His Firecracker (Daryl Dixon x reader)

Split up and look for clues

Y/N's pov:
    I didn't get a wink of sleep that night, Dale's cold, dead eyes in my mind. By the time the sun came up, the birds were all chirping outside my window. I let out a sigh, gettin' out from under my blankets. I try to rub the sleep from my eyes, anything to do to make it seem like I didn't stay up all night. I get up and out of bed, going to my closet to put something else on. I find a shirt, a hoodie and some leggings. Walking back over to my bed, I strip off my clothes and toss the dirty ones onto my bed. I pull on my new clean clothes, then pull on my socks and shoes afterwards.
    I exit my room and walk downstairs and quickly out the door. As I walk outside I see a group of people surround a freshly dug grave, placing rocks around the edge of the dirt. I walk over to the group that consists of Maggie, Beth, Jimmy, Patricia, daddy, Carol, and even Lori and Carl. I smile slightly, only for that smile to go away once I remember why they're there in the first place.
    Once I reach the group I pick up a rock, stepping over and placing it beside the rest of them. A truck pulls up, a truck that holds Daryl, T-dog, Andrea, and Shane. They each have weapons, tired looks on their faces. They all hop out of the truck and walk over to our group of people. Rick comes up, he wears a coat. We all stand in a line, Rick crosses his hands in front of him, Lori and Carl by his side. I stand by Beth, holding her uninjured hand.
"Dale could-could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare and brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it, one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us...the truth..." Rick says, I look down and over at Daryl. Daryl just looks over Carols shoulder and at Rick.
"Who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him, is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives...our safety...our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on...we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale." Finishes Rick.
    No one says anything, people starting to walk away once Rick is done talking. I stay there, until there's no one left beside me besides Andrea. I feel a tear dribble down my face but I quickly brush it off. I let out a scoff and walk off, back towards the group of people who are now grabbing their belongings from their makeshift campsite. I walk up to the group.
"How can I help?" I ask them all, breaking the silence.
    Carol walks over to me and points down at some of the stuff.
"Help put this in the truck please." She explains, I just nod my head and follow her orders.
    I bend over and grab what Carol told me to pick up. I walk over to the blue Ford and place what I picked up and onto the tailgate.
"It'll be tight, 15 people in one house." Rick says, I look over to see him talking to dad.
"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, and the creek dryin' up." Daddy says, Maggie walking up beside me.
"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." Maggie says, dropping off the box she's holding.
"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago." Dad agrees.
"All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road. Just leave it there." Rick orders, a few people nod and do as he says. Others continue to bring things to the truck.
"We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property. T-dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going." Rick explains, looking over at Glenn.
"What about standing guard?" He asks, Rick points over at Daryl.
"I need you and Daryl on double duty." Rick answers, Glenn nods.
"Gotcha." He says simply.
"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be." Daddy says, pointing over to the house.
"What about patrols?" Andrea asks, looking at Rick expectantly.
"Let's get this area locked down first. After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose." Rick explains, only for Shane to scoff.
"We're back to that now?" Shane asks.
"It was the right plan first time around. Poor execution. That's a slight understatement that you don't agree, but this is what's happening. Swallow it-move on." Rick orders, I let out a sigh and roll my eyes, walking beside daddy.
     Daddy and I leave Shane and Rick to their talk. Though once the talk is done, Rick walks up to me and dad.
"I see why you're not taking Shane with you.  Just know I've got no more patience where he's concerned." Daddy explains, I nod my head.
"Hs's turning over a new leaf." Rick states, I scoff.
"Bull shit. You know what that man's capable of Rick, don't believe every word he says." I say, Rick looks over at me, a conflicted look on his face. He turns away from my gaze to look at Andrea, who walks ahead.
"Andrea. When I'm out with Daryl, help Hershel keep an eye on things around here. Shane's got a way of letting things get out of hand, especially when he's all torqued up." Rick explains, Andrea looks up at him.
"I think we're all a bit torqued up at this point." She says, an annoyed tone in her voice.
"If you're staying here permanently, he's got to understand that it's what Rick and I say, not whatever he wants." Daddy says.
"You've become close." Rick begins.
"We...talk." Andrea says, almost uncertain.
"Then you know he's not a bad guy. He's just his own worst enemy." Rick finishes.
"You want me to babysit Shane?" Andrea asks in disbelief.
"I need to make sure every time I leave the farm all hell doesn't break loose." Rick states, Andrea scoffs and stops.
"Then maybe you should stop leaving." Andrea sasses.
"Maybe you should stop thinking of only yourself." I state, walking past her and away from them.
      I walk off and over to the loud clanking I can hear close to a small cabin close to the house. I look up, shielding my eyes from the sun with my right hand. I see Daryl up on the roof with a hammer and nails in his hands.
"Howdy pardner!" I yell up and over the sound of the hammer hitting the nails.
     Daryl stops hitting the nails into the wooden board attached to the window and looks down at me. He looks slightly angry, and turns back to the window. I roll my eyes and chuckle at him. I walk up to the cabin and begin to climb up, only for the hammering to stop again. Below me and inside the cabin, I hear muffles of pain of the boy trapped in there. By the time I'm on the roof, I walk over to Daryl to try and not fall over due to the incline. My foot slips slightly, Daryl goes to stand and catch me, but I regain my balance. I look over at him, a smile on my face as I sit down. Daryl squats back down and begins hammering the board once more.
     I watch Daryl do this until he's done hammering the whole board to the window, only then do I speak.
"Why're you doin' this? Thought you an' Rick were bringing him out." I question, Daryl just shrugs.
"Need somethin' to do. Figured I'd get away from everyone."  Daryl says, shooting me a look.
"Sorry to disappoint. I can head back, if you wanted me to." I offer, beginning to stand. Daryl just smiles and shakes his head.
"Naw, I like seein' you." Daryl admits, making me blush.
"I like seeing you too." I say, a smile on my face.
"So..." I begin, not knowing what to bring up or say.
     Daryl shooting Dale last night rushes back to my head, memories from the moment hitting me. I rub my forehead in a nervous manor, trying to stop the memories from flooding in.
"You a'ight?" Daryl asks, shooting me a concerned look.
     I pull my hand away from my forehead and just nod slowly.
"You don't hafta lie, darlin'." Daryl mumbles, I smile sadly.
"I know...just...I don't understand how you can just be fine the next day as if nothing happened last night. I-I didn't get a wink of sleep last night, Dale's face was stuck in my mind. The noises he made as he laid there, slowly suffering. I couldn't help but worry about my family. I barely knew Dale, but he was welcoming enough to talk and accept me, even gave me advice. I can't imagine what I'd do if something were to happen to my family. I-I wouldn't be able to forgive myself, forgive anyone who hurt them." I admit, beginning to spew out my thoughts and at Daryl.
    Daryl just nods his head as I talk, not once interrupting. He goes to grab my hand, but a yell from Rick stops him.
"Daryl! Can you come down? We needta talk."
"C'mon, Firecracker." Daryl smirks, grabbing my hand and pulling me over to the edge of the cabin to jump down.
     Daryl lets go of my hand and jumps down, he looks at me expectantly. I only nod my head and begin to climb down, yet I have to jump the rest of the way down.
"Care to catch me?" I ask, earning a huff from Daryl.
    I take that as a yes and let go of the edge, arms quickly catching me. Daryl puts my feet on the ground and I offer a smile. We follow after Rick and to the porch of the house. Once we reach the porch, I notice a map is set up with two rocks holding it down.
"What's all this?" I ask, looking over at Rick.
"Figured we could take  him out to Senoia. Hour there, hour back, give or take. We may lose the light, but we'll be halfway home by then." Rick explains, pointing down to a circled spot on the map.
"This little pain in the ass will be a distant memory. Good riddance." Daryl mumbles, sitting down on the wooden beam behind him.
"Still think this is the better option here." I state, looking between the two men. Daryl scoffs as Rick agrees.
"Carol's putting together some provisions for him, enough to last a few days." Rick begins, but pauses, looking at the car Shane is driving up in. "That thing you did last night-" Rick says, only for Daryl to cut him off.
"Ain't no reason you should do all the heavy liftin'." Daryl says, squinting his eyes as he looks up at Rick.
"So are you good with all this?" Rick asks, motioning the now closed map around us.
"I don't see you and I trading haymakers on the side of the road. Nobody'd win that fight." Daryl simply says as Shane closes the cars door. I grab Daryl's shoulder.
"C'mon. Let's go." I say, leading Daryl away.
    I turn back to look at Rick giving me an appreciative look. I nod my head and lead Daryl over to his bike, which is now parked over by the front of the house. Daryl lets me keep ahold of his shoulder as we walk.
