Teach Each Other

by Kaylamrr

Kelsi works at a video store in a small town in GA. Every day the young Dixon would come to visit her, not exactly sure what compels him. They're both stubborn and tough. At some point, they even make a bet; Who would last longer in a catastrophic event? But Kelsi has a long lost secret that will eventually catch up to her. (Will go through Survival Instinct b4 show.)

8. FONTANA

Hello dearest readers. First thing- to my Anonymous reviewer. I really wish you wasn't logged in as a guest, because I would send you a PM to personally thank you. But since that's not the case; I want to say thank you so much for your lovely reviews, they are greatly appreciated. Second- this chapter seems, at least to me, SUPER FREAKIN' LONG! It felt like it took decades to write. But I must admit, I feel kinda proud that this is the longest chapter I've ever written for a fanfiction. But I want to know from my readers if you don't mind the long chapters, or would you rather I split it up next time?

-Kaylamrr

TWD Ch. 8

Riding in a dead man's Jeep, in the middle of the night, with pure silence in the air, during the apocalypse...is definitely in my top five places I never thought I'd be stuck in. Right next to: Under a fat guy. In fact, I think I'd RATHER be stuck under a fat guy. I'm usually not one to complain, but this freakin' SUCKS. Though I'd never admit it out loud, I'm scared. I'm scared because the reality I'm faced with, is that I could die at any second. I'm scared, because I could lose Daryl...like how we lost Jess. Or how we lost Will.

I've 'known' Daryl for about, three years now. The first year I met him, he was a complete asshole. Just like his brother. They'd come into Jacob's Video Store and demand for someone's constant help. Or bitch about how long it would take me to get through a line of ten people. Or go into the adult section in the back, call me in there for 'help', only to ask me loads of inappropriate questions. Like; 'Do you think this chick's tits are real, or is those knockers stuffed wit' silicone?' Or; 'Do you women really get off on bein' chained up like that?'

But in the second year, things changed. Why, I don't really know. But Daryl would start to come into the video store, WITHOUT his brother. He was quiet at first. Kept to himself most of the time. The first few times I'd go up to him and ask if he needed any help, he'd just snap at me. 'Does it look like I need help? I ain't touched in the head.' Normally I would cuss out any of our rude customers, not exactly worried about it endangering my job. Daryl Dixon, however? Something about him made my stomach do flips every time I got near him.

About half way through my second year of knowing him, his personality started to open up. Even if it was only a little bit at a time. I would see him staring at a certain DVD and ask him questions like, 'Have ya ever seen this one?' Or 'Are you really interested in something like that?' Then we would make small talk whenever he came in. We'd chat about movies I thought he would like. Or talk bad about the ones he didn't. Then it moved to him coming in everyday. We started talking about things outside of Jacob's Video Store. Then we started joking with each other. Close to the end of that second year, our 'visits' became more flirtatious. All of this, leading to his wanting to 'train' me.

Now, here we are, in the midst of that third year. We've already had sex three different times, kissed here and there. But none of it has ever felt deep. I know that the younger Dixon cares for me, at least as a friend. And I know that I'm in love with him. Or...that's the only thing I can think to use to describe how he makes me feel. I don't know why I'm thinking about this now, when the world is already at it's end. It sounds sorta pointless.

But after losing Jess...I can't help but notice that Daryl has blocked everything off. He's so quiet, with a permanent scowl on his handsome face. It's like he's curled up into himself. And the only thing that keeps running through my mind when I look at him, is; I hope he knows how much I love him. And that I'm right here. I WANT him to see me as a crying shoulder. I WANT him to see me as an escape goat to feeling lonely. I WANT him to know...that at this point...I NEED him. If you don't have something to fight for in this new world of ours...then what's the point of fighting?

He still has Merle...but who do I have? Everyone I ever loved is dead. The only family member that might still be out there, is my daddy. But I haven't seen him in years. For all I know, the man could've moved to China and is now stuck there, huddled in a corner with his new Asian family. The only person I have left to fight for is the man that I love. A man that...I don't even know if he loves me. Daryl Dixon...is the reason I'm still fighting. The REASON that I'm still alive. And...I just want him to know that.

But I can't think about that stuff right now. Because right now, we have to figure out where the hell we're gonna sleep. It's been such a long day and I'm tired. We need to rest up anyway, before we get to Fontana and REALLY start our search for Merle. Lifting my chin up from my knuckles, I decide to break the silence and ask our Officer what I've been meaning to ask him since we left the campgrounds. "Hey, Jimmy? Did ya find anything we could use back there?"

The man was already on the verge of passing out, so it took him a moment to process what I had asked him. When it finally did register, he jumped and let out an, "Oh!" He leaned over the back of his seat into the trunk and moved things around until he found what he was looking for. Then he held it up for me to see while saying, "I found us some sleeping bags. I also found a case of bullets for my rifle, but not much else. That place was pretty torn up and I got chased before I could even make it in the back. Had to bolt for the truck."

