In the Sound

Oh fuck.

The air caught in my throat. I swallowed awkwardly, a nervous tingle tickling my finger tips. My lids fluttered to an uneasy shut. Still, I could feel those eyes burning into me. That harsh stare. It was a bare bite into my soul.

My silence was his answer.

"Saw the way ya snuck in to see 'im, an' when he said ya name I knew yer must've talked to 'im."

I looked at him then, confusion fixing at my brows. "You noticed me sneaking in the barn?"

Sweet jesus, the only person who I'd seen that early in the morning was Mags. I tried to dig into my memory. Was Daryl there when I woke up?

Daryl considered for a second, he tossed the book he was holding back down. It landed with a little plop by Kit's ear. The slumbering mutt jumped a little in his sleep, but his head stayed down.

"I notice a lot o' things 'bout ya," the words were plucked out of Daryl's mouth carefully. He threw a curve ball. "That the first time ya met him?"

I thought about lying to him. Maybe I could just tell him that I spoke to Randall, to see for myself whether he should be saved or not. He'd never know. Maybe he could guess all he wanted to, but he'd never really know. Daryl sniffed, bringing his arms up to rest over his knees. His hands dangled out lazily in front of them.

But I didn't want to do it again. Say something dumb, like I did with my Dad.

"Nah," I tried to say casually. "I'm from 'round here, that's how I knew I'd find Herschel here to help Kit. I used to be friends with a guy, Randall's brother."

He mulled over this new information. I could see the information clicking over his skull. He sniffed again, rubbing the back of his hand over his nose. "An' ya dint care if we killed him?"

My heart sunk.

The hicky fuck was really gonna question my morality? Did morals even exist in this fucking world anymore? The anger bubbled up in my chest. It was the stupidest, rudest, and most logical thing someone could have said. I wanted to shout at him, punch him in the face and knock him out again.
Something flickered over Daryl's face. Regret. He bent his head low, eyes shifted to his finger nails. He started picking at them, making a clicking noise with his mouth before adding.

"Wha's it like? Growing up here?"

I sighed. My crinkled brows softened. Heart beat slowed.

"Quiet. I like the open fields, can see everything," I paused and tapped at my lip. "I just came back from Atlanta again. Came back down to see my Dad, sort of go through my options."

"Why?" His snort was loud. "Ya flunk outta college or somethin'?"

"Police academy actually."

Daryl looked up at that. His normally squinted eyes were wide and round. I'd never seen him so off guard before. He looked like he just found out he was sleeping with the devil. And in the old world, he probably was. Damn hick probably grew up thinking it was only true justice to pop a cop.
I almost snickered at the dopey face he made, but I caught myself. After a few moments of shocked quiet, Dixon let out a huff in disbelief.

"Slow down, Nora tha explorer. I know yer aint serious."

I shifted uncomfortably under his attention. My voice dry, "family tradition. Doesn't matter anyway."
"Yeah? Why's that? Dint think ya'd be dealin' with all the uglies like me in the world?"

Ugly? Ha. It was taking me the utmost self control not to brush my fingers over his rough stubble. I sighed and stressed a hand behind my neck. My mouth started explaining before I had time to stop myself.

"Cause when I was twenty one, I applied for Atlanta PD. They told me, come back in a few years, an' try again. So I did. I waited all this time, wasting my life away jus' thinking about when I was ready," I waved my hands around, then balled them into fists. Brushing the hair away from my forehead, I gave a solemn shrug. "I went back. And you know what? I froze up, and they said to me- like it was the easiest thing in the world. They said, 'you have no place here Foster, and you never will.'"

I couldn't help but think of my Dad. He was the hardest to face. I tried my whole life to be like him. Tried so fucking hard. And when the new world took over, he put my face between his palms very carefully. "I'm so proud of you Nora, you're strong. Don't you cry, I want you to smile every day for the rest of your life." Proud. Despite the fact that I came home a bigger idiot than I'd left. He was proud, and I was sorry.

I took a deep breath, forcing a smile. "Anyway, where you from? Accent's a bit stronger than mine. You mus' be from up top?"

Daryl nodded quietly, "Yeah, me an' my brother grew up in north Georgia, in the mountains."

"Oh yeah? That where you were when- ya know- when everything went down?"

He brushed a hand over his chin. "Nah, me and Merle, we was jus' driftin'. Came down to Atlanta after everythin', ran into the group."

"Drifting?"

Daryl looked like he wished he hadn't said it. His eyes were dark, mouth twisted into a scowl. "Family tradition. Guess yer not the only one who dint have a place."

Silence consumed us.

After a few seconds, I shifted onto my knees and crawled over. When he noticed I was coming over, his hands dropped to his hips. Legs bent out casually. I scooted in beside him, my knees grazing his hip. He shifted, stretching his arms out awkwardly. For a second I thought he was actually gonna try the yawning trick. But instead, he cautiously reached his arm out over my thigh, and wrapped his hand around my knee.

"This is the start you know. From here on out we just lose. Everyone gets picked off slowly," came my dull tone.

I felt Daryl's warm breath on my neck, making me tilt my head a little in delight. As soon as I did, he nestled his nose against my cold neck. The tip of his nose was warm and soft. I felt the scratch of his chin brush my jaw.

"'s already started. Hell, started before them geeks came out," his voice rumbled against my throat.
"Betcha I can last as long as you can."

Daryl lifted his head a little, maybe a little shocked by my words. I wasn't sure if I even really meant it. Without Kit, without Daryl, what did I have? I was pretty damn useless. He waited patiently, his sallow face shifting into a half smile. His eyes squinted again, studying my face intently.

And he said, in the huskiest voice.

"I don' doubt that."