Caught Me With His Crossbow (Daryl Dixon TWD Fanfiction)

Chapter 11 - Burn It To The Ground

The steady footfall of my feet echoed in my ears as I ran through the mossy undergrowths. I panted as my lungs burned from running.  I zig zagged through the trees careful not to run into a stump or walker.

I ran in the direction of the road, I needed to be find a car or gas to put into my truck that I abandoned. The groans from the walkers filled my ears. I could see more clearly now. I began to shoot them, one by one.

I saw the lights up ahead, was it a car? The smell of burning filled my nose. I covered my nose with my hand. I stumbled forwards as I tripped over a tree root. It wasn’t a car, it was a burning barn. This was sure to attract hordes of walkers. I heard frantic screams in the distance. Gunshots came from the house in front of me. I decided to hide over near a small shed. “Bad idea”, My consience whispered. I checked my gun for bullets as a handful of biters appraoched slowly.  “Shit!”, I cried. I ran out of bullets and I left the remainder of my ammo supply in my truck. I was going to die and no one was going to save me. I was cornered from every direction. Trapped and no way out. “Lord help me!”, I sobbed. My baby wouldn’t live to be born, I wouldn’t be able to tell Daryl the news.  My muscles weakened as I shoved myself against the shed. I used every ounce of strength left to stifle a whimper as I saw them getting closer. “I love you Mom, Dad, Carl, Daryl”, I croaked out. My body was racked with sobs. This was the end for me. My fight was over.

I let out a scream as more began to come my way. I was defenseless and weak. I could only hope it would be quick. I couldn’t give up this easily. There had to be a way to get out of here. “SOMEONE HELP ME, PLEASE!”, I yelled. I shouted this som many times that my throat was raw and I was croaking it out between tears. Just as a walker was about to bite down onto my shoulder, an arrow flew through its brain. I gasped and shoved the creature off of me. I heard the motorcycle engine and knew Daryl had saved me. He picked off the surrounding walkers. “Get on!”, He shouted to me. I stumbled over my feet as I fell onto the bike. I held onto his waist tightly as he sped off. Walkers followed us at a slow pace. I silently cried as we drove away from the farm. If only I had stuck on the proper path. I rested my head against Daryl’s shoulder. I saw the convoy of cars on the highway. More importantly, My family were alive and standing right in front of me. As soon as Daryl stopped the bike I hopped off. They stared at me in disbelief. Shae and Theo were there too. They looked relieved. I ran up to my family and they engulfed me in their arms. Mom cried into my shoulder. “I was so worried about you!”, She sobs. We were all back together again. No way in hell was I going to leave them for two whole weeks again. I backed away from them and wiped the tears from my face. Shae was crying uncontrollably as she embraced me tightly. “I thought you were dead, we all did”, She whimpers. Theo pulls her back gently and gives me a warm embrace. “I’m sorry”, I cried. I stood there awkwardly trying to stop the tears. I was so stupid to stay on my own.

“We lost Shane, Patricia and Jimmy”, My Dad announces. I had no idea who the last two people were. Shane was dead now, I felt relieved slightly. The old man with white hair and overalls looked devastated. There were two girls at his side, one with cropped brunette hair and the other with wispy blonde hair. I assumed they were the owners of the farm that the group were staying at. “We need to find somewhere to camp tonight”, My Dad says seriously.

