I thought that it would take me longer to post this but I got caught up pretty fast. We're nearing the home stretch! Bitter sweet for me but I have to be honest, I am ready to stamp this story with a big fat COMPLETE! But I wont slack and I wont rush through it, I promise. Thank you all for reading and reviewing. I say that every time because I am thankful for every single one of them!
I wanted to let you know that if you're looking for something else to read, something different from any story I have seen on here so far, you should go look up a story called Hell Fire Quarry. It is a story inspired by my brilliant minded friend HGRHfan35 and written by the lovely and talented ldyjaydin. I'm sure most of you will totally dig it. It's an AU set in the old west. We came up with the name from a Western that was Directed by Forrest Sheldon in 1932 called Hell Fire Austin.
Chapter Eighty One
Daryl really wasn't feeling too good about this at all and as he glanced around he realized, with relief, that the rest of his group seemed to have the same feeling him and Merle had had from the beginning. Rick was there, of course, along with T-dog, Glen, Randal, and Merle. Morgan was now flanking Philip with that asshole Martinez. Philip was seated behind a desk, looking very much like the Governor that he claimed his people called him. Morgan and Martinez were both carrying rifles, neither even glancing towards any of them. They both just looked straight ahead. Other men were there too, in the shadows, just watching.
"I'm hoping you all got settled in okay." Philip said as he crossed his arms on the desk in front of him.
No one said a word. This was making his skin crawl. He could feel the men behind him, eyes boring into his back. He wanted more than anything to turn around and ask them what the fuck their problem was. He glanced at Merle, who stood next to him. His face was stone calm but he knew his thoughts were a reflection of Daryl's own. A muscle ticked in his jaw, his lips a thin angry line, eyes narrowed slightly.
"Well, first off I would like to thank you all for trusting me, and coming here. We went over a lot earlier but there is more. Like I said before, a group as strong as yours can prove to be really useful for a community like this. People here need to feel safe. Like this is home. People like you can provide them with the security that they need."
"And you don't think it's important for these people to learn to defend themselves?" Merle asked since no one else looked as though they were going too. Daryl was just going to try to hold on to his temper and keep his mouth shut. He had promised Carol that he would and so he would try. He just didn't have to like it.
Philip nodded. "Well, with a group this large, arming everyone would be more of a hazard than just arming a few."
"Arming a few for what, exactly?" Rick asked. "Arming a few to police the rest of them. That don't sound right to me."
"Not to police the others, to protect the others. From themselves and from one another. I'm sure a few of you know what I'm getting at here. Rick, you were a law man. You dealt with violence and crime on a daily basis. And you two," He glanced up at Merle and Daryl, "Well, lets not pretend that you two didn't play a hand in some criminal activity yourselves." He smiled.
Daryl imagined himself lunging across the desk and smashing the bastards face in. He imagined. But he kept his face devoid of any emotion. He had promised her. He had to keep repeating that to himself.
"And what if we decide we don't want any part of this fantasy land you're creatin' for them idiots out there?" Merle asked in a cold voice.
Daryl stiffened when he heard the men behind him move closer but he didn't turn. Martinez glared at Merle but Morgan just kept his eyes straight ahead. There was sweat breaking out on his brow. Suddenly Daryl realized that Morgan didn't want to be there at all. What the fuck was going on?
Philip held up a steady hand and the men behind them backed off. Daryl's skin was crawling even more now. Martinez smirked right at him. He couldn't help it. He flipped the guy off. Promise or not, he had to do something.
"Well, Merle. If you decide that you don't want to stay then first thing tomorrow morning you can leave. We don't open the gates after dark. More biters out after dark, you understand."
"Is 'at right?" Merle asked lazily.
Philip nodded and then his eyes lit up like he had just remembered something. Now he flat out grinned up at Merle. "That reminds me. Martinez, go fetch our friend here the gift that we made him."
Daryl and Merle both stiffened at the same time. He didn't know what the fuck the man was talking about. What gift? Were they about to shoot his brother?
Martinez wasn't gone but a few seconds before he came back holding something in his hands. Daryl frowned at it. It was something made out of some kind of metal, it had leather straps and there was about an 8 inch retractable blade fixed to the end of it.
"Holy shit." Daryl muttered when he realized what it was.
Martinez looked at Merle expectantly, no sign of mocking in his gaze now. "You want me to show you how to put it on or what?" He asked.
"Mother fuck. Is this..." Merle began.
"This makes up fer tha' missin' hand ya got there, fella." A redheaded man that was standing off to the right said. He had a thick Irish accent.
Merle held out his arm to Martinez and the man quickly fixed the straps. When he stepped away everyone admired the thing, including Merle. He couldn't help but grin. He folded the knife in and turned his arm this way and that to admire it more closely.
