A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S9Pt6 - The Lumber Yard

I found Daryl at the lumber yard, and Aaron was there with a few other people from Sanctuary and the Hilltop. Aaron shook his hand and Daryl nodded, and he began getting to work. I saw Aaron working with three other guys to try and pull a tree trunk onto the pile of wood logs, and he was on the bottom pushing up. They were getting it up there, slowly and steady, so I decided to just grab some logs that were light enough to carry on my shoulders, and put them in another pile of useable wood. I caught Daryl watching me as I worked, and I eventually stopped to look back at him.
"What?" I asked and caught my breath.
"You look smokin'." He smirked.
He then raised an axe above his head and chopped a huge log into two. He huffed and looked at me, and now I was the one smirking.
"Now, that was.. hot." I smirked.
Daryl put down his axe and began walking over to me, when the mules started neighing and I looked at them. They wouldn't go off without a reason, so I spun around and looked at everything, and saw two walkers come out of the woods.
Daryl now stood by my side, and he pulled out his knife, and we both killed a walker. I then turned around and saw an entire herd walk out of the forest.
"The herd's here!" I called out. "Get out now!"
People looked at the herd and started shouting, grabbing everything they could before running. Daryl and I continued to kill what walkers we could, but they were going to overrun the place. We then heard a scream and behind us Aaron was pinned underneath one of the logs by his arm.
"Oh, shit!" I yelled and ran over to him with Daryl.
"Get the mules out of here!" Daryl yelled and pointed at a Savior. "You— get over here right now!"
I ran up to Aaron and he was groaning in pain, and I stood over him. I used my shoulder to push against the log to get it to move, but it barely did.
"Hold on." I grunted as I pushed the log again.
Daryl got to the end of the log and tried to pick it up, and the other Savior helped me push it. We grunted as we used all our strength to try and free him, but the herd was getting closer.
"Go!" Aaron said and groaned. "Get out of here! Just go!"
"We're not leaving you!" I yelled and pushed the log again.
Daryl quickly got up to kill three walkers that got to close, and ran back over to Aaron. Another Savior ran over with a crowbar, and I then moved to kneel by Aaron's side.
"Alright, up!" I yelled.
The Saviors pried the log up enough for me to pull Aaron out from underneath. He groaned as the weight got lifted off of him, and I stared at his arm. It was completely crushed and blood was everywhere. Daryl then ran over and helped Aaron stand up.
"Come on, get up. Get up! Get up!" He rushed as the herd was now getting closer. "Kelley, make me a way out of here!"
I nodded and started slashing through some walkers, and Daryl followed me. We were almost in the clear when Rick and a group of us ran out and started fighting back the walkers.
"We've got this." Rick told us. "Get him back to camp."
"On it." Daryl said.
I continued leading us back to camp, killing a few wandering walkers, and Daryl and Aaron slowly followed.
"Saddiq!" I called out and looked around. "Saddiq! Enid! I need help over here!"
I ran over to the infirmary tent and opened the flaps for Daryl to bring Aaron in. He laid Aaron down on a cot and Enid finally ran in.
"Where's Saddiq?" Daryl asked.
"He's gone. It's just me." Enid said and looked down at Aaron.
"It's just you, then." I said. "Come on."
Aaron was groaning in pain as Daryl removed a cloth he placed on his arm. It was soaked in blood and Aarons arm was covered in it.
"Enid, what can you do?" I asked as she stared at his arm.
Enid breathed heavily and looked at me. "I have to amputate." She said and started gathering her supplies.
"What?" Aaron asked weakly and looked at her.
"There ain't no other way?" Daryl asked.
"The only way to stop the bleeding is to amputate and cauterize the wound." Enid said and read something in her medical book.
"What?" Aaron asked and looked around, then his eyes landed on me.
"Hey, hey, hey." I said and held his cheek.
"Here." Enid said and handed Daryl a piece of bungee cord, and he tied it around Aaron's arm in the middle of his bicep.
"Wait, wait." Aaron said and laid his head back and started breathing heavy.
"You got something for the pain?" I then asked.
"It wouldn't kick in fast enough." Enid said and grabbed more supplies. "We have to do this now."
Daryl tightened the cord around his arm and Aaron's groans intensified.
"I'm sorry man." Daryl said and tied the cord again.
Enid then ran over with a bone saw, knives and scalpels, and a blowtorch. Aaron started whimpering in pain and looked at her.
"I need you to hold him down." She said, and I could hear a little bit of panic in her voice.
I quickly took the blade off my prosthetic so I would accidentally hurt anyone, and then I looked at Aaron. I put my hand on his forehead and caressed his hair. My motherly instincts kicked in and Aaron slightly calmed down with my touch.
"Hey, hey, you're gonna be okay." I said.
Enid then grabbed a knife and hovered it over Aaron's arm, and then stared at him.
"You can do it." Aaron grunted and nodded. "Do it."
She nodded and I then bent over Aaron, holding down his other arm and pushing his chest down. Daryl held down the arm Enid was going to amputate, and Aaron started breathing heavily again.
Enid cut right under his elbow and Aaron began groaning and screamed out in pain. His entire body was tense and I felt him wanting to move, but we kept him down. Enid managed quickly to cut his arm off, and by this time Aaron passed out from blood loss. Enid used the blowtorch to cauterize the wound and began wrapping it up in bandage. I looked down at Aaron who was still passed out, and then at his arm, and it brought back memories of my own.
I was snapped out of my thoughts when Daryl stomped out of the tent.
"Give him some medicine." I said and pointed at Aaron. "Now."
Enid nodded and I jogged after Daryl, and followed him into another tent. I was right behind him as he stormed in and saw Carol yelling at someone already.
"Who the hell was supposed to turn the herd?" Daryl asked.
We then turned around and saw Justin standing there with his arms out. "Hey. The walkie wasn't charged." He said.
Daryl then walked forwards and waved his arm. "Bullshit. It's a solar walkie. You didn't think to check it?" Daryl yelled.
"It's not my fault the radio's a piece of shit." Justin said.
Daryl automatically raised his fist and punched Justin in the face again. He spun around and fell, rolling out of the tent and into the dirt outside. Daryl followed him, and so did myself and Carol, watching what he was going to do. Before Justin could fully stand up, Daryl punched him in the face again, pushing his back against a tree.
"Daryl stop." Carol said, but he wasn't listening.
He the grabbed a random pot off the ground and hit Justin in the face with it. He collapsed on the floor and Daryl bent over him, and kept punching him. Justin's face was now bloody and he was slowly passing out, and I knew Daryl was going to kill him if he didn't stop.
"Okay, Daryl." I said and tried to grab his arm, but he kept swinging hard. "Stop." I said again and got a grip on his arm, but he shook out of it. I grabbed him again, harder this time. "I said, stop." I said calmly, and Daryl just stared at me.
I patted his arm with my hand and slowly pulled him off Justin. "He got it, okay. Don't lose yourself to this." I said and looked him in the eyes.
He just huffed and looked down at Justin, and then back at me. He then nodded and I did too.
"We'll deal with him another way. Not like this, okay." I said.
"There's only one way to deal with these assholes." He said. "You know that."
He then shook out of my grasp and walked away, and everyone murmured around us. I then waved my arms at everyone to back away.
"Go back to work, it's over here." I said.
A few people whispered to each other, but they eventually walked away, and Justin along with them.