Unglued (Desus)

Chapter Five

It was starting to get cold, and Rick was becoming more and more worried that they would not find a place to stay before winter hit.

Paul found it interesting to watch Rick, and how he was starting to take charge. It was kind of amazing to watch him start to become the leader he knew.

Rick and Glenn had grown close over the past few days, and Shane was obviously jealous. The two would argue constantly, fighting over decisions that needed to be made for the group. Dale was often trying to be the peacemaker, but he annoyed people more than he helped. Lori acted strange around both Rick and Shane, and mostly talked to Carl.

It was odd for Paul to observe Carl and his Mother. Carl was still a boy, still so scared and inexperienced. He couldn't believe that the young man who had gone against Neagan was now this small, scared little boy.

Jesus watched as Rick and Shane argued about which direction they should head, and sighed wearily. He had heard a few stories about Shane, and none of them were good. He secretly despised the man, and he thought Daryl did too.

Daryl and T-dog had also become closer the past few days, but because Daryl was Daryl, they rarely talked.

Paul could see that Daryl enjoyed the quiet company of the other man, though.

The group eventually decided to settle down for the night at an abandoned farm, after much debate. Paul offered to take watch, while the rest of the group got some rest. Daryl volunteered to join him, surprisingly. They sat on top of the RV, watching the empty farm fields in silence.

******

Paul was just beginning to dose off, when Daryl nudged him.

"Ya see that?" He asked.

Paul jumped guilty. Daryl gave him an amused glance as he rubbed his tired eyes and squinted. He could vaguely make out a few figures stumbling slowly towards them.

He sighed tiredly. There were only three walkers that he could see. Not enough to be concerned, just enough to be annoyed. He pulled out his knife and climbed down the RV latter, watching as Daryl followed closely with his crossbow.

As they got closer, Daryl shot two of the walkers in the head, while Jesus took care of the third one.

After the walkers were taken care of, the two men stood there for a few moments in silence, looking down at the rotting corpses.

"I don't know when it became so easy to kill people." Paul whispered, finally breaking the silence.

Daryl said nothing.

"Sometimes, I feel like I don't even have a soul anymore. Because I think only a soulless monster could kill someone so easily." Paul continued quietly.

Daryl looked at him for a long moment.

"We all do what we have to do." He finally said.

They walked back to RV in silence.

Jesus watched Daryl out of the corner of his eye on their walk back. He paused for a moment to admire the tattoo on Daryl's bicep.

"What's that?" He asked, reaching out to touch the tattoo.

Daryl frowned, but allowed Jesus to trace it.

"Just a stupid mistake." He muttered.

Jesus continued to trace the symbol.

"What does it mean, though?" He asked.

Daryl shrugged.

"No clue."