In the early morning light, the pursuit for the buck continues. The adrenaline of the hunt heightening their senses, both of them not having spoke since last night's conversation. Suddenly, Madeleine shoots at the buck who runs at the distant sound which catches their attention, Daryl cursing quietly, frustrated by the missed opportunity.
"You heard that?"
"Yeah, you haven't gone crazy just yet." Madeleine replies, their gazes lock for a moment, a silent understanding passing between them.
They move swiftly toward the source of the sound, instinctively walking closer to each other. Their well-coordinated actions spoke of a silent camaraderie forged through countless trials. However, another abrupt interruption shifts their focus elsewhere, piercing screams echoing through the woods. Madeleine's heart skips a beat, recognizing the distinctive scream that had haunted her dreams for too long.
"Carl." She mutters under her breath, fear surging through her veins, and without a moment's hesitation, she turns and sprints in the direction of the agonizing cries.
The man rolls his eyes before he runs off after her, knowing she's heading toward the wrong direction of the camp until she takes a corner and he recognises the path, impressed by her sense of direction. Madeleine clenches her fists, steadying herself for whatever awaits them, her determination to reach Carl and ensure his safety grows.
Meanwhile, the group comes upon a walker who is eating the carcass of the deer Madeleine and Daryl had been tracking. The blonde sisters come up behind the rest of the group and cringe in disgust at the walker devouring the buck. When the walker snaps out of his trance and they gain its attention, it attempts to attack them but the man start to beat it with their weapons until they think the walker is dead, Dale finishing it off by chopping its head off with an axe.
"It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain." Dale speaks up as the group exchanges slightly concerned looks in between them.
"Well, they're running out of food in the city, that's what." Jim points out as they hear a branch snap and footsteps following which causes for them to raise their weapons, and they get ready to fight it off.
Daryl Dixon comes out of the woods, having lost Madeleine who ran faster than he could keep up, and he looks around to notice she isn't anywhere in sight, instead he sees the walker and the half eaten deer they spent the night tracking down.
"Son of a bitch. That's my deer! Look at it. All gnawed on by this... filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" He stomps the carcass of the walker, kicking it with each word.
"Calm down, son. That's not helping." Dale suggests, causing for Daryl to grind his teeth as he glares at him.
"What do you know about it, old man? Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to "on golden pond"? We've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think?" Daryl points at the area the walker was munching on and he wonders, "Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"
"I would not risk that." Shane states, making Daryl sigh since he knew it would be enough food to last a while for the group.
"That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel... about a dozen or so. A couple of bunnies, too. That'll have to do." He shrugs, showing off the squirrels and bunnies they managed to capture.
Suddenly, the head of the walker starts to move its teeth, the blonde girls gasping out, but their fear ends when an arrow flies through the air, Daryl taking a step to the side as it pierces the walker's head.
"You nearly shot me!" Daryl exclaims, the women walking out of the woods with a roll of her eyes.
"Your tantrum distracted me." Madeleine states, the silence surrounding the group as she looks around, noticing the satisfied expressions on their faces.
Rick remains in a state of shock at the sight of her and he takes her more mature figure in. The image from the last time he had seen her was burned into his mind, but he can tell just by simply looking at her that she has changed.
A smile breaks on his face as she keeps glaring at Daryl, the two of them not looking away from each other before she rolls her eyes. Madeleine's eyes rapidly widen at the sight of the person she never thought she'd see again and before she can process it, the word leaves her mouth.
"Rick." She blinks a few times, the name seeming foreign coming from her own lips and by the looks on everyone's faces, she knows she's not hallucinating the man in front of her.
"You know him?" Daryl seems confused about the stranger, whilst everyone is looking between the two of them after having heard the story Rick told them the previous night, growing content at their reunion.
"I'm her father." Rick concludes, walking over to pull her into a warm embrace, but she's too stunned by the revelation of him being alive and doesn't hug him back.
After a solid minute he pulls away, brushing the hair out of her face and she takes a step away from him still in utter disbelief of his presence.
