"Or we could make a statement," Daryl suggested, cocking his head to the side, a plan forming in his mind. They could make a statement, show the Governor what they were capable of.
"What do you mean by 'make a statement'?" Glenn asked, his arm wrapped around Maggie's waist.
"We could hang on the fence, let the walkers get him. That way if the Governor sends anymore people to scout, they'll see Dexter and know we're not to be messed with. I'm just spitballin' here." Daryl shrugged before standing up and stretching.
"Where you goin'?" Tyreese asked. Daryl glared at him, his eyes narrowing. Daryl shook his head and rolled his shoulders awkwardly. He could feel Carol's eyes on him, watching him and analysing his every movement.
"I...I have..." Daryl struggled, he knew where he was going, he knew what he going to do but he couldn't say it outright. He scowled, "I have a meetin' to get to. So if you'll excuse me." That sounded snarky enough to deter further questions. He cracked his knuckles as he strode purposely towards the door.
"Daryl don't." It was Carol. Daryl tensed at her voice but them he remembered what she had done to him, how she had hurt him, even if it was unintended. Anger surged through him and he was glad that he was finally going to get a release.
"Someone's gotta do something." He snarled as he walked out the door. He heard the cell door slam behind him and then open again. He sighed but kept walking.
"We need to talk!" It was Tyreese. Daryl's heart ached, he knew what Tyreese was going to say. That he and Carol were an item, that he loved her. That Daryl just needed to face it and get over it. That Carol loved Tyreese. And that was something Daryl just wasn't ready hear.
"Me and Carol..." Tyreese paused but then sounded annoyed as Daryl kept walking towards the guard tower, "Hey I'm talkin' to you."
Daryl allowed himself a ghost of a grin but then something grabbed his crossbow. Daryl whirled quickly, his fist connecting with Tyreese's face before he even knew what was happening. Tyreese fell like a tree, clutching his face. Blood streamed out his nose and his eye was already beginning to swell.
"Well I'm done talkin' to you." Daryl snarled and continued into the guard tower, leaving Tyreese on the concrete.
"Where is the Governor?" Daryl roared, his fist smashing into Dexter's face for the fourth time. Dexter's head lolled against the wall and he smirked. He spat blood on the floor, "You think I'd give up that easily?"
Daryl's boot connected with his stomach. Dexter gagged and rolled to the side, curling himself up. His feet and hands were still bound, making it hard. Daryl dragged him into an upright position before crouching down in front of him and pulling his hunting knife from his belt. He examined the blade. He gripped Dexter by his ear and pulled him close.
"I ain't a very patient man. Where...Is...The...Governor?" He snarled. Dexter sneered and spat in Daryl's face. Daryl wiped his face quickly before giving way to blind rage. His fists pounded Dexter, his feet crashed into him. He truly was an animal. Daryl sighed and regained control after a couple of minutes. Dexter groaned in pain. Daryl tugged Dexter forward by his ear, glaring at him. They stayed that way for a moment. Dexter didn't answer so Daryl yanked the tip of Dexter's ear free and dragged his knife across it before starting at the edge and very slowly sawing into the flesh.
Dexter shrieked and tried to break free. Daryl finished with the tip of his ear and dropped it into Dexter's lap.
"You ready to talk yet?"
"I swear I don't know! We just have this camp a couple of days walk from here. In the woods." Dexter cried, staring at the piece of ear in his lap.
"What were you gonna do to Beth?" Daryl growled. He dragged the knife lightly across Dexter's cheek, smearing blood. Dexter jerked his head away and grinned wickedly, showing his bloody teeth.
"What do you think? We was gonna work her over good. Twenty odd men, starved of sex. We'd have taken turns. Blondie wouldn't have been able to walk when I'd finished with her.I'd fucked her up the ass then beat her black and blue." Dexter sneered wickedly. Daryl's fist connected with Dexter's face again. He plunged his knife deep into Dexter's thigh, just missing his groin. Dexter screamed out, staring at his leg. Daryl wrentched his knife free, hot blood spurting over his hands and making the handle slippery. Dexter tried to staunch the wound but his hands were tied behind his back.
