Rossary
"Alright, let's move out" Glenn announced. He hopped into the driver seat of the truck and slammed the door shut, his fingers tapping the door in a rhythmic pattern. It seemed he was anxious to get home before we'd even left.
Behind me, Daryl whistled. I turned, a brow raised. "You comin'?" he asked.
I smiled and pulled my pack over my leather jacket. The motorcycle roared to life as I hopped on and wrapped my arms around Daryl's torso. He was in a long sleeve shirt today, his leather jacket over it. It was odd seeing him with sleeves on...
Suddenly he spun the bike around, and I couldn't stop myself from yelling. I wasn't nearly as squeamish on the motorcycle as I used to be, but sometimes Daryl liked to push my boundaries just enough for my heart to give out.
He chuckled.
"How dare you." I said as loud as I could.
Daryl laughed louder now, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold it in.
We slowed to a stop as the prison gates opened for someone outside. The sound of hooves hitting the ground grew louder as Daryl shut the bike off and rested his feet on the ground. Michonne slowed to a stop near us, a happy smile on her face as she jumped off the large animal and onto solid ground.
"Well, look who's back." Daryl said.
Michonne turned to us, a frown on her face. "Didn't find him." she said grimly. I sighed. It had been six months and no one had so much as caught a whiff of the Governor.
However, we were alive, and he was gone. That's all that really mattered.
Besides, Michonne and I somehow always ended up outside the gates at opposite times. It would be nice to be able to see her for more than a few minutes at a time. I was really getting sick of five-minute conversations.
"I'm glad to see you're in one piece." I told her, a small, reassuring smile on my face.
Michonne smirked before pulling something out of her pack. "I got you this." She pulled out a book and showed it to me. I had never heard of it, but Michonne knows what I liked to read.
"Thank you." I said..
Daryl scowled down at the novel. "Great, more books to fill the garage."
"Shut up Daryl." Michonne and I both said. Michonne high fived me, smirking.
"I'm thinking of looking near Macon." Michonne said. Rick shifted on his feet. "It's worth a shot." she said.
"Seventy miles of walkers. You might run into a few unneighborly types. Is it?" I asked. Michonne frowned.
Before anything else could be said about the governor, Daryl spoke.
"I'm gonna go check out The Big Spot. The one I was talking about, just seein'."
Rick nodded. "Yeah, I got to go out and check the snares. I don't wanna lose whatever we catch to the walkers."
"I'll go." Michonne offered, looking at me.
I frowned. "You don't need to, we have plenty of people." Liar.
Daryl nodded, seeming to understand where I was going with this. "Stay here, rest."
Michonne, although looking like she would argue, let out a tired sigh and nodded.
...
Daryl
I parked my bike a little ways away from the chain link fence. Rossary jumped off first and played with the straps on her pack. She handed me my crossbow when I got off before walking to the fence, her knife already in her hand.
Bob eyed the fence.
"Army came and put these fences up. Made it a place for people to go. Last week, when we spotted this place, there was a bunch of walkers behind this chain-link, keeping people out like a buncha guard dogs." I explained.
Rossary touched the fence, her other hand on her knife.
"So they all just left?" Bob asked.
"Give a listen." Sasha said.
Realization grew on Bob's face when he heard the music coming from far off.
"You drew them out?" Bob asked, his brows raised.
Sasha nodded. "Put a boombox out there a few days ago."
Glenn stepped forward. "Hooked it up to two car batteries thinking it would've drawn them out by the end of the week. Thankfully, they were gone sooner than that."
My eyes found Rossary's. She glanced at Bob, an untrusting look in her eyes. It was a common occurrence for her to not trust anyone, but this felt more like she was expecting Bob to turn on us.
I trusted Rossary to make the right call when it came to people. I shifted my weight so Bob was in my line of sight.
"All right, let's make a sweep. Make sure it's safe. Grab what you can." I ordered. "We'll come back tomorrow with more people."
...
Rossary
I walked through the tents silently, following the group's path. Zach was with me as we double checked for anything the group may have overlooked. I had never been on a run with Zach before, but I liked him.
He knew how to survive out here, to be quiet and watch out for whoever he was with. He rounded a corner and looked over his shoulder.
"This place is pretty empty," he said.
