We had been with Merle for a few hours, trekking through the woods. I wasn't sure what we were looking for, and honestly I don't even think Daryl knew. We had taken a small break, Merle had to piss, and I leaned up against a tree, looking out into the forest.
Daryl watched me quietly, I could feel his eyes on me, and I turned to look at him, giving him a small smile. We hadn't spoken since we left and I wasn't entirely sure he was glad I came. Slowly he walked up to me, standing closer to me than he had in a while.
"Sorry you had ta make a decision like that," He paused thoughtfully, smiling at me again. "but I'm glad ya came with me. I didn't want ta leave ya behind." I smiled at him weakly, looking at the ground. He grabbed my chin, bringing my face up to look at him. "What's wrong?"
"If I hadn't decided to come with you, would you have still left?" I said quietly. Daryl grew silent, shuffling the leaves under his feet. I knew what his answer was and I shrugged. "I guess you weren't that conflicted about leaving me behind." I tried to walk away but Daryl grabbed my arm, just above my elbow, stopping me.
"Merle is family." He replied. I nodded my head at him, biting my lip.
"Then what am I?" he released me and I walked ahead, just as Merle was finishing. The two men talked quietly behind me, something about squirrels and patience. We hadn't seen anything out here all day, but I wasn't particularly paying attention, my mind was back at the prison.
"We should have stopped at one of the houses on the turn off a ways back." I heard Daryl tell Merle.
"Is that what you're new friends taught you?" Merle scoffed. I stopped in my tracks, his tone irritating me. I glanced back at them, my eyes catching Merle's. "How to loot for booty?" When he said the word booty he glanced at me, his eyes drifting down from my face.
"We've been at it for hours." Daryl finally said after a long silence. He hadn't noticed Merle watching me and I didn't bring it up, didn't feel like wasting the energy. "Why don't we find a stream, try to look for some fish?"
"I think you're just trying to lead me over to that road, get me back to that prison." Merle said crouching, checking the ground for tracks.
"They got shelter." Daryl argued. "Food, a pot to piss in. Might not be a bad idea." Daryl looked up at me and I knew he missed the prison.
"For you maybe." Merle looked up at his brother. "Aint gonna be no damn party for me."
"Everyone will get used to each other." Daryl said quietly, looking down his crossbow, into the woods.
"They're all dead." Merle said suddenly. I swallowed hard, thinking about the massacre that was awaiting the group at the prison. "It makes no difference."
"How can you be so sure?" I asked quietly from where I stood. Merle and Daryl looked up at me, Merle smiling cockily.
"Right about now he's probably hosting a house warming party, burying your friends in the ground." He spit and I grimaced, watching it fall to the leaves. "Lets hook some fish." Merle said, walking away. I stared at Daryl, biting my lip, and he frowned at me, following his brother into the woods, spitting as he did, something I'd never seen him do in my life.
"It smells like the Saugahatchee Creek." Merle spoke up from in front of us.
"We didn't go west enough." Daryl replied. "There's a river down there, its gotta be the Yellow Jacket." Merle scoffed, stopping in his tracks.
"You have a stroke boy?" Merle asked his brother. Daryl stopped, looking at him quietly, eyebrows raised. "We aint never even come close to Yellow Jacket."
"We didn't go west, just a little bit south. That's what I think." Daryl glanced back at me for support and I nodded. It helped when we had a map, but I felt confident enough with my direction to know we were Closer to Yellow Jack than Saugahatchee. Merle watched us, scoffing.
"You know what I think?" Merle started, looking between the both of us. "I may have lost my hand, but you lost your sense of direction. Hopefully your woman took it from you, that way it aint gone completely." Merle smiled at me mischievously and I smirked at him.
"Don't need his sense of direction, I got my own." I pointed to my head, taking large steps to catch up with him. "And my sense of direction is telling me that that is the Yellow Jacket." I said, pointing to nothing in particular.
"What do you wanna bet, Goldilocks?" I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I don't need to bet anything, I know I'm right." I retorted, not sure if I liked this friendly contest between us. I felt like it was stemming from more than about what creek was down there, it definitely tied into Daryl's attention.
"Why's it always gotta be a competition with you?" Daryl asked from next to me. He stepped forward, inserting himself between us. Merle grinned, clearly happy with the response he elicited from both of us.
"Whoa, whoa, take it easy little brother. Just trying to have a little fun here." Merle winked at us, taking the lead again. "No need to get your panties in a bundle." A loud wailing rang out through the trees, stopping all of us in our tracks.
"You hear that?" Daryl asked me, pulling out his bow. I nodded at him, holding my bow in front of me as well.
"Yeah, wild animals getting wild." Merle replied.
"No, it's a baby." I said, my mind jumping to baby Ass Kicker. I felt my heart begin to race and I took a ready step forward. I was running after it if I heard it again.
"Oh come on, why don't you just piss in my ear and tell me it raining too." Merle scoffed. I was growing tired of hearing him do that. "That there is a couple of coons making love sweet love." Merle glanced sideways at us, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively. "You know what I mean." He said elbowing Daryl in the ribs. I felt my cheeks grow red hot and Merle laughed. The sound rang out again, this time clear as day and I sprinted off down the hill after it.
"BEAU!" Daryl shouted after me. My heart pumped faster and faster in my chest as I darted through the trees. The sound was getting louder and I could vaguely make out someone yelling in Spanish. I stopped at the banks, staring up at a tall bridge. Atop the bridge was a small, Spanish family, fighting off a rather large horde.
"Oh god." I said quietly, searching the banks for a way to help them. Merle sauntered up beside me, laughing at the sight before him.
