Chapter 21-A way out

Daryl's P.O.V

Daryl follows Merle. "Merle," Daryl says.

"What the hell has happened to you?" Merle asks as he turns to face his brother. "Those walkers are a threat, they need to be gone. I get it baby brother, you're trying to fit in." "We need Hershel." "The hell we do, we don't need any of them, we don't need your Korean friend, we don't need your new cop buddy, and we sure as hell don't need that weak old man," Merle growls. "We need him, he's a doctor, he knows about farming, we need people Merle. We owe Hershel the time to grieve his family. He saved Amy, the least we can do is give him the time to process what Jenner said." "Oh, I get it now, baby brother, you feel indebted to the old man because he saved your blond bitch," Merle growls. "You've become a goddamn pussy, Darlene. All because you have feelings for some dumb blond college bitch," Daryl's punches his brother in the face causing him to stumble back. Daryl goes to hit Merle again who ducks under the swing and punches his brother in the face. He grabs him by his shirt and punches him again as Daryl brings his knees into his brother's stomach causing Merle to let him go and back up. Daryl charges into his brother knocking him on the ground. Daryl grabs Merle's shirt and starts to punch him. "Daryl," Glenn says as they group runs over to them. Glenn grabs Daryl by his arm and pulls his best friend away. Merle laid on the ground and spits the blood out of his month as Daryl pushes Glenn away and looks at his brother. "I'm done with you," Daryl says. "I've listened to your bullshit my whole life, maybe if I hadn't my life before all of this wouldn't have been so shitty, you've never been there, not when Dad was beating me, you were in jail because of the stupid ass decisions you made. You have a choice to make now. You're with us or you're gone," Daryl says. "It's us against the dead, Merle. So decide if you wanna be part of this group, or if you want to join the deer in the woods," Daryl says before he walks away from his brother who watches the sky.

Hershel's P.O.V

Hershel sat in his room looking at a picture of his wife. He looks at the door when there was a soft knock. Maggie stood at the door. "How is she?" Hershel asks. "Sleeping, Jimmy is with her," Maggie says. "What now?"

"I don't know," Hershel says. "I don't know what to do about your sister, or the barn." "Do you think she killed him?" Maggie asks.

"I hope not," Hershel says. "I hope that they were able to save him."

Maggie nods. "We'll have to..." Maggie pauses. "I know, just give me a little bit Maggie, give your sister a little bit," Hershel tells his daughter who nods as she leaves. Hershel stands up and opens up his dresser drawer.

Amy's P.O.V

Amy watched Daryl as he wrapped his hand. "So what did he say to piss you off?" Amy asks him. "It doesn't matter," Daryl says. "It does, you've been pissed off at Merle plenty of times over the last few months but I never thought you would get in a fight with him or say what you said to him," Amy says. "What did he say?" Amy asks as Daryl sits down on the bed. The two were currently in the R.V.

"He insulted Glenn, Rick...you."

"You hit your brother cause he insulted me?" Amy asks Daryl. "I think I've wanted to hit him for a while now," Daryl says as Amy sits down beside him. "How are you doing with what Jenner said?"

"You would think I would devastated but, what's the point, this is our world now, so we can either give up or keep trying to build a life and I'm not one to give up, so I'm going to keep trying to build some kind of life," Amy says as she lays her head on Daryl's shoulder. "We're going to be okay." "We will," Daryl says before he kisses the side of her head. Amy turns her head to look at the younger Dixon brother. She lays her hand on his cheek and kisses him. Daryl returns the kiss as someone comes into the R.V.

"Finally," They both turn their head to look at Glenn who stood at the door with a smirk. "Creep," Amy says as they both stand up. "Put a sock on the door," Glenn says. "It's almost dark, tomorrow you and I will go and talk with Hershel. Madison just came outside, they think Jenner will pull through. Come on, we're all going to eat."

Daryl and Amy nod as they follow him out.

Merle's P.O.V

Merle stared at the fire as he ate some rabit stew he had made. "Enjoying dinner by yourself?" He turns his head and looks at Glenn. "What the hell are you doing here?" Merle asks. "Just finished eating, everybody is heading to bed, I think we need to talk, Merle," Glenn says. "Your leg has pretty much healed." "It has," Merle says. "That means I can kick your ass now."

"You could," Glenn says. "Before the fall, I hated my life, it was the same damn thing every day, I would wake up, work, come home, I had no friends. Daryl is the first friend I've had a long time and I love him like a brother. What he said is true, it's time to decide Merle, you're either with us or you're gone. You have until tomorrow night to decide," Glenn says before he walks away from the older Dixon brother who looks back at the fire.

