Red ~ TWD (Daryl Dixon)

Friend or Foe

When we emerged from the woods everyone was standing around a bunch of water jugs that were lined up neatly in the middle of the road. Rick handed Daryl a note before his eyes slid to me, a grim scowl on his haggard face. I leaned over Daryl's shoulder reading the big, block letters scrawled on the paper, FROM A FRIEND.

"It's them," I said, confirming Rick's unanswered question.

Daryl immediately went for his crossbow, eyes searching the woods, but he wouldn't find anything. They weren't nearby. Even if they were I doubted they meant to harm us. Why leave us water, something that would save our lives, if they wanted us dead? If that was their end game they could just sit back and wait another hour while nature took care of it.

"Them?" Daryl's eyes blazed with questions, and I shifted closer to Rick. "What the hell is goin' on Red?"

"I'm with Darlina on this one," Merle agreed, appearing out of thin air next to his brother.

Rick glanced over his shoulder at the rest of the group, rubbing his beard.

"We're being followed." The brother's instantly tensed, going back-to-back, waiting for the attack they feared was imminent. "Easy brother, I don't think they want to hurt us."

Merle scoffed, "Oh really? And what makes ya say that Officer Friendly?"

"The water sitting in the middle of the road," I answered. Merle shot me a nasty glare I countered. "Will you two settle down, you're making everyone else nervous?"

And they were making me downright twitchy.

Daryl lowered his crossbow, but kept his eyes alert. "How long ya know?"

"Day, give or take." His steel, blue eyes were now boring into my skull. "There's two of them. One tracks us on foot while the other stays behind in a vehicle."

"I say we hunt 'em down, and beat the shit outta 'em 'till they tell us what the hell they want."

I pointed a finger at my brother-in-law. "This is why you have no friends."

"Don't start with me Firecracker," he snarled, stepping into my personal space, and pointing his knife stub in my face. "What gives ya the right to keep that kinda information to yurself?"

I hadn't kept it to myself. I told Rick, but that wasn't the point. The point at this particular moment was his stub knife dangerously close to my cornea. I pulled a knife from my sheath, bringing it up slowly until it was inches away from his neck.

"Keep pointing that knife at me and it'll be you who gets the shit beat out of 'em."

Daryl stepped in-between us, putting a hand on his brother's chest and pushing him back.

"Enough," Rick barked. "It was my call. I told her not to say anything."

With that he turned around, walking back to the group who looked downright perplexed at our little exchange. Merle muttered something under his breath then lowered his stub knife. Only then did I put mine away, crossing my arms over my chest and glaring at him.

"He's got a point," Daryl said, shoulder brushing mine as he continued to scan the woods.

"I didn't know anything for sure until today. I felt...off...like someone was watching us." Daryl's eyebrows furrowed. He was well acquainted with my "feelings". "I found them right before you guys ate Lassie for lunch."

He squeezed my shoulder, the corners of his mouth tipping up in a barely there smile. It was his way of saying while he didn't necessarily like it, he understood.