𝙘𝙧𝙮 𝙗𝙖𝙗𝙮¹ ━ 𝙩𝙬𝙙

vi.

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Paola wasn't used to being alone. She hated it, she hated the silence that came with the small room she was tied up in as much as she hated yelling. Usually, she fine in the quiet, it brought her peace, a sense of normality, but being tied up to a chair in an unfamiliar place cause her to bite at her lips until they were raw and bleeding.

She hadn't expected to see Merle Dixon again and even if she felt like a bad person admitting it, she was glad he was gone for the time he was. Daryl became better, the group became stronger and she was confident to say that that wouldn't have happened if Merle had any influence over it.

The young girls weapons had been taken away from her leaving her defenceless, her gun, her small switchblade that would always rest in the back of her trousers. She felt empty, unsafe, anxious and it was only amplified whenever she would hear Glenn's yells through the thin walls and she knew Maggie could here it too.

It was hard to have no comfort from them at times like this, usually she would have Glenn holding her close and telling her that it would be okay and she would have to believe him because it was a promise after all or she would have Maggie stroking her hair, the touch bringing a comfort that neither of them could describe.

But they could do that. She was alone.

Paola couldn't describe how long she had been waiting for anyone to come to her. She kept count of the footsteps that shifted past her door, some light, some heavy but dangerous all the same. Soon enough, the door creaked open. It was Merle.

His fist was coated in blood that Paola could only suspect as Glenn's and much as it killed her not jumping to the chance to make sure he was okay, she had to hold her ground and not utter a word.

"Little bird." His voice echoed, it sounded cruel and sinister as it always had been. She had no clue how Daryl was related to such a creature, sure the Dixon was tough and quiet but the times he didn't put up the exterior, he was kind. It was clear that Merle did not have a kind bone in his body.

She stayed quiet, ignoring him and staring at her baseball cap that was ripped from her head and left on the table in front of her. Focusing on the fraying fabric, she forced herself to ignore the man who stalked towards her like she was his prey.

"You're so much bigger than when I last saw you, how old are you now, huh? Nine?" The teasing edge to his tone didn't comfort her, only it did the opposite. But again, she stayed silent, ignoring his blue eyes that trailed her face. Truly, Merle never believed she make it this far, when he last saw her she barely reached his waist, being smaller than average for her age and clung to the boy he had just finished torturing. To him, Merle believed she would be one of the first to go, but here she sat in front of him, beating the new dead world.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" He tutted, moving her cap away from her sight and sat on the wooden table that creeked under his weight. "That's fine, kid. I just need you to tell me one thing. One thing that's all. Can you do that for me?"

Paola glared at her, at dark, doe eyes narrowing. She was defiant, he'd give her that. "Where's your camp?" And she stayed quiet, her lips turning into a thin line.

Merle was never known for patience, reaching forward he grabbed her black ponytail and brought her face close to his, ignoring the yelled that escaped her, "listen, you little brat, if you tell me where your camp is, we can let you go. You'd like that, huh?"

Paola's head began to burn from the utter force that Merle was gripping her with, she slammed her head against his with as much force as she could muster, Merle heard his nose crack for the second time that day. She really was Glenn's kid.

He mutters curses under his breathe as he yielded, moving backwards holding his nose. "Go to hell." Paola whispered harshly, lifting her head from where it was dangling before, looking up at him through her lashes with a dark look.

Merle's breathing laboured as he turned back to her with his hand raised, bringing it down on her cheek, leaving a stinging, red patch on her face. Before letting her recover, Merle dragged her from her seat and pulled her towards the door, ignoring how she fell into him as she tried to gain footing, "let's go pay your daddy a visit, huh? Get a move on, little bird."

Pushing her through the halls, Merle had another man keep a gun to the girls head as he got the keys to unlock Glenn's room. Pushing her inside first, Glenn's charge with a weapon faltered upon her already
bruising face.

"Uh-uh." Merle tutted, making sure the gun trained on Paola still even though the girl didn't flinch. Lowering his weapon, Glenn's eyes looked past Paola to Maggie being dragged in the room without a shirt and the duo felt sick to their stomach. The woman was clearly distraught and the multitude of possibilities that ran through their head only made the situation worse.

Glenn raised to assault again, trying his best to push Paola behind him but Merle gripped her shoulders keeping her with him while the man with the gun switched to aim at him, "drop it." He ordered.

"We're through with games." The man, The Governer, holding Maggie says, revealing his own gun, "now, one of you is going to give up your camp."

When no one replied, the governor clicked of the safety and stormed towards Glenn, pointing it at his head. Maggie broke, "the prison."

"The one near Nunez?" Merle asks, outstretching an arm to keep her back.

The Governor shook his head, "the place is overrun."

"We took it." The brunettes voice trembled, moving forward with her hands still covering her bare chest. She was near to Paola now and the young girl sneakily moved her arm to pat Maggie's thigh, to try and fill her with hope that everything would be okay.

"How many are you?"

"Ten." She replies before correcting, "only ten now."

The Governor didn't lower his gun from Glenn but raised his brow, "ten people cleared that whole prison of biters? Huh?"

He eventually moved away from Glenn, pointing his gun to the floor and headed towards the exit, stopping at Maggie, trying to comfort the crying woman, but it only made her worse.

Then Maggie and Paola were pushed to Glenn, who easily enveloped them in a hug, keeping Maggie to his chest and Paola to their waists. They could only hope now that Rick and the group would come for them.

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