Kill First, Feel Last ; Daryl Dixon

twenty four:: craziness

To say that I was speechless would be a complete understatement. Here Daryl was; pouring out his heart to me; asking me to be his wife- and here I was- standing there as silent as a tree, Swaying in the wind with my hand to my mouth.

His eyes told it all. He just stared at me waiting for an answer. "Daryl... I--" I was bewildered. I loved Daryl with all my heart, I hadn't even thought of marriage until now. I'd love nothing more then to be known as Kaylie Dixon. I'd absolutely adore the fact of knowing that I'm tied to the man known as Daryl Dixon. The love of my life, and the thought of finding the love of my life in something as shitty as the zombie apocalypse is something I'd never expect.

But then there's the fact that if I was to die in this upcoming attack on Azikio- I'd have just married the man and left him alone. I couldn't bare with the fact that we could possibly die tomorrow without warning- leaving a group of people, and a spouse to grieve.

The good things definitely outweighed the bad and maybe I was just over thinking it- but it didn't matter because Daryl's mumbles of "Forget I even asked." Stopped me. Before I could even retaliate and give him the answer- he was gone- he went inside the building.

I ran my hands through my long, brown hair in frustration- letting out a very hearty groan.
"Everything okay?" Rick's husky voice startled me from my tantrum. I turned around to face him, only for him to be standing by my father's side. There's a site I'd never thought I'd see.

"How's Maggie?" I quickly changed he subject. "And Beth?"
"Great and healthy." Rick smiled. "Thanks to you."
"It wasn't just me." I shook my head. "I just delivered the baby. You were all just as much help."
"There you go, Kaylie." Dad chuckled. "The 'I'm never good enough for a thankyou' you did a great job delivering that child, Kay."

I smiled slightly at my dad's kind words- something I hadn't heart in a while.
"Now." Rick began. "Why were you groaning just now?"
"Ugh... I guess there's no hiding it, hey?" I groaned again.
"Nope. Now spit it out." He chuckled.
"Daryl asked me to be his wife." I sighed. "I was too lost in thought to answer, so he automatically took it as rejection."
"Hold the fuck up!" Dad put his hand up. "Isn't he supposed to ask for the father's blessing? Goddamn it!"
"Maybe back in the olden day, father." I laughed.
"Oh so now you're talking like a posh bitch?" He taunted. "I may have to give this Daryl a piece of my mind."
"What?" I snapped. "Dad, no."
"Hold up." Rick put his hand up. "You love Daryl, yes?"
"I do." I nodded. "So much."
"I mean you did sneak in to see him." Dad shrugged. "Did a little hanky panky, the gross shit. Obviously you love him."
"Dad!" I snapped, punching him in the arm lightly.
"Sorry." He shrugged. "But its true."
"Right.." Rick smiled. "What stopped you from saying yes?"
"I was weighing out the good and the bad in my head, Rick." I sighed. "I don't want to say yes and die tomorrow- leave him to grieve."
"But that's life now, Kaylie." He shrugged. "You have to take a few risks once in a while."

I was about to answer him when Suddenly we were stopped of our conversation with a loud, explosion like sound. The three of us all turned around, noticing the armory was now engulfed in yellow and red flames. Frantically we looked around for the source- stopping at the gates and seeing Azikio and his men. Azikio held his beast on a leash, her growls making me feel sick to my stomach. I pulled out my pistol and dived behind a nearby pillar- dad and Rick did the same. The rest of the group came sprinting out, readying for an attack.

It was right out of the same old playbook - dehumanize, destabilize, antagonize - offer an easy solution - always war. That's how the psychopaths rule and even knowing their strategies never helps. It's human nature to think ourselves smarter, or that this situation is different. Even the children of the enemy were characterized as future criminals of the worst kind - is there anything worse than reducing the humanity of a child? The battle was promised to be short, a tactical advantage to our side, almost no casualties for "us." And then those who were schooled on the horrors of world war II began an all out war.

"Negan!" Azikio roared in surprise. "You're apart of this atrocity now?"
"You son of a bitch." My dad growled. "First my wife and now my daughter's group? I'm going to kill you."
"Don't worry." Azikio smirked as he fought against Sheeva's strong pull- eager to feed. "I'll make sure she suffers, just like her slut of a mother did."