Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead
Another chapter
Danny's POV
I slow to a walk as I re-enter camp from my morning run. Daryl left hours before I'd even woke up, a little hard to know I never got the chance to say goodbye but something tells me he's not really a goodbye kind of person.
Merle's missing from our camp spot when I get back so I take the chance to give myself a wash out of the bucket with a flannel.
I'm just pulling on a clean dress when I hear the footsteps outside the tent. It's not Merle as they are way to light, is someone sneaking through our stuff? I grab the gun off my bed and aim it at the door. I silently and quickly walk out the tent, my gun raised.
"Get the he...?" I quickly lower the gun when I come face to face with the intruder. "Amy! What are you doing?"
She raises her hands in surrender. "Oh, I'm looking for you."
"You can't just go sneaking around, this is our camp and if Merle had been here instead of me he probably would have shot you". And I'm not even kidding, he's a shoot first ask questions later kind of guy. In fact I'm surprised he didn't shoot me the first time we met, although I am fairly certain he was very close to doing it.
"I'm so sorry".
I roll my eyes at her but then offer her smile. "It's alright".
She quickly returns the smile, "Anyway I came to find you 'cause I'm lookin' after Sophia and Carl while their mums do the laundry and I was wanderin', well, would you help me?" Her smile remains in place but she's gone kind of shy.
I cast another quick glance around to see if Merle has reappeared, he hasn't. I'm not gonna lie to myself about where he is. He's obviously off doing something he shouldn't be but at least he's doing it away from here. I can only imagine what the others will do if they find out about his drugs.
I grab my bat, "Sure why not". I had nothing else planned and with Daryl gone and now Merle I'm gonna get pretty bored.
She latches onto my wrist and pulls me along with her, her happiness is infectious and it isn't too long before I'm laughing at her behaviour.
We don't even get halfway over to the kids before the girl, Sophia, is already running towards us. She latches onto the wrist that Amy lets go of and starts to pull me quicker towards Carl.
"Come on Danny, we're gonna play tag. Amy's it first". I look over my shoulder towards the women in question and chuckle at the look of surprise on her face. Guess she didn't know that little bit of information.
"Sorry, we haven't actually got much of a choice on what..." I stop Amy in her tracks.
"It's fine, I don't mind. In fact I quite enjoy a game of tag". She laughs and then without any warning jumps forward and taps me on the arm.
"You're it". She then turns and runs in the other direction with the kids hot on her heels. Cheater, I race after them.
...
I drop down onto the ground as Amy offers me a cup of water. I am not cut out for playing with kids, they have way too much energy stored up in their tiny little bodies. They teamed up against us as well, we never stood a chance.
She drops down beside me and looks over to where Carl and Sophia have found two other kids to play with. "Seems they've forgotten about us".
"Good, just don't remind them we're here". And I'm not kidding about it.
"Wasn't planning on it", we settle into a comfortable silence both just content to watch the kids playing a game of, well actually I have no idea what they're doing. How I miss being able to have an imagination like that.
...
"I have a question". Well I guess she can't go too long without talking. "And feel free to tell me to mind my own business." I hate it when someone says that because it usually means they are going to ask something they really shouldn't, but I give her the benefit of the doubt and just look at her, waiting. "What's going on between you and Daryl".
I nearly choke on my own breath at the question. "Excuse me?"
"I don't mean to pry I've just seen the way you two are and I was curious".
I have no idea what she's talking about. "There isn't anything going on".
Amy frowns, "Well that's what you think, but you don't see him when you're not looking." Now it's my turn to frown. "He can't keep his eyes off you".
"Don't be ridiculous", I can feel my cheeks starting to heat up.
"Oh I'm not I can see they both care for you but there's just something about the way Daryl looks at you that has me smiling every time I see it". I have nothing to say. Amy bumps my shoulder with her own. "Come on, you can't tell me you don't find him hot. In the rugged sort of way".
"Merle has become like a brother to me but Daryl's something different but I don't think about it. He isn't someone that seems to be able to express feelings, so why get my hopes up." .
"I see you're not denying that he's hot".
Now it's my turn to chuckle, any embarrassment about the topic is gone. "I'm not blind, I know that he's hot".
"Well if he won't do anything why don't you?"
I scoff that will never happen.
"Hey, don't scoff at me. If you don't kiss him you'll never know what he wants, you said so yourself that he don't talk about feelings so you can't talk to him about it".
She really is something else. Is this really what she spends her time thinking about? "You do realise we've only known each other a week right".
"I know, but if you haven't noticed the world isn't normal anymore, you can't go about this the old way. You might as well just take the chance". She then touches my arm lightly, "And if it doesn't work out, well, you can come live with me".
"Ha ha", and I mean it just as sarcastically as it sounds. "Very funny. Now we're gonna talk about something else and you need to get these thoughts out of your head. Right now".
"Fine but you need to think about this". I'll probably be thinking of nothing else now. Her arm comes up in my line of sight so I follow to see what she's pointing at, or rather who. "Looks like someone's looking for you".
