S u r v i v o r s [ Daryl Dixon ]

Chapter 22

"Everybody okay?"

I looked over at Rick, who had appeared in our current dining room. Some were sitting at the table eating breakfast, Oskar and Daryl were sitting on the steps, and I was standing handing Carl a portion of fruits.

"Yeah, we are" I said slowly. "What about you?"

Rick walked over to the table, his gaze was absent.

"I cleared out the boiler block."

"How many were there?" Daryl asked.

"I don't know. A dozen, two dozen. I have to get back. Just wanted to check on Carl."

"Rick, we can handle taking out the bodies. You don't have to" Glenn said.

"Well, I do" he looked at me. "Everyone have a gun and a knife?"

"Yeah. We're running low on ammo, though."

"Maggie and me were planning on making a run this afternoon" Glenn interjected. "Found a phone book with some places we can hit, look for bullets and formula."

"We cleared out the generator room" Daryl said. "Axel's there trying to fix it in case of emergency. We're gonna sweep the lower levels as well."

"Good, good" Rick said, then headed for the exit. I glanced at Carl, who was staring at his plate, so without thinking I ran after Rick. I grabbed his arm to make him look at me, and when he did, I flinched.

They were the eyes of a dead man.

"Be with us" I said softly.

He nodded, winced.

"I have to go back, Lizz. Really" he tried to pull away, but I held him back.

"Carl needs you."

"Take care of him."

He pulled away and turned his back on me, but didn't walk away. He was standing in the same place.

"He needs his father, Rick."

There was silence between us. "I beg you" he whispered. "Take care of him."

After that, he left.

...

I was walking with Daryl, Oscar and Carl. We looked around the corridors, checking all possible rooms. Carl was walking right next to me, I glanced at him nervously every now and then, but he seemed to be in complete control of himself, which I guess scared me even more than he went into a panic attack.

"Oh, that's what I'm talking about" I glanced behind me as Oscar entered the cell next to me. I followed him and he was bent over red slippers.

"What the hell do you need slippers for?" Daryl asked.

"You know, end of the day, relaxing" he said freely.

"My man" I walked over to him and patted him on the shoulder. "Plus some good tea..."

"I knew we'd get along" Oskar laughed, but at that point we heard Walker growling. I involuntarily hid Carl behind me and took out my gun. I shot, Daryl released an arrow, and Walker fell to the ground.

"Must have been in the cell at the end" Daryl said, and he must have seen something because he crouched down and took a knife from the zombie's neck.

I couldn't hold back a smile.

"That's Carol's knife" I said softly, and a new hope dawned on me.

We started walking down the corridors.

I saw Daryl look at Carl too, and when he saw me see it, I nodded. Daryl winced, but finally cleared his throat.

"You know, my mom, she liked her wine" he started slowly, and Carl looked at him. "She liked to smoke in bed. Virginia Slims. I was playing out with the kids in the neighborhood. I could do that with Merle gone. They had bikes, I didn't. We heard sirens getting louder. They jumped on their bikes, ran after it, you know, hoping to see something worth seeing. I ran after them, but I couldn't keep up. I ran around a corner and saw my friends looking at me. Hell, I saw everybody looking at me" he said somewhat absently. "Fire trucks everywhere. People from the neighborhood. It was my house they were there for. It was my mom in bed burnt down to nothing."