I fell in love with the devil |The Walking Dead| NeganxOC |CarolxDaryl

Chapter 82 - Something always comes up

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Carol was walking for a while with pink dust inside her head, when she noticed a basket lying on the ground, abandoned, empty. She became alert at once, it was Quinn's. Carol hurried to the basket and kneeled beside it to take a look. She found Quinn's knife next to it. She knew, because it was her knife, they were just talking about it. Carol glanced around quickly but saw no one. She was trying to read the signs, but she couldn't track like Daryl, so she decided to find him. She took off her scarf and covered the basket and the knife with it, to preserve evidence, so the wind wouldn't carry it away. She hurried back to where she left Daryl.

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When she got there Daryl was nowhere to be found.

"Shit," she said as she glanced around, then she decided to check by the river. Carol hurried to the stream and was right, Daryl was fishing.

"Daryl!" she called. Daryl turned around in an instant, he could tell by her voice something was wrong.

"What?" asked Daryl.

"I can't find Quinn! I think she's been taken by someone!"

She didn't have to say it twice, Daryl put down everything, grabbed his crossbow, and hurried with Carol to the crime scene. Carol continued worryingly: "I found her basket and her knife, they were dropped and uh... and I saw the leaves on the ground were scattered like there was some struggling," she said, jabbering nervously. Daryl was concerned too, they walked with long, fast steps. When they got there Daryl kneeled next to the items, gave Carol back her scarf without taking his eyes off of the evidence, and examined the basket, the knife, and the leaves around them. It didn't take long for him to figure it out.

"They went that way," he said as he stood up and instantly walked in the direction he pointed in. Carol grabbed the basket and Quinn's knife and followed him speechless. Daryl continued: "She was taken. Maybe two, or three. Hard to tell."

"Do you think they were whisperers?" asked Carol worrying.

"No idea," said Daryl as he was examining the ground and the trees. They were walking for quite a while, hurrying as much as they could, without speaking. It was getting dark and it was harder to see. Daryl had to pay attention pretty much to see anything. Carol was fighting with her tears, trying to hold them back.

"We won't be able to see anything..." she said.

"I have a flashlight, but I can still see," said Daryl, he turned around to face Carol. "We're gonna find her."

That's it, Carol couldn't hold back her tears, she started sobbing. Daryl just said the exact same thing when they were searching for Sophia... and he realized it right after he said it. He grabbed Carol and embraced her tightly.

"Hey, it's not the same situation. Quinn can take care of herself," he said. Carol took some deep breaths and wiped away her tears quickly as she backed away. Daryl stroked her arm and patted her shoulder. "Come on," he said and turned around to search for traces. Carol tried to swallow back her tears and was following Daryl closely. She got herself together for the sake of Quinn. Suddenly Daryl stopped, Carol bumped into him.

"Sorry," she mumbled. Daryl pointed at the sky. It was smoke coming from not so far. "Campfire," whispered Carol. Daryl nodded and they headed towards the smoke. Suddenly, they heard rustling, both of them stopped dead. Daryl pulled out a knife slowly and was going in the direction of the noises. He saw two figures, he was ready to attack. Carol pulled out her knife too and stuck to Daryl. They hid behind a tree. The two figures spotted them too because their steps slowed down. When they got close enough Daryl launched and struck, and he was barely able to stop his movement at the last moment.

It was Jesus and Negan standing in front of them.

"Shit, Dixon," whispered Negan. Daryl took a step back and lowered his knife.

"Easy," whispered Jesus.

"What are you doing here?" asked Carol.

"What do you think?" Negan returned the question. "Quinn didn't come home."

"Shut up. Let's go," said Daryl and nodded in the direction of the smoke. Jesus and Negan nodded too and they headed there. They hid behind trees. As they got closer they spotted a couple of people sitting around a campfire. Daryl held up his hands, showing the number seven on his fingers. The rest of the group nodded in silence. Five people were sitting by the fire, and two more walking around the camp. Daryl and Negan spotted Quinn at the same time. She was tied to a tree, unconscious. Negan wanted to rush to her, but Daryl held up his arm in front of Negan's chest to stop him. Negan stared at him questioningly, Daryl shook his head slightly. Then he indicated with his hands the plan. Jesus goes in the right direction, Daryl goes left, Negan goes to Quinn, and Carol stays behind and follows them in the dark, in case any of them needs help. Everyone nodded understandingly and they started executing the plan. They were moving silently and got really close to the camp, till Negan stepped on a branch in the darkness. It cracked and instantly got attention.

"Who's there?" asked one guy, who sprang to his feet by the campfire. The rest of their group became tense as well. They weren't whisperers.

"Maybe it was just a walker," said a woman. They were all glancing around quickly, but in the next moment, Daryl and Jesus jumped on them at the same time. They each grabbed a man, Daryl held his knife to the guy's throat, while Jesus held his sword.

"You took our friend. We want her back," stated Jesus.

"We need her as an offering," a man said as he stepped closer to Daryl and Jesus.

"For what?" growled Daryl in his deep, threatening voice disbelievingly.

"To God," they said all at the same time. Daryl and Jesus freaked out. It was some kind of a cult and they wanted to sacrifice Quinn for their god. In the meantime, Negan and Carol rushed to Quinn and checked her vital signs. Carol put her fingers on Quinn's neck to look for a pulse. Negan put his hands on her cheeks and caressed them worryingly. Carol nodded at him, signaling that she felt her pulse. Negan became so angry in a moment, that he left Carol and grabbed a log from the ground. Carol grabbed her bow and an arrow and locked eyes with Daryl. Daryl nodded slightly and Carol shot the man who was talking to them. At the same time, Daryl and Jesus cut the throats of the men they were holding as hostages. Four of them remained. Carol shot another one. Three. Negan stepped out from the shadows as they were trying to flee and hit one on the head with all strength he had. The man fell to the ground. Negan's face distorted with anger, he smashed the head of that man. Daryl and Carol shot the remaining two. When Negan finished he straightened his back and glanced around. Everyone was staring at him. He sniffed, threw away the bloody log, and headed back to Quinn. Carol put the bow on her back and followed him. Jesus put away his sword and did the same. Daryl spat next to the corpse in front of him and followed the others. Carol cut the rope and Negan caught Quinn.

"Why is she still unconscious?" asked Negan worrying very much. Daryl stepped in front of Quinn to take a look. He leaned closer to listen to her breathing.

"She's not unconscious. She's sleepin'" he said as he took a step back to look at her again, then he looked around. "Check the tents, maybe they got food," he said to Jesus and they went to scavenge their tents quickly. Negan took Quinn in his arms. Carol stepped closer and caressed her cheek.

"Quinn?" she asked. Quinn frowned her eyebrows but didn't open her eyes.

"What the hell did they do to her?" asked Negan still angry and worrying.

"I don't know," said Carol quietly. "We should take her back quickly."

Daryl and Jesus came back with their bags loaded.

"You found food?" asked Carol.

"Yeah, a little," said Daryl.

"Let's go," said Jesus. Daryl got out his flashlight, Jesus did the same. Negan carried Quinn and Carol was walking beside them. They were heading back to Alexandria.

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Author's notes: Listen to "Counting on me" by Smash into Pieces.

Thank You for reading! ❤