Free World // Daryl Dixon Fanfiction // X Reader

Chapter 1. Rotters.

We've been surviving. For too long we've been surviving. Everyday trying to remember who we are, trying not to let this world turn us into something we're not. Trying to keep our sanity in tact. Having my twin brother Koby with me helped. He's a constant reminder of everything that was. We've been fighting together since the beginning. And boy have we been through some shit along the way.

It had been a tough winter.  We had been hiding out in a building we came across in a small town for the past couple of weeks. It was safe and we had enough supplies but they began to run low. It was time to move on.

I walked into one of the empty rooms in the building to find Koby throwing knives at a target he had carved on the wall. He didn't have great aim but he was getting better, he was better with guns. I was the fighter or at least I tried to be. This world had made me a better one, I'll give it that. I grew up with two brothers I had to prove I was tough, I didn't ever want to be seen as weak, even when we were all in the academy then onto the police force I was overlooked so I had to prove myself.  I tried my hardest too.

"You're getting better." I said as he released the knife in his hand.

"Think you're gonna have to give me a few more lessons." He said collecting the three knives from the wall each of them just off the centre of the target.

"I've taught you all I know. It's just gonna take practice. Even I need practice." I signed and nodded towards the window. "We need to get on the road again. Tomorrow."

"It's starting to bloom out there." He said moving over to the window and peering out the sheet that was covering it. "Snows gone. Rotters are gonna be faster again." He looked back to me covering the window back up. "Where are we headed?"

I pulled a map out of my back pocket and waved it around.

"You found one?" He said with a smile walking up to me.

"Yeah in that old store we couldn't get into. Locks were frozen up but it was warm enough this morning, managed to get in. Wasn't much in there. Some clothes, usual stuff."

"Do you know where we are?" He asked.

"I took note of the street signs. And the welcome sign with the towns name on."

"Right." He said laughing.

I opened the map out on the floor and kneeled down as Koby sat next to me.

"Okay so here's the town we are in." I said pointing at the map after struggling to find it a little.

"Wow we've come far from camp."

"Its been a month. It's not our camp anymore. We shouldn't be thinking about them."

"You mean him." He said raising his eyebrow at me.

"Shit happened we left. We don't talk about it or him."

"What about Lucy?" He asked.

"She's gone. We don't talk about it." I said bluntly. "I can't, I can't think about it."

He looked at me with a sad smile before looking back down at the map.

"I'm sorry." I said letting out a sigh. "We've just lost so much, it hurts."

"Do you think he went out looking for you?" Koby asked interrupting me.