REVERIE ➽───❥ DARYL DIXSON

One

“Go!”
          The acrid stench of Nitroglycerin filled Jenny Winchester's nose as she pulled the trigger.  The bullet collided with the stumbling half rotted corpse.  Blood, splattered out of the back of its head and it crumpled to the ground.
          “Jyn!” Sam Winchester pressed his back to his sister, forcing at a zombie that came up on them.
          The three Winchesters, Jyn, Sam and Dean were surrounded by the dead.  Flesh hung off their bones, eyes grey and milky.  A walker snarled at Jenny, it's jaw dislocated, teeth rotting in its mouth. Jenny kicked the creature to get him down.  To her disgust, her boot broke through its grey skin.
           She didn’t have many bullets left, so she withdrew a danger in one hand and slashed the corpses’ face.  It fell to the ground and she removed her boot from its stomach, dragging it’s small intestine with it. 
           Dean jammed the butt of his gun into a zombie’s head and blood splattered across his knuckles.   “Go! Let’s go!”  he shouted and the three of them turned, bolting down the street.
            The air hung heavily with the stench or the dead as the Winchesters ran down the streets or Atlanta.  They had been in the city looking for supplies.  They had made out with some loot from a convenient store when they had been ambushed by a couple dozen Zombies. 
            “Jenny, this way!”  Dean called, grabbing her by the collar of her jacket.  She turned down an ally, Dean behind her as Sam ran ahead.  There was a herd of Zombies heading towards them and Sam stopped his siblings. 
             “The fire escape.”  Jenny suggested.  The bottom half of the stairs had been dislocated and was laying on the ground, twisted and splattered with old blood and guts. 
             “We'll give you a boost.  Come on.”  Sam said and knelt down.  Jenny didn’t have time to object and quickly did as she was told.  Sam pushed her up and she managed to grab the bottom of the platform.  She hauled herself up and turned around. Extending a hand to Sam. 
             “Come on, hurry.”  Jenny hissed her hand outstretched and fingers splayed. 
             A zombie rounded the corner, gurgling and snarling.  Dean swore and took out a knife, stabbing the creature in the eye and pulling his knife out.  “We gotta go, come on.”  He grunted and Sam jumped up, holding a hand out to Dean who took it.  Sam grunted with exertion as he hauled Dean up high enough for him to grab the rails.  Both her brothers pulled themselves over the grid and.  The three of them began to climb. 
             They didn’t have time to take a breath as they scaled the building.  They reached the roof and Jenny collapsed on the ground, panting.
             “Screw this.”  She rasped as she took a few deep breaths. 
             There were mumbles of agreement as they laid on the roof for a while.  “Who’s all alive?” Jenny asked. 
            “Sam.” Sam spoke, and raised his hand tiredly.
            “Dean.”  Dean grunted, and sat up, throwing his backpack off his shoulder. 
            “Jyn.”  Jenny said and rolled onto her side. 
            The rooftop was clear so the Winchesters set up camp.  Jenny dug some canned food out of her bag and passed it around. 
             “At least something good came out of today.”  Sam said as Jenny popped open a can of corn and stared down at the fluid that soaked the bright yellow cornels.  In any ordinary day she would be earing junk with Dean and making fun of Sammy and his rabbit food, but those days laid behind them.
             The three ate in silence, all that could be heard was the slurping.  The three of them saved the cans, throwing them back into the bag.  The empty cans would come in handy, they could use them as a distraction leaving the building tomorrow.
             Jenny propped her head against her bag and folded her arms over her stomach.  She was tired.  Sure before the apocalypse they usually got 2-4 hours on sleep on the average day, but when the groans of the dead echoed through the city, they got even less. 
             Sam got up and uncapped a container of salt and began to draw a circle around Jenny, Dean and himself. 
            “What’s our plan?”  Jenny asked and Dean grunted as he laid down.
            “We’ll hit some stores, get more ammo.” Dean said.
            Gun stores were most likely empty due to the panicked raids, that would be a waste of time, but they couldn’t fight their way out of a herd with a knife.  They needed bullets. 
