In The End | Daryl Dixon

Chapter 11

"No escape from reality."

Erica

We all trudged after Daryl as he trudged into camp, about a dozen squirrels or so slung over his shoulder. "Merle!" He boomed, voice gravely. He still seemed relatively upset about loosing that deer to the walker in the woods, which was going to make this shit show all the worse. I could already smell the blood in the air when Daryl snapped and jumped one of us, ripping our throats out with his bare, redneck teeth. "Merle! Get yer ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel, so let's stew 'em up!"

"Hey, Daryl!" I tried to sound as cheerful as possible but he shot me a glare anyway. Nice to know my enthusiasm is appreciated. "Can you slow down a little? We need to talk to you."

"About wha'?" He asked, his tone lower, and more hesitant. I winced a little as he looked at me with hard eyes. Yeah, this is going to go about as well as trying to kill a vampire with a butter knife does. I can already see the anger beginning to form in him, and it's not going to take much to get it to bubble over. He already doesn't like me, since Merle and I were always sneaking off to consult with angels of the lord and all.

"About Merle." Shane admitted. Daryl sucked in a deep breath of air. "There was... There was a problem down in Atlanta."

Daryl's head swiveled about as people gathered, making it all the worse with their staring. I watched his muscles bunch. Hell, I could practically hear his heart begin to thunder. You can see the possibilities running through his head. I used to do the same thing anytime I was told much of anything.

"He dead?" Daryl asked cautiously, his blue eyes meeting my darker green ones. My jaw bunched grimly, locking into place. I don't know if Merle is still on that roof. I hope he is, and that he didn't get eaten alive. I trust T-dog when he insists the chain locked on is strong enough. I can only hope Merle didn't try to pull some dumb shit to escape and get himself killed.

"We're not sure." Shane's voice dropped an octave, and he lowered his gaze to the ground. I could feel the confusion hit Daryl, but it was closely followed by frustration. He's an angry guy. I winced as I watched all that pent up rage begin to bubble up and over the edge. Yeah, this is going great! Totally swell!

"Either he is or he ain't!" Daryl circled around, walking straight up to Shane with his eyes narrowed. This guy's either an idiot or he's packing a major set of balls. Shane, on the other hand, can't even meet Daryl's eyes. Pathetic. But honestly, I can relate. I'm the worst when it comes to dealing with people.

"There's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it." Officer Friendly to the rescue. Look everyone, we're saved!

"Who're you?" Daryl spat out the question, sizing Rick up. I winced a little. Daryl is already trying to figure out if he can take both Rick and Shane, and the answer is yes. But if you add me to the top of what's soon going to become some form of a violent dog pile, then no. His tangerine-sized nuts will be chopped off before he gets a chance to choke either of them out.

"Rick Grimes." The man answered.

"Rick Grimes." He echoed with venom. "You got somethin' you wanna tell me?"

"Your brother was-"

"No! Okay, hello!" I swooped in for the kill. I popped up in front of Rick, friendly smile on my face, offering a little awkward wave. "Hey, Daryl. You remember me, right? Erica?"

Daryl looked more confused than anything else. Perfect. Erica used stun. It was very effective. "Listen, Merle sorta came on the run drunk. And he attacked some people and said some rather... rude things to my boy, T. So Rick just... uh... handcuffed him to a roof, and he got left there." I vomited the words out as cheerily as I could. "But he's probably fine!"

"Let me process this." Daryl said, teeth grinding. I winced a little. Goodie on me for making the situations so much better. Erica used resolve. It was ineffective. "You sayin' you handcuffed my brother to a roof... and you left 'im there?!" 

"Yeah." Rick gave a single nod. I watched Daryl's face grow redder and redder with rage that he struggled to contain. I winced a little, ducking as Daryl angrily threw his squirrels at us. But that was apparently the opening he was looking for because Daryl was charging at him before I could process what was happening, knife drawn.

"Hey, watch the knife, Rambo!" I tried. It did absolutely nothing, as per usual when it comes to me trying to diffuse situations. Shane was on him fast. The man had to have played football in Highschool. If not, it was the school's loss I guess. That guys made of muscle, and tall as all hell too. I'd be terrified if he came for me. I may be fast and small, but if he were to ever pin me, I'd be screwed six ways to Sunday.

"Best let me go!" Daryl bellowed as he was dragged to the ground. 

"Guys, let go of the guy." I cautiously stepped over, swatting at Shane. 

"Choke hold's illegal." Daryl wheezed in agreement.

"Shane, you're choking him. Let go before I chop your damn arm off." I hissed, reaching for my machete. Merle's going to be pissed, but not as pissed if we had to tell him Shane choked his little brother out. Shane's eyes narrowed in challenge, but I wasn't about to back down. I'm just that dumb. Shane is the leader of this little caravan, although, Rick is starting to step up. Me going after him would be a death sentence.

"Fine." Shane hissed, letting him go. Daryl fell forward, coughing and glaring. I knelt down next to him.

"You alright?" I got a glare. "Dumb question. Listen to me, Merle is still alive up there. I wasn't there, but I trust T-dog when he says chained the door. So let's go get him."

"You dumb bitch! I don' need yer help!" He swung his arm at me. I caught it relatively easily, grimacing. "Just 'cause you were screwin him don' mean I want yer help!"

I paused, gears in my head beginning to turn. My little factory of a brain began to process exactly what I'd just been accused of. It wasn't very long before I started laughing. People were dead silent, but I began to lose my shit. Daryl looked a little lost, and I was being stared at, but Glenn looks like he's giggling. 

"Merle and I?" I all but howled, slapping him on the back. He flinched a little, glaring. If he thinks Merle and I were fucking, other people do. Ironically, we were instead talking to an angel from heaven and and discussing the tortured souls stuck in the zombies around us. "In his wildest dreams! If you think our little rendezvous in the woods was us banging it out, you're off by a mile. Several miles, actually. So shut your damn mouth, buck up, and let's go get that sorry bastard." 

[Song: Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen]