Marching With the Dead (Daryl Dixon FanFiction)

•Chapter 13•

•Chapter 13•

•Grace's POV•

My legs were getting tired from the running we were strenuously performing. My breathes came out uneven and labored. I couldn't go anymore, but Daryl pushed me forward past my breaking point.

It's not that I wasn't physically fit, I just kept thinking about the man Daryl killed. I understand his reasons for murdering him, but why was I so affected by it. I didn't kill him. All I did was stood there and watched, although that's what I did wrong.

"The car's up ahead," Daryl pointed in front of us. I saw the familiar wavy metal of the garage door and knew we were almost home free. A small smile crept onto my lips. My pace started to slow as we neared the exit to safety. Well, not particularly since we could still die as easily out there as we could in here, but we had a chance out there.

Daryl threw back the latch that kept the door closed and pushed it up. "C'mon," he motioned for me to follow. The SUV lay in front of us undisturbed. I helped him throw the supplies in the back of the vehicle and followed to the front. I jumped in the passenger seat before letting out a heavy sigh.

Daryl did the same, but he was on the other side of me. He turned on the ignition and peeled out of the fences. He passed through the open gate and drove along the train tracks. We were home free and hopefully it will stay that way.

---

I couldn't take the silence. It gnawed at me taking pieces of me with it until I was nothing but bones. "So," I sighed running my had through my fallen hair.

I saw Daryl grip the steering wheel tighter until his knuckles were white. I already felt that I pushed the boundaries with him. "So," he repeated somewhat lifting my hopes up for a conversation. "Do you have a plan?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"I did and it was well thought through. It was to get out of there unscathed and we did. Plus we got some supplies," he said making a turn onto a gravel road. I rolled my eyes since he knew what I meant and decided to be a smartass.

"Yeah, to get as far from there as possible. I'm only hoping Merle won't run his big mouth to go come and look for us," he sighed. I rested my skull on the head rest of the seat and closed my eyes. I haven't gotten any sleep in I don't know how long.

This is the second time we escaped in one day. This time, I just hope we aren't caught. If Merle doesn't talk like what Daryl wishes, we should be free. Yeah, we'll still have walkers on our asses, but we won't have cannibals added onto the shit pile.

"Daryl, what if they find us again?" I sighed turning towards him. He glanced at me and then back at the road,"Well, we just have to either get lashed or end up on their dinner plate."

He was so optimistic. It seemed like he only thought of good things. Of course, I'm being sarcastic. He was the complete opposite.

"We can blame Merle," Daryl smirked. I rose my eyebrows at him. He never bashed his brother like that. For one thing, he always stood up for him. I let out a stifled laugh and turned back to the road.

"I know you're tired so go to sleep," he sighed. I gave him a confused look,"What about you?"

He shrugged his shoulders,"I'll be fine. It's not the longest time I've gone without sleep."

I rolled my eyes and closed them. I used the seatbelt as my pillow for the next few hours. Soon, darkness consumed me.

---

"Shit," I heard Daryl slamming the steering wheel making me jerk awake. "What?" I asked wiping my eyes to get moisture to them. "Out uh gas," he sighed pinching the bridge of his nose.

I sat up and looked around the area. We were on a small highway surrounded by pine trees. There was nothing but the same in front and behind us. It was about to break dawn and there was condensation on the windshield. "How long have you been driving?" I asked.

Daryl glanced at me and let out a heavy sigh that made his shoulders fall making him look weaker. "About three hours," he said. "Do you think we're far enough from them?" I said as I glanced at the back windshield.

"C'mon. We can find another car once we get into a town," he commanded in a raspy voice before getting out of the vehicle we were already in. I rolled my eyes since he didn't answer my question and followed. I opened the trunk and backseat of the car to reveal our supplies. I grabbed the bag of food and my clothes. I let Daryl handle the weapons and his belongings.

"You got everything?" I peeked around the side of the car to ask Daryl. He nodded his head and started to walk from the vehicle and into the woods. I double checked the car to make sure we didn't forget any evidence and decided we were safe.

I followed Daryl to leave the car. I closed all the doors just to make sure there wasn't much suspicion if someone passed. Hopefully Daryl covered enough ground to where they give up on their search for us. Will our sticky hands on their supplies drive them even more? Will the thought of one of our own staying behind to thrive on their luxury take them to the limits? What will David think since we left him? He might be the one asking to come and find us.

I then heard a rustling that didn't come from either Daryl nor I. I unsheathed my new knife to make sure the threat didn't come too close. Daryl shoved the butt of his crossbow to his shoulder and looked down the bolt to match it up with the walker's skull. The corpse was closest to me so I was granted the honor of killing it.

I rose the blade pinched between my thumb and index finger up to my ear. I took in a deep breath before flicking the knife towards the corpse. The blade entered the body in the eye making it stumble slightly. It then fell in a heap with my knife poking out of its socket.

"If all of the kills were that easy," I snarled as I marched up to it, grabbed the hilt of the blade, and yanked it out. There was a small amount of blood and gore on the metal so I wiped it on my cargo pants. I looked back at Daryl who stared at me with a blank expression. He was in his signature stance which was his weight on one foot and his crossbow pointed to the ground.

I shook my head to my right to indicate we needed to get moving. He followed my actions and was a few steps behind me. I'm guessing he didn't like to lag behind so he sped up to meet with the same pace as me. I rolled my eyes at his action and quickened my walk.

Daryl was now run/walking to catch up with me. The guns on his back would jingle from his moving around. I started to jog making it get on his nerves even more. Again, he decided to quicken his pace by breaking out in a run. A small smile crept onto my lips making me push my legs forward. My legs were still sore from the night before. The bags on my back waved left to right roughly somewhat making me slow down.

Daryl glanced back at me and saw I was struggling to keep up. He let out a small smirk and slowed his pace to meet with mine. The though of him having pity on me made an ember of anger light inside me. The flame fueled me making me push myself further past him. I felt his stare on my back as I ran in front of him.

I started to slow down once I knew we should quit the game. "What? You give up?" Daryl smirked taking a few steps ahead of me. I rolled my eyes at him and glanced at the ground. I was surprised I wasn't out of breath. It seems I've grown accustomed to running far distances at full force.

I looked back up at Daryl to see him staring at me. A movement behind him caught my attention. A walker was closing in on him. "Watch out!" I screamed before pushing him aside. I unsheathed my knife and quickly shoved it in the corpse. It fell limp leaving my blade all bloody.

I couldn't catch my breath. Daryl would've been bitten if I didn't save him. I glanced back at him and saw shock written across his face. He was clenching his jaw not knowing what to say. "Thanks," he breathed. I gave him a slight nod of my head before wiping the gore off my knife.

"Just be more careful. I'm not always going to be here to save you," I smirked. He rolled his eyes at me before starting to walk again, further from Terminus.

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I just wanted to mention that I have a new Daryl fanfic up called 'Scars' and a completed one called 'How To Save a Life'. It would make me happy if you could check it out and tell me what you think. I update it weekly like always so yeah.