I'll Take The Pain (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Just a Kid

I always thought I'd end up alone. Just not in the way that it happened. The world went to shit and now... all there is now is silence and fear. Only the strong survive. The weak hold you back. You can't waste your time trying to make the weak strong. It takes too much ammo that you already don't have much of. If they fall behind, you keep going. They can't keep up, that's on them. I've never needed a group. I've always done better on my own. Groups just slow me down. I can't remember how many I've left behind. I don't know if any of them survived. And frankly, I don't care. I'm better off alone. It's how I'll survive. It's how I'll die.

I heard a branch snap in front of me, and I grabbed my M40 rifle off my back, going into a prone position. I started crawling towards the noise and saw a deer. I lined up my shot with its head and let a slow breath out of my mouth as I began to squeeze the trigger. Right as I let the bullet go, the deer ran off, making me miss. I cursed and stood up, just to lock eyes with an Asian male, who looked shocked to see me. I kept a glare on him. It was him who scared off my food for the week. I saw him try to crack a smile at me when I pulled out my PPQ from my leg holster and aimed it at him.

"That was my dinner asshole. You scared it off," I said in a menacing tone. The kid seemed scared now, his eyes glazed over in fear. I knew the look well. He put his hands up as he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't see the deer, and I didn't know you were there. I didn't mean to scare it off," he said frantically. I kept my gun aimed at him as I started walking towards him when I heard the familiar growls of the dead, making me groan. I took out my knife from its holster on my hip opposite from the gun holster, keeping the pistol aimed at the Asian, as I turned and saw the herd of the dead coming, making me curse and run towards the kid, dropping my aim off of him.

"We gotta run now," I said, running past him. I didn't have the ammo to take on a herd, and he didn't look like he could handle himself all that well. I looked over my shoulder behind me to see that the kid wasn't far behind. I put away my knife and aimed the gun over my shoulder towards the herd, "Duck, Chinaman!"

He did as he was told as I shot three rounds into the heads of the dead before continuing to run. My arm was then grabbed, and I prepared to stab whatever grabbed me in the head when I heard, "No, no, no, stop, it's just me. I know a safe place. It's not too far, and they can help clear the walkers. Just follow me."

I nodded and followed him through the woods, the herd not far behind. We soon made it into a clearing, where the kid started yelling walkers. I turned towards the herd and started shooting the dead. It wasn't long until the ppq clicked, signaling an empty clip. I quickly released the clip, grabbing a new one from my hip, and pushing it into place. I continued shooting at the dead, but the clip was soon emptied. I put the pistol back in its holster and took my rifle off my shoulder and started shooting. By this time, I was joined by a group of people, shooting at the herd. The herd was quickly eliminated, and I put down my rifle, only to be met with a colt python to my head, along with a Glock pistol and a crossbow. I groaned and looked up, closing my eyes, before putting my hand on my forehead. I looked at the group and said, "I helped you guys clear out a herd of the dead, and I'm thanked by having weapons pointing at my head, yeah, you're welcome, by the way."

"Who are you?" said the man with the Python. He was wearing a cop get-up, which made me chuckle. I put my hand on my hip, cocking it out a bit, "I can ask you the same thing, officer."

"I asked you first, now answer the question, or I will shoot," he said. I looked at him, running my tongue over my teeth, "That a threat?"

"It will be soon," said the man holding the Glock. He had no hair and just looked like a mess. I just looked straight at the officer in front of me before sighing and saying, "Maisie Phillips, nice to meet you. Now that we have pleasantries out of the way, can I get the cannon, Glock, and crossbow out of my face? I have to find my dinner since Chinaman, here, scared mine off."