Alicia's P.O.V

Alicia laid down on her sleeping bag and sighed. She looked up when she heard walking. She got out of her tent and saw a figure watching towards the fence. She follows them and finds Lori leaning against the fence. "Lori," Alicia says making the older woman look at her. "You okay." "The dinner isn't sitting well with me," Lori says as she wipes her mouth.

Alicia nods. "I got your pills," Alicia says. "They're in bag, if you still want them." "I thought you said you wouldn't get them," Lori says. "I wouldn't agree with your choice but is it your choice to make, not mine. Do you want them?" "No," Lori says. "I don't want those pills. We need some hope and you were right, this baby can represent that hope."

"Good," Alicia says. "Come on, we should get back to the house," Lori nods as the two start to walk back towards the house. "Thank you, Alicia. For just helping me with all this." "We take care of each other right?" Alicia asks and Lori nods. "Now get some sleep, we have a busy couple of days ahead of us," Lori nods as she walks away from Alicia who climbs into her tent.

Rick's P.O.V

Rick walked into the kitchen the next day and saw Carol and Madison. "How's Jenner doing?" Rick asks. "Liza is with him right now, it looks like he'll pull through," Madison tells Rick who nods as he sits down. "Daryl and Glenn are going to talk with Hershel today." "Good, hopefully they'll be able to convince that we need to do something about that barn," Rick says as the group starts to enter the house. They all sat down as Glenn stood up. "Alright, I know yesterday was a hard day to say the least. We can't change what Jenner told us but we need to deal with the barn. Daryl and I will be going there after breakfast, see how Hershel and Beth are doing," Glenn tells the group. "Hopefully-" Glenn is cut off when they heard a car. Glenn walks outside followed by Daryl and Rick. Maggie and Otis climb out of the car. "He's gone," Maggie says quickly. "Who's gone?" Rick asks. "My Dad," Maggie says. "I went to get him for breakfast this morning and he was gone." "What Jenner said, it hit him hard," Otis says. "What Beth said is true, we've been locking people-walkers up in the barn, Beth's mother and brother are in that barn. We were hoping for a cure, I know we need to deal with them but we need Hershel first, I might know where he is but I'm not good out there, not like you guys are. I know you have no reason to help us after what Beth did, but we need you."

"How is Jenner?" Maggie asks. "He'll live," Daryl says. "Where do you think Hershel is?" "There's a bar in town, he went there a lot during his drinking days. I can show you where it is," Otis says. "I know where it is," Glenn says. "I saw it when I went in town with Alicia. Alright, Daryl, Rick and I will head into town, Otis, you need to keep your people calm, we'll bring Hershel back."

Otis nods as the three men go to grab their supplies.

Merle's P.O.V

Merle aims his crossbow at a squirrel and fires. He grabs the animal and starts to walk when he hears growling at the tree line. He sighs as he walks towards the growling and removes his knife. He stops when he sees a walker hanging. "You couldn't handle the news, huh?" Merle says as he looks at Jacqui's walker that hung from the tree. "I can't say I blame you for taking the easy way out. It was some pretty shitty news," Merle says as he sits down. The walker tries to grab at him. "I would have shot myself but I see you aren't carrying your gun so I guess you just didn't want anybody to find you," Merle stands up. "I guess I'm going to have to get used to seeing people die, cause I ain't losing my brother and I sure as shit ain't leaving him," Merle says before he raises his crossbow and shoots her in the head. "Don't worry, I ain't going leave you up there," Merle says as he starts to climb the tree.

Travis's P.O.V

Travis walks into the bedroom and looks at Jenner as he stared at the celling. "How are you feeling?" Travis asks. "Better," Jenner says. "Yesterday, you were okay with us leaving you to die from that stab wound," Travis says as he sits down. "Do you want to die, doctor?" "I was planning to die," Jenner says. "The CDC was going to blow up the day after Daniel got there, he pulled me out and I was so angry, when that girl stabbed me yesterday, I still wanted to die, then I woke up this morning, another day in this world. I understand what lost is, I lost my wife at the start and I kept my promise to her, maybe now I should live for her. Do not worry, Travis, I will not be ending my life anytime soon," Jenner says to the man who nods as Nick comes into the room. The two men look at him. "What's wrong?" Travis asks. "Jacqui hung herself," Nick says. "Merle just came back with the body, he's digging a grave with Madison."

Travis nods. "Did she turn?" "Yeah she did, she wasn't bit, looks like you were right doctor," Nick says before he leaves the room. "It was better than what would have happened to her if one of them bit her," Jenner says and Travis nods as he stands up and leaves the room.

Thanks for reading, so next chapter Rick, Daryl, and Glenn will talk with Hershel, T-dog's group will arrive at Fort Benning and the group will make a decision about the barn. As always suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed. Until next time.