Stand By Me (Daryl Dixon)

E i g h t e e n

Flashes of the dead circle me and I'm in and out of darkness. Grabbing me and pulling on me, hands hitting my legs with no feeling. Walkers pulling on my hair with no pain coming from my scalp. There was no pain when one sank its teeth into my thigh, tearing the flesh from my leg like a wild animal. They eat my flesh with me not making a sound. I watch as fresh blood pour from my wounds, as it drips from all the walkers mouths. Just sight. I couldn't hear, I couldn't smell, I couldn't feel. Just the sight of white walls and the gruesome scene of my body being dismembered. Closing my eyes to darkness, I feel my surroundings shift.

I can now hear the leaves blowing the wind and the birds singing. Opening my eyes the road ahead of me empty of any vehicles or anything, just the perfectly paved cement, lined with the usual yellow and white paint. It was just me walking in the middle of the open road. I stumble a bit, catching myself as I almost trip face first into the concrete. The noise coming from my mouth haunts me everyday since the beginning. That's when an arrow flies towards me striking me where my heart is and I look down to the wound, dark sludge like blood seeps out around to stem. I look in the direction where it came from and see him.

Lowering the crossbow from his face, his face becoming astonished by what he just did. I continue walking forward the emptiness in my stomach wanting substance, wanting him.

The growls coming from me makes him step back, "What'd ya do! What did you do!" His voice echoes through the trees and in my head.

'Daryl' I say his name in my head, while snorting and grunts come out in its place.

His hand pushes me back when I reach him, loosing the ground under my feet. I look back up to the man who now on top of me, pinning my body to the concrete. The blade in his hand raised over his head, tears streaming down his face making him look so broken.

"What'd ya do!" He chocks out one last time before bringing the knife down beside him like he's given up, like he can't go through with what he wants to do, what he has to do.

The sun shines through to trees and onto us, I reach up and touch his face, "Daryl."

I shoot straight up on the couch, breathing heavily, due to a loud knock at the door. I wipe the beads of sweat from my neck.

"Shay! Shay, open the door! I wanna talk with ya." Daryl's voice muffled from the door.

I get up and make my over to the window. He's standing there holding him self up with the door frame. I limp over to the door and unlocking and opening it slightly, "what do you want Daryl?"

"Jus' let me in," his hair covering his face as he hangs his head.

I open the door so he can walk in, short learning that he's been drinking. The smell of whiskey coming off of him in waves. He stumbles in and crashes on the couch.

"You're drunk." I bluntly say to him as I sit on the opposite side of the couch.

"I was thinking, and yer right." I raise my eyebrows at him, "we shouldn't be sitting on our asses."

"I'm sorry, can you say that again?" I smile at him.

"Yer right, and Rick is all for it." He looks over to me and I can tell he's nervous by his hands fidgeting around, "I want ya to tell me something."

"Like what? There's nothing worth telling."

"I dunno, your family."

"My family is nothing special, my parents were young when they had me. My mom was fresh out of high school and my dad was older, 21, and he was enrolled in the army. Three years later Chase was born. My dad would go over seas for months at a time and my mom would work her ass off. It was when my dad was relocated to A.P Hill that we moved to Bowling Green. My childhood and teen years were great, normal. We'd go to the Hill all the time, we learned about everything army. That's how I knew how to use the M16, but it was the first time I ever shot one. I've shot smaller rifles before. I know the building. That's why we should try." I look over to him who nods at me.

"What about the beginning?"

"We first found out that the disease broke out was when we were in the shitty Motel in Florida. We were trapped for a few days before we got out of there. We packed all of our stuff up and grabbed what we could use as weapons. We had maybe a quarter tank, and we didn't make it across the Florida border, we had to fight our way across. We set up in one of the border buildings, which was a bad idea because of all the glass windows.

"Anyways, we set up the and we could see huge black cloud in the distance. It was something I've never saw. Chase and I knew we had to get home so the three of us searched up and down the building taking out walkers as we were trying to find guns. We found a lot. We were only a couple of hours into Georgia when we came across a camp. It wasn't big or anything, just a few families. It was the third night when the man came into our tent, and tried to rape me, that's when I killed him." I take a pause, "that shot made walkers come out and attack the camp, Chase and I fought till we couldn't and we couldn't save our friend, Alex. We lost her that night. We drove till we ran out of gas which put us outside of Atlanta. We just passed Atlanta on foot, we walked for so long. We lost track of days and we scavenged highways Because of all the cars that were abandoned. It was hard out there. Chase and I would camp jump, but we knew we had to get home.

"When heading to Atlanta we kept seeing this sign on the tracks for this place. Chase and I just wanted to get home. So, we just kept going. We did get lost a couple of times. But, we walked and walked. Finally passing Atlanta. We grabbed what ever vehicle we could find along the way but the roads were so thick with other vehicles we quit looking for cars. It took us so long and many walkers later till we finally got home.

"Home was not home when we got there. My parents stayed at the house after not evacuating to A.P Hill. So, that's why there a bunch of walkers there. My parents didn't wait for us to return, I still have the letter my mom wrote for us to find. When we got there they were in there bedroom, so what happened, what looked like what happened was that they took pills and went to sleep. When I entered the room my mom, she was half eaten by my dad." There was a moment of silence, "what were you like before this?"

"Mm." He shrugs, "It's nothin' special, brother and I just roamed." Not saying anything.

"Well, that's okay." He looks over to me and I smile at him. "Daryl? Could you stay here with me tonight? I had an awful dream before you came here."

He nods and I pull the blanket up I reach and grab his arm, lifting it up so I can rest my head on his lap. I lay still, over thinking about whether or not I should kiss him or not. To kiss him to say thank you for listening. I look up to him and his blue eyes are on mine.

"Thank you for listening."

A/n: Some back story because we don't really know anything about Shay.

Hope you enjoy reading it. It makes my day to see the numbers go up little by little.

Briena x.