Torn Apart (A Daryl Dixon/ The Walking Dead Fanfiction)

Chapter 38

Daryl's P.O.V

My breathing is constricted as I run from the funeral home. I look around wildly for any sign of Beth, seeing her bag discarded on the road. At that moment, a black car with a white cross sticker speeds past me.

"Beth!" I yell.

I chase after the car as fast as I can, though I lose sight of it quickly. I follow the tracks all night, the sun beginning to come up. I am exhausted and weak and I collapse onto the road, trying to catch my breath. I sit there and try to calm myself down.

Rage burns through me as I think of my stupidity. I lost Beth, I couldn't protect her. My heart constricts as thoughts of Cat go into my head. I lost her as well, I wasn't able to protect her either. Beth and I had found a lead, some bullet cases from Ricks gun. We tried to follow it but the trail went dead.

I sit in the middle of the road and try to think about what to do. My thoughts are running rampant in my mind, considering who to chase after. I hear them before I see them and I look up. A group of men surround me, pointing guns at my face. I can tell immediately that these guys are dangerous, so I keep my mouth shut.

"Well look it here."

The oldest man in the group approaches me and tries to grab my crossbow. I lunge at him, my fist connecting with his face. I grab my crossbow and aim it at him on the ground. The other men in the group point their weapons at me.

"I'm claiming the vest. I like them wings." One of the guys say behind me.

"Hold up." The guy says from the ground, wiping the blood from his nose.

He looks at the blood on his hand and begins chuckling. He slowly begins to get up from the ground.

"A bow man. I respect that. See a man with a rifle he could have been some kind of photographer or soccer coach back in the day. But a bow mans a bow man through and through. What you got here? A hundred and fifty pound draw weight?" He asks.

I continue pointing my bow at him.

"I'll be donkey licked if that don't at least fire at 300 feet per second. I've been looking for a weapon like that. Course I want one with a bit more ammo in it." He chuckles.

"You get yourself in some trouble partner?" The guy from behind asks.

"You pull that trigger these boys are gonna drop you several times over. Is that what you want? Why hurt yourself when you can hurt other people?"

I stare at him, my crossbow still pointing at his face.

He smirks, "Name's Joe."

I lower my crossbow, "Daryl."

The others lower their weapons and stare at me. The leader nods at me, smiling triumphantly. I know that I can't trust these guys but I need somebody to cover me while I look for Cat. When I get a lead, I'll break off and continue my search. They start walking up the road with me trailing behind.

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I kneel down and stare at the rabbit, waiting for it reach the perfect position. I take a deep breath, aim and pull the trigger. My arrow enters the rabbit and another larger arrow enters at the same time. I turn and see the jackass Len, with his bow and arrows.

"The hell you doin'?" I ask.

"Catchin' me some breakfast." He shrugs.

"Well this ones mine." I say, going to grab the rabbit.

"My arrows the one that hit first. The cotton tail belongs to me."

I kneel down and pull out the arrows, "I've been tracking this since before the sun came up." I toss his arrow aside.