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GREY KINGSTON
it's calmer the further daryl and i head east. we're trekking in a big, half circle until we're far enough to swing north to hilltop. there's been no sign of the herd for the past hour. it's early evening by now, the sun won't be out for much longer.
"are you okay?" i ask softly. i've noticed daryl's a lot quieter than usual, and it's not just because we're trying to go unheard through the woods.
"fine." he replies.
"now you sound like me." i smile, catching his attention.
he doesn't return the smile, per usual, he just looks back down to his feet, "what're we supposed to do with negan and the saviors? just forgive and forget?"
"no," i shake my head. "nobody can forgive and forget what they've done."
his crossbow swings in his right hand with each step he takes, "then how are we gonna do this?"
"we'll figure it out—" i stop walking the second i notice he's stopped as well. i look over my shoulder at him; at the blank look he's giving me. "what?"
"never mind." he says, continuing forward.
"no, tell me."
"nah. shouldn't be talkin' about this with you anyway."
"what?" i almost laugh as i catch up to his fast past. "what do you mean?"
"how are you okay with this?" he asks. "after the things they did to you? knowin' your dad's with them? if i knew my old man was with the saviors, they would've stopped existing a long time ago. with the way you talk about your dad, i would've thought you'd feel the same, but you're on rick's side. as usual."
"daryl," i sigh, marching after him. "there's no sides, there's only what's best for our future. listen—" i grab his shoulder, turning him around to look at me. "i'm not saying it's gonna be easy, but it's the way it is now. we'll figure it out."
his lips part to say something, but a snap of a twig somewhere around us prevents those words from coming out. my heart rate picks up immediately and i tug daryl into a squatting position.
i look around us, checking in between each dead tree for any sign of the herd catching up to us.
"besides, what's my opinion anyway?" i whisper. "you always act like you don't need anybody for anything."
"yours is different." he mutters.
i look at him—his head is turned away from me as he strains his ears to listen for walkers.
"it's one thing to let negan live," he changes the subject before i can question what he meant by that. "it's another to say we're all gonna work together. we can't live in the same world as him and the saviors. it ain't gonna work."