Daryl rolled his eyes. How the fuck had they known that his brother would have gone all goo goo eyed over something like that. He had to admit though, the thing looked cool as fuck. He wasn't some one handed half cripple anymore. Merle just looked like Merle now. Scary as hell. How Daryl always remembered him.
Merle looked at Philip and his face turned cold once more. There was his brother. Daryl almost grinned. Philip seemed to understand that Rick was somehow this groups leader, but he also must have realized the meanest one there was Merle because that was who most of his attention was on.
"I'm glad you like it, Merle. Now, back to business. If you people do stay, could I count on you to help secure this town? Everyone here has a job to do. Your women will have jobs also. But I wanted you all strictly for security."
"The fuck you mean, jobs for our women?" Daryl growled.
"Was he talking to you?" Martinez sneered.
"Fuck you, you little ass kissin' pussy. You got some kinda problem? There somethin' me and you need to get outta the way real quick. I'm tired of your side eyed bullshit." Daryl was actually advancing on the man but someone pulled him back. He turned and glared at Merle.
Merle barely shook his head at him. Daryl was pissed. He looked back at Martinez, who looked just as pissed off as Daryl. He pointed, "Me and you need to go finish this shit outside."
"It's on, redneck."
Philip had his hands steepled on his desk. Looking on patiently. "What I meant by that was, we have crops to tend too, animals to feed, children to take care of and teach. It's usually the women around here that take care of all that."
"While the men walk around on a fuckin' wall and wait for shit to happen. Bullshit." Daryl spat. He had already started, there wasn't any sense in stopping now. "Our women didn't come here to be your fuckin' slaves. You bunch of assholes can go fuck yourselves. I'm done."
Daryl went to turn around but there were two men blocking his way. Suddenly he felt like a trapped animal.
"Please, just listen to what we have to offer. Please." Philip said as he held up a hand. "It isn't what it sounds like. We don't have the women slaving away while the men do nothing. It just takes a lot from everyone to keep the town up and running. I assure you, your women can have their pick of what they would like to do to contribute."
Daryl let himself relax a little. He still wanted to convince his brother to take Maggie and they all just get the fuck out but he knew Maggie wouldn't leave without her dad and her sister.
"And we don't need anyone to police the people here either. Everyone knows the rules and they abide by them. What we need are skilled people that can protect the town against the biters and other groups that would choose to take the town for themselves rather than join our ranks. In return you get provided with a roof over your heads, food, water, electricity. All the things from your old life are right at your fingertips. With Hershel and Milton here now we have even more to offer. We were able to salvage a lot of things from various hospitals. This is a good thing here."
"I can't speak for the others." Rick finally spoke up, "But me and my family are staying. I'll help guard the town."
"Me too." Randal chimed in.
Daryl groaned inwardly.
T-dog looked at him then and then back towards Philip, nodding.
Glen nodded too. That left Merle and Daryl. All Daryl could do was hope Merle would shake his head, pack his shit and get the fuck out of this place. He saw the inner turmoil. If it was just the two of them then they would have been gone long ago. They never would have came to begin with. But it wasn't just the two of them anymore. Merle loved that girl. He would probably never admit it but it was true and he had to think of her just like Daryl had to think of Sophia and Carol. It wasn't just them anymore.
Daryl had to look away as his brother slowly nodded his head in agreement. Daryl couldn't leave him. He thought maybe he could if it was to keep Carol and Sophia safe but he couldn't go without his brother. Merle was the only blood he had. The only blood he ever had. And now he was stuck here. Until Merle made the decision to leave Daryl would stay. Unless there was a direct threat to their women or the kids. Then he would leave. With or without his brother.
He realized that all eyes were on him now and he grudgingly nodded. He felt like he had just sold his fucking soul to the devil. Maybe he just had. His eyes flicked from Philip to Martinez. Martinez was smirking and gave him a wink before Daryl looked away. He was glaring towards his brother. He was sure he could have counted on Merle to not fall for this shit.
"Well then," Philip stood up with a satisfied smile, "Welcome to the ranks gentlemen. We'll meet back here in the morning to discuss everything else. Bring your women and, of course, your children. I expect you want them to join the other kids here. We're pretty proud of the school."
The other men had gone somewhere else as the group walked down the steps towards the street. Philip, Morgan and Martinez followed. Daryl was about to cross the street, not even wanting to look at the rest of the group.
"Daryl." Philip called.
He froze, took a few deep breaths and then turned to face the man once more.
"Will Sophia be joining the others tomorrow?" he asked.
Daryl shook his head. His eyes were narrowed.
The man looked disappointed but he just nodded.
"What was you expecting, Governor? That somebody like him would give a shit if his kid was educated?" Martinez laughed.
Daryl froze for a split second before spinning around and lunging at the man. He'd had enough of this guys shit. He was done. He rammed him like a linebacker, sending the man landing hard on his back and then he was on top of him.
