In The End | Daryl Dixon

Chapter 27

"Some kill, some steal, some break your heart"

Erica

When we all finally woke, the sun had already risen and all of us were in a fair amount of pain. Glenn had rolled over at some point, successfully sandwiching Sophia between him and I with his leg thrown over mine. Dixie Cup was pressed up against my back, wrapped around me like some sort of demented octopus. It was a comfortable dog pile. 10/10 would recommend, best sleep I've gotten in ages.

Glenn hadn't been phased in the slightest by our impromptu cuddle session when he came to, instead stretching and groaning over the pain in his legs. Daryl hadn't been quite so understanding, his face growing red up to the tips of his ears. He'd scrambled away from me so fast he almost fell off the bed. Should I be offended or is he just a virgin? The world may never know.

BOB, because he might be the best thing ever, was sitting at the end of the bed by a pile of fresh peaches. All of them had tiny BOB teeth marks in them but guess the fuck what? Beggars can't be choosers and we're the idiots who only brought one bag of chips on our harrowing rescue mission, so. Case and point: BOB has saved us once again and genuinely deserves a shrine for his troubles.

"So, how come he can talk?" Glenn asked as we tromped back towards the highway, still on high alert. The walkers the Wendigo's screaming had drawn would likely still be around, but hopefully scattered. "Is he some kind of other creature too?"

"Nah, just a cat. Some batshit old man with psychic powers in that nursing home was a big cartoon fan, and the things from the cartoons were manifesting in real life." I waved a vague hand. "BOB's a product of an overactive imagination. I only recognized him because Castiel spent like, the whole day trying to interrogate him while my brothers and I ran around like morons."

Daryl looked down at the cat in disbelief. Sophia smiled hesitantly, seeming content to believe whatever the hell I told her. That's why kids are great. You tell them there's a monster in the closet, they're gonna think there's a monster in the closet! Super convenient, especially since the world has gone tits up.

Speaking of Sophia, she seems to be adjusting well. Kids are like rubber, able to bounce back faster and better than most adults. She's cheerful today, tired but relieved. She hasn't let go of my hand, but considering that she just got lost in the woods, kidnapped by a cannibalistic creature, and then almost cornered by a herd of walkers drawn by the dying screams of said cannibalistic creature? I wouldn't let go either.

"This is all just so insane. I mean, these things are just out there, and nobody has noticed!" Glenn ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. "I mean, come on. We just killed a wendigo. Us!"

"No shit, Korea. Don' know if you forgot, but we was there." Daryl scoffed out, and Glenn flushed with embarrassment. Daryl eyed me. "I'm more worried about these demons yah keep mentionin'. You said you had a tattoo stop 'em from possessin' you?"

A tattoo I was way too scared to show Daryl at the moment because he was immediately going to play connect the dots and realize exactly what Merle had been hiding from him, but yeah. Exactly.

"Sure does. Most hunters have one. Those who don't wear a necklace with the symbol on it." I rolled my shoulders, glancing down at Sophia. I'll have to show him eventually, but not now. Not with all of us practically dead on our feet. "We can talk about it more later. Maybe carve you up some on some charms, since I doubt there are any tattoo parlors up and running."

Daryl shot Sophia a look and gave a sharp nod. Getting some Team Squad vibes going and let me just say that I am all for it. Now that they're in the fold, I think it would be beneficial to, you know, maybe let them know that the disease is demonic in origin. Seems like a tidbit of crucial info I shouldn't keep to myself, if you catch my dribble, my drift, my vibe.