Greek Tragedy | Daryl Dixon

Chapter 20 | Our Lowest Point

7 months after the farm fell.

The door of the house swung open to reveal two walkers in the immediate hallway. Daryl and Cass immediately shot one each and moved inward to allow the next wave of people entry. They fanned out, a well-oiled machine, smooth and quiet with the efficiency of much practise. T-Dog and Glenn went left, Carl went right to clear the first level. The pair of hunters followed Carl but peeled off at a staircase down to the basement. They descended. Weapons were at the ready. One walker – a female with tufty blonde wisps and drab pink pinafore slumping off its frame – turned up and snarled at them but it hardly got the sound out before it was falling to the floor with an arrow in one eye and a crossbow bolt in the other. A sound to their left made them both swing around and point their torches (now on) at a door. There was a scratching noise before it and faint footsteps. Cass went in to open it while Daryl stood with his crossbow aimed. The door swung open and both raised their weapons.

It was only Rick. 

Daryl nodded at the leader, who reciprocated and they all turned back upstairs. T-Dog came with them to the upper floors and the cleared the rooms, opening the final one to reveal an on peched on the back of a wooden chair. The animal stood long on its legs, wings puffed out in challenge, and screeched at them. Cassandra silence it with a swift arrow to the face and the group headed back downstairs where the rest of the group – Carol, Lori, Beth and Hershel – were coming inside with all the baggage they would need for an overnight stay. Everyone had just settled around the lining room and ate what little they had left. Daryl had taken the dead owl from Cass as they headed downstairs and was currently plucking feathers from in while Cass sat next to him. 

It was at this point that Carl finally entered with two cans under his arms. The boy dropped to his knees in a spare spot and dumped his gun and bag beside him before rummaging to find his can opener. Cassandra's eyes burned a bit when she noticed the dog picture on the front of one of the cans and realised what it meant for Carl to be about to eat it with almost no hesitation. 

The rest of the winter had been difficult since they evacuated the storage locker. It was no exaggeration to say that the group was barely holding up with how little nutrition they were getting. Cass, who was used to being malnourished and knew her body could take it, had been sneaking bits of her portions into Carl or Lori's bowl or even, on occasion, Rick's. She was also pretty certain she wasn't the only one doing it. To make matters worse, the game they had expected to come out in spring had been massively reduced over a season of them and the dead so ravenously hunting in autumn and winter. It was devastating to find, more than once a month, that the biggest catch you've had for weeks is ruined by a walker getting there first. 

The girl looked back at the owl Daryl was plucking for a number of them to eat later on. She was just pondering how grateful she was that they had it when a slam stunned her. Everyone's eyes were on Rick as he shook his head. He had just launched one of Carl's dog food cans into the fireplace. God, Cass understood the feeling. 

A "psst" from the T-Dog at the window alerted them to walkers outside and, just like that, everyone packed up and filed out of the house as quickly as they could. Efficient as ever, the group gathered everything they had brought with them, loaded it up and were on their way. Daryl slung his crossbow across his back as he and Cass mounted their bikes roared away with the rest of the convoy. At this point, they had three cars, Cassandra's dirtbike and Merle's motorcycle. Well, as far as Cassandra was concerned, it was Daryl's bike but he kept calling it his older brother's so who was she to argue. 

By the time they stopped, the group was a few dozen miles away in the middle of a road surrounded closely on either side by tall trees. 

As soon as the car doors opened, a few members promptly took up a sentry ring around the vehicles while the rest converged on the front car where Glenn and Maggie had set up a map of the area.