"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this... filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" Daryl shouts, kicking the dead body of the walker between his words.
Kate steps back, knocking into Shane who had moved round before Daryl came out. He placed a gentle hand on her back for her to catch her balance before moving to stand next to her. Dale looks at Daryl, "Calm down son, that's not helping."
Daryl's head shoots up, moving over towards Dale. "What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "on golden pond"? He moves back over to the deer, looking over it and into the bite mark the walker had left behind. "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here? " He asks, ghosting his finger over the outline of the chewed part.
Shane shook his head, which Kate was impeccably glad about. "I would not risk that."
Daryl looks to his feet a defeated sigh coming from him. "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel... about a dozen or so. That'll have to do." Gesturing to his belt, where a few dead squirrels were hanging. Kate cringed, imagining those little squirrels running around and getting nu- focus.
Getting distracted Kate had only caught the end of what she assumed was the walker head coming back. "Come on, people. What the hell?" Daryl grunted, shooting it with one of his arrows." It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?" He finished, before beginning his stomp back to camp.
"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."
Shane had managed to keep up with the hunter, calling out to him. "Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you."
"About what?"
Shane cleared his throat. "About Merle. There was a... There was a problem in Atlanta"
"He dead?"
Kate decided to take a small step forward. "We're not sure." she told him, with a slight grimace on her face. She knew if someone had told her they 'weren't sure' if Glenn was alive she'd go crazy.
"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl shouts, stepping towards Kate.
Rick steps up to the archer. "No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it."
"Who are you?" Daryl spits, looking him up and down.
"Rick grimes."
Daryl shakes his head "Rick grimes, you got something you want to tell me?"
"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."
Kate held her breath, eyes darting between Rick and Daryl, she felt a small hand holding hers and looked down to see Carl, giving his hand a gentle squeeze she looked back to the men.
"Hold on. Let me process this. You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!"
Rick nods, simply replying with. "Yeah."
It's silent for a second before the belt of poor squirrels gets chucked at Rick, as Daryl goes in to attack him. Rick manages to push Daryl away, but Daryl pulls a knife out.
"Hey! Watch the knife!" T-dog calls, trying to help in some way. Kate drags Carl behind her and closer to Lori who was stood behind the pair.
Shane manages to grab Daryl from behind. Putting him in a headlock and dragging him away. "You'd best let me go!" Daryl calls, trying to get away from Shane.
"Nah, I think it's better if I don't." Shane replies, not even considering letting him go just yet.
"Choke hold's illegal." Daryl gasps out.
"You can file a complaint." Shane muttered. Kate smirked, trying to hold in the laugh that threatened to bubble out. "Come on, man. We'll keep this up all day."
Rick crouches down in front of Daryl "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?" Rick asks him.
Daryl looks at him for a moment before nodding. "Mmm. Yeah." he agrees, Shane lets him go and they both get to their feet.
Rick nods, hands on his hips as he looked the hunter in the eye. "What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others."
T-dog steps forward shaking his head. "It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it."
"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl snarled, beginning to move backwards and forwards.
"Well, I dropped it in a drain."
Daryl stopped walking, looking to stare T-dog straight in the face, muttering "If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."
T-dog shook his head, putting his hands up. "Well, maybe this will. Look, I chained the door to the roof... So the geeks couldn't get at him... With a padlock. It's gotta count for something." He shrugged.
Kate sighed, looking at Daryl as he wiped his face, trying to hide the tears that had started to appear. "Hell with all y'all! Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him." He shouts out.
Kate frowned, looking to Rick and then down to Carl, giving his hand a tight squeeze.
"He'll show you. Isn't that right?" Lori called from behind her. Rick looked up at his wife, letting out a deep breath before nodding his head.
"I'm going back."
***
"So that's it, huh? You're just gonna walk off? Just to hell with everybody else?" Shane calls after Rick, rushing behind him as they walk across the camp.
Kate had let Carl run back to his mom, instead choosing to go find Glenn, and was stood comfortably leaning against his side.
"I'm not saying to hell with anybody... Shane..."
"Lori least of all. Tell her that." Shane muttered pointing towards the sheriffs wife. Rick looks up at Lori, then Back to Shane before dismissively waving a hand.
"She knows."
Shane shakes his head. "Well, look, I... I don't, okay, Rick? So could you just... Could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"
"Hey!" Daryl snapped, glaring at him. "Choose your words more carefully."
"No, I did. Douche bag's what I meant. Merle Dixon...The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst." Shane asked, trying to understand why Rick was so determined.
"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me. I can't let a man die of thirst... me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."
"So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?" Lori asked, raising an eyebrow.
Rick looked straight to the 'A Team.' Glenn let out a small cry "Oh come on." he whined looking back to Kate. Kate stood there, arms crossed over her chest before letting out a sigh, looking down to her feet.
