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

Seven: The Feeling

            My father hugged me tightly as soon as I came into view, Mattie's tail wagging furiously. I couldn't get the image of Tara's death out of my head, or Gareth being torn apart by the Walkers. "I'm alright... we lost one though." I sighed, pulling away from Dad.
"Who?" Dad began examining the group, but he still looked dumbfounded.
"Tara, I didn't talk to her much, but she seemed like a nice person. There was nothing we could do..." I trailed off, my face in my hands. "Then Rick needed a distraction, so instead of just shooting the man that did this to them, he had to give him to the Walkers." Dad seemed to understand that Walkers meant Geeks, because he seemed just as horrified as I had been in the moment. "But, we're okay. No one else is hurt." I forced a smile and turned back to the others. "We should go through the supplies and camp out for the night, I'd rather hit the road in the morning." I tossed my bag onto a clear patch of grass and started pulling things out. Daryl sat down with me, and people put their bags next to mine.
"I found this." Sasha smiled, pulling a poncho out of her bag. Daryl glowed at the sight of it and he put it on right away. She also passed Glenn a watch, and he seemed over joyed to see it.
"Did they steal some of your stuff, too?" I asked as Daryl and I went through the new found supplies.
"Maggie made off with this, dunno how. Just glad to have it back. I think Maggie's old man gave that to Glenn." He looked over at the watch in Glenn's hands.
"It's good you got them back, then." I smiled, stuffing all of our ammo and spare guns into one bag. We sat in silence for a bit, sorting our medical supplies and food into separate bags and figuring out what we actually needed. By the end, we'd cut down to about half the amount of bags.
"You planning on telling you dad?" Daryl whispered, and I jerked up to look at him.
"I told you not to say anything to him, so obviously not. He doesn't need to know, it'll just stress him out. He needs to sleep tonight so that he can drive tomorrow." I wanted the conversation over before it had even begun. He just wasn't getting the hint.
"So you ain't even gonna tell him?" Daryl's voice had raised, causing a few people to look over.
"He doesn't have to! Keep your voice down." I snarled. Why was he being so difficult?
"Doesn't have to know what?" My dad looked down at us, cross legged and sitting in the grass.
"Nothing, Dad. It's alright." I faked my smile, praying he'd accept it.
"Your daughter almost got raped, and she ain't even gonna tell you because she thinks it's not important! Do you not even realize how disgusting that is? You weren't even trying to get away, either. Just let 'em strip off your shirt and force me to watch!" I looked at Daryl in horror. We'd only just met and I had asked one thing of him, and this is how he planned on earning my trust.
"I said I'm fine! I only played along to keep us alive! You should be thanking me because I bought us the time we needed. So sorry for sacrificing my innocence to save your ass!" I shot back, raising to my feet. I wanted so badly to punch him square in the jaw, my fists already clenched. Instead I just stormed off, marching through the trees until I found myself at a decent distance. I could hear faint arguing coming from the others until it was well passed dark.
With the darkness came the cold. I knew I was being stubborn, but there was no way I was going to go back there just for a sweater. With every rustle I jumped, realizing how stupid I was for going into the forest alone. Still, I refused to go back, not until morning. However, after a few hours, Mattie came trotting out of the darkness. She was followed close behind by Carl who carried a sweater that didn't look to be mine, and a few of the snack bars I'd gotten from the corner store. A single water bottle was being carried by Mattie, who dropped it right in front of me.
"Hey, kiddo." I smiled, grabbing the sweater as he passed it to me. I slipped it over my head, it was a couple sizes to large.
"Sorry, they just handed me one." Carl apologized, but I just shrugged it off. He sat down next to me, Mattie laying her head on his leg.
"She really seems to like you." I pointed out, scratching her backside. Carl nodded, then handed me a snack bar. I gladly took it, munching on it happily as the two of us sat together in the dark. He kept his gun out and next to him, and not even a twig breaking made him jump.
"I know you don't want to talk about it, I get it. But you should have told your dad." I looked down at Carl, but he didn't remove his gaze from the tree opposite him as he ate his own bar.
"I know... I just, I don't know." I chuckled, slouching against the tree trunk behind me. "I just don't want people to think I can't handle myself. I've always gotten criticized for being a girl cop, and the fact that I had been taken advantage of like that..." I trailed off, not sure what to say exactly.
"I know, everyone treats me like a kid sometimes. I know I am, but I think I've grown up quite a bit. When it happened to me, my dad seemed to get that I didn't want to talk. But I didn't have to tell him since he was there, but if he hadn't of been there, I would've told him." I sighed, Carl was definitely right. In a way, Dad deserved to know, even though it might upset him.
"Thanks, Carl." I smiled, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. He nodded and we sat for a little while longer before he got to his feet.
"We've got ourselves set up by the car, I think you should come back with me. It's not safe out here alone." He outstretched a hand but I shook my head.
"I'll be fine, Mattie will protect me." I smiled, pulling my dog onto my lap. She grunted in protest, but didn't move at all.
"Daryl says to give him the sweater in the morning." And with that, Carl walked away. I felt an urge to take off the sweater, to throw it in mud and stomp on it, but I wasn't that stubborn. Instead, I curled up by the tree with Mattie and drifted off to the sound of the wind in the trees.


