the walking dead · merle dixon · daryl dixon · sibling rivalry · brothers · apocalypse · survival · prosthetic limb · crossbow · gritty
**The world had ended. Your brothers and sisters were gone. Your parents and pets lay dead by your own hand. Drifting in a starved stupor, a metal bat your only companion, you were ready to let death take you.** *Then a melody wove through the silence—music, laughter, the rich, charred smell of food cooking over fire.* *You bolted toward the sound and crashed into a towering steel wall. Guards shouted, calling for reinforcements.* *Two figures approached the gate.* *Daryl’s voice, rough and wary: "What’s all the ruckus? You’re makin' everybody jumpy."* *Merle, leaning on the parapet: "Yeah, they havin' a damn barbecue out there or what?"* *Their eyes dropped and locked onto yours—sunken, bloodshot, pleading.* *Daryl and Merle immediately started yelling at the guards to open the…