I smiled at the silky, rolld up fluff of a 'bed'. It made me want to unravel that thing as fast as possible and snuggle on in. However, that smile soon faded when I realized our next problem. "Now we just gotta figure out where we can sleep without being ripped apart."

Jimmy frowned and sat the sleeping bag on the seat next to him. My eyes traveled to my huntin' partner in the driver's seat. Lookin' for his solution to our problems...like I always do. But the man stayed quiet, unmoving other than the slight motion of the steering wheel. My heart sank at the uncontrollable doubt that was steadily rising within me. That is, until I heard a 'click' in the back seat, followed by Jimmy's excitement. "Hey! These seats fold into the floor!"

My smile quickly came back, and I couldn't help but notice Daryl give a short glance into the review mirror. "We can fold the seats down and sleep in the back. It might be a tight fit, but it beats being exposed. We could probably rig up a way to block out the windows too, so the Geeks won't notice us as quickly."

It was silent for a moment, until Daryl's voice finally rang through the air. "Alright. We'll stop here. Duct Tape some clothes over the windows."

Jimmy and I both nodded as he pulled the Jeep over to the side of the road and into the grass. The three of us piled out and stretched our aching muscles. Then the two boys helped each other fold the seats down, as I got everything else that we'd need from the trunk. As soon as we had finished laying our sleeping bags side by side, Jimmy suddenly stopped. A blush formed across his cheeks as he slowly moved to pick up the roll of toilet paper. Daryl and I just gave him weird looks until he explained, "I gotta go. Be right back."

The immature little kid in me couldn't help but laugh, knowing that he's embarrassed about having to take a shit. Once I was able to calm down, I handed him his knife and said, "Watch your back out there. Try not to take too long." His cheeks grew even redder as he took the knife, before turning and heading for the tree line.

It was silent once more as Daryl and I taped shirts and towels over the windows. But I was tired of the silence. "Daryl?"

He kept his eyes on the task as he quietly answered with, "Hmm?"

Finishing up my last window, I climbed out of the Jeep and stood outside the open door. "Are you okay?"

He ripped another piece of tape off with his teeth and mumbled, "'m fine, Kelsi."

I don't know why his answer hurt so badly. Why I couldn't just get over the fact that, maybe he just don't wanna talk about it. But, I needed him to be okay again. "You're not fine, Daryl. Ya don't have to be afraid to-"

"Afraid?!" He pulled himself out of that Jeep and stood in front of me so fast, I really thought he was gonna hit me or something. But when he didn't, my body relaxed again...sort of. His face scrunched into an angry scowl as he moved closer to me. "I ain't afraid'a NOTHIN'! Ya got that?! I told ya I was fine and I meant it. There aint nuttin' 'fore ya to worry 'bout. Ain't got no scratches-ain't BITTEN! So jus' leave me be already."

Him taking out all his anger on me like that, it hurt. But then it pissed me off. So when he tried to walk away, I grabbed a hold of his shirt and used it to slam him against the side of the Jeep. His eyes were wide at first, then they dangerously narrowed at me. But I didn't care. "What the HELL is your problem, Dixon?! I'm tryin' to help you-"

"I don't need ya damn help! What part'a that don't'cha understand?!"

Shaking my head, my fists curled into the collar of his shirt. "Why do you have to be such an asshole to me? I know you're tore up 'bout losin' Jess, but-"

"You don't know SHIT." And with that, he pulled my hands from his shirt. I figured that he would just try to walk away again, but he surprised me with what he did next. The air in my lungs escaped me along with a gasp as I was swung around, then thrown into the side of the Jeep where the redneck once stood. "Why are you so persistent 'bout stickin' your nose where it don't fuckin' belong? Why can't ya just take 'I'm fine' and be happy and shut ya damn mouth? Huh?"

In the heat of my anger, I gathered up as much strength in my arms as I could muster and pushed him away from me. Only managing to knock him back a couple of feet. "Why can't you take the fact that I fuckin' care about you?!" His face showed that of shock then. As if me caring about him was a secret he's just now finding out about. Or is he just so use to nobody caring, that he just automatically assumes no one ever will? "Ya heard me right, ya prick. I care about ya. And I get it, Daryl. I know you're hurt. You have every right to be, and you shouldn't be ashamed of that." Just looking at him, I knew he was trying to hide his pain. But he taught me too well. How to read body language and search for signals. His shoulders slowly began to slump, his gaze left my eyes and moved to the dying grass below our feet. The signs of his hurt were starting to break through. "You're not a pussy and ya ain't weak. It's human nature to hurt when someone you care about leaves you. Especially in the world we live in now. But...I'm just tryin' to tell you...that I'm here." At this point, his head had perked up to look back into my eyes. Just in time to catch the tears escaping them. "I'm right, fuckin', here. I want you to talk to me. I want you to let go of your pain, and put it all on me. I want ya to know that I'm here for you. And that ya ain't gotta worry about me judgin' you, or callin' ya fuckin' sissy."

