Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

By The Fire

Once she recovered from the shock of seeing her brother alive, and he left the tent he would share with Lori and Carl, Parker decided to move her things somewhere else. She never spent more than one night with Rick and Lori before all this, because she knew they needed their own time and she wouldn't want to intrude. Of course, she was happy to take care of Carl for as long as they needed, but this first night of having Rick back seemed like it was going to be personal. And then she moved her things to Shane's tent because he was the only one with enough space to fit another human. Glenn was already sharing with T-Dog, otherwise, Parker would have stayed with him. Setting her things down, Parker looked at Shane, who was sitting in his sleeping bag looking worried.

"How dare you?" Parker asked quietly. "How dare you tell me that my brother was dead!?"

"I had to get them out of there, Parker," Shane answered. "It was the only way, and I swear I thought he was dead."

"You left him there!" Parker snapped. "You saw us cry even though you didn't actually see him die! What kind of person does that?"

"The kind of person who's trying to keep you all safe," Shane said standing up. He put his hands on her cheeks, but Parker slapped them away. "I did this for you. For you, for Lori, and for Carl. You three are my family, and I... I have to keep you safe." Parker wasn't convinced. And there was a very slim chance that she would ever believe a word that came out of his mouth again.

"You abandoned him. You left him there. He's supposed to be your family too!" Her voice broke near the end, tears filling her eyes.

"I did it because I had to! To keep them safe!" Shane shouted. "Parker, you wouldn't have gone if you thought there was a chance Rick would wake up!"

"Yeah, now look at us!" Parker yelled back, pointing to the tents. "Is this what you wanted when you dragged us all away from our house?" Shane massaged his jaw, a smirk on his face. "Look at me, Shane! Look at me!" She shoved him backwards causing him to stumble a bit.

"At least we're safe."

"Safe?" Parker asked, laughing angrily. "Shane, Carl wakes up most nights terrified of what's in the woods. Every day I wonder if this will be the last one. I wonder if maybe a pack of those things will come and kill us all."

"Do you want to go?" Shane asked her. "You're welcome to do it."

"I just got my brother back," Parker responded, coldly. "And I worry about my nephew. I won't leave them."

"There you go," Shane said as if Parker had made her point.

"I'd rather die knowing what happened to my family than to live knowing that I abandoned them," Parker said. "Maybe you should think about that." She walked out of Shane's tent and walked over to Glenn before sitting down next to him. When he saw who it was, he smiled.

"Hey, how are you?" He noticed the expression on Parker's face, a combination of sadness and betrayal, and she sighed.

"Nothing. Just... Shane told me he saw Rick die. And he lied."

"What?" Glenn asked. "Why would he do that?"

"To get us out," Parker responded, leaning on her elbows. "To get us here. Am I crazy for being angry?"

"No," Glenn instantly dismissed the question, shaking his head. "I think that's perfectly reasonable considering how things have been. He told you your brother was dead."

"But he isn't.."

"No," Glenn replied. "But you didn't tell me your brother was so tough. Why aren't you more like him?" Parker gently pushed Glenn's shoulder.