(1) Wolf in Me (D. Dixon)

Chapter Ten

In the staff room kitchen of the department store, Diana is standing at the stove, watching the lit flame wavering with the breeze blowing in through an open window, her hand held over it to feel the warmth on her palm. The smell in here is affecting her ability to track Merle any further. Between the stale food smell coming from the fridge, the smell from the sink from dirty dishes, and the smell that comes from scorched flesh, she can't seem to pick up Merle's trace anymore. She sighs and glances over her shoulder as Rick, Daryl, Glenn, and T-Dog find her. Rick gives her a scolding look. Scolding her for running off without a word. She doesn't really care that he's not happy with her. She doesn't know him, she barely knows Shane, so keeping them happy is not high on her to-do list. Her main focus is survival. Survive and get back to Derek. Her pack. She holds up her knife and then motions towards where there is a leather belt on the counter, she draws the blade under the leather.

"This your brother's?" She asks. Daryl hums in affirmation, moving towards her and taking the belt from the counter.

"Is that...?" Glenn starts, covering his mouth and nose as he points to the pile of burned flesh on the stove. Diana turns off the fire and nods.

"Skin" She answers. "Yeah"

"He cauterized the stump," Rick offers, his detective brain switching on, though it is the most logical thing to have happened here.

"Told you he was tough" Daryl mumbles and shoots Rick a look. "Nobody can kill Merle but Merle"

"Don't take that on faith" Rick argues as Diana slides her knife into her boot and her gun into the back of her trousers. Right now she is in a room with four people and she is furthest from the door. She will not need the gun if something happens, not without risking shooting the others. "He's lost a lot of blood." Rick continues. Daryl snorts and moves towards him.

"Yeah?" He asks. "Didn't stop him from busting out of this death trap" He gives Rick a dirty look, still blaming him for his brother being in this situation to begin with. Diana would likely be the same if Derek was in Merle's place. She would probably never forgive them for putting him in this situation. Actually, he did almost have to chop his arm off once, so they did come pretty close. Glenn shifts towards the open window and glances through it to see that it is not that far of a drop, someone like Merle, someone physically capable, even with one arm, could make it.

"Hey," Glenn calls out to the others as he pulls himself back inside. He points to the open window. "Do you think he went out this way?" Daryl moves to look out the open window to check the height, and just like Glenn, comes to the same understanding. "Why the hell would he do that?"

"Why wouldn't he?" Daryl counters. "He's out there alone as far as he knows, doing what he's got to do. Surviving"

"You call that surviving?" T-Dog scoffs. "Just wandering out in the streets, maybe passing out? What are his odds out there?"

"No worse than being handcuffed and left to rot by you sorry pricks" Daryl argues causing Diana to pull a face, because she wasn't here the first time, she had no part in it. She is not okay being lumped in with them. "You couldn't kill him. Ain't so worried about some dumb dead bastard"

"What about 1,000 dead dumb bastards? Different story?" Rick asks and Daryl rolls his eyes, not ready to agree with anything this man says regarding his brother. Daryl knows Merle best, he knows his brother better than anyone and he knows this is not going to stop him. Not one walker, not twenty, not a thousand. Merle will survive.

"Why don't you take a tally?" Daryl motions out the window and then turns away. "Do what you want. I'm gonna go get him" Daryl starts to leave but Rick hurries to stop him, reaching out to grab his arm but Daryl quickly dodges it but does pause.

"Wait" Rick warns.

"Don't touch me!" Daryl snarls, and Diana raises an eyebrow, as do the others, at the display there. A sliver of his wolf nature creeps through. A slip in control at the threat of being kept from his brother, his pack. Daryl takes a deep breath. "You can't stop me"

"I don't blame you" Rick offers, calmer. "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" Daryl stares at Rick, trying to read him, to tell if he is actually going to help him. His eyes flicker to T-Dog, Glenn, and then Diana who raises an eyebrow at him. Daryl takes another deep breath and then nods, his eyes shifting back to Rick.

"I can do that" He assures him.

"Only if we get those guns first," T-Dog argues slightly. "I'm not strolling the streets of Atlanta with just my good intentions, okay?" It's not a bad idea, they came for the guns anyway, and if they are just wandering around, then being armed is a good idea, a good way to protect themselves. All they have is the gun that T-Dog has, the gun that Rick has, Diana's gun and her knife. That's not going to be enough to cover all of them if they are overrun.