Try Me [Daryl Dixon]

Pilot

"My mother..."

"Told me..." My brother and I had never been invited to visit other communities with which our father dealt. What happened during these visits escaped our knowledge. So neither of us knew what to expect, the only thing we were sure of, was that Dean never seemed to enjoy them.

"And you..."

"Are..."

"It." Dad pointed his bat at the one red-haired man kneeling beside the sick woman. "Anybody moves, anybody says anything... cut the boy's other eye out and feed it to his father. And the, we'll start!" I frowned in bewilderment and unconsciously took a step toward them, but Sam stopped me once again. "You can breathe, you can blink, you can cry... Hell, y'all are gonna be doing all that." Dad lifted Lucille up in the air and smashed the stranger's head. "Oh! Look at that! Taking it like a champ!" He exclaimed excitedly, as if he enjoyed this sick situation he had created. Unable to contain my impulses, I covered my mouth with my hands, trying not to gasp in horror, while Sam pulled me to his chest and hugged me tightly.

"Suck... my... nuts!" I heard the man say, getting back onto his knees as blood dripped from the wound on his head. I closed my eyes and hid my face in Sam's chest, but I was still able to hear how our father kept hitting the stranger repetitively, over and over again.

"Did you hear that? Ha! He said, suck my nuts!" Dad scoffed, proceeding to hit him with his bat a few more times. I took my brother's shirt in my hand and squeezed it tightly, trying to escape my father's gasps now that he seemed to be struggling. I was mortified by his actions, even more so by his attitude. I never thought I'd witness such a thing, especially coming from him. I was aware that he had changed, hell, the end of the world had had a severe effect on each of us. But this was something else.

I couldn't help but question if this was a one time thing, or if he had done it before. How many times had this happened? And why? "Oh my goodness! Take a look at this!" There was absolute silence in that forest, before my father spoke again. "You know what he did?" he asked. "He took one, maybe six or seven, for the team!" He exclaimed. "So take a damn look."

I felt wet tears escape my eyes and roll down my cheeks. I hated to admit it, but this version of my father terrified me. It sent chills down my spine. I had never seen him like this, uncontrollable, almost a stranger.

"Dad!" I heard Sam scream, feeling his warm body leaving me and running towards the clearing. It had been so long since I felt this vulnerable and exposed.

I watched my father turn around and look at Sam.

It was then that I realized why he had abandoned me.

Dean was holding down the injured man, who had apparently tried to attack our father. "Keep it down, boy." Dad ordered, turning in Dean's direction briefly before focusing on Sam again. "Sammy..." Dad trailed and licked the corner of his mouth.
He was angry, the three of us could easily recognize the passive aggressive look on his face. His hazel eyes strayed into the woods, following in Sammy's footsteps.
For a moment, I thought he had seen me from where he was standing, but I quickly shook that thought out of my head. It was impossible, the night still persisted and the darkness it provided hid me perfectly.

"I want to believe that you've finally put on your big boy pants and decided to join us. But deep down, we both know that your little sister has dragged you here." She told Sam, dropping the bat to his side, though his grip was still firm. "Get out of there before a zombie gets you and I go on a killing spree." He screamed.

I swallowed hard and walked away from the tree, following in Sam's footsteps. "Damn, Alex." I heard Dean growl, but he didn't attempt to shorten the distance between us. He was too busy trying to keep the elusive man under control.

"There you are!" My father smiled. "Everyone! We need to start getting to know each other, so that there are no unfortunate incidents in the future. I want to introduce y'all to my family." He said to the group of strangers. "My oldest boy, Dean. He's the one holding your friend back right now. Let's just say he's the muscle of the family. My right hand. Sammy, the middle one, the smartest of them all, albeit too sensitive. This makes him an easy target for his younger sister's always efficient manipulative tactics and shenanigans. Speaking of whom..." My father walked over to me and placed his arm around my shoulders, pulling me towards him. "My darling, Alex. The youngest of the clan. But don't let her cuteness deceive you, she is beautiful, but she is an evil genius as well." My father seemed very proud to introduce us to these strangers, despite his anger. However, his smug smile faded as his gaze met mine.

My puffy eyes and red cheeks must have given me away, because quickly, his pupils dilated behind a shade of concern. "Damn. I'm sorry, honey. It must have been terrible to see your father do that. But you know that I would never do anything if it's not justified..."

"You just killed a man with the bat you named after Mom." I said, trying to keep my gaze from drifting off to the body of the now deceased stranger. At the pool of blood that was beginning to spread out on the ground.

My green eyes met my father's. They were intimidating as ever, but I refused to be the first to back down.

"Like I said. I have a good reason. Dean, why don't you tell your sister why these people deserve what's coming to them?" Dad said, forcing me to look at my older brother.

Dean glanced at the man he was still pinning to the ground before looking back at me. I could feel the pain radiating from his eyes, torn between the hatred and the sadness that enveloped him. "These sons of bitches were the ones that shot up our team up north. They killed every single man inside the station, some while they slept, some while they were working, and one..." Dean growled, tugging at the man's hair man with indignation, while trying not to let go of the reins that prevented him from doing something stupid that dad could scold him for later. "...that he was just unloading supplies. Someone who went by the name of Adam." He growled once more, as I began to feel the tears quickly cloud my sight. "They killed him while he was unloading boxes... from behind, like the pussies they are."

My gaze fell upon the man who was still fidgeting on the ground. His fractions radiated weariness and exhaustion as his blue eyes met mine, and for a moment, I thought I saw a shade of sadness and regret pass through them, but soon, it was gone.
My eyes strayed to the leader of the group. The blue of his iris was significantly lighter than the previous one, but not as beautiful or expressive. "Is that true?" I asked. "Did you kill more than two dozens of people in cold blood?" The man didn't reply, but he didn't need to. The answer was obvious. The darkness that had crossed his eyes gave him away.

I wiped away the tears that had escaped my eyes and took a deep breath, before taking in my surroundings. This time, the body of the man my father had just killed no longer caused any emotion in me.
Looking around at my father's men, I took note of the blond man now holding a new weapon, one that hadn't belonged to him prior to that night.

"I want the crossbow." I said, letting my gaze fall upon Dwight.

The man clutched the unusual weapon while sending my father a reproachful look. However, the only thing he received was a demanding look from him, who ordered him to do as he was asked.

I took the gun in my hands and ran my fingers over the plastic surface painted with typical camouflage colors. I didn't know how much use I would really give it, but taking a new toy from Dwight always eased my sorrows.

I felt the gaze of the man my brother was still holding captive as he moved again under Dean's weight. "This yours?" I asked, raising the crossbow and letting it rest on my right shoulder, but he didn't answer. "Such a lack of courtesy around here." I commented. "I'll be keeping this." I told my father, who smiled pleasantly. "I'm going home. I'm going to help burn our friends bodies. I guess now I got y'all to thank for that" I added, before I turned to the group my father held captive. "Please don't kill anyone else with that bat." I whispered to my father, who was not pleased by this, but he seemed to understand. "Good luck, you'll need it."

"Alex! Are you seriously going to let Dad get away with this?" Sam questioned, earning an exhausted look from me.

"They killed our brother. They murdered him in cold blood. I'm not the one seeking revenge, but I'm not trying to stop him either. After all, they didn't even think to give them a chance. They murdered them all. One by one. They didn't even hesitate. So why should I care? They didn't." I turned and headed back into the woods, with a new weapon in hand and a lot of anger building up inside.