Daryl
I HELD ONTO the arrow as I crawled my way through the water, getting to the steep side of the water. I climbed over to the shore and stopped myself, kneeling down. I pull my knife out and cut the sleeves of my shirt. I easily tied them together and wrapped it around my body. I braced myself, ready for the pain as I tightened the sleeves to slow the bleeding from the arrow. I huffed out air and turned my head to the large cliff. Of course I'd land 50 feet of the cliff. Walking back would only take longer and I need to get back to get this treated. Oh, this is gonna be great.
I found a long stick and picked it up. I pulled myself to my feet and put some weight on the stick, testing it out. It's strong enough to help me climb up. I paused to the sudden sound of rustling. I look in the direction it came from. I reached back for my crossbow but found it missing. I turn to the spot I had landed and knew it was somewhere in the water.
I poked the ground with the stick, feeling for my crossbow. The stick hits something hard and I dip my hands under the water, touching the hard object. I felt around and noticed it was my crossbow. I easily pull it from below the surface and held it up.
Climbing up the cliff was a lot harder than I had anticipated. With the weight of the crossbow, how weak my body was and how much pain I was in, it made it harder. Still, I was determined to make it to the top.
I was only inches away from the top. I gripped onto the tree and dropped the stick, feeling that I didn't need it anymore. I look down and saw how far up I was. Almost there. I turn my attention back to the top and try swinging for the other tree a little higher up. My body hesitates, nervous that I'd fall back down to the bottom.
"Oh, come on." I huff out. "You've done half. Stop bein' such a pussy." I scoff at myself. I finally swing out and grab onto the other tree. Immediately, the dirt under my feet begins giving way. I stepped all over the place, trying to find a sturdy spot. Everything crumbled away. My feet slip and I fall back. My hand slips from the tree and I found myself free falling down the cliff again. I slam to the ground and I immediately close my eyes, drifiting off to unconsciousness.
Meredith
I jolt awake, feeling my heart pounding in my chest. I huff out a breath and shook my head. I am getting sick and tired of these nightmares. So much just goes on in my head, I feel like I can never control it. Well, that is an obvious one when you have a mental disorder...illness...what the hell ever.
"You okay?" I turn my head and see Glenn standing in the kitchen doorway.
"Uh...Yeah. I'm good." I answer. I knew I've been asleep for about an hour or two. I doubt Daryl is back yet. I pull myself from the couch and walked out to get some fresh air.
"Hey, Reece." I turn my head and see T-Dog approaching me. "Wanna go get some water?" He asks. "Maybe help Hershel with the cows?"
"Sure. Sounds occupying enough." I nodded. While Daryl is out, sitting around and resting is something I can't even tolerate. If I'm up and moving, whether with an injured foot or not, I'm doing what I wanna do.
T-Dog and I went off to the well to retrieve some more water. After filling up everyone's water bottles and such, we walked over to the field where the cows lived their lives. Must be nice being a cow. Nothing to worry about, just eating and drinking, sleeping. Great. Now I'm jealous of cows.
"Thanks for your help." Hershel greets. "Meredith, are you sure you wanna do this? Your foot." he says.
"Oh, yeah. I need to work." I nodded.
"Alright. Well, don't push it. But anyways, there's a baby cow over by the pond. Mind fetching him over here? Don't worry, mom passed a week ago. She won't charge at you." I turn my head to the large pond. I felt a bead of sweat rolling down my forehead and the sudden fear taking over.
"H-How deep is that water?" I ask him.
"Only 5 feet." He answers. "The calf is fine. Cows can swim. You might have to stand up to your knees in the water and shake the bucket of grain to get his attention."
"No, I'm sorry, Hershel. I-I can't." I turn away and walked off. I brought my hands up and held onto my arms tightly. Water. Me. Not a great combination. Ever.
Daryl
"Daryl..." I opened my eyes to the sudden voice whispering and echoing in my head. I looked around, seeing everything so blurry and almost spinning. "Daryl..." I hear again. I wanted to answer, but I couldn't find my voice. "Open your eyes. Come on, Daryl. Open them. For me." My head falls all over the place. I try opening my eyes to the max, but all I could do was feel nothing but drowsiness.
