Remember Me (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter Nineteen: Shifts

"Are you ready?" I heard Daryl's voice growl in my ear. No, I wasn't. But I would be ready once we were in there. We were about to clear out the area so we could gain access to the inside of the prison. Once we were in there, we would be able to take this place. I was certain we could handle the walkers inside, but I was worried about the ones on the outside.

There was dozens. Maybe even more than we could handle, but we were going to try our best. I wanted this place, maybe I even wanted it more than anybody. The sense of security was what I wanted the most. I was sick of being scared. I was sick of wishing I could be safe. "I'm ready," I whispered with a smile.

And just like that, we busted through the gates and began approaching the walkers. Lori and some of the others were distracting them though the fences as they had done the previous day. All at once, the walkers began charging at us. Rick was the first to make a move, driving his knife deep into a walkers skull. We didn't use our guns. We couldn't afford to waste any more ammo. I was down to my last bullets.

I charged towards one and took him out. That only made even more come for me. I watched as six walkers came for me, but the others helped me out. Maggie took out two while Daryl and I got rid of the other four. We were all doing pretty well until one grabbed Maggie from behind. Once I heard her yell, I charged over to where she was. The walker that had her was wearing gear.

I knew that I would have to go under his mask, so I did. I quickly jammed my knife through his jaw and watched as he fell to the ground. "Watch out for those. They have riot gear," I replied breathlessly. Maggie gazed over at me with terror in her eyes. I knew that she was too shocked to say thanks, so I went back to my original position.

After a while, we had successfully wiped almost all of them out. There were a few left, maybe six. Rick, Glenn, and T-Dog took care of those. And just like that, we had taken the place. Rick opened the gate to let the others in before shutting it once more, making sure nothing else was able to get in. I smiled as Rick opened the door to the prison and we all began moving in cautiously.

We eventually ended up in a cell block. I knew we would be sleeping in cells from the moment we got here. I had no problem with that, but others may. By others I mean Daryl. There were a few walkers in the cell block, but we were able to get rid of them easily. Once they were gone, we were all set. We now had a secure place to sleep. Rick had found keys to the cells, so that was also a plus.

I smiled as we all entered and examined the place. "It's huge," Carol stated in awe. I assumed she had never been in a prison before. Hell, neither had I to be honest. "It's perfect," I said as I smiled. And it was perfect. It was the perfect place for us to be. If we were able to clean up, Lori could have her baby in remotely sterile conditions. This was fantastic in my eyes. I knew that we would eventually find a place.

"What about the rest of the prison?" Father asked as he looked around. Yeah, what about it? We would eventually need to inspect it further and see if there were any supplies. I mean, it had to have supplies. It was a prison. "We'll look around more tomorrow. We'll look for the cafeteria and the infantry," Rick replied to him. I wasn't excited about inspecting the rest of it. I feared that we would run into trouble, and we would.

"Everybody needs to choose a cell. We can do some rearranging if we need to," Rick continued. Of course Daryl was the first to reply. "I ain't sleepin' in no cage. I'll be up there," he nodded towards an empty area above the stairs. Daryl began walking up the stairs to his new resting area. We were all exhausted and the sky was already turning dark. I knew we wouldn't be eating. If I wanted food, I had an orange in my bag.

"I'm gonna go ahead and head to bed," I announced after a moment. I kissed dad and Beth goodnight and began heading to a cell. Maggie and Glenn had already headed to one, so I didn't get to tell her goodnight. It was pretty obvious what they were doing. I snuggled up on the hard bed and began thinking of Daryl.

He was the last thing I thought of before I drifted into a slumber

FOUR HOURS LATER

I opened my eyes and began trying to adjust to the darkness. I knew that I hadn't been asleep long and I hated that. We were finally in a secure place and I still couldn't get any sleep. I could hear snoring echoing through the cell block. It didn't take me long to realize it was Maggie. I heard her snore all my life, but it still made me laugh every time.

After a few minutes of laying there, I realized that I wasn't going to be able to fall back asleep. I decided that I would head over to see what Daryl was up to. Maybe he was sleeping, but he usually wasn't. I slowly got out of bed and snuck out of my cell. I was careful to step as softly as possible. I didn't want dad jumping up and making assumptions.

I slowly crept up the stairs and peered at Daryl through the darkness. He was laying there with his arms above his head, shaking his knee. So he is awake. You're not the only one.

"Daryl?" I whispered as I reached the top of the stairs. He quickly looked over at me once he heard my voice. He had tensed up when he first heard it, but he relaxed when he realized it was just me. I smiled at him and continued approaching him. He probably hadn't even been to sleep yet. That's how he was. I knew he wouldn't sleep in a new place on the first night. He would stay awake and keep watch.

"I can't sleep," I whispered as I reached the edge of his little bed. He motioned for me to lay next to him, so I did. When I laid down, I rolled over so I was facing him. I watched his every little movement. How his muscles flexed when he moved his fingers. I watched everything. After a while of this, he eventually got sick of my staring. "What is it?"

I love you. I'm in love with you. You don't know how badly I wanted to say that, but I didn't. It was obvious that Daryl thought of me as his sister. We shared that one kiss months ago and I couldn't let it go. I just couldn't stop thinking about him.

"Nothing," I whispered before flipping over. I would never say that to him. Not only was I scared, but I knew he didn't care. Daryl didn't do romance. And I needed to stop thinking he would.

I eventually fell asleep, trying to forget what I was feeling for him.