Merle
Dixon’s day had started off
stellar. He’d made a good trade with Mary, the woman who used to do the tokens
for the claimed women before Officer Fucking Friendly had nagged the Governor
into letting him boss every man in the camp around and tell him who he could
and couldn’t fuck. Goddamned Democrat. In exchange for a beaut of a hunting
knife he’d scored while he was helping to clear Woodbury, Mary gave him a
blowjob and let him titty-fuck her. Mary still had good tits and her ass was
only a little spread out. She was hot for fifty-three, Merle thought, and had a
nice disposition. She wasn’t meek. No, far from it. Mary had sass when the mood
struck her, and she knew how to wheel and deal. He thought she’d make it in
this new, terrible world, being as practical as she was.
After
his little morning trade with Mary, Merle loaded his gun and set off on a run
with his little brother, Daryl, his brother’s new woman, Beth, the snooty
lawyer bitch, Andrea, and to his dismay, the bossy tight-ass sheriff, Rick
Grimes, who’d once been in good with Shane Walsh. He decided he’d ignore Grimes
in favor of staring at Andrea’s rack and seeing if he could come up with a
trade deal that would win him the chance to fuck her precious little sugar tits. He wasn’t an idiot. The likelihood
of Andrea Harrison allowing his dick anywhere near her body, with her full
consent at least, was a billion to one. He thought she’d honestly choose a hard
death to walker teeth than to fuck him. Still, it was a good fantasy.
Gas
was needed for the vehicles if they were going to transport the entire camp,
people and supplies, in one go from the quarry to Woodbury. That’s where the
scavenging groups came in. Rick and Daryl had chosen their group to go out and
find gas to siphon so they could fuel the vehicles needed to move everyone.
People were in the process of packing everything away, and the Governor wanted
the scavenging parties to return that night so they could set out at dawn the
next day. Merle didn’t see that as being likely to happen, but they’d still
try.
After
having good luck filling nearly every gas can they’d brought with them from the
camp they’d chosen to settle down near a river to eat the lunch they’d packed.
Andrea, having decided she wanted some meat to go with their bread and beans,
managed to wrangle a couple of fat trout from the river and Daryl had cleaned
them. The smell of grilling fish had been good in the breezy air. The only
thing that would have made the day perfect was a cold beer and some sunshine.
Well, cold beer, sunshine, and not having chunks of his flesh missing from the
three walkers who were chewing into him.
The
day Merle Dixon died had started off a good one for him. It was just too bad it
ended on such an epically shitty note.
*****
“Daryl!”
Beth dove head first into the trunk of their car and locked
herself in just as four walkers swarmed her. Had she been bitten? Daryl wasn’t
sure. All he’d heard was her screaming his name as he hauled his brother away
from the clutching hands and snapping jaws of the walkers who’d knocked him
down. Daryl saw the blood, he heard his brother’s grunts of pain, and he knew
it was over.
“Rick!”
Andrea
was shooting, as best she could, the walkers who’d surrounded Rick. The sheriff
had elected to use his knife, rather than his gun, to take out the walkers that
swarmed him, but Daryl could see that he was losing the battle. Damn it to
hell, there were so many of them. There had to be more than twenty, and they
seemed to keep pouring out of the woods.
Fat,
cold raindrops began tapping at the ground as he situated his brother under the
tree.
“Get
outta here, Daryl,” Merle said.
“I
ain’t leaving you, brother.”
Merle’s
mouth was filling with blood. His lip had a nasty cut but that wasn’t the worst
of his injuries.
“You
got that pretty girl to take care of. You got your new friend Rick to look out
for. You got a life left, man. Now get the fuck outta here before these things
get you, too. Don’t do that,” Merle said, when tears began slipping from
Daryl’s eyes. “I ain’t seen you cry since you were fifteen and you broke your
arm in two places falling out of a tree trying to bag that twelve pointer.
Don’t do it now. Not over me.”
Daryl
took out two walkers that approached their tree. The cover of the low branches
wouldn’t offer safety for much longer.
“I
love you,” Daryl said thickly.
“I
know you do. Right back at ya. Now, this guns got one bullet left. Don’t watch
me do it, and don’t come back for whatever’s left. Just go.”
He
didn’t want to do it, but Daryl knew he had to leave. He had a narrow corridor
from which to escape and the time to take it was now, or never. He clapped
Merle on the arm and had no sooner turned his back did he hear the
gunshot that ended his brother’s life before the walkers could.
