Stray // Daryl Dixon

Blink

I saw him, I had him, I was so close to catching him. Why didn't he stop when I yelled his name? He was there and gone within the blink of an eye. I was manically running through the woods, zig-zagging around trees trying to follow his trail. He was gone though, he was too fast for me, but I couldn't get myself to stop. I ran and yelled out for him, stupidly, as I now had attracted a small herd of walkers my way. 

I was overwhelmed, they came out from every angle and were stopping me from continuing to follow him. In frustration, I swung my crowbar at anything less than two feet from me. I couldn't stop, one after another I was sent into a blind rage, the only sound I could hear was my heart racing in my ears and my uneasy panting breaths. A gunshot then roared from behind me, hitting another walker coming at me from the left. I finally turned to see a few members of the group catching up to me. They took down three or four more, which I took as an opportunity to keep running, but before I could get much further Daryl stepped in front of me, grabbing me and pinning me on the floor.

"The hells wrong with you, you tryna get us all killed!" He yelled, pretty much sitting on top of me to hold me down. I squirmed underneath him, disregarding what he said completely. It wasn't until he yelled stop louder than I'd ever heard him yell before, that I finally slowed myself down.

It wasn't until I calmed down that I realized that I had been crying and I just stared at him. He looked back at me intently, waiting for me to say something, his eyes boring into mine. Maybe why the hell I ran off in the first place.

"M-my brother, that was my brother," I finally managed to stutter out, "he's gone again." 

-Flashback-

"You're gonna eat dirt at the back of the pack running like that!" My brother, Roy, yelled at me from the fence he sat perched upon while timing me. I slowed my pace and ran over to him from our little makeshift track. 

"You know," I huffed, out of breath, "you could be a little nicer. Not everyone is a high school track star like you were," I shook my head, really trying to catch my breath. 

He laughed, "Come on little sis, someone's got to keep my legacy going," he jumped down from the fence, "it's either you or Ben and his head is way too far up any girl's ass to do anything," he joked, which made me chuckle at the thought of how hopelessly girl obsessed Ben was.

"Roy, Scar, dinner!" Our mother yelled from the front porch, catching our attention.

"Race ya," I spat out, pushing him a little in the process so I could get a head start. Surely enough he still managed to reach the deck before I could. 

We walked into the house to see my two other brothers and dad already sitting at the table, ducking and leaning every so often as my mother quickly placed the food on the table. I took my usual seat beside Linc with Ben across from me, he'd already begun shovelling mashed potatoes in his mouth, which our mother gave him a smack on the head for. 

"What's her time like?" My father asked Roy, referring to our little practice session outside.

"Not nearly as close as mine," he grinned, "but she's definitely gonna give them a run for their money."

"Hey, that's my girl," my dad bellowed, "that's what I like to hear-"

"Alright, that's enough sports talk at the table!" My mother spoke up, sounding angry at first before calming herself down. She was never a big fan when the conversation revolved around my athletic side. There was a brief silence as no one was going to talk back, that was until Ben broke it.

"So, anyone want to hear about the new cheerleader in school?"

-End of Flashback- 

We all huddled around the outside of the church, discussing our next move. Rick and Shane as a collective agreed that with only a few hours of daylight left we would split up the group. 

"Alright, Daryl will take y'all back to the highway, we are losing light. Shane and I are going to search around the perimeter one more time," Rick instructed and I almost immediately interjected.

"I'm not leaving, there is a possibility my brother could come back at any moment. I am not risking missing him again," I spoke up and Rick sighed before nodding his head in understanding. Honestly, I was really the only woman who properly knew how to protect herself out of the group anyway, me staying behind would not slow them down.

"I want to stay as well," Carl said. His mother looked extremely hesitant as she eyed both Rick and Shane.

"Don't worry, I can keep an eye on him," I offered and Rick reassured her that if anything he'd be safer with us.  

With that figured out, the groups split off, we watched as Daryl led Carol, Andrea, Glenn and Lori deeper into the forest. That left us to search the surrounding woods of the church. There was a possibility that Sophia could have heard the bells as well and wasn't too far away. 

"So what's the plan? We just gonna do a lap and hope for the best?" I asked Shane as we trailed behind Carl, who walked between Rick and us so he couldn't wander off.

"Yeah, looks to be that way. Doesn't seem very efficient if you ask me," he responded, there seemed to be quite a bit of hostility in his tone. By the vibes I've gotten from him whenever he is around Rick or Lori, it seems that this great leadership these two are supposed to have isn't really that great. "You know, we never woulda' been in this mess if he had just stayed with her or killed them, walkers," he added in, talking just loud enough so only I could hear.

"Yeah, well last time I checked he was the only one to actually run after her," I immediately called him out, "didn't see you making any heroic moves," I scoffed and he stared at me in disbelief. I don't think he was used to anyone actually talking back to him, but I didn't care.

Just then Rick stopped in his tracks, which got the attention of both of us. There was the sound of rustling bushes not too far ahead. My heart immediately started racing and we each raised our guns, unsure of what could lay ahead. A walker? Another person? Could it be Sophia? Almost on instinct, I stepped beside Carl and he grabbed the side of my jacket and followed me as we walked. 

All of a sudden a deer walked out from the trees, unbothered by anything around it, and began grazing on the small patch of grass just meters in front of us. Almost in unison, we exhaled a sigh of relief before a smile crept onto each of our faces. The first thought that ran through your head was food, we would all have a good meal tonight. Shane raised his gun once again, aiming to shoot before Rick tapped him on the shoulder and nodded towards Carl. 

The boy was in complete awe. He walked forward slowly, letting go of my jacket pocket and making his way towards the grazing animal. The grin on his face was one I had not seen before, as this was probably his first time even seeing a deer in person. The thought of it made your heart warm, which made us all stop to take the moment in. The deer raised its head when Carl stood about a meter away, aware of our company now, yet still unbothered by it. There seemed to be complete silence for just a moment, a moment to take a breath, a moment to drop your guard, a moment to appreciate the small things like this. A moment which ended very quickly. 

In the blink of an eye, the roaring sound of a shotgun went off, blazing right through the deer's stomach and into Carl's chest. There was silence again, as we stood there with our hearts in our throats, while Carl now lay in blood-covered grass.