Beauty and Her Beast (Daryl Dixon Fanfic)

24

We all stood around Dale's grave, listening to Rick speak. I was stood next to Daryl, Luke was in front of us, holding both of our hands. "Dale could-could get under your skin. He sure got under mine, because he wasn't afraid to say exactly what he thought, how he felt. That kind of honesty is rare. And brave. Whenever I'd make a decision, I'd look at Dale. He'd be looking back at me with that look he had. We've all seen it one time or another. I couldn't always read him, but he could read us. He saw people for who they were. He knew things about us-the truth, who we really are. In the end, he was talking about losing our humanity. He said this group was broken. The best way to honor him is to unbreak it. Set aside our differences and pull together, stop feeling sorry for ourselves and take control of our lives, our safety, our future. We're not broken. We're gonna prove him wrong. From now on we're gonna do it his way. That is how we honor Dale."

~*~

I stood beside Daryl, Luke in front of me. I ran my fingers through his hair. "Gonna be tight, 16 people in one house." Rick said to Hershel.

"Don't worry about that. With the swamp hardening, the creek drying up..."

"With 50 head of cattle on the property, we might as well be ringing a damn dinner bell." Maggie finished.

"She's right. We should've moved you in a while ago."

All right, let's move the vehicles near each of the doors facing out toward the road. We'll build a lookout in the windmill, another in the barn loft. That should give us sightlines both sides of the property. T-dog, you take the perimeter around the house. Keep track of everyone coming and going."

"What about standing guard?"

"I need you and Daryl on double duty."

"I'll stock the basement with food and water, enough that we can all survive there a few days if need be."

"What about patrols?"

"Let's get this area locked down first. After that, Shane'll assign shifts while me and Daryl take Randall offsite and cut him loose."

~*~

I had set mine, Daryl's and Luke's things in a corner of the living room. Luke and I were in the kitchen. He finally let me give him a much needed haircut. "Are we gonna be a family?" Luke asked. "You, me and Daryl?"

I smiled. "This whole group is our family, baby. You can count on all of them."

Luke sighed. "I know. That's not what I meant. I mean...is Daryl gonna be..my dad?"

I chuckled, finishing up and sitting in front of him. "That's not up to me. You can ask Daryl if you like. You're all done baby, go play. Stay close."

I ruffled his hair and he laughed, rushing outside. I watched him through the front door. He ran up to Daryl, who was carrying some planks of wood. Daryl crouched, dropping the wood and giving Luke a half smile. They were talking, but I couldn't hear it. Daryl looked hesitant and a little guarded. I could see him chewing the inside of his lip, but he eventually nodded at Luke and he tackled Daryl with a hug, nearly knocking him over.

"He said yes, mama!" Luke yelled.

"Randall's gone!" T-dog yelled, the moment ending. I rushed outside, finding my equipment on the porch. I holstered one of my guns, keeping the other in my hand.

Luke ran over to me, grabbing my waist. I rest a hand on his head. "It's okay, love." He held me tight, burying his face in my belly.

"The cuffs are still hooked." Rick said after they thoroughly investigated the shed. "He must've slipped 'em."

"Is that possible?" I asked.

"It is if you've got nothing to lose." Andrea sighed as she left the shed.

"The door was secure from the outside."

As we continued talking, trying to figure it how Randall got out, Shane came out of the woods, fresh blood covering his face. "Rick! Rick!"

"What happened?"

"He's armed! He's got my gun!"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Little bastard just snuck up on me. He clocked me in the face."

Rick started shouting commands. "All right, Hershel, T-dog, get everybody back in the house. Glenn, Daryl, Lottie, come with us."

I crouched to Luke's level. "Go with T-Dog, Luke. He'll keep you safe." Luke nodded, running over to grab T's hand. Shane took his gun. Rick explained to Carol why we couldn't just let Randall go. Then we were off, walking through the woods.

"I saw him head up through the trees that way before I blacked out. I'm not sure how long."

"He couldn't have gotten far. He's hobbled, exhausted."

I scoffed. "And armed."

"So are we. Can you track him?" Rick asked Daryl.

Daryl shook his head. "No, I don't see nothing."

Shane had a crazed look in his eyes that made my skin crawl. "Hey, look, there ain't no use in tracking him, okay? He went that way. We need to pair up. We spread out, we just chase him down. That's it."

Daryl seemed just as unsure as I did. "Kid weighs a buck-25 soaking wet. You trying to tell us he got the jump on you?"

"I say a rock pretty much evens those odds, wouldn't you?"

"All right knock it off. You, Lottie and Glenn start heading up the right flank. Me and Shane'll take the left. Remember, Randall's not the only threat out there. Keep an eye out for each other."

It got dark fast, making it difficult to see any footprints on the ground. Daryl sighed. "This is pointless. Give me that light." Glenn handed him his flashlight. Daryl shined it on the ground, then around the woods. He sighed. "Come on."

"We're just back to square one." Glenn sighed.

Daryl shrugged. "If you're gonna do a thing, you might as well do it right."

Daryl shined the flashlight at the ground, focusing. "There's two sets of tracks right here. Shane must've followed him a lot longer than he said." Daryl pointed the light at a tree. "There's fresh blood on this tree." He looked at the ground again. "There's more tracks. Looks like they're walking in tandem."

Glenn walked into Daryl on accident. "Sorry."

"Yeah, there was a little dust up right here."

"What do you mean?" Glenn asked.

"It means something went down." I answered for him.

"This is getting weird." Glenn sighed.

Daryl pointed out Randall's blindfold on the ground. "Had a little trouble." Glenn picked it up, examining it. We heard branches snapping behind us and we ran for cover. I heard groaning. Just a walker. Daryl readied his knife. Glenn shined his flashlight on the walkers face, freezing. It pushed Glenn, then went for Daryl. I grabbed my knife, ready to strike. Daryl shoved it off of him and Glenn pushed him to the ground. I stabbed my knife through its head, silencing the growling.

Daryl shined the flashlight on its face. It was Randall. Daryl crouched, examining him. He shined his flashlight on Randall's neck, turning his head by his chin. "Got his neck broke." Daryl said. He rolled him on his stomach, checking for bites. He found none. "He's got no bites."

"Yeah, none you can see." Glenn said.

Daryl shook his head. "No, I'm telling you he died from this."

I cocked my head. "How the hell is that possible?" We all exchanged looks, confused as ever. Daryl pulled his bolt stuck in a tree and we headed back to the farm.