Flip Side {Daryl Dixon}

{Hiraeth}

Life is an endless series of train wrecks with only brief commercial-like breaks of happiness.

Eevee had let herself get lost in that commercial. Let herself believe that everything would turn out okay and they would all live out the rest of their lives behind fences and concrete walls. That she'd grow old sleeping on a perch with her tent-mate at her side, adopt a bunch of orphans and teach them all the things she remembers about the old world, then maybe slip away in her sleep and spared the return to be buried out in the field beside T-Dog and Lori and Oscar and Axel.

What an amazing lie that was.

The only things they were guaranteed was that the walkers never stop and the universe is never kind. Their reality check came in the form of flying bullets and a tank. And now the brunette woman found herself sprinting through the trunks alone, smoke climbing into the sky behind her as walkers shambled in front of her.

Everything was gone. The prison had fallen and everyone was as good as dead. The commercial was over.

"Oi! Ya gonna slow down?!" Eevee slammed to a stop and whirled to find whoever was speaking, fingers slipping into the loops of her small knives on her gun belt just in case it was one of the Governor's new attack dogs. Instead she was met with eyes the color of gun metal and both arms lifted in surrender.

"I surrender, I saw ya streak off into the trees an' figured our chances would be better together than alone." The woman sighed and freed her hands from her weapons as she scoured the trees around them to see if she could spot anyone else.

"Have you seen anyone else? Maggie? Glenn? Rick?" She watched the man's face for any sign of a positive response. "Carl and Judith! Anyone?!"

"All I saw was you and a prison filled with walkers." She ran her hands over her face and turned her head towards the canopy. "Ya know we can't go back."

"Did you see him? Did he make it out?" She knew he knew who she was talking about, his sharp features softening at the mention of him. "Answer me, Merle Dixon! Did you see Daryl make it?"

"I don't know. But we'll find him." Eevee started to go back to the prison, she didn't care if it was overrun and on fire. She had to know. The elder brother caught her around the waist and moved in the opposite direction than she wanted to go.

"Put me down! Merle, I said put me down! I have to know! I have to-" Her words were cut down by a chest-wracking sob and she realized she was weeping.

"There's nothin there anymore. It's all gone and we have to keep movin." Merle knew that if he set her back on her feet she was liable to either crumble to the ground or sprint in the direction of death to look for his brother so he kept her tucked under his arm as she silently fell apart.

"You didn't have to follow me, Merle. You were closer to the bus, you could've gone with them why cross the fields to come after me?" Eevee spoke after almost an hour of silence.

"A life fer a life. You saved me so I'm savin ya back." The little brunette sniffles and shrugs in loose understanding. She did save his life, but that was months ago- almost a year now really. Back when they were in the middle of their war with the Governor.

"We need to find somewhere to stay for the night. The sun will be gone soon." Eevee mumbled as she glanced up at the sky burning every hue of red and orange with swipes of indigo and magenta. Merle did the same before nodding in agreement and scanning the trunks looking for anywhere to call it a night.

"I should've killed him that day." The man's concentration was broken by Eevee grumbling to herself in his ear. He knew what she was talking about, the day she saved his ass.