“Damn
you all to hell,” Daryl said, looking at the rotting corpses that moved toward
his brother's body. He wanted to know they could feel fear so he could come
after every single one of them and see it in their eyes as he killed them. But
they didn’t feel fear. They didn’t feel anything but hunger.
With
no other choice left open to him, Daryl Dixon made a run for it, planning to
circle back through the trees and try to get to the car Beth now hid in,
temporarily safe from the clawing, bony hands that sought to find entrance to
the trunk and the young woman cowering inside.
*****
Rick saw Merle go down. He saw the teeth sink into flesh. He saw
Daryl try to save the only kin he had left and fail in the attempt.
That
was all he saw before the walkers began to overwhelm him. Was he about to meet
that same fate? The idea of being eaten alive, as his family had been, made him
cold right down to his soul. He often thought of what happened after death. Did
the soul go on? He liked to think it did. Sometimes believing in the hereafter,
and the possibility of seeing Lori and Carl again, was all that kept him going.
Like
a damsel in distress in a horror movie, Rick tripped, fell back, and was forced
to kick a walker in the chest. He heaved with all his strength and managed to
use one to knock back two more, but two others were soon swarming in on him.
Then something incredible happened. Their heads disappeared. First one, then
the other. When their bodies fell he saw they were replaced by a woman in hood
and cloak, and, chained to her, were two armless walkers with their jaws cut
away. The woman had a sword in her hand, and she gave it a little flick to
slough off some of the gore staining the blade.
“Get
up,” she said, in a husky voice. “There’s a woman in a tree and a girl in a car
that need help. Most of the biters are distracted by the dead man under the
tree.”
Rick
wasn’t sure if he was dreaming, or if the arrival of a sword wielding stranger
with two chained walkers was real, but he got up, got a good grip on his knife,
and headed into the fight with this strange new woman beside him.
*****
The
cool rain that blew in
wasn’t quite enough to wash away the stench of dead walkers and the fish that
had burned during the fight. Beth’s stomach wanted to roll but she kept it in check.
She was more concerned about Daryl. She stood with him now, on the other side
of the tree where Merle’s remains lay, her hands on either side of his face,
trying to be a comfort to him as he cried.
“I’m
so sorry, Daryl.”
He
pulled a handkerchief and turned away from her to blow his nose. He needed a
few minutes to compose himself before going back out to where Rick, Andrea, and
the sword wielding stranger stood talking in quiet voices.
“You
sure you’re okay?” he asked Beth, when he turned back to her. He was glad his
voice didn’t waver. He sounded stronger than he felt.
Beth
nodded. “I’m fine. No bites or scratches.”
Daryl
nodded toward Rick. “Let’s go see what they’re talking about.”
When
they returned to the rest of the group, both Daryl and Beth avoided looking at
what was left of Merle Dixon. In some ways it was a blessing he’d shot himself
in the head. At least Daryl wouldn’t have to worry about his brother turning
and having to be put down.
Rick
studied the woman who’d saved him, and helped him and Daryl take out the
remaining walkers that had attacked. She was a striking woman in many ways. She
was beautiful. So beautiful, he thought he could stare at her for hours without
his eyes growing accustomed to it. She was damned skilled with a sword. In
fact, he noticed she didn’t even bother carrying a gun, at least not where he
could see it. All she had was that sword and two walkers that she’d called pets
chained and standing meekly behind her.
“So,
with them beside you the walkers don’t see you. Genius.”
“Thanks,”
she said quietly. He wished she’d smile. He would have bet anything she had a
beautiful smile.
“We’ve
been standing here for ten minutes and haven’t introduced ourselves. I’m Rick.
This is Andrea. That’s Daryl and his woman, Beth.”
“Michonne,”
she said, shaking Rick’s hand.
“You
said you have a couple of friends that you travel with,” prompted Andrea.
The
woman nodded. “I started off at a refugee center but it got overrun. I went on
the road alone and met up with this redneck bully and his wife and two kids
last year. I wasn’t sorry to see him go when he was bit. They’ve been with me
ever since. We picked up a few people along the way but they didn’t make it. It’s
still just the four of us. We’re set up in a housing development now.”
“If
you want we can pick up your people and bring them with us,” Rick offered. “We’re
about to head off to a new settlement called Woodbury.”
“Thanks,
but I think we’re better off on our own,” she answered.
“Are
you taking people in? I want to come with you,” Andrea said.
Beth
looked at her in surprise. “What?”
