Last One Standing ~ TWD Daryl Dixon

28

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Jo

Daryl and I were lead as usual. We moved side by side our shoulders occasionally brushing as we swept and cleared each aisle. Glenn and Zack were behind us as Sasha and Tyreese brought up the rear.

When I glanced back after the first aisle I didn't see Bob. I just shook my head. I didn't like going on runs with new people for this reason precisely. You never knew what could happen or how they would react once the pressure was on. I always knew how Daryl would react and could depend on him. I hoped he felt the same way. Zack was new but I liked him. He was a brave kid and if he lived long enough to learn some lessons he would make a useful member of the group.

It took a long time to clear the store. The aisles seemed never ending and they split off in random directions. It was a labyrinth.  Which meant I wasn't one hundred percent comfortable we had in fact cleared the whole thing. Our small group seemed inadequate for such a large space.

Once we returned to the front of the store Sasha nodded as though our work had satisfied her and she repeated all our assignments.

"Alright," she said. "Lets split up, get this done and get home."

The others wandered off. I slid my knives away and stooped down to pull my flashlight out of my backpack. When I stood and turned I flinched. Daryl was standing just outside the ring of my light.

"Everything okay?" I asked, shouldering my empty pack. Daryl wasn't normally one to hover and certainly not over me unless there was a reason.

Daryl spun in a slow circle his lips pressed into a grim line. "Keep your eyes open?"

I nodded frowning. I looked around to see if I could see what had him on edge.

He nodded too as though that reassured him somehow. When he passed me he brushed the back of his hand against mine. "Stay safe," he muttered almost too quiet for me to hear then walked off into the dark.

I shook my head. Some days I didn't think I would ever understand Daryl.

I found a shopping cart and slowly pushed it through the aisles. It was like going back in time. If not for the dark store it could have been any Saturday morning when I went to get groceries. I calmly added things, strolling among the dark aisles in a way that before the outbreak would have infuriated me. I had always approached shopping with more expedience than anything else. For just a moment I felt blissfully normal.

Despite Sasha's direct orders I took a brief detour to another aisle for a personal item for a pet project of mine. Instead of putting the cans in the cart however I loaded them immediately into my backpack. I was just zipping up the pack when Zack came around the corner, a small piece of paper in his hand.

"Jo?" he seemed confused to find me in his section of the store. "Whatcha got?"

I smirked up at him. "Pet project of mine, its for the group." I cleared my throat and stood up, swinging my pack back over my shoulder. "Do me a favor? Keep this between us? I want it to be a surprise."