setting: between episode 2 "Sick" and episode 4 "Killer Within"

Damnation

Chapter 15 - The Woods

Six weeks after the farm incident...

"No! I said don't move!" Daryl yelled but it was already too late. Connor shot the arrow anyway, but it missed its target.

The rabbit ran away, the arrow got stuck in the ground. The Irishman turned around to look at his friend.

"What te fuck? I would've hit it! And you fuckin shoved me and started yelling! You scared it away!"

Daryl grabbed his crossbow.

"This is fuckin ridiculous. You ain't got it in you" the hunter growled and started walking.

He searched their surroundings for anything to eat, but they were both too noisy anyway.
Daryl went for the arrow and put it back in his crossbow. Connor went after his friend and shoved him.

"Bullshit! Ye just don't want t'share yer crossbow! I've shared a shitload with ye, my gun, cigarettes, booze, even my fucking clothes, so the least ye can do is share this with me!"

Daryl turned around and looked at him.

"This ain't about the crossbow, it's about the fact that you ain't got it in you!"

"Of course I do!"

The hunter shoved him back.

"No yah don't! Yer noisy, you won't ever shut up, yer walking like a troll and you're way too fidgety!"

The Irishman narrowed his eyes.

"The fuck I am!"

"Yer scaring everything away before we even get the chance t'shoot anything! We need to find something to eat!"

"Then stop yelling!" Connor shouted and growled.

"I can do it, okay? Tell me what t'do and we'll get this done."

Daryl narrowed his eyes and looked at his friend. The Irishman looked back at him and nodded.

"I can do this, brother."

The hunter sighed and gave him his crossbow back.

"Let's move" he growled and Connor started walking with a grin on his face, but his friend put a hand on his chest and shoved him back.

He pointed a finger at him and glared at him.

"But yah gonna do as I say this time. No talking. Don't make any noise. Watch yer steps. Let me go first. No shooting unless I give yah a sign."

They spent the rest of the day roaming through the woods close to their fire station. It was rather hard to come across anything living when it was getting colder and colder, but the two men didn't want to eat their remaining canned food when there was still livestock to get. They would need everything else they had as soon as real winter caught up with them, so they kept going and going, hoping to find another animal they could eat. No matter how many times the hunter yelled at his friend whenever he was doing something wrong, he was actually quite impressed. Connor was a fast learner, even with all the fights that were happening every couple of minutes he still understood almost everything he was taught. In the end they got into fights simply because they were used to it, and because they loved to tease each other.

They finally came across a opposum when it was almost too dark to see anything, but the animal was rather slow and looked like it was hurt anyway, so the two friends kept going. Connor was still allowed to hold the crossbow, and Daryl was even more surprised how good his friend had become at the whole sneaking up on things in just a couple of hours. The hunter still decided to help his friend shoot the crossbow at the animal, simply because they both couldn't risk missing it. He positioned himself right behind him and grabbed Connor's arms to help him take aim. They watched the opossum look up and then down again as it was trying to dig something up next to a tree. It was obvious that the Irishman didn't like the way his friend wouldn't let him shoot their prey on his own, all the wriggling and trying to shrug his hands off told the hunter enough. But he wouldn't let go and looked over the blonde's shoulder to get a better look at the sight of his crossbow.

He was well aware that the whole situation was awkward, but he wanted Connor to learn and he also liked that this way they would at least be some kind of warm together, now that they were so close. No matter how fucking gay that was. Screw everyone sideways who thought shit like that if they saw them like that. For a couple of minutes they remained there and tried to take aim, while being as quiet as possible. Daryl could tell that this was new for his friend. Judging by the stories about his murders the guy had always blasted his way inside locations and started shooting around like a nutter, but this wasn't about the element of surprise. This was about patience and silence. Their breathing slowed down until they were breathing in the same rhythm. Daryl pressed his index finger against Connor's right palm to signalize him that he was supposed to pull the trigger now. The arrow flew through the air and before the opossum even got the chance to run away the arrow hit it right in the eye. The Irishman lowered the crossbow and cheered loudly.

