Fight The Dead Fear The Living (Daryl Dixon x Reader｜Nick Clark x Reader)

Guilt And Anguish

You preceded everyone and were in a bad mood. Maggie had tried to talk to you, but you had only answered with a grunt. Encouraged by Madison, who knew you well enough, Maggie thought you understood it wasn’t the time to talk. You sensed that the group behind you looked at you as if you were a wild animal, a creature willing to kill them when they least expected it, with little dignity and even less honesty. That was the common thought and, above all, the thought of Daryl. You imagined how he looked at you suspiciously or worse, disgusted. For a moment, you were discouraged, things happened way too fast. You thought he was hurt, but it wasn’t even his fault if Nick had come back so suddenly from the world of the living dead. Still, you couldn’t just push Nick away, telling him you’d replaced him with a livelier model while he wasn’t there, leaving ignorant. On the other hand, you had no real relationship with Nick, you were more than just normal friends. You could not explain yourself your feelings… Nick had missed you and you had missed him, but you couldn’t ignore it, the feelings you felt for Daryl, something beyond friendship and a physical relationship.

“Y/N…”, Madison’s voice was heard behind you.

The idea of ​​leaving Nick was terrible. Not so much as you would feel, but what could happen to him. The truth was that Nick was a person who was too sensitive, drifting with events like the flood without fighting them, and often this flood took him to insecure places. He risked drowning every time and you didn’t want to be responsible.

“Y/N!”

On the other hand, you couldn’t treat Daryl so unfairly. He did not deserve it, you just didn’t want him to suffer. On the contrary, you wanted to be supportive, to stay with him, even in the biblical as well as platonic sense, you admitted. You couldn’t ignore the knot in your throat as you remembered how you slowly moved away from his life. He didn’t talk to you anymore, almost didn’t look at you. It was unbearable…

“Damn! Y/N!”

“What!” You turned around. Madison watched the body shatter beyond recognition beyond her feet. You followed her eyes, gave Maggie an angry look, and brushed your hair away from your sweaty forehead. “Yes…”, you cleared her throat, “I’m coming.” Madison watched you walk past them without saying another word. “It’s still a mile away, judging by the map, at least.”, you said after a few minutes. You all went to a small shopping center and hoped to find more food, things for Judith, as well as some medicines and antibiotics. A few days earlier, Madison had seen a billboard pointing to a mall a few miles away. It was a long way from your itinerary, so you all had suggested stopping for one day and driving there to raid supplies. Maggie had offered to go with you and so did Carl. Daryl had thought for a moment and decided not to leave, spending more than a full day with you and Nick in the immediate vicinity. He couldn’t stand the sight of you two together. Not even a second after Daryl had confirmed that he would go with them, you had come to them: “I’m coming too.”

Daryl had turned to face you with a murderous look.

“No, you should-…”

“I don’t care what you say.” you responded determinedly, ignoring his eyes. And now you are here. A happy company that embarked on a shopping day. It would have been nicer if the main entrance hadn’t been circled by the living dead. “Let’s go in from the parking garage.”, Daryl said after lowering the binoculars. “What if the Walkers are there too, we’d have trouble seeing them in time.”, Madison said.

“The parking garages of these places are hard to reach, sometimes there are gates, the entrances are closed, we can cross them, they can not, and then there will not be many.” You all headed for the first available ramp. As Daryl said, the parking lot was almost deserted. There were not more than a few scattered Walkers near a railing that blocked the entrance to the parking lot. You killed them without difficulty, then began to use a pair of pliers to cut the metal wires of the grid. You were in less than fifteen minutes, avoiding a few small groups of undead. You were not the first to choose this place as an offer or as a base, which was clearly visible. It was as if a dark cloud had passed over the area of ​​hygiene products and pharmacies, but left the children’s ward intact. There were only a few Walkers who went for a walk here and there, but luckily the place was quite deserted and so large that you heard it coming far away. Your towed footsteps echoed against the high ceilings. Carl stopped in the vicinity with some books in his hands. They were untouched. No one had ever moved one of them. You were happy about how the boy liked to read. Occasionally he would ask for explanations about this or that band, about a writer or a historical epoch, but his new mentor had definitely become Travis. You had sometimes studied ancient cultures, but had to attend the literature class and take an exam. You liked remembering those hours and talking to Carl about it, as if he had also remembered someone else’s life. But with Travis it was a different story. A true teacher, as well as one who loved his job. You were glad that Carl had found a refuge and someone to talk to. He needed something to remember that only survival isn’t always the most important thing.