"Wake up!" I felt a kick to my foot and I open my eyes a bit more. Standing above me, Merle. And on my left, Meredith.
"Why don't you pull that arrow out, dummy?" Merle asks. "Could bind your wound better."
"Merle." I huff out. A laugh almost escaped my lips, but I knew it had something to deal with me hitting my head. I know they ain't here. They can't be.
"What's goin' on here?" Merle asks. "You taking a siesta or something?"
"Havin' a shitty day, bro." I weakly explain.
"Like me to get your pillow?" He mocks. "Maybe rub your feet?"
"Screw you." I scoff.
"Uh, uh." He shakes his head. "You're the one screwed from the looks of it. All them years I spent trying to make a man of you, this what I get?"
"He's more of a man you are." Meredith buds in. Merle laughs.
"Ain't you the pretty brunette after my baby brother?" He asks. He lets out a laugh and looks down at me. "Crazy, Daryl. You screwed her once and she's got you hooked."
"We havne't done shit." I argue.
"Sure." He nods. "I remember those time you'd find any girl attractive, you'd make sure to bring her home and show her what you got goin on them pants."
"That was you." I frown.
"Why does it matter if we had?" Meredith asks. "You do realize this is a pigmentation of your mind, right?" She says.
"In terms, my brother would like to screw your brains out." Merle winks.
"Screw you twice." I curse at him. Merle laughs.
"Look at you. Lying in the dirt like a used rubber." He shakes his head. "You're gonna die out here, little brother. And for what?"
"A girl." I lightly winced as I swallowed hard, my mouth completely dry.
"That girl? The one you're so wildly attracted to?" He asks. "Gotta hand it to you, baby brother, she is something."
"They lost a little girl." I explain.
"So you got a thing for little girls now?" He asks.
"Shut up." I growl.
"'Cause I noticed you ain't out lookin for old Merle no more." He says.
"Tried like hell to find you, bro." I explain.
"Like hell you did." He argues. "You split, man. Lit out first chance you got."
"You lit out." I say. "All you had to do was wait. We went back for you. Rick and I, we did right by you." I nodded.
"This the same Rick that cuffed me to the rooftop in the first place?" He asks. "Forced me to cut off my own hand?" My eyes fall from his face and I look down at his hand...it was still there. "That's him we're talking about here?" He asks. "You his bitch now?"
"I ain't his bitch." I argue.
"That's right. I guess you're hers." He points to Meredith.
"I ain't nobody's bitch." I deny.
"You're a joke is what you are, playing errand boy to a bunch of pansy-asses." He chuckles. "You're nothing but a freak to them. Redneck trash. That's all ya are. They're laughing at you behind your back. You know that, don't you? I got a little news for you, son. One day they gonna scrape you off their heels like you was dog shit." I found myself trailing off back into slumber. I lightly jumped to the touch of Merle tapping my chest. "Hey. They ain't your kin, your blood. Hell, you had any damn nuts in that sack of yours, you'd go back there and shoot your pal Rick in the face for me." He leans down and grabs my chin, turning my face to look at him. "Now you listen to me. Ain't nobody gonna care about you except me, little brother. Ain't nobody ever will. Come on, get up on your feet before I have to kick your teeth in. Let's go." Merle kicks at my legs to get up. He moves down and kicks my foot before kneeling over and grabbing my boot, pulling at it.
"Wake up, Daryl. Get up. You gotta get up." Meredith says. I turn my head and look at her.
"I'm tryin'." I say tiredly.
"Get up." She demands. "Get up anyways. Get back there. To me. To all of us. To hell what your brother says. You have to get up for me. Come on." Meredith falls to her knees and she slams her hands on my chest. "Get up!" She screams.
Growls fills my ears and I open my eyes a little, looking down. A walker gnawed at my boots. Adrenaline kicks in and I kicked the walker in the head to give myself an escape. I scoot over for my crossbow, reaching for it. The walker grabs at my legs and crawls its way up my body. I threw my arms out on it's shoulders and try pushing it away. I punched it in the face and push it off my. The walker holds a tight grip of my hair and I roll on top of it. I reach out for a long stick and pushed it against the walkers chest, holding it back. I bring the stick up and slam it down on the walkers head twice before jabbing it in its brain.