I nodded. "That's unsurprising. We're here for the things inside, not out here. I thought you were a glass half full kinda guy."
He laughed loudly. I shot him a look and he quickly quieted. "Sorry. And that's true, I think optimism is better than pessimism in any situation."
I hummed. "You're definitely a better person than me."
He shot me a humorous look.
I motioned for us to continue toward the store. Zach fell into stride beside me, lazily maneuvering through the tents. I didn't relax though. It was always when you least expect it that something bad happens.
I leaned against a pillar, directly across from Daryl who had already lit a cigarette that now rested between his fingers. He pounded on the window behind him twice. "Just give it a second." he muttered.
Zack smiled. "Okay, I think I got it." he said.
I shared a look with Sasha. "Got what?" I asked, my brow raised.
Zach turned toward me. His smile fell when he realized I honestly had no idea what he was talking about. "Oh, I've been trying to guess what Daryl did before the turn."
Daryl scoffed. "Yeah, he's been trying to guess for, like, six weeks."
Zach sat down next to the surly redneck. Daryl scooted to the left slightly, trying not to make his discomfort too obvious. "I'm pacing myself. One shot a day." I snorted. Zach turned to me, his smile confident. "You know what he did, don't you?"
Daryl snorted, as if the thought was absurd.
I smiled "Yeah, of course I do. He my best friend after all." Daryl looked at me, amusement dancing in his eyes. My cheeks burned and I looked away from him in an attempt to hide it.
Glenn laughed loudly when he saw me, earning a shush from Sasha.
"Alright, shoot." Daryl said. He turned his complete attention to Zach, ignoring Sasha and I.
Zach rubbed his nose. "Well, the way you are at the prison, you being on the council, you being able to track– you're helping people. But your still kind of being-"
"An asshole." I said without hesitation. Daryl scowled at me, his face slightly hidden by his hair. We laughed at him.
"Surly," Zach said carefully as he looked between Daryl and I with a look I couldn't really decipher. "Big swing here..." I raised a brow as I watched Daryl. "Homicide cop."
The group laughed.
Daryl's brows furrowed. "What's so funny?"
Sasha shook her head. "Nothing, it makes perfect sense."
Daryl turned away, his eyes focused on me. I smiled. "Actually, the man's right." he said. "Undercover."
Zach looked at him, bewildered. He looked over to me, as if trying to see if either of us was pulling his leg. I gave him a slight nod.
I nodded. "I'm surprised you haven't guessed that yet. You know that's how him and Rick met right?"
Zach leaned forward. "Wait really?"
Daryl nodded along. "Yep, but I don't like to talk about it because a lot of heavy shit happened, ya know?"
I had to give it to him, Zach was harder to trick than he looks. "Dude, come on, Really?" Daryl looked at him before looking at his crossbow, finally breaking character. "Okay, I'll just keep guessing, I guess."
Daryl opened his mouth, ready to reply until a walker pounded on the window. Zach jumped but Daryl only looked up, his brows raised.
I followed him to the door, pulling my hunting knife out of its sheath as I walked.
"An asshole?" Daryl said as he stood by my side.
"Don't deny it, honey." I winked.
"You two lovebirds ready?" Sasha asked, turning all attention to us.
Daryl choked and tried to hide his face from everyone. I rolled my eyes. "You know it," I said.
Once the walker was dead Sasha nodded her head. "Alright, we go in, stay in formation until the place is cleared. After that you all know what you're supposed to be looking for. Any questions?"
"Was there ever a time when you weren't the boss of me?" Tyreese asked.
"You had a few years before I was born." Sasha replied
...
It was a pretty quick sweep of the area. Only one walker was inside and the rest of the place was barren. I loved the quiet, but this kind had me on edge, looking around every few seconds even when nothing was near me.
Now, I walked down an aisle with a shopping cart in front of me. I could see Daryl's head from here but I paid him no mind.
I worried about him. He spent so much time helping the rest of us that it didn't seem like he was taking care of himself. He rarely slept, always joining me on my night shift, or hid in the garage until it got so dark even a flashlight didn't help him see. Then again, all the times he wasn't taking care of himself, I suppose I was right there with him.
