Cherokee Roses {Daryl Dixon's Daughter}

t h i r t y

The mood in the prison was tense. It had been since Rick announced that we'd be going to war. Dad helped me make sure that I would be prepared along with helping fortify the prison.

More wood pallets were set up, areas were stocked with ammo. We were preparing for the fight of our lives. Carl and I hardly had time to ourselves, but when we did they consisted of secret kisses and swollen lips. 

Currently we were placing the last bits of pallets against the fences while our parents conversed on the opposite side of the courtyard. 

"Think they can see us from here?" Carl asked.

"I think everyone can see us from here." I laugh taking my flannel off to wrap it around my waist.

"Okay thanks smartass." He says flicking his sweat at me. I retaliate by smacking him with my flannel. By the time our dads meet up with us we're in a fit of giggles. 

"Alright come on you two." Rick says gently nudging us inside. "Maggie's probably looking for you."

  We head inside and are greeted by Carol with bottles of water.They aren't ice cold but its a nice refresher. I take it thankful and drink it quickly. The mornings are somewhat colder but they quickly heat up as the sun gets higher in the sky. 

 "You guys ready to distract some walkers?" Maggie asks coming into the cafeteria with pots, pans, and buckets. 

"Heck yeah." I say grabbing some spoons from Carol's outstretched hand.  We make our way into the pathways in-between the field and the outside world. We bang on the pots and pans so that my Dad, Glenn and a few others can set up traps inside the field.

It doesn't take too long and before we know it we're in the middle of the courtyard entering the prison as a group only to divide once again in order to find our own tasks. Dad goes to find Merle and I stay with Carol helping her with ammunition and Judith. Mostly Judith though, if I can keep her happy, she can stay focused on what she's doing. 

"Why don't you go find your daddy Cherokee, I'm sure Judith will be okay for a little while and I'd hate for you to be bored." She says speaking up. "And if you can, convince him to eat, who knows the last time he did." 

"Yes ma'am I say with a laugh." I don't find him in the cell blocks but he ends up being in the tombs. Speaking to Merle.

"Whatever he says goes." I hear dad say to Merle from down the hall.

"Man, do you even possess a pair of balls little brother," Merle asks with a scoff. "Are they even attached? I mean if they are, do they belong to you? You used to call people like that sheep. What happened to you? You're sitting around playing house little brother."

"What happened with you and Glenn and Maggie?" Dad responds.

"I've done worse." Merle responds. "You need to grow up. Things are different now." 

I make my appearance in the room. The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife. 

"Your people look at me, like I'm the devil grabbing up those lovebirds like that. Now y'all wanna do the same damn thing I did snatch someone up and deliver them to the governor just like me."

"What?" I ask as the two men notice me.

"Don't worry about it little niece of mine. The adults are talking."

They continue talking in cryptic messages to each other. I should be annoyed but this is how I grew up. 

"I just want my brother back." Dad says softly.

"Get out of here man." Merle says with a hurt expression and dad turns around placing his hand on the small of my back leading me out of the room.

"What was that all about?" I ask. 

"I don't know Cheri." Dad says. "I don't know."

 "Carol told me to remind you to eat." 

"That's a good idea." He says patting my back as we reach the cafeteria. Dad gets two bowls of rice handing one to me as Rick comes in frantic. 

"It's off, we'll take our chances." He says.

"I'm not saying it was the wrong call but this is definitely the right one." Dad says. "What's wrong."

"I can't find Merle or Michonne, they've gone."

"Come on." Dad tells him and without even knowing what they're talking about I follow. He leads us to the room where I found him and Merle talking earlier. "He was in here, said he was looking for drugs. Said a lot of things actually. Here we go. He took her here."

"Damn it!" Rick says going through another door. "I'm going after them."

"You can't track for shit." Dad says catching up to Rick.

"Then the both of us." 

"Three of us, I'm going too." I say. 

"No just me." Dad says. "I said I'd go and I'll go. Plus when they come back you need to be ready. You're family too."

"I'm going." I tell my father sternly and he simply nods. I shoulder my crossbow and we head out of the prison on foot. We find Michonne killing a decapitated head of a walker.

"Hey!" Dad yells at her alerting her of our presence. "You kill him?" 

"He let me go." She tells us.

"Don't let anyone come after me." Dad says before taking off running with me hot on his trail.

We arrive at the silo's that Rick, Hershel, and dad met with the governor only days prior. Dad pushes me behind him and I stay there checking over my shoulders to be cautious. 

It's eerily quiet and the only sounds are coming from distracted walkers eating bodies. We near a walker hunched over what was a teenage boy. He looks a lot like the one we Carl and I found in the tombs. But thats not the only thing I notice. The walker has an attachment on his right arm and when we gain it's attention we see that its Merle.

"Oh my god." I mumble stumbling backwards and onto my butt. "No."

I hear my dad begin to whimper and cry before dropping his crossbow and backing up near me. He shoves the walker that was once my Uncle backwards. 

"No!" He cries out. He keeps shoving Merle back until stabbing him in the shoulder and falling to the ground with him before violently stabbing Merle in the head multiple times and scooting himself away from his brothers dead body. 

With shaky hands I crawl towards my father who lays on the ground across from Merle. "No, no, no." Tears begin to fall from my eyes as I look at the gunshot wound in my uncles torso and it's clear that his death wasn't an accident. I've never really seen my dad cry and this hurts like no other. "Daddy." 

I cradle my father in my arms like he'd done so many times to me. We sit there crying until the sun begins to set and we slowly make our way to the prison. 

It's silent when we get there and all I can think about is how Merle died and we didn't get to make things right between him and I. How he died thinking I didn't like him and how our last conversation was me telling him to get his act together. Yet he died trying to save us.

---

Word Count: 1287 

I'm not too sure how I feel about how I ended this but I hope you enjoyed!

How do you feel about Cherokee and Daryl finding Merle together?