"But...despite all of that...I'm trying to forgive you. Becuase even after what happened...it doesn't erase what we went through together. What we became, together.".-
Taylor Wook
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
-Chapter Summary:-
Taylor, Daryl, Connie, Henry, Lydia, and Dog retreat to an apartment complex to fend off Beta and the masked freaks from killing them and taking Lydia back. Taylor confesses to Daryl that she's trying trying her best to forgive and forget the past as the two make plans for the trade fair.
•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•
-Chapter one hundred; Chokepoint-
•••
TAYLOR
DOG RAN AHEAD OF THEM AS
Taylor, Daryl, Connie, Henry, and Lydia sprinted away from the camp full of masked freaks that was now overrun with walkers.
They didn't stop running until Henry tumbled and fell, Connie helping him sit up as Daryl knelt down to him, "Ye alri'?".
"This isn't the way back to Hilltop..." Henry pointed out.
"Tara made a deal wit' those assholes. We broke it. We ain't goin' back te Hilltop." Daryl explained.
Taylor nodded, "We'll go to Alexandria then.".
"They're right. There's too many of them. Alpha would destroy Hilltop to get me back now." Lydia agreed.
"An' why didn't ye tell us there was that many o' 'em?" Daryl griped.
Oh god...here he was getting riled up again...
"You kept me locked in a cage." She countered, "What did you expect? I wasn't going to betray my own people!".
"Well, maybe ye should go back to 'em." He spat.
Taylor rested a hand on his shoulder, "Daryl, stop. There's no sense in arguing. What happened, happened. There's no changing that. She didn't tell us, but it doesn't matter now. We're still alive.".
He ignored her, "Henry didn't know what he was gettin' his ass into, but ye sure as hell did.".
"I thought I could go back." Lydia said softly, "I can't.".
"Well, ye ain't comin' wit' us." Daryl grumbled.
"...Dad!" Taylor spoke up, "She's just a teenager. We can't abandon her.".
Daryl looked over at her with sad eyes, and she avoided his gaze, looking over at Connie who was confused with the whole situation.
"Hey. Hey, we could run. Me and her. You guys go back, and—and we keep running. They can't blame Hilltop if we just disappear." Henry suggested.
"Henry, we can't." Lydia argued.
"Let me fix this." He said.
"No. There's no way in hell I'm lettin' ye run away wit' this one. No way. Think o' yer mom! I already made the mistake o' lettin' Taylor go, I ain't makin' that same mistake again!" Daryl yelled.
Taylor bit her lip and folded her arms, staring down at the floor as she tried to forget the painful memories that were resurfacing as Connie stood up, gesturing that they needed to go.
"Nah, she's right. C'mon. We gotta go. C'mon." Daryl ushered them, grabbing Henry's arm to help him up before he walked off to the side and pointed out to the forest, "It's this way.".
Connie shook her head, but Daryl argued, "Yeah, this way.".
She gestured for them to follow her before she rushed off, Henry, Lydia, Dog, and Taylor following after her as Daryl called after Dog, "No. No. Dog!".
Sighing, he gave in and followed after them as they made their way to Alexandria.
———
IT WAS NOW MORNING. THE FIVE
including Dog had been gone for a full day now as they stepped out from the forest and onto a road, Connie pointing up to a tall apartment complex that looked like was still under construction.
She pointed at all of them and herself before up to the building, gesturing they should go up there.
"Take the high ground? Yeah." Daryl agreed before looking over at Taylor, "They come after us, we'll see 'em first.".
She nodded as Connie wrote on her notepad, "Good idea. Just wish I had my sniper rifle. I could pick them all off before it even started.".
Connie held up her notepad, 'Chokepoint'.
"Good idea. C'mon." Daryl said, leading the way.
"I don't understand." Henry spoke up, "They use walkers to protect themselves, right?".
Daryl pointed up, "So we go up someplace the walkers can't go. We separate the livin' from the dead. They travel in a herd, but there's only like five or six o' 'em in the middle, right?".
He turned to Lydia who nodded, "Yeah, but if we go up there, we're trapped. Alpha's not gonna send an army 'cause she doesn't have to. She'll send Beta.".
Taylor froze up at the name, fear evident on her face as Daryl replied, "I'm sick o' runnin'. This Beta—he their best? Lee mentioned he beat up Taylor.".
Lydia simply nodded as Daryl responded, "Good. We'll kill him first. C'mon.".
He walked ahead, Henry and Connie following behind him as Dog trodded in front, and Taylor looked over at a fearful, hesitant Lydia.
"You worried they're gonna get you and take you back to Alpha?" Taylor asked her.
Lydia nodded, "...Y—Yeah. A little...".
Taylor hugged her, "Don't worry. We won't let them take you. I don't care what Daryl says. I see the good in you. You're one of us now.".
Lydia looked over her as she pulled away, "W—Why are you trusting me so easily? You barely know me.".
Taylor shrugged, "I've just come to know the difference between a good person and a bad person. I've learned from people. Good people.".
Finally, a small, delicate smile spread across Lydia's lips, "Thank you, Taylor.".
She smiled back, "You're welcome, Lydia.".
