Last One Standing ~ TWD Daryl Dixon

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Daryl

We spent that whole morning prowling through the woods. Beth was insistent we could track the other survivors from the prison. I didn't bother telling her there were a bunch of paths through the woods leading away from the prison and there was no telling which way anyone would have gone, even if they survived. I headed south because that was the way the bus was supposed to go and I didn't have a better idea.

We ended up on the main path south from the prison. It wasn't the best idea since it was also one of the most used paths by Walkers, but people running wouldn't know that. No one but Michonne, Jo and I would know which trails to avoid. I frowned down at the ground in front of me. I knelt and brushed aside the leaves to reveal the soft, moist dirt beneath. There was a set of footprints.

Beth popped over my shoulder cheerfully. "Could be Luke's..." she said positively. "Or Molly's. Whoever they are, it means they're alive."

She was standing too close and it made me shift uncomfortably. She took another step towards me and I stepped away from her.

I didn't look away from the trail as I took a step towards the next prints. "No. This means they were alive four or five hours ago," I said grimly, noting all the fresh Walker tracks.

"They're alive," she snapped testily and took off at a fast walk up the trail. I shouldered my crossbow and sighed as I set off after her.

It wasn't long before we found more tracks. I stepped around Beth so I was on the lead, so she wouldn't muck up the trail.

"They picked up the pace right here," I said, pointing to the ground where the tracks were deeper and they had dropped some wild berries. I glanced at the bushes to the side of the trail. They must have stopped to eat and gotten ambushed by Walkers. "Got out in a hurry," I muttered almost to myself as I moved around the small clearing. "Things went bad."

Beth huffed past me. "Wouldn't kill you to have a little faith," she snapped in a bratty voice as she turned away from me.

I had had about enough of her. All she had done so far was stomp around like a brat. "Yeah, faith," I snorted angrily. "Faith ain't done shit for us. Sure as hell didn't do nothing for your father," I snarled angrily.

When I turned back to look at her she was staring at me like I had hit her. Her eyes were wide and full of unshed tears as she took a step away from me. I mashed my mouth into a hard line and gave her an apologetic look. I was being an asshole and letting my temper get the better of me. She didn't deserve that.

She turned back to the wild berry bushes that lined the path and started pulling berries off by the handful. "They'll be hungry when we find them," she said without looking at me, but her voice was quiet and trembled.

I pulled out my bandana and handed it to her. The only women I spent time around were Jo, Carol and Michonne and they would have all either ignored my temper or told me to shut up. I had no idea what to say to a teenage girl to make her feel better once I hurt her feelings and made her cry.

I waited patiently while she filled the bandana with her back to me. When she was satisfied she turned back to me and nodded. Her eyes were red rimmed but she gave me a smile. "Which way?" she asked with forced cheer.

I jerked my chin in the direction of the tracks and we continued down the trail.

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Jo

I woke to the light streaming through the cell block windows. I was disoriented at first, remembering back to the other morning I woke up in Daryl's bed. But all I had to do was lay there and listen to the quiet to remember all that had happened and that I was alone in the cell block.