             “Try and get some sleep, Jyn.”  Sam said as he laid down and Jenny nodded, adjusting her backpack.  Within minutes Dean was snorting softly and Sam was glaring at him before turning his head in Jenny's direction. 
            Jenny was born a few hours after Sam, and though they were twins, people often commented about how much she and Dean were alike.  Like Dean she shared an adoration for all things pie, but she had Sam’s Auburn hair and shared their green eyes. 
            Jenny was raised just like Sam and Dean.  On the road, moved around, sitting in the motel while their dad killed monsters… that is, until she was old enough to kill them herself. 
            Sam drifted off to sleep and Jenny looked up at the sky.  There were so many stars.  Their blinking faces no longer hidden by the glare of city lights.  After Sam had went off to Stanford, and Dean continued to hunt, Jenny went with Dean.  On the slow days driving aimlessly, she would listen to music with Dean, eat junk without Sam’s disapproval, and learn different languages on her headphones. 
            Jenny closed her eyes, breathing softly in and out as her mind began to shut down her body, allowing her boy to relax.  Some people wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing those Zombies roamed the streets, but for the Winchesters, knowing there were monster put there wasn’t a foreign concept.
               ⚝──⭒─⭑─⭒──⚝
Jenny woke up on the roof of the abandoned building as the sun rose.  Her, Dean and Sam gathered their supplies and the three Winchesters, surveyed the streets from the ground.  There were only a couple of the undead staggering about in the streets, and with their vantage point, they didn’t see any surprises.
          Jenny climbed back down the fire escape after Sam and Dean.  By the time she got down, Dean was jamming his knife through the eye socket of the creature.  The gurgling stopped and it crumpled to the ground.
          “Baby is parked by that dumpster.”  Dean said and the three of them crossed the street.  Baby had run out of gas with was the main reason they had run to the convenient store, but upon seeing the loot therein, they couldn’t pass up a chance to restock on food, tools and whatever medical supplies lingered on the shelves. 
           The Winchesters made their way over to the dumpster and Dean unfurled the tattered tarp to reveal the blood stained car.  Once they were out of Atlanta, Dean would give the car his undivided attention. 
           Sam got into the passenger and Dean slipped into the driver’s seat as Jenny sprawled across the backseat. 
           “Close your legs, Jyn, you’re not Dean.”  Sam mumbled upon seeing his sister sitting with her legs open.  Jenny opened her legs wider and leaned back, making a point of retaliating.  Sam rolled his eyes and Dean chuckled as he put the 1967 Impala into gear. 
           The car started down the street, and Jenny tended to a cut on Sam's arm.  He’d accidentally scraped his arm agent the the metal fire escape.  The cut wasn’t deep and wasn’t bleeding too bad, but it was open. 
           Jenny pinched the skin around the cut and retrieved the super glue, running the pointing tip along the broken skin, sealing the cut.  They couldn’t risk infection or zombie blood getting into his skin.  Shed lost her brothers once, and wouldn’t do it again.  After Dean was killed by Hellhounds, Sam grew distant and left Jenny with Bobby. 
           Bobby.  It hurt to think about Bobby, or anyone for that matter.  She didn’t know where Bobby was, or Ellen, or Jo. 
           Dean cursed and stomped on the breaks.  Jenny jerked forward, and grunted as her seat belt tightened around her middle.  Jenny looked up, and gaped.  A huge heard lay before them.  They had seen them and began to back away from the army tank they had surrounded. 
           “How much ammo you got?”  Dean asked and checked his gun.  Jenny checked her backpack and passed her brothers each a cade of bullets.  “Alright, let’s go.”  Dean said.
           The three Winchesters got out of the car and started shooting at the Zombies.  There was a large carcass on the ground, red and freshly picked over.  The guts had been consumed by the bloodthirsty masses.
          Jenny shot each zombie one by one, the three of them and their accurate aim began to make a dent in the herd. 
          “They just keep coming!” Dean called and Jenny stepped back, Sam covering her while she reloaded.  As the Zombies fell, the next wave stumbled over the bodies.  Blood soaked the asphalt as brains were blown out.
