Never Feared Death (Daryl Dixon)

Honesty

Daryl's P.O.V

"What's goin' on wit 'er, Glenn?" I murmur.

"Just focus on getting her back to the farm, Daryl." Glenn replies.

In the corner of my eye, I can see the paleness of his face. His hands are nearly covered in Harley's blood as he continues to press the cloth to the wound.

I make the sharp turn onto the dirt road toward the farm.

My heart is racing within my chest.

What if we lose her? For good this time? Would we even be able to survive? These past three weeks have been hell without her smart ass comebacks.

The absence of her presnce is what kills us the most.

"Please don't do this to us, Har." Glenn whispers.

I slam the gear shift into park and jump out of the truck. I sprint around the truck and throw the passanger door open. I lift Harley from Glenn's lap and head up into the house.

"Rick! Hershel!" Glenn yells for me.

They appear almost immediately at the front door. I shove past them into the house with Harley in my arms.

"She been beaten, stabbed, n' ...-" I couldn't even finish the sentence.

I didn't know what that man had done to her. I don't know if he... I couldn't bring myself to say the words because I didn't want it to be true.

I lay her on the same bed Carl had been on when he had been shot. Hershel calls Patricia and they begin to work on her.

"What happened Daryl?" Rick says, resting a hand on my shoulder.

Patricia rushes us from the room and closes the door.

I rest my head against the wall beside to door to try to calm myself. Why was I getting like this with her? Yeah, I didn't want to lose her but I... I don't know why I'm panicing so badly. Why do I care so much about her safety... about her virtue?

"Daryl." Rick snaps me from my thoughts.

I meet his questioning eyes before looking back at the door.

"We found her on the side of the road, her bike was over turned and we found her and another man laying there," I stop, slamming my fist on the wall, "He was dead, she killed him, but not before he-"

I still couldn't bring myself to finish that sentence.

Glenn finishes for me, "He beat her and there's a possiblilty that he may have raped her as well."

My fists clench at the sound of that word. If Harley hadn't already killed him, I would kill him myself for the things he did to her.

"Did he stab her?" Rick asks.

"I don't think so. It looked like he knocked 'er down or somethin' and it came through the bag into her side." I hiss through my teeth.

Rick sets his hand on my shoulder, "She'll be alright, Daryl, she's the strongest person I know."

I nod in agreement as he retreats from the room.

Not long after I find myself sitting in the den listening to Glenn explain how we found Harley to the group. Almost every one was worried and excited. They were glad she's back but worried that she might not make it.

Hershel and Patricia had not left that room since this afternoon. Only Maggie was allowed in there since she was bringing clean supplies.

Occasionally, Harley's screams would ring through the entire house causing everyone to stiffen or flinch. But moments later they would cease and I hoped she had passed out.

"I wish she would've stayed away." Carol murmurs before slipping from the room.

Like I said, almost everyone was happy she was back.

Silence fills the room for moment but I was fed up with Carol's bullshit grudge against Harley. I push myself from the chair and follow Carol from the room. I shove open the front screen door to find Carol, looking out into the night.

"What the hell is ya problem with Harley?" I hiss.

She looks over at me studying me for a moment, "She got my daughter killed."

"That's bullshit 'n ya know it." I snort, "She did everythin' she could to bring that lil' girl back. Almost got killed for 'er. So don't even pull that shit."

We stand there for a few minutes in silence, staring at each other.

"She woulda laid down 'er life to protect that lil girl. I know every one has told ya this but ya gotta stop blamin' the one person that woulda died for ya lil girl." I hiss.

Carol looks down at the ground, biting her lip. I can see the tears welling in her eyes but there's really nothing I could say to comfort her at the moment nor did I even want to.

Suddenly the door behind me opens and I turn to see Rick standing there. He looks between the both of us for a moment before his eyes land on me.

"They're done." He says before disappearing inside.

I sigh a breath of relief.

"Ya know your lil girl could still be alive." I say.

I enter the house before finding my way back to the den where the rest of the group is. Hershel is standing in the middle of the room, facing the group.

"So how is she?" Shane speaks first.

"We aren't completely out of the water yet." Hershel sighs, wiping sweat from his forehead with a piece of cloth.

I scowl, "What's that suppose to mean?"

"It means that wound went all the way through her side. It pierced her large intenstine in two different places. I know she kept her weapons clean but some of the material from the bag went through her side along with the knife." Hershel takes a deep breath, "We have to make sure it doesn't get infected because if it does... she might not make it."

I wiped a hand over my face, unsure of what to say or even think for that matter. Harley may not pull through this and from the look's of the faces around us none of us wanted that to happen.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" Rick asks, leaning against the banister.

"Soon. She lost a lot of blood but lucky we had some in that cooler that Otis and Shane got us." Hershel struggles over Otis's name.

"Thank you, Hershel." Rick responds.

Hershel nods.

Dale clears his throat, "We can see her right?"

"Yes but preferably one at a time please." Hersel conveys.

We all nod in agreement and for the next hour everyone visits Harley. I was the last person because I wasn't totally sure that once I got in there that I would be coming back out.

I walk into the white linen room.A small candle is lit by her bedside. It's shadow dances across her face and the walls surronding us. I pull a chair up to the side of her bed and sit down.

Harley looks almost peaceful as if nothing in the world could ever hurt her in anymore. As if she's finally at peace with the herself.

I take her hand in my own and brush my lips over it gently.

