Perobably gonna be a lot of POV changes in the beginning guys
Daryl
I stood with my back turned to Merle while he took a piss, looking around at all the trees. I felt ..dead inside. Since the moment I decided to leave her, it was like everything in me just shut down. "There ain't nothin' out here but mosquitoes and ants," I mumbled bitterly.
"Patience, little brother. Sooner or later a squirrel is bound ta scurry across yer' path."
"Even so, that ain't much food."
"More than nothin'."
"I'd have better luck going through one of them houses we passed back on tha' turn off."
"Is that what yer new friends taught you, hmm? How ta' loot fer' booty?"
"Why don't we find a stream, try and catch some fish?"
Merle chuckled, shaking his head as he approached my side. "I think yer' just trying to lead me back to tha' road, man. Get me over to that prison."
"They got shelter," I said, leaning back against the nearest tree. "Food. A pot ta' piss in. Might not be a bad idea."
"For you, maybe. Ain't gone be no damn party for me."
"Everyone will get used ta' each other."
He sighed, looking over at me. "They're all dead baby brother. Makes no different."
Just the thought of Ady being dead made me wanna puke, but the thought of me more or less leaving her to die? Man, it was drivin' me crazy.
"How can you be so sure?" I asked, trying to keep my hope alive.
"Right about now he's probly hostin' a housewarmin' party, where he's gone bury what's left of yer' pals. Even that pretty little girlfriend of yers."
I gritted my teeth,squeezing my eyes shut tightly, pushing images out of my head. It was takin' all of myself control not to run right back to her. Back to the prison, to my family.
"Let's hook some fish."
Adasyn
"You said you found this guy Tyreese's group here?" Glenn asked Carl, pointing to a spot on the chalk map he had drawn. Carl nodded and Glenn gritted his teeth. "We secured this."
"He thinks they came in through here," Carl said, pointing to a different spot.
"Means there's another breach," I mumbled.
"Okay," Glenn sighed. "Looks like the whole front of the prison isn't secure. If it was easy for a group of walkers to stumble in, it's gonna be cake for a group of armed men."
"Why are we even so sure he's gonna attack?" Beth asked. "Maybe you scared him off."
"He had fish tanks full of heads," Michonne cut in. "Walkers and humans. Trophies. He's coming."
"We should hit him now," Glenn suggested.
"What?" Beth asked, looking at him like he was an idiot.
"He won't be expecting it," I agreed, stepping forward. "We'll sneak back in, put a bullet right in his head."
Carol shook her head, "we're not assassins."
"You know where his apartment is," I said, turning to Michonne. "You, Glenn and I - we could end this tonight."
Ashlynn stepped forward, "if you think I'm letting you leave this prison, you're stupid."
"If you think you're going to stop me then you're an idiot," I spat.
"Ady," Beth gasped. "Don't talk to her like that!"
"Stay out of it."
"He didn't know you were coming last time," Herschel said, limping towards me. "Look what happened. You and Glenn were almost executed and Daryl was captured."
I flinched at the sound of his name, the hurt swirling around in my heart doing nothing but increasing my anger. "You can't stop us, none of you."
"Rick would never allow this."
"You really think he's in any position to make that choice?" I asked, thinking back to earlier in the day when Rick completely lost it, screaming at thin air.
"Think this through clearly," he demanded. "T lost his life here, Lori too. The men that were here. It isn't worth any more killing. What are we waiting for? If he's really on his way, we should be out of here by now."
"And go where?" I spat.
"We lived on the road all winter."
"Back when you had two legs and we didn't have a baby crying for walkers every four hours."
"We can't stay here," Maggie added.
"We can't run," I said. "We'll stay put but we are defending this place."
"Carl and I will go and check the tombs, see where the breach is," Glenn said.
I nodded, "Sounds good."
"They'll need some help," Michonne said. I shook my head, "in case anything happens, we need you out here."