He stepped closer to me then. And as I was letting the tears free-fall, his body shook to hold them back. I could hear his voice start to crack as he spoke to me. "Why, Kelsi? Why would ya care 'bout someone like me?"

"Because I do, Daryl. Because I like the person you are. Because even though you don't see it...your life is worth so much more than what you were taught."

His eyes moved to look at anything but me, blinking rapidly in an attempt to will the tears away. But he couldn't. The back of his hand moved quickly to wipe the liquid away, but it just kept coming. Not being able to control and hide the water works made him angry. My body jumped as his hands slammed onto the Jeep on both sides of my head, essentially trapping me between his arms. Then it was quiet while I watched the man I love slowly break and fight to keep from showing his feelings. His head dipping into his chest to let out a quick whimper. But when he looked back into my eyes, I could finally see the tears rolling down his dirty cheeks. "Why can't ya just shut the fuck up?"

Then his lips melted into mine. Our tounges dancing for only a moment, before he stopped to rest his forehead on mine, his eyes closed and his breath heavy. "Daryl?"

He slid his calloused fingers across my wet face until they rested in my hairline. Then his deep blue eyes opened to me once more. "You go where I go Kelsi...ya don't leave me."

I wiped the fallen tears from his face as I whispered, "I know." And with the sound of the forest floor crunching under approaching footsteps, our bodies peeled apart. Daryl sucked the snot back into his nose and dried his eyes as he swiped the forgotten roll of Duct Tape up from the pavement. Finally seeing Jimmy stumbling out of the woods, I dried my eyes as well and used what little humor I possessed to lighten the mood. "Everything come out alright? Officer Full of Shit?"

When we woke up, we made quick work of gathering our stuff up and getting back on the road. Making it to Fontana by around noon. That is, if I'm reading the sun correctly. Piling out of the Jeep, I collected all of my gear and readied my bow while Daryl gave Officer Blake his task. "Find whatever ya can. Meet us back here when you're finished. And watch ya back. Place is lousy with eaters. Somethin's got 'em bowed up."

Before Blake had a chance to answer, we found out what that 'something' was. The sound of gun shots and car alarms rang through the air. Jimmy immediately got low to the ground, while Daryl put his arm around my head and pulled me into his chest as we ducked. After another gun shot set off a different car alarm, I finally put it together that we wasn't the ones being sniped at. "Why the hell would someone be shootin' off car alarms?"

Standing back up, Daryl scanned the area as he answered me. "To draw 'em in, for whatever reason." Making eye contact with the Officer one last time, we went our separate ways. Turning the corner and making it to a small parking lot in the back of the buildings, we noticed that there were fewer Geeks roaming around. Which prompted Daryl to say, "Least it's a little quieter." All the while, the sound of shots and alarms continued in the background.

Moving out into the parking lot, two Geeks immediately spotted us off to the right. Stumbling their way to us, growling and hissing. I pulled back my string and let the arrow go into the forehead of the male, while Daryl used his fire axe to hack off the female's head. Pulling my arrow out of the dead bastard's skull, we decided to crouch and move along the walls of the buildings to our right, attempting to avoid as many confrontations as possible.

There were not only 'live' Geeks, but 'dead' ones as well. This tells me that someone else has been through here. Shooting my arrow into the male that spotted us, we quickly moved on. As we made our way around the abandoned army truck, we saw two Geeks crouched down and eating off to our left. There were more walking around, but we pulled out our knives and snuck up behind the ones that were annoyingly smacking their lips. My knife taking care of one, while Daryl's took care of the other.

A male that was once wandering around the place, took notice of us as we pulled our knives from our prey. Daryl quickly ran up to that one and beheaded it with his axe. This allowed me to re-quip my bow and arrow. To the right of us was a locked gate, but the one in front of us was left open, along with a female damn-near jogging toward us. Yanking my knife back out of its holster, I stomped in front of her and shoved the blade into her skull, just as she started to reach for me.

Moving through the open gate, we ducked behind the green dumpster so we could scan our surroundings. We were in an even smaller parking lot this time. Daryl quietly whispered, "Where are you, Merle?" Leaving him to his thoughts, I snuck up behind a male that was just standing by a blue Nissan, grabbing hold of his shoulder and stabbing him before he even knew I was there.

As I, once again, readied my long ranged weapon, the head of a female rolled right in front of me. Looking up just in time to see its torso fall to the pavement, I nodded my thanks to Daryl. At this point, I decided to shut the gate with as less noise as possible, in hopes that the Geeks wouldn't know how to open it. This could hopefully prevent us from getting swarmed or overwhelmed.

