WHIPLASH. ( DARYL DIXON )

four.

written in the perspective of third person.

"So you and Daryl? That's your big plan?"

Rick took a second, analyzing the group members, before pausing at Elena's best friend. Glenn groaned, "Oh, come on." Rick ignored him, though, "You know the way. 'In and out, no problem'. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but i'd feel a lot better with you along. I know they would too." Rick's head titled towards a half-listening Elena Marie and an already heavily annoyed Lori, who shot him a distasteful look.

"That's just Great," Shane's venomous voice spat out. "Now You're gonna risk three men, huh?" His wild words were cut off by T-Dog, who included himself in the narrative with a simple "Four."

Daryl scoffs and resumes cleaning his walker gut covered arrows. "My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Elena's lip curls in disgust at his words, while she wasn't very invested in the conversation before this point, she still knew that T-Dog was being very brave by volunteering to save Daryl's asshat of a brother. "You see anybody else here stepping up to save you brother's cracker ass?"

"Why you?" Was Daryl's answer and at this point Elena could almost physically feel a fight about to unfold. "You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."

"That's four," Dale speaks for the first time, simultaneously preventing a race war in our already divided group of survivors. "It's not just four," Elena's boyfriend's voice cuts through the air again. "You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that walker. It was here, it was in camp.They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."

"It seems to me what you really need most here," The eldest Grimes spoke. "Are more guns."

Elena's head perked up at this, while she's had her fair share of trauma with the murderous weapon, the need for protection in this cruel world made Rick's words ring through her head with meaning. Glenn seemed to have the same idea, "Right," he spoke up. "The guns."

"Wait, what guns?" Rick was quick to answer Shane's confusion. "Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns." Rick listed off the top of his head. "I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left." Elena could feel heat up the side of her face, but didn't turn towards Lori's guilt ridden face. "I dropped the bad in Atlanta when I got swarmed," Rick continued. "It's just sittin' there on the street waitin' to get picked up."

"Ammo?" Shane asked. "700 rounds, assorted." Was the answer he was met with. There was an immediate change in Shane's face, Elena noticed and evidently Lori did too, because as Shane pulled back, she went to attack, like organized warfare.

"You went through hell to find us, you just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?" Lori's voice was full of emotion, such a contrast to the younger girl sitting beside her who took this chance to speak up. "We're short on ammo as it is, Lori. We need this."

"Life isn't just about killing to survive," Lori pleaded with Elena, who didn't bother looking over at her as she answered. "Now it is."

"Whatever happened to living?" Lori's guilty eyes poured into her sister in-law. "You can't live if you're dead," Elena simply responded. Lori gave the younger girl a pitiful look, turning back to her husband. "To hell with the guns. Shane is right. Merle Dixon?" She paused for effect, "He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in."

Lori stood up quickly and Rick walked dover to her. "Tell me. Make me understand." Rick sighed, "I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy. Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, i'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta.They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him." Lori shakes her head, emotion laced in her words. "What's stopping you?"

At this point, Elena stops listening, feeling as though this conversation has gone on for far too long with no progress. Getting up from her spot on the log, she makes her way to Glenn Rhee who sends her a half-hearted smile.

"Don't try that bullshit with me, I know you're shitting your pants about going back there." Elena jokes, knocking shoulders with her best friend as they lean on the side of the RV. Glenn's smile immediately drops, leaning towards her, "I almost died in that stupid city 40 times, El, I'd rather spend a day locked on top of a walker infested building then go back in there."

Elena wrinkled her nose, bubbled laughter filling her lungs. "Too soon, Rhee." As their chuckled laughter died dawn, a ghost of a smile on both of their young faces, Glenns eyes filled with concern. "What was that back there?"

Elena's brows furrowed with genuine curiosity, to which Glenn took as a chance to elaborate. "When the three shitheads were fighting, Lori took you away. You were crying. I've never seen you cry."

Elena joked nervously, "And you'll never see it again." Glenn offered her no escape, his lips not giving even the slightest hint of a smile. "El, i'm serious. I just want to be here for you."

A loud honk interrupted their painstaking conversation, along with Daryl Dixon yelling "Come on, let's go!" Elena smiled with relief, "That's your cue, Rhee." Glenn shot her a look, "This conversation isn't over." Elena gave her best friend a fake, worry laced grin, pulling him into a tight hug, "Whatever, loser, just be safe and try not to die."

They pulled apart, Glenn pointing at her as he walked to the truck, "Don't do anything stupid while i'm gone, punk." Elena laughed at him, her chest filling with a strange mix of sadness and joy.

"How can I? You're taking all the stupid with you."

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marvel reference

 ana ou-