Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

The Herd Of Many

Parker slept most of the trip because the events of the day had been enough to leave her exhausted. She was curled up in a chair on top of the RV, blankets covering her body. They had stopped for the night, and when darkness came, Parker was wide awake.  She volunteered to keep watch, and although Rick, Lori, and Daryl were hesitant to let her, Parker promised not to do anything stupid, which led her to placing a chair on the roof of the RV and rest with her shotgun next to her. It was a relatively quiet night and the only interesting moment was when Daryl decided to visit her and join her on the roof.

"Hey," Daryl called out quietly as he climbed up. "You awake?" Parker murmured something that sounded like an answer, so Daryl took it as a 'yes.' "I brought you some books," Daryl said, holding his bag up. "I picked them up at the CDC."

"What?" Parker asked, sitting up slightly. "Books? Really?"

"Yeah," Daryl confirmed, a slight smile appearing on his face as he watched Parker's face light up with excitement. "I saw you and Lori in the rec room talking about them and I picked up a couple before we left. I didn't know which ones you liked. You probably ain't gonna like them."

"Daryl..."

"It was stupid." Daryl pulled his bag back, about to leave. "It's okay if you don't want 'em." She realized that he was embarrassed by her reaction, and she smiled when she saw that he avoided meeting her gaze. He shifted nervously on his feet, and Parker had never seen the infamous Daryl Dixon look so uncomfortable.

"Daryl." The sound of her voice made him stop moving and actually look at her. "Thank you. Thanks for stealing some books for me."

"Yeah, well, don't mention it," Daryl replied. "Just get better, alright? I need someone out there to watch my back." Parker smiled.

"Yeah. I'll be fine, Daryl. I have nurse Lori watching my every move."

"Well, we should get moving again in the morning. We'll probably get rid of a few cars so get ready."

"Sounds good." Parker sent him a thumbs up, and an idea popped into her head. "Does that mean I can ride your motorcycle?"

"No."

"Well... maybe one day." Parker huffed hopefully.

"Maybe when you don't have a concussion," Daryl added, making her chuckle. "How are you feeling?"

"Good." Parker replied, "I get a headache from time to time, but I've gotten used to it. It should stop by tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. One of the tomorrows."

"Well, until then, take it easy," Daryl told her.

"Yes, boss." Parker smiled, saluting him. Daryl stayed with her the rest of the night and the conversation flowed freely. The two seemed to get along much better now than they had originally, and Parker had to wonder about the look in Daryl's eyes when she caught him staring at her. He seemed worried, but then again, everyone was worried about her. Parker had a habit of accidentally getting into trouble.

The morning came, and as they were getting ready to move, Daryl helped Parker down the ladder and made sure she was safe in the bed of the RV before leaving. Shane decided to abandon his truck which left them with the RV, one truck, and Daryl's motorcycle. Parker, again, slept most of the day and when she felt the RV slow down she woke up. Standing up, she left the back room and walked to the front, stopping behind Glenn's seat. "What's going on?" Parker mumbled the question, just barely waking up while holding onto the back of the seat to keep her balance.

"The road is blocked," Dale responded, as Daryl approached the window on his motorcycle. "See a way through?" Daryl gestured for Dale to follow him and Glenn sighed.

"Uh, maybe we should go back. There's an interstate bypass-."

"We can't spare the fuel." Dale cut him off, shaking his head.

"Jeez," Glenn anxiously whispered underneath his breath, as he kept his eyes on the carnage beyond the windows. "Can we get through here?"

"Can we move them?" Parker questioned, looking at the masses of cars blocking the road. Before anyone could answer her question, something exploded inside the RV's engine, smoke began billowing from the front of the vehicle, blocking their view. Dale stopped the RV with a sigh and everyone got out.

"I said it," Dale rambled as he threw the RV door open, the four of them getting out. "Didn't I say it? About a thousand times. Dead in the water."

"Problem, Dale?" Rick asked.

"Just the small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no hope." Dale broke off. "Okay, that was dumb."

"Can't we just find a new radiator hose here?" Parker asked, eyes scanning the hundreds of cars and trucks that were left behind.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find," Daryl answered, already digging through the trunk of a car.

"I can siphon more fuel from these cars for a start," T-Dog said.

"Or more cars in general," Parker muttered under her breath so no one heard.

"Maybe some water?" Carol added to the list.

"Or food?" Glenn suggested.

"This is a graveyard," Lori stepped in, not liking the idea of taking anything. "I don't know how I feel about this."

"Alright, alright. Here we go." T-Dog muttered, splitting off from the rest of the group.

"Come on, y'all," Shane spoke up, gaining the rest of their attention. "Just look around. Gather what you can." While Daryl and T-Dog headed to get the fuel, Parker stayed close to the rest of the group, venturing between the cars cautiously. Her right hand was constantly brushing the handle of the knife attached to her belt, in case she encountered any walkers.  The herd of walkers came out of nowhere, and Parker, who was busy sorting through the contents in the trunk of a car, didn't see Rick come up behind her and grab her by the shoulders. She was about to scream, but he placed a hand over her mouth and forced her under a car with urgency in his movements. Rick rolled under the car with her, and Parker looked at him for an explanation. Rick simply put a finger to his lips and pointed from under the car, and when Parker turned to look, she saw that the walkers were passing by them. 

She opened her mouth, but her gasp was interrupted by Rick pulling her towards him and covering her mouth with his hand again. Parker grabbed Rick's sleeve, trying to hold her breath as long as possible. Where was Daryl? Had he seen the herd? Was he okay? Parker could see Lori and Carol under one car, Carl under another with Sophia under the one next to him. Other than that she had no idea where the rest of the group was. It seemed like an eternity until the last walker passed, but even when the coast was clear, no one moved. Parker remained frozen in place next to her brother, his hand still over her mouth to prevent her from making any sudden noises. Sophia started to get out from under the car, but a walker growled and dropped to catch up with her as she moved. Sophia squealed and crawled out from under the car on the other side, and as Parker tried not to scream for her not to do it, Sophia backed away from the walker.

"Parker, stay here," Rick whispered, before getting out from under the car.

"Rick, no!" Parker whisper shouted, but Rick was already gone, chasing after Sophia. She climbed out from under the car as the rest of her friends joined her. Carol sobbed as Lori held her back from going after them.

"Lori! There's two walkers after my baby!" Lori shushed Carol, running after her as she tried to go after her daughter and Rick. Parker could only watch as Rick disappeared into the trees.

Authors Note:

And we're back with season 2!