Unearthed ↦ Daryl Dixon

2.1

It had been hours since you'd all fled the CDC. You kept replaying everything in your mind, from Lori and Shane to Jacqui staying behind. Things had never felt more bleak than they did right now.

"Looks complicated." Andrea spoke, sitting at the table in the RV.

Shane sat across from her, cleaning his gun. "The trick is getting all these pieces back together the same way. I could clean yours. Show you how."

Andrea smiled, handing him her gun.

"Oh yeah." Shane smiled. "It's a sweet piece."

"It was a gift from my father." Andrea responded.

You stared at Shane, your eyes narrowing as you tuned out Andrea. Seeing him carry on like normal, as if he'd done nothing wrong, made your blood boil. As if he didn't know you knew; as if he didn't know you saw it.

"Oh jeez." Dale's voice caught your attention. "Do you see a way through?"

You stood up, heading to the front of the RV. Dale was in the driver's seat while Glenn sat in the passenger's seat. Ahead of you were hundreds of cars, abandoned throughout the highway. Many cars' doors were open, the occupants probably having fled in a hurry.

Glenn frowned. "Maybe we should just go back? There's an interstate bypass-"

Dale shook his head. "We can't spare the fuel."

You pointed to a narrow open space. "Can we get through there?"

As the words left your lips, smoke began leaking out of the front of the RV.

"Didn't I say it?" Dale shook his head. "I said it a thousand times."

Shane appeared at your side. "Is there a problem, Dale?"

Dale stopped the RV. "Oh, just a small problem of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of-" he paused, looking around. "Okay, that was dumb."

"Is it the hose again?" You asked.

"Most likely."

You all piled off the RV, meeting with the others who had driven behind you.

"Think you can find a radiator hose here?" Shane questioned.

"Definitely." Dale nodded.

"There's a whole bunch of stuff we can find." Daryl pointed out.

You nodded. "We can siphon some fuel from these cars, for starters."

"Maybe find some water." Carol added.

Glenn nodded. "Or food."

"This is a graveyard." Lori spoke up. "I just don't know how to feel about this."

You let out a low sigh. "Now's not the time to have a conscience. We're tired, thirsty and hungry. They're dead."

Everyone stared at you for a moment, the coldness of your words catching them off guard. Not Daryl, though. You knew he was probably thinking the same thing anyways.

"We should split up, cover more ground." He mumbled, walking away from the group.

Before anyone could respond, you jogged off to catch up to him.

"Have you given any more thought to sticking around?" You asked, your voice hushed.

"I'm here, ain't I?" He huffed.

"You are, for now at least." You responded.

He stopped for a moment. "Do you really care if I go?"

You looked in his eyes, a half smile forming across your lips. "Of course I do. You're one of the only people I can stand these days."