Our Extinction Event {Daryl Dixon}

8 Months Spent On The Road

They were on the road for eight months. It was a long time to be out on the road, especially during the winter, and they never stayed anywhere more than two days. They moved for safety reasons, because walkers forced them out, or they needed to find a place with better resources. Despite the constant changes and not knowing if they would make it, Parker felt better than she had in a long time. They had raided gun stores and found silencers for their guns, allowing them to kill walkers without attracting more with the gunfire. 

They had found clothing and supplies that lightened everyone's spirits as the days became colder and Lori's pregnancy was going well- as well as it could be in the apocalypse. She was bound to give birth at any given moment, and the group was looking for a place that was safe enough to rest for a while and give Lori a chance to rest after giving birth. Daryl and Parker had become closer than ever, working as a team to search for food and supplies. With Glenn and Maggie together, Parker lost her partner in crime, but having Daryl by her side made her feel just as safe. 

It became a matter of never being comfortable because just when they began to relax, they were forced to stand up and move again. Parker didn't care though, because over the past eight months, everyone has started working together as a team instead of a ragtag group of strangers. They had formed bonds with each other, supporting each other when group members got a little discouraged and doing their best to keep morale high.

Currently, Parker was preparing to enter a house they had stumbled upon, with Rick, Daryl, and Carl leading the operation. She was tired, she couldn't lie about that, because after months of constant movement, she barely had time to rest properly. Everyone was exhausted, but they kept going for the sake of others. She had gone with Carl, watching his back as they walked through the kitchen, the two slowly walking towards a door down the hallway. Carl looked back over his shoulder, silently asking if she would open it. Nodding, she squeezed past him, counting down on her fingers before opening the door, their guns both raised at the sound of growling. Parker, aimed her gun toward it, shooting the walker in the head before Carl took off running. 

"Carl!" She whisper yelled, chasing after him, when she caught up to him, she found him in the pantry with Rick, and she blew out a breath of relief.

"Let the others in," Rick whispered and Parker went to the back, opening the door, Maggie and Glenn being the first two to walk in. Barely speaking a word as they settled into the living room. Carl returned with two cans of dog food and eagerly opened them. When Rick saw what his son was doing, he grabbed the can and threw it across the room. Eating dog food would be admitting defeat, submitting to the life they now lived. It would be like giving up, forgetting their humanity and their old lives, so Rick threw away the food to make it clear to everyone that they would not give up. They would find a place to settle and hopefully prosper, but they would accept nothing less before that happened.

 Parker would admit, it was heartbreaking to see Carl that desperate for food, his hunger enough to make him willingly eat dog food. Parker herself was practically starving, always dividing her small shares of food between Carl and Lori, not wanting either to go hungry. Rick always refused it when she offered some to him, saying she needed it. Parker was sitting on one of the seats in the room when Rick chucked the can. She shuddered, watching Daryl pluck the feathers from the owl he had shot while exploring the upstairs next to her. After a few moments of silence, T-Dog moved from his spot, grabbing a fire poker he'd been using as a weapon.

"Psst," T-Dog hissed, pointing to the window. Walkers. Without a word shared between them, they ran out of the back of the house and returned to their cars. They bolted in seconds, having gotten good at escaping quickly. Parker climbed onto the back of Daryl's motorcycle, resting her head on his back.

"One decent night," Parker sighed. "That's all I'm asking for."

"Maybe one day," Daryl laughed lightly. They stopped after a while, stopping on the road. Parker watched as Glenn and Maggie spread a map across the hood of their car. All winter, they had been watching for herds, marking them on the map to avoid getting caught in the middle of them again.

"We got no place left to go," Hershel said as he looked down at the map.

"When this herd meets up with this one, we'll be cut off," Maggie informed everyone, pointing between the two on the map. "We'll never make it south."

"What would you say? About a hundred fifty head?" Daryl asked Glenn.

"That was last week." He replied. "It could be twice that by now."

"This river could have delayed them," Hershel noted. "If we move fast, we might have a shot to just tear right through there."

"Yeah, but if this group joins with that one, they could spill out this way," T-Dog warned.

"So basically what you're saying is that we're blocked?" Parker looked up from the map, staring at each one of them. "We're screwed pretty much is what you're all telling me."

"The only thing to do is double back on 27 and swing towards Greenville," Rick spoke over her, the look he passed over his shoulder at her made her walk a few feet away from the rest of them.

"Yeah, w-we picked through that already," T-Dog responded, scratching his head as he looked over at Rick. "It's like we spent the winter going in circles."

"Yeah, I know," Rick agreed. "I know. In Newnan, we'll push west. Haven't been through there yet. We can't keep going house to house. Need to find someplace to hold up for a few weeks." He glanced over at Lori who was still sitting in the car.

"Alright," T-Dog replied. "Is it cool if we get to the creak before we head out? Won't take long. We got to fill up our water. We can boil it later."

"Knock yourself out," Rick gave him a small nod, waving him off. Daryl turned to Parker, seeing how she strayed away from the group.

"You okay?" She nodded silently, looking back at Lori.

"I'm worried about her," Parker muttered quietly, looking back down at her feet.

"We'll find somewhere," Daryl assured her.

"It's not just that," Parker heaved a sigh, her thoughts driving her crazy. "Carl was a C-section. She might have to give birth to this baby the same way, which is dangerous because we don't have what we need."

"We'll figure it out when the time comes," Daryl promised. "For now, let's just worry about finding someplace safe." He looked at Rick. "Hey, while the others wash their panties, let's go hunt." Daryl loaded his crossbow, as he spoke, tossing it over his shoulder. "That owl didn't exactly hit the spot." Rick, Parker, and Daryl went into the woods and found an old train track that they followed for a while. Stepping out into a clearing, Parker turned to see a prison, the courtyard full of walkers. Daryl and Rick noticed it too. "That's a shame," Daryl grumbled, noticing the walkers. Rick seemed hopeful, and Parker pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head.

"I know that look, Rick. I know exactly what you are thinking right now and I think you should stop thinking it."

"It's perfect," Rick said quietly. "We clean up that yard, we have a camp, then we clean up the rest."

"On our behalf?" Parker shielded her eyes, squinting to try and get a better look at the prison.

"No," Rick answered. "Let's go find the rest of our group."

"That's not what I meant, but okay," Parker rolled her eyes. "Daryl," Parker whispered, as they walked back to the road. "Clearing that prison would be on our behalf though, right? We are clearing that out for ourselves."

"Yeah." He nodded, and she just waved her hands around.

"But then why did he literally just say no to it?"

"Cause it's Rick." He walked ahead, looking over his shoulder. "And he's related to you."

"Yeah, mhm. Really? Fuck you." She sent him the middle finger, jogging to catch up with the two.