Undead - The Walking Dead Fanfiction

Chapter 16 - The Trade

Chapter 16 - The Trade

Now, as I'm sure you know as well as I do, that Rick wasn't a huge fan of Merle. He wasn't very easy to get along with, and there weren't many personality traits he had that didn't make people angry. It was like he had this wall up, and the wall made everyone around him angry.

It was Rick's idea to discuss this inside the prison, leaving Merle and Carol to watch the people from Woodbury. On the other hadn, Daryl was less than impressed.

"You're not actually considering this, right?" he demanded, taking on a fury that I hadn't seen yet. "If they're taking Merle, them I'm going with them!"

Rick's facial expression didn't change whatsoever. He knew that Daryl was one of the most valuable assets that this group had; he could track, he could hunt, and he wasn't afraid to kill if that's what it came down to. The perfect sidekick.

"Daryl, they'll kill us all if we don't give them what they want. We only have so many resources, and very few bullets left. We can't waste anything."

I looked up at him, his face wasn't as sympathetic as a normal persons would've been, but then again times have changed, and nothing was considered normal anymore.

"Merle is a human being, he's not a waste!" I barged in, my voice sounding angry. I was angry. I mean, I had only had one conversation with the guy, but he seemes like he wasn't so bad. In fact, I had gotten along fine with him compared to most people.

Everyone looked at me, as if to say that I wasn't even officially part of their group yet, and my opinion didn't matter. But Daryl looked, for the first time ever, like he didn't know what to do. I knew not many people would be against handing Merle over to Phillip, but there had to be something I could do. 

"We need to decide on this together, but either way we're going to have to give something up."

Rick was about to continue speaking, when Carol opened the door. "They're getting impatient, you need to decide something now."

I saw the hurt in Daryl's eyes as we filed out the door. He knew what was going to happen, and there wasn't anything he could do from preventing it. It was going to end, how it was going to end.

Standing out in the field, Phillip adressed us.

"Well, let's make the trade."

Rick nodded grimly as he walked to Merle, who had his face set in stone. He didn't want us to know how afraid and hurt he was, and I saw how brave he was.

"No!" Daryl screamed hysterically. I knew he had just got his brother back after being seperated for so long, and losing him again was twice as terribly. They were family, the only family they had left, and they needed each other.

"Take me instead!" I called, grabbing onto Rick's arm as he walked past me. "He wants me just as much as he wants Merle, if not more."

Rick's eyes went soft, and, for the first time since we met, I saw a sense of admiration in them. "No, you're just a girl."

I didn't take no for an answer. Before he could stop me, I was up at the gate, unlocking it and squeezing through. It wasn't until I was closing it, that I saw Daryl. 

He was walking up to the gate, slowly, but surely. There was determination in his eyes, and my heart flip-flopped. He was so handsome, in such a strange way. How could a man so dirty, so neglected, be so beautiful. It wasn't until that exact moment, that I realized why I was doing what I was doing.

"No." he said as he got to the gate. He put his hands over mine, the gate dividing us apart. He was warm, his hands were strong. "You can't do this, even if you think it's right."

I looked into his eyes. They were so kind, in a way I hadn't ever seen before. Nobody had ever looked at me with such care before, not even my mother. It made me feel good, like I was here on Earth for a reason.

"It is right. Finally, something is."

His fingers laced in mine. "I'll find you, I know I will."

Somehow, after all the lies that have been told to me in my life, I managed to believe him.

*****

They dragged me to a room, one in my Uncle's home. He wasn't impressed with my escape, and he looked at me with more hate then he had before. I recieved no special treatment. In fact, I think it was that I was a blood relative that had made him more vicious. 

"You aren't to feed her unless I tell you to. And absolutely no water." Uncle Phillip said, glaring at me. 

"But sir, she'll die!" Milton defended, looking a little more brave than usual. In my head, I thanked him for defending me.

"She is here in place of Merle. If Merle was here, would you have argued the punishment?" Milton shook his head. "Just as I thought. Now pretend she is Merle, and get on with your day."

They left me alone in the room. The walls were cold and damp, darkness hanging over me along with the smell of mildew. My hands began to ache from being tied behind my back, but there wasn't much I could do about it now.

Inside, I was cursing myself for volunteering to take Merle's place. I didn't even know him very well, but it was the look of pain in Daryl's eyes that had convinced me that I had to do this. Daryl had told me that he would find me, and I knew I just had to hold out until that happened. It wouldn't be so hard, since he knew exactly where Woodbury was, but there would most definitely be a battle.

I heard some voices coming from the wall beside me, they were faint, and at first I believed they came from my imagination. 

"Hello?" I whispered. I didn't want to be punished by one of Phillip's people, so I kept myself quiet. If the voices were theirs, then I could be in for a lot of trouble. But the voices were feminine, so I hoped on the opportunity.

The voices stopped as I called out again. I held my breathe, begging for them not to be Phillip's.

"Who's there?" the voice replied finally. It sounded closer, but it was still muffled by the wall. Whoever it was had to be on the other side, leaning against it. They knew where I was, too, if this was the case.

"My name's Eden." I whispered back. My voice sounded frantic, hope making me see a possible way out of this mess. "Who are you?"

My head was pressed against the wall, my ear laying over a brick. I strained to hear two voices whispering amongst themselves, but I could not make out what they were saying.

"My name is Andrea. I'm being held in a cell. Can you help me?"

My stomach dropped. They were stuck in the same situation I was, and my only hope of a possible sneaky escape disappated.

"No." I replied. "But we'll get out soon. We'll find a way."

I meant it too. I wasn't going to leave with Daryl until we got Andrea out as well. She must be one of those girls that man I took blood samples from was talking about. And maybe the other whispering voice on the other side of the wall was the other one. They had to of been there for quite a while. And we would be free.