Unexpected Love | Daryl Dixon Fanfic

Chapter 6 - Buried or Burned

I woke up in the small two man tent that Daryl and I shared last night. He had given me his brother's sleeping bag and it didn't take long for us both to drift off to sleep.

As I sat up, I cracked my back and stretched my arms above my head, letting out a soft yawn which woke the sleeping redneck. "Morning handsome."

"Mornin'." He definitely wasn't a morning person. We both stood and chucked on our boots, before unzipping the tent and making our way out.

A couple of the group were awake and trudging around the camp, collecting bodies from both the walking dead and deceased members of the group. Daryl stalked his way over to a clearing up the hill where I could see Glenn and T-Dog already digging graves and burning bodies. There is no better smell to wake up to in a morning than burning flesh. Yum...

I saw my brother stood with Shane and Lori, talking quietly and motioning towards a woman who was hunched over a lifeless girl.

I could tell even from this distance that she was heartbroken. By the looks of it they must've been close, sisters was my best guess.

Not wanting to get involved, I turned and followed in the direction where Daryl had walked earlier. I wanted to put myself to use and not be as useful as a chocolate fire guard. Nobody spoke a word to me when I reached the top, most not even realizing my presence.

I picked up a shovel and just mindlessly started digging. I got a few odd stares from some of the women, I guess that was because I was a stranger who decided to help. I just hoped they didn't come over and introduce themselves yet.

After a while I popped my head up from my hole when I heard Daryl raise his voice. "Y'all can't be serious. Let that girl hamstring us? The dead girl's a time bomb." My brother calmly turned to him and said, "What do you suggest?"

Without hesitation he replied "Take the shot. Clean, in the brain from 'ere. Hell, I can hit a turkey between the eyes from this distance. Any bets your fuckin' sister could prolly do the same." Rick quickly snapped back "She easily could, but that's not the point..."

Everybody's attention was now turned to me. They both must not have realized I was there as Daryl's face dropped slightly and my brother sighed when they saw me.

The silence at that moment was deafening. I sucked my teeth and pulled myself out of the hole. I turned and started walking back down to camp, launching the shovel in the forest just to solidify the point that I was pissed.

I had been here all of a day. They had all seen my little outburst with the dead and now, apparently, I was some sort of hitman. I mean, that wouldn't be too far from the truth, but the last thing I wanted was my dirty laundry being aired to a bunch of strangers.

I wanted to do nothing but distance myself at this moment, it was what I was best at after all. I had decided to take a walk to clear my head. I took my duffel bag with me out the car that had a spare set of clothes in and found myself down by a body of water in the bottom of the quarry. It was quite beautiful down here, peaceful.

As if I was in autopilot, I started to remove my clothing, leaving myself in just my underwear. I had been in the same set of clothes for weeks after my breakdown with Rick. Eww. I needed a wash and to change, and it was relatively private down here.

I am comfortable in my body. I hate enough of myself that scrutinizing the way I look seems like a fool's errand. Being conscious about something that is natural just wasn't in my vocabulary.

Due to work and exercising regularly it meant that I was quite muscular. My thighs and calves could outshine some significant body builders. I'm also littered in tattoos that I was more than proud of, why not show them off. I had one on the inside of my ankle, a couple on my thighs, both forearms, one across the top of my ribs and a large back piece.

I stepped into the cool water, compared to the searing heat of the Georgian summer it was a welcome change. I walked in further and the water got deeper, eventually reaching up to my collar bone. It was a nice day for a swim, and nobody was there to stop me so why not.

I did a couple of lengths before stopping and grabbing my soap and shampoo out of my bag. I took my long hair out of my braids, feeling the hair brush the top of my backside and left the hair ties on the ground. I quickly washed my hair and did a once over on my body, before submerging myself in the fresh water.

When I came up, it was then I realized that I wasn't alone. I looked up to see my brother and Daryl standing there, both sets of eyes avoiding me like the plague. Seen as they'd both pissed me off, I took this time to mess with them a little bit.

I slowly sauntered out of the water in their direction. My brother was finding a rock to his right very fascinating and was steadfast in his staring, whereas Daryl wasn't so competent. I saw the few glances he threw my way, even though he had so badly tried to cover them, and the blush creeping over his cheeks.

"Anybody going to pass me the towel?" I was disappointed when it was my brother who reached down and rapidly threw it at me, not taking his eyes off the rock. Looked like Lori had some serious competition.

I swiftly wrapped myself up and now they turned my way. "Why the fuck you got to do that Emma?" my brother barked. "I needed a wash and seen as you two arse wipes gave me a great exit cue, I thought I'd take some time for myself. Have you come to apologise or just to piss me off some more?"

Underneath the towel I removed my sodden underwear and replaced them with a dry set that was in my bag. I pulled on another pair of shorts, this time they were a blue denim.

"Look, I'm sure I can say for the both of us that were sorry-" Rick started, Daryl not making eye contact but nodding along. "- but that can wait. We've had a discussion whilst you were AWOL, and we've decided to leave and head for the CDC. There's a good chance they know what this is. It's an opportunity we can't pass up."

Turns out they had come down to rile me up some more. "Looks like I don't really have a say in the matter if it's already decided." I started putting on a new black tank top when rick began again "We care about your opinion Emma and want to know your thoughts."

I threw the towel at him, anger going past boiling point. "No! If any of you cared about my opinion, you'd have come and found me. You've made your mind up anyway, so what's the point of voicing my opinion. If I turned around and said it's the stupidest idea you've had to date, would it change your mind?"

I was met with a wall of silence, none of them wanting to test my patience. I eyed them both and spat "That's what I thought." I pushed my stuff in the bag and started walking in their direction.

I shoved between them and made sure to clip both of their shoulders as I walked past. I heard Daryl say to Rick "She always like that?" which made me laugh inwardly. Rick answered by saying "She's a handful."