-Chapter seventy five; The Other Side-
———
TAYLOR
THE FOLLOWING MORNING,
Daryl, Taylor, and Jordyn left The Kingdom, setting out for Hilltop.
Taylor said goodbye to Ezekiel, Jerry, Morgan, and of course, Shiva.
The three then headed out, and arrived at Hilltop that evening, Gregory non-surprisingly having an issue with their return.
He went on about how he already had to feed Sasha, Maggie, and Enid, and that three more would hurt Hilltop's food supply.
Of course, no one gave two shits about Gregory's opinion, and Daryl, Taylor, and Jordyn moved into the trailer next to Sasha, Maggie, and Enid.
They had been there for about two days now, and Taylor was currently on guard duty for the night.
She had slept through the two previous nights, and taking watch both nights, and he looked exhausted.
She finally convinced him to take off and to enjoy his evening with Maggie, Sasha, Enid, and Jordyn.
Watching Enid climb up the ladder, she smiled up at the fellow teen, holstering her handgun, "Hey, Enid.".
"Hey." She greeted, handing Taylor a plate with a hamburger and a mixture of cut vegetables, "Maggie said you haven't eaten since this morning, so I thought I'd bring you some dinner while you do your shift.".
"Have Daryl and Jordyn eaten?" Taylor asked.
"I hope. Maggie brought them both dinner, but she said they looked like they had no interest in eating." Enid explained.
Sighing, Taylor leaned against the railing of the perch after setting down her plate, "I'm worried about them.".
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Enid replied, standing next to her.
Shrugging, Taylor said, "I hope. They're both strong; it's just...Jordyn's devastated she lost Abraham, and Daryl feels guilty for Glenn's death. They just need time to work it out is all.".
Enid nodded with a hum, "And what about you? You lost something back there, too.".
"...I'll be okay. I have to be. I've lost before; nothing new." Tahlor replied.
Enid then hugged her, "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot.".
Taylor hugged her back, "It's alright, Enid. We've all been through shit. It's hard to stay happy and jolly.".
"Yeah. Let me know if you need anything. I can't imagine night shift being any fun." Enid said.
Taylor smiled, "I will. Thank you, Enid.".
Enid then climbed back down the ladder, and Taylor saw across the field and Jordyn and Daryl sat together in silence on a bench.
'We're gonna pull through...we're gonna win...I know it...'.
———
DARYL
CLIMBING UP THE LADDER TO THE
guard tower early the next morning, Daryl saw Taylor still there with her handgun out.
The sun had just risen over the horizon, and from the little light it provided, it looked like she was exhausted.
Turning to him, she rubbed her tired eyes with her free hand, "Hey. How'd you sleep?".
"Slept fine." He mumbled, walking up to her and wrapping his calloused hand around the barrel of her handgun, "You go on back to the trailer. I'll take over.".
Nodding, she let go, hugging him, "I'm glad I have you by my side...".
He hugged her back, "Same here.".
Smiling, she let go before climbing down the ladder, heading across the field to the trailers.
'After everythin' we've been through...ya' deserve ta' be happy...after everythin' we've lost...you've lost...that's the least bit ya' deserve...' Daryl thought, and he then begun his shift.
———
TAYLOR
TAYLOR SLEPT UNTIL NOON, AND
at that point, that's when Jordyn rushed into the trailer, waking the young girl up, "Taylor, Taylor get up!".
Groaning, Taylor sat up, "Jordyn, what the hell's going on?".
"It's the Saviors. They're here." Jordyn replied.
"Oh shit." Taylor quickly got up, grabbing her knife from off her nightstand.
Jordyn grabbed her hand, "C'mon, we gotta go hide.".
The roar of truck engines filled the air, causing Jordyn to curse, "Fuck, we don't have time. Uh...under the bed. Go go go.".
She ushered Taylor under her bed, the two hiding under the mattress as the truck engines cut off, voices filling the air.
"What if they find us?" Taylor whispered, worry filling her eyes.
"They won't as long as we stay quiet." Jordyn whispered back, a reassuring smile on her lips.
Minutes later, people piled into their trailer, and Taylor recognized the voice of Simon, "Oh yeah. When we got back, Taylor, Daryl, and Jordyn were gone. Negan was pissed.".
