview mirror for yet another moment and then moved his head to the left and right, trying to relax his neck muscles a bit.

"His head's hurt. Ye could've made it worse" he muttered and Daryl shrugged.

"Yeah, all thanks to you, not me" the hunter growled, getting more and more annoyed by Connor's sudden fussing over his twin.

The lack of an answer made him realize his mistake though.
When he looked at the Irishman he could see the expression on his face, since that statement had obviously hit home.

Too soon.

"Sorry" he muttered but Connor still wouldn't answer. He kept looking at his twin every couple of minutes instead, as if he was making sure the kid wouldn't disappear from one second to the next. Daryl let out a gentle sigh and leaned back, feeling another stab of jealousy in his chest. He hated that they weren't alone anymore, despite the fact that Murphy was still knocked out and not talking.

"What's the plan then?" he asked quietly and watched the trees pass by the window as they sped down the highway.

"You two going back t'Boston?" he went on, trying to hide the fact that he was still jealous, upset and disappointed.

Connor shook his head and drove around an abandoned car.

"Nah. I think you'n I both know that the big cities are far too dangerous fer this shit" he murmured and looked at Murphy yet again.

"No. I wanna keep 'im safe. As safe as possible. Woodbury's our best option there. They got walls, 24 hour patrols, electricity, supplies and weapons.
I don't wanna take any risks. I gotta protect him from everything."

Daryl nodded slowly, feeling relieved but at the same time not really happy. Of course, he was beyond happy that Connor was going to be around him, but the truth was that he didn't really want to see him fuss over Murphy all the time, showing affection and love and making it obvious that the little shit was the most important human being in his life now.

"Y'know that those freaks back in Augusta know where we're from. There's a good chance they'll come looking. For both of yah."

Connor snorted and shrugged.

"Let 'em try. Nothing we can't handle" he said and there was silence for a while.

"Or do ye want us ta leave?" the Irishman went on after a while, giving Daryl a side glance which his friend returned.

The hunter wouldn't say anything to that, simply because he didn't know what to say. He didn't even know why he'd said those things about Augusta.

Did he? Want Connor to leave? Simply because he couldn't handle his jealousy, or even worse, his stupid childish and girlish feelings?

Not that he felt anything for the freak. Of course not. That was gay. Good friends, that's what Connor had said. That's what they'd agreed on.

"Dude. I know that ye have a hard time believing me this, but what've said ta you multiple times didn't change just because of Murph. This past year won't just undo itself just because I got me brother back. I thank you fer everything you've done fer me, I didn't use ye, and I sure as hell ain't just gonna go and pretend that nothin fuckin happened. I owe you. Forever, actually."

"Shut up. Just thought you wanted to go. You wouldn't stop talkin about leaving just a month ago. So I figured…" the hunter muttered, trying to mask his true thoughts from his friend.

Connor turned his head away and looked out of the window as well.

"All right. Just sounded like ye want me ta go."

"Do whatever yah gotta do" Daryl growled, raising up walls between them and looking out of the window as well. He figured that it was about time now, to cut all loose ends, their connection since he didn't fancy some stupid fucked up triangle thing anyway. Once again Connor looked hurt, but then looked in the rear view mirror to watch his brother instead. The sight instantly seemed to make him feel better, because there it was again, the tiny happy and overwhelmed smile.

Which only made it worse for Daryl. His usual pushing away technique wasn't really working anymore, he couldn't use it to hurt his friend without having to fear that he could lose him. Now he had Murphy, the antidote to his behaviour. His brother, who would make him feel better right away, and who would only make the rift between them even bigger. The rift he was creating to keep Connor at a distance because he still couldn't handle their relationship. He didn't get the chance to try and save the moment, to apologize or make Connor 'like' him again, because right then Murphy chose to wake up. The younger MacManus stirred a bit and then started moving in the backseat with low growls, like he was in pain, his jaw or head aching from Daryl's punch.

It automatically made the hunter smirk, despite his previous fuck up he regretted.

Serves yah right, emo kid.

"What te fuck…" Murphy mumbled and tried to sit up, blinking a couple of times and rubbing his right eye.

Both Connor and Daryl looked in the rearview mirror to watch the younger MacManus wake up, both smiling, but for different reasons.
Connor was right back into his big brother mode.

"Careful. He hit yer head pretty hard" the older Irishman said and tried to reach out for his twin while still steering the car.

