𝕃𝕠𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔽𝕚𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘 | Daryl Dixon

4 | DARYL DIXON

"Vultures," Glenn muttered bitterly. 

His arms were folded as he stared at the sports car before him. Jim, Morales, and Dale were pulling it apart, siphoning the gas and removing any parts that they could use for other things. Glenn watched the men in distain, frowning his eyebrows as the sun bounced off the beak of his cap.

Chuckling, Tori finished tying her boot before walking over and standing beside her friend, also watching the others take the car apart bit by bit. After last night, she didn't get much sleep, maybe drifting off for an hour or so before her mind switched on against her will. She was up long before the sunrise, went and sat by the unlit fire for a bit, then went back to her tent until dawn.

She smiled at Glenn, giving his shoulder a nudge. "It's just a car, Glenn."

He shook his head with a heavy sigh. "Just look at them... Go on, strip it clean," he snarked.

"Generators need every drop of fuel they can get," Dale said as he picked up the full jerry can. "Got no power without it. Sorry, Glenn."

"Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days," Glenn mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Tori tilted her head, smiling sympathetically. "Maybe we can find a new one someday."

"Yeah," Glenn sighed.

Looking over her shoulder, Tori's eyes scanned all around the camp. People were working on things like laundry and sorting through supplies, so everyone was wandering around busily. There was a quarry just a few yards down the mountain, the water bright blue and reflecting the sunlight, looking as if someone had sprinkled glitter on the surface of the lake.

Tori walked over to the edge of the camp, her eyes averting from the water down below to the city in the distance. Silhouettes of the high-rise building and skyscrapers were all she could see, the shapes looking almost like 2D drawings in the blue sky. 

From this far away, she could imagine the city being the way she always knew it to be – full of life and people, all running around to get the work on time through the tough morning traffic.

She could imagine her own place down there. There was a routine to her life before. She was able to keep herself focused as she planned out what she was going to do, when and how. It was a clear, if a little clinical, way of living. It was sad, but it was all that kept her sane.

She knew that the loss of her routine, the lack of structure in her current way of living, was what was causing the boxes she'd stored away in her mind, to become unlocked, the darkness and numbness leaking out and running free. She could feel herself becoming invaded by that same darkness, her mind taking over her body. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Tori snapped out of her own head when the rumbling of an engine shook the dusty ground she stood upon, and she turned around to see a jeep pull up in the camp.

"Water's here, y'all!" Shane called as he climbed out of the vehicle. "Just a reminder to boil before use."

Dale stepped away from the sports car, which was pretty much completely torn apart. He hadn't really been paying much attention to what he'd been doing when he saw Tori standing away from everyone, her back to the camp as she stared at the horizon. 

The older man was the only one in the camp to whom Tori had explained her issues, trusting him not to make a huge fuss over her or to tell anyone else. He didn't know the full extent, but he knew about how she struggled in her own mind more than she let on. He was always keeping an eye on her, even when she didn't realise herself.

As Tori started to return to the middle of the camp, headed over to Shane's jeep to get some water, Dale walked over to her with a concerned expression.