24. HARLEY
We made it to the neighborhood within two days. Those two days were the hardest. Maggie and I had agreed to alternate between each other to carry baby Judith, not that I had minded. Much. It's just that she felt like she weighed a ton and all that weight had really done my back in. When I wasn't carrying her, I was putting my new crossbow to practice. The arrows I had made with Daryl were truly perfect. That redneck really knew his stuff when it comes to that sort of thing. Like I said, he's a true survivor built for this world.
I tried my luck at helping Rick, Abraham, Glenn and Tyreese carrying Daryl but that was an epic failure. Carrying Daryl was like carrying dead weight. He was a lot heavier than he looked. But I guess, in a way, that's a good thing right? Even in his unconscious state he kept everyone on their toes. I think he would've been smirking at that one. And when the sun had started setting, we returned to the house where Lizzie had did what she did. None of us wanted to - not Glenn or Maggie or Tyreese, especially not Molly - but what choice did we have? We needed to get Daryl to safety.
It was like déjà vu except the roles reversed. We moved Daryl to the bed he and I had shared those nights. I had laid with him the entire time, unashamedly staring at him until the ungodly hours of the morning. I kept whispering to him how much of an idiot he was for staying behind at Terminus because now look at him. Eventually I had fallen asleep, mumbling something like "I miss you Daryl. I just miss talking to you. I miss your voice." Even though he probably couldn't hear me.
An hour before sunrise we had left that house and all the ugly memories behind us. Maggie and Glenn had told everyone what happened with Lizzie. To which Rick gave me a solemn expression, not doubt sympathetic for what I'd had to do to her. Molly had blocked it all out - god bless her. She had hardly spoken since the cottage incident and I was worried for her. And just like me her eyes kept finding their way back to Daryl and then up to the bullets around my neck.
When we finally arrive in the ghost town all of us are exhausted, but we push on. For Daryl. We vigilantly zigzag through the streets, following Rick's lead. Walkers come at us every now and then and I can finally use my crossbow on proper targets. My practice sessions with Daryl pays off and I hit my targets exactly where I want to. Even Michonne put her swords to the test. When I thought that she was lethal with just one I'd realized she was even deadlier with two. She moved like a natural killer.
I'd found it strange that we hadn't come across many walkers during the walk here but that could only be seen as a good thing. Good, but strange. Luckily for us the walkers show up in herds of five and less, that left Michonne, Maggie, Rosita and myself to do all the dirty work so Rick and the others didn't have to.
When the clinic comes into view I feel a little better. That only lasts for a minute though because we are soon stopped in our tracks by the loud moans of walkers inside. "We can't take him in there until all of those walkers are dead." I tell everyone. A series of nods come from them and before they head in to clear the clinic, the boys put Daryl down at the back of the clinic, leaving my sister and me to watch over him and Judith and Molly.
Once they are gone Maggie breaks the silence. "Beth I'm sorry this has to happen to you."
"It's okay." I say quietly. I've no one else to blame but the bastard that shot him.
"How long have you felt like this?"
How long have I loved him? "I don't know."
"He's going to survive this, Beth."
"Yeah. I know. He's tough." I stare down at Daryl and notice his skin is pale, probably from malnutrition. He needs feeding tubes, I think, and some medicines to wake him. Maybe we can give him some adrenalin? I don't know but I'm willing to try just about anything at this stage.
*
| RICK |
I shoot the lock on the facility and bang my gun against the door to attract any walkers within hearing range. Two slowly creep toward us and Michonne steps up before any one else can to put her swords through their faces. Once they fall to the ground dead we drag their bodies outside in a pile far closer to the street and leave them there.
Upon entering the facility I notice it's almost immaculate, save for the writing on a door that says, "Do not enter. Dead inside". I share a look with Abraham and Glenn. We didn't come all the way here just to be scared off by a warning sign, and I can tell by the expressions on their faces that they believe the same. I rip the rusted locks off the door, quickly kick them open, all of us expecting the worst. And we are right to.
All at once three walkers tackle me to the ground, growling and drool falling from a foul dirty mouth. The weight of them causes me to initially panic. My gun fell somewhere beside me during the fall, thankfully Michonne reacts within a second and drives her swords into each head to kill them. Blood from her actions spills onto my face but I guess I can't complain. It was either get eaten or eat some blood. I know which option I'd choose.
Abraham helps me to my feet, and we carry on. Down a long hallway we move quickly, clearing out the office rooms first which turn out to be an easy feat. We find little to no supplies in those rooms, only a couple of unopened medical equipment that might be useful in the future. The building itself is so small that there is only one ICU room and two examination rooms. To my disappointment they've already been raided and left bare with nothing else besides three beds and some old charts and clothes. But my disappointment is short-lived when Glenn points out a door that I had missed, one that led underground.
Maybe there's another something down there? A surgery room or something? I don't care, I just know we have to check it out.
Out of nowhere a girl emerges from it - not a walker, surprisingly. Just a girl with a gun that she holds to Abraham's head. The ex-soldier freezes, all of us do...until our instincts kick in and we all aim our guns at her in return. She doesn't even flinch. "Who are you?" The girl demands fiercely. She looks to be only young, probably as young as Beth. "Tell me who you are!"
Not wanting to provoke her, I'm the first to speak, "The names Rick Grimes. These here are my friends Glenn, Bob, Michonne, Rosita and the one you've got your gun to is Abraham."
