Red ~ TWD (Daryl Dixon)

Whatever It Takes

"Do you think we'll find anything useful?" T asked, eyes scanning the empty streets.

"I think we're out of options," I answered as I peered through my rifle scope.

I tracked Carol and Daryl as they made their way cautiously through the town heading to a general store. The small town we were raiding didn't look promising, but since we were literally starving to death beggars couldn't be choosers. Scavenging on the highway was too dangerous to be practical, a fact everyone now agreed on, and we hadn't stumbled upon any houses lately, so here we were in a little town that was picked clean looking for anything viable.

"Have we been here before?"

I pulled my rifle away, glancing around at the scenery that looked like every other one we'd traveled through the last few months.

"Maybe, maybe not, these shitholes are all starting to blur together."

T exhaled sharply, "I think we have. The herds are forcing us in circles."

I shrugged because I didn't have anything to add. He was right, but there was nothing we could do about it. With the dead grouping together in massive herds we had to take what we could get even if it meant going places we'd already been, twice.

This little song and dance was getting old. If we wanted to head east they forced us west. If we tried to go north they pushed us south. It didn't take a genius to deduce at some point the herds might converge and surround us like paratroopers at the Battle of the Bulge, except we didn't have Patton's 3rd Army coming to our rescue.

"We can't keep doing this," he huffed, "Eventually we'll make a mistake and it'll be over."

I glanced at him, my face blank and I saw irritation flare in his normally carefree eyes. It was a constant struggle to remind myself how hard this was for everyone. Unfortunately for me this life wasn't all that different from my old one. The only change being now both the living and dead were trying to kill me. I was the product of a system that ensured I not only survived this world, I thrived in it. The thought made my stomach knot up and put a bad taste in my mouth. I was born into violence, as comfortable with running and killing as breathing. A monster that reveled in chaos and the world wasn't short on chaos as of late.

"You're missing the point," I commented dryly. His eyes flew to mine, face scrunched up in confusion.

"How is staying alive missing the point?" It was phrased as a question, but the sarcasm coating the words made me hold my tongue. He wasn't done yet. "Enlighten me Obi-Wan, what is the point?"

Someone had their diva pants on today.

"We're not fighting to live." Ignoring his grunt of disapproval I paused, looking him dead in the eye like I could will him to understand. "We're fighting for each other."

He swallowed thickly, nodding with jerky motions as his eyes glistened. He turned his body away from me and out of courtesy I looked the other way giving him time to gather himself, but his ragged breathing betrayed his emotional state. He didn't have anything to be embarrassed about, but I knew better than most how horrifying it was to break down in front of someone else.

Shoulder my rifle again I peered through the scope, locating Carl and Rick as they crept towards a line of cars on the edge of town. A rustle of bushes in the tree line caught my attention and I aimed my rifle slightly right, twisted the scope to better focus the sight. Three walkers popped into view with stark clarity as I took a deep breath, lining up the first shot and squeezing the trigger. Before the remaining two walkers even realized their buddy was dead, again, I shot them both in the forehead with two, well placed, silent shots.