"Jesus! Did ye fuckin see that?" he exclaimed and shrugged his friend off to get to the animal he had just shot.

The hunter fell on his ass because of that shove and already wanted to complain, but Connor didn't pay any attention to him anyway.
He grabbed their prey by its tail and lifted it up with a triumphant smirk.

"I nailed it! I. Fucking. Nailed it."

Daryl growled and picked his crossbow up, because Connor had dropped it where they had been kneeling just a second ago.

"Yah wish. You hit it cos I was helping you dumbass" he muttered and got back up.

"Bullshit, I'm genius" Connor countered and pulled the arrow out.

He wrinkled his nose and pulled a face when he noticed that he had pulled the eye out with it.

"Yikes" he muttered, grabbed the remains of the eye and then threw it at Daryl with a mischievous grin.

"Jesus, fuck off!" the hunter exclaimed and managed to jump out of the way only seconds before the eye hit the ground.

Connor chuckled and seemed very pleased with himself as he took the opossum and made his way past Daryl to get back to their fire station.

"Come on, 's getting dark out here. Better get back."

For the next couple of weeks Connor wouldn't stop practicing the whole sneaking around part, to a point where he actually snuck up on Daryl and scared the crap out of him on a daily basis until he earned a decent punch in the face for that.

now...

"No way" Daryl protested and looked at his friend. They had been driving around and searching for crutches all day and Connor was the one driving the car down the road. Daryl had insisted on taking his motorbike for the trip, but the Irishman had refused to sit behind him, so they had taken a car instead. Now he regretted his decision to let his friend drive, because once again Connor was being incredibly stubborn.

"Why not? 's a good idea. I let ye out by the side of the road, I drive into town, get some crutches and some supplies, come back, pick ye up and we get back t'the prison.
Nice and easy."

Daryl snorted.

"Yeah and I give yah a nice 'n easy hell no! What are yah, insane? Town's gotta be overrun with walkers, especially downtown, the hospitals, anywhere they sent people when they got sick."

The Irishman shrugged.

"So what, 's not like they..."

"Oh don't get started on this shit now. I said no. Light's gonna be gone in an hour or two. Remember what happened last time yah were heading for some town with a car? I had t'get back t'yah and save yer ass!"

Connor growled and drove around a walker that was stumbling in their direction.

"And ye don't get started on that shit every fucking time. 've changed a lot since te farm. Stop fuckin babysitting me all of te sudden."

"I ain't babysitting yah!"

The Irishman hit the brakes and looked at his friend.

"Fine, then get yer ass outta here. 'm gonna pick ye up in 20 minutes or so."

Daryl stared at him and didn't move.

"Come on, light's gonna be gone in an hour or two" Connor said and his friend narrowed his eyes.

"Yer not seriously kicking me out in the middle of fucking nowhere."

The Irishman grinned.

"Why, are ye scared, Darylena?"

"Fuck you!" Daryl spat and hit his friend's shoulder hard. Connor chuckled and switched the engine off.

"Alright. Then you take te car and wait fer me here" he said and loosened his seat belt. The hunter grabbed his arm and squeezed tight.

"You ain't gonna walk into town."

Connor shook him off and got angry.

"Alright, seriously dude. Herschel needs crutches, walkers don't attack me, so don't make it that big a deal and stop being such a pussy here. I survived two fucking months on my own even without the whole immunity bullshit, and I survived a huge fucking city like Boston. So you either take the car now and wait fer me here as back up, or ye don't. As fer me, 'm going t'town no matter what. So shut yer hole and man up. 'm 36, not 12. Herschel needs those fucking things, and this is the easiest way ta get some."

