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

Fourteen: Answers in the Night

             Night fell, bringing darkness and a cold wind. Although it was supposed to be my night on watch, every time I tried to go out there, my parents or brother would stop me. Instead, I sat in my room on my bed, staring at the white ceiling. What was worse was the fact that Daryl was filling in for me, leaving me by myself. Of course, I also felt bad for making Daryl got out when he could be sleeping like everyone else.
I listened carefully, hearing the last door shut. I'd been so bored, I'd started counting the people who went to bed. I slowly slid out of bed a few minutes later, grabbing my compound bow and quiver, which had found it's home on the floor next to my bed, easy to grab. I also grabbed my sweatshirt and pulled it over my head, grabbing a blanket and some snack bars I'd stolen and put in my room.
Slowly and quietly, I made my way down the wooden stairs. I skipped the fourth from the bottom, I'd learned the hard way when I was sixteen that that stair only squeaked. I walked out into the fresh air, looking over to the barn to find Daryl on the usual perch above the front doors to the barn. I jogged over to the side, he hadn't seen me yet. I climbed the ladder and hopped up the stairs, walking to the window that led to the roof.
"Hey." I whispered, causing Daryl to jump up and point his crossbow in my direction. He lowered it, his breathing slowing down. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." I apologized, sitting next to him. He looked down as I spread out the variety of bars and tossed half of the blanket over him.
"What's this?" He asked, looking over at me. I shrugged, placing my bow on my lap and the quiver next to my leg. "Shouldn't you be asleep or somethin'?" Daryl questioned, returning to his watch.
"You can go inside, get some rest." I sighed, looking over the yard. the cattle were herded together, close to the fence near the house. Everything else looked barren, the tall grass blowing in the wind.
"I'm on watch."
"It's my night, I'm supposed to be out here." I pointed out, opening one of the bars and eating it quietly.
"You're supposed to be sleepin'." Daryl shot back, his eyes still wondering along the property. I huffed, knowing that my efforts would most likely go to waste. Daryl was acting a lot like any of the police dogs would. Once you give them a task, they won't back down until they succeed, even if you try and pull them away from it... like I was trying to do to Daryl.
"I know, I know." I grumbled, running my fingers through my hair. "I just, I don't want to be a burden. I'm like the third youngest of the group, I'm surprised nobody's trying to treat me like a child." I shook my head. All I wanted was to be able to pull my weight, but I couldn't even do that without being a burden. It was ridiculous, but my own fault at the same time. I'm the own who ran off like a child and got myself hurt.
"Nobody's treating you like a child because you're an adult. You can handle yourself, but there's nothin' wrong with needing help every once in a while. That's what's wrong with you, you need to do everything yourself. You're still tryin' to prove yourself even though you already have, you're a cop, you traveled for months and you got us out of Terminus. How do you not see that you've done so much on your own?" Daryl's face must've been red as he spat those words into my face. I felt mixed feelings at his outburst. I felt hurt that he was yelling at me, happy because he'd pretty much said I was a valuable member of the group, but he'd also pointed out a flaw I hadn't quite noticed about myself.
"What about you, huh? You are just so... so secretive. I have no idea what you're thinking half the time! I don't even know if you even like me as a person, because you're always yelling at me! I thought we were friends, for a moment I thought we could be more than friends. It's just, you're so... complicated. You change your mind and your manner and your whole personality towards people every single day." I shouldn't have been harsh back, but if we were pointing out flaws, it was my turn. He didn't say anything back, so I decided to answer him.
"About me trying to 'prove myself constantly', I don't know why I do it. I didn't come from a broken family, my brother never out-shined me, there was never a dull moment. I just feel like you all have so much potential to survive, and you all have been through so much, and you made it out. Every time I get into a tight spot I get saved. I couldn't even defend myself from rape, for god's sake." I felt the tears slide down my face. I truly thought I didn't want to talk about it, but to be honest, it needed to be said.
"Don't... you handled that just fine on your own. I was just the guy that knocked them out." Daryl shrugged, looking away.
"Is that all you think you are? The guy that does all the dirty work?" I whispered, looking at him with disbelief. "You've done so much for your group. You just refuse to step up and prove that you're a great leader, and that's why Rick's in charge. But he knows just as well as the rest of us that you know what's right, and that's why he asks you everything."