"I don't trust 'im." I state once we reach Daryl's bike.
    Daryl stands over to the side of it, digging through the bike's side pouches. I lean against the bike with my arms crossed as I stare at Rick and Shane having their conversation. Rick walks off and towards the barn while Shane goes somewhere else. I squint my eyes at Shane, not trusting his movements in the slightest.
"Don't think anyone does anymore." Daryl mumbles, still fidgeting around on his bike.
"Seems like Lori still trusts him. That boy, Carl does too. Andrea as well. I just wish Dale were here to give me some advice on what to do..." I whisper, only to hear silence.
    I turn around to see Daryl has stopped moving things around on his bikes side pouch, his eyes trained on me.
"D'you really think Dale would give you good advice?" Daryl asks, I nod my head.
"Better advice from him than you." I joke, Daryl scoffs at me.
"Lemme ask you something." I state, Daryl grunts.
"Why'd you help out Rick last night? I find it hard to believe it's cause you didn't want him doin' the heavy lifting." I say, Daryl lets out a sigh.
"Rick ain't got the guts to take away a man's life. Now I've seen my fair share of shit, I know what it's like to watch someone die. But with Dale sufferin' the way he was, ain't no way I was just gonna watch that." Admits Daryl, I just nod my head.
"Well...thank you for putting him out of his misery." I say, only for silence to greet us for a few minutes.
      T-dog comes out of the house and over towards me and Daryl. T-dog holds a gun in his left hand.
"You only got so many arrows." T-dog says, holding the gun out for Daryl to take.
"Is that Dale's gun?" Daryl asks, accepting the gun from T-dog.
"Yeah." T-dog simply says.
"Wish I knew where the hell mine is." Daryl mutters.
     I turn around and look to see Rick is walking up behind us, Daryl and T-dog turn too.
"Ready?" Rick asks.
"Yeah." Daryl answers, putting Dale's gun in the back of his pants.
"I'll get the package." T-dog says, beginning to walk off.
"Thanks." Rick says, nodding his head.
"Hey, Y/N?" Rick suddenly asks, turning to look at me.
"Yeah?" I reply, quirking a brow.
"How would you like to help me and Daryl let the kid loose?" He asks, I look at him, absolutely astounded.
"W-why me?" I ask, looking Rick in the eye.
"Figured you'd wanna see the kid be free." Rick shrugs, I offer a smile.
      Before I can answer, T-dog comes running over.
"What's wrong?" Rick asks him.
"Randall's missing." T-dog replies.
     Me, Rick, and Daryl run over to the cabin to find it completely empty, all that's left are the cuffs that the boy once had around his wrists. I cringe at the blood and dead skin on the cuffs, grossed out just by looking at it. Andrea now enters the cabin, looking up and into the rafters to try and spot a way he could've gotten out.
"What's goin' on?" I hear daddy ask, along with running footsteps that approach the cabin.
"The cuffs are still hooked. He musta slipped 'em." Rick explains.
"Is that possible?" Carol asks, I turn to see her standing behind Rick.
"It is if you've got nothing to lose." Andrea says, exiting the barn. I follow after her to look around the outside of the barn, only to find nothing but roughed up foots prints on the ground.
     I whistle quietly, which catches Daryl's attention. He walks over and looks down at the prints I'm pointing at. Daryl looks at them suspiciously.
"The door was secured from the outside." Dad states, closing the cabin's door.
     I hear rustling in the distance and I turn to see Shane with blood trickling down his face.
"Rick! Rick!" Shane yells out, which catches everyone else's attention.
"What happened?" Rick asks, rushing over to Shane.
"He's armed. He's got my gun!" Shane yells, I look over at Daryl, shooting him a knowing look.
"Are you okay?" I hear Carl ask from behind us.
"I'm fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face." Shane explains, which I find hard to believe.
"All right, Hershel, T-Dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, come with us." Rick says, beginning to walk off, only to stop in his tracks and turn to look at me.
"You too, Y/N. We're gonna need both our trackers on this." Rick orders, I nod my head and turn to look at daddy.
     I give him a quick hug.
"T, I'm gonna need that gun." Shane says, holding out his hand expectantly.
"Just let him go. That was the plan, wasn't it, to just let him go?" Carol asks, fear evident in her voice.
"The plan was to cut him loose far away from here, not on our front step with a gun." Rick replies.
