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MERLE WASN'T THERE by time they'd arrived, it was more surprising than finding a body or a walker. If anything, at first glance, it was as though Merle Dixon had never existed. Mya had never seen Daryl so upset before, not that the circumstances didn't make it understandable. Still, she didn't imagine that anyone could actually mourn someone like Merle, but she'd never openly tell Daryl that - not until they found his brother at least.
Upon closer examination, a severed hand laid abandoned on the rooftop, right next to an empty pair of handcuffs. It didn't take much guessing to realise what had happened, no matter how horrific the truth was, Merle had cut his own hand off to escape. A saw that had been thrown to the side rested next to the hand, the weapon he'd used to free himself. This clearly alarmed Daryl as much as it did the others, since he turned to T-Dog, bow pointed at him.
Rick returned the gesture in an instant, his gun pointed to Daryl's head, "I won't hesitate, I don't care if every walker in the city hears it." He clarified, enough convincing for Daryl to bring his crossbow away from T-Dog's head, much to Mya's relief.
He paused, glancing towards the man he'd almost killed, "You got a do-rag or something?"
Seeming just as surprised, T-Dog silently handed a piece of cloth to Daryl, not questioning why he wanted it. Any confusion was soon dismissed when he carefully picked up Merle's hand. Considering how drastically the whole world had changed as of late, Mya didn't think she'd be surprised if the hand started moving on its own.
She grimaced, an expression also seemingly worn by the others. "You're just gonna keep it as a souvenir?" Mya blurted out, only partially trying to hide her disgust. It wasn't as though Merle's hand could be saved, hospitals weren't exactly up and running anymore.
Daryl, however, didn't appear at all bothered by the sight nor picking up the hand, using one of the fingers to dangle it gently, "What? You'd just leave it?" He asked, not looking up from examining the hand as though
"Obviously!"
Ignoring her response, Daryl returned his attention back to Merle's hand, not that he'd really diverted it to begin with, "I guess the saw blade was too dull for the handcuffs." He acknowledged, more so talking to himself than the rest of the group, "Ain't that a bitch."
He stood up, putting the hand into Glenn's backpack. Not that Glenn seemed all too overjoyed by it, although Daryl hadn't asked for his permission. "He must have used a tourniquet... maybe his belt. Be much more blood if he didn't." Daryl continued, making more assumptions about what must've happened.
Mya was sure he knew scarily too much about the subject, but she decided not to bring it up. Besides, it wasn't as though she knew who he'd been before the apocalypse, she tried to dismiss it as him having been a doctor, but she didn't think that she could buy that. Without a word to the others, Daryl began following a trail of blood - Merle's blood. The trail led itself down the stairs, a sickening guide as to where Merle had gone next.
