Life I Left Behind (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Chapter Sixteen

“You two knew each other before all this?” A man in a police officer’s uniform stood in front of me, eyebrows perked in interest.

“We were kids together.” I said quietly, finally feeling brave enough to meet the officer’s eyes.

“So I trust her. She says she ain’t with that other group, then she ain’t with them.” Daryl added. The look in his eyes dared someone to argue with him.

“So that just makes it all okay then, huh? You two played hopscotch together twenty years ago, and that makes it okay to trust her?” The familiar gruff voice sent shivers coursing down my spine. The burly, dangerous looking man that had interrogated me in the shack suddenly pushed his way to the front of the small gathering. I hadn’t noticed he was there until now. His dark eyes bore into me, making me feel extremely uncomfortable. I struggled to hold his gaze, refusing to let him know just how uneasy he made me.

“Back off, Shane. You ain’t in no position to be judging nobody.” Daryl’s grip tightened on his crossbow.

“Oh yeah? And a redneck like you is feelin’ important enough to-“

The police officer placed a hand on Shane’s shoulder, holding him back. “This doesn’t need to turn into a brawl.”

Shane quickly shrugged out of his grasp and took two giant strides in my direction. I stumbled back a few steps, remember the feeling of his powerful fist slamming against the side of my cheek. Daryl suddenly stepped in front of me, though, shielding me from Shane and taking me by complete surprise. “You’re not gonna touch her.” He said in a slow, deliberate tone.  He kept his crossbow down but I could see how tense the muscles in his arms were, ready to spring into action at any given second.

“So what? We’re supposed to just trust this girl because you do?” Shane growled.

Before he could answer, an older gentleman with a peppered beard and a flamboyant Hawaiian shirt spoke up. “I trust Daryl. If he believes her, then so do I. Has anyone considered maybe she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when Randall was found?”

I felt relief wash through me as I met the eyes of the older man who was speaking up for me, despite knowing nothing about me aside from what Daryl and I had just shared about our past.

“This decision isn’t just one person’s to make, though. As a group, we need to decide what’s in our best interest here. Then, we need to get Hershel’s approval. This is his farm…not ours. We need to remember that. We need to have a meeting, inside, now.” The officer said. I could tell from the way he spoke and the way the others listened to him that he was a man with authority and the one they all looked to for guidance.

The man called Shane gave Daryl and me a furious glare, clearly in disagreement with this decision. He stormed off in the direction of the forest, where we had just come from. No one stopped him and I knew I was glad to see him go away, at least for a little while.

“You already know how I feel. I’ll wait out here with Charlie, keep an eye on her so to speak.” The older man caught my eye and gave me a kind smile.

“I’m gunna go git’ the truth out of that sorry piece of shit.” Daryl announced. He met my gaze for a split second before turning abruptly and heading in the direction of the small shack where I assumed Randall was still being kept prisoner.

“Maggie, go get your father and have everyone in the house get together in the living room. I want to make a decision sooner rather than later.” The uniformed man said over his shoulder. A pretty girl with short, dark hair nodded and disappeared into the house. The others on the porch all began to file inside, many casting me curious looks before entering the farmhouse. Finally, it was just the three of us left; the older man, the officer, and myself.