"You're alive." She breathes out and he nods his head with a smile, the two of them contrasting their moods as she has a blank stare in her eyes like he's a stranger to her.
She gives in and looks away when Daryl begins to call out his brother's name, making a move to walk back into the camp, not caring about the reunion of the Grimes father and daughter like the rest of them. Although, Rick awaits for her to say anything to him, even ask him how he's still alive, but she simply brushes past him and walks back to the camp.
"Where's Carl?" She questions, the Korean man approaching her and throwing his arm over her shoulder but her instant glare causes for him to hold his hands up in defence.
"He's okay. He's with Lori."
"You made it back in one piece?" She acknowledges, Glenn grinning at her and she rolls her eyes at his continuous joyful demeanour.
"I knew you cared." He teases and she arches her eyebrows at him who chuckles. "We barely made it. Rick... I mean... your dad?"
She shakes her head at his words as they reach the camp, Daryl keeping on calling out for his older brother as they trail behind him.
"Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."
"We're gonna have a problem." Madeleine hears Glenn mutter under his breath which makes her lightly curious about what happened during their run.
"Daryl, just slow up a bit. I need to talk to you." Shane calls out, causing for Daryl to snap his entire body toward him.
"About what?"
"About Merle. There was a..." he walks closer to the man who narrows his eyes at Shane as he speaks. "There was a problem in Atlanta."
Daryl glares at him. "He dead?"
"We're not sure." He replies.
"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl raises his voice, clenching his jaw and his glare on Shane darkens.
Rick steps up to Daryl who adverts his glare from Shane over to him. "No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it."
"Rick Grimes, you got something you want to tell me?" He taunts with a harsh tone laced in his words.
"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal." Rick laments, causing for his daughter to scoff in amusement at his words, knowing Daryl will snap at any moment now. "He's still there."
Daryl turns away from him and takes a few steps back, running a hand over his face. "Hold on. Let me process this." He faces Rick again, Carl running up to Madeleine who gives him a knowing look as if saying for him to back off. "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof and you left him there?!" Daryl screams at his face, the tension growing before mistakenly opens his mouth to answer back.
"Yeah."
In a matter of seconds, Daryl throws the squirrels at Rick who dodges it and before he can attack him, Shane shoves him back, the man falling to the ground.
"Hey! Watch the knife!" T-dog calls out, gaining Madeleine's attention.
Daryl pulls a knife out as he stands up and attempts to stab Rick, but Madeleine runs up as Rick restrains his arm and she puts Daryl on a chokehold. The man fidgets in her arms, dropping the knife and slapping her arms as she crouches down and throws him over her shoulder, the man grunting at the impact, feeling both impressed and furious at her.
She doesn't back down as she grabs the knife and kneels down, holding it up to his neck, the group standing around frozen by her actions, while Glenn eating the apple he had on his hand, not fazed by her actions at all.
"You'd best get that thing away from me!"
Madeleine pierces the knife deeper to his throat, but careful not to draw any blood, a smirk on her lips as she speaks, "Or what?"
"Chokehold's illegal." Daryl complains, the women not backing down as Rick walks closer to her. "So is threatening someone with a knife!"
"You can file a complaint." Shane calls back.
"I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic." Rick speaks up, placing a hand on Madeleine's shoulder who slightly flinches, glancing back at him and the man immediately removes his hand from her, clearing his throat before looking at Daryl. "Do you think we can manage that?"
"Yeah." He breathes out when Madeleine removes the knife from his neck, a few people seeming impressed by the strength of the small women as she stands back up.
"What I did was not on a whim. Your brother does not work and play well with others." Rick explains, the man coughing out as he rubs his neck and sends a glare toward Madeleine who's unbothered by the familiar look in his eyes.
T-dog steps forward and falls victim to Daryl's glare. "It's not Rick's fault. I had the key. I dropped it."
"You couldn't pick it up?" He fires back with an obvious tone, Madeleine biting her lips to hold back the laugh she wants to let out by his words.