"O-Oh." Gregory stuttered, "That's, that's terrible.".
"Yep. Thing is, one of our guys: Jed. He died. Story was he tried raping Taylor and she killed him in self defense. We found out though someone stole the keys to his car. That car went missing, and Taylor, Daryl, and Jordyn used it to get away. Rumor is, Taylor slept with Jed to get his car keys so she could escape with Daryl and Jordyn. But, who the hell knows how it went down." Simon explained.
'...I did what I had to do...' Taylor thought.
She could see a look of shock on Jordyn's face out of the corner of her eye.
"I'll explain later." Taylor mouthed the words.
She watched as a pair of boots slowly walked towards the bed Taylor and Jordyn were under.
'Oh shit...'.
"Bed looks like it's been used recently." Simon commented.
"O-Oh, yes. It's where one of our farmers sleep." Gregory explained.
She watched as Simon then turned to her nightstand, grabbing something off of it, "And is this her necklace? A constellation?".
'Fuck, my necklace...'.
"Yes, it was a gift from her father." Gregory replied.
Simon chuckled, "Funny. You see, Negan goes on about how Taylor loves all those constellation and zodiac bulldshit. Told us how he got her a gold necklace with her zodiac constellation on it for her birthday a few years back; just like this one. Pisces, I think he said.".
"What a coincidence." Taylor could feel the nervousness radiating off of Gregory from here.
Simon tossed the necklace to the floor, "It's a shame she ran away. Boss really misses her.".
"I-I bet he does." Gregory replied.
"Anyway, let's go see all the good shit you got for us, huh?" Gregory, Simon, and his men began filing out of the trailer, Taylor snatching her necklace as they had their back turned to her and Jordyn.
She watched as Simon turned around and chuckled before shutting the door behind him.
"You fucking had sex with one of them!?"Jordyn hissed, the two getting out from underneath the bed.
"No, it wasn't like that. Before he did anything, I killed him and took his keys. I did what I had to do for us to get out of there." Taylor explained.
"...You didn't have to. We could've found another way." Jordyn sighed.
"No," Taylor argued, "I found us an out. I wasn't gonna pass up on it. We're here now because of me and Jesus. If we didn't take our chance, we'd still be in that fucking hell hole. Maybe if I convinced Negan...Abraham, Glenn, and my dad would still be alive!".
"Taylor...it's not your fault." Jordyn said in a hushed whisper.
"It is!" Taylor cried, "It's my fault Glenn's dead. It's my fault your brothers dead! It's my fault my dad's dead! I wasn't strong enough!".
She looked down at her necklace before tossing it to the floor, "...I should be dead...they should be alive...".
She walked over to Daryl's bed, sitting down and looking down at the floor as she wiped at her teary eyes.
Jordyn picked up her necklace from off the floor, looking over the constellation before flipping the necklace over, seeing words engraved on the back.
'Just because Pisces cry, doesn't mean we are weak. It just means we care more than you do.'.
———
JORDYN
AFTER THE SAVIORS LEFT,
Taylor and Jordyn met back up with Daryl, Enid, and Maggie outside.
"Hey, Taylor. Can you help me inside? The Saviors trashed the place, and Gregory wants us to clean it up." Enid asked her.
Nodding, Taylor then walked up to the Harrington house with Enid, "I really wish Gregory wasn't a lazy asshole...".
Jordyn then turned to Daryl and Maggie, "...Back...back at The Sanctuary, how Taylor got that car key, she almost slept with a Savior. She got lucky though. Got an opening and was able to kill him before anything happened and made it look like it was self defense.".
Daryl stayed quiet, folding his arms as he looked down at the ground as Maggie gasped, "Oh god, is she alright? That's a lot for just a fourteen year old.".
Jordyn shrugged, "I-I think so. She blames herself for her father, Abe, and Glenn, though.".
"Have ya' seen Sasha an' Rosita?" Daryl asked.
Jordyn shook her head, "Nope. I haven't seen them since this morning.".
That's when Daryl headed for the Harrington house, leaving Maggie and Jordyn by themselves.
'Everyone keeps blaming themselves for what happened. We need to defeat the Saviors, or else it'll never stop...' Jordyn thought.
———
To Be Continued...
Word Count: 1524
Edited: ❌
@Taylor_Frickin_Dixon
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