RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

empty promises

Carol looked at Rick as if he were speaking another language. "He left? Daryl left? He's gone?" Her voice cracked with each question. "Is he coming back?"

None of them had an answer for her. 

Willow took a few steps back before turning slowly and heading up the prison yard. She heard Carol's muffled sobs against Rick's chest as she walked, kicking loose stones under her boots, dust fleeing in the air and catching on the leather of them. She looked ahead at the prison, noticing how dull it truly was. It didn't help that the sun was now hidden behind large grey clouds, only intensifying the dullness of the cinder walls. Prison was never a good place to be, but somehow it seems worse now. Not because of the apocalypse, but something else. It felt stripped clean of anything positive that their group brought to it. 

Beth and Hershel were waiting outside for them, and Beth immediately greeted them with a hug. She wrapped her free arm around Willow with Sienna in the other, but Willow stood still. Beth was a sweet girl. A true ray of sunshine even on the darkest days, and she admired that about her. Given the state of the world now, it's hard to be any sort of positive. 

"Thanks for watching her." Willow said kindly, removing Sienna from her care.

Beth gave her a sweet nod before giving Rick a large hug.

Willow sat down on the stairs to the entrance of their cell block outside, holding Sienna up on her lap, letting her feet rest on her thighs as if she were standing. She was surprised to see how steady she was, only barely holding onto her hands. Sienna had a sweet smile on her face, occasionally going away as she focused and used all her strength to stay steady. 

"Where'd my little girl go, huh?" Willow whispered to her, smiling slightly. "Soon enough you'll be talking and walking, giving your mom attitude. Isn't that right?" She bounced Sienna around, a giggle coming from her little lips. Time has felt as if it has been slipping away quicker than before.

"You coming, Willow?" Rick asked her, heading up the stairs with Hershel.

"I'll be in there in a second." She responded, not looking away from Sienna. She traced her finger along the flowered patterns on her onesie, pink, purple, and blue, but even then she noticed she's growing out of them too. "Stop growing, goofball. I need you to stay small." She ruffled the dark hair on Sienna's head, another giggling erupting from her. It had grown out a lot now, covering her ears slightly. Willow frowned at her eyes, noticing they aren't as big as they used to be. She's continuing to grow, and that comes with growing into her face more and more. 

"All right, let's head inside, huh?" She poked Sienna's belly before standing up with her and trekking up the stairs. It was always dreadful going back into the dark depths of the prison. It almost felt suffocating now.

She slid the heavy door closed before she saw her surroundings. Inside the entry way to the prison were four strangers sitting at one of the tables, blood and dirt built up on them as if it had been caking up for months.

She walked past them quickly, slipping through the cell block door before Carl closed it and locked it.

"Who the hell are those people?" She asked, particularly the people who stayed behind at the prison.

No one was eager to answer her question, and that only infuriated her more.

"You gonna talk to them? Figure out what the hell they're doing here?" She turned to Rick.

He nodded with a stern face, not pleased to have the guests either.

Carl unlocked the cell door again, the whole group filing into the room to interrogate the four of them. Willow kept a low profile behind them all, holding Sienna tightly.