I frowned. . There was no reason for me to be this worried about him. It wasn't my place. He was grown and knew his limits. It wasn't any of my business what he did and I wasn't going to make it.
But I was his friend.
I scanned the aisle's shelves, smiling when I saw what I was looking for.
"Are you trying to get pregnant?"
I whirled around, my eyes wide when I saw Sasha looking at me in amusement. I smiled sheepishly and stuck the test in my bag.
"No. Thankfully. One of the guys, Steven, said he and his wife were trying and asked me to keep an eye out for a test. And Lilly, she's pregnant and having a really hard time, I figured I'd keep an eye out for anything to help." I picked up a bottle of prenatal vitamins as well.
Sasha smiled before walking next to me. She touched a pacifier with the tips of her fingers, softly smiling. "So, you and Daryl?"
I frowned. "What about us?"
Sasha shrugged, a knowing smile on her face. "Nothing. You two just seem awfully close."
I looked at her. "We spend a lot of time together, of course we're close."
Sasha snorted. We reached the end of the aisle and she turned the opposite direction from me. She hesitated. "What were you, before all this? Did you know him before?"
I bit the inside of my cheek. "We didn't know one another until after the outbreak." I beagan walking away. "But he definitely wasn't a homicide cop."
Now that I thought about it, I didn't know what he was before.
...
I smiled when I caught sight of the archer again. He was focused on a shelf in front of him, unconsciously biting his thumbnail. I had finished clearing my area and was now waiting for everyone else. I had already gone past Glenn's aisle near the front and Zach, who was two rows away from my section of the store, far in the back.
The two were nearly done with their sections.
Daryl was busy looking through the food aisle, grabbing what Carol had put on the list. It was so domestic. A man in a grocery aisle, getting food for his home. It was unlike Daryl Dixon.
I whistled. Daryl turned, his eyes catching my own. Grey meeting baby blue.
"What were you before?" I asked.
He shot me an odd look. "What's it matter?"
"It doesn't, but you know what I did."
Daryl shook his head and focused on the list in his hand. "Just followed Merle around a lot of the time. It ain't really somethin' worth mentioning" he mumbled, just loud enough that I caught it.
I shrugged. "That sounds better than a homicide cop."
He snorted. "Or an actor."
"Shut up." I tried to stop smiling. "I was taking classes, it doesn't mean–"
Before I finished, a deafening crash sounded from the beer aisle. Who the hell was looking at alcohol? I flinched as I watched a shelf fall, someone shouted for help.
Daryl turned back towards me. "Come on!" He yelled. He didn't wait for a response before running off, out of my sight.
I followed after him, my cart long forgotten.
He bent down the shelf. "You alright? You cut or something."
I wiped my hair out of my face, frowning. I really need to cut this crap.
I turned around at Bob's voice. "No, man, but my foot is caught."
"What happened?" I asked. Bob only groaned, ignoring me. That gut feeling came back as I watched him carefully, bending beside the shelf so we could lift it.
"Alright, he's just caught. Come on, help me up." Daryl took charge. Tyreese, Zach, and I helped Daryl lift the shelf up, each of us pulling with all our might. We set the shelf upright and got read to lift the next one
"What happened?" I heard Glenn yell.
"Everyone's all right, We're over at wine and beer." Zach called.
"I was moving fast, man." Bob said, his voice shaking. My brows furrowed. There was no reason for anyone to go near the wine and beer. If anything, it sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than he was us. "I drove right into the drinks."
I shook the thoughts for right now and focused on getting him out from under the shelves.
Tyreese shook his head, believing what was said. "Man, you lucked out. If this thing had come down on you the wrong way..."
I stabbed my finger at the last shelf on top of him. "Fear isn't going to help any of us." I finally snapped. "Let's get him out now."
Daryl grabbed my arm just as the roof caved in above me. My eyes widened as I saw a walker hanging by his guts and some wire, its lower half now occupying the spot I had just been standing in.
"Yeah, uh, we should probably go now." Glenn said.
Daryl raced to the shelves. "Bob's still stuck! Help me get him out of here."
I bent down next to him. The both of us grunted as our muscles strained to pick up the wooden shelf.
"We'll get the others." Someone said,
More parts of the roof caved in and walkers fell through. Dust clouded my vision and I coughed, trying to clear my sinuses. My foot tripped over a wine bottle, sending me to the floor.
