Light | TWD | Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

038

           

Juliana had taken notice of the name on the keychain as the four of them made their way back to where Daryl had parked the truck. She shrugged her shoulder, shifting the strap up that held her weapon as she motioned to the keychain that was dangling off of Denise's pointer finger.

"Dennis?" she questioned casually, getting a strange look from Denise as it took a moment or two to register what Juliana was motioning at.

"Oh!" she held up her hand, "Dennis; my brother."

"Dennis and Denise, huh?" She grinned at Denise, who blushed slightly at Juliana's playfully.

"So, was he younger or older?" Daryl inquired as he sauntered next to Juliana, peering over ever so slightly so he was able to catch Denise's eye.

"Older. By six minutes. My parents came up with the Dennis/Denise thing on one of their benders. Hilarious, right?" Denise's comment about her parent's benders struck a chord with Juliana, who knew how much a bender could fuck you up. Daryl and Beth were the only ones who knew about her past struggle with alcoholism, and catching the look on Daryl's face, Juliana knew he had caught the same comment as well.

Denise continued on with her story, "Nothing scared him. He was brave. He was angry, too." Daryl and Juliana were silent as they continued on down the road. Juliana glanced periodically at Daryl; his lips were in a thin, tight line, eyes straight ahead. She knew he was listening. "It's kind of a dangerous combination."

Daryl drew in a sharp breath, "Sounds like we had the same brother."

Reaching out, Juliana slipped her hand into his. She only wanted to offer him a quick, comforting squeeze, but just before she was about to pull away he grabbed her hand, squeezing it back. Their hands dropped simultaneously away from each other when the railroad tracks popped back up against the black asphalt. Daryl broke away from the three of them, moving with a purpose away from the main road and to the tracks. He lifted his hand, pointing down the way, "Hey," he looked down the tracks and then back to the trio, "This way's faster, right?"

Without waiting for a reply, he started off down the tracks. Rosita, looking a tad confused though glad Daryl had opted for the shorter way, took off after him. Juliana and Denise, on the other hand, exchanged glances between the two of them. Memories of her and Daryl and Beth came flooding back to her; Denise embodied what was left of a good person during the end of the world, and it was something Juliana came to appreciate.

Juliana nudged Denise playfully in the side, muttering a 'c'mon' to her to trail after Rosita and Daryl. It wasn't until about a mile or so later that the group became a little more spread out, becoming more comfortable with their surroundings and each other. Denise fell to the back, while Rosita led the way and Juliana and Daryl were in the middle of the pack. Next to the two lanes of tracks, the right side opened up into a gravel lot where a handful of cars were scattered; a typical scene by now.

"I like 'er," Juliana admitted to Daryl, slowly rolling her injured shoulder back slightly to stretch it out, "I mean, besides from fixin' me up after getting' shot."

"Hmm," Daryl grunted, "Ain't gonna go and do that again, are ya'?"

"I-" before Juliana could continue, her eyes narrowed slightly and she came to a stop, the gravel shifting underneath her feet as she did, and realized there were no other footsteps behind her.

As if on cue, the snarling on a walker and the creaking and groaning of the old cars they had passed burst through the wind, drawing all of their attention back the way they came. "Shit!" Juliana cursed, the three of them hightailing it back to the graveyard of cars to find Denise struggling with a walker on top of her. Luckily, she had managed to get the semi-mummified walker flipped around and onto the ground, shouting at them to stop and let her have this kill.