Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

15

He half smiled. "I know. Just please, stay here." He subtly reached out, grabbing my hand. I nodded reluctantly and we turned back to the conversation.

"We can't have our people out there with just knives. They need the gun training we've been promising them." Rick nodded at Shane.

"I'd prefer you not carrying guns on my property. We've managed so far without turning this into an armed camp." Hershel said.

"All due respect, you get a crowd of those things wandering in here..." Shane let out a dry laugh.

"Look, we're guests here. This is your property and we will respect that." Rick removed his gun from his holster, placing it on the hood of the car. Shane hesitated, but eventually put his gun down too. I unholstered my guns, setting them next to Ricks.

"First things first: Set camp, find Sophia." Rick said.

"I hate to be the one to ask, but somebody's got to. What happens if we find her and she's bit? I think we should all be clear on how we handle that." Shane asked.

Rick looked down. "You do what has to be done."

Maggie stared at him, shocked. "And her mother? What do you tell her?"

Andrea shifted the bag on her shoulder. "The truth." She mumbled.

Shane grabbed both his and Rick's guns. "I'll gather and secure all the weapons. Make sure no one's carrying till we're at a practice range off site. I do request one rifleman on lookout. Dale's got experience."

Hershel stayed silent. "Our people would feel safer, less inclined to carry a gun." Hershel nodded slowly. "Thank you."

I turned back to Daryl, resting my hands on his chest. "Be careful." I pecked his lips.

"Always am." He winked, walking away. Dale nudged my arm, a smile playing at his lips. "T-dog and I are going to get water. Care to join us?" I nodded, following them to one of the wells in the field.

When we reached it, T-dog set the wheel barrel down that he was pushing. "I'm not weak and I'm not a coward." He said. I furrowed my brows. What does he mean?

"I never said you were." Dale replied.

T-dog looked at Dale. "No, what I said, on the highway- I don't know what that was, where it came from. That wasn't me." He started pumping water into a bucket. I walked towards the well, noticing a hole in the wood covering it. I looked inside and my eyes widened.

I turned back around and went to T-dog, knocking the ladle of water out of his hand. He stared at me in shock. "I wouldn't drink that if I were you."

~*~

We all stood around the well as Dale pointed his flashlight at the bloated walker currently clawing at the walls of the well, trying to reach for us. "Looks like we've got ourselves a swimmer." Dale said.

"How long do you think he's been down there?" Glenn asked.

"Long enough to grow gills. We can't leave it in there, God knows what it's doing to the water." Andrea said. I chuckled.

Shane sighed. "We got to get it out."

T-dog shrugged. "Easy. Put a bullet in its head. I'll get a rope."

"Whoa, whoa, guys. No." Maggie said.

"Why not? It's a good plan." Glenn asked.

I narrowed my eyes. "It's a stupid plan. If that thing hasn't contaminated the water yet, blowing its brains out will finish the job."