"Well, I dropped it in a drain." He adds.
Daryl shakes his head, kicking the dirt underneath his feet as he brushes past T-dog with a dangerous look which scares the man to step back. "If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."
"Well, maybe this will." He calls back, making Daryl stop dead on his tracks and turn around to face him. "Look, I chained the door to the roof... So the geeks couldn't get at him... With a padlock."
"It's gotta count for something." Rick chimes in.
"Hell with all y'all!" He curses at everyone, glancing around the group with glistening eyes but he wipes his eyes before his glance lands back on Rick. "Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."
"He'll show you." Lori states, not taking her eyes off Rick which doesn't go unnoticed by Madeleine who looks in between them, knowing they had a conversation about it already. "Isn't that right?"
"I'm going back." Rick concludes, causing for Lori to walk back inside the RV, Carl standing by his sister's side before she nudges him and indicates with her head for him to follow her.
The Grimes siblings make their way toward the quarry, the light across the horizon painting the sky of hues of blue. Madeleine removes her bow and arrows which slung across her back, finding a spot for it to rest on the ground where they sit together.
Carl lays his head on her shoulder, finding comfort by her presence. The sense of longing for his sister growing even with her figure embracing his fragile body, the time they spent away from each other before the world fell seems to never fill up the emptiness he felt during those adamant years.
Madeleine's glance drives a tug at the cover of her lips, proudly looking down at her younger sibling, a gentle gesture which demonstrates the strong bong which remains, keeping her arm around him in fear of ever letting him go. The women having swore to herself to never bring herself to leave him behind again, despite what the future holds for either of them.
The soothing sound of the water provides them with a moment of peace led with their comfortable silence, both of them admiring the breathless sight in front of them. The women's mind silencing her worries when her gaze fixates on her brother, reminding her despite the darkness and storms which led them apart, she would do anything to make sure he survives in this new reality they woke up to.
"I can't believe dad's back." Carl blurts out, the women smiling down at her younger before kissing the top of his head, the boy covering his eyes from the sun before glancing up at her. "I'm scared of him going out there."
"He'll be fine." She assures him, grabbing the bow from beside her and handing it over to the young boy. "Come on, show me what I taught you so far."
He grins at her, grabbing the bow and standing up with his back straight, placing a foot in front of the other and keeping his feet apart, like she scold him many times. He grabs an arrow from his sister and places it on the arrow rest before aiming at the makeshift target. Madeleine keeps an eye on him as he aims at the target, but due to him pointing directly at the target, the arrow gets too much of a spin and completely misses the target.
"I'll never be good at this." He complains, handing the bow back to his sister.
"You have to keep practising. Rome wasn't built in a day."
She grabs an arrow and copies the actions of her younger sibling, however, she points the arrow slightly to the side of the target, relaxing as she takes a deep breath and releases the arrow which lands perfectly in the centre of the target.
"Maybe, but I'll never be as good as you." He pouts, his sister ruffling his hair as she seats back down and he stands in front of her, both of them seeming to hold back what they truly wish they could say to each other. "You should go with dad."
"He can take care of himself." She emotionlessly speaks, the boy looking down at the ground as she brushes his arm and he looks back at her, the women pulling him into a slight embrace. "You're here and that's where I'm staying."
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As the Grimes siblings made their way back to their tents, Rick can't help but sigh. He recognises the look on his daughter's face all too well. It was a look that often meant she had an idea or plan that he might not approve of, and it would likely take a lot of convincing to dissuade her.
Madeleine's independent and headstrong nature was both a source of pride and worry for Rick. He admired her resilience and determination, but he also understood that their world was fraught with dangers and that some of her impulses could lead to trouble.
"You're not going. I need you here with Lori and Carl. I have to do this and I can't be worried about you, Mads. I can't lose you again." Rick states, not letting her even speak up first and at his words, she sends him a glare.