I look up and see another walker coming my way. I throw myself next to my crossbow and grabbed the arrow from my body. I let out grunts and strains as I pulled it out. My brain held back a few times, as I knew the pain would hurt. The walker grows closer and I finally yanked the arrow out. I grab my crossbow and hooked it to my foot, grabbing the string and pulling back on it. I let out more grunts from the strength. The walker grew just feet away from me as I continued to pull back. Finally, the crossbow clicks and I load the arrow in. I aimed it up and fall on my back as I fired the arrow and killed the walker. It falls to the ground and I remained lying on the ground.
I open my eyes and realized I had fallen asleep. I look around me and see the two dead walkers. I pulled my thoughts together and knew I needed to get back. I recovered my wound, picked up Sophia's doll and got back to climbing the cliff again.
It had almost been an hour, maybe more since climbing. I didn't realize I was close to the top until I looked up to see how far I was from it. I held onto the branches, looking around and trying to figure out how I wanted to proceed. Birds squawking above me pulls my attention.
"Please, don't feed the birds." I hear Merle's voice. I throw my head back and see him appearing from the edge of the cliff, looking down at me and smiling. I look away from him, trying to keep my attention on getting myself out of this.
"What's the matter, Darylina?" He asks. "That all you got in you? Throw away that purse and climb."
"You know, you could be a little encouraging." I hear Meredith's voice. She approaches by Merle's side and she holds a mean look with him.
"Oh, please. That boy knows how I talk. It's the only way that'll get shit through his dumbass head." He scoffs.
"I liked it better when you was missing." I scoff. Merle laughs.
"Come on, don't be like that." He says. "I'm on your side."
"Yeah? Since when?" I question.
"Hell, since the day you were born, baby brother." He claims. "Somebody had to look after your pathetic ass."
"You never took care of me." I argue. "You talk a big game but you was never there. Hell, you ain't here now. Guess some thing's never change. Meredith is the only one who's been there. She under-understand half the shit that goes on in my head. I try sayin' somethin' to you, you brush it off like it was nothing."
"Well, I'll tell you what- I'm as real as your chupacabra." He smiles.
"I know what I saw." I argue.
"Hm." He nods. "And I'm sure them shrooms you ate had nothing to do with it, right?" He asks. I paused from climbing and look up at him.
"You best shut the hell up!" I growl.
"Or what?" He shrivels mockingly. "You're gonna come up here and shut my mouth for me?" He asks. I waited for Merle to continue to mock me, but the sound of Meredith's voice overpowers it.
"Get up here. You can do this, Daryl. Come on." I glance up and see her on all four, holding her hand out. "Grab my hand. Take it. I'm right here for you."
"He ain't gonna make it." Merle laughs.
"Shut up." She growls.
"Maybe I got it twisted." He laughs. "Maybe you got her attached, little brother. You tellin' me you ain't nailed that yet? Then why she so attached to you?"
"Maybe he knows who his real people are." She argues.
"Or maybe Darylina got a little hooked on the drugs if you know what I mean." He laughs. "That boy don't know how to treat a woman. He don't know how to love. All's he knows is how to tap it and trap it and run away. For all you and I know, my baby brother could have mini versions of him roaming the earth from how much women he messed around with before all this."
"You're disgusting."
"Never said I was clean."
"You're no help at all here. Get the hell outta here." Meredith growls.
"Maybe I shoulda snatched you up while I had the chance. We woulda been good together. My baby brother won't know what to do with ya. Still don't. That's why he's hallucinating us right now. If he wanted to, he'd go back to you, tell you for what it is, honey. And that would be to tap it, trap it and run."
"You talk all this shit and-"
"You been here a couple weeks, sweetheart." Merle says. "You don't nothin' about my baby brother."
"I know more than you think." She argues. "You said you were always there for him, you weren't. I know it. Daryl knows it. And you know it. And when he gets back, guess who's gonna be there and will always be? You? You're not here. You're not there. You won't ever be there for him, Merle." I hear Merle scoff.