As soon as I woke up, I gathered my things and made back for the others. My temper was back to normal, but I still didn't want to face Daryl. It didn't help that I still had to give him his sweater. I took it off as I walked and tossed it on top of his sleeping form. I set to work, packing the things into the S.U.V. Even with the death of Tara, we had too many to fit into the vehicle. I took out the seats and planned on putting them into the horse trailer, this made enough room for seven to fit into the back, plus Dad and someone else to sit in the front seats. Maggie and Glenn would take Queen, while someone and myself would ride Boot.
People started to wake up on their own, and Bob, Glenn and Rick helped me secure the seats from my vehicle into the far end of the horse trailer. I also got their help to get the horses ready and stretch them out a bit while the other ate breakfast. As soon as Rick woke up Carl, we began to organize the trip.
"I'll ride shotgun with Keith, the rest of you will be able to fit in the back. Maggie and Glenn take one of the horses, and I need someone to go with Grace on the other." Rick immediately looked at Daryl. I suppose Daryl was Rick's right hand man, and he trusted him to watch the four of us as we trailed behind.
"I just don't know how I feel about leaving my dad alone in a car with all of you. No offense, you all seem like nice people, but..." I ran my fingers through my hair. Rick seemed to understand and nodded his head.
"I know how you feel, but after what we all just went through together and the fact that you saved us has to count for something." I nodded, letting my anxiety drift away.
"We're heading back to Southern Alabama and to these folk's farm." I nodded. I'd told them that we were headed for Washington, and I was told that Rick had seen someone from Washington in Terminus talking about how it was just as bad as Atlanta. So, we decided we'd be better off just going back.
"Alright, we leave soon. Let's just make sure we have everything and the horses are ready." Maggie, Glenn and Daryl helped me with the horses, making sure they'd eaten and had some water. We also attached a saddlebag to them with some food and water, medical supplies, and ammo.
"What ever happened to Nelly?" I asked Maggie as she mounted Queen.
"If she's smart, she got off that farm." Daryl snorted. "Damn thing bucked me off once, I got an arrow in the side and some nasty bruises." I couldn't help but laugh at him, causing him to smile over at me. I quickly stopped, not wanting him to think all was forgiven.
"So you lost her after it was over-run?" I asked, hopping onto Boot. He stomped a few times, and I watched as Daryl eyed him wearily.
"Yeah, sadly." Maggie sighed, helping Glenn up and behind her.
"How come you get the front?" Daryl grunted as I helped him up and behind me.
"'Cause it's my horse, and the fact that you got bucked doesn't give me a good impression." I laughed. Daryl didn't say anything, and I could only imagine him rolling his eyes. "Hold on." I said as I grabbed the reigns.
"Where?" I rolled my own eyes, and reached behind me and grabbed his hands. For a split second, I felt that feeling again, the one I'd felt the first time I met him. As soon as I wrapped his arms around my waist, a faint trace of it lingered and my breath faltered. I straightened up, pushing the thoughts from my head.
"Ready?" Rick called from up ahead.
"Yeah!" Maggie called back, and the S.U.V took off in front of us down the dirt path and back to the main road. I drove my heel into Boot's side and he set off at a steady gallop behind the horse trailer.