In The End: A Daryl Dixon x OC Story

As The Sun Rests

Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog had left to go search for Merle, and it was clear a lot of people weren't happy about it. I could understand both sides. Rick seemed to be a good man, and he wanted to rectify his mistake. He knew that it wasn't right for them to leave him behind, but he also held tight to his reasoning behind cuffing him in the first place. But then again, we'd heard what Atlanta had been like the last time they were there. The group barely made it back as it was, and it probably wasn't the most strategic plan. Risking four men for one who hardly pulled his own weight around here, wasn't something everyone could get behind.

However, we knew Daryl was going, whether he had help or not. And no one would blame him for that. While no one really got along with Merle, we knew that was his brother, the only family he had left. Andrea and Amy had that bond, and the other families here too. We could say this group was our new family all we wanted, but as of right now, it didn't even come close to having that type of bond. If someone told me that Kathleen was alive in Atlanta and they knew exactly where she was, I wouldn't have hesitated.

But that doesn't mean that we were any less worried about whether or not they would return. It was all anyone could talk about since they left. Carl was convinced nothing could kill his dad, and he had reason to believe that. To a kid, you can justify that sort of thing with what's been given to him. However, I could tell Lori was worried. That however, didn't seem justified. I knew with almost one hundred percent certainty that she'd been sleeping with Shane basically the whole time we'd been here. And now, she's suddenly become the doting, nagging wife to Rick.

However, I was more worried about Glenn and Daryl.

Glenn could fair pretty damn well on his own, he was fast and knew the layout of the city. He'd kept us stocked on supplies since we got here. Yet, there seemed to be a trend when he didn't go alone. Put him in a group however, and it was as though he began to struggle. They weighed him down. He couldn't focus on being as fast as he could, because then he would worry about leaving the others behind.

Daryl, like Glenn, tended to do things on his own. But I think he may be coming around to having others by his side. That didn't mean he wouldn't lash out while they were there. He was going back with the people who left Merle behind to start with. He was unpredictable and erratic on his good days, and now, with all those geeks or walkers as Rick called them, and the tension between him and Rick, something was bound to go south.

"They're gonna be fine, you know that right?" Carol asked, following my lead as we separated the cattails I had brought back.

"No, I don't," I said, shaking my head, "And as much as I hate to say it, Shane's right. We're risking a lot of muscle on this trip. If they don't come back..."

"They will," she said, smiling at me, "Daryl is strong. You don't have to worry about him."

"What about the others?" I asked, confused as to why she'd specify Daryl.

"They're strong too, capable," she nodded, "I just figured you were worried about him the most."

"Why?" I asked, wondering if people around camp had begun to whisper about what was going on in the woods.

"You two have just been spending so much time together, we just figured," she said, pausing to think, "We all just thought you two were um... getting closer in a not necessarily friendly way."

"Wait, let me get this straight," I said, "The whole camp thinks I've been screwing around with Daryl?"

"That first day you didn't come back with very much," she shrugged, "No one would blame either of you. It could be nice to relieve some stress these days."