Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

Robin Hood

Daryl knew that the world had gone to shit and that he and his brother were going to die eventually. Of course, Merle was taking all of this in stride, not at all bothered by the prospect of a painful death or the herds of walkers roaming everywhere. Daryl knew it was probably the drugs that were keeping his brother calm, and even as they headed into the woods outside of Atlanta in search of something to eat, he worried that his brother might scare away the animals with his footsteps. Merle was the only person Daryl had. His parents had died and all Daryl had left was his older brother. 

Daryl knew he would do anything for Merle. Despite the years of torment and pain they endured, the brothers remained together and now faced the new world alone. That day he was hunting alone. Merle was at their camp, taking care of his beautiful motorcycle and his small supply of food. It wasn't enough, so Daryl was trying to make do. So far, he had caught two squirrels and a rabbit, which wasn't much but it would be enough for a night or two. He was hoping for a deer or something bigger but had no luck so far. When Daryl heard a rustling in the trees, he raised his crossbow. 

Whatever it was, it sounded big, and the first thing he had in mind was a walker, so as he got closer to the sound, he heard a woman murmur to herself. A woman? What the hell was a woman doing alone in the woods? Daryl tried to listen to what she was saying, and that's when he saw her through the trees, carrying a bucket in one hand. Her back was turned to him, so all Daryl could see was her hair. 

"Do this, Parker." The woman muttered, with a bitter tone in her voice. "Go do that, Parker. Go get berries and mushrooms, Parker. it's okay to boss people around, but I don't see you doing anything, Shane." She ranted under her breath. One misstep was all it took, and when the twig snapped under Daryl's foot, he saw the woman freeze and slowly turn around. "Who's there?" The woman asked, Daryl saw her hand reach for the knife on her belt. "Hello?" She didn't seem like a threat, and besides, Daryl was the one with the crossbow, not her. Deciding to make himself known, Daryl came out of the trees and revealed himself. When the woman saw that the crossbow was pointed directly at her face, she dropped the bucket she was holding and raised her hands. "Please, don't kill me! I promised my nephew that I would play cards with him and if I don't win I have to give him my last bar of chocolate and it will be difficult to do it if I'm dead."

"What the hell are you doing here?" Daryl lowered the crossbow. The woman suddenly looked upset.

"What's it to you?"

"I almost shot you." Daryl reminded her. "You alone?"

"Why should I tell you?" The woman asked. "What are you, some kind of Robin Hood?"

"What?" Daryl furrowed his eyebrows. "Who are you?"

"My name is Parker." The woman answered, picking up her bucket. "May I know the name of the man who almost shot me with an arrow or do I have to continue calling you Robin Hood?"

"Daryl." He snapped, "Now are you gonna tell me what you're doing here alone?"

"I have a camp," Parker told him, pointing in the direction from where she had just come from. "Are you alone?"

"I have my brother," Daryl replied. Parker looked at the squirrels Daryl was carrying.

"Well, it seems like you're good at hunting, we could use someone like you at our camp."

"And why would I do that?" Daryl asked.

"We're safe up there," Parker said. "We've been there for a couple of weeks. You can join us if you like. We accept almost everyone."

"I'll think about it," Daryl responded, pointing in the direction Parker had just pointed. "That way?" Parker nodded at him.

"Or you follow the path and it will bring you to us. It's your choice. Anyway, I'd better go back and tell them not to send me to find mushrooms or berries, because I'm not very good at finding things and I don't know how to distinguish poisonous ones from the edible ones."

"Then why do you do it?" Daryl had assumed she'd know at least a little bit about berries since she had a bucket filled with them.

"Because I hate doing laundry." Parker smiled, knowing how stupid it sounded. Daryl looked at the woman for a moment. She seemed out of place in the forest, as if she were not alert in case of danger. Although he rarely thought about it, she was very pretty and Daryl couldn't deny it. Maybe he was just thinking that because it had been a long time since he had seen a woman who wasn't dead. However, he shook his head and pulled one of the squirrels off the rope. When he handed it to her, she looked confused. "But isn't it yours?"

"It's just me and my brother. Besides, coming back with that will be better than returning empty-handed." He pointed towards the bucket. Parker took the squirrel.

"And you don't want anything in return? I've got plenty of berries, it's berry Russian roulette though."

"No." Daryl declined the offer. From what he saw most of the berries were safe but he didn't want anything in return. "I'll catch more."

"Okay." Parker smiled up at him. "Thank you. And remember you can join us."

"I'll remember that." Daryl nodded, and then the woman walked away. Parker didn't look back as she headed towards the camp. That man could have killed her, but he didn't. Instead, he had shown kindness by offering her a squirrel that he worked hard to catch. She hoped to see him again because although he seemed rather dull, something about him intrigued her. When she returned to camp and presented the squirrel, everyone asked her how she got it. Parker sat up and looked at those around her. 

"I met a man in the forest."

"A man?" Glenn repeated, sounding quite nervous.

"His name was Daryl. He said he and his brother were camped somewhere out there, so I said they were more than welcome to join us."

"If you can shoot a squirrel through the eye, you're more than welcome." Shane mused, examining the dead squirrel. "That's impressive." That night, everyone was given a little piece of squirrel to go with their canned vegetables, courtesy of Glenn and Parker's latest offerings, and although it wasn't much, Parker enjoyed it. She had never eaten squirrel, but once she finished eating, she found herself thinking about the man she had met in the woods and wondered if he would accept her offer and join them at camp. Just the mere thought of him made a blush form on her face. But, as Rick used to say, only time will tell.

Authors Note:

 HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope everyone has fun today.