Kill or Be Killed

I sit cross legged behind Amy, brushing her long blonde hair with my fingers. The warm sunlight dancing on our skin as we enjoy some alone time away from the group. I have become very close with Amy, we are around the same age and have a lot in common. Having Daryl is great, but nothing compares to having a best friend.

Groaning loudly Amy rants frustrated, “He is such a jack ass! Like honestly, who does he think he is?”

I sigh knowing she is still upset about Shane, our self appointed group lead, refusing to help the others trapped within the city. He has made the decision to not come to the aid of our follow groups members, suspected to be stuck in the city. They have been away longer than usual, one the them is Amy’s sister.

I cringe thinking about the number of walkers in the city, we are out number thousands to one. I nibble down on my bottom lip while parting her hair into three parts, before I start the fishtail braid. I pause for a moment when I hear a sound behind me, I stare at the forest, my eyes darting around making sure there is no danger.

I take an anxious breathe thinking about Daryl hunting out there alone. I always feel nervous about his hunting trips, even thought I know he is experienced and excellent hunter.

“In his head, he thinks he is doing what’s best for the group. The worse part is that he acts like he is above us and his word is law,” I complain, also fed up with Shane’s arrogance.

Picking off the small stones off the ground, she throws them away with a groan. “Agreed! He isn’t god! It’s not fair that we don’t get a say,” she snarls.

“I am sure Andrea and the others will be fine. I mean Glen has made that trip so many times, and he knows it like the back of his hand,” I exclaim, doing my best to reassure her that her sister will be fine.

Sighing softly, Amy whispers, “I guess you’re right. I’m just worried, ya know?”

“Yeah, I getcha,” I agree with a nod, tying the plaiting off with her hair tie. “Finished,” I tell her, referring to her hair.

Turning around to face me, she smiles and orders, “Awesome! Your turn, swap places with me.”

We swap places so she can do my hair for me, whilst we continue to chat. I close my eyes enjoying the sun on my face and Amy plaiting my hair. I take in a deep breathe of the fresh forest air, letting it fill my lungs. I smile softly hearing the sounds of birds filling my ears.

“Can I ask you something?” Amy asks hesitantly.

Nodding my head with my eyes closed, I reply happily, “Of course, shoot.”

“You’ve been with Daryl for ages right?” she questions me, to which I reply with a nod of my head. Amy continues onto the real question, “How do you deal with Merle? I always feel his eyes on me and it makes my skin crawl. He is just…” she trails off.

“Creepy?” I question, finishing her sentence.

I know what Amy is getting at, Merle Dixon is an interesting character and is Daryl’s older brother. He is a loud mouthed, rude, sexiest and rough around the edges. Before the walkers, Merle was involved in someway with anything and everything bad in the city. To put it simply, he is not a nice guy.

“Hmm that’s one word, a few more come to mind,” she mumbles.

“Guess I gotta, he is Daryl’s brother and all,” I inform her before licking my lips and explaining, “He isn’t that bad. He is nice to me but I just think that’s because I am with his brother.”

“He does scare the shit out of me though, like, probably more than those walkers,” I tease with a laugh which causes Amy to laughs in agreement.

“Do you hear that?” Amy asks me, standing up quickly.

I stand up too confused, listening to the sound from a distance. “Wait, is that a car alarm?” I ask out loud, before we quickly make our way over to the rest of the group at the camp site.

The group gathers around as a red Dodge Challenger pulls up to the camp, with the alarm screaming. Shane and the others start surrendering it, demanding to turn off the alarm, to avoid attracting walkers. I, along with the group are confused as Glen steps out of the car.

“Where’s Andrea?” I hear Amy desperately pipe up, asking Glen.

I listen in as Glen explains what happened, telling us about a new guy who helped them escape. Shane manages to disconnect the alarm as Dale gets excited about using the car for parts. I stand back with my arms crossed over my chest, watching the scene before me.

We all watch as a white truck pulls up next to the red Dodge Challenger. I smile as Andrea gets out of the truck as it tackled into a hug by Amy. Then the new guy steps out dressed in a sheriffs uniform, I can’t wipe the smile from my face as I watch the next scene unfold.

“Oh my god,” I hear the new guy mumble, before running towards Lori and Carl.

They embrace in a group hug, my smile grows as I hear this new guy, Rick, is Lori’s husband and Carl’s father. It when made me tear up a little bit, making me think of my father.

“Wait,” I exclaim, causing the group to look at me, “Where is Merle?”



‘The group all sits around the camp fire, eagerly listening to Rick explain how he woke up from the hospital into the chaos. I listen in amazement as Rick reveals to us how he made his way to us, looking for his family.

“Have you given any thought to Daryl Dixon?” Dale asks referring to the missing Merle. “I mean he won’t be happy to hear his brother was left behind,” Dale continues as he looks over Shane’s way.

I nibble on my lip thinking bout how Daryl will take the news; he is very close to his brother. They only had each other to depend on growing up, Merle raised Daryl when he wasn’t in and out of juvenile institutions. I stare at the fire, watching the flames dance in the night as I think about Daryl’s reaction; this will not go well.

“I’ll tell him, I dropped the keys therefore it’s on me,” T-Dog says wracked with guilt. He dropped the key and left Merle hand cuffed to the roof of the department store, sitting bait for walkers.

I was informed that Merle lost it during the scavenger mission in the city; he was shooting walkers which was drawing the attention of other walkers and bashed T-Dog because he is black. I wasn’t surprised, I mean Merle is a racist man with a short temper. I can understand why Rick hand cuffed Merle, it was to stop and attempt to control him. Although just because it made sense to me, doesn’t mean Daryl will think the same.

“We could lie?” Amy suggests concerned bout Daryl’s reaction.

“We tell the truth, Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he would’ve gotten us killed,” Andrea exclaims, voicing what most of us were thinking. Looking towards Lori, she tells him, “Your husband did what was necessary and if Merle got left behind then that is nobody’s fault.”

“And that’s what we tell Daryl?” Dale asks looking at Andrea, before continuing, “I don’t see a rational discussion coming from that, do you?”

I nodded my head in agreement with Dale. Everyone looks down knowing what Dale is saying is true. T-Dog mentions how he went back to free Merle but dropped the key down a drain and knowing he couldn't release Merle, he ran scared like the others. He also explains that he had enough time to chain the door way, blocking access to the roof, meaning Merle could still be alive. T-Dog explains that the strength of the lock and chain will prevent any walkers from getting to Merle.

Looking in my direction, Dale asks for my advice regarding Daryl, “What do you suggest we do?”

Licking over my licks, I sigh heavily, continuing to look at the flames before exclaiming, “Regardless on how you tell him, he’ll most likely want to go back and save his brother.”

“That’s madness,” Andrea exclaims looking over at me.

Shaking my head frustrated, I snap at her, “What the hell do you expect from him? You left his brother hand cuffed to the fucking roof. He is a sitting duck for the walkers. You think Daryl will just brush it off?”