"Don't go out there. Ya'll know what can happen." Carol tries again, I turn to look at her to offer her a reassuring smile.
"Get everybody back in the house. Lock all the doors and stay put!" Rick commands, earning nods from the group behind us.
"Let's go, back in the house." T-dog says, ushering the people over to the house.
    Maggie rushes up to me and gives me a hug.
"Please be safe." She whispers in my ear, I just nod my head.
"I always am." I say, smiling over at her.
    Maggie begins to walk off, T-dog touching her shoulder and leading her towards the house. I turn back around and follow after Shane, along with the rest of the small group.
"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out. I'm not sure how long." Shane states, leading up into the woods.
"He couldn't have gotten far. He's hobbled, exhausted." Rick says.
"And armed." Glenn chimes in.
"So are we." Rick replies.
"Can you track him?" Rick asks, looking between me and Daryl.
    Daryl looks over at me, shooting me a look.
"No, I don't see nothin'." Daryl replies, I frown at him.
     I'm about to speak up before Shane interrupts me.
"Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way. We just needta split up. We spread out, just chase him down. That's it." Shane explains, Daryl shoots him a look, as do I.
"Kid weighs a buck 25 soakin' wet. You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?" Daryl ask, Shane lets out a sigh.
"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?" Shane asks, which grabs my attention.
"So first you say you blacked out but now know which way to lead us, and now you're tellin' us he used a rock, not his fists?" I ask, earning a glare from Shane.
"Alright, knock it off. You, Glenn, and Daryl start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane'll take the left." Rick says, I shake my head.
"No, it's unfair to have two trackers on the same side. I'm coming with you and Shane." I demand, earning a nod from Rick.
     Rick turns to Glenn and Daryl.
"Glenn, Daryl, remember, Randall's not our only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other." Rick orders, Glenn nods his head quickly, Daryl looks me in the eyes and nods his head.
     Glenn and Daryl walk off and towards the right. Shane begins to lead the way, I follow with Rick behind us. We walk for a few minutes in silence, that is until Rick decides to say something.
"Looks like it's busted pretty bad."
"It's fine, man. Don't worry about me." Shane says, beginning to lead the way again.
     The crickets chirp while the frogs croak in the distance, the noise is almost peaceful. Then I remember the world I'm living in, and that peacefulness quickly goes away. We walk some more, no one saying anything. I begin to slow down, lost in thought. Rick manages to get in front of me, the leaves beneath our feet crunch while the twigs snap. I notice Shane starts to slow down, he turns his head and looks at me and Rick suspiciously. Shane just turns back around and walks. Rick turns to look at me, I just shrug my shoulders.
"Does this way feel right?" Rick asks suddenly, looking at Shane expectantly.
"As right as any." Shane says, only for silence besides the woodland creatures to greet our ears.
"Got your gun, yeah?" I ask, holding my bow in my hands, an arrow already knocked onto the string.
"Yeah. It's my favorite piece too. Gonna wish he'd-Wish he'd killed me when I find his sorry ass." Shane says, turning to look between me and Rick. I begin to feel uneasy at his words.
"Go on." Shane orders, nodding his head further into the woods.
    Rick walks ahead of Shane, and while I feel like I'm safe in the back, Shane roughly grabs my shoulder and pushes me in front of him.
"Hey, watch it." I growl.
     Shane scoffs and pushes me forward again. I almost bump into Rick, but I regain my balance. Rick leads us into a clearing. I can see the farm in the distance.
"You say he got you with a rock?" Rick asks, hand on his magnum.
"That's what I said." Shane mumbles out.
"Inside the shed? Cause the door was locked when T-dog rolled up." Rick says. I can feel the tension in the air.
"I saw that too. Must've slipped through the rafters in the roof." Shane tries, but Rick stops in front of me, Shane behind me. Silence ensues.
"So this is where you planned to do it?" Rick suddenly asks, turning his head slightly to look back at me and Shane.
"It's a good place as any." Shane states.
"At least have the balls to call this what it is-murder. You really believe if you walk back onto that farm alone-no me or Y/N, not even Randall." Rick says, turning around to look at Shane. I move to the side to be beside Rick.
"I want you to hush up." Shane demands.
"You really think they're gonna buy whatever bullshit story you cook up?" Rick asks, his hand by his hip.
"That's just it. It ain't no story. I saw that prisoner shoot you two down. I ran after him, snapped his neck. It ain't gonna be easy, but Lori and Carl-They'll get over you. They done it before. They just gonna have to." Shane says, his whole plan beginning to come out.