"Where the fuck 'm I?" Murphy suddenly roared, springing up until he was almost standing. He turned his head multiple times as he tried to make out where he was. Once he realized that he was inside a car he turned around abruptly to stare out of the rear window, trying to see any familiar houses, anything that suggested that he was still in Savannah. But he was far away from it. There were nothing but trees to the left and right of the highway, with occasional lonely farmhouses and car wrecks by the side of the road thrown right in. Nothing looked familiar here, and the car was driving at full speed, leaving him no option to jump out and get back to Savannah, back to his group.

"Murph! Relax, we're just…" Connor said calmly, trying to reason with his brother and keep him from having yet another fit, but Murphy wouldn't let him finish.

"Yah fuckin kidnapped me!" the younger MacManus roared and grabbed the door opener to pull and get his point across.

He didn't like being in here, especially not with Connor and the fucking lookalike asshole.
Not when he still had trouble forgiving his brother, and he certainly didn't like getting forced into anything.

"Just calm down! Fuck, I knew you'd still need the freaking child-proof lock, brother" Connor answered and still tried to reach out for his twin, to grab his hand and calm him down, but Murphy stayed out of his reach and wouldn't calm down at all.

"Fuck ye! My group's still back there! Waiting fer me! I was gonna help them and they fuckin need me. I was gonna go back and warn them about Crawford but ye had ta screw it up by fuckin kidnappin me! Take me back right fuckin now!" he roared and started kicking Connor's seat. Not to hurt him, just to make it clear that he didn't like this shit at all. Before his slightly older sibling got the chance to say something to that Daryl turned around and glared at the younger MacManus twin.

"Calm the fuck down, you pussy. He's your bro and there ain't no such thing as kidnapping your own damn flesh and blood. Now sit down and chill out or 'm gonna make yah!" he roared and threatened his lookalike with his fist. Murphy stopped kicking Connor's seat and then concentrated on Daryl, glaring at him with angry eyes and leaning forward.

"Oh fuck ye! Who asked ye, you fuckin redneck?! Why don't ye just go and fuck yer sister or something!" he yelled back, which only made everything worse.

"Murph!" Connor shouted between their yelling and tried to keep both his friend and brother from fighting, but it was useless.

"What'd you just say you little shit?" Daryl growled and tried to climb into the back of the car to get to Murphy.

"Alright just stop it!" Connor yelled but was ignored once again.

He had trouble steering the car AND trying to hold on to Daryl to keep him from climbing back and punching Murphy again, but the hunter was almost unstoppable.

He and Murphy kept yelling and each other and Daryl felt such a sudden and incredible outburst of anger that he really couldn't control himself. All the anger, the hatred, the frustration and violent thoughts he had kept inside all this time suddenly wanted out. All the many times he had fought really hard to keep them inside to protect Connor, despite his obvious wants to hurt him and punch him just like back on the farm, all the hatred and loss he felt because of Merle's sudden death wanted out, wanted to escape through his fist.

And since he hated Murphy with every fibre of his being, since he didn't care about him at all he saw it as his chance to let go of his anger, to truly channel them without caring if he hurt the other or not. Murphy was only fueling that rage with all his yapping, all his provoking and insulting so he tried to climb back, already preparing himself for a fight just like the younger MacManus twin, who tried to kick him in the face, in his guts, anywhere.

"STOP THIS SHIT OR I TURN THIS FUCKIN CAR AROUND RIGHT FUCKIN NOW!" Connor suddenly yelled really loud and hit the brakes as hard as he could, sending both Daryl and Murphy flying forward. The vehicle came to an abrupt halt, tires screeching and shaking a bit, and within seconds it was dead silent in and outside the car. All three men were panting, Murphy and Daryl because of their fits of anger, Connor because of the sudden burst of adrenaline. The oldest of the three was staring at his brother and friend with mad, wide eyes, even using the finger on them, like an angry mother.

"We're in the middle of fuckin nowhere, there's walking dead people all around us, there's a freak lab hunting us because of our blood, and I haven't slept in three fuckin days, now get! a fucking! hold of yerself!" Connor roared and looked at both Daryl and Murphy, finger still raised.

"Both of ye!"

Murphy started chewing on his fingernail and tried to look away but couldn't. He didn't even know why. He wanted to look away, get out of the car, walk back to Savannah and tell Connor to go fuck himself, he didn't get to tell him shit after what he had done to him back in Boston, but for some reason he was paralyzed and nervous. He just looked at his brother. No matter what he tried, Connor was too authoritarian right now, he respected him too much and didn't want to disappoint him. It was in his guts somehow, no matter how hard he tried to fight it.

