Double Crossbow (Daryl Dixon) [The Walking Dead]

Chapter 23 ↣ Do you mind the company?

"She was the most beautiful,
complicated thing 
I'd ever seen. 
A tangled mess 
of silly string. 
And all I wanted of life, 
was to sit down 
cross-legged 
and untie her knots."

— atticus

↣ ↢

Rick

SHANE AND I dropped Brendan to his knees and removed the duct tape.

"What the hell is this?" he asked, looking around.

We didn't answer, only started walking away.

"Oh, come on. Don't be stupid," he called after us. "I know you ain't stupid fellas. I owe you! I'm a good shot. I know how to shoot anything: gun, rifle, sniper, longbow...crossbow!"

Crossbow? I shook my head.

"Why'd you try and save my life anyway, huh? You don't know a thing about me, what I've lost! I had a wife. I lost her like I'm sure you've lost people. I'm a dad. I was with those guys to cover ground safely. I think my daughter might still be out there. Don't one of you have kids?"

Something in my gut told me to stop. I turned to face Shane, who was looking at me like I was crazy, but there were things sticking out in my mind.

Brendan perked up at the sight of us stopping. His strangely familiar eyes met mine. "Maybe y'all have run into her? Kathryn Johnson?"

My stomach dropped. "You're Kathryn's dad?"

"You know her?"

"Shane, we can't leave him," I said in a whisper.

"Are you insane?" Shane shot back.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "This is her dad."

"I get that, Rick, but don't you think she would've said something. I know you're all for the happy family reunion, but something must be off if she didn't say anything."

That didn't sit right with me. "Maybe she didn't realize it was him."

Shane scoffed. "Yeah, right, that's it." He pulled out his gun.

"Shane, no!"

Kathryn

Lori, Andrea, and I awkwardly stood in the kitchen as Maggie and Beth screamed above us. Their voices traveled easily from that bedroom to the kitchen. I paced back and forth slightly, unable to take the ever growing tension that was seeping into the air.

"Where's Hershel?" Andrea asked. That was a good question.

"He doesn't want to find out yet," Lori replied. "It's a family affair we'll let them work it out."

"That's working it out?" Andrea questioned, casting her gaze upwards.

"When Beth stops fighting, that's when it's time to worry."

"This could've been handled better," Andrea muttered.

"How so?" Lori asked in an almost demeaning manner. I had a sinking feeling I knew where this was going.

Andrea answered, "You shouldn't have taken the knife away."

"Excuse me?" Lori scoffed. I bit my lip. Queen Bee was being called out.

"You were wrong," Andrea said simply. That's not going to sit well. "Like Dale taking my gun. That wasn't your decision. She has to choose to live on her own. She has to find her own reasons."