He got rid of his seat belt and reached behind his seat to get his bag. Then he opened the door and got out of the car. He was surprised when he couldn't hear the banging of doors behind him, he had expected Daryl to follow him and start yelling at him any second now. For a while he kept walking down the road, then he heard the engine of the car behind him. A minute later a Hyundai passed him and came to a halt right in front of him, blocking the road, with its windows down. The Irishman stopped walking and frowned. Daryl was sitting behind the wheel and glared at him.

"Get in. We'll get yer crutches" he growled and opened the passenger door.

"Well that's...weird" Connor said and looked out of the window. They had stopped their car right in the middle of Macon road, a street which led to the city center of Griffin. There were no walkers anywhere, and it was quiet. The Irishman looked at the mansion to his right, the main building of The Woods assisted senior living complex. It had been Daryl's idea to go there when they had seen the sign, and now he had to admit that it was a great idea. It would be ridiculous if they didn't find any crutches there, and the fact that the complex wasn't right in the middle of the city made the whole idea even better. Connor turned his head to look at his friend, who had switched off the engine by now and watched their surroundings through narrowed eyes. He was chewing on his fingernails, and for a second that made the Irishman both sad and smile. Murphy had always been biting his fingernails when he was nervous, and the fact that Daryl was doing the exact same thing made the whole experience even weirder.

"I don't know, man. I don't like it" the hunter growled. Connor rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on now. I got it te first time. Ye don't like me plan, fine. But we're still going. Let's..move the car off the road and park it somewhere close t'the mansion. It won't take me a sec. 'm gonna go in and get some crutches and see what else they got in there. You wait fer me in the car."

Daryl frowned.

"Since when did we agree that yah dumbass go in there alone?"

"Since we agreed that I go in there alone" Connor answered and grinned at his friend.

"Now get t'car over there. I wanna get back t'the prison before it gets dark."

The hunter growled angrily, but did as he was told. The white building in front of them looked so untouched that it made them feel weird. Of course there were a couple of clothes and shoes and trash lying around, but they had seen other houses that had looked far worse. Connor reckoned that back in the old days this place sure had been a nice home for old people, with big and green trees surrounding the property on three sites. It really looked like a proud mansion, which was still untouched by all the blood, dirt and gore they had come across over the past year. But this was exactly the reason why it looked so creepy, so out of this world. Daryl parked their car right in front of the main entrance after driving around the traffic circle, where a small and dry water fountain was located. Both men scanned their surroundings once more, but no walkers were to be seen, not even bodies. The frown on Daryl's face wouldn't go away.

"Maybe we should go back t'this old hospital we found down the road" he murmured.

The other man frowned angrily and got his guns and knife ready.

"Don't be stupid. We're here now, aren't we?" he murmured and opened his door. He patted Daryl's shoulder absently and got out of the car.

"Be right back, brother."

He looked at the building in front of him. Once again the absolute silence was freaking him out, but he tried to relax.

"Eh leprechaun" he heard Daryl say and rolled his eyes.

He turned around again and knelt down so he could have a look inside their car, where his friend was still sitting behind the wheel.

"Watch yer ass and remember what I taught yah about sneaking around" the hunter reminded him and Connor chuckled.

"Yeah yeah, Ma. I'll be back at 6" he answered and patted the roof of the Hyundai.

He turned around and made his way up the stairs to have a look inside the building. When he got closer to the wooden entrance door he could see that all sorts of yellowed papers were nailed to it. The Irishman got closer and frowned. EVACUATED. ALL VISITORS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES. ALL INHABITANTS CAN BE FOUND AT SPALDING REGIONAL HOSPITAL.. he didn't read on because he knew the rest of the information by heart. All sorts of instructions and information on the outbreak, local refugee camps, military camps...every single info that had helped absolutely no one in the end. The Irishman sighed and walked down the porch to have a look inside the building, but even inside the rooms he couldn't see any walkers. It made him even more suspicious , but after taking his knife he still decided to walk around the building to look for an entrance. On his way to the other end of the building Connor turned his head when he heard how the door of their car was closed. He could see how Daryl got out of the Hyundai, with his poncho wrapped around his shoulders and his crossbow in his hands. The Irishman chuckled and shook his head.