"You always call them 'my group'. You, your parents, Tom, you're all part of the group, too. We're together." He looked over at me now, but it was my turn to look away. I felt like I didn't want to face him just yet. Besides, we were supposed to be watching the yard and we'd been so busy not looking at each other that we hadn't checked the perimeter.
"Even though we argue, I see us as friends." I admitted. I mean, we did quite a bit together, I spent most time with him out of anyone on the farm. "I find we've been together too much, though. You haven't been able to get involved with what Rick's been doing because you're either saving me, keeping me company, or teaching me. Not to mention I tend to distract you from your duties." I waved a hand, motioning at everything in front of us.
"I don't mind." Daryl muttered, and I thought I heard him wrong.
"There's no need to spare my feelings." I chuckled, looking down into my lap. I fiddled with my bow as an awkward silence fell upon the two of us. The cold wind brushed past me, hardly touching me through the blanket I shared with Daryl, but slightly chilling my cheeks.
"I wasn't. It's true." I peaked a glance at him, he was also looking down. I took up looking over the property once more. That's when I noticed the three shambling objects approaching the lights on the porch.
"Shit." I breathed, causing Daryl to chuckle.
"It's fine if you-"
"No, look." I hissed, pointing towards the Walkers. He looked up and saw them, instantly getting to his feet with his crossbow. He raised it, aiming for a shot. I did the same, pulling an arrow from my quiver. I drew the arrow back, lining up the shot precisely. Both of our bows shot almost simultaneously, and surprisingly they both hit separate targets. However, mine didn't quite hit the mark, hanging onto the Walker's cheek. "Damn." I sighed as the two stopped to look around. I grabbed another arrow and shot, finally hitting my target. The other fell to the ground as well, a crossbow bolt sticking out between it's eyes.
"I'll go get the arrows." Daryl grunted, slinging his crossbow over his shoulder and climbing off of the roof. I looked around the yard as he ran over to the dead bodies, retrieving the arrows.
Something crept from the shadows right below me, shuffling towards Daryl. I squinted in the dark to see what it was, seeing another Walker. Another followed closely behind. I drew my bow, shooting at one of the approaching Walkers. I took it down, but the other stayed trained on Daryl. I lined up the shot and took a deep breath before letting it fly, hitting it right in the back of the head. It slumped to the ground and Daryl turned around to see the two dead bodies ten feet from him. He grabbed those arrows too, running back up to the barn roof. Instead of running around to the ladder, he reached up. I leaned over, letting him jump to grab my hand. I began to tug him up, but not before he started to freak out, grunting and kicking wildly.
I looked below him to see another Walker, reaching at his legs, biting his boots. I tugged harder, dropping my bow to use both hands. With our combined strength he got up enough for me to toss him aside and let him pull his legs over the edge. I quickly grabbed my bow, drawing back the string as I clutched the release, sending the arrow flying square into the Walker's eye.
"Are you okay, oh my god!" I asked, scrambling on my knees to Daryl. I rested next to him, watching as he rubbed his boots and pulled up his pant-legs. I breathed heavily, watching, waiting for an answer.
"Yeah, I'm alright." Daryl sighed, resting his back on the wall. He looked over at me, and I felt myself shaking. A sly smile crept onto his lips.
"This isn't funny!" I looked at him, bewildered. How could he find time to joke?
"You just saved me." Daryl rubbed his stubbly chin, watching me. I looked at him for a short time, dumbfounded, but clued in. He was right, I had helped him while he was in a tight spot. I'd saved someone else.
"Yeah." I breathed, my own smile now forming on my lips. "Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, looking him over.
"Yeah." He nodded, rubbing his hands on his pants. I could hear him breathing, I knew he was trying to calm down.
"Good, good." I nodded, turning back to look out across the fields. I suddenly felt hands snake around my waist, a familiar grip that brought me back to the long trip home from Terminus. I turned my head, trying to look at the man sitting behind me. He just smiled down at me, resting his chin on top of my head. I almost thought he'd kiss me, but he never did. Instead, he turned back to watching the property while he leaned against me, pulling the blanket back around us. And that's how we sat for the rest of the night, until I fell into a deep, comfortable sleep.