Daryl, on the other hand, just huffed and turned his head to stare out of the window with an angry frown, both fists still clenched and entire body way too tight, eradiating anger and violence. Connor looked at his friend a bit longer, trying to come up with something to say, but couldn't really think of something. Daryl wasn't his brother, he was just a friend and far too stubborn. He didn't need to listen to him, which was exactly what he did.

But he did have authority over Murphy. One year of not seeing each other and having problems or not. So he turned around to look at his twin, not really wanting it to handle it this way but knowing that there was no other option. He knew that it was going to backfire no matter what, but there was nothing else he could do. He really wanted to handle his twin with kids gloves after everything he had done to him, he didn't want to be mean, hurt him or make him any angrier than he already was, but this was the only way to get Murphy to listen to him.

"I know that you'd rather stay back with yer friends and protect them, but fuck that, Murph! Cities are a fuckin dead end now. They're too dangerous, this Crawford place was right on yer fuckin doorstep, and there's no way 'm letting ye stay there and risk yer fuckin life over a buncha people ye met a couple of days, weeks, or months ago. So maybe I am fuckin kidnapping you, I'm only doing this ta keep ye safe. We're gonna take you to a secure place with lotsa people, and ye don't get ta fuckin complain here! Now get a fuckin hold of yerself and believe it or not, 'm just trying ta do what's best fer you. And yer fuckin negative attitude and childishness ain't helping any!"

He then turned around and turned the engine back on.

"Jesus!" he growled and drove on before his twin got any ideas about jumping out of the car.

But Murphy still wouldn't let go.

"'m fuckin childish? Fuck you, Connor! Yer fuckin boyfriend's the one who knocked me out cold insteada just asking me and givin me a fuckin chance first! Besides, don't give me tha fuckin 'I'm just trying ta do what's best fer you' speech. Yer the one who didn't give a fuckin shit about me fer almost a year! And suddenly yer turning up and think ye can just decide over me and drag me ta places I don't even fuckin know? Yer the one who fuckin left me in the first place, so you don't get ta…"

"Shut yah stupid hole!" Daryl suddenly yelled and kicked the glove department hard. He'd been watching Connor during Murphy's entire speech, seeing his hands clench around the steering wheel, seeing how the expression on his face changed like someone had stabbed him in his guts and was twisting the knife around now. Murphy fell silent, surprised by the fact that Daryl was suddenly barging in and breaking up their fight.

Connor turned his head to look at his friend, just as surprised but at the same time thankful. His eyes were red already, but at the same time he also looked incredibly angry. Daryl nodded, getting what the look was supposed to mean. Connor couldn't take Murphy's words right now, and he certainly couldn't hear one more accusation after another. Because he was yelling them at himself inside his head all the time, and he didn't need them said out loud on top of that. Daryl knew his friend well enough, how much Murphy's words hurt him, so he leaned back and stared out of the window, fighting hard not to jump back yet again and bury his fist in Murphy's face. He only did it for Connor's sake though, not for his stupid brother's.

"Yah comin with us. End of discussion. Now stop wettin yah pants" he said and the discussion was done.

Murphy still looked furious, but seemed to pick up on the vibe, that the fight was over and useless.

"Go fuck y'self" he snapped and then lay down on the backseat, back turned on Connor and Daryl.

"Both of ye."

"Fuck" Connor said about one and a half hours later, just seconds before the car engine suddenly died. Daryl shifted in his seat, nearly having fallen asleep during the silent drive back to Woodbury. "What?" he asked sleepily, looking out of the front window to see if there was any trouble ahead. He couldn't see anything, but the car was slowing down, now that the engine was dead and not responding anymore.

"We're outta gas" Connor said and tried to turn the engine back on, but it was useless.
He'd thought that they would manage to get back to their hometown with the gas that they had, but there it was, gone, dead, kaputt.

"I thought we were doin fine" the hunter mumbled and tried to have a look at the fuel gauge.

"Me fuckin too, but we obviously fuckin ain't" Connor answered and then hit the steering wheel with a frustrated sigh.
He finally hit the brakes to get the car to stop. He leaned his head on the steering wheel for a moment and closed his eyes, frustration fully taking over.