          There was a rattle and gunshots within the herd.  Jenny looked through the crowd and saw a man in a sheriff’s uniform shooting at the Zombies as he escaped from inside the tank. 
          He killed eight of the Zombies before Jenny saw a man grab his sleeve.  A live man, his eyes went wide as the sheriff turned on him, aiming his gun at the guy's face.
          “Whoa! Not dead!”  the guy shouted, “Come on! Come on! Back here! Come on!” the gym dragged the sheriff into the ally, turning to wave at the three Winchesters, “Come on!”
          Jenny and Sam starting running towards the alley as more dead closed in about them, Dean on their heels, shooting as many as he could.  They reached a ladder and began to climb up.  The sheriff turned to stare at the Winchesters as they kept the dead at bay.
          “Come on, get up.” The guy climbing the ladder called.  The sheriff began to pull his way up and Jenny followed, Sam and Dean covered each other before climbing up themselves.  The snarls and groans followed them as they collapsed on a landing, panting.   Both pant.
          “Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood.” The guy spoke, “You the new sheriff come riding in to clean up the town?” upon closer inspection, Jenny made a mental note of the guy.  He was young, probably around her and Sam’s age.  He had black hair beneath a baseball cap and almond shaped eyes.
           “It wasn't my intention.”  The sheriff said, looking sideways at the Winchesters. 
           “Yeah, whatever.  Yeehaw. You're still a dumb***.” he said.
           “Thanks.” The sheriff said and the guy nodded.
           “Glenn.” The guy introduced himself, “You're welcome.”  He said and turned to the Winchesters.  “Where'd you come from?” he asked and Sam and Dean exchanged a look with Jenny. 
           Before anyone had a chance to speak, Glenn looked down as a zombie got a grip on the ladder and began to climb it, slowly, the flesh on its arms ripping and oozing blood.  “Oh no.  The bright side: It'll be the fall that kills us.  I'm a glass-half-full kind of guy.”  Glenn said and began to climb the next section of the ladder.  Jenny followed, then Sam and Dean, neither of the three Winchesters knew what they were getting into. 
          The group reached the roof of the store and looked around, “Are you the one that barricaded the alley?” the sheriff asked. 
          “Somebody did… I guess when the city got overrun.  Whoever did it was thinking not many geeks would get through.”  Glenn said. 
           “Back at the tank, why'd you stick your neck out for me?”  the sheriff asked, and looked back at the Winchesters who followed close behind.
           “Call it foolish, naive hope that if I'm ever that far up s*** creek, somebody might do the same for me.  Guess I'm an even bigger dumb*** than you.”  Glenn chuckled. 
           “Do you four know each other?” the sheriff asked.  He hoped that there was a large enough group out there that could help him find sanctuary, and possibly his family. 
           “No.” Sam spoke, “I’m Sam.”  He said.  Jenny nodded.  She knew why Sam purposefully left out their last name, in a world of monsters, the Winchesters had massive targets on their backs.
           The troupe walked across the roof and took the ladder down the other side.  Glenn was followed by the Winchesters and the sheriff.  It lead down the backwards into a building.  Glen peered around the corner, taking up a walkie-talkie and turning it on.
          “I'm back. Got four guests plus four geeks in the alley.”  Glen said, and headed down another staircase to a door where two Zombies appeared.  Two men, Morales and T-Dog, come out with protective gear and baseball bats.  They each go after one of the Walkers and bash their brains in.  The brains splattered over the cement in a gooey mess.  The decaying bodies crumbling to the ground, fragile bones breaking upon impact.
          “Let's go!” the Winchesters, the sheriff and Glenn made their way into the store. The guided strangers following after. 
          “Morales, let's go!” T-Dog, one of the strangers called and Morales followed after they finished the zombies.
           Heading into the building where two more survivors, Jacqui and Andrea are waited, taking cover from the frenzy outside.
