in a dark meadow -- daryl dixon

take me away

word count: 4544

"You know, this isn't what normal couples do for fun."

Avery's forearms twitched under the weight of a particularly burly dead man, his prison jumpsuit riddled with bullet holes. She held onto the legs while Daryl shuffled in front of her, his arms hooked up and under the torso. They crossed the grass, moving the body through the field and into the burn zone. The two dropped him with a grunt, amongst a pile of a dozen corpses. Avery swiped at the sweat building along her eyebrow.

Daryl squinted against the sunlight. "'Ya expectin' a stroll along the beach?"

Avery looked up at the sky wistfully, finger drumming against her bottom lip. "Was thinking dinner, a movie, maybe dancing...?"

He scoffed. "And people in hell want slurpees."

Avery giggled, knocking her shoulders with him. That morning, their group began clearing out the prison yard to make way for sowing, garden seed and a canal for the water. Avery and Daryl moved the bodies slowly under an intense sun, where later they'd be properly burned. No matter how many corpses they moved, two more seemed to spring up in their places, like rotted dandelions. The yard was full of them.

They transferred one more body before removing their gloves, deciding to check in with the others. Carol had just backed an abandoned pickup away from the prison's vehicle entrance, while T-dog complained about the long day they had ahead of them. Avery stretched her neck while Rick delved out their next tasks.

"Speaking of couples, where the hell are Glenn and Maggie?" She looked around the prison yard, annoyed. "Why are they leaving the grunt work to the seniors?"

"They're up in the guard tower." Daryl nodded ahead of them, gesturing to the innermost column. Rick raised an eyebrow, following his sight.

"Guard tower? But they were just up there last night."

Avery sucked in her lips and suppressed her laughter. Those horny freaks.

"Glenn! Maggie!" Daryl called out to them, his voice echoing across the yard. A shirtless Glenn eventually emerged from the lookout, struggling to secure the buckle around his jeans. Rick laughed, and Avery swore it was the first time he had in weeks.

Daryl crossed his arms over his chest, smirking. "You comin'?"

Glenn, confused by his question, was unsure of how to respond. Biting her lip, Avery failed to hold back a grin as the others tittered beside her.

"What?"

"You comin'?" Daryl repeated. "We could use a hand."

Glenn, finally understanding, held up a finger. "Yeah, we'll be right down!"

Avery and Carol cackled into one another, amused by the young couple's embarrassment. The joking atmosphere quickly dissolved as the last two living prisoners appeared in the courtyard, making their way down the field. Rick's eyes darkened. Suppressing a snarl, he marched out to meet the two men in the field. Daryl turned to Avery, telling her to stay back, before joining Rick's side. T-dog, Maggie, and Glenn joined shortly after. Avery listened and stood by the cars, wringing her hands as she observed the interaction from a distance.

The two men were opposite in stature - one shorter in height with oily, shoulder-length blonde hair and a twisted, handlebar mustache. The other was taller and bulker, his bald head sheen with sweat. Parts of a tattoo crept up the exposed skin of his collarbone. The smaller man appeared a bit more timid in his actions, while the other man gave nothing away, his gaze hard and uncompromising.