When I'm done throwing up for the second time I wipe my mouth with the sleeve of the jacket and lift my head up, "everything okay?" A voice asks me.
My head turns around and Daryl is standing behind me. I stand up slowly looking around and remember the empty wooded area he brought me to before. My head fills with memories and I remember what brought me here, "how did you know I was here?" I ask afraid.
"I saw you when you tripped" he says back to me suggesting he followed behind me.
"Did they see me? Are they coming?" I frantically ask looking behind him to see if anyone is coming through the trees.
He takes two steps closer, "is everythin okay?" he questions me, "yer actin paranoid"
"Did anyone come with you??" I step closer to him, now we're only a few feet apart.
"Shannon, no one else is here. What is going on?" He puts a hand on my shoulder and keeps it there.
My eyes still search behind him before I bring them to his face. I notice the concern in his eyes and speak, "they aren't good people, they can't stay here! That's not their names, they are lying! Daryl, they can't stay here!"
"Calm down, calm down. What are you talkin' about?" He interrupts my rambling.
I shake my head and ramble more, "those men she just brought into town. They are not good; they are the ones who cut out the biters eyes!" I rant more. He nods his head as I continue to ramble on.
"Okay, okay" he eventually interrupts and his hands are held up, "let's go back and you can tell me what you mean" he tries to gesture for me to walk towards the camp.
"No, I can't go back there. If they see me.." I shake my head and tears well in my eyes.
"Ok. Let's get away from here and you can tell me what you mean somewhere else" he changes the direction he is facing. I nod slowly as he walks past me further away from Alexandria. We walk for about 20 minutes before coming to a shed. It's worn down, covered in vines and littered with debris. I don't have anything but a pocketknife on me so Daryl takes a quick look around the property. After it's cleared he wriggles open the shed door and we quickly clear the location. It's a small space so it only takes a few moments. There's a dusty blanket on the ground in the corner and I pick it up and wrestle it into the air. I place it on the floor again and sit on it, resting against the wall. Daryl finds an old hay bale and brings it over; he places it on the edge of the blanket and takes a seat, "so, what's goin on?" he asks when he's seated comfortably.
"They can't stay Daryl!" my emotions take over and I shout it out. He moves his hands for me to slow down and quiet down and I take a deep breath, "they don't need a place to stay, they are up to something!" I snarl next.
"So you know them?" He asks, "are they from your old camp?" he asks another question.
"No! Please, they can't know I'm here! If they don't leave, I have to!"
Daryl gets off the bale of hay and kneels in front of me, taking my hands, "no one is leaving, hold on. What is goin' on?" our hands rest in his lap.
I breathe in deep again, "you know those nightmares I have?" I pause and he nods in response, "they are responsible for them" I simply explain looking away hoping that's all I need to say for him to trust me.
"Does this have to do with Joey?" He says. The name burning my ears and my eyes jolt to him. He shrugs and lets go of my hands.
"You could say so" I mutter under my breath letting my disdain for him show.
"Shannon, tell me what's going on" Daryl catches on, "you can trust me," his words interrupt mine and he is looking me in the eyes. I hold them for a moment before he averts them away to his own hands.
"He was my best friend before all of this happened" I gesture towards the obvious state of the world, "I was only able to survive for so long at first because of him. Our first camp was in the city, in a neighborhood. However, as things got worse, we didn't feel safe so we left. We were on our own for some time hooking up with other randoms along the way. A couple of months ago, maybe over a year now, I'm not really sure, but we were in a really bad way. We came across this camp and they took us in. After about 2 weeks things started to feel weird. Joey and I.." I pause from saying his name, bile churning in my stomach. I hold it down and continue, "we talked about leaving, we didn't have to stay, it was always our choice. Or so I thought. As it turned out, it was actually his choice. He choose to stay, and in order to do so he sold me to the main camp."
"Sold you?" His voice is low. I nod with a blank stare, "what happened?"
"I was going to be married off, but when I got to a camp they had a woman give me an exam and she knew I was a virgin. So I was going to the leader, the head hancho, the king" I roll my eyes at all the names they had for him as I wipe the tears that are falling from my eyes.
"They raped you?" Daryl's chest puffs up and his face is now red with rage.
"Never got that far, luckily for me I guess" I explain feeling exposed. I cover myself up with my arms, trying to fade away feeling grotesque and ashamed. "They had to move me to his compound first. On the way we got in an accident. The driver was distracted with what his pal was doing to me and we hit a parked trailer. The truck flipped a few times into a ditch. I escaped the truck before the biters surrounded it."
He nods "that's the accident you were talking about the day you talked with Rick and I" he says out loud explaining it to himself mostly. I nod to confirm, "You didn't kill them Shannon"
"I could have saved them, there was time" I look away.
"You did what you had to do survive, they wouldn't have let you go" his voice rises while he defends me.
"Doesn't matter. As it seems to be they are alive and well" I interrupt him from continuing.
"For now" he adds standing and lifting his bow to his arm. I stand up quickly to stop him and grab a hold of his arm.
I pull at his arm a bit more to stop him "Please don't. You don't know them, they are ruthless!" I beg
"They won't have the chance to be" he snarls.
"Daryl, they aren't here seeking refugee, if you kill them only more will come!" I plead more.
"How do you know?" He asks lowering his bow just a little.
"They had at least 5 compounds, even if one of them went down they have other places to go. And running into the biters they make after that run.. It's just not a coincidence" I describe.
"They are the ones who removed the eyes?" He asks. "But why?"
"I don't really know, something to do with giving them a stronger sense of hearing. I think they may follow the beard to other camps. I never really wanted to know." I explain.
His bow now lowers below his waist "Okay, well we'll go back and tell Rick and Deanna and they will help us figure something out"
"No, please. I don't want everyone to know what happened to me" I assert to him. He looks at me with something in his eyes. I turn away "please don't do that. That's why I don't tell anyone. Don't pity me"
"I don't pity you Shannon. I like you" he spills
"What?" I ask turning back to him
His eyes lift up to the roof before coming back to mine "I like yew" he says again, my guard falls a little bit curious as to what he means "you're a good person" he adds on. I smile, but mostly at my own stupidity. Of course he likes me as a friend, everyone does. Everyone loves a bimbo my mother would say.
I wait for him to say more but he doesn't, so I do instead "then please don't tell anyone what I told you" I whisper out. He bites his lower lip and I can tell he's frustrated "find another way?" I plead further.
He sighs. I hear the word fine emit from his mouth "on one condition" he adds. I let him finish before protesting the idea "I have to tell Rick."
"Why?" I basically whine.
"I won't lie to him, things don't go well for us when people hide things. Rick can help, he's got us where we are" he defends the man. I nod in agreement with hesitation. If he can trust me, then I should try and trust him.
We both go back to the blanket, only this time he sits next to me. We sit silently for a while, and I watch the way the sunlight changes through the cracks as the day passes. "When we go back, I'll talk to Rick and we will come up with a plan" he speaks.
"I'd like to go with you" I say in return.
He look at me from the side "yew don't have to do that. I know how hard it was for ya to tell just me"
"I know, but I should be the one to tell him this. It's better he hears it from me." I finish. Daryl nods and we spend another hour or so in silence. We head back to town before sunset.
----
Thanks for reading. So, what do you think of these new guys?
Q: What are your thoughts on Rick's evolution?
A: I'm worried. I really enjoyed the Rick who had some faith in humanity left. I know with the survivors, they have to be scared but he's losing it all!