That Little Red Backpack*Daryl Dixon

chapter five

The day after, Rick and Michonne lead a group to Woodbury. Logan had thought that she was going, but she was quickly shot down by Carol, Rick, and even Daryl. They claimed that she needed to stay and help Beth with Carl and Judith. Logan gave in without much of a fight, knowing there was no point in arguing.

Logan sat at a table playing Uno with Carl and Hershel, while Beth looked after Judith. Carol was trying to clean up, her way of distracting herself from thinking about what could happen to the group. Logan gave a dramatic sigh, throwing her cards on the table in defeat. "How do you keep winning?" She asked Carl. He grinned and shrugged and reshuffled the cards.

___

Logan wandered around the cellblock aimlessly. She stopped in her cell and laid flat on her back on her bed. She looked at the backpack that sat on the floor across from her. She wondered where Gabe was, how he was doing, if he was alive. She wondered if he survived, if he had found another group and had survived. She only hoped the best for him, that he was taken under someone's wing and cared for.

She heard voices downstairs grow louder, more of them joining. Going down the stairs, she saw they had returned. Glenn, Maggie, Rick, Michonne. Someone was missing. "Where's Daryl?" Everyone's attention turned towards Logan. They all noticed the small frown on her face as her eyes searched the room. "We found his brother in Woodbury. He left with him." Rick told her. "Oh." Logan mumbled.

She put on a smile and approached Glenn and Maggie, giving them each a tight hug and welcoming them back.

That night they laughed and smiled. Everyone was trying to cheer up, they had just won. But everyone knew that they weren't complete. They all noticed the distant look that came across Logan's face every now and then. Someone was missing and they didn't know if he would come back.

___

After separating with his group, Daryl followed his brother's steps into the woods. He followed Merle without question, just like he used to.

"Well, well, baby brother. Decide to leave them assholes? It's about time." Daryl didn't answer, just followed his brother as he led them to who knows where.

Daryl found his mind wandering as he walked, he wondered what the group was doing right now. How Maggie and Glenn were. He wouldn't say it out loud, but he cared for everyone in the group. He cared for them because they were his family.

Merle was talking but Daryl wasn't listening. His mind wandered to the short brown haired girl with bright hazel colored eyes. He wondered what she was doing at that moment, how she felt about his leaving. He missed her, but couldn't figure out why. Of course he missed everyone in the group, but Logan stuck out more than the others.

Fingers snapped in front of his face, "You listenin' ta me boy?" Daryl looked at his brother for a minute. "I can't do this." He turned and started back the way they came. "Huh? What the hell does that mean?!" Daryl turned to his brother, "I'm not leavin' them." Merle scoffed, "Yer friend hand cuffed me to a roof back in Atlanta! Made me cut my damn hand off! And you're crawling back ta them?!" Merle had anger in every feature. He wasn't happy that his brother chose them over him.

"I'm your blood Daryl! I'm your family!" He shouted. Daryl got close to his brother, making him stare him back in the eyes. "You may be blood, but those people back there. Those people are my family." With that Daryl turned and followed their tracks back out of the forest, and then back to the prison.

He stopped at nightfall, knowing Merle had followed him. Merle kept his distance. Daryl sat awake all night, wishing morning to come faster. Merle watched his brother as he focused hard on his task at hand, which happened to be cleaning his arrows. Merle could tell that Daryl had something on his mind, but he wouldn't say anything.

When the sun rose, Daryl was back on his feet and trekking back to his home. He arrived at the gate and saw Logan on watch. He almost smiled, seeing the girl that had occupied his thoughts for most of the night.

Logan stabbed walkers through the holes in the fence, trying to keep the number of them small. It wasn't working.

Sighing, she wiped the sweat off her forehead, pulling her hair away from the sweat on her neck. She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps. Her heart sped up when she saw him, her face brightened instantly.

Logan opened the gate for him, not yet noticing that he had a follower. Daryl walked through the gate and was pulled into a hug by Logan. He stood, awkwardly hugging her back before she pulled away. She looked him over, making sure he wasn't injured, or worse, bit. "I'm fine," he assured her. She smiled brightly, making him smile a small bit back.

"I thought you were with your brother. Why are you back? Did something happen?" Logan spoke a mile-a-minute, making Daryl hush her. He gestured behind him where Merle stood completely silent.

Logan closed the gate and led the two back to the prison, unaware of the conversation going on behind her. "Damn little brother. Now I see why you were so eager ta get back. She's real cute." Merle smirked. Daryl shoved his brother, trying to ignore his comment. "I'm serious. That little ass in them jeans. Damn! You hittin' that? Cause if not, I just might." Daryl snapped at his brother. "Shut the hell up Merle. You won't touch her." He growled.

Merle put his one hand up in defense, along with his knife contraption, a smirk on his face. "Alright. I get it. You can have 'er." Daryl rolled his eyes and walked a little faster, getting ahead of Merle. Daryl moved so he was directly in front of his brother, blocking Merle's view of Logan as she walked.