"Looks new.", Carl said. "It sure works.", added Travis.

"It must have been a fishing vessel for a big catch, it has nets and is very wide, it has to have a cold room where we can store our things."

"Will there be enough room for all of us?", Rick asked.

"Usually these boats have crew cabins." Nick narrowed his eyes as the sun shone into his face. "And even kitchens, as well as equipment to stay at sea for weeks."

"Perfect!", Carol commented.

"Yes..." Michonne withdrew her sword from its scabbard. "We just have to eliminate the extremely many Walkers on it..." The group members looked at each other indecisively. This ship was definitely like a prison for a herd of Walkers. The living dead swarmed on it, they looked like sardines in a big box. The survivors didn't even know where to start. The boat was nice, big, the security systems still seemed to be intact, like the lifeboats and the rest, everything was in place and probably perfectly inside. Too bad for this ship, if Walkers would waste it... "Maybe we could lure them out.", Carl suggested, searching for his father. "But how?", Alicia asked. "Should we stand down and wait for them to rain down on us?" Carl glared at her. "We can create a kind of construction around the boat and kill them from there." Daryl looked at Rick's eyes. "Scaffold? Yeah, I understand." Daryl returned to the ship and wondered how they could build such a structure without bases. At the bottom of the ship was in a bend of the river, but to reach them, they had to swim. He was focused, his eyes fixed on the boat when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eye. He was upset when he saw Nick approaching Y/N and mumbling something mysteriously into her ear. With his fingertips, the boy touched your arm, your shoulder, and went down to the wrist, in a gesture that seemed very familiar and intimate. Daryl saw you nodding, but with a serious frown and thoughtful eyes.

"Nick and I will leave.", you said, stepping forward. You looked at Madison as if asking for her permission, or as if you wanted to apologize for the decision. The woman tensed, her hands on her hips.

"Are you sure it's our only chance?", she asked, pointing to Travis. He looked at the boat with a knowledgeable look. Some Walkers had noticed you and growled at you, but didn't seem too convinced.

"We have been looking a long time and this is more than a good opportunity, it is a stroke of luck, it will take a long time to find a boat under these conditions, I can not be 100% sure, but if so, I would say it hardly was ever used."

Madison nodded imperceptibly. Then she met Nick's eyes. "You have to be careful.", she said it like an order, as if explaining a fact to you instead of a recommendation. This sentence seemed to release something in the group: Travis and Alicia moved in your direction.

"I saw some of them in the woods just minutes from here, but only a few.", said the man.

"We need a lifeboat and something for climbing."

"That's what I think, too." Madison joined you at the last moment and kept talking. "There are houses on this site, we will find something suitable."

"What is your plan?" Rick approached you and put a hand on your shoulder, looking at you with questioning eyes and a slightly disgruntled frown, not wanting to interrupt the momentum of the group, their stories and their little compromises. It was interesting to see how Madison acted, a role that she undoubtedly had as a mother and that had been expanded and adapted in this new-world situation to protect her family.

"We cover ourselves with blood and guts of the Walkers, so we get on the boat and kill them one by one."

Rick glanced at the boat, his hands on his hips."It's a good plan, I and Glenn come with us, we already know that, not pleasant but helpful."

"No." Nick chose a pair of jeans and a tank top from his backpack. "It's better for two, we'll reduce their attention, one kills them, the other throws them to the ground because they will not fall by themselves, and the sudden movements attract them, and even if only one of them would realize that we are none of them they will attack us."

"But... So many?" Michonne stared at the boat. The Walkers were so close together that they could barely move. "Maybe it's too dangerous."

"We've already done something like this.", you said with a fleeting smile. "Nick is an expert on something like that and he knows how to move between them."

You chose weapons that were thin, almost invisible, and tested them with the palm of your hand.

"Let me see." Nick joined you and did exactly the same thing. "Good."

The two of you had chosen cotton clothes, mostly old fabrics. You explained to Carl that it was necessary to get the smell of blood. At that moment, Alicia and Travis came out of the small forest that lay beside the river. They pulled a dead Walker from behind, on their feet and shoulders. "That's the only one we found.", Alicia said, leaving the dead body lying on the floor.

"That's enough." You put up a knife and stabbed the belly of the body. You buried your hands in the creature's dark guts and took out a foul-smelling porridge and threw it on your clothes and began to distribute it without any hesitation.

