Being in the cell, I let my mind wander until I eventually drifted off to sleep. I again woke up startled by the nightmare I had the night before and looked frantically at my surroundings. It was dark. Night must have come and gone. I quietly made my way out of the cell and headed to the one I had slept in the night before, careful not to wake those who might be asleep. I got to my cell and took a seat on the bottom bunk. Resting my elbows on my knees, I looked at my backpack that was right across from me. It was still packed. I hadn't had the time to unload it. I was contemplating whether or not to just take it and go back to Woodbury to finish him off. I knew where it was and it would be easy for me to sneak in.
"You're out of your mind, Evans," I whispered.
I couldn't think of another way to get this done without putting my family at risk. If I didn't go, he'd more than likely come back and try to hurt one of them or all of them. They were the whole reason why I was even thinking about this whole thing in the first place. I didn't want anything else bad happening to them. They've all been through enough. It was now or never.
"Screw it," I said.
I grabbed my backpack and placed it on. I stepped out and looked over the railing. There was no one around. I had to move quietly. I didn't want anyone trying to stop me. I made my way down the stairs carefully. The cells that were opened, faint snoring could be heard from them and to me, that was a relief. They were asleep. So far so good. I carefully opened the door to where we ate together. Across from the door was another cell that Merle was currently being held in. His snoring was the loudest of everyone else's. Getting out of the cellblock would be a lot easier thanks to him. I got to the sliding door and opened it only wide enough for me to fit through. I slowly closed it back up and made my way down the steps. I passed the courtyard where Axel had been shot and got to the first fence. As I was moving the chains out of the way, I hadn't heard the person that had followed me.
"Where are you going?" Daryl asked.
I sighed before I turned to face him.
"I'm going back to finish this," I said sternly.
"And how do you plan on doing that, exactly?" he asked crossing his arms.
"Going over there and putting a bullet in his head," I said starting to get irritated.
"You think that's gonna solve everything?" he asked.
"Why the hell wouldn't it, Daryl?" I said.
"You leave and you're putting your family at risk. You know that don't you?" he said.
"Staying put is putting them in just as much of a risk. I won't do that to them," I said.
"What will Hershel say when I tell him that you took off?" he asked.
"It won't matter cause I'll be gone," I retorted.
"You think I'm gonna let you go?" he said.
"You can't stop me," I said.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," he retorted.
I scoffed and turned back around to get the fence opened. He came over and stood in front of the lock.
"Daryl. Get out of my way," I said.
"You ain't going back there," he said.
"I don't have time for this," I said.
I pushed him out of the way and got the fence open. I was about to walk out but Daryl got hold of me by the waist and pulled me back. I was suddenly triggered and felt as if I was back in that room.
"Let me go," I said softly.
"Not until you say that you're not going," he said.
I slapped at his arms.
"Daryl! I'm serious! LET ME GO!" I shouted.
He released his hold on me so quickly and I pushed him away from me. I crossed my arms around my torso and tried my hardest not to cry. I took in deep breaths to calm myself down.
"Kari...I'm..." he started.
"Just don't," I exhaled.
I took a few minutes.
"Dammit," I said.
I turned back around and headed to the fence again.
"Hey," Daryl said this time, gently grabbing my arm.
It was still enough to make me flinch. He slowly pulled me toward him.
"I ain't gonna hurt you," he said a little softer.
I moved away from him.
"I don't like being touched like that," I said.
"My bad. I didn't mean to," he said.
"It's not your fault," I said.
I sighed heavily and turned away from him.
"I'm sorry for the way I acted with you earlier. It's just...after everything that's happened...that son of a bitch really screwed me up," I said.
I took off my backpack and laid it next to me. I went ahead and took a seat.
"I'm not gonna go," I said.
Daryl placed his crossbow down next to me and sat as well. We looked up at the sky.
"I get that you want to take him out. But what Hershel said was right. We gotta figure this out together," he said.
"I see that place every time I close my eyes. I see the room he took me to, I see..." I couldn't finish.
I wiped away my tears and cleared my throat. It was then that I noticed Daryl's hand was in a fist.
"Are you okay?" I asked looking over at him.
"I'm good," he said.
"You sure? That looks like a pretty scary fist there," I said.
He quickly relaxed his hand.
"I'm good," he said again.
I needed to lighten the mood. I nudged his arm with my elbow. He looked over at me.
"You know, for what it's worth, I'm really glad you came back," I said.
"I tried to go back to the farm. To see if you were still there...but then...then I thought of what you ask me to do. To promise to keep your family safe and all. So I didn't. Your words kept playing over and over in my head," he said.
"I'm glad you didn't. The farm was overrun," I said.
"How'd you get out of it?" he asked.
"I waited it out. Once there's no food out in the open, they just...move on. I took out the ones that lingered which weren't all that many," I said.
"You're tough as hell. You know that?" he said.
"You're just now realizing this?" I retorted.
He rolled his eyes.
"I appreciate the compliment. See I can take a compliment," I said.
"Whatever," he said.
I chuckled lightly.
"I guess we should go in, huh?" I said.
"I mean, if you aren't gonna go," he said.
I sighed.
"We have to figure out something," I said.
"We will. He'll pay for what he did to you. I know he will," he said.
I grabbed my backpack and stood up. I went over to lock up the fence again then looked out to the field where I could briefly see the walkers roaming around. Daryl stood up and was looking in the same direction.
"How are we gonna take care of this?" I asked.
"Again, we'll figure something out. Now, come on," he said.
"Hey, Daryl," I said.
"Yeah?" he said.
"Thanks for keeping that promise," I said with a half-smile.
"Any time," he said.
I nodded and turned around. The both of us headed back to the cellblock.