"Hey," The young adult and teen turned to see Daryl, Connie, and Henry looking back at them, "Ye two comin' or what?".
Taylor grabbed Lydia's hand, "C'mon. We're gonna kick some ass.".
The two girls joined back up with Daryl, Henry, Connie, and Dog as they made their way up to the apartment complex.
———
TAYLOR TEAMED UP WITH DARYL
to search the apartment complex and see what it had to offer to defend themselves against Beta and the masked freaks.
She really didn't want to see Beta again, terrified of their last encounter where he beat her to a pulp, just because Alpha said so, her saying it was because her immunity was a curse, not a blessing.
Daryl opened the door to a stairwell, shining his flashlight inside and illuminating the dark room as the two stepped inside, seeing that the stairwell was blocked by random pieces of furniture.
As the two stepped back out and Daryl closed the door, he turned to her, "Ye alri'? You've been real quiet since we got here. Quiet since we got ye back from Alpha.".
She brushed off his question, "I'm not what's important. We need to focus on net letting Beta and those assholes getting their hands on Lydia.".
He walked up to her and rested his hands on her shoulders, "...I'm jus' glad yer okay. That yer talkin' te me.".
She slipped out of his hold, "It doesn't change the fact that you hit me. Again. It doesn't chnage the fact you dumped me in Alexandria and I didn't see you until what happened. Then, I didn't see you for four years. I'm pissed at you for that.".
She felt the sadness radiating off of him, and she gently grabbed his hand, "But...despite all of that...I'm trying to forgive you. Becuase even after what happened...it doesn't erase what we went through together. What we became, together.".
He ducked his head down, and she guessed a few tears had fallen from his eyes, "...Never thought my best friend's daughter would be the reason I'm still fightin'...".
She smiled, lightly placing her hands on either side of his head before lifting his head up, wiping the tears off his cheeks, "Never thought by dad's best friend would be the reason I'm still fighting.".
He chuckled, "You mind if I take up Hailey's wish te play 'em carnival games at the fair?".
She shook her head, "Not at all. She just told me yesterday in the infirmary which one's she wants to play. She's as excited as I've ever seen her.".
He grinned, "I'm lookin' foward to it. You an' Lee goin' on a date or somethin' there?".
She nodded, "Yeah. Tammy said she was going to sell the clothes I made for me, and me and Lee are going to walk around, talk with people, and check out the booths.".
"You mind if I get Hailey somethin'? I wanna surprise her." He asked.
She smiled, "Of course. It'd make her day. She hasn't gotten a surprise since her birthday at the beginning of the year.".
"It's a plan then. First though, we gotta get outta this shithole. C'mon. Let's head up the other stairs an' check on Connie, Lydia, an' Henry." He said, and the two went up the other stairwell, finding Connie in a secret compartment under the floor with a bunch of rations.
"That stairwell's already barricaded." He said as Dog walled up to them, looking up at the two, "I guess ye know that.".
Connie stepped out of the compartment as Taylor petted Dog, Connie handing Daryl a water bottle, "Thanks.".
She tapped Taylor on the shoulder before handing her one, and the young adult thanked her, taking a sip as Connie faced the two and wrote on her notepad, 'We stayed here once.'.
"Yeah. A little secret stash for emergency? Smart." He replied.
Even though Connie couldn't hear him, she still got the message and smiled, and Taylor couldn't help but smile too.
Connie gestured for the two to follow her, and Daryl cleared his throat as they walked up to a map and sighed, "Alri'. There's only two ways up—that's good. I think these barricades are a little too barricaded. So, we'll cut open holes so that they can walk up here.".
He motioned it out with his hands while pointing at the map, and Connie gave him a thumbs up.
"Alri'? Thanks." He placed a hand on her shoulder, "This place is good. This might work.".
She wrote one her notepad before holding it up to the two.
"Alri', then what? Then we go." He replied, pointing off to the side.
She wrote something else down before holding it up, 'The girl stays.'.
"No." He refused, "No.".
Taylor looked down sadly as Connie underlined 'stays'.
"If we take her back, my friends die—yer friends, too." He explained, and she scoffed.
"Give me 'his." He muttered, snatching the notepad and pen as he began writing something down, 'Our Friends will DIE'.
She snatched back the pen and notepad before writing something else down, ripping off the paper and handing it to him before storming off, Taylor following her.
They stepped into the next room over, Connie standing frustratingly by one of the windows as Taylor gently took her notepad and pen, 'I know he can be frustrating. He's a lot nicer than he used to be though.'.
Connie took the notepad and pen back and wrote something else down, 'How long have you known him?'.
Taylor held up nine fingers, and Connie nodded, writing something else down, 'Is he your dad?'.
Taylor gently took Connie's arm and traced over her skin with her finger, 'nonbiological'.
Connie smiled, pointing to Taylor's hair and eyes before writing down, 'It looks alike.'.
Taylor couldn't help but giggle, hugging Connie before mouthing, "We're gonna get through this."
Connie nodded, and Taylor walked off to check on Daryl, Henry, and Lydia, finding Daryl standing at the door to a room Lydia and Henry were in, the two kissing.