Merles back, and he's scanning over the entire camp, when he spots me he just stands there and stares.
"I should probably go, if you need help again just let me know". I then get up and jog back to Merle.
His face doesn't give anything away.
"Ya looked pretty cosy over there", and his voice is pretty calm.
I stop in front of him and fold my arms across my chest. "Don't even think about going there, she needed help with the kids and," I gesture towards him with my bat, "you'd disappeared."
"I'm not goin' anywhere Squirt, just wasn't expectin' you to be socialisin'".
I start to walk around him, "Socialising? Is that where you disappeared to, you went off to learn big words".
I'm suddenly yanked back by an arm around my waist and in the shock I drop my bat to the floor, he then picks me up off my feet and holds me up so my back is pressed against his front.
"Ya think ya so funny".
I squirm and try and break free but it's no use. "Put me down".
"No, cause you and I are gonna do some trainin', this is a hold you should know how to get out of".
I stop my squirming, "okay then, tell me how".
"If they got ya like this then ya've got to use ya head, slam it back as hard as ya can straight on their nose. Will hurt you to if ya not careful but it should be enough to break their nose and give ya a chance to run or grab a weapon and fight but it isn't always effective so this one is a last resort". He lowers me down slightly so my feet are touching the floor again. "Now like this ya hands are free so bend forward from the waist, this'll shift ya weight forward making it more difficult for them to pick ya up". I do as he says really not enjoying the feeling of being trapped but this is something I really should know.
"It also gives ya an angle to throw ya elbows back, the face is the best place, so ya just keep throwing them back against his face until he loosens his grip, then ya turn and ya palm the fucker right in the nose or jaw". Merle lets me go and demonstrates the palm strike. "Put ya dominant hand up", I do, "flex ya wrist. And then ya aim for the fuckers nose, jab it up from the nostrils or if ya can't do that go up underneath the chin and jab upward at the throat". He grips my wrist and does the action for me against his throat, "but make sure to recoil the strike. Pullin' ya arm back quickly will help thrust their head up and back. Then ya run or fight".
Wow. Merle is full of surprises, I was expecting him to know how to fight with a knife, but he's full on teaching me text book self-defence moves.
"Should I ask how you know all this?"
He shrugs, "I know shit squirt."
I chuckle, "Yes you do, carry on".
This time I'm a little more prepared when he grabs me and pulls me into another bear hug, however this time he manages to trap my hands.
"Now do this for real as I call out what to do".
"Merle no, I'm not..."
"Do it just don't elbow me in the face." With a little hesitation I nod my head, I gotta learn. "Drop ya weight, stomp on my foot". I do as he says and wince slightly as he grunts at the force of the stomp but he's right, he does loosen his grip slightly allowing me to free my hands. I then elbow him in the stomach causing him to hunch forward I then go for the head but stop just short but he reacts like I hit him and jerks his head back. I manage to twist in his arms and I bring my palm up to his nose, once again just stopping short.
"Hey what the fuck is goin' on, let her go now". The shout is followed by the sound of a shot gun being pumped. Merle suddenly swings me behind him where I scoop up my bat on instinct.
I look out across the gathered crowd and stood front and centre with his shot gun aimed straight at Merle is Shane.
"Step away from her or I will shoot".
"Go on then officer fuckwit". Before I have the chance to tell him to shut up he's pulled the gun from the back of his trousers. "You aim that at me I'll aim mine at you".
"Put the gun down, now. and you step away". Merle doesn't listen and neither do I, once again he's seen something and assumed. I step around Merle who doesn't seem like he's ever going to lower his weapon. I put my hand on top of the gun and push it down slightly.
"Merle, stop. We have to be able to stay here. Daryl's not back yet". That seems to make him realise the trouble he's in. If we go we may struggle to find Daryl again. I turn back to Shane while standing slightly in front of Merle. "We really shouldn't have to explain ourselves to you but I am sick and tired of this judging. He was teaching me self defence, if you'd been watching for more than a mere second you would have seen that." I start to turn my back on him, which technically isn't a good move seeing as he still has a gun trained at us but I'm trying to act nonchalant about this. "So if you don't mind letting us get back to it".
Merle chuckles once, "It'd be extremely appreciated officer". The false politeness causes me to smile. Merle turns to me, "another great move is just the good ol' fashioned nut crackin'. Get's 'em every time".
I glance over my shoulder to see the crowd dispersing. Amy smiles gently at me and shrugs her shoulders. Guess there was nothing she could do, Shane probably wouldn't have believed her if she'd tried. The man is question is still staring at me, his gun down by his side. I raise my free hand and give him a finger wiggle; He scowls even more, if possible, and steps forward however a man to his right whispers something to him which causes him to halt. Together they then turn and walk away although Shane keeps throwing glances at us over his shoulder.
"I really think he's trying hard to find something bad so he can kick you guys out".
Merle puts a hand to his chest. "I'm offended."
"No you're not. You'd be over the moon if we could leave". Me to.