"Look's like you're a little tied up." Daryl sneered, standing up. He turned to leave before darting back and stamping down on Dexter's bleeding leg. Dexter roared in pain, tears leaking from his eyes.
"How armed is your little 'camp'?" Daryl pressed his foot harder into Dexter's leg.
"We ain't got much. Just a couple of guns each. We're short on ammo!"
"I should cut your balls off. But I won't. I'll need something to cut if I come back. If I find out you're lyin'." Daryl snarled and left the room. He slammed the door shut after him, leaving Dexter bleeding and sobbing, desperately trying to break free of his ties.
Daryl passed Michonne on the stairs. Her eyes widened when she saw the bloody knife and the blood pumping out of the torn flesh of Daryl's knuckles. His clothes were stained with red. Something had gone down in the guard tower, that much was obvious.
She nodded at him as they passed but either Daryl didn't see or ignored her. He looked pretty caught up in his thoughts. Michonne continued up to the balcony, peeking into the room that held Dexter.
Daryl sat on a bench in the courtyard and studied his bloody fists. The skin on his knuckles was shredded and blood oozed. His shoulder was throbbing dully but it was a pain easily ignored. He rolled it a few times, getting some movement back. Footsteps clacked on the concrete behind him and then someone was holding out a towel to him.
Carol.
He sighed but took the towel with a grunt of apprieciation. Carol studied him for a moment, his shaggy hair that was in a state of disarray, his bloody fists and muscular arms. His weather beaten skin, his sharp blue eyes. Finally she cleared her throat and settled on the bench next to him.
Daryl didn't even look at her, just dabbed at his knuckles with the towel.
"We need to stop this." Carol sighed, "This skirting around each other. You need to stop beating people up, use your words, not your fists. Tyreese's eye is swelled shut and his nose is broken."
"There you go...bringin' up your boyfriend." Daryl spat and clenched his fists, fresh blood oozing from the cracks in his skin. His jaw tightened.
"He's not my boyfriend! He's just my friend, and why do you even care? It's not like you have before. I get it, you're angry about Merle—" Carol snapped but Daryl cut her off.
"Don't you dare make this about Merle. Don't you fuckin' dare." He snarled.
"—but you can't just take it out on the world. Like that man up in the tower. I bet you were unnecessarily brutal. That's why you're covered in blood!" Carol continued. Daryl got to his feet, dropping the bloody towel.
"I grew up with men like him. I know what they're capable off. You shoulda heard what he was sayin' bout Beth. Hear the things that would happen to her." Daryl yelled, "You don't know what he would do if he was given the chance!" He strode towards the gates, eager to disappear into the woods and hunt.
"Stop walkin' away from me! You're a coward! If you can't fight a battle, you run!" Carol yelled, her voice icy. Daryl froze and shuddered. He had a feeling she wasn't talking about killing walkers.
"You run from the things that matter! You want your friendship back? Take it. But no one's ever gonna love you the way I do!" Carol roared, her own rage taking over her, "No one's ever gonna love a stupid redneck! Not like I do! When are you gonna stop runnin' from a problem?" She stopped, breathing heavily. Why couldn't he see that she wanted him? What was he so afraid of?
Daryl gasped, like someone had stabbed him. That's how it felt. But it was true, no one was ever going to love him. He was just a dumb redneck good for one thing. Killing walkers. He turned to her and stormed towards her. Carol shrunk back as Daryl towered over her. When he showed no signs of relenting, she swung at him. Daryl caught her wrist and towered over her.
"What do you want from me?" He growled, still gripping her wrist tightly. Carol tried to wriggle free but Daryl stared her down. Her eyes met his and she froze at what she saw.
His blue eyes were feral, full of cold hate and unspoken rage. Carol's own rage seemed like a match flame compared to Daryl's wildfire. Underneath the anger and hate, darkness was hidden. It was usually well contained but now it was sparking to the fore. In that moment Carol knew he'd seen things at a young age. Horrendous things, things no one should ever have to see.