"You've lost me a long time ago." She points out, making Rick look down in shame, her brother standing beside her as he looks back in forth between his sister and father, knowing they're going to argue about it again.
"Mads, just this once, listen to us. My mind can't bare to worry about the two of you." Lori chimes in, giving her a pleading look.
Madeleine shrugs, her arm around her brother as she stares at Rick, her fists clenching at their words, her knuckles turning white with the force of her fury toward them which never seems to disappear. "Whatever. I wasn't going to volunteer anyway, just bringing Carl back to you. Now, you two can argue about Rick going." She taunts with a tight smile, pointing at the both of them. "I have better things to do. See ya in a bit, kiddo." She winks at Carl before walking away from them and heading toward her tent.
"Have you spoke to her about it?" Lori questions and the man shakes his head before he kneels down in front of his concerned son. "You need to speak to her before you leave." She presses on and Rick sighs, lost in thought, not knowing where to begin with his older kid.
"I'll be back." He reassures Carl, kissing his forehead. "You'll be safe, I know your sister will keep looking out for you."
"Will you tell me a story before you leave?"
Rick mentions for Carl to walk with him, Carl following behind his footsteps as they head toward the van they're going to take to rescue Merle, the group of people who volunteered to help, gather up the supplies to take with them.
"Once upon a time there was a warrior. Her name was Lily. She was the most brave warrior in the entire kingdom and she would fight for her people even those who hurt her. But one day... those she fought for, hurt her... a lot and she decided to run away. She cried because she loved them a lot, but then she told herself, 'Stop being weak. Grow up and get over it.' and she never felt anything again. She kept going on with her own journey. Alone. Everyone started missing her, but she never looked back. She fought every war until she realised she needed help. So, one day a group of strangers came together to help her. They never left her side. She soon reunited with her kingdom, she forgave them. From that day onwards... her heart that turned into stone started cracking. She didn't like it at first but eventually she was back to caring and loving those who she then considered family. The end."
Madeleine walks back to her tent, her mind still wavering through the events of the day. As she enters, intending to put down her bow and arrows, finally giving herself a moment to gather her thoughts, her intentions are disrupted when she discovers an unexpected sight.
Daryl is laying down on her sleeping bag, his eyes closed and eyebrows scrunched together as if he's in a form of pain. The women kicks his foot which makes him jolt awake, the women sending him a questioning look at his presence in her tent.
He stretches his arms out, yawning before his eyes travel up to her familiar expression. "He doesn't look old enough to be your father."
"Why are you in my tent?" She snaps back at him, avoiding his questions as per usual, placing her stuff down before turning back to him as if questioning why he is there, especially when him and the group should be leaving at any moment.
He shrugs, placing his arms underneath his head as they keep their eyes locked on each other. "I wanted to be alone. This is the only place they wouldn't think to look."
"You're using your brain for once, Green Arrow."
"Lori isn't your mother, you made sure we all knew that since the beginning. Are you adopted?" He fires another question at her, the women letting out a deep breath as she holds the bridge of her nose.
"No. Satisfied yet?" She adamantly speaks, tilting her head to the side as she indicates toward the tent's exit. "Can you leave?"
Daryl's proximity and the palpable tension in the air pushes Madeleine to the edge, her frustration bubbling beneath the surface. She feels his penetrating gaze attempting to unravel the thoughts she keeps guarded before he laughs.
"What's so funny?" Her voice was sharp, a challenge in itself, daring him to push further.
Daryl shakes his head, still with that humorless chuckle that grates her nerves. "Ain't nothin', Mads." The silence between them thick, fuelling the fire with provoking words. "You really don't say much, do you?" His words felt like a mere scratch to a deep wound, a reminder of her reluctance to share her past, the way she learned to hide her unresolved hauntings never fading like her scars.
"And you ask too many questions for a guy who barely speaks, Daryl." The retort was laced with bitterness. She wants to keep her emotional walls intact, her vulnerability hidden, but Daryl's scrutiny felt like an intrusion which light the match and rose the fire inside of her.
