-𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗪𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-
TAYLOR
ABSENTMINDEDLY PLAYING WITH
the flowers she collected from nearby the small camp her and Daryl had set up for the night, Taylor wished all the thoughts running through her head would just vanish and go away.
A lot had happened earlier that day, and she just wanted to go to bed and completely forget about all the events that transpired.
"Somethin' on yer mind?" Daryl asked her, and she looked up at him as he tended to the campfire.
"Nothing in particular, but a lot of things." She sighed, her fingertips tracing the silky petals of the flowers.
"Why don' ya' try yer notebook? It should hopefully help with gettin' yer feelin's out." He suggested, pulling out his lighter from his back pocket to light the campfire.
"Yeah, it's worth a shot." She said, setting the flowers down by her bag as she rummaged through it, pulling out her notebook.
———
Not only do I feel like shit that we left Merle behind, I wanna know more about that Albert Wesker guy. Of course, I don't want to be his experimental ginea pig, but there's so many questions around him. He already injected me with the source of the outbreak on top of my walker bite. My bite feels fine, but the injection site feels hot and itchy a lot. I want to tell Daryl, but I feel like he'll freak out that I'm turning into a walker even though I'm immune. It's probably best to just rest for now.
———
Sighing, she slid her notebook back into her backpack, feeling a bit better as she laid down near the campfire and slowly drifted off to sleep, hoping for a better day tomorrow.
———
DARYL
TAKING ONE LAST DRAG OF HIS
cigar, Daryl got up as he tossed it into the campfire, walking over to Taylor.
The poor girl had to grow up in the apocalypse getting little to no sleep, so he was happy when she did.
Moving a loose strand of her hair and tucking it behind her ear, he noticed something.
She felt a bit warmer than usual...
He wasn't a mom, but he had a general idea of when someone had a fever or not, and it felt like she did.
Rolling up her sleeve, he saw she had been injected with a syringe, and the area around it was red and puffy.
"When the fuck did she get injected with a syringe?" He muttered.
He stayed up all night to keep guard and look after her, so he knew no one did it during that time.
Maybe back at Woodbury?
Why did she never tell him about it?
Knowing she had an infection that would only get worse, he looked up at the sky, seeing it was dawn.
"Alri', babygirl, I got ya'." He muttered, picking her up.
"The hell are ya' doin' baby brother?" He heard a familiar voice say, turning to see Merle.
"Jus' shut up an' grab our stuff; we gotta go." He grumbled.
"An' why's that?" Merle asked, grabbing their bags.
"Taylor's dealin' with a serious infection, an I gotta get her back to the prison." Daryl replied.
"Alri'" Merle shrugged, "Lead the way I guess.".
———
DARYL & MERLE
COMING OUT OF THE WOODS AND
to a clearing, a sigh of relief escaped Daryl as he saw the prison.
Over the hour they had been rushing through the woods to get here, Taylor had only been getting worse.
He wondered why she started showing signs of an infection so suddenly, but he was more worried about if she would be alright or not.
Rushing through the prison yard with Merle behind him, he ignored the walkers, making a straight dash towards the gate.
Glenn and Maggie quickly opened it, letting them in as the two Dixon brothers stopped to catch their breath.
"Shit, what happened to her?" Glenn asked, walking up to Daryl.
"Infection. Where's Hershel?" Dayl replied, to which Maggie took Taylor in her arms.
"I got her. I'll go take her to him." Maggie said before she rushed off to the cell block, Glenn, Daryl, and Merle following behind her.
"What happened to that Firefly; (y/n)?" Glenn pointed out as they walked inside.
"Don' know, we went lookin' for her but couldn't fin' her." Daryl explained as Rick walked up to the three.
He looked a bit better than the last time Daryl and Merle had saw him, as he was still wigging out about Lori's death.
"What happened to Taylor?" He asked the two Dixon brothers.
"Don' know...infection I think. Some asshole injected her wit'...somethin'. I got no clue who though." Daryl explained.
"She didn't tell you who?" Rick replied.