           Before anyone could say anything, the blonde, Andrea pointed a gun in his face. “You son of a b****.  We ought to kill you.” She spat.  Dean pulled Jenny behind him and placed a hand on his gun.  If this crazy lady fired on the Sheriff, chances were she’d try to kill them next.
          “Just chill out, Andrea.  Back off.”  Morales said. 
          “Come on, ease up.” Jacqui said. 
          “Ease up?” Andrea echoed, “You're kidding me, right? We're dead because of these stupid a-holes.”  She hissed.
          “Andrea, I said back the h*** off.”  Morales defended the sheriff. 
          “We're dead… All of us… Because of you.” She said, her throat constricting as she spoke.  Her emotions boiling over.
          “I don't understand.”  The sheriff said.
          “Look, we came into the city to scavenge supplies.  You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! You know the key to surviving? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing.  Not shooting up the streets like it's the O.K. Corral.” Morales spoke. 
          “Every geek for miles around heard you popping off rounds.”  T-Dog said and gestured to the front of the store.  Place was dark, and the reason for that was the hundreds of bodies pressed against the glass.  They were banging on the doors with their rotting fists, flesh peeling and dripping from their limbs.
          “You just rang the dinner bell.” Andrea whispered.
          “Get the picture now?” Morales asked.  They watched the zombies growling and trying to get into the store.  A few attempted to smash through the double set of doors to get to them.  One of them busted their skull against the window.  Blood smearing down the glass as it gurgled, growls smothered by the blood.
          “Oh Gosh. What the h*** were you doing out there anyway?” Andrea snapped.
          “Trying to flag the helicopter.”  The sheriff said.  The three Winchesters exchanged a glance.  They hadn’t seen a plane, let alone a helicopter in the skies for a long time.
          “Helicopter? Man, that's crap.  Ain't no d*** helicopter.” T-Dog grunted.
          “You were chasing a hallucination, imagining things.  It happens.” Jacqui spoke.
          “I saw it.” The sheriff insisted.
          “Hey, T-Dog, try that C.B.  Can you contact the others?” Morales asked. 
          “Others? The refugee center?” Dean asked.
          “Yeah, the refugee center.  They've got biscuits waiting at the oven for us.” Jacqui said sarcastically.
           T-Dog turned the dials on the C.B. trying to get in contact with some other survivors but got no signal.  “Got no signal.” T-Dog relayed, “Maybe the roof.” As soon as he spoke a gunshot echoed down from the roof above.  
          “Oh no.  Is that Dixon?” Andrea asked.
          “What is that maniac doing?” Morales snapped. 
          “Come on, let's go.” Glenn spoke.  The group turned and followed the survivors as they ran up the stairs to the roof.
          As they burst out onto the roof, Jenny say a man shooting at the Zombies on the street below, a sniper rifle in his hands.  He shot about four rounds, successfully hitting two of the zombies. 
          “Hey, Dixon, are you crazy?!” T-Dog shouted.  The man he called Dixson laughed  and continued shooting.
          Andrea sighed, “Oh jeez.” She mumbled.  
          “Hey! Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh? Only common sense.” Merle Dixson replied.  His greying hair was buzzed, and he wore a white tank top, the sides covered in pit stains. 
          “Man, you're wasting bullets we ain't even got” T-Dog shouted.  Merle continued laughing, “And you're bringing even more of them down on our a**! Man, just chill.” 
          “Hey!” Merle snapped, “Bad enough I've got this taco-vender on my a** all day.  Now I'm gonna take orders from you? I don't think so, bro.  That'll be the day.” Merle growled. 
          “’That'll be the day’? You got something you want to tell me?” T-Dog snapped. 
          “Hey, T-Dog man, just leave it.” Morales tried to reason with T-Dog, but the damage was done. 
          “All right? It ain't worth it.  Now Merle, just relax, okay? We've got enough trouble.”  Morales said.
          Merle stepped up in T-Dog's face.  “You want to know the day?”  Merle asked and T-Dog nodded, “I'll tell you the day, Mr. ‘Yo.’ It's the day I take orders from you.”  Merle sneered T-Dog.  T-Dog cursed and swung a punch.  In seconds the two were rolling on the ground, fighting one another like the dead weren’t walking among them.