"I told ye that we should fuckin go check out the rest of the city fer fuel first" he muttered and Daryl raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Fuck you. I ain't the one who couldn't wait to get his retard brother outta there without as much as a second glance."

"Oh, fuck you" Connor answered, sounding more exhausted than angry though.

He raised his head after a moment and looked out of the window, to check for any abandoned cars on the interstate.
He could see a couple of them, stranded either right in the middle of the road or by the side, two of them crashed a bit further up ahead.

"'m gonna go see if I can scrounge up some gas" he muttered and opened the door abruptly, leaving Daryl no chance to say anything to that. It was obvious that Connor was pissed, tired and done with everything right now, so the hunter wasn't too sure whether he should follow his friend. He turned his head to check on Murphy, not really knowing what he was supposed to do. He feared that the younger MacManus twin could use the chance and escape should he decide to go and help Connor, but at the same time he didn't really want to leave his friend alone up ahead, with no cover, no one to protect his exhausted ass.

The Irishman was still limping a bit from his jump down the building back in Augusta, which made it even more ridiculous. Daryl sighed and turned around once more to look at the younger MacManus, only to see that he was asleep on the backseat. He chose not to stay with the kid because his face annoyed the crap out of him. He grabbed the car keys instead, getting out of the car and then locking every single door plus the trunk to keep Murphy inside the car, to keep him from running away, no matter what.

Even if it meant that he could have a heat stroke in there.

He better have, he thought as he put the keys away with an angry smile and then followed Connor, walking towards a wrecked Dacia and Ford that seemed to have collided at full speed. It didn't take too long and he was with Connor, who was standing in front of the Dacia, both hands resting on its hood, doing nothing, staring at nothing in particular. Daryl walked slower and frowned.

"You alright?" he muttered after a moment of just watching Connor, who wouldn't stop staring but shook his head gently in response. "I thought it'd be easier, man" he said quietly and kept staring like that, like he was trying to look at his reflection on the engine hood, eyes empty and upset. "I think he fuckin hates me" he went on, even more quietly than before. Daryl knew that his friend meant his brother. He'd seen them interact after all, seen Murphy's reaction, heard him say all those terrible things that were true but still cruel. Connor swallowed hard and then shifted, walking towards the side of the car, to open it and check its interior for anything useful.

"Maybe he's right. Maybe we should've left him there" he muttered and Daryl chewed on his lower lip. He wanted nothing more than tell Connor that yes, they should totally bring Murphy back and leave him there so they could be on their own, but he knew that this certainly wasn't what Connor wanted, what he needed. He approached his friend slowly and looked back at their car, where Murphy was, the one that fucked up everything these days.

"Yah've seen the city. And you've heard 'em outside the church. Savannah ain't safe. You're right. Woodbury's your best chance right now" he answered, really hating the answer but he still kept going. "Besides, the kid wouldn't know what's good for 'im even if the whole world'd prove it to him."

Connor snorted and even smirked a bit, although he still looked far from happy.

"He obviously made friends back there. Can't blame him that he wants ta be with 'em insteada me" he muttered and slowed down with his searching bags, until he suddenly stopped completely and looked down. "Fuck. I don't even know anythin 'bout his group. Or his friends. Or what he's been up to fer the past couple of months….I know nothin 'bout me own brother…" he said and then buried the heel of his right hand in his eye.

"I don't know 'im anymore. He's…changed. He's bitter and…angry."

"Kid's gotta be" Daryl muttered and leaned against the car with a sigh. He tried to hide the fact that he was annoyed by the conversation.

"Wouldn't have made this far, otherwise."

"Aye" Connor said quietly and then got out of the car while rubbing his forehead.

"Nothing in here" he went on and then tried to walk around the car to check the other one, but Daryl suddenly reached out and grabbed his arm to stop him. Connor looked down on himself to examine the hand that was gripping his upper arm tight. He then fixed his eyes on his friend's face. The hunter was just looking back at him, making it clear that he wanted to say something.

"You're doin the right thing. Maybe he's changed. So've you" he said and kept his eyes glued on Connor's because he wanted to make him understand that this was important.

"Don't let 'im fuck up everything -I- repaired" he said, and maybe it was a bit of a warning as well. Because it was true. He'd been there the entire past year, watched Connor fall really deep and then get back up again, and that only because of him, because he happened to have the other ungrateful bastard's face. There was no way he was going to watch that fall apart now. Not after everything.

