𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

3 | THE QUARRY

The sun was setting as Rick drove, the bright blue sky softening into a pale orange. It was still bright, maybe an hour or two of daylight left before darkness would swiftly set in. Morales sat up at the front of the truck beside the cop, and the others were all sat in the back, mostly in silence.

Tori had her eyes closed; her head tilted back against the wall of the truck. Her headphones were covering her ears and her right hand held a firm grip on the metallic blue Walkman, the small box whirring as the tape played the song, 'I'm Not In Love' by 10cc. 

The volume was barely loud enough to be heard by the others around her over the rumble of the engine. She hugged her knees to her chest, just focussing on the soft tune and listening to each word, distracting herself from the way her heart was still racing after the close call in the city.

She opened her eyes as the song came to an end, turning her head to peek out of the windscreen. She recognised the area, knowing that they weren't far from the quarry where they lived. She rested the headphones around her neck, clipping the Walkman to her belt and playing with the wire.

Glancing over at T-Dog, Tori could see the almost haunted look in his face. He hadn't said a word since revealing that he'd dropped the handcuff key down a drain, and now, it was clear he felt awful.

"T," Tori called softy. "You good?"

He nodded slowly, barely sparing a look her way. "I was gonna let him out. Really, I was."

"I know," Tori said, pressing her lips together. "You can't blame yourself. We all left him; it's not just on you."

A big part of her felt like she carried some of the blame. When Merle was yelling at her to let him free, she could have gone back to help, and she didn't. She just left T-Dog to make the decision alone. She didn't like Merle by any means, but he didn't deserve to be left behind like that – nobody did.

"Stupid ass tripped," T-Dog cursed himself. "Then just ran."

"You were scared, sweetie," Jacqui said comfortingly. "Tori's right, it wasn't on you. Just how it happened."

Up at the front of the vehicle, Rick was listening to the conversation. He kept glancing over his shoulder like expected the view to be different somehow. Guilt was eating away at him that they'd left Merle on the roof like that.

Morales glanced at the sheriff and tried to reassure him. "Best not to dwell on it," he said softly. "Merle got left behind. Nobody's gonna be sad he didn't come back... except maybe Daryl," he added with a long sigh.

"Daryl?" Rick questioned.

"Merle's brother," Morales explained.

Glenn suddenly drove past in the sports car, alarm still blaring as he cheered and laughed, waving his hand through the open window. He went speeding off ahead, beginning the ascent up the mountain road toward the quarry where the camp was.

"At least someone's having a good day," Morales quipped in amusement.

Tori stood up, softly pacing up and down the back of the truck for the last stretch of the drive. The engine shook the vehicle, making the floor vibrate beneath her feet. She placed her hand on the wall as Rick turned around a corner and followed the road up the mountain as Morales instructed him on where to go.

The quarry was in sight; the blue water of the lake shimmered with the sunlight, the surface of the water moving and rippling with a light tide moving in and out on the rocking ground surrounding the main body. Looking at the beauty of the sight, it was hard to imagine the state of the city just a few miles away, still able to be seen in the far distance.