"We know the way Glenn, in and out that's what we said." She shrugged, looking up and making eye contact with Shane. "I'm sorry."
Rick stepped closer to them "It's not fair of me to ask... I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you along. I know she would too." He explained, pointing over to his wife.
Shane throws his hands up. "That's just great. Now you're gonna risk four men, huh?"
"Five." T-dog stated, stepping up to the group.
Daryl huffs shaking his head. "My day just gets better and better, don't it?"
"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language." T-dog muttered.
Dale hummed "That's five."
Shane shook his head, growing more and more stressed. "It's not just five. You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."
Rick watched him for a second, thinking. "It seems to me what you really need most here are more guns." he mused.
Glenn nodded, Kate snapping her fingers in Ricks direction. "Right the guns!"
Shane looked between the three of them, confusion written on his face"Wait. What guns?"
"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns. I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up." Rick explained to the group, trying to persuade them that this was the right idea.
"Ammo?"
"700 rounds, assorted." Rick confirmed, feeling much more confident than he did previously.
Lori Interrupted from her place by the RV, "You went through hell to find us. You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?"
"Dad, I don't want you to go." Carl cried, looking towards his dad. Kate looked over to them, feeling guilty that she was agreeing with, practically a suicide run.
"To hell with the guns." Lori continued. "Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in. Tell me. Make me understand." She begged.
"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."
Lori nodded. "What's stopping you?"
"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped. He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer." Rick sighed.
Shane crossed his arms. "These are our walkies?" He asked, slowly beginning to grasp the idea.
Rick nodded, then Andrea asked. "So use the CB. What's wrong with that?"
"The CB's fine. It's the walkies that suck to crap... Date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth... Not even the scanners in our cars."Shane explained looking over to Rick.
Rick walked up to Lori, putting his hands round her face, ready to start begging. "I need that bag. Okay?" he asked, looking in her eyes and hoping she could see just how desperate he was.
"All right."
***
Kate had ran back to her tent with the intentions of getting ready to go back to Atlanta, but in the middle of trying to find a suitable jacket she had come across the photo album that had been shoved in. Deciding she had a few minuted to spare, she sunk to the floor, resting on her legs as she opened up the album.
The first photo was from the Christmas she had gotten the album, deciding the perfect way to start it off was with the people that made her who she was, she had been 20 at the time, coming back home for the holidays.
She sat in front of the Christmas tree, her mom and dad on either side of her. All three with matching red Christmas jumpers on with the biggest smiles on their faces. It had been just before her mom was diagnosed with cancer, before their lives had changed forever.
Kate could feel herself tearing up, god she missed them. She wanted her dad to tell her to soldier on, to be brave. She wanted her mom to come stroke her hair, sing to her and whisper that everything would be okay. But would it? Could anything be okay anymore? A sob caught in her throat, she didn't want the rest of camp to hear, she could cry later.
Hearing footsteps walking towards her, she quickly shoved the photo album back in her bag, standing up and wiping her face just before Shane's voice called out. "Hey, Kate? A quick word?" He asked.
"Yeah come on in." She told him, stepping away to allow him room to walk in. Shane frowned looking up at the girl, it was clear to see she wasn't happy but by the look she gave him, he knew not to say anything.
"I just wanted to check in, make sure you know that if you don't want to, you don't have to go." He said gently looking down at the girl.
Kate nodded, playing with her hands. "Yeah i know Shane, like I said, I know the way around like the back of my hand. It makes sense for both Glenn and I to go." she muttered.
Shane squinted his eyes at her, glancing down to see she was still messing with her hands. He sighed, taking a step forward and grabbing her hand's in his holding them between both of them. Kate held her breath for a second, not expecting the sudden contact. She looked down at their hands, noting that Shane's were much larger compared to hers. Kate looked back up to Shane's face.
It was silent for a moment before Shane whispered. "You'll be safe? We need you back here."
Kate nodded, a small smirk on her face. "Is the Shane Walsh going soft on me?" she teased, voice quiet. Shane smiled, shaking his head at her, giving her hands a gentle squeeze.
Outside they could hear the blaring of the cars horn, followed by Daryl shouting. "Come on, let's go!" Giving Shane a small smile, Kate stepped back, leaning down to grab a random jacket, tying it around her waist.
"See you later." She smiled, stepping around Shane and towards the car in a hurry. On the way she passed Glenn, stopping and walking backwards until she was in line with him again, she grabbed his arm, dragging him off with her. "You will never believe what just happened to me." She whispered to him.
***
"He'd better be okay." Daryl muttered to the group
T-dog nods "It's my only word on the matter. I told you the geeks can't get at him. The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us."
Glenn stopped the van. "We walk from here."