"Why? Why now? I thought we worked this all out. Why let me bring Y/N?" Rick asks, motioning over to me.
"I been wanting to kill this bitch for awhile now. If it weren't for that buck tooth hill billy, she'd be dead by now. And you and me Rick? We tried to kill each other, man. What you think? We just gonna forget about it all? We gonna ride off into the sunset together?" Shane asks question after question.
"You're gonna kill us in cold blood?  Kill Y/N here, leave her poor family to suffer from something Y/N isn't even involved in? Screw my wife? Have my children-my children call you daddy? Is that what you want? That life won't be worth a damn. I know you. You won't be able to live with this." Rick says, only for Shane to shake his head.
"What you know about what I can live with?  You got no idea what I can live with, what I live with! You wanna talk about what I can do, Rick? How about what you can do? Here I am. Come on, man.
Raise your gun." Shane demands, only for Rick to just stand there.
       I pull my bow up to aim at Shane, but Rick holds out his hand to stop me.
"No. No, I will not." Rick says.
"What happened, Rick? I thought you weren't the good guy anymore. Ain't that what you said? Even right here, right now, you ain't gonna fight for 'em? I'm a better father than you, Rick. I'm better for Lori  than you, man. It's 'cause I'm a better man than you, Rick. Cause I can be here and I'll fight for it. You come back here and you just destroy everything! You got a broken woman. You got a weak boy. You ain't got the first clue on how to fix it. Raise your gun." Shane orders once again, yet Rick just stands there.
"You're gonna hafta kill an unarmed man and woman." Rick says, shooting me a look before going to reach for the handle of his gun.
"Watch my hand. Nice and easy. Easy does it. Now listen to me, Shane. There is still a way back from this. Nothing has happened here. We're gonna lay down our guns and we're gonna walk back to the farm...Together. Back to Lori. Back to Carl. Put this all behind us." Rick says slowly and calmly, taking slow strides towards Shane.
      Rick places the gun in Shane's hand before pulling out a knife and stabbing the man in the stomach. A loud noise sounds off, I let out a yelp, and before I know it, I'm on the ground. Blood pools around my shirt. I let out a groan of pain, slowly taking off my hoodie to apply pressure to the wound. Rick is so worried about killing Shane, and maybe he didn't even hear my yelp, but he fails to notice that I've been shot. I go to stand up after I've torn off a piece of fabric from my hoodie and wrapped it around my waist, the bullet most likely nicking something in the process. With the wound wrapped, I stand and steady my balance. My bow is somewhere on the ground, the arrow now gone. I try to bend down to pick it up, but my wound makes it so I'm unable to.
"Y/N? Dad?" A prepubescent voice asks, and I look over to where the voice came from, only to spot Carl.
    Rick stands up, covered in blood. He holds his hands out as Carl points a gun at him. I clutch my stomach and walk over to where Rick is. I attempt to get in front of Rick.
"Carl. You...you know you should be back with your mom." Rick says.
     I get in front of Rick and hold one arm to the side to block Carl's aim.
"Carl...please just put the gun down. It's not what it looks like." I try to negotiate weakly.
     Carl takes a step forward and aims the gun past my shoulder, only when I turn around do I see Shane, except now he's no longer human. He's turned into a walker, quickly making his way to Rick. A loud bang is heard as Shane's dead body falls backwards and onto the ground. I turn back to look at Carl, who has tears streaming down his face. I remove my arm from blocking Carl's aim, and instead I move over so Rick can walk to his son. Rick does just that and wraps his arms around Carl with a hug. I feel myself smile softly.
     I look down at my hand and at the bullet wound.
"R-rick." I mumble out, my voice slightly hoarse.
    Rick lets go of Carl and turns to look at me, only for the color drain from his face when he sees how bad of a state I'm in. He rushes over to me and checks me over, his eyes landing on the fabric bandage I made out of my hoodie. Rick looks scared, and I think that's the first time I've seen him with that look on his face.
"We need to move." Rick says, I nod my head towards my bow.
"Grab it for me, will ya?" I ask, Rick nods and walks over to my bow, quickly picking it up and handing it over to me.
     I offer a smile, though Rick doesn't smile back. Instead he's now looking behind me. Turning my head, I see a massive horde of walkers inching their ways towards us and my families farm.