"Yeah well, we're givin' it a week then we're gettin' the fuck outta here". I honestly doubt anything's going to happen to the cut on my forehead but they seem hell bent on not allowing it to have the chance.
"Yeah I know, so how about you teach me some moves with a knife".
TWDTWDTWDTWD
Daryl's been gone now for over fifteen hours and I'm really starting to worry. The sun is starting to set and he promised he'd be back before it got dark.
"Will ya sit down?" I stop my pacing to glare down at Merle who is sat sharpening his knife.
"No, he should be back by now. Why isn't he back?"
Merle sighs and leans back in his chair. "He's fine. Boy knows how to handle himself, he's just gotten distracted with the huntin'". How is he so calm, his little brother is missing.
"You cannot be serious! Doesn't matter how well you can handle yourself, anything can go wrong". I start up my pacing as my mind starts running wild. "What if he ran into some people, or too many walkers, or, or what if he fell and can't get back up. Wha..."
As I turn in my pacing Merle is suddenly in my path, he then shoves me down into the chair. I gasp in surprise.
"You say another word I'm gonna gag ya, ya here?" I clamp my mouth shut in surprise at the sharpness in his voice. "He is fine, he knows what he is doin'. That boy will get back here". I stare at him in silence as I now understand his anger. He's not just trying to convince me, he's trying to convince himself. He's just as worried as I am, he's just better at hiding it. Merle squats down before me. "And if for some reason he ain't back by sun up we'll go out and get him. Deal?"
I'm not sure I can wait until morning but Merle's the tracker and he knows he's not going to be able to do anything in the dark. "Deal".
I will sit here and stop making things worse but there is no way I'm going to be able to relax, not until he's walked back through that tree line and he's okay.
Merle takes sits next to the very small campfire he has going, he has water boiling on it, he still looks calm but in the faint light I can see his eyes dart across the tree line every now and again.
...
I am unbelievably tired but I refuse to go to bed, no matter how many times Merle demands I go. We haven't got long until the sun starts to rise and the two of us already have a bag packed each so we can leave as soon as the light shines over the horizon.
It has been a long night, neither one of us has really said anything to each for the last six hours, both of us to on edge to be able to be civil to each other.
Merle lifts his head up and stares out towards the tree line behind our tent. I sit forward in my chair trying to listen to what he thinks he can hear. He's done this multiple times throughout the night, and each time it's just an animal walking through the leaves. Merle grabs his rifle and quickly jumps to his feet, he then aims it towards the sound that I can know hear. It's footsteps without a doubt, but who's, dead or alive.
My heart starts hammering double time in my chest as my stomach becomes heavy. Daryl steps through the trees and I lose control of my actions as I immediately run towards him.
He makes a noise as I crash straight into him, my arms wrapping around him tight. He's rigid under my body but I don't care, it's what he gets for scaring us like that.
His free hand touches my side as I keep my face pressed into his chest.
"Where the fuck 'ave you been?"
"I didn't wanna leave without the deer, but the fucker got eaten 'fore I could catch up to it." His chest vibrates against my ear as he talks to Merle, while my mind starts to work over time. Amy's voice keeps repeating over and over in my mind take the chance, I honestly thought something had happened to him. She's right the world isn't normal anymore, we can't wait for the things we want, we have to take them when we can. One day he could walk out for a hunt and never come back and I will regret not doing this.
I look up at him, he's looking over my head. Standing on my toes I reach up and press my lips to his. It takes him a second to react and when he does, wow.
He jerks his head back suddenly so I quickly let go of him, a blush working its way onto me cheeks. He's glaring down at me, in fact he looks like I just slapped him. I take a small step back, he kissed me back but it could have just been a moment of weakness.
"Sor..." Before I have time to finish blinking he's dropped his crossbow and has pulled me flush up against his body. His lips are desperate and urgent against my own.
And then it's over.
We let go off each other as I step back once more. My face is burning and I'm biting my lip to stop myself from grinning.
"What was that for?" I can tell by the edge of his mouth as he talks that he to is trying to hold in a smirk.
"Welcome home". I'm not going to berate him or tell him how stressed he made me. It doesn't matter now because he's here and he's safe and that's all that matters.
"Well fuck me doll face", Merles voice breaks my attention away from Daryl, I'd forgotten he was here. "If that's how ya greet someone then I'd better leave more often".
I ignore him although Daryl throws a bundle of squirrels at him, did not see those before.
"What the fuck happened to you". Daryl rushes past me and forces Merles head to the side. I can't help it, I laugh.
Merle jerks his head away and locks his glaring stare onto me. "She clocked me in the fuckin' jaw".
I shrug "You moved, I told you not to move, that is not my fault. But hey, at least we know I can pack a blow".
"Ya hit him?" Daryl is confused, I guess he didn't know about Merles intentions today.
"He was teaching me self-defence. It was an accident and he's been nothing but a baby since it happened".
"Have not".
"Have too". I return the glare, although I'm sure mine has less of an impact.
Daryl scoops up the squirrels and with one last glance in my direction he heads back to camp.
So here we are another chapter done, won't be too much longer before we start to get to the action of season one.