It was like Carol was reliving all Daryl's memories. Her knees buckled but Daryl held her up. She saw young women getting sleazy men forced upon them. A whip tearing into the skin of someone's back, a hand smashing into someone's face. Men drinking alcohol like it was water and smoking cigars while sitting around a felt table. Gruesome murders, madness taking over someone, driving them to lunacy. People throwing themselves off buildings and splatting into the ground. Blood rivers ran down the kerb, pooling in the cracks. A house gone up in flames, crumbling bit by bit.
Daryl blinked, severing the connection. He glanced down at his hand still gripping Carol's wrist. He dropped it suddenly and stepped back like Carol was white hot.
"You're not the first person to not love me. And you're sure as shit not gonna be the last." He whispered softly. He fixed her with a hard stare before turning on his heel and striding into the yard, his crossbow slung over his shoulder.
Carol clamped her hand over her mouth and sunk to the ground, tears pumping from her eyes. She would never forget the look on Daryl's face. The anger, the hatred, the darkness. Then the pain. The pain that had contorted his face. She had caused that. She had hurt him. She had yelled at him, yelled that no one would love him. The even sadder thing was that Daryl had just accepted it.
Carol looked at her wrist, the one Daryl had held so tightly. Purple bruises were already beginning to form. They reminded her of the ones Ed had given her when he'd grip her wrists. She shook her head quickly, shocked that she had thought of Ed and Daryl in the same train of thought. She grabbed the bloody towel Daryl had dropped and used it to wiped the tears from her face. She glanced through the gates and spotted the figure disappearing into the woods.
Twigs snapped underfoot, leaves rustled and birds fluttered from tree to tree. Daryl thought about shooting a few but didn't have the heart to load his crossbow. He was in no mood to hunt. Not after his chat with Carol. He already knew no one would love him and he'd accepted that, but she confused him by saying no one would love him like she did.
Carol didn't love him. They were friends, that was all, right? She was with Tyreese. So why did she say that? Daryl shrugged internally and ripped the knife from his belt as twigs snapped behind him. He whirled quickly and sighed when he saw the lone walker ambling towards him.
He tucked the knife back into his belt before letting the walker come close, taking the time to examine it. It was a male, who looked like he used to live in the gym. It's hair was matted and tangled, sticking out in all places. It was missing an arm and it's eye dangled out of the socket by a fleshy strip. The walker reached for him. Daryl shoved it back and it tripped on a stick.
Daryl's foot smashed into the skull, releasing some of his anger but not much. He kept stomping until his boot was splattered in brain matter and black blood, submerged in mush. He sighed and dragged his boot across the walker's clothes, wiping away the worst of the gunk.
He wandered aimlessly through the woods, not paying attention to where his feet took him. He came across the ocassional walker but they were easily dealt with. After a while, he stumbled into a familiar field. Daryl ground to a halt.
He was at the barn. The one Rick and the Governor had talked in, the one they had agreed to meet and hand Michonne over at. The Merle had been killed at. Daryl's eyes zoned in on Merle's rotting corpse. He hadn't moved it. He hadn't been back to the barn since he'd killed his brother. A few walker's had nibbled on Merle's remains but otherwise he was untouched. Daryl sighed and crouched down next to his brother's corpse. Merle remained motionless.
"Hey big brother." He smiled sadly before pushing himself to his feet. He was going to bury Merle, now that he was here. He figured Merle deserved that much. Daryl disappeared into one of the barns, looking for a stray shovel. He eventually found one, hidden amongst a cluster of tarps. He grabbed one and began to dig in the soft earth, hidden behind the silo.
Daryl's shoulder ached as he dug. He was probably making the wound worse but he didn't care. Once he was satisfied with the hole, Daryl gripped Merle by his legs and dragged him towards the hole. He gently lowered his brother's body into the hole before shovelling the dirt on top of him. Daryl didn't realise tears were rolling down his face until he finished burying Merle. He wiped his eyes quickly and pulled his knife out. He stabbed it into the side of the silo and carved.
Merle Dixon
R.I.P Big Brother
Daryl tucked his knife away and began the walk back to the prison, hating himself for not burying Merle earlier. He dreaded seeing Carol again.
A/N: I know some of you guys think the rape in the last chapter was unnecessary but later on it will be a key problem, along with some other little insecurities.
Some Caryl angst this chapter.
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