Different Worlds |Daryl Dixon Fan Fiction- The Walking Dead|

Five: Paired Up

Grace^

            "He'll be fine." I looked over at Maggie as she patched up my father. "The bullet just skimmed and it didn't break, which is good. Just take it easy." Dad nodded and whispered a thank you before rubbing his beard in thought.
"There isn't enough room in the vehicle for everyone." He stated, sending a sideways glance at me. I sighed and flickered my eyes towards the horse trailer, hoping he'd agree.
"What's in there?" The smaller boy, Carl, asked. He knocked on the side, causing the horses to grunt in response.
"Two horses. I have an idea, but I'm sorry, I can't trust you to take our S.U.V, and besides, Dad, I mean Keith, can't ride a horse anyways. Unless one of you knows how to ride..." I trailed off, looking at Maggie. I swear I knew her from somewhere, she had to be her.
"I do." Maggie nodded, stepping forwards.
"Are you Maggie Greene by any chance? I know it's strange to ask but, you just remind me so much of her. Although it was years ago." I let out a soft laugh, smiling at her.
"I am, how do you know me?" Glenn tensed up next to her, an arm secure around her.
"Nelly, your horse... My dad and I sold her to you all those years ago. We've got her mom in the trailer here." I pointed a thumb towards where Queen stood.
"Oh my gosh." Maggie smiled, coming towards me and hugging me tightly. I was taken aback, sure we'd been friends for that short time, but it'd been so long. However, I hugged back, happy that she was being so friendly. "It's been forever, Grace!"
"I'll be darned, where's the old man, eh?" Dad smiled sadly.
"Where's Beth?" I asked, squeezing Maggie's arm.
"Hershel didn't make it, Daryl was with Beth before we came here but she drove away, no idea where she is." Rick answered for Maggie, and I pulled her into another hug.
"I am so sorry.." I whispered, rubbing her back. She nodded into my shoulder, wiping at her eyes as we pulled apart.
"If we're done with this little reunion, what's the plan?" Daryl spoke up, and chills ran down my spine.
"I-I, uh, suppose Dad can drive the vehicle, and if we put down the seats we can fit at least eight in there. Maggie and someone of her choice can ride Queen, and someone can ride with me." I awkwardly shifted my weight where I stood, waiting for a response from the others.
"Sounds good to me. You guys decide who's going where." Dad smiled, switching himself to the driver's seat.
"Glenn can ride with me." Maggie smiled, and I couldn't help but notice the ring on her finger.
"That's some nice jewelry you have there." She beamed as I took her hand, inspecting the beautiful ring.
"Thank you, Glenn and I are married."
"Congratulations, really." I patted them both on the back before heading towards the trailer. Rick followed me, I assume to check out what we had going on. I opened the latch and let the back fall down, but Rick stopped me.
"We're not done here." I spun around, confused.
"What do you mean, we got you out and we're offering transportation?" I couldn't believe this. What else could he want from us?
"We have to stop those people from getting anyone else. They're cannibals for god's sake!" I jumped at the rise in his voice, and everyone came around the corner of the trailer to see what was going on.
"My father's shot. He's not going anywhere near those people again!" I stated, trying to hold my ground. "Haven't we done enough for you people?" I scoffed, shutting the trailer door once more.
"I'm just asking that you wait for us.. we just need time and a way out. We'll go deal with them." I stood there, looking at Rick's face as he almost pleaded for me to agree.
"I'm not letting you all go in there, even if it's just me, it could make a difference. My dad can stay here with the car, have everything ready in case we need to go. But, I'm saying this now... if it gets bad, and we have to go, I can't say I'll wait for all of you to get back before getting my father out of here." I scanned over all of the newcomer's faces, and they all seemed unfazed by what I'd said.
"Deal."
"I'll take Mattie to find your gun bag." I whistled, signalling her to follow.
"I'll come, too." Carl straightened up. Rick gave him a look and softly said his name, but Carl just followed Mattie and I into the trees. It was a silent walk for a while, Carl paid no mind to the fact that his dad clearly had something he wanted to say. Instead he said, "My dad wasn't sure about you at first, then he found out you were a cop. Something changed, he just trusted you right away. I don't know why, since Shane was his best friend and a cop.. look how that turned out." I had no idea what he was talking about, but assumed that something bad must've happened between Rick and Shane.
"Your dad must think pretty good of you, letting you walk off with a stranger and her dog." I chuckled softly, and stopped where Mattie decided to start digging. I helped her out, tossing some dirt aside. Carl stood back, his gun out and ready.
"Considering I was almost raped, I'm a bit surprised, too." I froze, dirt clenched in my hands. What had these people been through?
"I, uh, I'm sorry to hear... I've been on a farm for such a long time, it's easy to forget how people can be." My throat felt dry. The poor kid was facing so much at such a young age. I couldn't imagine being in Rick's position as a parent.
"We stayed on Hershel's farm for a while, too. We got out of it, but then we got into this mess. Look, I think he's got it!" I turned back to the hole, letting the dirt in my hands fall back to the ground. Mattie had a strap in her teeth and she was yanking a bag from the earth.
"It's a she." I corrected Carl while grabbing the dirty bag and slinging it over my shoulder.
"Huh?" Carl bent down, scratching Mattie on the head. His whole face changed, instead of looking emotionless and brave, he smiled slightly as he played with her.
"Her name's Mattie, and I think she likes you."

