In The End | Daryl Dixon

Chapter 52: Knots Untie

"What happened to 'fuck this guy.'?" 

Rick was tying Jesus's hands together, so we could take him back to Alexandria to have Denise look him over. 

"He helped Daryl with that walker. He didn't pull a weapon on him either." He squinted up at me. 

I shook my head. "Daryl's not gonna like it. He'd probably rather put up him up a tree." 

"Yo!" Daryl hollered, leaning out of the car that he hot-wired. "The hell is this?" 

Rick sighed, "We're takin' him back with us." 

I was expecting him to get upset, argue back, but he only scoffed and ducked back into the car. 

I helped Rick stuff Jesus into the back seat, his limp body falling over several times before he stood upright. 

"I got it." Daryl said to me as I was about to hop into the other back seat. "Go on." He motioned for me to sit up front. 

I shrugged as I took my spot in the passenger seat. 

Rick didn't waste any time at all. The tired spun in the dirt before finally gaining traction, heading back onto the road. 

I felt a slight nudge against my arm, pulling my attention away from the window. I looked over at Rick and noticed a smirk on his face. He raised his brows, sending a look back to where Daryl was sat. 

I sat up in my seat, watching in the rearview mirror as Rick jerked the wheel to the left for a moment. Jesus's limp body fell into Daryl's shoulder, to which Daryl immediately shoved him back into the window. I looked at Rick, biting my lower lip to keep the laughter in as I shook my head. 

"He took a pretty hard hit. Denise needs to look him over." Rick looked into the rearview mirror to Daryl. 

"Yeah." Daryl mumbled. 

Rick would glance up every few seconds in the mirror. "You wouldn't have gone through with it. You wouldn't have left him." 

Daryl scoffed, looking back out the window. "I would've, right up in a tree." 

I glanced over at Rick, raising my eye brows as a "I told you so." 

Rick shook his head. "No. I know. Almost as soon as we got to Alexandria, you got it. You saw- You...Jordyn, Michonne, Glenn, you all tried to tell me. So shut up." 

He jerked the wheel again, the this of Jesus' body hitting Daryl's shoulder again, followed by another thud of him being shoved off. 

"'Cause I'm finally listenin'." 

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It was dark by the time we got home. The headlights illuminated the traps set up at the front gate for the walkers. 

"You know, I was thinkin'...back before we went out to the quarry." Daryl spoke up for the first time since we left. "The mornin' after Reg and Pete. You said we shouldn't be lookin' for people no more. You were right." 

"No..." Rick said. "I was wrong. You were right." 

I watched as Rick flashed the headlights before the gates slid open. Rick drove up to Denise's house, looking over to me with a nod before getting out. 

I got out too, as Daryl and Rick picked Jesus up but his underarms and legs.  I went up the porch steps, knocking on the door. After a few seconds the porch lights flickered on before the door opened. 

"Sorry to wake you up." I said softly, stepping inside. 

"Who is this?" Denise asked pointing to Jesus.