I looked around and that's when I noticed that literally everyone in the group, except for Rick who was out in the woods outside the prison playing hide and go seek with a ghost, that is, was crowded around in the cafeteria. "Who the hell is on watch!?"
No answer.
"Damn it."
Daryl
"Smells ta me like tha' Sawhatchee Creek."
"Nah," I shook my head. "We didn't go west enough. If there's a river down there it's gotta' be tha' Yellow Jacket."
"You have a stroke, boy? We ain't never even come close ta' Yellow Jacket."
"We didn't go west, just a little bit south. That's what I think."
Merle scoffed, "know what I think? I may have lost my hand but you lost yer' sense of direction."
"Whatever."
"What you wanna bet?"
"I don't wanna bet nothin'," I spat. "It's just a body of water, why's everythang' gotta be a competition with you?"
"Woah, take it easy little brother. Just tryin' ta have a little fun here, no need ta' get yer panties in a bundle."
I stopped, completely ignoring Merle at this point and listening to the distant baby crying in the distance. "You hear that?"
"Yeah, wild animals gettin' wild."
"No, it's a baby."
"Oh, come on," he laughed. "Why don't ya just piss in my ear and tell me it's rainin' ? That there's tha' sound of a couple coons makin' love sweet love. Know what I mean?"
I pushed past him, taking off towards the sound of the baby.
That could be little ass kicker, they could've all escaped the prison and be in trouble. Ady could be there.
I emerged from the woods and just could make out a man shouting in Spanish, standing on top of a car that was stopped in tha' middle of a bridge.
"Hey!" Merle shouted. "Jump!"
A couple of gun shots went off and I looked at him with complete disgust. How could someone possibly about to die, someone who had a baby, be such a damn joke to him? I shook my head and ran back into the woods, determined to find a way on that bridge and help those people. They may not be my group but I wasn't gonna let them die.
••
I released a bolt, watching as it shot through the walker's head with ease. The guy who's leg it had previously just had a hold on stared over at me with wide eyes, and I nodded.
"Come on, man!" I shouted as walkers started surrounding me. "I'm tryin' ta' help you out, cover me!"
He took care of the walkers coming for me and I started taking out the ones that were surrounding the car that had his wife and baby in it. I heard her scream and just could make out a hand reaching for her shoulder inside.
I rushed around to the trunk of the car, grabbing the walker's legs and yanking it out far enough, slamming the door down on it's head, sending blood and brains flying in every direction.
I made my way back over to the two guys, and together we took out the rest of the walkers stumbling around on the bridge.
Once they were all dead, Merle happily made his way over to the car, opening the door to the backseat. The guy started shouting at him in Spanish, and Merle brought out his gun, pointing it at the guy's head.
"Slowww down, beaner. That ain't no way to say thank ya."
"Let 'em go," I demanded.
"Nah," he smirked, tucking the gun back in his pocket. "Tha' lease thay' could do is give us a enchilada or somethin', huh?"
I creeped around the car, making my way up behind him as silently as possible. Just as he started to dig around in one of the bags, I pressed my crossbow to the back of his head. "Get out of tha' car."
"I know yer not talkin' ta' me, brother."
"Get in your car and get tha' hell out of here!" I shouted at the guy. "Go! Get in your car!"
He nodded, jumping inside quickly, Merle rising out of the backseat, slamming the door. As soon as they took off, I stormed back towards the woods not really giving a shit if Merle got left behind or not.
••
"The shit you think you were doin', pointin' that thang at me!?" Merle spat, once he caught up.
"Thay were scared, man."
"Thay were rude is what thay' were! Rude and thay' owed us a token of gratitude!"
"Thay didn't know owe us nothin'," I spat.
"You helpin' people out of tha' goodness of yer heart? Even though ya might die doin it? Is that somethin' yer Sheriff Rick taught you!?"
"There was a baby!" I shouted, stopping to turn and look at him.
"Oh? Otherwise you woulda just left 'em to tha biters then?"
