RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

shirewilt

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA was their next destination.

With the old plan compromised, for lack of better words, the next best decision was Richmond. They had no other solid leads, and Noah was able to convince Rick that it was their safest bet. He shared what Richmond was like when he was last there, at the very beginning of the end of the world. The community was called Shirewilt, an establishment of 20 or more suburban homes. Originally, large structural walls and a gate were put in place to keep strangers out, it was a pretty tight knit community. But now, at least Noah hopes, the walls are keeping the dead out too. The plan was settled, they'd be on the road as soon as they could to get there, all they needed now was another vehicle to hold the rest of them. 

Holding out on the road while they waited for Eugene to wake up was becoming riskier as the massive herd slowly drew closer to them. The men helped Eugene into the van along with some of the others. The idea was to head back south a few miles, take any road they could that would lead into a town, and scope the place out for a vehicle and some supplies. It was a flawed plan, a bit crazy, but it had to work. Tyreese drove the van with Eugene, Rosita, Tara, Abraham, Carl, and the kids while the others kept up from behind. 

"We're a few miles out from Monroe. Maybe that place has what we need?" Carol studied the map as they walked.

"It's a bit too close for comfort to Atlanta, so if we're thinking about stopping, it's gotta be quick." Rick glanced over at the map for a second. 

"What about Eugene?" Maggie asked. "Took those hits pretty hard, and another one on his way to the ground. If he doesn't wake up, what then?"

"You think he's brain dead or somethin'?" Daryl asked her.

Maggie shrugged. "If I knew for sure, I wouldn't be asking. But we don't know."

"What we do know is that he's been knocked out for too long." Sasha spoke up. "Hasn't reacted to anything we've done to get him up. He's going to slow us down if-"

"We aren't deciding on anything like that yet." Rick interrupted heavily. "Give it more time. That's a big decision to make."

"He's in that van with your kids." Glenn said to both Rick and Willow. "If he turns because we kept him with us, then-"

"He won't turn because he's not dead." Rick's voice was deep and full of agitation. 

"Stop it, both of you." Carol stepped in. "Now isn't the time to be doing this."

"When is the time?" Sasha mumbled under her breath.

"When we can all discuss it together, as a group." Willow said back. "The people in that van are with us too, whether we like them or not. Eugene is one of their people, and that makes him ours now too. Just the few of us don't get to decide all of that without talking to them about it first."

-

The group split up into small groups once they got to Monroe. It was a ghost town, not any different than any other town they've been to, but it still felt different. It was scarily similar to what Woodbury was like, and that made it far worse.

"You got any room in that bag?" Daryl rummaged through a tall shelf of the food mart they decided to scavenge.

Willow handed him her bag, watching him stuff granola bars and fruit snacks into it, eventually just dumping the whole contents of the shelf in, but it still wasn't much. It was obvious people have been through the town, but it was strange that they didn't take everything with them. Some other shelves of the mart had a few things left too; canned vegetables and fruits, boxes of cereal.