"If he gets back." He nods.
"When!" She argues.
"If!"
"Shut the hell up!" I shout at them both. My hallucinations are arguing now. Either I've really hit my head hard...or I've completely lost it."
"Get up here and do it." Merle argues. "Hey! Kick off them high heels and climb, son. Go ahead. Take a pause on the cause. I just don't think you gon' make it to the top." His words were almost inspiration to get me to climb harder and to prove to him to that I could do it.
"Daryl can get himself out of anything." Meredith argues.
"He never coulda." Merle claims. "I was the one he looked for to get himself outta situations." I look up and see Merle holding his hand out. "Come on. Come on, baby brother. Grab my hand..."
I slammed my hand into the dirt and pulled myself from the cliff. With the strength I had left in me, I rise up to my feet. I look in every direction and saw Merle and Meredith gone.
"Yeah, you better run!"
Meredith
I made my way over to the RV to get myself out of the heat. I felt a bit exhausted, a little tired from the limping. I was mostly hungry though. All I wanted was something to eat. Lucky for us, dinner is almost up.
As I head over to the RV, I hear Andrea shouting from the top of the RV.
"Walker. Walker!" The exhaustion disappears and I turn my head to the field. Way across the field, coming out of the tree line, sure enough, a walker.
"Just the one?" Rick asks.
"I bet I can nail it from here." Andrea claims. She can barely fire her handgun.
"No, no, Andrea. Put the gun down." Rick demands. I lowered my hand and grabbed onto the handle of my knife.
"You'd best let us handle this." Shane calls.
"Shane, hold up. Hershel wants to deal with walkers." Rick claims.
"What for, man? We got it covered." Shane scoffs and continues on. Rick, Shane, T-Dog, Glenn and I rush out to the field. We all kept together, getting closer and closer to the walker. Rick and I made it first and we immediately stopped at the sight of the walker. We turn our heads and locked eyes, realizing it was Daryl.
"Is that Daryl?" Glenn asks. I huffed out a breath, trying to catch up with it. Rick had his gun pointed at Daryl's head. Daryl might've stopped walking towards us, but he stumbled around. We couldn't make of it whether Daryl was actually alive or dead. He's covered in dirt, mud, blood, sweat from the heat. He's even got...ears around his neck.
"That's the third time you pointed that thing at my head." Daryl speaks out. Relief washes over all of us, Rick and I smiling. "You gonna pull the trigger or what?" The sound of a gunshot fills our ears and Daryl drops to the ground.
"No!" Rick screams, waving his hands in the air. I rush over to Daryl and fall by his side. He breathed heavily, which came to a relief for me. He picks up his hand and touches the side of his head. I grab his wrist and pulled it away. I held onto his hand, already pulling him up.
"Come on. We gotta get him back." Rick declares.
"No, shit." I spit. We haul Daryl from the ground and hooked his arms around us.
"I was kidding." Daryl Huffs out. His head falls off to the side and lands in the crook of my neck. Rick and I turn away and we began dragging Daryl with us. In the distance, I could see Dale and Andrea running towards us. We all meet halfway, Andrea panicking.
"Oh, my god. Oh, my god. Is he dead?" She asks.
"Unconscious." Rick informs her. "You just grazed him."
"Next time somebody tells you no, no means no!" I spit at her.
"Hey, I was being cautious." She argues.
"You wanted to show off and be a badass you think you are. But you're not!" I shout at her.
"No, I was-"
"It doesn't matter." Rick stops us.
"But look at him." Glenn points. "What the hell happened? He's wearing ears." Rick yanks the necklace of ears from Daryl and shoves it into his shirt pocket.
"Let's keep that to ourselves." He says.
"Guys, isn't this Sophia's?" We all stopped and turned around to T. He holds up a familiar doll up on display. That is. That's Sophia's doll. We've got a bigger lead on this. A spark of hope ignites in me and I almost grew excited as I imagined we were finally getting closer and closer to finding her. All we have to do is talk to Daryl and find out what this really means.