The man rubbing his nose, drifts his glance from her hardened expression and he seemed to understand that pressing the matter would only fuel the growing tension, he decides to defuse it by adverting the subject.
"You coming?"
"Your bother is out there, mine is right here. Why would I?" Madeleine tilts her head at him with an arched eyebrow and he scoffs, nodding his head even though he knows she hates his brother enough if she could she would've drove a knife through his skull a couple of times over.
Daryl makes a move to walk away from the tent, the women turning her back to him, running a hand through her dark hair when the silence is once again interrupted by the man. "Everyone always gathers around telling their stories, they get to know each other, but you run from it. What the hell are you hiding?"
Her eyes narrow at his words with such intensity which could scorch the whole area around them, spinning around to come face to face with him, her veins visibly pulsating like a tempest. "The past is in the past and I don't care to know any of yours. You don't exactly seat around to listen either. It's pointless." She comments with an assertive, bitter tone, the man nodding his head and she watches him leave, the anger still simmering within her as the space between them increase.
Rick furrows his eyebrows when he walks past the man, noticing him moving away from his daughter's tent and he wonders what he was doing in there since his tense posture gives out the encounter wasn't civil. Rick keeps strolling closer to the tent as Madeleine steps out, both of them stopping dead on their tracks as their eyes lock.
He clears his throat when the women crosses her arms over her chest, having known he would attempt to speak to her eventually. "I'm glad you made your way back to us when it happened." She scoffs, shaking her head at his words whilst choosing to remain silent. "I'm sorry."
"Yeah, I hear that a lot from you, Rick." Madeleine groans, her fists clenching and unclenching with her mind racing, biting down on her lip as she holds back from saying what's truly been roaming around her mind.
"You're more mature. You're stronger. Bra-."
She cuts him off. "Lori said the same thing."
"She's not wrong." Rick observes her adverting her eyes away from his figure, the wind whistling in between them as an invisible line of wrong and right seems to be drawn between them, the reasons they grew estranged not having ended despite the world coming to an end. "I haven't seen you in 5 years, Madeleine. I've carried the weight of that day for years, and I can't pretend like it didn't affect me either."
Madeleine's gaze hardens, crossing her arms defensively. "So, I should feel bad for you, forgive you and forget about it? How do you think I felt?"
Tension hung thick in the air as Rick and Madeleine stand face to face, the weight of the events that took place five years ago still bears down on them like an unspoken storm. The familiarity they once shared seemed distant, buried beneath the scars of time.
"I know, but I also know something else happened for you to be—"
"Back to my old ways?" Her interruption was sharp, a defense mechanism forged from years of struggle, going beyond the reasons which drew the line between them. "I'm cold and selfish and manipulative and impulsive, and the list goes on, right? You don't like what you see, don't look."
The words hung heavy, the long silence hoovering around with the wind, acknowledging the further distance being created between them.
Rick takes a deep breath to break the silence represented of the regret he feels for what happened. "You're not going to tell me where you've been, are you? What happened after you left college? After you left home? How you got that scar?"
"It's not worth remembering, Rick." Each word being a shield, guarding her from the painful memories she'd rather leave buried of the battles fought to protect herself from a world that had taken so much from her.
The scars ran deep, both physically and emotionally, and she swore never to tell her tales to anyone, especially to the people she had hope would never break her down the way they did.
"Are you going to call me Rick forever, too?"
"What else should I call you? Dad? Nah. You haven't been a father to me in years." The bitterness in her words cut through the air, each syllable dripping with the resentment that had bloomed over the years.
Rick shakes his head at her words. "That's not true."
"Yeah, maybe you haven't been a father to me ever." She snaps back, her wounds feeling like they're reopening, exposing the rift that had grown between them.
"I did my best, Mads. We both did! You don't know how hard it was. The world we lived in, everything you went through, Lori and I was just trying to protect you."
"Protect me?" She let's out an unhumorous laugh before her cold stare grows on him and she steps up to him, her voice rising with each word. "If that was you and Lori protecting me, then we define protecting differently, Rick."
