Exhausted {Daryl Dixon Fanfic}

XXI. Feel

 slight tw...nothing is detailed but there is some suggestive wording 

My heart was pounding almost as much as my head. Tears and blood stained my shirt - Daryl's shirt, the back of my mind whispered - and my hair was stuck in the soaked bandages wrapped around my head. A big part of me desperately wanted to follow after Daryl, but I knew if I listened to that part of me that I would end up relying on him to fix the aching hole in my chest that was coming back as I stood alone in the RV.

The only person you can rely on is yourself, my dad's voice bounced around painfully in my head.

I shook the nerves out of my hands as I picked up my bag and headed for the door, but my hand stopped around the handle. I still barely knew these people - sure, I was beginning to enjoy being with them, and I knew they were good at heart, but I didn't know them. They didn't know me. But they had witnessed one of my weakest moments. Would they want an explanation?
I shook off the thoughts as I pulled open the door. I knew that I had blacked out for a little bit, but the setting sun came as a surprise. Bouncing from foot to foot, I contemplated whether or not it would be safe to sneak off to the creek. I wasn't exactly in the right frame of mind to be venturing out on my own, especially not in the dark.
But, I didn't want to talk to anyone, so I made my mind up and shut the RV door as quietly as possible. I snuck a quick glance around the camp site to make sure no one was watching. I did notice Shane and Rick were arguing again.

"-none of your business." Rick was threatening the taller man quietly.

"It was my business when you was off playing dead," Shane shot back.

I pursed my lips as I disappeared into the trees. It would have been fun to listen in on the source of their tension, but it wasn't my business. I found the creek easily, although my headache was blurring my vision. The chances of a concussion were high, but I didn't want to face anyone yet - even someone as kind as Hershel. I set my bag on the river's edge and sat down, hanging my feet in the cool water.
I took a moment to breathe in the air around me. For a moment, surrounded by darkness and trees, I felt at peace. It was like before I found Sophia; Just me, alone - wandering from place to place to stay alive. Only now I felt safe. I knew I wasn't alone in this world anymore. This group of people I barely knew took me in as one of their own without a second thought.
I brushed the back of my pants off as I stood up. My knees cracked loudly as I stripped my dirt and blood covered shorts off over my boots before slipping those off, too. I hesitated before setting my gun down as well.

Before I could strip Daryl's shirt over my head, I heard something in the trees behind me. Just as I turned to pick my gun up from the ground, a hand was shoved over my mouth roughly. I screamed out as more bodies surrounded me, grabbing at my arms and legs.
The hands were rough and large, grabbing at every inch of me with enough force to leave bruises. My head was screaming for me to get out but no matter how hard I struggled I couldn't seem to free myself.

That's when the harsh realization hit me. I knew these men. I knew their scent. I knew the voices in my ear telling me to stop struggling. I knew the deep laugh that vibrated against me as they pulled me deep into the trees - away from camp.

"Oh, we've missed you, darling," A gruff voice laughed in my ear.

The loud leaves and dirt beneath my dragging feet turned into bumpy concrete as the men pushed me against an all-too-familiar truck. One of them let go of my arm momentarily and I took the opportunity to lash out at them behind me. This action resulted in my face being slammed against the glass of the window.
The men laughed as I groaned in pain, my forehead dripping blood for the second time that day.

"Where are you going? The fun's just getting started," A new voice chuckled to himself as he tied my wrists together tightly.

I winced loudly beneath the hand covering my mouth which was only met with more laughs.

"This one likes to scream boys."

"Better save that for later."

"We'll run that throat dry."

The dry, humor in their voice struck something in me that I hadn't allowed them to see last time: I started crying. I'm not talking about pleading and begging because I knew these men, these heartless, evil men - and they didn't care. My cries were left unheard but I did it anyways.
I cried and screamed beneath the hand muffling my mouth, I let the tears fall down my face as they tied my ankles together and threw me in the truck.

But not once did I ask them to let me go.

I just sat there and cried.

I sat there and let myself feel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
Not a bad chapter for getting back in the groove right? At least, I think so 😅 Let me know what you think!
Xo
-pez