Martinez was able to land one solid blow from his prone position but Daryl was so filled with rage all he did was laugh in Martinez's face, right before his fist met the side of the man's jaw. Their was a dull cracking sound that came from somewhere inside Martinez's face. Daryl was pretty sure he'd fucked the guys jaw up pretty bad, that registered in his mind right before his left hand smashed into his mouth. See if he had anything smart assed to say tomorrow.
He was about to land another right when someone, someone pretty damn strong, grabbed him by the wrist, holding his fist back. When he turned his head to see who had him he was just in time to see the leering face of some big black guy, right before Merle's arm came out of nowhere and blasted the grinning guy right in the center of the face. The sound of that metal against bone was pretty sick. Daryl stood up and stepped away from Martinez.
When he glanced up at Philip the man was still smiling and then he looked to his right and nodded. Daryl's gaze followed his and two more men were coming at him. What the fuck was this? He looked in the other direction and two more were there. Walking his way with mean looking grins on their faces.
He felt Merle's back against his then. He knew it was Merle. They had done this hundreds of times. Merle and his winning personality got him in quite a few bar fights over the years and this was how they ended up every time. The two of them facing bad odds and usually coming out on top. That was one good thing about spending your childhood getting your ass kicked. You eventually learned how to take a blow. It took a lot to actually knock a Dixon out cold.
Four men surrounded them and it seemed like there was an invisible signal, they all lunged at once. Daryl went for the biggest one first. That was always the logical thing to do. Take out the biggest threat and then the rest would a lot easier to handle.
When the man went to hit him he ducked down low and punched the guy as hard as he could right in the dick. No body said they had to fight fair. That guy wasn't getting back up for a while. The other one that was on him got in a good hit right under Daryl's eye but it didn't do much to him. He threw himself against the guy, who stumbled backwards not expecting to get a headbutt to the stomach he doubled over so Daryl kneed him in the face.
There, that wasn't so bad. He spun around and the two men that had went for Merle were both on their backs. Merle was standing there with his arms crossed. "The fuck took ya so long, boy?" He grinned.
Daryl grinned back. He wiped the blood off his cheekbone with the back of his hand.
"Now that was impressive." Philip said from his spot at the top of the steps that led to his Town Hall. He was smiling from ear to ear.
Daryl noticed then that the rest of the men in his group were just now being let go. They had been held back by Philips men.
"What the hell was that?" Rick roared as the man that had him by the arms let go of him. He stopped at the bottom of the steps.
Philip shrugged. "These two here have been bristlin' for a fight since we met. They got themselves an alpha complex. And it's earned as far as I'm concerned. They got to blow off some steam and I got to learn that these are the two I think I'm gonna need the most."
"And if those men had hurt them?" Rick nearly yelled.
Philip shook his head. "They were under orders to stop as soon as I told them to stop. Things around here only go as far as I let them."
Daryl saw it then. Realization dawned on Rick's face in that moment. They had fucked up coming here. He met Daryl's eyes and nodded. Daryl just gave him a hard look before he walked away with his brother. Carol was going to be so pissed when she found out they had gotten into a fight. Merle didn't look like he had been touched.
He was almost across the street when Merle threw his arm over his shoulder. "You looked damn good out there, little brother. I wonder what kinda point we just proved though."
Daryl shook his head. "Who knows. This fuckin' place gives me the creeps." He glanced at Merle. "We need to get the fuck outta here."
Merle nodded. "I know. But I don't think it's gonna be as easy as that. Some bad shit might be comin', boy. I think we need to play it cool for now. Go along with shit. If not then we're both gonna end up in the ground."
"Daryl." Rick called.
They both stopped and waited for Rick to catch up. He looked pissed. His authority had been triple trumped tonight and he didn't like it at all. He was right next to them before he spoke. "We need to get the hell out of here." He growled. "That man is nuts. He had those men hold us while four men came after you."
"We know, Rick. We were there." Merle said dryly.
"We leave. Now." Rick said, his voice shaking with anger.
Daryl glanced around and then grabbed Rick by the arm. "You had your goddamn chance before we even came here. You think that fucker is gonna let us walk out? You try to leave now we're all dead." He growled.
Rick glanced around also and ran a nervous hand through his hair before he looked at Daryl once more. "I just wanted everybody safe. How the hell was I suppose to know somethin' like this would happen."
"I told you." Daryl snarled. "Now we gotta deal with it for now. Act like everything is fine. If you don't we're fucked."
Merle nudged him and he backed away from Rick and then turned and followed Merle into the building.
And now they know they are dealing with a freak. Nothing to be done about it now! I hope you liked this chapter! It gets more exciting, I promise. I'm always worried about boring you all! Let me know your thoughts! Much love to you readers! =)