"If the Walker is too old, the blood is thick and hard to use.", Nick told Maggie, who had come to look at you. Daryl stood by the side, half worried and half disgusted with the scene. Worried about what you were about to do, disgusted by the way you and Nick were in harmony. You hadn't lied: You got along, you were really friends.

Daryl lowered his binoculars and turned to Madison and Glenn: "Once again and they'll be done."

"Perfect." She pushed a dead body into the flames and then left. The fire had just been lit and had not really gotten underfoot yet. The black, unhealthy smoke was just starting to rise above them, but the pungent smell had already plagued the air before. It had taken a while for Nick and you to kill the Walkers on the ship. Much to the annoyance of Daryl, everyone, even Rick, admitted that it had been a good plan that only two could have done better and that Nick and you were the right people for the job. The man gave Rick a sidelong glance and looked annoyed. It was as if he wanted to use these words to legitimize your relationship... Daryl wiped his bloody hands on a damp cloth. If he started blaming others for his mistakes, he wouldn't have got far in this new world. On the boat, each Walker, one after the other, had been eliminated, so subtle that none of them had noticed. They hadn't even moved in the direction of the survivors. You rammed your knife through the brains of the monsters. Most of them were there for a long time, the flesh was flabby and even the skull bones had lost their hardness, but to be more certain, you had stabbed repeatedly and chosen this method. The living dead didn't notice, didn't growl and were not excited. One can even say that they died a peaceful death. A luxury that only a few have to offer. Nick positioned himself behind the chosen Walker and as soon as he collapsed, he took him under his armpits and accompanied him to the ground, without attracting the eyes of others. It was not the fastest tactic, but it was the best thing you could do. When all had been eliminated, Nick settled on a lifeboat and while the boat was still in the air, he and you began to recharge the bodies. You dropped the boat and Nick reached the bank of the river.

"There are two other boats like this on board.", he told the others when he was within range. "Let's all take us and bring them ashore."

"Isn't it easier to throw them in the water?",Maggie asked, taking a few steps closer and grabbing the boat to pull it to the mainland. "Then we risk blocking and overloading the engine and it will be enough for some of us to take the other boats." Rick, Maggie, Travis and Carl got on the boat with the boy. Carol and Maggie stayed aboard to help you, the others started running back and forth between the small lifeboats of corpses. By the shore, you had decided that you would burn the bodies, and set the fire just before you left, to avoid catching sight of other groups. At least you wanted to make sure that the water wouldn't be polluted. You formed a fairly high stake and by the time the last charge arrived, the fire had struck its roots and didn't risk extinguishing itself before it burned most of the pile. You all came aboard, and while Travis and Daryl took charge of starting the ship, the others were busy clearing the bridge. Madison ordered Nick and you to wash yourselves in the river and then return to the ship. The stink you emitted was disgusting. When you done, you were exhausted and tired in the evening. Travis put his hand on the engine and realized what fortune you had found. This was a modern boat, equipped with a lot of technology, and he knew that the kinetic strength of the boat, as long as it was sailed, would have guaranteed electricity and all the comforts associated with it. The ship was built so that it was self-sufficient, a transformer brought the movement of the electrical energy of the boat, which was used by the boat itself and, if possible, also stored. You were on a self-sufficient basis in a world where an independent, guaranteed life was still possible. Travis promised to learn more about this system: If it were broken, it would have been terrible not to light the lamp for reading. Alicia turned off the flashlight as a flickering, yellowish light excited the engine room, at first intermittently and then stabilizing. Travis looked up at the ceiling and smiled. A kind of roar told him that the engine had been started and that the boat had been put into operation, like a big animal waking up from a long sleep. The man hugged Alicia in a kind of harsh hug.