Shooting an arrow into a male that was in the process of standing up, we started to hear banging and scratching. The noise was coming from a wooden door leading to the building in front of the gate we came through. It didn't take long for two undead guys to break through the door and stumble for us. I was able to shoot down both of them before they got too close, while Daryl decapitated two that had been shuffling around the cars.

While collecting and cleaning my arrows, we heard screams coming from the opened back door of a Diner. I looked at Daryl with concern, but he nodded his head once toward the door. Guess we're goin' in. Moving toward the dark pathway into the Diner, Daryl pulled out the flashlight and gave us some vision, while whispering, "What have we got here?"

Moving through the short hallway, Daryl immediately turned the light back off. We could hear a group of 'em snarling and growingly in the front of the Diner. That's not all we heard, however. There was also a woman's voice bouncing off the walls. "All right, buddy. It's okay. We're gonna get through this." Once we got into the actual dining area, we knew to be careful here. Behind the counter, there were four Geeks trying to tear through the gate that lead into the kitchen. Their trapped meal was a woman with red hair, standing behind the gate. When she saw us moving toward the counter, she yelled, "Hey! A little help over here?!"

Luckily, she had her four predators so damn distracted, I was able to climb on the counter and shoot 'em down, one by one. But we knew there were more around the corner. We could hear them banging and scratching on the metal door that kept them from their food. I walked along the counter top while Daryl kept to the other side. There was two females on his side of the counter and two males on my side, they were the ones hitting the door. I quickly shot down the two in front of the door, while Daryl chopped away at the others. While retrieving and cleaning all of the arrows, Daryl yelled at the woman. "Ya can open the door now!"

Walking behind Daryl through the doorway, we had to climb over a toppled table that was placed in front of the door. As Daryl took my hand to help me over, I put away my weapons and got a good look at what we were dealing with. The red headed woman was kneeling by a man in front of the freezer door. He was a darker skinned man, but I couldn't pin-point where he was from. What I did notice, however, was the man's bleeding right shoulder.

Once Daryl shut and locked the door behind us, then made it to his spot beside me, the woman stood, smiled and said, "Thanks. From both of us."

Instead of welcoming her, I couldn't keep my eyes off of the man's wound. Seems that Daryl caught on too. He nodded toward the guy and asked, "He bit?"

The woman sighed before answering. "Huh-uh. Gunshot." She nodded towards the front doors of the Diner before continuing, "Some crazy asshole is sniping at us...and car alarms. I dragged Noah in here. They followed."

Raising an eyebrow at her, I asked, "Who's 'us'?"

Then Daryl followed my lead. "You two?"

She shook her head. "Got a whole team out there. Or...did. We scavenge supplies for the local survivor camps."

I couldn't stop myself from looking at her like she was crazy. But Daryl managed to ask the question we both had running through our minds. "There's survivor camps?"

This time, the woman mirrored the look I was giving her. "Um, yeah? The military supplies some of them with weapons, meds,...there's a big one at the Cherokee Hills Sawmill. We were doing pretty well, until that psycho-sniper showed up and brought a whole mob of biters down on top of us. We got split up, pinned down, killed..." Her gaze hit the floor then. We gave her a moment of silence before her head perked back up and she continued, "I need to get my people together. One of my runners, Mia, is holed up in the theater across the street. Help her out and I'll make it worth your while. Trade you for one of those." Our eyes followed what her finger was pointing at. She had a small pile of large, black duffle bags in the corner. Most likely full of what they managed to scavenge in the city, before they were attacked. Since I remained silent, she looked to Daryl and smiled. "Lots of goodies in there, hillbilly. Just tell her Scout sent you."

Scout? Wait a minute...HILLBILLY? Who does she think she is? Askin' us for help, then callin' people names? Just as I was about to open my mouth, Daryl must of caught on to my ever growing anger. He took hold of my good arm and started dragging me to the door, while telling the woman, "I'll think about it." Once we were back into the dining area, we heard Scout lock the door again. However, we didn't even get a chance to get on the other side of the counter, before both sets of the front doors busted open.

Now faced with four biters heading our way, we pulled out our weapons and got into position. Jumping back onto the counter top, I took aim and shot the two that was farthest from us, while Daryl axed away the other two. While pulling my arrows from the heads of two dead bitches, I couldn't help but be reminded of my anger toward the bitch stuck in the kitchen. Askin' Daryl for help, smilin' at him, callin' him a fuckin' hillbilly. That bitch wouldn't know a hillbilly from a sock.

Before heading for the theater, we decided to back track a little and go back to the small parking lot behind the Diner. We wanted to check out the building to that door that was busted down. As soon as we opened the back door, there was male Geek just standing there, his back facing us. Daryl immediately reacted by burying his blade into its bald head. Seeing that there wasn't any more immediate danger, I chose to use this time and address Daryl about Scout. "Hey, what the hell do you think you're doin'?"

