Skin Deep

It didn’t take long for me to persuade Daryl to fulfil Merle’s last wish, and we were soon speeding towards Las Vegas. Merle led the way so we could go only as fast as his dying body would let him, and we soon hit asphalt and saw signs informing us that we weren’t far from the city. A few stray Biters were alongside the empty highway, but despite not seeing any real dangers I was still paranoid that there would be a horde nearby since Las Vegas had been highly populated.

Much to my surprise, I found myself weeping for Merle as we rode. Though he had originally rubbed me the wrong way and I had never appreciated his small advances, he had taken me under his wing and protected me. We had learnt to trust each other and I had seen a surprising soft side to the butch man. And now he was going to die because he wanted me to escape a horde. The guilt made my stomach ache, and it was only replaced by nervousness when we entered Las Vegas.

Fortunately, the city was barren aside from a few Biters wandering the streets, and most appeared to be stuck inside buildings. Merle selected one of the first casinos we found and he sluggishly dragged himself through the front door. Daryl and I hastily cleared the foyer and then took our time with the rest of the ground floor, which was now dark and dusty instead of dazzling and glamorous. Merle took a seat at a poker table and gave the cards a quick shuffle before starting a game of Texas hold ‘em. He drank whiskey from a bottle he had taken from the cabin and I offered a cigarette to everyone. I think we all felt like staying in this moment forever.

“I’m all in,” Merle grunted as he shifted his chips forwards warily. I didn’t know how much time he had left, but I assumed that he wouldn’t be around for much longer judging by the way he had begun to sway slightly and how his eyes appeared to be out of focus. Hell, I was surprised that he had lasted so long, but then again, he was a fighter.

“You sure?” Daryl asked as he checked his two cards again.

“Course I am.”

“All in,” Daryl agreed and I shoved my chips to the centre of the table as well. Merle placed his left hand atop the last card to be turned over and instead of flipping it, he paused and looked up at us.

“Now listen, there’s something I’ve gotta say to you two,” he began and Daryl cautiously lifted his eyes. I forced myself to look at Merle and saw in the dim light that he had become rather pale. “I’m not dying for nothing, okay? You look out for her, or I’ll come back and haunt ya. And Jo, you had better not let anything happen to my baby brother.”

“Yeah, of course,” Daryl and I mumbled in agreement.

“And stop pretending like you don’t wanna be together. I can tell you both do, deep down inside, so just get on with it already,” Merle continued and I grinned with disbelief. With a glance to my right I noticed that Daryl’s lips had also curled upwards. “You don’t know when it’s your turn to go, so live life while you still can, got it?”

“Got it,” Daryl nodded before taking in a deep breath. He appeared very tense so I slid my hand onto his beneath the table and gave him a reassuring squeeze, which also helped to calm my tossing stomach. Merle took another swig of the whiskey and slammed it onto the table.

“Don’t get hung up on this. I’m fine with it, and you should be too. Don’t be cry babies, just move on,” he ordered.

“I don’t know if I can,” Daryl started and Merle shook his head.

“You’ve got no choice,” Merle insisted. “All you can do now is survive. That’s all that’s important.”

“But-”

“No!” Merle shouted harshly to stop his brother from speaking. “After all, what happens in Vegas… stays in Vegas…” Merle’s eyes closed and his chest stopped moving. He remained upright in his chair even though his body relaxed.

“Shit…” Daryl breathed as he hung his head. I somehow found the strength to stand and place my trembling fingers to Merle’s neck, which only confirmed what we feared. Daryl did the deed of ensuring that his brother didn’t reanimate, and then we just stood there clutching each other as if there was no tomorrow. Eventually Daryl let go of me, shielding his face as he rubbed his swollen eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. Daryl took a moment to compose himself before he brushed Merle’s hand off the last card and flicked it over. I turned my own cards and revealed my three of a kind, whereas Daryl showed he had a straight. Then he flipped over Merle’s cards.

“Son of a bitch,” he said with a grin. Merle had a straight flush and had won the game by far.

“What now? Should we go?” I asked after a moment of silence had passed. Daryl nodded and gathered our few belongings before checking if the coast was clear outside. We took as much as we could from Merle’s bike before driving back the way we came and checking a gas station for fuel. As we filled up, I took a look around me at the abandoned city and then sighed. “So what the hell are we going to do now?” Daryl didn’t meet my eyes, but simply kept on watching the gas pump.

“Get together and survive, apparently,” he answered, repeating his brother’s words. My face relaxed into a small smile before I wiped sweat from my brow.

“How about we try north?” I suggested and Daryl shrugged. I sensed the doubt he had and I tried to think of something inspiring to say, but nothing much came to mind. “We’ll be fine without him.” Daryl lifted his gaze and I saw the sorrow written all across his face.

“You think?”

“Yeah… He’s watching over us,” I nodded with a tiny grin. “Besides, he’d kick our asses if we don’t move on.” The smallest chuckle escaped Daryl and I knew that there was hope.