"Fucker just can't sit on his ass fer a minute and let me handle shit fer once" he murmured and sighed.

This was the very difference between his best friend and dead brother. No matter how much they looked alike and sometimes even acted the same way, Daryl was very different in that regard. He never obeyed his "orders", nor did he stick to his plans. Murphy had always relied on Connor. The Irishman was used to it after all, doing all the planning. And no matter how much his younger half had always complained about his ideas, in the end he had always listened to him and stuck to his rules. Daryl, however, would never do that. I ain't nobody's bitch he had heard him say more than once. Connor startled when he ran right into something. The stench told him everything he needed to know, so he instantly grabbed his knife and tried to stab the walker he had run into. He yelped even more and widened his eyes in surprise when the undead suddenly grabbed him by both his arms and growled angrily.

"Fuck off!" the Irishman yelled and fought the walker, which had once been a man in his mid forties. The undead growled even more and tried to bite Connor's throat, which absolutely horrified the blonde. He was surprised how strong the walker really was, and after fighting and shoving and struggling the undead wrestled him to the ground.

"Stop struggling!" he heard Daryl yell and a second later the loud zap of an arrow could be heard. It missed its target and flew right through one of the windows, smashing it like it was made of paper. The walker was pinning Connor down, and since he was still grabbing him by his arms it was impossible for the Irishman to stab his head. He was helplessly struggling underneath the undead and stabbed his stomach instead, using his feet to keep the walker at a distance so he wouldn't rip his throat out. The blonde craned his neck and tried to make out his friend.

"Daryl!" he yelled and looked at the walker again.

He couldn't understand what was going on. The undead was aggressive and blood thirsty, and it was very obvious that he wanted to bite him, attack him. It seemed to take his friend forever until he finally appeared on top of both of them, his crossbow thrown over his shoulder and with his knife in his hand. The hunter stabbed the back of the walker's head and grabbed him by his shoulders to get him off the Irishman. Connor was still lying on the porch, his chest heaving because of the shock. Both men looked at each other in surprise, then Daryl turned his head to look at the walker he had just stabbed and which was lying right next to his friend now.

"What the fuck" Connor gasped and checked his arms and chest for any bites or injuries.

Daryl eyed him with a frown. The Irishman sat up and looked at the walker to his right. He could feel his heart pumping in his chest. When he looked back at Daryl he could still see the confused and worried look on his face. Connor reached out for him so his friend could help him back on his feet. The blonde wiped the sweat off his forehead and looked at the walker again, kicking it just to make sure it was dead. The hunter finally spoke out what they both thought.

"Why did he attack yah all of a sudden? I thought they ain't interested in yah?"

Connor put both his hands on his hips and looked up to face his friend.

"I seriously got no idea what te fuck's going on here" he murmured and looked up to search their surroundings for any walkers, since he was pretty sure that his screaming had attracted some of them. He bit his lip and scratched his chin.

"Maybe the fucker was just as surprised as me."

Daryl snorted and turned around to search for his arrow, which had landed inside the building.

"Yah wish. That walker came right at yah. He wanted t'chew yer face off."

Connor frowned even more. The whole thing made him feel extremely uncomfortable. It had been almost a year since he had last been attacked by a walker, and that had been when... He looked at his arm where he could see the scar. Somehow it made him angry. Because this was impossible. They had never dared to attack him ever since that bite, so why would they just come at him again all of a sudden? It had to be a mistake. Daryl nudged him and snapped him out of it.

"Told yah this shit wouldn't last" he murmured and looked at the window he had shot.

"Found us a way in" he went on, wrapped his poncho around his fist and punched the rest of the glass away.

He pointed at it and looked at Connor.

"Leprechauns first" he said and waited. The Irishman growled.

"Fuck you" he murmured and approached the window to get inside.