The drive is mostly silent as the five make their way back to the city. Rick parks the cube truck on the outskirts so they can walk the rest of the way.
Daryl walks quickly as he speaks. "He better be okay."
T-Dog huffs. "I told you the geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us."
Rick looks at Glenn. "Merle first or the guns?"
Daryl scoffs. "Merle! We ain't even having this conversation."
"We are." He touches Glenn's shoulder. "You know the geography. It's your call."
He nods. "Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first."
They arrive at the department store with no issues. Inside, Daryl quickly leads them up the narrow staircase to the roof. T-Dog uses a pair of clippers he borrowed from Dale to snap off the chain.
Daryl finds out first and notices something that makes him scream. "No!"
Y/N and Rick are out next and gasp at the sight. Merle isn't there. All that's left is his hand, a pair of handcuffs, and a bloody saw.
He cut off his own hand.
Daryl quickly turns to face T-Dog, crossbow up and aiming at his head.
Before Y/N can blink, Rick has his own weapon aimed at Daryl. "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in this city hears it."
Daryl huffs and lowers the crossbow. He looks at T. "You got a do-rag or something?"
The other man nods and hands him one. Daryl leans over and picks up Merle's severed hand and places it in the cloth, wrapping it up.
"I guess the saw blade was too dull for the cuffs. Ain't that a bitch."
He puts the wrapped hand in Glenn's backpack, much to his dismay. "He must have used a tourniquet... maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't."
Y/N notices a blood trail and nudges Rick. He eyes her curiously and she points. They follow the trail down a staircase which leads them back inside the building to a set of offices.
There's a few dead walker bodies scattering the place. Daryl speaks. "Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One handed. Toughest asshоlе I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."
Rick tilts his head slightly. "Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is."
"Merle!" Daryl shouts.
Rick rolls his eyes. "Quiet. We aren't alone here, remember?"
"Screw that. He could be bleeding out. You said so yourself."
They enter a kitchen area where a gas stove is still burning. A belt sits on the counter along with blood. There's a burnt smell hanging in the air.
Rick takes a closer look and grimaces. "Skin. He cauterized the stump."
Daryl coughs. "Told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."
"Don't take that on faith. He's lost a lot of blood." Rick replies.
T-Dog points at an open window. "Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap."
"He left the building?" Y/N asks.
Glenn furrows his brow. "Why would he do that?"
Daryl shrugs. "Why wouldn't he? He's out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's got to do. Surviving."
T-Dog huffs out a laugh. "You call that surviving? Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?"
Daryl swings his crossbow over his shoulder. "No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks. You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard."
Nobody says anything and Daryl starts walking to the door. "Do what you want, i'm gonna find him."
Rick stops him. "I don't blame you. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel. He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head."
Daryl sighs. "I can do that."
T-Dog shrugs. "Only if we get those guns first. I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"
Y/N sighs. She hasn't found a good opening to sneak away yet. She at least feels obligated to help Daryl find his brother beforehand. She's partially the reason he was even up there.
Yeah, he's a bad person, but nobody deserves to die like this. She makes up her mind. She'll help get Merle back and then she's out of here.
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"You're not doing this alone." Rick says.Daryl nods. "Even I think it's a bad idea and I don't even like you much."
"It's a good idea, okay, if you just hear me out. If we go out there in a group, we're slow, drawing attention. If I'm alone, I can move fast." Glenn says.
He draws a map on the ground with a pencil. "Look. That's the tank, five blocks from where we are now. That's the bag of guns. Here's the alley I dragged you into when we first met. That's where Daryl , Y/N and I will go."
Daryl eyes him. "Why me?"
"Your crossbow is quieter than his gun." He says motioning towards Rick. While Daryl and Y/N wait here in the alley, I run up the street, grab the bag."
Rick glances at Y/N who remains silent. "You got us elsewhere?"
Glenn nods. "You and T-Dog will be in this alley here."
Rick cocks his head. "Two blocks away? Why?"
"I may not be able to come back the same way. Walkers might cut me off. If that happens, I won't go back to them. I'll go forward instead, all the way around to that alley where you guys are. Whichever direction I go, I got you in both places to cover me. Afterwards, we'll all meet back here."
They collectively nod in agreement and Daryl looks at him. "Hey kid. What'd you do before all this?"
Glenn shrugs. "Delivered pizzas. Why?"
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YOU ARE READING
Sheriff's Lover ||| Rick Grimes x Reader (TWD x Reader)
Fanfiction32 year-old Y/N was all alone on the streets of Atlanta when a man in a sheriffs uniform trots down the road on top of a horse. She decides to join him on his journey to find his family because she doesn't want to be left behind. The two run into a...