Blessing or a Curse? ➳ Daryl Dixon

25. A New Life

The air was hot and humid against his skin, the sun high in the sky, and he knew that summer had finally come. The leaves on the trees were a pleasant green now and if he took the time to stare past the metal link fences and the dozens of walkers and just looked at them. For now, he was staring up at the blue clear sky, just feeling the grass against his body. He had taken a liking to do so, laying out in the field, away from the fences where the walkers growled and away from where Rick was digging up a new farm. 

Sometimes, he liked to just shut everything out and … think. Pretend that nothing else was going on and he had no duties to complete, nowhere to be, just pretend. Sometimes he thinks that his mind never caught up with his body, ever since they had turned into some refugee camp for survivors, ever since they took in that busload of people.

Strange, it had felt like that was just yesterday when in reality it was almost seven months ago. Time seemed to fly, not exactly because he was having fun, maybe because they hadn’t exactly been fighting any neighboring communities since the Governor. They hadn’t had trouble with honestly anything other than the walkers. 

Of course, a lot of things can happen in seven months, despite Sydney feeling as though it hadn’t been that long. He found himself a part of some sort of council that had been put together by Hershel after Rick had renounced his leadership.

“I shouldn’t handle the decision anymore, it’s for the best.” 

Sydney hadn’t had a problem with the way things were being run, but apparently, Rick did, and now he was on some council that he honestly didn’t want to be in anyways. He liked listening to them talk, mostly, and he did like making decisions… sometimes. He was conflicted, he liked to have a voice but most of the time he didn’t feel as though he belonged anyways. He was on the council along with Hershel (of course), Glenn, Daryl, Milton, and Sasha.

He liked Sasha, she was fierce and strong-willed, but of course, all the women he knew were like that. Maybe he just had a thing for strong women— but not in that way, of course. Most would have thought off the bat that Tyreese, her brother, would be the one with the quick-to-action and angry personality, but it was Sasha. He liked that about her, they didn’t talk that often, but she was the one who led most of the group on runs alongside Daryl. 

Sydney didn’t go on runs with them, not for a while, he had made a vow to only go with Maggie and Glenn after a pattern became apparent. 

“I’m fine,” Sydney told the other two, but his voice stuttered and trembled, indicating he very clearly wasn’t fine. 

Glenn was sitting next to him, his bag placed beside him, a haunted look on his face. He felt bad for him, as well as for Maggie, for putting them in this position. He hadn’t meant for this to happen, but he seemingly couldn’t avoid it. 

“You are anything but fine!” Maggie practically screeched at him, something he wasn’t used to, “You have a metal pipe through your body!”