He was obviously confused about what I meant. "I'm re-killin' dead folks, KJ. What the fuck are ya yappin' on about now?"

Pointing to the Diner, I answered him, "About Scout. That stupid, fire crotch, bitch. 'I'll think about it.' Really, Daryl? She calls ya a hillbilly, and you say 'I'll think about it'? Those 'goodie' bags'a hers are probably empty."

"Well, we won't know that 'til we go find her friend. Now will we?" He squatted down to clean the blade of his knife, trying to act like this conversation was nothing.

Not wanting to get into yet another argument, I stomp past him mumbling, "Whatever." The closer I got to the now opened doorway, however, the louder the growls got. But from what I can tell, it only sounds like maybe one or two. Which I was right, 'cause two males limped out into the parking lot. Pulling my string back and taking aim at the farthest one, my arrow moves through his left eye socket and barely peeked through the back. As I started to notch another arrow, Daryl ran past me and dropped the blade of his axe into the top of the other ones head. Damn-near splitting the thing in two.

Moving into what was once a small convenient store and finding it free of any more dead folk, we quickly search the place for anything useful. Unfortunately, the place was also free of...well, EVERYTHING. There was literally NOTHING left. All of the shelves were empty and looking into the small restroom, there wasn't even one roll of toilet paper left. Assuming this is the work of Scout and her team, we leave and head back to the Diner.

Getting to the front doors of the Diner, we can clearly see the semi-boarded up theater right across the street. However, the sounds of the ongoing gun shots and car alarms, were much louder. Peeking our heads out of the doorway to see what we're dealing with, we couldn't help but let out a low, simultaneous gasp. To the right of us was about five wandering Geeks. But to the left of us? Well, I couldn't even tell. There was a massive group of them chasing one car alarm after another. It seems like the 'psycho-sniper's' goal was to get them piled up by a car, then start a kill-streak of head shots.

That's sorta convenient for us, 'cause now we don't have to worry about getting caught by hundreds of cannibals. Since they were pretty darn distracted. Quietly making our way across the street, Daryl only had to axe one Geek while I shot down another. However, the big spray paint writing on the wall of the theater, didn't go unnoticed. 'KEEP OUT! QUARANTINE!'

We had to crawl under the small open space of a make-shift barricade that was blocking the double-doors to the theater. Once Daryl made it through and got back to his feet, he cupped his hand around his mouth and hollered, "Hey! Mia?!" No answer. We're in the main lobby, where you would by your tickets and popcorn. But there was no sound, no Geeks and no Mia in sight.

Seeing that it's pretty dark, Daryl decides to turn on the flashlight. This, however, awakens two females that we didn't even know was in here. They were at a good enough distance for me to take them both out. As Daryl moved to retrieve my arrows for me, I noticed an open door right across from the exit. When he came back and handed me my ammo, I pointed to the door. He nodded and slowly moved in to make sure there wasn't any more surprises.

After walking into the room, my forearm immediately moved to cover my nostrils. It was obvious what was causing the smell of death that radiated throughout the room. There were DEAD dead everywhere, along with empty cans and a duffle bag. Apon further investigation, Daryl mumbled, "Looks like the one Scout had." He quickly glanced around the foul smelling room before yelling, "Mia?!" Once again there was no answer.

To prevent myself from blowing chunks everywhere, I kept my nose covered. So when I spoke, it sounded a bit muffled. "How do we know one of these bodies don't belong to her?" Daryl just shrugged, however, and bent down to rummage through the forgotten 'goodie' bag.

It didn't take long for him to let out an angry grunt and mumble, "Ain't much in it." This tells me that this Mia girl must've camped in here for a little while. But who knows if she even made it out. Moving on and heading back into the lobby, we decide to check out the door behind the register counter on the left.

Soon as we opened the metal door that lead us to a hallway, we both jumped at what we saw. There was a door already opened on the left that had a dark headed woman peeking out of it. She immediately took off back into the doorway while screaming, "Ah, no! Don't shoot me!"

"Hey!" Daryl screamed back and darted after her. Putting my bow and arrow away, I pulled out my knife and followed after them. The whole time thinking, 'Don't shoot me'? Did she think that Daryl was this psycho-sniper guy?

We followed the woman up a red carpeted staircase and through the only door at the top. It's obvious this was a projection room and while the woman angrily greeted Daryl, I decided to shut and lock the door just in case. "Get away from me, you asshole!" Once she saw me move to stand next to him, she added, "What is she? Your slave or something? FREAK!"

All I could do is look at her like she's stupid and ask, "Slave?"

At first, Daryl was surprised and quickly answered, "What? No!" The woman just put her hands on her hips in non belief, but Daryl didn't have the patience for her and cursed back, "And I ain't the asshole you're worried about."