Her words hung in the air, the women bumping her shoulder onto his as she walks away, Rick stands in his spot, reasoning with the reality of his own daughter never forgiving him.
Glenn runs over to her with a smile and she gives him a perplexed look, shaking off thoughts of her past life that never seem to let her be free. He gives her a questioning look, opening his mouth but she hits his hat which makes it drop in front of his eyes. The boy grunts, adjusting the hat back on his head and he takes the hint not to question her about what is happening with her.
They walk side by side toward the van, Jacqui approaching them with a fed up expression, carrying a basket of dirty clothes. "Would you join us for laundry duty? We could use an extra hand."
"Sure." Madeleine states, her eyes falling back to the pair of eyes looking back at her and Daryl gives in first, calling out for the group going with him, but she keeps her stare on him, Glenn managing to snap her out of the involuntary trance.
"Your parents are still in love."
"Lori isn't my mother." She speaks in a expressionless robotic tone as if she had said that phrase a thousand times.
"Oh, sorry, I forgot." He rubs the back of his head, the two of them watching Rick give his wife a kiss. "You know, I've known you for like 6 weeks and you've never really spoke about him. It's crazy how we fou-."
She cuts him off. "You're rambling again, Glenn."
Glenn awkwardly smiles at her, the women turning her head to look at him. "Do you think we'd be able to fall in love in this world?"
Madeleine scoffs with a unfamiliar dance travelling through her eyes, "Was there love in the old world?"
Glenn takes the moment to rolls his eyes at her this time. "Your heart can't be frozen forever, Mads. Someone broke it once and you never gave it away again. But you'll always be the girl he wish he had kept. You deserve love, it's a human need."
"Nah, it's a human weakness." She crosses her arms over her chest, biting down on her tongue before taking a deep breath. "Now, make sure you don't die, we have a streak to maintain."
"6 weeks and counting. See ya in a few days, don't miss me too much." He calls out as he jogs over to the rest of the group and she shakes her head in amusement before walking down to the quarry.
She notices the women gathered around doing everyone's dirty laundry, the man having decided it was Stone Age times and they have simply never made a move to do any of the domestic work.
"Is it too early for a suffragette movement?" Madeleine calls out, seating down beside Carol who shoots her a bright smile, the rest of them laughing at the unexpected joke that come from the women.
"She's right. Can someone explain to me how the women wound up doing all the Hattie McDaniel work?" Jacqui points out, Madeleine grabbing a few pieces of clothing and washing them as she notices Shane entertain Carl who she knows is worried about Rick.
"The world ended. Didn't you get the memo?" Amy points out, whilst Ed watches the women washing the laundry from his vehicle, smoking a cigarette as per usual not doing much to serve the camp.
"It's just the way it is. I do miss my Maytag." Carol admits, briefly glancing back at her husband and Madeleine peers over her shoulder with a disgusted look just at the pure sight of him.
"I miss my Benz, my sat nav." Andrea sighs as if she's thinking back to the days in the old world.
"I miss my coffeemaker with that dual-drip filter and built-in grinder, honey." Jacqui dreams out loud, twisting the clothes to get the excess water out.
"My computer... And texting." Amy adds, Madeleine keeping her silence when she didn't have much in the old world to miss in the first place.
The silence follows through all the women before Andrea breaks it with a smirk. "I miss my vibrator." The women start to laugh, Madeleine cracking a ghost of a smile when Carol nods her head and agrees.
"Me too."
The women laugh louder which alerts Ed and the man hops off his car and strolls over to them. "What's so funny?"
They look up at him, continuing washing the clothes and they don't bother answering, but Andrea stands up and faces him. "Just swapping war stories, Ed."
"Can we help you?" Madeleine calls out, the man adverting his glare from Andrea to her.
"Yeah, you ought to focus on your work. This ain't no comedy club." Madeleine raises her eyebrows at his words, standing up with Andrea who the women doesn't favour at all.