We had separated into groups. Rick, Carl, and Michonne, Rosita and Abraham, Glenn, Tara, and Maggie, Daryl and me, and Sash and Bob. Eugene stayed behind with Dad, apparently he was more brains than brawn. The plan was to get in and take out as many of the people we could, grab as much of their supplies as we could, then get out.
"Stay close, alright?" Daryl whispered to me. I nodded, even though he couldn't quite see me. We walked together, crouched down and making our way to the building we'd been told to go to. Rick told us, even though it was brutal, to just kill the people. It wasn't necessary to hit the brain, as they'd come back and dispose of anyone who was left in Terminus. I didn't exactly like the idea, but it made too much sense to not follow along.
We came to the back door of the building, and Daryl pulled it open with ease. "What if there's children, pregnant women?" I asked, my heart speeding up. Could I really kill more living people?
"Depends on if they're a threat or not." He turned around to look down at me, his face emotionless. "If they aren't, leave it to me, okay?" I nodded again, unsure what he planned on doing. I couldn't watch him murder a child, or a woman carrying an unborn one.
The building turned out to be a sort of armory, which was good news. It meant no children were going to be anywhere near here. We stayed behind the large shelves for cover, listening closely for any sign of another person. I could hear three sets of footsteps, all going towards the other end of the room.
"Do you think they'll come back, the people in the boxcar?" A man's voice broke the silence.
"If they do, we better have the place ready. Gareth will be coming in here expecting everything to be laid out and ready." This one was a woman, and after she spoke, the three people separated again. There was a soft whistle to my right, and I turned to see Daryl doing hand motions. From what I caught on, he wanted me to go to the left, and he'd go to the right. I nodded before sneaking behind the shelves.
As I neared the far wall, I could hear a set of footsteps and shuffling as they grabbed things from the shelves. It was a man, a bag in one hand, his gun slung over his back. I managed to get right in front of him, staring at his feet through the shelf. I took a deep breath before pulling out my gun, jumping to my feet, and popping a bullet right into his heart, as that's where my shot had lined up since he was so tall. I would have taken the time to shoot his brain, but the small sound of my suppressed gun caused the other two people to make a commotion.
"What was that?"
"Jeff, are you alri-" the woman was cut off as she thudded onto the floor. The man who was with her began to run, and I could see him between the shelves. He lifted his gun, and I knew who he had it trained on. Without thinking, I shot his hand, causing him to drop the weapon. Before I could even line up my next shot, he had an arrow between his eyes.
"Daryl?" I hissed, making my way slowly towards the dead man. I made to turn the corner, and bumped right into Daryl's back. "Sorry!" I whispered, looking up to see a crossbow pointed right at my face. My eyes widened and I looked up at Daryl's face, and he lowered it as he recognized me.
"Grab some stuff then we should go check on the others." We separated, collecting ammo and guns, even a few melee weapons that had been crafted to be deadly. For example, a machete had been taped to another, making it double sided.
"I got all that I can carry for now. I don't want to be weighed down." I told Daryl. He nodded, dropping a few last things into his bag. One thing was a line of rope, and I gave him an odd look. What could he possibly need rope for? Just as we started walking to the front door, ready to move on, the door handle shook.
"Shit!" Daryl grabbed my arm, pulling me behind a set of crates. We sat, squished together, as the door swung open. A few men, about five, came in and began searching the shelves.
"My gun, it's gone. Someones been in here!" A loud crash filled the room.
"Calm down! It was probably one of our own guys." Another grumbled. There was a shout as a man fell backwards, not far from where Daryl and I hid.
"Guys, they're dead!"
"What?"
"Where are you?" A commotion broke out, only cut off by a man's scream and a loud growl. Had the people we'd killed already reanimated?
"We have to go." Daryl whispered, looking up to check the coast. He slid back down, breathing fast. "They'll see us if we make a run for it."
"What do we do?" I asked, looking around myself. There was two gunshots, presumably taking out the Geek and the man bitten.
"We run." Daryl grabbed my arm and tore after the door, but no sooner were we at the door then we I got grabbed.
"I got one of 'em! I have her!"

Find The Boondock Saints reference!!