Li'l Sparky // [Daryl Dixon]

The Cops and the Kid

Season: Two

Episode: Bloodletting

*Ryan's POV*

It was official. The world had ended around two months ago. Merle's disappeared and I had no idea where he went. Luckily for me, my dad's farm has been untouched by the monsters I like to call biters. 

Maggie, Daddy, Beth, and I had been staying there for a while now, along with Beth's boyfriend, Jimmy, and two family friends, Patricia and Otis. 

While Otis was out on a hunt, I went and sat next to Maggie on the porch. 

"You okay?" I asked my sister. 

"There was a gunshot," Maggie whispered. 

"It's just Otis," I promised. "He probably found some game or something." 

"What would 'or something' be?" Maggie asked. I looked beyond the woods. At first I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. My breath hitched.

Someone was running towards us, with a boy in his arms. 

"That," I muttered. The man is followed by Otis and some guy with a shotgun. Maggie stood up and gasped. She grabbed her binoculars and looked through them. 

"Dad!" Maggie screamed. Daddy, Beth, Jimmy, and Patricia came outside. 

"Was he bit?" Daddy asked. 

"Shot, by your man," the man gasped. 

"Otis?" Patricia asked.

"He said 'find Hershel'," the man said. "Is that you? Help me. Help my boy."

"Get him inside!" Daddy ordered. "Patricia, I need my full kit. Maggie, painkillers, coagulates-- grab everything. Ryan, keep everyone calm. I need clean towels, sheets, alcohol. In here."

Daddy helps the man put his son on a bed. 

"Pillowcase," Daddy said.

"Is he alive?" the man asked desperately. 

"Pillowcase, quick!" Daddy repeated. 

"Is he alive?" the man asked again while grabbing the pillowcase. 

"Fold it," Daddy instructed. "Make a pad." I lifted the boy's shirt up to reveal a nasty bullet wound. The man pressed the folded pillowcase against the hole. 

"Put pressure on the wound," Daddy said. He took his stethoscope and held it to the boy's chest. 

"I've got a heartbeat," Daddy announced. "It's faint."

"I got it, step back," Patricia said. 

"Maggie, IV," Daddy ordered. 

"We need some space," I said gently. 

"Your name?" Daddy asked. 

"R-Rick," the man answered. "I'm-- I'm Rick."

"Rick, we're gonna do everything we can, okay?" Daddy reassured Rick. "You need to give us some room. Now."

I took Rick by the arm and led him into the next room. I heard an awful lot of yelling going on outside. The guy with the shotgun and Otis approached us.  

"Hey, Rick?" I got the man's attention. "Look, I know you're probably scared shitless, but my daddy was the strongest willpower I've ever seen. Once he puts his mind to something, there is nothing anybody or anything can do to stop him."

Rick nodded and walked to the front door. He opened it and walked to his friend. 

"He's alive?" Otis asked. "He's still alive?" Rick rubbed his forehead with a bloody hand, causing a crimson streak to appear on his brow.