"I'll see how it goes in the cab." He left the room, followed by her tender look. The girl turned and exchanged a look with Daryl. It seemed to him that her lips contracted as she looked at him. Of course, he told himself, she was looking for her brother. He began, without saying a word, his grumpy way of doing things. Before he could approach the door, he heard Alicia's voice. "Daryl? May I talk to you for a moment?" The man reluctantly turned around. As if to stay away from the enemy, he leaned against the opposite wall with his arms crossed over his chest. He knew very well that the attitudes often got people into trouble the more they didn't know how to react. He hoped in his heart that Alicia did the same. He didn't want to talk to her. "It's pointless to look at me like that." She stared at him with stern eyes, as if she were abusing him. Astonished and a little annoyed, but with no intention of showing it, Daryl released his arms and dropped them over his hips. "I'm not watching you in any way." She raised her eyebrows. "As you wish, I just wanted to talk to you about Y/N and Nick." Daryl cursed inwardly. Seeing you and Nick so in tune with each other irritated him each and every time, killing off a small part of his self-esteem, the hope he had elicited from himself. The truth was, he sometimes felt like a coward, and the best thing a coward could do was to let go. Whoever saw you together would have said you were meant for each other, even though you were a special person and Nick just a little arrogant asshole... Maybe the last part was dictated only by the hate Daryl had for Nick but that's the way it is. "I talked to Y/N, she told me everything that happened since we split up, she told me about you, about the others in the group, about Carl and Judith... She told me a lot and you are very important to her..." There was something implied in these words that Daryl would have misunderstood. He hoped with all his heart that you hadn't revealed your most intimate moments to the girl. He wondered, trying so hard not to blush why the girls wanted to fall in love with each other like in romantic movies. For a second he imagined you and Alicia telling each other your romantic problems, killing one Walker at a time. He continued this ridiculous though funny thought. "I just wanted to ask you not to take it too seriously with Nick, he's my brother and I know him, I know what an asshole he can be."

"He is."

Alicia nodded.

"I will not have that fucked up conversation.", Daryl said harshly. Even before he had finished the sentence, Daryl turned and headed for the exit. He stepped through the engine room door, but Alicia called after him again. The man became impatient, his eyes were annoyed. "What do you want?"

"Listen, Nick is like that... He has his own mind, but one day he'll understand that this isn't what he wants with Y/N, he was not so interested in her before you arrived. He loves these situations where he's desperate to get something special, in this case it's Y/N, it's like he's only happy when he takes out the worst kind of himself around people like you to provoke with it."

"What are you talking about?" Daryl gave up and turned his attention back to Alicia. The girl's words had alarmed him. Was Nick dangerous? Was the group in danger? Y/N... Was she in danger?

"First of all, Nick was... He was a junkie, obviously it stopped when the world went to pieces, you can not survive unless you're clear in your head, and for a while he started doing absurd things, himself to put him in danger, the adrenaline made him feel like intoxicated, the more dangerous a situation was, the more he plunged headfirst into it. Then he met Celia Flores, I don't know what that woman told him, what strange beliefs she had imprinted on him, but suddenly he left. We broke up and Nick went with the Walkers."

The girl's gaze was lost in the void, it was like talking to herself. "He seemed to be one of them."

The man looked at her without saying a word. They had never talked more than they had to, but Daryl still didn't understand why Alicia told him these things.

"I don't know if there really is no reason to be insecure, the fact that he is no longer addicted to drugs doesn't mean that he is no longer dependent, he will always be addicted on something, no matter what. But I think it's Y/N right now."

Daryl looked away, moistening his lips, undecided whether to speak or not. In the end, he thought he couldn't go wrong. "It'll always be that way, you gotta accept it."

He hoped she understood, that he was honest, that he gave her advice. This boy reminded him of Merle. The eternal straggler who never makes a correct decision. It took years for Daryl to understand that, but he did: Merle had never fought for the right decision, he was interested in taking the wrong path because that was the only way he could go on. A push, a reason to live. He was restless in a quiet life. He preferred to always feel balanced, as Alicia had said. It was the same for Nick.

"I know... What I wanted to tell you is that Nick is a good person, and I love Y/N as if she's a sister, but she never understood that, she didn't understand his closeness, as a woman. If they were together, it would destroy them, they would become obsessive to each other without realizing it, it would be hard, and there is no choice but to finally break that contact, otherwise it will eventually break Y/N and then no one can save her anymore."

"So you're asking me to stay with Y/N so she can't be with your brother?"

"In a way, I wouldn't tell you all these things if I wasn't sure you cared about her, just... just don't give up because of Nick.", Alicia smiled slightly. "I love my brother, but sometimes he behaves like a real ass."

