Last One Standing ~ TWD Daryl Dixon

46

Daryl

The group set off south down the railroad tracks shortly after Joe and I got back. They moved without speaking, so they must have been traveling this way before. For some reason Joe hung back and walked beside me. He tried to get me to chat a few times but I had no desire to talk to him so we walked in silence for most of the day.

"So what's the plan now Daryl?" He finally asked.

"How so?" I growled back my response, making it clear I wasn't looking to make friends.

"You're with us now, but you ain't soon?"

"Yep," I replied simply. I didn't need to explain myself to these men. I just needed to figure out what my next move was and then get out of here.

"So what's the plan?" Joe asked again good naturedly.

"Just ah, looking for the right place is all."

"Ah," he said taking a drag off his smoke. "We ain't good enough for you huh?"

I snorted, glancing ahead towards the rest of the group. "Some of you ain't exactly friendly."

Joe grinned and chuckled. "You ain't so friendly yourself."

I frowned as I considered his words. I wasn't. Everyone I had met had made that perfectly clear. Even Zack. I glanced up at the guys in front of me. They were very different from me but to someone else I probably came across an awful lot like these men.

Joe was watching me closely looking like he suspected my train of thought. "You know you need a group out here."

"Maybe I don't," I growled back.

"No, you do. You should be with us. People don't have to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brothers in arms."

A Walker appeared up ahead. It snarled and walked towards the group. The other men dispatched it easily and efficiently. They moved like they had fought together a lot.

"We just gotta follow the rules. You claim, if you steal you keel. I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when something goes missing. And you don't lie. Cause that's a slippery slope indeed."

"What happens if you break them?" I asked, genuinely curious what a group like this would think was a suitable punishment.

"Oh, you catch a beating. The severity of which depends on the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much because when men like us follow rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours."

He looked ahead of us and let out a whistle. "Right here," he called to the men. "This here is our abode for the evening."

"Hey," I called, pulling his attention back to me. "There ain't no us."

Joe frowned at me and walked back towards me. "You leaving right now?"

I didn't respond, I just stared at him.

"No? Then it sure seems like there's an us." He walked away towards the building. He stopped and turned back to me. "You a cat person Daryl? I am. Loved them since I was three years old. Vicious creatures," he took a long drag and shook his head, smiling. "Anyway I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothing sadder than an outdoor cat thinks he's an indoor cat."

His words went over me like cold water. Maybe he was right and I was like him...like them. Maybe more than I wanted to admit. I thought back to Beth and Jo. Neither of them would have agreed to being here, but Merle and my old man would have fit with this group perfectly. Hell Joe reminded me of Merle. I sighed, and followed the group into the building.