He then let go of his friend and got away from the car, to search another wreck on the other side of the interstate. Neither he nor Connor would speak after that, the Irishman still lost in thoughts and upset over his twin's behaviour, and Daryl too pissed because of Murphy. He was heading for a red Sedan that was standing right in the middle of the road, abandoned, with its doors and trunk wide open. He doubted that he would find a gas can, but maybe there was still some gas in the tank.

The hunter scanned the surrounding tree line with narrowed eyes, scanning for any possible threats. He only discovered one lonely walker scuffling around back there, but since the undead didn't attack him anymore he didn't pay too much attention to the man. Daryl knelt down next to the car instead, using one of their tubes to stick it inside the tank and test for fuel. He could see the moving feet of another walker right on the other side of the car and the smell was unmistakable, but once again didn't really waste any second thoughts on that one because he was still way too pissed off anyway.

He sucked on the tube a couple of times, preparing himself for the disgusting taste of fuel, but nothing would come.

Empty tank.

Brilliant.

He stopped sucking on the tube and then pulled it out, getting up from the ground while doing so.
He turned around with a frustrated growl and tried to spot Connor on the other side of the interstate.

"Ain't nothin in here!" he shouted and Connor's face popped up just above the other car's trunk.

"Same here!" he responded and stood up as well, scratching his head and looking around.

"Looks like we're walking" Daryl muttered and looked down at the tube in his hands, rolling up so he could carry it more easily.

"Watch out!" Connor suddenly yelled and startled the hunter, who looked up in surprise to see what was going on. The Irishman was running towards him with wide eyes, and just before the younger of the two friends got to ask what was going on he could already hear, smell and then feel it. A filthy and bloody hand suddenly grabbed his shoulder tight, pulling him back, towards a rotten, stinking mouth.

He could hear the growl, the raspy breathing and widened his eyes in surprise as well, reacting on an instant. He grabbed the hand and ignored the disgusting feel, only to lean forward and pull with all the strength he could gather. Daryl managed to pull the undead over his back and then made him fall to the ground in front of him, rotten shoulder joint cracking and braking easily. The half rotten man was still holding on to the hunter's hand, snapping at him and trying to get back to him, obviously wanting to bite him.

Daryl struggled and fought as he could, heart pounding and nearly skipping a beat because he was so shocked and surprised. He really hadn't seen this one coming, that a walker decided to attack him in the middle of nowhere, out of nowhere. He lunged out with his feet and then buried his heel in the walker's face as hard as he could, smashing the already weakened skull under his feet and spilling black and rotten brain matter all over the asphalt.

Just then Connor chose to appear in front of him, out of breath, eyes still widened in shock.

"What the fuck?!" he yelled and looked down at the undead his friend had just killed, replaying everything he'd just seen in his mind a second time.

"I don't know!" Daryl answered and looked at his friend, just as surprised and confused.

"The fucker just came outta nowhere and tried to rip junks outta me" he answered and then kicked the walker's side a couple of times, face an angry grimace because he couldn't believe this had really happened. "I. ain't. your. happy meal!" he growled and underlined each word with a kick.

Then they heard another growl coming from the trees, coming from the walker Daryl had seen moving before. The undead's long hair was hanging down one side of his face, bloody scalp inclusive. He was staring at Daryl with wide, dead and yet insane eyes, like the death of his fellow undead friend had awoken something inside of him.

"Dude, if tha fucker attacked ye then…" Connor said and looked at the moving undead in front of them, the walker that was slowly getting closer and closer.

"Then this one obviously wanna do the same" Daryl concluded, suddenly feeling both angry and bitter.

Connor approached the undead without a warning, making the hunter reach out and call after him.

"Wait!" he shouted but the Irishman ignored him, walking faster and faster to close the distance between him and the undead.

"I wanna try something!" Connor shouted back and was almost right in front of the walking corpse, Coming to a halt and just standing there. The walker kept staggering towards him and Daryl, who stayed where he was and waited to see what his friend was up to. The walker came closer and closer, all awkward and stinking and bloody scalp and hair flapping in the wind with each movement.

He walked right past Connor, like he was made of thin air.

But he still kept moving, eyes fixed on Daryl, reaching out and picking up speed the closer he got to the hunter.