"Man I went back for ya! Ya weren't there! I didn't cut of your hand neither. You did that. Way before thay' locked you up on that roof! You asked for it."
"Ya know," he chuckled, "ya know what's funny ta' me? You and Sheriff Rick are like this now," he said, crossing his fingers. "Right? I bet ya a penny and a fiddle of gold that ya never told him we were plannin on robbin that camp blind."
"It didn't happen."
"Yeah," he grunted. "It didn't. Cause I wasn't there ta help ya."
"What?" I asked. "Like when we were kids? Huh? Who left who then?"
"What!?" He shouted. "Huh!? Is that why I lost my hand, Daryl!?"
"You lost your hand cause your a simple minded piece of shit!" I shouted. I went to turn away from him and he grabbed the back of my shirt, shoving me to the ground. I heard a rip and sat there on the forest floor, breathing heavy, feeling Merle's eyes focus on my exposed back.
"I- I didn't know," he stammered out as I attempted to cover my scars, grabbing my bag from the ground and slinging it on. "I didn't know h-he was-"
"Yeah," I said, trying not to cry. "He did. He did tha same ta' you. That's why ya' left first."
"I had to, man. I would've killed him otherwise."
I ignored the excuses he was throwing out, starting back in the direction I was headed in the first damn place. I was wrong. I was wrong to have picked Merle over my family, over my real family. He was my blood but he was never the family I needed. I had finally gotten it, and I left it for the sorry excuse of a brother standing behind me. I left Adasyn - for him. As long as I had her, everything would be alright.
"Where ya goin!?" He called after me.
"Back where I belong," I called back.
"I can't go with ya!"
"I tried ta' kill that Samurai bitch! And yer girlfriend , I-"
"Yeah," I spat. "I know what ya' let tha' Governor do ta her! Another damn reason I should've never left."
"Damn near killed tha' Chinese kid too!"
"He's Korean."
"Whatever! Doesn't matter man, I just - I can't go with ya!"
"Ya know?" I asked. "I may be tha one walkin' away but your tha one leavin'. Again."
I was going back home.
I just hoped I got there before it was too late.
Adasyn
"Ady!"
I ignored the sound of my sister and kept walking.
"Adasyn Marie!"
I stopped, gritting my teeth. I didn't have a damn thing to say to her. She let Daryl walk out of my life. She didn't wake me, or warn me, or force him to say goodbye. She let him go.
"What?" I spat, turning in her direction.
She flinched at the harshness of my words - and deep down I felt guilty. I had just gotten her back, after all. But I was too hurt, too angry to show that.
"You aren't going back too Woodbury are you?"
"No," I sighed, pointing towards the field right outside the gates. "I'm just going out there."
"You can't possibly think that's a good idea? You and Glenn went on a simple formula run, both of you got the crap beat out of you- you were attacked."
"What do you mean I was attacked?"
"Glenn told us, told us what the Governor did to you. That he r-r...raped you, Ady."
"He didn't rape me," I spat, tears in my eyes. "What do you wanna hear? Huh? He made me take my shirt off and stand in front of him? Pressed against me, slammed my head against the table? It was either take off my shirt or he took off Glenn's hand, I didn't see much of a choice. But he didn't rape me. So there. There ya go."
She started chewing her lip, nodding slightly. "Look I - I know you're upset about Daryl but.."
"I'm not upset about him. He made his choice. He wants to go out there, sleep in the dirt with his piece of shit brother? By all means be my guest. But with him gone, Rick skipping down the streets of Crazytown, and Glenn still really hurt - I need to be in charge around here. I have people to worry about. Daryl? He's not one of those people."
She nodded and I stormed off, telling one of the biggest lies I had ever told in my life.
Daryl was all I seemed to think about since the moment I found out he was gone - hell, he was all I thought about before he was gone.
But I was right about one thing. He had made his choice, even with knowing what happened to me or thinking he knew anyways,
He had still left me.