"Hey! Jump!" He called. I stared at him, wide eyed, and he shrugged at me as I brushed past him. I headed up the hill, hearing the brothers trailing behind me. I struggled, but a pair of firm hands caught me, pushing me from behind. I glanced back and Daryl looked at me, his eyes soft. The baby wailed again and I pushed harder, my adrenaline pumping.
"I'm not wasting my ammo on a couple of strangers that aint never cooked me a meal!" Merle moaned from behind us. I glared at the trees in front of me, not even turning to look at him.
"Then stay here!" I called as we reached the top. Daryl and I began to sprint through the trees and as much bitching as Merle was doing, he still followed us. I sprinted out onto the rode, seeing one of the walkers had one of the latino's in his clutches. I aimed my bow, letting fly one of my arrows, which connected with the walker's head.
It hit the ground hard and the men on top of the flat bed looked up at me, watching me. Daryl exited the trees behind me, shooting his bow at the next walker. I grabbed my arrow from the walkers skull, not wanting to waste a good arrow, and nocked it again, letting it fly at another zombie. Daryl stabbed a walker in it's forehead, looking up at the Mexican's on the flatbed.
"Come on man, we're trying to help you out. Cover us!" the man obliged dropping down to the street and grabbing his dropped pistol. I eyed the walkers surrounding a red station wagon and I shot another arrow, killing one of them. The other turned to me and I ran up to her, taking my buck knife to her skull. I gave it a sickening twist before pulling it out and ran to the third walker, smashing its skull in with a rock from the street.
There was more movement in the car and I began to panic as I saw a walker crawling through the back window. The baby began to cry again and all I could think about was little ass-kicker. I jumped to action, running around the back. I grabbed him by the back of his shirt, throwing him down into the trunk door, slamming it shut on his head.
I shook the blood off my hands, lifting the hatch and letting the walker fall limp to the ground. His brains were everywhere and I grimaced, wiping my hands on my pants. Daryl ran up behind me, killing the walkers that had come up on me, saving my ass.
"You okay, darlin?" He checked me up and down and I nodded. A walker dropped next to me, a single gunshot wound to the head and I turned, startled. Merle stood at the far end of the bridge, his gun smoking, smiling up at me. I nodded my head in thanks, running back to the woman in the drivers seat.
"Esta bien! Esta bien!" I spoke quickly to her. She was panicking and the baby was crying. I reached my hands up, one of them rubbing the mothers back and the other stroking the baby's cheek. They both calmed considerably and I continued, my voice less panicked. "Es bonita. Como se llama?" I was so glad I chose Spanish as my second language, figuring it would help with the patients I saw who were more often than not Hispanic. The woman eyed me carefully, her eyes full of tears.
"Elena." She leaned into me and Daryl watched, his brow raised. Merle approached the car and I eyed him warily as he opened the door to the back seat.
The woman's husband began to yell in Spanish and Merle held his gun up to him. I watched in horror as he held the family we just saved at gunpoint. I looked to Daryl for help and slowly he rounded the car, not taking his eyes off his brother.
"Whoa there beaner. That aint no way to say thank you." The woman began to cry again and I shushed her, cooing her, as I looked up at Merle.
"Let them go." I said quietly. Merle glanced down at me quickly, his eyes returning to the husband.
"You heard her. Let them go." Daryl's tone was calm, low, it was a warning. I looked up at him, thankful that he was here now. Merle hesitated, before putting away his gun.
"The least the can do is give us an enchilada or something." Daryl walked off to the back of the car, but I knew he was still watching his brother quietly. I watched I disgust as Merle began to rummage through their things. The woman began to cry again.
"Todo esta bein, lo siento." I said quietly, watching Merle. I bit my lip, my eyes watering and I looked at her again. "Lo siento."
"Ey Goldilocks, mind keeping it down? With all the crying and you speaking beanamese I can't concentrate on what I'm looking at." Merle growled. I looked behind him, where Daryl was now standing.
"Get out of the car." Daryl said gruffly. I gasped as he held his crossbow to his brothers back. Merle stopped what he was doing and I sighed, relieved.
"I know you aren't talking to me, brother." Marle said finally. Slowly Merle got out of the car, watching Daryl carefully. Daryl looked at me, nodding his head and I looked at the father.
"Entra en el coche, y salir de aqui." I told his father, begging them to leave. They did as I told them, running to the other side of the car. I gave the woman one more smile, before standing up, walking around Daryl and Merle. The car pulled off, but Daryl didn't lower his crossbow, I watched them as they stared each other down.
After what felt like eternity Daryl pulled his bow away, walking off briskly down the highway. He reached down, grabbing his pack, and one of each of our arrows out of a dead walkers skull. He handed it to me silently as I nearly sprinted to catch up with his fast pace.
Thunder rumbled as we crossed to the other side of the bridge and I looked back at Merle who followed us quietly, reminding me of a child who just got scolded in front of his friends. As I turned a sign caught my attention and I smirked pointing at it.
"What do ya know, Yellow Jacket River." I said haughtily, taking a few backward steps after Daryl. Merle looked up at me, shocked and I shook my head at him before turning around. "Go figure."
I hope i didn't offend anyone Dx Merle is so... harsh like all the time yo.
Also, I'm having a dilema. I don't know what to do with the sick. I'd like to run a few idea across some people so if you're interested in being a beta tester for the two ways I'm planing on taking this story, please let me know either in my reviews or you can PM me.
It would really help a playa out.
Reviews are so awesome! They really keep me going!
Stay Beautiful!