"You better not die on me, Harley, we just don't work without you." I whisper softly to her.

~~~~~

"Daryl, get up." Lori's voice interrupts my sleep.

I groan angrily then stop as I realize I'm still in Harley's room. I left my head from the side of my bed to see that I entwined our fingers at some point last night.

I slip my hand from hers and stand, exiting the room as quietly as possible.

"What?" I exclaim.

Lori motions me to follow her out on the porch.

The group stands around the porch as Shane hands guns around.

He toss a gun at me and I catch it.

"Rick's being stupid and I will not risk our safety any longer. We have to do something about the barn today," Shane hisses, "It was all fine and dandy that we sit around picking daisies when we were safe but now that we know this place ain't safe we gotta do something."

"How about you man? You gon' protect yours?" Shane says handing Glenn a gun.

Glenn takes it with a side glance to Maggie.

"Stop this!" Maggie pleads, "My dad will make you leave tonight if you do this."

"We have to stay, Shane." Carl intervenes.

"We ain't going anywhere. Now look Hershel's gonna have to understand." Shane says, "He's just gonna have to."

He hands Carl a handgun, "You take this and you protect your mom, you hear me?"

Lori sprints down the steps and pushes Carl back from the gun, "Rick said no guns! This is not your call. This is not your decision to make."

"Oh shit." T-Dog comments.

We all look at him to see him looking in the direction of the woods. We can hear the sounds of walkers so I cock the gun.

"What is that!?" Shane bellows. "Huh? What is that?!"

He sprints toward the sound and the group follows with Lori calling after him.

That's when I see it.

Rick and Hershel are moving live walkers toward the barn on snappoles as Jimmy baits the walkers to walk.

We push through the gate.

"What the hell you doing?" Shane shouts.

"Shane just back off!" Rick warns.

Hershel makes a remark about the guns but nobody pays attention to it. They continue to battle to keep hold on to the two walkers ona snappole, the same thing that they use to use to catch dogs with.

"Are you kidding me? You see what their holding on too?" Shane circles Hershel and Rick.

"I see who I'm holding on too." Hershel scowls.

"No, man, you don't." Shane laughs angrily.

"Don't do this, Shane!" Rick yells at him.

"These people aren't sick! They aren't people! They're dead!" Shane screams, "Ain't gotta feel nothing for 'em because all they do is kill! These things right here they are the things that killed Amy, they killed Otis, they're gonna kill all of us."

"Shane shut up!" Rick yells trying to gain control of the situation.

"Hey Hershel, man, let me ask you something. Would a living breathing person walk away from this?" He pulls a handgun from his belt.

He cocks it back and aims it at the woman that Hershel is holding. He lets off three rounds into the walker's abdomen.

"That's three rounds to the chest! Could someone whose alive just take that? Why is it still coming?" Shane lets off two more rounds into it's chest, "That's it's heart! Why is it still coming?"

He shots it again.

"Shane enough!" Rick yells in frustration.

"Yeah, you're right man that is enough." He says.

Shane walks up to the walker that Hershel has and shoots it in the head. It collapses and Herhsel lets go of the pole. The whole group flinches taking a step back and some gasp.

I aim my gun at the one Rick is holding.

Hershel sinks to his knees staring at the walker's body.

"Enough risking our lives for a little girl whose gone! Enough living next to a barn full of things that are gonna kill us! Enough!" Shane roars, "Rick it ain't like it was before! Now if y'all wanna live, if y'all wanna survive you gotta fight for it!"

Shane jogs over to the barn doors and bangs on the door with a pick shovel. He slams it against the old rusty lock to try and get it open.

"Hershel, take the snap pole!" Rick says.

But Hershel stays unmoving on his knees, his eyes following Shane's every move.

Lori and Rick plead with Shane but he doesn't listen.

The old lock finally gives away. Shane tosses the wood that went across the doors into the nearby grass. He bangs on the door twice before stepping back and cocking his gun. We hear the sound of walker's as they stumble toward the noise.

The doors swing open just enough so that the walkers come out on at a time.

Shots ring out.

~~~~~

Harley's P.O.V



The sound of gun fire startled me.

And it definitley doesn't make my pounding head feel any better.

I open my eyes slowly so they can adjust to the light in the room. My eyesight is blurry for a moment before it begins to clear.

The gun fire doesn't stop.

I prop myself up on my elbows, only to be painfully reminded of the wound I had received on my side.

I don't recognize where I am immediately. But when I do I slowly get to my feet, ignoring the screaming pain in my side.

My whole body was sore and even the slightest movement hurt but that didn't matter. I had to find where that gunfire was coming from.

"Hello?" I call through the house but no one answers.

I clutch my side as I make my way out of the house. I follow the sound of gun fire over toward the barn.

Suddenly it stops.

In the distance I see my group standing in front of the barn.

My lips tug upward at the sight of them.

The doors to the barn are creaked slightly and bodies surround them.

As I get closer I can see that the bodies are walkers. Well dead walkers now.

My smile drops as I limp toward the gate by the barn and squeeze through.

I'm standing just behind Lori and Carl when I see the shock and devastated expressions of everyone who isn't holding a gun.

"What the hell is going on?" I demand weakly.

Most everyone turns in shock to see me but some continue to stare at the massacre around them.

I clutch my side as it throbs painfully. I can hear someone moving toward me but I dismiss them with a wave.

That's when I hear it.

A moan.

A walkers moan. I had heard this so many times before that it shouldn't matter but this one sounded different.

Hell, it felt different.

I pick my head up, gazing at the small opening in the barn doors.

The small walker steps out shielding it's face from the sun with it's hand.

It's a little girl.

The walker had on a dark blue short sleeve shirt with khaki capri's on. Her blond hair fell just barely to her shoulders. Her bangs are pinned up with a bobby pin that held a little flower on the end of it.

The little girl lowers her hand.

My eyes widen and my breath catches in my throat.

"Sophia."