Andrea
hadn’t even noticed that Beth and Daryl had returned to them. She took Beth’s
hand and said, “Ever since I broke it off with Shane he’s hounded me to come
back to him. The Governor has made it clear that he wants me for his own and he’s
going to stop taking no for an answer soon. I have to get out of there, Rick. I’m
miserable in that group. This is a chance for me to get away. So how about it? I’m
not afraid of hard work. I’ll do my part to keep you and the others safe, fed.”
“I
don’t have a problem with you joining us.”
“Wait
a minute,” Rick objected. “We appreciate what you did, but we don’t know
anything about you. Andrea, it’s not safe to go off--”
“Rick,
I really doubt she’s going to save us just to kill us,” Andrea reasoned. “I’m a
grown woman. I can make up my own mind about where I’m going. I’m leaving with
her. I just need you to tell Shane and the Governor that I’m dead, killed along
with Merle. I'm afraid if they know I just left they'll try to track me down. You know what would happen if they managed to find me.”
Rick
could see from the determination in Andrea’s face that she wasn’t going to
change her mind. He knew that despite the change in rules in camp life was hard
for a single woman. Rape wasn’t as much of a threat as before but men would
refuse to trade with a woman unless she gave sexual favors in return, and that
wasn’t something Rick and Daryl could police and put an end to, even if they
did discourage such practices. If she wanted to escape that kind of life he
wasn’t going to stand in her way.
“If
that’s your decision then I’ll support it. I’ll tell them you’re dead,” said
Rick.
“You’re
leaving,” Beth said, gripping Andrea’s hand.
Andrea
pulled her into a tight hug. “I have to while I have the chance.”
Beth said, “When
you found me a few weeks ago alone, starving, exhausted and scared, you just
took me into your arms and hugged me. You saved me, gave me a place to stay,
and stood up for me. Thank you, Andrea. You’ve been like a sister to me.”
“I
am a sister to you,” Andrea answered, stroking stray locks of hair away from
Beth’s face. “When I first saw you, all I could think of was my sister Amy.
Having you in my life has been such a blessing. I’m never going to forget you.
Daryl.”
Andrea
hugged him tightly and then kissed his cheek. “I’m sorry about Merle. I know
what he meant to you. I know exactly what you’re going through right now. It’ll
get easier to live without him in time.”
“Be
careful out there,” Daryl said.
She
nodded and then faced Rick. “Thank you, for everything.”
He
nodded, accepting a silent hug from Andrea, and then watched her head off into
the woods with Michonne and her pet walkers. He wondered if he’d ever see
either one of them again. They had almost reached the camp when he realized Andrea
may not even know where Woodbury was. If something happened to her new group
she may not even be able to find her way back to them.
*****
The
levity in the camp felt inappropriate to Rick when he, Daryl, and Beth returned
with the gas Merle had literally died to get for their people. The tents
were still erected, and a light drizzle had started to fall as the rain moved
toward the quarry, but fires burned, people barbecued, and laughed, and
anticipated starting a new life in a town where there would be streets to walk,
apartments to live in, and walls to keep out the walkers.
Rick
went straight to the Governor’s RV where he found Shane and Martinez clearing
up a card game since they were being rained out.
“Rick!”
the Governor said cheerfully. “How did the trip go?”
“Not
well. We got the fuel you wanted, but we lost Merle and Andrea.”
“What
did you say?” Shane demanded. He stood up, his face a mask of rage. Rick was on
guard for Shane’s fists to start flying.
“What
happened?” the Governor asked, his demeanor much cooler than Shane's.
Rick
recounted what had happened, omitting Michonne’s appearance and her role in
saving them from the walkers,. When he was finished he kicked his chair over.
“Why
didn’t you look out for her, man?” Shane shouted.
“Shane,”
the Governor interrupted. “Back off. It sounds to me like Rick did all he
could.”
“Yeah,
he always does, doesn’t he? Funny how his all is never good enough.”
“You’re
grieving, so I’m gonna let that slide,” Rick said coolly.
“Oh,
fuck you, Rick.”
“Go
cool off, Shane,” the Governor ordered. “Rick, you’ve had a tough day. Go to
your RV, get some rest. We’re heading off for Woodbury in the morning, rain or
shine. It’s a big job and you’ll need to be well-rested. Dee, make Rick a
plate, darling.”
“Yes,
sir,” Dee answered. She was a middle-aged redhead that Rick suspected was doing
more than frying the Governor’s eggs in the morning. He wondered how long she’d
last before she ‘decided to leave’ the camp.
“I
should speak with Daryl,” said the Governor.
“You
may want to leave that till morning, Brian. Beth’s caring for him right now.”
The
Governor nodded once and Rick started off for his RV.