She pointed at him and asked, "Who ARE you then?"

Daryl shook his head at the girl and slammed the blade of his axe onto the floor. He then leand on the handle of it as if it was a walking stick while mumbling his answer, "I'm a different one." Then, as if giving her confirmation, there was another gunshot outside that was quickly followed by a car alarm. Daryl nodded to the general direction of the noise and said, "See? Not me."

The woman, that I'm assuming is Mia, seemed to relax slightly. However, there was still another confirmation that she needed to know of. So I looked her in the eyes and said, "And I ain't his slave."

Daryl stood straighter and added, "She's my girl. Uh, Scout asked us to come look for you."

She smiled and her body language became excited about that. "You know Scout? She sent you?"

Crossing my arms over my chest, the bitch in me decided to break through. "Yeah. But let me re-fraise what he said. Scout asked HIM to come look for you. Not me. I would'a left yer ass-"

Daryl's hand interjected me as it slapped over my mouth. I tried to pry him off of me, but he just wrapped his left arm over my chest to try and control my squirming. Then he quickly covered my attitude by saying, "She asked us to come find you. Her and Noah are across the street. In that Diner."

At that bit of information, her body language completely relaxed. She let out a deep breath and placed her hand over her heart while saying, "Oh, thank God." Daryl finally let me go and picked up the axe he had dropped. I made sure to give him a harsh glare while Mia bowed her head to say a quick prayer, but he just stuck his tongue out at me. Ignoring him, I put away my knife, seeing no real threat to keep it out. Once Mia picked her head back up, she decided to explain herself. "I thought the shooter...every time I put my head out, he's all over me. I lost all of my gear, so I'm pretty much trapped. The theater is locked up tight since they started moving corpses in there. Exit's blocked, and there's a bunch of them." She pointed to the open space in the wall behind the projector. "There's a half-ladder down. Clear the way and I can get out, and back to Scout."

Daryl used the back of his hand to rub away the perspiration on his forehead as he looked to the ladder. Giving his attention back to Mia he said, "Let's do it. We gotta get over to the Police Station to get my brother, anyway."

Mia swallowed hard and looked at the both of us as if we were crazy. "The Police Station? But that's where that killer is set up! You think your brother is even alive?!"

My eyes widened as soon as she said that. 'Oh, no. Don't tell me that means the pycho-sniper is actually Merle Dixon himself.' I guess Daryl is thinking the same as me. He answered the worried looking Mia with a quiet, "Yeah...I've got my suspicions."

Mia just shook her head at him and pointed back toward the ladder. "Well how do you plan on clearing the place out? There's more than just a couple."

Daryl just sighed and pulled the flashlight out of his pocket before clicking it on. "KJ can handle it." Mia gave him a confused look, but he just shrugged it off and moved to stand by the hole in the wall. Daryl shined the light down into the death-infested room as I took my position. Readying my long distance weapon, I sat down so that the ladder was between my thighs and the rest of my legs dangled over the edge. The light seemed to have caught the attention of the undead, their movements became more active. More hungry. Some of them tried to reach for me, scratching at the wall in hopes of getting to the fresh meat, but with no luck of course.

From what I could see, there was a lot of unresponsive corpses. The 'live' ones, however, I managed to count ten. Knowing that I had exactly twenty one arrows, including the one already notched, I told myself to just relax and take my time. They can't reach us, so I can easily pick them off, one by one. Which I did. It was like target practice with the moving objects all over again. Arrow after arrow lodged into the skull of every biter. Geek after Geek fell. You could hear each thud of their bodies dropping, echo through the room. And with each one that fell, the smile on my face grew larger. Some might see it as 'sick' or 'evil'. The fact that I thought it was fun to shoot down the animate corpses that once belonged to human souls. What was the difference between me, and the 'pyscho-sniper' just outside? But I didn't care. Someone had to do it. In my mind, with each undead that Daryl and I put down, made me feel like we were a tiny step closer to wiping out the one thing that could make us all extinct.

Once the last one dropped, I allowed my arms to rest for a moment. Mia was stunned as she looked over my shoulder at the results of my training. Daryl himself couldn't stop the proud smile from forming. He jokingly rubbed the top of my head to make me feel like a child as he said, "Like I said before, KJ. Your aim just gets better and better."

Giving him a quiet, "Thank you." I had to set my gaze back down to the floor, in an attempt to hide the red hue coming through the flesh of my cheeks.

Once Mia had come out of her stupor, she quickly said, "Thank you so much. You two go on. I'm gonna gather what little I have and make my way back to Scout."

The two of us nodded our okay and descended down the ladder, Daryl in the lead. Once he got to the end of the ladder, he jumped down to the red carpeted floor and quickly glanced around to make sure none of the bodies started moving. Finding no immediate danger, he bent his knees slightly and held out his arms. Giving me the okay to jump and that he would catch me. Trusting him completely and just like the first time, I shut my eyes and aloud myself to fall into his arms. A low grunt escaped him when he caught me, but I was just happy for not accidentally throwing his back out. We then quickly made work of collecting all of my arrows.

