CHEROKEE ROSE (D. DIXON)

6.

Daryl was startled by the amount of panic he felt when he saw that walker grab the the girl from the river .

Even more so, he was startled by the sympathy he felt when he saw her crouched by the dead horse the following morning, trembling wordlessly.

He glances at Sonora as the others argue over what to do about the two blonde sisters .

She has distanced herself from the animal, but watches it like she thinks it might wake up. She quietly weaves her way in between bodies, collecting her arrows. Her hair is wild and falls from the braid in different spots. Her bow stays strung across her back, blood dried on the hand-crafted handle.

When the others resolve to do nothing about the dead girl, against Daryl's suggestion, he scoffs, throwing the pick axe over his shoulder and walking back towards the infected bodies.

He stands over a body, a man in camp he's never spoken to. He knows he can move it himself, but something about the way Sonora walks alone bothers him.

He strides over to her as she kneels over a walker, tearing an arrow from its temple. He nudges her side with his boot. "Wake up, Pocahontas. Got some work to do."

She turns to him slowly, but nods, standing and following him back to the body. The two lift the carcass and head towards the fire, but not before Glenn stops them.

"This is for geeks." Glenn stands in front of them, blocking their path. "Our people go over there."

"What's the difference? They're all infected." Daryl grunts.

"Our people go in that row over there." Glenn reiterates. "We don't burn them!" He cries. "We bury them."

Sonora drops the body's ankles. "No, he's right." She turns, resting a tanned hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

He paces, upset. "Our people go in that row, over there."

Daryl looks up at Sonora. Soft, black baby hairs stick to her forehead, and sweat drenches the front of her linen tank top.

Not a tear has spilled from her eyes, and he can't tell if he admires it or finds her intimidating for it. A person who can hide their true emotions is dangerous.

He for one, has never been able to control his feelings. Rage builds in him as he and Sonora move the body to the graves, thinking back to his brother.

All his life, he has lived in the shadow of Merle. He knew Sonora was right, and there wasn't really an appeal to it. But it's all he knows, and he's not ready for change. He's not even sure if Merle is alive anymore.

"You reap what you sow." He snarls suddenly, projecting his voice across the camp.

"Daryl, hush." Sonora pleads, gently setting down the body's head. "Now is not the time."

He sees the wisdom in her words, but ignores her. "Y'all left my brother for dead! You had this coming!" He sweeps an arm over the bloody scene, storming away.

"Jim's bit!" A woman calls, backing away from the tall, lanky man. Blood seeps from a wound on his chest.

Daryl and Sonora pick up their weapons simultaneously, the others backing away from Jim as he stumbles about deliriously.

Sonora trains her arrow on his face, but drops it when she looks into his eyes. Daryl glances at her questioningly.

Moments later, the remaining members of the group gather in a circle, Jim squatting beside the trailer.

"I say we put a pick axe in his head. And the dead girl's and be done with it." Daryl says lowly.

"Is that what you'd want? If it were you?" Shane asks accusingly.

Daryl nods. "Yeah, and I'd thank you while you did it."

Dale nods. "I hate to say it, but maybe Daryl's right."

Sonora nods, agreeing with Daryl. "Isn't it kinder this way? He won't suffer through the fever, the disease. " She looks up at him with worried amber eyes, eyebrows knit together.

Rick disagrees. "We start down that road, where do we draw the line?"

Daryl glances from Sonora to Rick. "The lines pretty clear. Zero tolerance for walkers, or them to be."

"What if we can get him help?" Rick pleads. "I heard the CDC was working on a cure."

Daryl shakes his head. The CDC was working on a cure before everything collapsed. Did he even remember Atlanta?

"Rick, don't you remember Atlanta?" Sonora crosses her arms, speaking Daryl's thoughts. "The city is not safe. We know that much is true."

"Any government or structure has to at the CDC, right? They would protect it at all costs!" Rick argues.

Daryl gnaws on his lip, thinking.

"That is a stretch. Now, if they exist, they're at the army base. Fort Benning." Shane suggests.

Lori narrows her eyes. "Thats a hundred miles in the opposite direction."

Shane turns to her. "That is right. But it's away from the hot zone. They'd be heavily armed, we'd be safe there."

Rick shakes his head. "The military were on the front lines of this thing. They got overrun, we've all seen that."

Sonora mills over something before speaking up. "Both of those are bad ideas." She retorts. She looks to Shane and Rick. "I know of a camp, a few weeks ride West, but much faster in a car. Whiterock. They will take care of us there." She glances back at Jim. "But he will not be welcome." Jim watches the group helplessly.

Daryl nods. "That's what I say. Away from the city, away from the walkers." He stands closer to Sonora as a show of support.

"The CDC is Jim's only chance." Rick argues, wiping his face with his hand in frustration.

Daryl's nostrils flare. "Y'all do what you need to do, go looking for aspirin. But first, someone's gotta have the balls to take care of this damn problem!" He lunges for Jim with his pick axe.

Rick puts his pistol to Daryl's head while Shane steps in front of Jim. "We don't kill the living." Rick growls.

The creaking sound of a bowstring being pulled back draws all three men's attention. "Then do not point your gun at a living man's head." Sonora snarls, her arrow trained on Rick.

Daryl looks at the girl and sees a fierceness in her eyes he has never seen. Her glare alone is enough to make Rick hesitate, slightly lowering the pistol.

"Cmon man, you too. Put it down." Shane commands Daryl. He reluctantly throws the pick axe to the earth, storming away.

Sonora shakes her head at Rick in disapproval. She's ignores the other's looks of betrayal, turning on her heels and trailing Daryl back to the ever growing pile of bodies.