And I had to move on from that.
••
A gunshot rang through the otherwise silent sky, and I could immediately hear cries from the group in the courtyard. My eyes darted towards the tree line, and I just could make out a truck parked in the brush, men crowding around it all armed with some pretty heavy machinery.
And a face I never wanted too see again.
I dropped to the ground to take cover, trying to scan the field and see if there was anything I could use to cover myself with, thankful for the tall grass that shielded me. I noticed Herschel standing a few feet away, a look of shock on his face as the guns began firing again.
"Herschel!" I whispered, loud as I could. "Get down!"
He spotted me and nodded, getting down on his stomach as quickly as I had done. I army crawled towards him, going as fast as I could manage, my heart beating hard in my chest as bullets hit the ground all around me.
They kept shooting for about a minute longer, before it got quiet.
Way too quiet.
I reached Herschel, shielding him with my body in an attempt to protect him from the gunfire as best as I could.
They needed him around here and quite frankly I would die before he did.
I had just begun thinking it was over, daring peak my head over the tall blades. An engine roared in the distance, and a moment later a cube van busted right through the main gate, speeding to a stop in the middle of the field, not too far from where Herschel and I were.
A ramp released from the back door, and I'll be damned if a whole pack of walkers didn't start spilling out of the back.
"Son of a bitch."
I looked around us frantically, trying to see if I could see any men directly around me. We needed to get up and move, but a bullet could take us down as quickly as we stood.
"Get the hell out of there!" Rick shouted. I turned, catching sight of him taking cover on the outside of the fence.
I lifted up on my knees, yanking my handgun from my waistband, shooting a nearby walker before dropping back down.
The Governor shot off a few more rounds before climbing back inside of his truck and speeding off.
I gave it a minute more to make sure there would be no more surprises before jumping to my feet, grabbing ahold of Herschel and helping him up as well. One arm went around my neck, the other holding on to his crutch. I wrapped on hand around his waist to help keep him steady, and the other held my gun as I started trying to clear a path back to the courtyard.
"Michonne!" I shouted as she rushed through the field, slaying walkers left and right with her sword. "Over here!"
She rushed over, wrapping Herschel's other arm around her neck. A truck sped into the center of the field, coming to a sudden stop and I raised my gun towards the drivers side window before realizing it was one of ours. Glenn jumped out, yanking the back door open for us and motioning us towards him. "Cmon!" He shouted. "I'll cover you!"
We managed to get to him without any hiccups, and quickly the three of us lifted Herschel inside. Once he was safe, I drew my gun again and turned away from the others.
"Adasyn what are you doing?!" Glenn called after me. "Get in the damn truck!"
"Nah," I called back over my shoulder. "I'm gonna clear the field, get him back to safety! Don't worry about me, I'll be fine!"
I replaced my gun for my hatchet and just started taking out any walker that got near me, letting all my anger I had burn away with every swing. I ignored the pain shooting through out my body, adrenaline causing me to press forward.
They started to pile around me, and naturally my hatchet got stuck in the skull of one of them.
"Shit," I mumbled as I snatched at it, trying to get it free. I tried again a little harder as a walker stumbled towards me, but it didn't budge.
I raised my left leg, leaning over slightly so that I could send a good kick to the chest of a walker coming at me from the side. It stumbled back, taking down the few that had piled up behind it and I started to attempt and free my hatchet once again.
Just as it slid free, a walker next to me fell down, and my stomach twisted as I saw the all too familiar bolt sticking out from it's skull.
I glanced back towards the field, Daryl and Merle emerging from the treeline, rushing forward to help Rick as he tried fighting his way back in.
Any emotion that may have surfaced quickly swirled into anger, and I yanked the bolt from the walkers head, snapping it in half and tossing it across the yard.
As pissed as I may be at Daryl, as much as may have hurt me, I couldn't help but feel relieved knowing he was back and he was safe.
But now I had to face him, and I had no idea how to handle that.