Not Desperate

Chapter 27 Aftershocks

Aftershocks

            Daryl was carrying Yvonne bridal style down the hallway when he heard a gunshot. He stopped still and looked at Yvonne. “Merle,” was all he said as he exhaled heavily.

            “Merle is with you?” she asked through the tears silently falling from her eyes.

            “Yeah. Joe shot him in the leg and the shoulder. Had us hold up in the same room up top.” He hung his head and whispered, “Merle didn’t have a gun.” The tears flowed from his eyes. “I left him upstairs. Joe and Shane were in some room arguing. He went in there. He was gonna kill them. I wanted to go in with him, but he wanted me to find you. He said that I had to find you and take care of the motherfucker who touched you.” His tears fell harder and his body was wracked with heaving sobs. He couldn’t hold her any longer and gently sat her on the floor against the wall. “I have to find him. All he had was the bayonette attachment.”

            “Daryl, baby, I can walk on my own. You go find your brother I’ll follow you.” She tried to stand on her own, but stumbled. Daryl quickly caught her.

            “Ya ain’t walking on your own, and I ain’t leaving ya here for God knows who to find ya. I ain’t leaving ya alone again, never again. We’ll find him together. You don’t need to worry, that fucker’s dead.”

            “I know.” She started to cry again. “Thank you.” They held each other tight for only a moment and he lifted her into his arms once again and continued down the hallway to the staircase. Between the tears, pain, exhaustion and the weight of his woman, Daryl barely made it up the final steps few steps that led to the fourth floor. He put her on her feet and they walked through the door together. He held her hand, but she kept her body behind his. She was still shaking with fear. The door Merle had entered stood partially open and he looked through the small crack. All he could see were a pair of legs attached to Merle’s boots. He burst through the door and fell to his knees by his brother’s lifeless body. He screamed, cried and held Merle close to him. Yvonne knelt next to him and put his head on her shoulder. She didn’t say anything, he wouldn’t have heard her anyway. She rubbed her hand up and down his back, trying to give as much comfort as she could considering the circumstances.

            They stayed in that room, crying over Merle’s body, holding each other for a long time. They had noticed Joe’s body laying opposite Merle’s but paid it no mind. Merle and Daryl had both exacted the revenge they sought, and he only had room for grieving now. After what seemed like forever, Yvonne heard the faint sounds of a police siren getting closer. She felt relief hoping that they were coming for them, to take them home. Daryl didn’t seem to hear it. He didn’t seem to hear anything. He was still cradling the body of his big brother in his shaking arms. He sat on his knees on the floor rocking back and forth as if her were catatonic. Yvonne heard noises and voices coming from outside the building. The room had no windows, so she ran out of there as best as she could looking for one. She almost made it to the exit door that led to the stairwell when it flew open and a big man in a police uniform ran into the hallway. “Are you Yvonne Bradley?” he asked continuing to walk toward her.

            “Yes,” she stuttered. Her throat burned, and she couldn’t breathe through her nose from all the crying.