roots | daryl dixon

6 | you there, God?

When they finally made it back to camp, Lou could hear screams and shots ringing. She pushed her legs harder, cocking the rifle in her hands. The men were close behind her, and they'd all joined in the chaos. There were walkers absolutely everywhere. Lou shot one getting too close to Lori and Carl and told them to head to the RV, praying her dad was okay.

At one point, she thought she was done for until an arrow went whizzing by her head and stuck into the forehead of the walker she'd been wrestling with. Her gun was out of bullets, and her knife was sheathed, so she began swinging the rifle onto any oncoming walkers. The group slowly made their way to the RV, where it became a more organized effort of taking out the intruders. 

Once it became quiet again, Lou nearly collapsed with the overwhelming panic she felt. "Dad? Dad!" She called, seeing him by the RV. She hugged him, thanking God for listening to her prayers. That was when she saw that Amy had been bitten. Dale held his daughter tighter as her knees gave out and sobs wracked her entire body. 

* * * * *

By the next morning, Lou's tears had dried, and most of the camp had begun the process of cleaning up the mess of the night prior. Daryl was going around with an axe, ensuring the walkers were really dead.

Lou and Glenn were pulling bodies into piles. The walkers were going to be burned, and the camp members that had died were to be buried. T-Dog helped them toss another walker into the flames. Lou wiped the sweat from her brow as she watched Lori try to talk to Andrea. She decided to pay her respects to her friend and told the men she'd be right back.

Lou didn't say much, she just lowered herself to sit beside Andrea. "You gonna try to tell me to shoot her already? Like the others?"

"Nah, I think you need your time to grieve, just like everyone else. I know you'll do it when the time comes. I'd like to say goodbye to my friend if that's alright." Lou said, continuing when she saw Andrea nod, this time speaking to the girl covered in bites, "hi, Ames. I'm so sorry this happened, you didn't deserve this. You were too fucking good for this world. I just hope you're in a better place. I love you Amy, and I'll see you again, I'm sure." 

Lou placed a gentle hand on Andrea's shoulder, telling her to call out if she needed help, and then took her leave. She returned to Glenn and T-Dog, going back to putting corpses into the growing fire. 

* * * * *

They held a funeral of sorts for their fallen members, Lou looked on with tears in her eyes but refusing to let them stream down her cheeks. She mouthed a few silent prayers as people were lowered into the ground. She'd always attended church, but before the fall of civilization, it had been more for the social aspect than religion. Nowadays, she faced a constant battle with her beliefs but still took the time to occasionally say a prayer or to thank the heavens for blessings that came her way. 

Once the mass funeral was over, everyone headed back to camp eventually, a few stayed by the graves to pay respects or say goodbye. Lou went to check on Jim, who'd been bitten in the attack but hadn't turned. She checked his temperature and asked how his pain was. She offered him some painkillers but he declined. She got a cold cloth and wiped at his forehead, hoping to alleviate some of his discomforts. Lou got up, going back outside after instructing Carol on how to care for Jim since the woman wanted to help in some way.

Lou was instructed to take down her tent and pack it into one of the vehicles, as they were leaving as soon as possible for the CDC. She and Glenn helped each other tear down their tents and pack all of their belongings. It didn't take very long with both of them working at it. Carol and Jacqui offered to ride in the RV to take care of Jim. Lou wouldn't be needed, anyways. Jim refused painkillers and had already been bandaged. It was only a matter of keeping his fever down and trying to make him comfortable.

Lou knew this meant the RV would be cramped, so she mulled over her options. The only vehicles that would be empty were Shane's Jeep or Daryl's truck. She thought about it, then took into consideration the looks she'd been receiving from the latter. It was better to ask Daryl to ride with him. 

She approached him where he was strapping down his brother's motorcycle. "Think I could ride with you?" She asked, gripping her tent bag in one hand and her backpack slung over the opposite shoulder.

"You're not gonna go in the RV?" 

"Nah, it'll be cramped, and it's either you or Shane, so here I am. You may be an asshole, but you're less of a perv." Lou said, causing Daryl to snort in what she hoped was amusement.

"Yeah, alright. Put your stuff in the cab." He agreed. 

They both walked over to where the rest of the group was stood around in a circle. Rick and Shane explained how this trip was going to work, and when they asked if anyone had any questions, the Morales family announced they wouldn't be joining. Rick gave them a gun and some ammo, and Lou stared on as the kids said goodbye to each other. Eliza gave Sophia her doll, and then the group all went to their vehicles. Lou hadn't been extremely close with the family, but she'd grown fond of the children.

She pulled herself into the passenger seat of Daryl's truck, hiding tears as she watched the family pull away in their car. She turned away when they pulled onto the road, she couldn't bear to see the family's car driving away. She'd miss the kids.

"You cryin'?" Daryl asked abruptly.

Lou took a deep breath, wiping at her eyes quickly, which had in fact filled with tears, and responded, "yeah, so what? I'm gonna miss them."

"Ain't no point. We're all gonna die anyhow." He said, biting at his thumbnail.

"Dick," Lou muttered under her breath, glancing over to see him smirk. 

"' Least I'm not a creep, too." He retorted, and Lou chuckled.

Maybe Daryl Dixon wasn't what everyone said he was.