"You gotta be kidding," I growled out as I pushed myself back up. I had lost sight of everyone as more walkers rained down on us, creating a death cloud of dust and insulation. I cursed before running to take out a walker.
"HEY!" Bob yelled.
I turned around, ready to help him again but gasped as a walker grabbed onto my shirt. I shoved it off only to be grabbed by another. Its claws tried to dig into my arm. Thankfully I was guarded by my leather jacket. I grunted as I tried to keep the two creatures away.
Using my leg to hold one at bay, my hand pulled my knife out of its sheath in one smooth motion. From my other side, a walker stood up and began limping towards me. I grit my teeth together.
I will not die today.
My knife slashed one of the walkers, leaving a deep gash through the front of its face. It dropped to the ground, leaving me with only two more to deal with. I kicked one of them back and gained my balance before running and stabbing the walker through the head before it could stand up.
I shouted when a walker grabbed my hair from behind, pulling me close to its teeth.
My body burned as the walker bent me backwards. Its teeth were close to my neck, nearly making contact with my skin I grunted as I pushed my blade through its neck and into its head.
My head pounded as I pushed my body upwards. I stumbled as black dots took over my vision. I desperately tried to rub my eyes in hopes of getting rid of the dots. Not being able to see was something I couldn't afford right now.
I scowled and pulled out my gun and shot the walker coming from my right. Gunfire followe all around me. I backed away from my spot and ran through the aisles, toward the center of the store.
...
Daryl
I turned around and shot a walker in the face. There were too many of them. I was alone fighting off five or six, Glenn was too far away, dealing with his own battle while Sasha and Tyreese had left my vision a while ago.
Rossary was missing though.
The dust in the air didn't help when trying to fight off the small herd. Where one fell, another appeared out of the blue. I swung my crossbow at a walker that got to close before hopping onto a tower of beer boxes. It was unstable and wobbled as the walkers clawed for my feet.
"HEY!" Bob was yelling.
I turned around as a walker grabbed my jeans. A single gunshot to the head had it letting go. I looked up to see Rossary. She looked monstrous: blood was pouring from her hair, leaving smeared trails down her face. Her teeth were grit together and she sent me one –menacing– nod.
I pulled out my gun and shot one of the walkers around me. Slowly, the bodies piled up as Rossary and I shot at the creature surrounding me.
"DARYL!" My heart skidded to a stop at Rossary's gut wrenching scream. It took me a second to realize while she was okay, I wasn't.
Above me, the roof creaked, something adding too much weight for it to hold. I tucked my gun into my pants and gripped my crossbow with a death grip so powerful there was no way I would drop it.
With one last intake of breath, I jumped off the beer casings and rolled. I grunted as my crossbow dug into my side, undoubtedly leaving a bruise.
In an instant, Rossary was at my side, her eyes wide as she dragged me away.
"Come on!" she yelled.
I barely got my feet under me when she suddenly let go, swinging her knife at an oncoming walker.
...
Rossary
Zach shot a walker about to get Daryl from behind. I swung at a walker in front of us, dropping my grip on Daryl's bicep. His back collided with mine as he fought off the small group as well.
"Get Bob!" Zach yelled.
Daryl didn't waste time running off and grabbing the walker crawling toward Bob's face. I shot a walker coming toward us.
My arms shook but I held my gun up and pulled the trigger again. I shoved it down into its holster, a deep hatred for the damn weapon growing within me as it made a clicking noise, signaling it was out of ammo. I stabbed a walker in the head.
"Come on! Time to go!" Daryl yelled.
I turned around and grabbed hold of Bob's other arm, helping him get his balance. I barely moved when someone was screaming behind me. I turned, my knife already raised.
Zach fell to the ground, his screams piercing my ears.
"Zach!" I yelled. I took a step forward, wanting to grab the teenager and save him. It was too late though– another walker grabbed his face, biting his cheek off. Zach's gut wrenching screams filled the store.
Daryl pushed me toward the entrance, his hand on my back as we rushed to get out of the Big Spot before we too were swallowed up.
I gripped Daryl's hand as the helicopter came down, leaving the store a heap of wreckage.