"Naw, guessin' it happened back at Woodbury though." Daryl muttered, his eyes darting to the cell Maggie had brought Taylor into.
"...Hershel, how she doin'?" Rick asked, turning and walking to the cell with Daryl, Merle, and Glenn behind him.
"She's dealing with a serious infection, but with enough rest, food and water, and antibiotics, she'll be just fine. Daryl, Merle, do you have any idea what she was injected with?" Hershel asked, wrapping a bandage around the injection site.
"No clue. Wish she would've told us..." Daryl sighed in response.
"Well, whatever needle they injected her with must've not been clean. It's no wonder her infection is so serious." Hershel replied.
"An'...she's...immune?" Maggie asked, cocking a brow as she looked up at Daryl and Merle.
"Damn right she is. She's one special lil' girl." Merle said.
"Any idea why her cheeks red?" Hershel pointed out, the two Dixon brothers staying silent.
"Beth said Taylor's back." Carl smiled, walking in with Beth, Ryan, Lee, Clementine, Kenny, and Ben.
"Yeah, she is. Hershel said she'll be jus' fine." Rick smiled down at him.
"What the hell happened out there man?" Kenny muttered, walking up to Daryl.
"...C'mon, I'll tell ya'". Daryl mumbled, nudging his head towards the cell door before he stepped out with Kenny.
"So uh...Taylor's immune. She got bit when she ran off, but she never turned." He said.
"Holy fuck. She's immune?" Kenny asked in disbelief.
"I barely believe it myself man, but she is. Remember the Firefly's? Well, they wanna make a cure outta her. Only problem is, their lab is across country. We were plannin' goin' with a Firefly named (y/n) an' Taylor's friends Ellie an' Joel, but we got split up. Taylor got that infection an' I panicked, so I brought her back here." Daryl explained.
"Alri' then...what 'bout her cheek? Why's it so red?" Kenny asked.
"Merle slapped the shit outta her. I feel bad for the poor kid. Her dad never hit her; never gave her the fuckin' belt. He jus' grounded her from her stuff 'till she got her shit together. Think she's scared now of me an' Merle. She's distancin' herself, an' last night...any time I was near her, she flinched." Daryl sighed.
"Jesus fuckin' christ; Merle probably gave the poor fuckin' kid trauma." Kenny muttered, "Why the hell did ya' bring him back here man?".
"I was in a rush ta' get Taylor back here. Merle jus' showed an' I didn't argue." Daryl replied.
"...What're ya' gonna do now? We got the Firefly's across country, a shitshow wit' Woodbury, an' were hangin' on here by a thread at the prison." Kenny grumbled.
"I got no clue. I'm jus' gonna do what's best for her." Daryl said, gesturing back to the cell Taylor was in.
Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Kenny sighed, "This is gonna sound fuckin' insane, but maybe we should all pack up an' jus' head for the Firefly's.".
"Wish we could but there'd be no point. Only ones their gonna let in is me an' Taylor." Daryl replied.
"...Lee wants ta' pack up some supplies in the RV an' for me, Clementine, an' Ben ta' head for Savannah." Kenny said.
"Why the hell does Lee wanna leave?" Daryl asked.
"For Clementine. He made a promise to her that they'd find her parents, an' the last place they heard they were in was Savannah. After we fin' 'em, he wants ta' come back here an' regroup." Kenny explained.
"What if they're dead?" Daryl pointed out.
"...We'll still come back here; ain't no point in stayin' there." Kenny replied.
"Well...atleast it'll give the poor girl closure..." Daryl mumbled.
"After we get this Governor mess sorted out is when we'll go. Ain't no way me an' Lee leavin' you with that psychotic asshole runnin' aroun'." Kenny said.
Nodding, Daryl rested his hand on Kenny's shoulder, "Thanks, man.".
Nodding back, he replied, "No problem. Remember, always do what's best for Taylor; it's gonna be the key to her survival.".
"Always will, man. She's the main reason I'm still fightin'.".
To Be Continued...
Word Count: 1480
Edited: ❌