Making it to the back and toward the exit, we worked together to push the rolling table that was housing chairs on top of it, out of our way. We then readied our weapons before proceeding through the metal door. We both squinted at the bright sunlight and once our vision had adjusted, we immediately spotted our path to the back of the Police Station. With no dead in sight, we hopped over the short metal gate and ran to the back of the building.

There were four Geeks scratching at the door. Seeing that none of them were noticing us, I just shot them at a distance. When I finished retrieving my arrows, Daryl moved the bodies out of our way then slowly opened the door. He clicked on the flashlight and hollered, "Merle!" while I shut and locked the door behind us. Unsurprisingly, there was no answer.

Moving through the dark hallway, there was already a stench coming from the multiple bodies that littered the floor. Trying our best to ignore it, however, Daryl quickly decapitated the lone Geek so that we could move on. Once finished he then screamed, "DIXON!" With no answer he added, "HEY MERLE!" Of course the sound of his voice bouncing off the walls concerned me. At this rate, he's gonna lead every Geek in town to us. But I didn't dare say anything against it. For I knew that his heart was most likely racing, in fear of the chance that we might not find his brother alive.

Moving through the open doorway into a cubical office, we wiped out the five cannibals that roamed the place. Only using a short time to quickly check each cubical, we didn't find much. But there was something I did find. "Daryl, I got walkie-talkies and fresh batteries."

He smirked as I held two of them up for him to see. "Good. Grab three of 'em and let's go."

My body paused at that. Wait...only three? Daryl is one, me is two, Merle is three and Jimmy is...he doesn't want me to get one for Jimmy? "But, Daryl...what about Blake-"

I don't know if it's because of his already existing anxiety for finding his brother, or what? But his anger spiked at that. "We only need ones for family. Everyone else can fend for themselves."

Family, huh? "But, Daryl. If that's your logic...I'm not-"

He stomped in front of me and took hold of the bicep belonging to my good arm. Shaking me slightly as he said, "Yes you are, Kelsi. That stupid ex-cop is nothin' to me. If he wants a damn radio so bad, then he can go find one himself."

My eyebrows furrowed at him. Why is this making him so angry? "Daryl, I'm not your blood. I'm just a-"

But he once again interrupted me. "You're family ta ME, Kelsi. You've been there for me. You've always done right by me." He finally let go of my arm before continuing. "You were with me when all hell broke loose. But we gotta go get my brother, Kelsi. I know it's Merle we're talkin' 'bout...but damnit! He was locked in a fuckin' cage!"

Sighing, I decided to surrender and pick up only three radios. He turned around and as I secured our communication systems into his bag, I tried to bring hope back into his aching heart. "We're gonna find him, Daryl. Alive." Once his bag was zipped shut, he turned and looked at me with doubt. But I just smiled and said, "It's like ya said. This is Merle Dixon we're talkin' about here. And you and me both know that; nobody can kill Merle...but Merle."

Daryl dipped his head for a moment before lifting it back up, a confident smirk planted on his face. "Hmph. Let's go find the king of the monsters, then." Nodding my agreement with a smile, he turned to take the lead once more. Mumbling, "C'mon, Merle. Where ya hidin' at?" Coming out of the annoyingly cramped cubical office, we found ourselves in a waiting room. But what caught our attention the most, was an open door leading to a room of five cells. Once in the room, we noticed that most of the cells were locked shut, still housing prisoners. Only now those prisoners were monsters. Daryl just scoffed and mumbled, "Merle, in his natural habitat." Deciding to move forward toward the only cell left open, we figured this one had once belonged to the older Dixon. There was blood splattered all across the floor, along with a dead officer. Apon seeing the state of the jail cell, Daryl said, "Merle...oh man. You crazy son of a bitch..." We quickly glanced around to try and find any clues, but not seeing anything noticeable, he added, "Where did you get off to from here?"

The sound of another gunshot cracking through the air, gave me an idea of where he might be. "Daryl, the roof." He nodded, then we ran back out into the hallway. Immediately spotting the sign that had a picture of a staircase, we yanked the door open and made sure to shut it behind us.

Apon hearing yet another gunshot, Daryl couldn't help but let out a short laugh. "My brother, the asshole pyscho-shooter."

Laughing with him, I added, "Yeah. I'd say that about sums up your idiot of a brother." The laughing quickly stopped, however, as we jogged our way up three flights of stairs. Making it to the metal door that lead to the roof, I still kept my guard up. As much as I want it to be Merle out there, there's always that chance of it being someone else.

