hounded
my eyes wondered out the car window, watching as we passed abandoned buildings.
me and glenn had volunteered to go out on a run. we were running low on formula and food in general.
glenn pulled the car into a small parking lot, stopping right in front of the old store. i opened my door when we came to a stop, hopping out.
i checked around the car, searching for walkers or other groups, "it's clear outside" i informed, walking towards where glenn stood.
"all right, let's take a look" glenn mumbled, causing me to reach out for his arm, stopping him, "hey"
he gave me a confused look as i leaned in, planting a quick kiss on his lips. i pulled away, getting a full view of his face.
he grinned, placing his hands on both side of my face, pulling me back in. i smiled against his lips, causing him to also smile.
"it's a beautiful day" i mumbled before walking to the car to get the wire cutters, soon handing them to glenn.
i stood back, watching him do his thing, ducking straight after he opened the door as birds flew out.
i stood back up, sighing, "let me make sure it's safe first." glenn stated, earning a nod before i shined my flashlight into the dark store.
"i'm tired of waiting, i'm coming in" i mumbled, moving into the store behind glenn.
after making a couple rounds, in and out of the store, we made our last round, checking out each other's items once we were outside.
"we just hit the powdered formula jackpot." glenn said, holding up one of the cans. i let out a breath in relief, "oh, thank god"
he nodded, messing around with other stuff in his basket, "i also got beans, batteries, cocktail wieners, many mustards."
i frowned, "you did way better, i only got a toy duck and spaghetti sauce."
he chuckled, rubbing my arm, "do better next time, loser"
i huffed, turning away from glenn, shoving my basket in the trunk.
"it's a straight shot back to the prison from here. probably make it in time for dinner"
i nodded, turning to grab his basket out of his hands, loading it into the back. "and where is it y'all good people are calling home?"
my head shot it the familiar voices direction, pulling out my gun on instinct. my eyes widened, seeing a man i dreaded, merle dixon.
"merle?" glenn called out, causing merle to recognize us as he started laughing, kneeling to place his gun down.
"wow!" merle huffed out, standing back up with his hands in the air, stepping closer.
"merle, back the hell up!" i sneered, aiming my gun at him, eyeing his every move. "okay, okay, honey. jesus"
"you made it." glenn uttered, also eyeing him up and down, "can you tell me, is my brother alive? huh?"
i hesitated before nodding, "yeah"
merle smiled, nodding his head in excitement, "hey, you take me to him and i'll call it even on everything that happened up there in atlanta. no hard feelings, huh?"
we both stayed silent, our eyes moving to where his hand used to be, seeing a metal contraption.
"you like that? yeah." merle started, chuckling as he shook his metal hand, " well, i found myself a medical supply warehouse. fixed it up myself."
i gave him a small nod, glancing to glenn, unsure what to do.
"we'll tell daryl you're here and he'll come out meet you." glenn advised, causing merle to shake his head no.
"hold on. just hold up." merle uttered, stepping closer, causing glenn to put out an arm for him to stop, "whoa. whoa."
"hey, the fact that we found each other is a miracle. come on, now. you can trust me." merle pleaded, glancing between me and glenn.
"you trust us. you stay here."
merle chuckled at glenns words, soon pulling out an extra gun from his pocket, letting off rounds.
i heard the car's window shatter when i ducked, causing arms to catch me as i fell, holding me at gun point.
glenn appeared in my view, holding his gun out in from of him, his body tensing when he saw me in merles arms.
"hold up, buddy, hold up." merle warned, pushing the gun to my head. i whimpered, looking up to glenn, shaking my head no.
"let go of her. let go of her!" glenn shouted, it was almost as if you could see fumes blowing out his ears.
"put that gun in the car right now. put it in the car, son."
glenn didn't hesitate as he moved, setting the gun in the car, holding his hands up.
"there you go. now we're gonna go for a little drive." merle informed, causing glenn to shake his head, "we're not going back to our camp."
merle shook his head, "no, we're going somewhere else. get in the car, glenn! you're driving! move!"
i let out a groan as he held my neck tighter, pressing the gun harder against my head. "don't. okay" glenn pleaded, softening when my gaze met his.
merle pulled me up to my feet, shoving me into the car as he kept the gun to his head. glenn adjusted the mirror, making sure he had a clear view of me before starting the car.
_____________
when we got to the place, i was quickly dragged away by merle and separated from glenn.
i was now handcuffed to a chair, alone in a silent room. that was until i heard a door slam from the room next to me.
merles voice shouted causing me to jump, soon figuring out he was talking to glenn.
"how about my baby brother? you can't tell me he's alive and then hold off on where he is. no?" i heard a faint voice say, assuming it had to be merle by the accent.
"well, maybe the sheriffs right hand will help me out." merle teased, causing my blood to boil as he talked, knowing i was glenns weakness.
"come on, glenn. hold out a little longer" i whispered to myself, hoping he wouldn't break because of me.
"tell me something- when she's scared and she's holding you close, and her trembling skin is close to you. her soft lips are touching you...."
i whimpered, hearing how he talked to glenn, tears starting to brim my eyes from frustration.
i could soon hear glenns grunts and groans, knowing he was getting beat to death.
thankfully the groans and grunts came to a stop sooner than i expected, but just as i thought merle had left, my door swung open.
"hey, sweet cheeks. sorry you had to hear what happened in the other room, hopefully he won't have to hear the same."
i clenched my teeth, holding back my anger, not wanting to say anything i would regret. "so, how's my brother doing?"
i scoffed, "way better without you, i'll tell you that."
"ya close with him? you seem like the bitch he'd be interested in. tough, stubborn, hot headed."
i rolled my eyes looking up at him, i couldn't understand how him and daryl are related. sure daryl can be a dick sometimes, but he would never dare touch a woman wrongfully.