          Jenny watched in surprises and her brothers intervened, pulling the two apart.  Merle elbowed Dean’s nose and he grunted as blood gushed from his nostrils.
          “Hey, come on, Merle.  That's enough.” Morales shouted while Andrea protested beside him, “Come on. Dixon!” She called as Morales shouted again, “Whoa, cut it out, man!”
          “Stop it! Get off him!” Jenny called as Merle elbowed Dean a second time, nearly getting Dean’s nose again.
          “Dixon, you're gonna hurt him.” Andrea shouted.
          “Merle, cut it out!” Merle trained blows on T-Dog beating him till he had cuts on his face.  His lip and eye swelled.  Merle then took the opportunity to grab his pistol and point it to T-Dog’s face.
          “No, no, no, please.  Please.”  Andrea cried as everyone went very still, waiting to see what Dixon would do.
          “Yeah! All right! We're gonna have ourselves a little powwow, huh? Talk about who's in charge.  I vote me.  Anybody else? Huh? Democracy time, y'all. Show of hands, huh? All in favor? Huh? Come on.  Let's see 'em.” No one moved as Merle crowed, “Oh, come on.  All in favor? Yeah.” People reluctantly raised their hands, hoping that T-Dog would be spared. 
          “That's good.  Now that means I'm the boss, right? Yeah.  Anybody else? Hmm? Anybody?” Merle chuckled.
          “Yeah.” The sheriff spoke.  When Merle turned towards him, the sheriff hit him over the head with a metal pipe.  As Merle went down, the sheriff handcuffed him to the pipes on the roof, crouching down beside him.
          Jenny ran over to Dean who was dabbing his nose with his flannel sleeve. 
          “Who the h*** are you, man?!” Merle shouted.
          “Officer friendly.” The sheriff grumbled sarcastically, “Look here, Merle.  Things are different now. No dumb, inbred white-trash fools.  Only dark meat and white meat.  There's us and the dead.  We survive this by pulling together, not apart.”  The sheriff said. 
          Merle groaned and rubbed his tender head.  “Screw you, man.”
          “I can see you make a habit of missing the point.” The sheriff spoke. 
          “Yeah? Well, screw you twice.”  Merle spat.  
          “Ought to be polite to a man with a gun.” Sam spoke as he and the sheriff cocked their guns, “Only common sense.”
          “You wouldn't.  You're a cop.” Merle smirked.
          “All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son.  Anybody that gets in the way of that is gonna lose.  I'll give you a moment to think about that.  Got some on your nose there.”  The sheriff said.
          “What are you gonna do? Arrest me?” Merle laughed, but it was cut short when the sheriff took Merle’s gun and Dean picked up the Sniper riffle, handing it to Jenny who held it like a professional.  On cases with Sam and Dean, Jenny had the sharpest eye that Sam and Dean knew.  Not to mention her killer accuracy.
          “Hey! What are you doing? Man, that was my stuff!” Merle shouted, “Hey! If I get loose, you'd better pray… Yeah, you hear me, you pig?! You hear me?!” Merle shouted as the sheriff headed towards the ledge. 
          “Yeah, your voice carries.” He muttered.
          “Do you hear me, you filthy pig?!” Merle continued till Jenny stood over him, pointing the gun at his chin.
          “Shut up a**butt.” She growled.
          At the edge of the roof, Morales walked over to the sheriff, Dean following after.  “You're not Atlanta P.D. Where you from?” Morales asked. 
          “Up the road a ways.” The sheriff said. 
          “Well, officer friendly from up the road a ways, welcome to the big city.”  He said as they looked it over.  The sheriff turned to Dean and looked at him.  Clearly he knew his way around a gun, as did his sister.  They held there guns in a military fashion.  No one else held their guns that way.
          “You military?” the sheriff asked.
          Dean shook his head with a chuckle, “No.  Our dad was, taught us all to shoot.  I’m Dean.” Dean said and held out his hand.  The sheriff shook his hand.
          “Rick Grimes.”