Daryl pushed on the door to open it, but it wouldn't budge. That's when 'his' voice rang out from the other side. "Ooooh, noooo! Sneakin' up are we?!" At the sound of a gun cocking, Daryl moved faster than my brain could even think. He gripped onto my bad arm and pulled me into him, just in time for a bullet to come flying through the door. I couldn't stop the 'hiss' from escaping me as a sharp pain shot through my arm. But I quickly ignored it as the idiot spoke again. "No, no, no!" BANG! Another shot through the door. "You're never gonna take me back there!"

Daryl's impatience grew as he let go of me. I just closed my eyes and let out an annoyed sigh while putting my bow and arrow away. Daryl threw his fire axe down the stairs in frustration before calling through the door, "Aw, c'mon Merle! It's me!" It was quiet after that, so he continued by hitting the door once with his fist and yelling, "Merle!"

But his brother responded back with something even crazier. "What's lower than impersonating a man's long-lost baby brother?! You're just tryin' to gain false entry! That's what you're doin'!"

Getting fed up with this myself, I yelled at him as well. "I'm here too, ya trigger-happy numb skull! Now open the damn door!"

But of course, he just didn't get it. "Oh, now you're tryna impersonate my brother's woman?! Well it ain't gonna work! Ya can't pull the wool over ol' Merle's eyes!"

Kicking the door, I screamed, "Aw! Stop talkin' 'bout ya self in third person!"

Having enough, the youngest Dixon put his foot down. He stomped in front of the door and said, "Damnit, Merle! I'm just gonna leave ya here!"

Guess that did it. Merle started to unlock the door while saying, "Keep ya pants on, sweetheart. I locked this place up pretty good." And with that, the door finally swung open. Merle reached out and grabbed his brother's vest, dragging him outside. However, Daryl had took hold of my shirt in the process, so I got pulled right along with him. Then Merle shut the door behind him and continued as he walked around us. "Them people locked me up for DAYS in the dark with all them ABOMINATIONS!" Watching him though, my stomach churned at how red he was. "But look'ee who's just a liitttlleee bit too smart for 'em!"

Seems like Daryl noticed what I was seeing as well. "Bro, you're stir-fried from the sun...and the booze, and whatever else ya been into."

Looking around, my eyes caught onto piles of empty beer and pill bottles. How he got his hands on it all I don't know. Merle stopped and wiped sweat from his brow as he admitted, "I do feel a lil' warm, now that ya mention it." Merle then paced for a moment before stumbling around by his lawn chair. "I sprang myself, ya see? Established my, little snipers nest right here." He swung out both arms to point at the chair and a make-shift table. Merle wasn't a normal guy to begin with, but even this is crazy for him. Facing back toward us, he smiled with pride. "And then I commenced ta sendin' them soldiers a-packin'! I raaannnggg the alarms-callin' in the abomination!"

Letting another annoyed sigh escape me, I legitimately face-palmed while Daryl blew up. "Man, those aren't soldiers down there! Just some scavengers tryna help people out! They don't even know who you are!"

Merle shook his head harshly, then pointed down toward the street. "They're in uniform, ain't they? And they come ta take me back to the HOLE!" Merle stomped in front of his brother, poking him in the chest as he continued. "I ain't goin' anywhere, but JAKE'S, and that's where you're gonna take me! Come on!"

He started to step between us and head for the door, but suddenly he was stumbling as bad as the undead. When his body began to lean a little too much, Daryl and I rushed to his side to catch him. That's when we felt the heat pouring out of him. Surprised that the man was even still alive I mumbled, "Holy shit."

But Daryl just got pissed off. He pushed his brother back on his feet saying, "Let's go, ya ape! Guess I gotta lug yer thick ass back across town!" As Merle held his head in his hands to get his balance back, the concern was finally starting to escape his younger brother. "Man...you must be runnin' over 106!"

Merle suddenly stopped, before spinning around screaming, "My chair!"

But Daryl and I snatched up his arm to pull him toward the door. His brother telling him, "Yeah, it'll be here when we get back."

To make a long damn story short. We went back to that Diner to get our bag, but that stupid bitch Scout and her little possie was gone. Nothing left but a set of car keys and note that read: Sorry. So, we drove our new ride back to the empty tank of a Jeep to get our stuff. And...sadly...there sat the body of Officer Jimmy Blake. The nasty lookin' bite on his arm was obvious, but what hurt the most, was seeing that he chose to blow his brains out rather than turn. Merle just hopped into the van sayin', "Ah, good riddance." Daryl thankfully kept quiet as he moved all of our stuff into the new vehicle. But me...I just said a little prayer. Hoping beyond hope that his death was at least painless. Getting out of Fontana, we discussed where we could find some antibiotics for Merle's fever. That's when I remembered Scout saying that the military provided meds to the survivor camps. And the one she said was the largest, was the one closest to us. So the three of us set out for our next destination. And hopefully not our last.