Light | TWD | Daryl Dixon Fanfiction

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Juliana shuffled behind Daryl and Joe was walked a few paced ahead of her. She was still upset at what had happened earlier between her and the scumbag who had made comments about Beth. Of course, he had no idea who Beth was, but his words hit far too close to home. Juliana held a grudge now and swore she could taste the bitterness on her tongue. She fiddled with the hem of her sleeve as she kept the slightly slower pace behind the two men.

"What's the plan, Daryl?" Joe asked Daryl, the two walking side by side, "You're with us now but you ain't soon?"

Daryl glanced over his shoulder for a moment, making eye contact with Juliana for only a second before replying to Joe, "Yep."

"So what's the plan?"

"Just.." Juliana could hear Daryl's voice fade off, "..lookin' for the right place is all."

"Oh, we ain't good enough for you and your girl, huh?" Joe questioned.

Juliana had been eavesdropping and couldn't help but add her own two cents into the conversation, "Some of you ain't exactly friendly," Juliana interjected. Joe looked over his shoulder at her, grinning in her direction. He slowed to a stop, turning his body slightly to face her. Daryl had stopped a few feet ahead of Joe, looking back at the two of them.

"You ain't so friendly yourself."

Letting out a huff, she made her way to Daryl's side, biting down on the inside of her cheek to keep herself from saying anything that she would end up regretting. Daryl nudged at her with his elbow, catching her attention.

Without saying anything between the two of them, she knew Daryl was worried about her. It didn't last long though, as Joe quickly came up to Juliana's side, motioning at them to keep up with the rest of the group that was now a few extra paces ahead of them.

"You know you two need a group out there," Joe commented to the two of them as they now walked in line together. Juliana instinctively moved closer to Daryl, trying to place herself further away from Joe.

"Maybe we don't," Daryl mumbled, his eyes downcast, staring at his boots.

"No," Joe insisted, "You do. You should be with us. You and your girl, obviously, she can take a punch." He grinned at his comment and Juliana cringed.

Ahead of them, a lone walker snarled. Juliana glanced up to see what used to be a woman, sauntering out from an old, abandoned building up towards the railroad tracks towards the group. Briefly her mind flashed back to when the turn had started, and how she remembered feeling when she was caught off guard by one of the dead appearing. Now, it was second nature.
The walker stumbled closer, but Joe kept on, making his case for why she and Daryl should stay with the group.

"People don't got to be friendly. We don't have to be nice. We don't have to be brother's in arms..." Juliana watched as the men in front of her taunted the walker, pushing her back and forth like she was part of a game. Another man came up from the side, tire iron in hand, and plunged it into the top of the walker's skull. She fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, a dark red, almost black liquid seeping out of the top of her head.

Joe continued, "We just got to follow the rules. You claim. If you steal, you 'keel'; I know that sounds a little funny, but nobody laughs when somebody goes missing. And you don't lie. 'Cause that's a slippery slope indeed."

Daryl glanced passed Juliana and over to Joe, "What happens if you break 'em?" he questioned.

"Oh, you catch a beatin'; the severity of which depends upon the offense and the general attitude of the day. But that don't happen much, 'cause when men, and women," he winked at Juliana, "like us follow the rules and cooperate a little bit, well, the world becomes ours."

Placing two fingers in between his lips, Joe let out a sharp whistle, coming to a stop in front of the decrepit building that Juliana had assumed the walker had come out of. "Right here," he told the rest of the men who had come to a stop and turned to face him, waiting for what to do next, "It's our abode from the evening."

As Joe moved forwards towards the building, Daryl stopped. His arm extended out in front of Juliana, preventing her from moving ahead any further. She stumbled a few steps backwards, quizzically looking over at Daryl as to why he had prevented her from going forwards.

"Hey," he called out to Joe before he could walk away any further, "There ain't no us."

With a furrowed brow, Joe stalked back to Daryl in a way that made Juliana tense; Daryl remained solid. "You leavin' right now?" he asked.

Juliana focused her attention on Daryl, watching as he adverted his gaze from Joe as he asked the question. They both knew this group couldn't be trusted, but what other options did they have?

Joe yanked out a stale cigarette from his pocket as he waited for an answer that never came, "No? Then it sure seems that there's an us." He stared hard at Daryl before turning on his heel and stalking away from the two of them. Juliana waited for Daryl's decision. His arm had dropped down to his side now and she reached out, gingerly touching at the fabric of his sleeve. His eyes met hers for a moment before Joe's voice rang out again.

"You a cat person, Daryl?" The two of them quickly turned their attention to Joe. "I am," he had lit the cigarette by now and had sucked the majority of it down as he spoke, "Loved 'em since I was three years old. Vicious creatures," he took one last drag of the cigarette and pointed a finger at Daryl, "Anyway, I'll tell you, and this is true, ain't nothin' sadder than an outdoor cat that thinks he's an indoor cat."

The two men had silence fall between them, and Joe didn't stay long before he turned and finally walked away from the duo, up towards the building with the rest of them men.

"Daryl.." Juliana started, stepping around him so she was able to be standing in front of the man, "I trust whatever you decide," she told him, "But if one of those assholes touches me, I'll fuckin' kill 'em."

Daryl looked down at her through dark, shaggy hair and gently grabbed at her elbow, turning her around as he grudgingly made his way to the building, "Not if I kill 'em first," he mumbled under his breath.