Perfect Storm || Daryl Dixon

15: sheriff rick is not such a d*ck

"Protect those who protect you." - Evangelos Venizelos

--)->

Daryl led them down a few more winding roads before they caught up to the other vehicles, all stopped up behind a huge pile up of cars ahead of them. An overturned lorry blocked the entirety of the side of the road they were on and from what Erin could see, the other lanes were jammed up pretty bad. From her truck, she could just see the group stood around the RV while a few of the men had their heads under the bonnet, seemingly arguing about something.

The bike which she'd seen Daryl switch to in front of them pulled over to the side of the road, causing a few heads to look up including one man with a Sheriff's hat whom she guessed was the famous 'Rick'. He seemed relieved at the sight of the motorcycle, but when he saw the green truck following it, his expression hardened and he ushered everyone else behind him.

Erin watched as Daryl climbed off the seat, crossbow still on his back as he ambled over to 'Rick', coming to a stop before him and saying something she couldn't hear. They exchanged a few words, 'Rick' glancing over Daryl's shoulder every few seconds to look at the truck, making her feel extremely unwelcome.

"Don't worry about him," Merle offered some sort of assurance from beside her, "S'long as ya don't let on that ya dangerous, he'll prob'ly leave ya alone..."

She smirked at his choice of words, "You think I'm dangerous?"

His eyes widened at the accusation. "Naw, not to me... but ya got a load'a knives and weapons. He'll try and take 'em from ya, no doubt," he covered as she laughed, "Shut up..."

"Shoot, he's coming over..." Merle turned to follow her gaze as 'Rick' stepped towards her side of the truck, beckoning for her to step outside, "Uh, wish me luck?"

As she climbed down from the cab, she could have sworn she heard Merle say, "No".

She looked up at 'Rick' to find him almost examining her, sizing her up like a piece of meat - hopefully that wasn't the way he saw her, Merle would probably have mentioned if they were cannibals... "Can I help you or are you just gonna check me out for ten minutes? Because if you are, I'm gonna leave..."

"Sorry," he apologised. She wasn't used to the word after spending a while with Merle, a man who didn't know the meaning of it. "I'm Rick. Rick Grimes."

He held out a hand, but she didn't take it so he pulled it back, looking slightly offended. "Erin Reyes. I don't trust handshakes anymore. Last time I shook someone's hand the guy tried to stab me."

"Oh..." Rick nodded, seemingly less offended now that there was an explanation, "Well, that makes sense... You've been travelling alone for a while, then?"

"A while, yeah. Around a month," she didn't provide anything further, still not ready to trust this guy or anyone here.

"Daryl says you've brought Merle back," he turned away from the truck slightly, angling them both out of earshot of the cab, "Not too sure how I feel about that, but I'm gonna say I'm thankful... Not too sure how Daryl feels, either..."

"I get what you mean," Erin breathed a small sigh of relief. At least they shared the same view on something, "Why exactly did you leave him on a roof?"

Rick shook his head, his gaze softer now as he began to realise she was probably safe, "It's a long story, I might tell you it sometime..." He turned back and opened the door to the cab, meeting Merle's angry glare, "Hello, Merle..."

Merle grunted at him in reply and Erin got the feeling he'd still heard every word of the conversation as he shot her a look before clambering out the passenger side and stalking away towards his brother. Daryl looked up as he approached, straightening up from where he was leaning against the side of his bike, his shoulders lowering slightly at either the thought of talking to someone, or that someone being Merle.

"Charming man, right?" she sighed, making Rick chuckle a bit. He wasn't anything like the picture Merle had fabricated in her mind. "Try spending twelve hours with him in a cramped truck..."

Rick raised an eyebrow, "I think I'll pass... You've actually got here in perfect timing, weirdly enough. The RV's messed up so we might need another vehicle." He noted the worried look on her face, "You won't have to put up with Merle, don't worry, he can go with Daryl. It's just a precaution in case we can't find the hose we need in these cars." He gestured to the graveyard of cars up ahead of them which the other men, excluding Daryl and Merle, had started scavenging through.

"You need any help? I could keep an eye out for strays while you search?" She didn't know why she was so eager to help, she figured it had something to do with the sight of two children up ahead, a boy and a girl. If the adults were looking through the cars, there would be no one to keep the creatures from attacking the children and no adults around to stop them being dragged away.

Even Rick seemed surprised by her offer, "Walkers? Yeah... Yeah, that'd be helpful, thanks..."

"I'll climb on top of my truck. Get a better vantage point to shoot from?" She knew she couldn't use the loud guns, but she had a few with silencers stashed away in the back and boxes upon boxes of ammo to use.

"Okay... Dale is gonna keep a watch with his binoculars," Rick nodded and she guessed Dale was the older man. She watched his gaze move  over to Daryl who seemed uncomfortable as Merle talked at him, "Are you alright if Daryl joins you? I feel like he could do with a break from Merle already..."

Erin hummed, apprehensive about the asshole's brother, but figuring she shouldn't judge him on his family's behaviour, "Fine, I guess. As long as he doesn't annoy me..."

"Oh, he'll keep himself to himself. From what he told me about the weapons you've got, you could probably take him if he starts bein' funny," he assured her, seeing the sudden look of fear in her eyes at the mention of her collection, "I'm not gonna make you give up your weapons, don't look so scared. We might need some knives and ammo after a while, but I figure it's the least I can ask and it'll mean you're pulling your weight. Although, I reckon if you can use them well, you'll be very welcome here..."

Erin nodded once again as Rick tipped his hat, turning on the heel of his boots and heading over to Daryl. She didn't watch him go, instead going to the back of her truck and pulling out a rifle with a silencer. Her hand brushed briefly over the crossbow, but she decided against using it. It would have been better suited for the job, but she wasn't ready to face the memories it brought back just yet.

She clambered onto the roof of the cab, sitting cross-legged on the curved metal which was hot even in the cool early morning air. Around a minute later, she watched Daryl approach, using the bonnet as a lever to get himself up and onto the cab beside her. It was a pretty mean feat considering the size of the crossbow strapped across his back, but he managed it with barely even a sound of struggle.

He glanced at her for less than a second before turning to look out across the river of vehicles, his gaze focusing on the people weaving in and out of them. As they hunted for supplies, his legs swung down over the windscreen.

Perhaps not another Merle. For that she was more than thankful...