So this was it. Connor, and probably Murphy were still 'invisible' to the walkers, carrying whatever they had inside their brains, in their blood because both of them had been bitten. He'd never been bitten though. He only had Connor's blood, which had been pumped inside him about a month ago. It had never been in his blood, never been about him, so he shouldn't be surprised that it was going to stop sooner or later, right? But he still was. He couldn't believe that he was really supposed to get back to this shit, running away from hordes of undead instead of walking among them and using them as cover. For days he had seen them get more and more interested in him, but he had tried to ignore it. But this was it now.

It was over.

No more cover. The fear was back, the incredible threat, the hopelessness. He wasn't special anymore, not connected with Connor in a sick way.
Now he and Murphy were the special ones. The twins. The freaks with freak blood and special treatment. But not him.

Another wall.

He was snapped out of his train of thoughts when Connor stabbed the back of the walker's head when he got too close to the hunter.
The undead dropped dead between them. Both Connor and Daryl looked at each other in surprise, realization really hitting them.

Daryl was no longer 'immune'.

Connor cleaned his knife and then put it back in his holster, approaching Daryl and looking at the two bodies around them once more.

"Fuck" he muttered and then fixed his eyes on the hunter, his shoulders, his neck.

"Are ye alright?" he asked and tried to place a hand on Daryl, who moved to stay out of his reach.

"Yeah" the hunter just growled, suddenly feeling extremely uncomfortable with the whole situation.

He sorted his clothes and buttoned up his shirt that had been loosened during the fight with the walker. He then turned around to keep his surprise from Connor, to hide the fact that he was beyond freaked out and most of all: upset by the whole thing. As if Murphy's return wasn't freaking enough to get between them. They were less and less equal, and that just pissed him off.

"We should get te fuck away from here before more of 'em come. There's no gas in the cars. Maybe we'll find a new one further down the highway" Connor suggested and Daryl nodded in agreement, but couldn't fight the frustrated snort that broke through. One month of not giving a shit about walkers around them, and now they were back to this shit. And Connor had to babysit him just because he was back to being every walker's favourite chew toy. Perfect.

Add one more reason to the list why he wanted Connor to fucking leave. He didn't want to watch him fuss over Murphy all the time. And he didn't want him to fuss over him now, just because of this one simple disadvantage. He didn't need a babysitter. He didn't want to be weak, but around Connor the whole getting attacked by walkers was a weakness. And he hated that. More than anything. Because this would also make Murphy superior once again.

He walked faster, back to the car so he could get his crossbow, which was more important than ever.
Now he really needed it again, to keep geeks at a distance, to protect himself.

From one second to the next he was beyond worried again, felt the large, fucked up and dangerous world close in around him.
Suddenly he saw them everywhere, walkers, bloody, undead, ready to tear him apart. Bury their rotten teeth in his flesh and tear him to pieces.
This was real. This was dangerous. He felt vulnerable, no longer invincible, and terribly alive and alone in a broken world.

Connor, Murphy and Daryl were still walking down the interstate, all three silent, not really walking right next to each other, keeping distance. Although Daryl had insisted that he should be up front with his crossbow it was still Connor who was having a lead, walking a straight line, eyes fixed on their surroundings like a guard dog, and smoking a cigarette. Daryl was walking behind him, crossbow in his hands as he kept scanning the trees and houses to their left and right, still suddenly incredibly aware of the walkers. This was another reason why he was walking between them. Connor thought that maybe his and Murphy's 'scent' would cover up his own, keep protecting him from the undead. Daryl thought that it was useless, he still felt terribly exposed, which only made him grab his crossbow even tighter, teeth clenching, brows furrowing and anger burning in his guts.

Murphy was silently following the other two men, keeping his distance just as much, hands buried deep in the pocket of his jeans and staring at the road with an angry frown. He didn't care about the walkers, about the men in front of him or whatever was going on around him in general. He didn't want to care, didn't even want to be here anyway. He could smell Connor's smoke and felt the desperate need to smoke as well, but he had refused to take one from his brother, simply for the sake of refusing it because it was Connor who offered it. He still wouldn't talk to neither of the two, feeling both angry but at the same time confused because of the whole situation.

He still couldn't believe that his stupid brother had dragged him away from Savannah. Invading his life like a hurricane from one second to the next, claiming him like he deserved it. And now he'd dragged him out of here, without a car, in the middle of nowhere. He had no idea where they were going or what they were doing, and he didn't know what to feel whenever he looked at his brother.