Taylor couldn't help but laugh as Daryl broke them up, "Hey. C'mon, we're headed up te keep watch.".
"Yeah. Sure." Henry replied awkwardly, and Lydia and Henry walked out the door as Taylor couldn't keep her fits of laughter down.
Daryl looked down at her, "The hell's so funny?".
She took a deep breath, "Just how you interrupted them. That, and it brought back good memories of me and Lee. Young love...it's definitely something.".
He nodded lightly, "...Yeah...".
"Speaking of which, what about you and Leah-".
He interrupted her, "Found somethin' for ye. Thought ye might like it.".
He slid off a strap from his shoulder, revealing a sniper rifle, fully equipped with a scope, extended mag, and suppressor, "Thought ye might like it. Found it in the compartment Connie an' her group stashed.".
She smiled, "50.AP too, huh? I lost my old one back at Terminus. It...this is...this is amazing. Thank you, Daryl.".
He nodded with a grin, "Yer welcome, babygirl. C'mon. Let's head up te one o' 'em balconies Beta an' the res' o' 'em'll probably be here soon.".
She nodded before following him to one of the upper floors to keep watch, wondering why he darted her question about him and Leah.
———
BETA AND WHO KNOWS HOW
many masked freaks had arrived.
They blended into the horde, and the only one she could distinguish was Beta, seeing his long, black overcoat.
Daryl shot down a walker, alerting Beta and the other masked freaks they were here before the father and daughter disappeared back inside.
They walked into the room Lydia, Connie, and Henry were in as Daryl said, "Alri', they're here. Let's go.".
Thudding and crashing could be heard downstairs along with the growling of walkers as they finished nailing boards to the windows, Daryl clicking on his flashlight as he shone it around the room before pointing it at Lydia, "Hey. Yer wit' me an' Taylor.".
Lydia walked up to Henry and placed a kiss om his cheek, and Taylor couldn't help but smile at the two romantic teens as Daryl grabbed Dog's attention, and they walked off into the room over.
He opened a door to a closet and gestued for Lydia to go inside, "Go ahead. Get in.".
"What the hell? No, I want to help." She protested.
"How ye gonna help if ye ain't gonna fight?" He remarked, "Nah, you'll jus' get in the way. Go. Get in.".
With a sigh, she walked inside, and Daryl told Dog to go in with her, "Anybody comes through this door, he'll take 'em down. If that happens, ye run.".
He went to close the door, but Lydia stopped him, "Wait. Thank you. Both of you.".
Taylor went to reply, but he shut the door and locked it with a padlock.
She furrowed her eyebrows, "Well that was kind of rude.".
He scoffed, "Don' ye start.".
"You think they'll be alright?" She whispered to him.
It took him a moment, "I hope so. C'mon, let's head up te the next floor.".
The father and daughter went up the next floor, and they positioned themselves a ways away from the door, Daryl's crossbow and Taylor's sniper rifle at the ready as they waited for Beta and the rest of the masked freaks.
The door flung open and the two fired, Beta hiding behind the wood of a door as Daryl's arrow lodged into it and Taylor's round went through the door, missing Beta by a hair.
Daryl pushed down some furniture, "Now!".
Taylor scurried off to the right, a masked freak standing in her way with their knife out, and she shot them in the head before rushing to the door and up the stairs to the next floor, two of the masked freaks followed her up and ended up cornering her.
"You have no where to go." One said in a hushed whisper, pulling out a cleaver.
"This is the end for you." The other one said, pulling out a machete.
Hearing the floor beneath her creak and groan, she smirked, swinging her gun over her shoulder flipping them off, "Fuck you, assholes."
She stomped her foot and the floor gave in, and she fell to the floor beneath her, right onto Beta's shoulders, and as he restless with her to get her off, she stabbed him in the shoulder before he shoved her off, and Daryl rushed up and shoved Beta into the elevator shaft.
He spit before rushing up to Taylor and helped her up, "Ye alri'?".
She groaned, gripping her right shoulder, "I dislocated my shoulder.".
She looked back at the two masked freaks, seeing both of them had fallen too and cracked their necks.
"C'mon, I got ye." He said, picking her up, and they met back up with Connie, Henry, Lydia, and Dog downstairs.
"Alri'. Alri', we should go." He said, setting Taylor down.
"You figure out where we're going?" Henry asked him.
"Alexandria's closest. So we'll get ye stitched up an' pop Taylor's shoulder back in place there." Daryl replied.
"No, we can't." Henry protested, "If her people find out we're there, everybody—".
Daryl stopped him, "Hell, we ain't stayin'. We'll get ye back on yer feet an' Taylor taken care o', an' then we'll move on. All of us.".
Taylor, Connie, and Henry smiled over at Lydia as he said, "No, but—No, but where are we going?".
"I heard there's a whole world out there. C'mon." Daryl hoisted Henry's arm over his shoulder as he helped him walk, and they all walked out of the apartment complex, making their way to Alexandria.
They had yet again survived, and continued to walk among the living...
To Be Continued...
Word Count: 2902
Edited: ❌
@Taylor_Frickin_Dixon, 2022
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