It Comes With The Name

Chapter 27: A Chip Off The Old Block

The sun was setting when Daryl woke up. He had somehow managed to fall asleep, which was nice considering the lack thereof he had been getting recently. But as per usual, he couldn't escape the damn dream that was plaguing his mind. Despite the dream, he still felt more rested than he had before.

He emerged from his tent, starting up a small fire and grabbing a few of the strung-up squirrels he had caught earlier. He glanced at the farmhouse in the distance and could vaguely make out a few silhouettes in the dining room. No doubt everyone had crammed in for dinner by now and there was no way in hell Daryl would be joining.

Maybe ten minutes went by before he heard footsteps approaching his camp. He glanced over his shoulder to see Carol and had to physically hold back a groan. Was every woman in this camp on a mission to bother him today?

"What now?" He grumbled, hoping his disdain was enough to make her leave.

"We can't find Lori," Carol sighed as she closed the distance between herself and the camo, not at all put off by his obvious annoyance. "And the others aren't back yet."

"Yeah? Dumb bitch must've gone off lookin' for 'em." He gave with an eye roll.

"What?"

He shrugged. "She asked me to go, I told her I was done bein' an errand boy."

"And you didn't say anything?" Carol's brows furrowed at his words. He gave no response, just looked at her blankly. She sighed and started back towards the house, making it only a few steps before she paused and turned back around. "Don't do this." She told him sadly. "Please... I've already lost my girl."

The pleading look she was giving him made Daryl shift uncomfortably like she was seeing right through him. He stood up with a huff. "Yeah? That wasn't my problem neither!" He snapped, standing up and retreating into his tent and leaving the rest of his half-eaten squirrel beside the dying fire.

He heard Carol head back off to the farmhouse and huffed. It couldn't have been more than three minutes before he heard someone rustling around outside his tent again.

"Jesus Christ," He got up with a groan, stepping out of his tent ready to chew out whoever had come to bother him now. "Don't you people ever-"

He stopped short when he found the source of the noise. Looking down, his eyes landed on Tank who was gnawing at the remaining bits of squirrel Daryl had left beside the fire. The dog was alone, seemingly having wandered over on his own.

"What, she ain't fed ya yet?" He asked, patting Tank on the head and grabbing another squirrel to cook. It wasn't uncommon for Daryl to toss his a few scraps of meat, or even entire beings when they were back at the quarry. But that was when food was low and they were scavenging. Now that they were on the farm and had access to more, Tank had been fed well. Lauren had even gone as far as to pick up some dog food on a run a few days ago.

He cooked the meat for a few minutes before ripping off a few chunks to throw to Tank. Daryl chuckled softly as he watched the dog jump up, catching the food mid-air with each toss. Tank's tail wriggled around behind him as they continued their game of catch and Daryl couldn't stop the amused smile that crept onto his face. He would never say it out loud but he had really grown quite fond of the animal.

"Alright," He whistled, standing up with a stretch. "let's get you back 'fore Lauren starts running around lookin' for ya."

He and Tank headed towards the farmhouse. He gnawed anxiously at the inside of his cheek as they started across the field. Carol must have filled Lauren in on his outburst from earlier and he was not looking forward to the earful she would undoubtedly give him once he found her. They made it halfway to the farmhouse when he stopped, spotting Dale on watch duty on top of the RV.