We stop at the side of the ride, once again running out of gas. I hop of the bike and go over to where the group are huddled together. “We camp over there for tonight”, My Dad points to the side of the road where a waterfall is.”I can just scavenge some from cars we saw half an hour ago”, Glenn offers. “We can’t afford for anyone to get stranded without a car”, My Dad says firmly. “Rick, can’t you see we’re already stranded!”, Glenn burst out. A moment passes before my Dad speaks again. “I believe there is somewhere out there is a place for us to be safe out there, we just need to look hard enough to find it!”, My Dad says, his veins bulging in frustration. “We’ll need to find it soon”, I say to myself. “I found Randall in the woods without a scratch, he turned but with just a broken neck. How is that possible, Rick?”, Daryl asks quizzicaly. I hadn’t a clue who Randall was but it sounded odd. How could someone turn without being bitten? “We’re all invected”, My Dad blurts out. The words hang in the air ominously. I couldn’t believe it. Did this mean that my baby was infected? I began to convulse in terror and two pairs of arms held me up. “Why didn’t you tell us sooner?!”, I hear people clamour. But all I can think of is the possibility of my baby being infected by this death sentence. “Jenner told me at the CDC. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t know if it was true, until I killed Shane. He came back right in front of my eyes”.

We sat around the campfire. Everyone was debating whether my Dad shoudl remain the leader of this group. “Daryl should lead, he’s a man of honour”, Carol comments. Daryl shakes his head. “Rick has honour”, Daryl mutters. He wraps his arm around me to keep me warm. I needed to get him away from the group so I could tell him about the baby. “I think we should take our chances”, The brunette girl says to Glenn. “Don’t be foolish Maggie, we have no fuel, no food or ammo”, The man with the white hair says wisely. The blonde girl snuggles into the brunette girl. A sound comes from the other side of the road and we all stand up, ready to attack. “What is that?”, T-Dog questions. “Could be a coupla’ coons, possum”, Daryl says with a shrug. “Or it could be a walker”, Carl exclaims. He hides behind Mom fearfully. “We need to leave!”, Maggie cries. “No! The last think we need right now is more people going missing in the dark!”, My Dad bellows. “You need to do something Rick!”, Carol insists. “I am doing something! I’m keeping you all alive!”, My Dad pointed out. “I killed my best friend for you people! You all saw how he threatened our safety and how he pushed me to the limit. At least I did something about it before it was too late! He was going to kill me, he gave me no choice!” I put my hand in Daryl’s and he rubbed it smoothly to try and keep me calm. “If you all want to go ahead and leave, GO! Send me a goddamn post card. Maybe you’ll be better off without me”. I couldn’t stand seeing my Dad like this. It ripped my heart into a million shreds as I saw him with teary eyes. “We do need you”, I say in a small voice. “I just need to clear someting up, if you stay this will no longer be a democracy”, My Dad says coldly.

After my Dad’s speech I led Daryl over to the waterfall. “I need to tell you something”, I whisper. “What is it?”, He says huskily. His eyes are filled with fear. I took the small stick from my pocket and placed it in his hand. He had no expression. I knew he had trouble expressing his emotions because of his rough life, now was the evidence of that. “Please, don’t be mad”, I said as I began to weep. What was he going to do? Would he leave me to handle this on my own?

I sobbed loudly and placed my hands over my eyes to prevent the stream of tears. “Please, don’t be mad at me. I didn’t mean for this to happen”, I spluttered. His arms wrapped around me protectively and I instantly relaxed. “It ain’t your fault Bree, you didn’t do this on your own!”, He spoke. “I just feel like I’m letting everyone down”, I whimper. “Stop cryin’, Bree”, He said softly. He held my face with one hand and leaned in for a kiss. I savoured the moment. “You need to tell your Dad, maybe it’ll get him to formulate a plan to get out of here”, He suggests. “I’ll do that”, I say as I wipe the tears. I kiss him on the cheek before turning on my heel. I walk over to my Dad. He sits beside the campfire, deep in thought. “Dad, I need to talk to you”, I say calmly. I sit beside him and take a deep breath. “I just wanted you to be one of the first to know....”. He turned to me with a confused expression. “You’re going to have a grandchild”, I say nervously. “I swear to you Bree, I am going to keep you and the baby safe.” He puts an arm around me and kisses me on the forehead. “I know you’ll keep us safe Dad, You’re doing a lot better than Shane ever could have”, I say truthfully.