He thought of Merle, a
man he hadn’t liked. His only redeeming quality had been his love for his
brother. Now Daryl was in this terrible new world without any living kin, and
Rick could relate all too well. Rick grieved for his friend, but he was also glad
that Daryl had Beth to be a comforting presence as he mourned. He hadn’t had a
Beth of his own after losing Lori and Carl, so he knew Daryl was lucky in that
regard.
*****
Daryl’s
climax was the most intense
he’d ever known. Beth continued to straddle him for a long time after, holding
him close, stroking his hair and comforting him with her touch. He’d had a
rough night of shedding tears and terrible nightmares. Now he was awake and
that was over, the bad dreams chased away by Beth’s warmth and love.
He
decided then that he wasn’t going to cry again for Merle, mostly because he
knew his brother wouldn’t approve, but partly because it no longer had the same
cathartic release it had in the night. His brother was gone. No amount of shed
tears would change that.
“I’m
here,” Beth said. “Rick is here for you. We’re not going anywhere, baby. You’re
not alone.”
“I
know,” he said.
Even
as Beth took her place beside him in the early morning hours of moving day,
Daryl felt alone, and he continued to feel that way no matter how closely he
held her.
*****
“You
ready to move out?”
Daryl
and Beth had their tent packed up along with their other belongings. They’d
been labeled and put into the back of a truck. The only thing they’d need to
worry about were their pots, pans, and utensils, as well as any food they’d
claimed. The tents would serve no purpose in Woodbury, where they would have an
apartment of their own.
He
nodded at Rick. “We’re all packed up.”
“The
Governor’s about to announce Merle and Andrea’s loss, though honestly, it’s probably
already spread around,” said Rick. “You can’t sneeze at one end of this camp
without it being a fart at the other end ten minutes later.”
Daryl
tried to smile. Failed. Rick understood.
“Here
you go, Rick,” Beth said, handing Rick a cup of instant coffee she’d gotten
from the communal fire before it had been torn down. It was nasty, lukewarm, and strong
enough to make the Styrofoam cup try to put up a fight in his hand, but it would do the
job of waking him up.
“This
damned rain won’t move out,” Beth said, somewhat grumpily. “We need some
sunlight.”
“Sun
would bring humidity this close after a rain. I’d rather work in the cool,” he replied.
She
cocked an eyebrow in agreement.
“Ladies
and gentlemen,” the Governor said, calling everyone’s attention to him as he
mounted the RV he’d called home for over a year. The caravan was lined up. All
they were waiting for was to load into the vehicles and ride out.
Now
that he had everyone’s attention, he continued. Rick gave the Governor his
attention and ignored the hateful stare leveled against him from Shane.
“We’re
about to begin an exciting new journey! Our man, Rick Grimes, found a town not
too far from here, as you all know, called Woodbury. I have a feeling this town
is going to be a blessing that will not only benefit us, but future
generations. We’ll have real homes instead of tents. We’ll have walls to offer
protection. We’ll build a community. We’ll start a pocket of civilization that will,
in time, overcome the virus that has tried to wipe out humanity!”
The
people cheered. Rick knew their exuberance was genuine. Sure, they all feared
Brian Blake, but they also trusted him to keep them safe from outside threat.
They didn’t care to question how he managed to keep them fed and clothed, as
long as he did it.
“This
great day, however, is stained with a black mark. We’ve lost two of our best
people. Merle Dixon and Andrea Harris.”
He
paused dramatically. Just as Rick suspected, most everyone in the camp had already
heard, but a few looked surprised to hear the news.
“They
were killed yesterday in a walker attack. They were swarmed while out gathering
the gas we needed to make this move. They died working to get the resources we
need to get our little camp to a new life in Woodbury. Their bravery and
sacrifice will never be forgotten. Every year, from this year forth, we will
name this day Founders Day. On that day we will have a moment of silence for the
lives they gave to ensure we have a chance to begin anew, to reach Woodbury
where we can grow, and thrive. God bless Merle Dixon and Andrea Harris!”
“God
bless!” the people shouted in unison. They applauded, and Rick looked at Daryl.
His
eyes were cold. He wasn’t at all touched because he knew what Rick knew. When
Merle was alive he wasn’t loved or even liked. Most of the emotion was reserved
for Andrea, who’d been well liked in the camp, and knowing she wasn’t even dead
must have been a kick in the gut for Daryl.
Rick
clapped Daryl on the back. “Let’s go.”
Rick,
Daryl, and Beth climbed into the little Chevette and waited for the caravan to
move. Ten minutes later they were heading out, leaving the quarry they’d called
home for a year deserted, never to look back.
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