My Saving Grace (A Daryl Dixon fan fiction)

Chapter One

It was later this afternoon when the coughing stopped. I had been taking a nap when the aching silence caught my attention. Then a snarl ripped through the air. I saw my rotted mother crawling toward me. I was frozen. I grabbed the gun and tried to squeeze the trigger. Locked. I spun it around so I was holding the barrel and was keeping my...mom at bay. Her fingernails were reaching towards me. I couldn't hold her much longer. I'm going to die I thought as tears filled my eyes. I was preparing to surrender when the monster rolled over. It took me a second to notice the arrow stuck through its head.

A man in rugged clothes walked into the clearing. He was tall with shaggy, dirty, blonde hair with a crossbow at his side. He knelt beside me and said, "Are you hurt?" I shook my head unable to talk due to the knot in my throat.

"Did it bite you or scratch you?" Again I shook my head. He exhaled. "Name's Daryl. I'm one of the good guys." He stood up and stepped on my dead mother and retrieved the arrow with a sickening slurping sound.

"Blair," I murmered. "They were all bitten." The effort along with the thought that everyone I had was now a monster, caused the tears to well. He looked at me and helped me up as he nodded.

"You won't want to see this..." I watched him pick up the gun that had been so useless to me and walk toward my father. He mostly blocked my view but when the gun went off I flinched as I saw blood and gore fly everywhere. "Wait!" I said running to the tent and grabbing Elizabeth's baby doll. I walked over to her. Her breathing was shallow and raspy. She would turn completely soon. I knelt carefully beside her and placed the doll on the crook of her arm. Her blank eyes look up at me and I could see the pain behind the hideous disease. I wanted to hold her and make everything all right but I couldn't and I knew it. When Daryl came and touched me on the shoulder telling me it was time I slowly stood up. "I love you, Lizzie."

I turned as I heard the gun pump then Daryl say, "Sorry kid..." The gun shot rang through the air and it felt as if part of me had died. I hit my knees and cried. I cried for my parents. I cried for Lizzie. I cried because I couldn't help them. "WHY?! Why her and nor ME?! Why God why?!" I pounded the ground as hot tears poured down my face. I felt a strong arm wrap around me. He whispered, "We have to go, Blair. Others heard the shot and will be on the way." I let him drag me to my feet and guide me away from the camp site.

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We walked through the woods for a while keeping our voices low and an ear out for the monsters.

"How long did y'all live back there?" he asked to break the silence.

"Just a few weeks..we lived in a suburb just outside of Atlanta. It was ok for the first few months but then shit hit the fan...So we left," I replied.

"Yea...shit got bad in a hurry..most people don't make it even a few months in the city," remarked Daryl.

"We had a ton of food...but food only lasts for so long."

"Speaking of food, what did you eat after...they were bitten?"

"I killed a deer," I lied in an attempt to forget about my empty stomach.

"Yea and Santa Clause is bringing me some new arrows for Christmas...I've got a good bullshit detector, Princess. Plus if you could tell ass from elbow on this," he held out the gun, "you wouldn't have been trying to kill a walker by boring it to death while holding the barrel. My guess is that you can't even shoot." I didn't even try to argue with him. "We can practice later if you want. Tomorrow maybe..You need to be able to defend

yourself." He said looking back to make sure I was still following.

"I wanted to learn but my dad never taught me. He said it was a man's job and that I shouldn't have to worry about the ...what did you call 'em? Walkers? He wanted to make sure we were safe."

Daryl grunted and said, "If he wanted you to be safe he should have taught you to shoot..."

The conversation died off as we came upon the steep edge leading up and out of the river bottom. "I'm gonna go up first. Can you handle the weapons while I climb?"

I nodded.

He handed me his crossbow and the gun and started to climb up. I held onto the weapons and watched him climb, and occasionally, slip. The second time his foot slipped I asked, "How steep is it?"

He grunted and pulled himself up by a slim tree trunk where he found a foothold to rest on. He looked down at me. "Pretty fucking steep.."

He shimmied up the rest of the way and instructed me where to step to hand him the weapons. As soon as he took them from me I started climbing up the way he had, only slipping once.

Once I reached the resting spot, Daryl reached down and grabbed my hand. With one arm he pulled me up to the top of the embankment. "Thanks..." I said breathlessly. He nodded and handed me the gun to carry.