"oh no, that's right. you and the asian boy, glenn" merle started, stepping closer as he lightly drug his sword against my skin, "to be honest, i thought maybe you and officer friendly"
"you sick... bastard" i sneered, earning a chuckle as he stepped even closer, "this could've been easier, blondie. you chose the hard way."
before i knew it, merle grabbed my neck, attempting to cut off my airways. "i wanna know where my brother is."
i stared him in the eyes, not backing down. i couldn't risk the lives of everyone at the prison, including the new baby.
"do it. do it, merle!" i angrily huffed out, almost unable to talk. his emotions changed, almost taken back by my reaction.
i could feel myself getting light headed, my body on the verge of passing out.
soon i felt a relief, watching as merle released my neck, eyeing me up and down. with a swift movement, a hand flew across my face, busting my lip open.
i grunted, unable to hold my head up from the pain. "i wanna know where the sheriff is." merle grumbled, punching me in the stomach.
i bent over in the chair, feeling pain shoot throughout my body. my breathing picked up as i tried recovering, slowly sitting up to look at him.
"no wonder your brothers doing fine without you." i taunted, causing him to nod as a grin broke out on his face.
"and this- this is for the roof" merle mumbled before sending another punch, clean across my face.
i groaned, feeling blood rise from my throat. i coughed, spitting the rose red blood onto the floor. "i hope you burn in hell."
merle chuckled, turning away to leave. i watched as he closed the door behind him, feeling a sense of relief knowing i was alone again.
i closed my eyes, focusing on the only person i could. glenn. i just wanted to feel his presence, and hear his sweet voice. he was someone who could control me, just by looking me in the eyes. he was the only piece of home i had left, the only thing that could keep me sane. i couldn't imagine a world like this without him. glenn rhee made up for everything i lost.
in that moment of thought, the door opened, revealing a tall man i hadn't known. that's when i knew, life was about to get a whole lot worse.
____________
he watched me intensely has he walked, pulling a knife out of his belt when he neared.
my breathing became heavier when he disappeared behind me, only to cut my hands loose from the duck tape.
i watched as he walked back around, pulling a chair out from across the table, hesitating before he sat down, "may i?"
i crossed my arms over my chest, giving a small nod in agreement. "thank you" he mumbled, taking a seat across from me.
"we'll take you back to your people explain this was all just a misunderstanding." he started, staring at me intensely, "you tell us where they are and we'll drive you there."
i scoffed, "do i look fucking stupid? let me talk to glenn."
the man grinned, shaking his head, "i can't allow that. you and your people are dangerous. handcuffed my man to a roof, forced him to amputate his own hand. and to my understanding, you played a big part in that."
"he was a danger to all of us, he let off rounds in a city full of walkers. even dared to raise his hand to me" i replied, raising my hand to my face, lightly brushing my bruises.
he shrugged, "you just tell us where they are and we'll bring them here. you'll be safe, i promise."
i moved my eyes away from his, trying to avoid his gaze as i looked to the ground. "no? fine."
"let's try something else... stand up please." he asked, only to be ignored, causing him to lean forward, "stand up."
my eyes finally made intense contact, hearing the sternness in his voice. i pushed back against the table, pulling myself up despite the pain.
his eyes traced my body figure, making me want to die right there and then. "take off your shirt"
i knitted my brows, shaking my head, "no"
he leaned back in his chair, finding enjoyment in my answer, "take off your shirt or i'll bring glenns hand in here"
i felt a rush of pain and worry flood through my body, just hearing his voice. i gulped, tugging the bottom of my shirt, soon pulling it over my head.
"go on." he muttered, eyeing my body up in down. i paused, hesitating to take off my bra, but his words about glenns hand flashed through my mind.
i unclipped the back, pulling the bra off my body, quickly covering my bare body parts.
he grinned, pushing his chair back away from the table, standing up while taking his belt off in the process.
my eyes watched as he moved closer and closer until his body was against my back.
i closed my eyes, hoping whatever he was gonna do, would be over soon. a groan escaped my mouth as he bent me over the table, pain shooting through my whole body.
"so you gonna talk?" he questioned, holding me down by my neck.
i scoffed, "you can do whatever you're gonna do...and go to hell."
his hand reached up to my face, brushing my hair back before stepping away from my body.
he grabbed my arm pulling me out of the room and towards a different one, my arms still shielding my open body parts.
men came into view as we entered the room, one being glenn's black and blue face. tears started brimming my eyes, as they traced his whole body.
he looked sad, only turning angry as his eyes landed on me. he stepping forward, holding some kind of wooden weapon.
"hey, drop it!" one of the men warned, causing glenn to pause, tracing my bruised and broken figure with his eyes before dropping the weapon.
"we're through with games, now one of you is gonna give up your camp." the man stated, holding up his gun.
soon releasing me so he could step over to glenn, holding him at gunpoint. in the moment of seeing him broken with a gun to his head i broke.
"this prison" i uttered, keeping my eyes on glenn. "the one near nunez? that place is overrun"
"we took it"
"how many are you?" the man questioned, still holding the gun to glenns head. "eleven. we have eleven now."
"eleven people cleared that whole prison of bitters? huh?"
we both stood quietly, never taking our eyes off each other.
the man lowered his gun, walking back towards me, glancing between me and glenn.
i whimpered, feeling as if he was gonna kill me. right here, right now, right in front of glenn.
"shhh, shhh, hey, it's all right" the man assured, messing with my hair as he pulled my closer to his body.
i struggled under his efforts, moving away as best as i could, seeing glenn out of the corner of my eyes.
once the man stopped, i felt a push from behind, shoving me into glenns direction. i opened my arms, letting him engulf my body into a hug as i sobbed.
_______________________________
2/28/2021