Daryl steps out the back of the van, Kate's next to walk out followed by T-dog, walking round the front to meet Rick and Glenn. "Let's get this show on the road baby." Kate mumbles, as her and Glenn take up the front of the group.
The men cut through the fence, holding it open for Kate to climb through first. Once they were all through, Rick looked at Kate and Glenn. "Merle first or guns?"
Daryl's head snapped towards them. "Merle! We ain't even having this conversation."
"We are." Rick snaps at him "You know the geography. It's your call" he says looking at the duo.
Kate and Glenn make brief eye contact before she nods at Daryl. "Merle's closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first." She confirms.
***
The group quietly moved across the city, going back to the store they were stuck in the day before. Looking around they spot only one walker who begins to make it's way over to them.
Daryl loads up his crossbow up "Damn. You are one ugly skank." He tells it, shooting the walker through the head, pulling the arrow out. Kate rolled her eyes, moving past him to go back up the stairs, get the job over and done with.
She gets to the top with Glenn right behind her, bouncing lightly on her feet as she awaits the others to cut the padlock off.
Once the padlock is off Daryl pushes past them. "Merle! Merle!" He calls out, before seeing something and letting out a sob. "No! No!" he calls out.
Kate frowns, walking over to him, seeing Dale's saw on the ground, following the blood she stops abruptly. With Daryl still crying in the back ground, she covers her mouth with her hand, staring at Merle's hand. Which was all that was left of him. Glenn walked next to her, wrapping a hand around hers.
In his moment of anger, Daryl lifts his crossbow to kill him. Kate holds her breath but Rick lifts his gun and points it straight to Daryl's head. "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." Rick tells him.
It's silent for a moment, before Daryl weighs up his options and lowers the weapon, Rick following suit. Daryl looks at T-dog "You got a do-rag or something?"T-dog nods, and passes him one in silence. Taking the do-rag Daryl makes his way over to Merle's hand, picking it up and wrapping it. "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs. Ain't that a bitch." he mutters, walking over to Katy and Glenn. Katy frowns, taking a step back from the hand, but Daryl opens up Glenn's backpack shoving it in there. Glenn's face goes white and Katy can't help the smirk that appears. "He must have used a tourniquet... maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." Daryl continues, following the trail of blood.
"Merle? You in here?" Daryl shouts out.
Kate's head snapped towards him, glaring at him. "Will you shut up!" she hissed. Daryl gives her a blank look, continuing on with his search. Walking into an office, Daryl shoots a stray walker that had been in there. Before gesturing towards the two dead walkers. "Had enough in him to take out these two sumbitches. One handed. Toughest asshоlе I ever met, my brother. Feed him a hammer, he'd crap out nails."
Rick came to a stop. "Any man can pass out from blood loss, no matter how tough he is." he told him.
This seemed to panic Daryl slightly, who began walking around the building quicker. "Merle!" He shouted again.
The rest of the group winced, Kate clutching her knife tighter. Rick stopped Daryl. "We're not alone here. Remember?"
Daryl shook his head "Screw that. He could be bleeding out. You said so yourself." he hissed continuing forward and into a kitchen. On top of the stove is a belt, which Kate could only assume was Merle's given the way that Daryl seemed to recognize it. The smell seemed to hit Kate almost instantly, her face screwed up and her hand went over her nose and mouth. "Jesus, what is that shit." she gasped pointing towards the stove, which was still light.
"Skin. He cauterized the stump." Rick tells them, giving Kate a sympathetic glance.
"Told you he was tough. Nobody can kill Merle but Merle."
"Don't take that on faith. He's lost a lot of blood" Rick muttered.
"Yeah? Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap." Daryl retorted pointing towards Merle's getaway route- the smashed window that he had climbed out of.
Glenn frowned. "He left the building? Why the hell would he do that?"
"Why wouldn't he? He's out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's got to do. Surviving."
T-dog scoffed, shaking his head. "You call that surviving? Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?" he asked.
Daryl gave him a glare. "No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks. You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard."
Kate shook her head looking at the hunter. "I'm sorry Daryl but it's not just one dumb dead bastard, there's thousands out there."
"Why don't you take a tally? Do what you want. I'm gonna go get him."
Rick steps forward, grabbing a hold of his jacket to keep him place. "Daryl, Wait."
"Get your hands off me! You can't stop me." He fights.
"I don't blame you. He's family, I get that. I went through hell to find mine. I know exactly how you feel. He can't get far with that injury. We could help you check a few blocks around but only if we keep a level head." Rick told him calmly.
Daryl hesitates for a moment before nodding. "I could do that."
Kate lets out a breath she didn't realize she was holding nodding along.
"Only if we get those guns first. I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?"
***
Slightly shorter chapter- I do apologise, It's my birthday this week and I'm going away so don't think they'll be a chapter this week but i will get one out as soon as I can!
I hope you have a lovely Easter :)