In a week it wasn't possible to travel far. Sleeping, eating, hunting, research took a lot of time and a week has now passed. But you were worried. Seven days had passed since you decided to dock the ship, and Daryl, Michonne, Rick, Travis, and Alicia were looking for medicines. Judith felt sick and probably had a cold. Her stomach didn't contain anything, neither solids nor liquids. In the evening she got a fever and she was weak and less curious than usual. Maggie was afraid she could give whatever she had to the other survivors. You were sitting with your legs dangling over the edge of the bridge, your face toward the shore, binoculars around your neck and headphones in your ears. You never heard the music too loud, there was a danger that something would happen and you wouldn't hear it. You turned the CD player that Daryl had given you and watched as the disc turned and the print on the facade lost its shape and became nothing more than a shapeless spot. You hadn't talked to Daryl yet. A few days had passed since you were on the new boat, busy from morning to night. It took a long time to clean the bloodstained bridge and discover the boat before. Most of you had settled in the cabins except for Daryl, who insisted on sleeping outside. You, because you did not want to choose a room without Daryl, but you didn't accept Nick's offer either. So you slept on the sofas in the living room of the ship. You looked a little farther to the shore. Maybe before you talked to Daryl, you needed to clear things up with Nick. You didn't know where to start, but it had to be done. Just as you were thinking about all these things, Nick came closer and sat next to you. You pretended to immerse yourself in the music so as not to be disturbed by him. 'This isn't really the kind of behavior people expect when they want to give a serious speech...', you thought, biting your lip. You felt Nick tapping your left shoulder. You removed the headphones and turned to him.

"You found me..."

Nick smiled. "After a while it will be easy for me."

You sighed and turned off the CD player, then picked up the binoculars and began to search the area to see if anyone was approaching. You thought you saw a distant movement, but it disappeared as fast as it had come. You waited a moment and decided that it had been an animal. Nick studied the music player and the CD in it.

"That's cool, it'll take a while for you to find that."

"I didn't find it, it's a gift from Daryl."

"Mhm..."

You sat in silence for a while. When you turned to your friend, you saw a frown on his face. Constricted eyebrows, arms crossed on his chest. You almost smiled at the sight: A capricious little boy, that's how he looked. A boy you liked very much. You poked him gently in the ribs and when Nick turned around, he smiled at you. "Don't look so cute, you remind me of Alicia if she does not catch a single fish."

The boy relaxed again, but you felt the air gather between you. "Are you worried?"

"A little bit."

"Are you sure?"

"I would say-..."

"Or are you worried about that Redneck?"

You sighed and the boy's eyes searched for you. He waited to meet your eyes before asking. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yes..."

"Okay, let's talk about it."

You put your leg across the bridge and just let one dangle over the edge.

"Yeah, I'm very worried about everyone, especially Daryl, he... I like him a lot and I will tell him. I'm sorry that it took me so long to understand it and I kept you both busy..."

The young man nodded and avoided your gaze. It was the second time you had told him that Daryl was an important person for you. He recognized very well how you looked for him, how you smiled when you talked and looked cheerful. Nick understood the situation between you and didn't want to listen to what he saw. You had continued your stubborn journey, and so you told him the truth. If you thought about it for a moment, Nick wouldn't mind. There was no more sexual component in your friendship and without that, your friendship had something relaxing about it.

"You started to look at me the way everyone else had looked at me, you look like you're just waiting for the moment when I'll disappoint you."

"What...?"

"Yes, that's right, since you've found this group."

You pursed your lips. "So it's not just about Daryl."

Nick shrugged and looked away. "I dont know."

"Listen, I understand that you're angry, but... I feel like I've just run to you as soon as I've seen you, like the others are invisible, Nick!"

You took him by the shoulder and forced him to look you in the eye. "You can not think I don't like you anymore, if you think that about me then you don't know me."

"You replaced me.", Nick replied coldly.

You were driven by an inward rage, like a bolt of lightning that made you tremble. "Don't play with me, I was there when it all started, we weren't a couple, Nick, we never were!"

"Maybe we were it just for myself."

"You always said that life as a couple is not possible, that it wasn't possible before and now less than ever, we have always spoken openly and I always told you that I didn't think so. But I believe in love and that's what I want for myself and for the person next to me!" The voice of you rose and your sentences became fast and hasty.

"We never hid, if we had found someone else, we would have stopped our story, and now it is for me, and don't tell me you all just want friendship."

"It's not the same, I didn't know about it!"

Nick slightly raised his voice, but it was as if he had screamed. He almost never did, only meaning that danger was near. The boy stood up, his cheeks pale pink. He leaned over you and pointed his index finger at your chest.

"It's useless for you to tell this shit, it's like I say, you cheated on me!", he said and left without looking back and his hands were shaking with anger...