Double Crossbow (Daryl Dixon) [The Walking Dead]

Chapter 37 ↣ Nine lives, remember?

"She's a predator posing as a housepet."

— Tyler Durden, Fight Club

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Daryl

I SAT ALONE up against a wall in tombs, twirling Carol's knife between my fingers. They should've been back by now. The knot in my stomach was becoming too much to bare. I was a mess. All of these different emotions were swirling inside me. I thought I had locked most of those up long ago, but over the span of a few days, I had felt each one to its full extent. It was too much for one man to bare. How did people go about feeling such a broad range of things? It was exhausting.

I slammed the knife into the wall I was leaning against. What if something had happened? I'd almost lost her once already. How many times was this supposed to happen? I yanked the knife from the wall, rose to my feet, and began pacing.

What if I never saw her again? That'd be just my luck, wouldn't it? Find someone worth something in my life and have them viciously ripped away. What did I do to deserve that? My worry was quickly being replaced with anger. Why had I let her go? She should be here.

The door in the hallway opened slightly before it fell closed again with a bang.

Kathryn, why are you so stubborn? That was what I'd ask her when she got back.

The door opened and closed again. Bang.

Why couldn't you have stayed put? Why can you never stay put?

Bang.

Annoyance now rippled through me. I kicked the door. Hard. Nothing about the rising emotion in me settled. The only difference now was my foot hurt. I paced the length of the hallway, trying to calm my nerves. I took a few deep breaths. Nothing changed. I put Carol's knife in my mouth and pulled away the body.

I grabbed onto the knife with a white knuckle grip as I stalked back up to the door. Ripping it open, I was ready to pounce. There was no need though because the cell didn't contain a walker.

The muscles in my arms relaxed as my gaze dropped to the floor. My heart stopped beating as I saw the face of a ghost. Carol's wide eyes were looking up at me. I placed a finger underneath her chin to assure myself she was actually there. Then dropping to my knees, I picked her up gently as I could with her legs draped over one arm and her shoulders supported with the other.

Her arms limply went around my neck, and I navigated back to cell block C, glancing down at her every few feet.

Kathryn

After using me as a pawn to assure neither Glenn nor Maggie would put up a fight, Merle placed those two in the back of our vehicle and had me drive.

Merle kept his gun aimed at my head from the passenger seat, and I kept my grip on the steering wheel, afraid if I loosened it, my hands might end up around his throat. "Take a right, Blondie," Merle instructed.

"That's going to get old," I said under my breath.

"Get used to it. It fits ya," Merle replied. I glared at him from the corner of my eye, causing him to chuckle. "That's pretty good, but it don't change nothin'."

"Damn, I was hoping your head might explode."

Merle grinned.

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When we pulled up to wherever we were headed, we were quickly ambushed. Doors were pulled open, bags were placed over our heads, and guns were pressed to our backs. I became uneasy as the bag over my head caused my breathing to stutter. I focused on my other senses to give me direction. My ears mostly. The sound of squeaky door hinges and echoing footsteps led me to think we were in a warehouse perhaps.