Chase || Daryl Dixon ||

-Amanda-

      -GIF From Pintrest-

       We filled up the main room of the house. Rick's group was sitting on the furniture or leaning on the wall while the farm folk stayed on the edges of the room towards the inside of the house.       "So how do we do this? Just take a vote?" I wasn't really listening from my spot halfway up the stairs. Basically Rick was listening to everyone but was leaning one way. Dale was trying to save the kid's life but he didn't seem to have many people on his side. Shane was aggressively pushing for murder and no one seemed to disagree. I don't think anyone else really wants to have blood on their hands but they won't fight to save the life of someone that could be dangerous. It's just like the old world, people wouldn't be willing to flip the switch for the chair with a murderer strapped in it but they weren't on the streets protesting capital punishment.               I wasn't really listening to the words spoken but I was certainly watching the faces of everyone. Some seemed sad, some angry, but overall everyone looked guilty. Well almost everyone, Shane was a born psychopath I swear. After listening to everyone's arguments Rick decided there was only one choice. Randall would have to die. I felt a little bad, maybe he was a good kid before. But I wasn't willing to risk the farm for him. These people are my family, and maybe Rick's group will get close too. I can see myself getting along with... at least half of them. Dale was nice, Carl was a sweetheart, and Daryl would be an alright hunting buddy. He would definitely be better than Otis ever was.

       We all split up, Rick and Shane went to 'take care of business', I took my perch up on the roof, and everyone else seemed to find a place to be while trying to forget what was happening a couple dozen feet away. After a little while, Rick came storming back, an angry Shane hot on his tail and an embarrassed Carl being dragged along with them. Not long before they made it to the house, a terrifying yell was heard echoing through the air. I looked out into the fields and saw the unmistakable silhouette of Dale in the distance. His fisherman's hat was there to identify him and another creature was holding him down. I almost jumped off the roof but decided it would be smarter to climb down and not risk injury. After jumping the last few rungs, I ran full speed into the dark fields. A small group of people were already there and more were on their way. Dale had a fatal bite... He was a goner. I kept my tears in, I may have not been very kind to him, but he was always kind to me. I always thought he would get me to open up eventually and I could trust him. He was the first person to try interacting with me out of his group and always tried to include me, and here he was dying in front of me. People were bawling and Daryl was taking aim, he knew what he had to do. I put my hand on his shoulder, signaling him to wait a second. 

      "Dale?" I spoke softly, grabbing his attention. "Thank you... Rest well." The bloody man in front of me gave a small smile, he knew all he did wasn't in vain. Daryl quickly took the shot, making sure he died happy. It was then I swore I wouldn't let myself drive this group away. Dale always wanted me to like them, and I would try my hardest to fulfill his only request of me.

......

       Dale's death inspired Rick to spare Randal. Shane wasn't happy with this decision but everyone understood it's what he would have wanted. We threw a small funeral type thing for him and we buried his body. Their group had a ritual of burning strangers and burying their loved ones. It made sense, can't risk anything with the monsters but you can't really bring yourself to treat people you knew like that. I would have buried my brother if I wasn't in a situation where I had to run away or die. I think he would have liked a funeral, but only if it was superhero themed. He always liked the X-Men, we would sit and read my comics together for hours. He never cared that he had already seen them. If I die and we are somewhere reasonably safe, I would like an X-Men themed funeral in his honor.
          We moved the group from their tents into the house, Daryl and I were told to guard the perimeter so we went out to walk along the forest. I went clockwise and he went counter, we would nod at each other as we passed.
       "Didn't run into anything, you?" He would say every time, receiving a nod no in return before we went for another lap. At some point Daryl was called back to handle Randall's release. Shane was not happy about his replacement, but apparently he proved himself untrustworthy last time they tried to release him. All three men came back beaten up and Rick had a visible chip on his shoulder. After I was sure there weren't any immediate threats, I headed back towards the house. Glenn was outside working on the vehicles. I guess Dale taught him how to take care of things.
       It was about dark when we all heard Shane shouting as he ran out of the woods.
      "Rick! Rick!" We all ran closer to see what the commotion was about. "He's armed, He's got my gun!" I didn't trust this man's story for a second but I also wasn't willing to risk having a dangerous man out in the woods.
       "Are you okay?" Everyone seemed to believe it and were focused on Shane now.
        "I'm fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face." Now that proved to me it was all a lie. No way that little snakey string bean boy, who had just been beaten half to death by our local redneck, could get the jump on Shane. Shane was practically a military grade asshole, he could snap that kid's neck with one hand, and we were supposed to believe he lost a fight?
        "All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us. Amanda? Would you be willing to join us?" Rick took charge and I nodded, swinging my crossbow off my back and holding it, ready to shoot. I heard a woman's voice ask to let him go but I had already walked off into the forest, ready to defend my home. Glenn and Daryl jogged to catch up, then slowly fell into step quietly behind me. Rick must have split off Shane, bad move my man. Daryl must have noticed the two sets of tracks too because he got a real confused look on his face.
        "Shane must have followed him a lot longer than he said." I hummed in agreement and pointed at the blood spot on the tree.
       "Looks like they're walking in tandem." Glenn wasn't looking where he was going and bumped into a stopped Daryl. He looked at me for answers and I used my crossbow to point at the spot on the ground that had caught Daryl's attention.
       "Yeah, there was a little dust up right here." Daryl was looking around still, trying to figure out what went down.
        "What do you mean?" Glenn hadn't gotten used to Daryl's hillbilly lingo in all the time they spent together? Dale did say he wasn't real talkative either but you'd think Glenn couldn't understand simple stuff like that. He was from the south wasn't he?
        "I mean something went down." Daryl angrily translated and continued on. We heard a walker growl and tried to sneak up on it. The monster in front of us was Randall, I knew something funny was going on here. Just as he was about to bite Glenn, I shot him through the head, beating Daryl to the shot by only a few seconds as I saw his bolt hit the limp body right after mine. Glenn pushed him off and we examined the body.
         "Got his neck broke." There were obvious marks on his neck and I couldn't see any other marks on the body. Not a single sign that a walker took him down. "He's got no bites."
         "Yeah, none that you can see." They didn't know? Based on Glenns reaction they didn't. I only knew because I saw my mother turn. She died of the flu right at the beginning. We knew it was in everyone after that. Rick's group must have made it this far without any deaths outside of attacks.
       "No, I'm telling you, he died from this."
        "How's that possible?" Glenn wasn't taking this well, both of them seemed confused. Now didn't feel like the right time to tell them so I just nudged them and started walking back where we came. They followed me but it wasn't long until we heard a gunshot. Neither of them would have used a gun unless it was serious, they knew the noise would draw the creeps. We ran back towards the farm as fast as our legs could carry us. 

I needed to protect my family.