Chapter 6

That next morning everyone was disposing of the dead. Daryl was seated by the fire. I took a deep breath and walked over to him. I slowly sat down next to him.

"I'm sorry….about your brother." I said gently.

"He took the truck. Thought he'd be coming back here. He took off." He said.

I nodded and we sat in silence. He looked over at me with a questioning look.

"Why ye here?" He asked.

I raised my eyebrow.

"Here by me. No one bothers with me. The rough and careless redneck trash." He said.

I laughed lightly.

"That's what you wish for people to see. What you try to convince yourself that you are. That is not who I see."

He nodded and I stood up to leave.

"Wait….."

I turned and looked at him.

"Mind staying?"

I smiled small and then sat down. We didn't talk, for I knew he was not the talking sort. Nothing needed to be said. I understood that his brother's betrayal had hurt him, even if he showed nothing of it.

"I had 3 sisters you know. They were taken and there was nothing I could do. I could not save them. And yet I promised that I would survive. I swore and now I wish it was myself that had been taken not them. Even if I do not show the pain….it still exists." I whispered.

I looked at him and found him biting at his thumb.

"Never had much of a family. Been on my own since I was 2 or 3. Not much to tell." He said.

"Not much for me. I was adopted. Parents passed when I was maybe 13 and my sisters and I were on our own. Never had friends…I was different so people avoided me. I did not care. I was better alone. My sisters were all I needed. Now I have nothing but my honor, my skills and my few possessions." I said.

"Ye ain't exactly got no one." He mumbled.

I looked at him and he rubbed the back of his neck. I smiled.

"Thank you…..Daryl." I said.

He smirked and then we heard Jacquie.

"A walker got Jim!"

I jumped up and ran forward. There was fresh blood on his shirt. T-dog ran forward and held him back while Daryl lifted his shirt. There was indeed a bite.

"I'm okay…I'm okay!" He said.

Rick and Shane sat him down by the RV. The rest of us gathered together.

"We've got to get Jim to the CDC. They were working on a cure." Rick said.

"And what about Amy? Andrea has been there with her all night." I said.

"Yall can stand here and talk. I'ma do what needs to be done." Daryl said.

He raised his pickaxe and went towards Jim. Rick pulled out a gun and pointed it at his head.

"We do NOT kill the living." He said firmly.

"That's funny coming from a man pointing a gun at my head." He said.

I pushed the barrel of Rick's gun down. He looked at me and I shook my head.

"Yall left my brother fer dead! Yall had this coming!" He shouted.

He stormed off to his tent and I sighed. He had a point but he was also wrong to kill Jim.

"Someone needs to go talk to him." Dale said.

"I shall go." I said.

Shane wanted to protest but Rick stopped him. He looked at me and nodded. I nodded and then walked over to Daryl's tent.

"Daryl?" I asked.

"Whatddya want!?" He snapped.

I frowned and opened the tent. He scowled at me.

"You can be as angry as you would like but Jim is still a human! Rick was right to stop you but not to point a gun at your head! I know that we should kill him but unless he wishes it I shall not do so and neither shall anyone else!" I snapped.

He looked at me a bit surprised.

"Yeah I can get pissed off! And when I do it isn't pretty! Tread carefully Dixon!" I said.

I was a little hurt that he had snapped on me but I was not going to admit that. I walked away and it was decided we would go to the CDC. I would have expected Daryl to leave but he was coming with us. Morales and his family decided not to go.

"We have family elsewhere. We want to be with our own." His wife said.

"There won't be anyone to watch your backs." Shane said.

"We talked about it. We know the risks." Morales said.

We nodded and Rick gave them a gun and a half full box of ammunition.

"That box is half full." Rick said.

Morales thanked him and I said my good-byes.

"~You look out for Daryl Dixon. He looks at you differently from the others.~" He said in Spanish.

I nodded and bowed. However he hugged me and I couldn't help but smile. I got on my bike and followed behind the others. Morales honked and waved good-bye. The CDC was on the outside of Atlanta and we did not want to risk going through. However on the way we had to stop.

"Yall! It's Jim! It's bad." Jacquie said.

We pulled over and Glenn and Shane carried him outside and set him under a tree.

"Look…..another damn tree" He laughed weakly.

"You sure this is what you want?" Shane asked.

"I just want to be with my family." He whispered.

I knelt down and looked at him.

"Farewell Jim. It was an honor and privilege to have known you. Perhaps one day we shall meet again. If you meet my sisters….please tell them I will hold true to my word and live through this as long as I am able." I said.

He smiled a little and nodded. I smiled and placed a light kiss on his forehead. I looked at him one last time and whispered,

"Farewell."

I walked back down to my bike and Shane came to me.

"You alright?" He asked.

I looked at him and gave him a sad smile.

"I'll be alright. I was just hoping that…..maybe he would make it." I said.

He nodded and looked back over at the others.

"We all were. Sometimes we can't always save everyone we care for." He said.

I smirked.

"Only a nurse, doctor or cop could say that." I said.

He smiled a little and nodded. I looked up at the sky and said,

"Perhaps the CDC will finally be what we have all hoped for."

"Maybe."