In The End | Daryl Dixon

Chapter 18: Incarcerated

                                 8 months later

These last 8 months have been almost unbearable. Between the freezing nights, to barely having any food, it seemed like we were never going to find our safe haven. Hell, I even became unsure if we were ever going to find it.

The group dynamic changed, Rick seemed to take on more of a dictator role, he seemed more cold, distant than before. I've noticed that Rick looks to me for my opinion on the calls he wants to make before he makes them, which is also a lot of responsibility. In order for us to survive without carrying the heaviness of a shovel, axe, etc. we made suppressors out of flashlights, and the mid piece section of Maggie's bat that she had.

When the seasons changed from fall to winter, we were lucky enough to stumble across a store that held coats, and, blankets, we also came across a gun store that had enough ammo to spare. Us hitting those stores definitely changed the outcome of the winter we were going to have if we hadn't.

We were currently driving down a road, and off in the distance Rick spotted some houses off to the side. We hadn't had food in days, and we were pretty much desperate to find a place to sleep that wasn't in the cars.

Rick stepped out of the red pickup truck, "There should be somethin' in those houses. Seems worth it to check it out."

I hopped off of Daryl's bike, "Let go then."

Rick, Daryl, Carl and I took the front while Glenn, and Maggie took the back, while the rest of the group stayed back in the cars.

Rick was the one who kicked open the front door, shooting one walker that was coming towards him.

I rushed in behind him with my pistol raised, shooting another one, blood splattering against the wall behind it.

I ventured off to the left, Carl behind me. I looked behind me and gestured Carl to go into the room to the left, while I went straight. He nodded and pressed on.

I walked into a room that looked to be a closet, I grabbed my flashlight from my back pocket, shining it not the room. I saw some sheets, and some old vintage items sitting on the shelves, but nothing worth grabbing. As I pressed further into the walk-in closet I saw a door towards the back. I raised my gun up with one hand as I was still holding onto the flashlight, I slowly placed my hand on the door handle with my gun still raised. I counted to 3 inside my head before yanking open the door, only to reveal Daryl on the other side with his crossbow aimed.

I sighed heavily, lowering my gun, "Jesus. You scared the fuck out of me, Daryl."

He lowered his crossbow, squeezing past me, "Anythin' good in here?"

I stepped back do he'd have room to maneuver through the room, "Not unless you want some slightly used sheets." I mocked at the obviously dirty sheets.

He gave me a grimaced look, before turning away, causing me to snicker.

"You check upstairs yet?" He asked from over his shoulder.

"Not yet, no."

He motioned his head, "Come on."

We climbed the stairs, him in front aiming his crossbow as I followed. He when we got to the landing he broke off and went to the left, while I went to the right. There seemed to be only 2 rooms upstairs, the room I checked was obviously a little girls room as it was painted pink, with pink sheets, and dolls scattered around. By the time I walked out of the room, I saw Daryl carrying an owl, plucking its feathers off its body.

While being on the road for this long, we had gotten used to what Daryl had hunted. It usually was squirrels, but I honestly wasn't complaining.

Rick stuck his head out of the front door, whistling to Carol, Lori, Beth and Hershel to come inside the house. Hershel's hair grew out, now hanging off his neck, and his beard was now more prominent.