"Ed, tell you what... you don't like how your laundry is done, you are welcome to pitch in and do it yourself." Andrea chucks the shirt at him, the wet piece of clothing landing on his chest. "There."
Ed throws the shirt back at her, the shirt landing on her face and she still manages to catch it with a grunt, Madeleine taking a step forward. "Ain't my job, missy."
A voice calls out for their names behind them, but they don't back down from the man attempting to intimidate them. "What is your job? Seating on you ass all day smoking and eating." Madeleine fires back at him with a glare, the man taking a dangerous step to her, but she doesn't show a ounce of fear like he's used to.
"Well, it sure as hell ain't listening to a couple of uppity smart-mouthed whores. Tell you what..." He looks back at Carol. "...come on. Let's go."
The women shakes her head at Carol, giving her a knowing look for her to stay back. Carol looks down at the ground, Ed attempts to walk up to his wife but Madeleine steps in front of him.
"She doesn't need to go anywhere."
''And I say it's none of your business. Come on now. You heard me." Ed calls out, his voice slightly raising as he looks at his wife, but Madeleine keeps her ground, not allowing the women to leave with him, knowing what he does to her behind closed doors. "Hey, don't think I won't knock you on your ass just 'cause you're some college-educated bitch or whatever you were, alright?" He gives her a warning look, the women clenching her fists as she feels the knife on her waist, resisting the urge from grabbing it. "Now you come on now or you gonna regret it later."
"So she can show up with fresh bruises later, Ed? Yeah, we've seen them." Jacqui speaks up, the women standing up for Carol as they all stand in front of her in a protective manner, which seems amusing to him as Ed burst out laughing.
"Stay out of this. Now come on! You know what? This ain't none of y'all's business. You don't want to keep prodding the bull here, okay? Now I am done talking. Come on." Ed demands, gesturing toward Carol who grows worried for all of their sakes.
"She's not going anywhere with you. Now, I suggest you walk away." Ed's face contorted in anger at Madeleine's words, and he clenches his fists.
"You don't tell me what to do!"
Without warning, Ed punches Madeleine across the face, the blow leaving her momentarily frozen in response as the rest of the women are horrified, processing what he did. Ed continues his violent strike turning to Carol, but Madeleine snaps back to reality and grabs his wrist when he attempts to grab her, a single twist causes for her to break his wrist and the man cries out for a second before head butting her.
Madeleine falls to the ground and he doesn't stop as he begins kicking her once, twice, and then a third time. The other women get over their initial shock and enraged by his actions, they rush to Madeleine's side and try to hold Ed back.
"Get off her!"
"Stop!"
"You shouldn't have done that."
Out of nowhere, a person snatches Ed out of the women's grips and when they realise what is happening, Ed is pleading for Shane to get off him as Shane pummels his face multiple times. Ed's face gets bloody as Shane continues to punch him, the women watching in horror as Shane mutilates Ed's face.
"Shane, stop! Just stop!"
"You put your hands on your wife, your little girl, Mads or anybody else in this camp one more time, I will not stop next time. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?!" Shane spits out in Ed's face, the man nodding as he throws in one last punch. "I'll beat you to death, Ed."
"Ed! Oh God! No. God!" Carol runs over to her husband, bursting into tears as she kneels beside him. "Ed, I'm sorry. Oh my God. Ed, I'm sorry." Shane stumbles back, looking at Madeleine who spits out blood and stands up to her feet.
Jacqui and Amy attempt to help her, but Madeleine snatches her arm away from them and shakes her head, spitting out more blood on the ground.
"I'm fine!" She exclaims, walking away from them and everyone watches her limp away from the quarry, a few of them surprised she didn't put up a fight to defend herself as she usually tends to do, but she shakes away the thoughts which used to rule over her life.
☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎☠︎
The reunion and that conversation with Rick and Mads was very tense, but Madeleine seems like she will never tell anyone what happened in the past, not even her own family.
What do you think has happened?
Thank you for reading ❤️