One way or another [Daryl Dixon]

[13] ANOTHER DAY.

"Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness."

-Anonymous

At the prison, there were easily another seventy people staying with us. Merle showed the people from Woodbury to cell block D, where they'd be staying.

The rest of us will be holed up in cell block C. We've been surviving on rations and whatever Daryl and I brought back from hunting for a few days now since we took them all in. But, I t's not quite enough for the number of people living here. We needed live stock. Fortunately, Hershel was going to teach Rick the basics of gardening, which meant fresh fruit and veggies. Which meant we might actually get some nutrition around here.

I wiped the sleep from my eyes and stood up from my bunk.

When I got downstairs, the voices I'd become accustomed to were filled with enthusiasm and laughter. It felt normal, and you could almost forget about the chaos beyond the walls, if only for a moment.

Carl sat on one side and Hershel on the other as I sat down for breakfast. Carl was practically dozing off while eating his food. When he felt himself falling, his head would jolt up every few seconds.

Gently nudging him in the ribs I drew his attention. "You look rough."

Before the boy could respond, his father rushed in. "That's because he stayed up most the night reading comics." Rick glanced up.

Grinning I returned my focus to Carl while eating the tin of peaches Hershel had given me. "Which comic?"

"Are you serious, Harlow?" Rick chastised.

Carl laughed, then yawned. "New Krypton, Superman."

Aiden would read that comic over and over; I hadn't read it myself, but I knew it by heart from hearing my younger brother talk about it on a daily basis. "Then it's definitely worth it." Everyone at the table chuckled as Rick sat there with his cop brow on full display and his hands on his hips.

Carl was now going on and on about all the other comics he has read over the years; he had so much to say that it was all flowing out way too fast for my early brain to process. So, like any nice person, I sat there silently seeming to listen to the small guy and nodding my head every few seconds to really sell it.

I turned to Rick for help, but all I got was the word 'karma' muttered across the table.

After everyone had finished eating, we began discussing the day's plans. Myself, Maggie, and Glenn planned to head west and raid any buildings we could find, hoping to bring back something better than canned peaches.

While Daryl, Merle, and Michonne were on their way east to an old farmhouse Carol had seen before. She mentioned that it looked relatively untouched and that it would be wise to check to see if any livestock lingered. We'd meet back in the middle and walk back home once we'd finished.

Everyone who stayed was on DIY duty, constructing cages and small shelters in which we could keep animals, food, and whatever else we needed.

When we were all ready, we made our way to the cars. Glenn was driving, Maggie was a passenger, and I was in the backseat.

Merle was riding his brother's motorcycle because getting into a car with Michonne would result in a bloodbath. Merle is slowly making amends for all the crap he's done, but most people take time to forgive and forget.