Part of him still wanted to run up to him, shove this stupid Daryl guy out of the way and then hug Connor and never let him freaking go. His whole body was longing for a connection with his brother, he wanted to touch, hug, cry, and tell him how truly happy he was that they were reunited. That he still had a family, that not everything and everyone was lost, even if the world was falling apart around them. He wasn't alone. And that certainly -made- him feel better. He really wanted Connor to help him remember everything he'd forgotten about because of the injury. He wanted Connor to tell him who -he- was, and the anticipation was almost killing him.

But the other part of him was simply far too dominant right now. How was he ever supposed to forgive Connor what he had done? He automatically reached up for his head, where the bullet had hit him almost one year ago. How was he ever supposed to forget that his own brother had tried to kill him, had abandoned him?

He thought you're dead and you asked him to do it, the voice of reason in his head tried to remind him, but Murphy didn't want to care. He chose to ignore it. He wanted to dwell on it for a while. Fuck it, he should've known that I didn't -really- want it. He should've -felt- that I was still alive. he should've known. The younger MacManus wanted to make his sibling understand the sheer agony he had been through because of him. And he wanted him to suffer, now that he had simply found himself another guy. A guy with his face, a guy he hated more than anything. How he was walking between them, constantly around Connor, snapping at him and getting involved in their fights, protecting his brother and acting like he got the right to do that, like he was far more important than him.

He just wanted the asshole gone. Away from them. So he and Connor could have some alone time. Figure this out. He wanted to confront his brother.
Ask him all his questions. Let Connor answer. Give Connor the chance to give him one good reason why he was supposed to forgive him.

But Daryl was right in freaking front of him.

Murphy let out a pissed but quiet growl and kicked a tiny stone away.

"I think we should find a place up in the woods and crash fer the night. It's getting dark sooner or later, and we still gotta find firewood if we wanna build a campfire" Connor suddenly suggested and stopped walking, so he could turn around and look at his twin and best friend. Both Murphy and Daryl stopped as well, the younger MacManus twin just looking pissed and annoyed, Daryl looking tired and lost in thoughts. The hunter chewed on his lower lip and turned his head to the side to have a look at the surrounding woods.

They had never found a working car, or a car that still had gas in it, so maybe his friend was right. It wouldn't be such a good idea to be walking around in the open in the middle of the night, when they couldn't really see shit and he was vulnerable again. He still hated that, knowing that walkers would probably attack him and that this was the only reason they had to be far more careful than before.

"Hmhm" he mumbled and nodded, shifting while grabbing his crossbow tighter. There was one good thing about everything, the woods were his territory, an area where he was far superior than both Connor and Murphy. And he really needed something to feel strong right now. "Let's get moving" he said and took over the lead without actually really talking about it. Connor accepted the change of positions without another word, because he knew that this was Daryl's speciality now. The woods, survival, sleeping outside surrounded by animals, undead, and god knows what kind of other fucked up people were all around them.

Whereas Daryl started moving up the little hill by the interstate to enter the woods Connor used the opportunity to wait for his twin so he could look at him.

"You okay with that, Murph?" he asked quietly, really wanting to talk to his twin, and so they could stop fighting, so Murphy could stop hating him so much.
It was a peace offering, it was important to him that they were on the same page.

Murphy just looked at him for a while, chewing on his lower lip, then turning his head for a moment to look at Daryl, the woods, and then the interstate, back to where they had left the car a while ago. He then finally looked at Connor again, still looking rather stubborn and angry instead of forgiving.

"Now yer asking?" he mumbled and looked at his brother a little while longer.

"I just want ye...ta be okay with it. Yer opinion's always been important t'me. Don't think that's changed" Connor answered and really wanted to reach out, stroke his twin's shoulder, smile at him, love him. But he kept his distance, not really wanting to strain his luck with physical contact, but with words.

"You'n me?" he asked, hope showing in his voice, eyes looking just as hopeful.

Murphy really wanted to agree. But that was just wrong. Fucked up even. He couldn't just pretend that nothing had happened. He couldn't just go all lovey-dovey with Connor before having talked about anything. The way he saw it - he was practically talking to a stranger right now. And you didn't just trust strangers without any second thoughts. He snorted, shook his head and then slowly started walking again, not giving an answer, leaving Connor to stand there and look all miserable yet again. It hurt him just as much, seeing his sibling like that. He felt pretty much the same amount of pain because of his own actions, but he simply wasn't ready yet. He just followed Daryl into the woods, and a couple of minutes later Connor followed them as well. Without saying another word.