"Yeah you mind lowering the gun girl?" Abraham's tone is hard, clearly not impressed with her.
I decide to jump in before she decides she isn't impressed with him either. "Look we don't want any trouble. We certainly don't want to cause you any harm." I lower my gun, indicating for the rest of them to follow. To trust me. At that her face softens a little. "We have a friend who is badly injured and in need of medical assistance. If you're willing to let us stay here for a while, I'm willing to make a deal."
"What kind of deal?" She narrows her eyes at me.
"We have quite a bit of weapons and food, we could trade. Also we have enough members to do supply runs everyday should we need to."
The girl thinks over the offer for a while before slowly agreeing. She lowers her gun and holds a hand out to me. "I'm Harley." I shake her hand.
"So I take it you have what we need then?" I ask.
Harley turns her back on us to go through the door we'd left unchecked, and calls over her shoulder, "Come see for yourself."
*
| BETH |
Soon Rick and the others return to get Daryl and take him inside. I immediately assume the place is safe and bring Judith in too, with Molly holding on to my leg. On our way in Glenn mentions that there are two more people in there, one by the name of Harley, and I am eager to meet her.
We descend two flights of stairs into a series of rooms underground that I did not know existed, until now. It is there that I see her. Harley. She is beautiful, I think. With naturally straight black hair, hazel brown eyes and near-flawless skin. I say near-flawless because there's a small scar across her left cheek, three of them that I think might've come from an animal of some sort.
She offers me a smile that stretches from ear to ear when she sees Judith and Molly. She swiftly comes toward us, touching Judith's plump cheek and whispers, "It's been so long since I've seen a child. Especially one as beautiful as you baby."
Judith leans into her touch and grins. Sometimes I think she actually understands what is being said to her. "I'm Beth." I say as I pull her in for a short hug. She tenses, obviously surprised by the action. But I feel like I need to express to this girl how grateful I am to her for this. "Thank you for helping him."
I let her go to see another small smile on her face. "You're welcome. I need to know what happened to him though before I can actually help him."
"Of course." I begin to explain the people at Terminus and how Daryl had gotten hurt. Throughout the story Harley's expression remains solicitous and compassionate. And when I am done I am almost in tears, again. I try to hide them by asking, "so why are you here alone?"
"Oh I am not alone," she replies with a frowning smile. Then before I can comprehend what is happening, she is pulling her along with her over to a closed door at the far end of the big room. Opening the door, the scene is a doleful one. There, surrounded by beeping machines and framed pictures of men and women and children, is a man with all sorts of tubes and wires connected to his mouth and skin.
"I've been here with my father since this whole thing started."
Her father?
This time I make no effort to mask the stray tears falling onto my cheeks. And it's my turn to ask, "What happened to him?"
Her voice is soft, shameless and yet pitiful when she answers, "He tried to kill himself." She goes to his side and swipes a finger across a nasty black mark going from ear to ear around the man's neck. Then her eyes drift to a picture of three other children, all of whom look younger than Molly.
"I am not his only child." She states without looking at me. "They w-were...taken from us, and my Dad felt as though he couldn't live without them. He made a mistake, that's all. One of these days he will come back to me. He has to...because I can't live without him."
I do not know how it feels to lose a child of my own and I do not even want to imagine that sort of dejection. I cannot blame this man for doing what he did. The decision to end his own life was not one of a weak man. It was the decision of a man consumed by deep despondency. He had merely given in to his broken heart.
I feel her pain, her heartache, her sorrow. I feel every ounce of it. "I lost my family too." I answer quietly. "I have only my sister, Maggie." And Daryl, I think, reflecting over Harley's words. Yes, we both have hope that the two men we love will come back to us simply because they have to. Like she said, we cannot live without them.
She looks at me finally, allowing me to see her sadness too. I put Judith down on the chair beside her father and grip her in a friendly embrace. This one she welcomes, and she cries into my shoulder for some time. And I just let her.
Soon we are interrupted by the voice of Rick. He enters the room to take Judith and in a soft voice, he says, "We placed Daryl in the room and dressed him in a hospital gown, just as you said."
Harley nods. "Okay I'll be there in a second." And with that Rick leaves us alone again. Harley looks down at her father and kisses his cheek. She picks up a medical chart, looking over it then to the machines and back to the chart, before smiling slightly. "He'll be okay for a few hours."
"Where did you learn to do this?" I ask, motioning to the machines and the chart and everything else.
Harley shrugs, "I had to teach myself. No one else was going to look after him. There's nothing to it really. Just blood pressure, brain oxygen, nutrition levels and a few other things."
I wanted to ask why she would put so much effort into keeping him alive when he didn't even want to be here, but that's none of my business. I'm just glad she is here and is - hopefully - experienced enough to help Daryl.
When we get into the room that Daryl's in, Harley asks everyone else to clear out. She tells them there is a kitchen not far from here and a bathroom with running hot water. That sounds nice and all but Rick and I stay, and she doesn't seem to mind that. She inspects Daryl's wounds and pouts, "Whoever removed the bullets didn't do a bad job.. But they were a bit rough with the stitching. It looks like it's going to scar."
I narrow my eyes at Rick. Silly cop.
"He has an infection forming on the lower one, we will need to keep an eye on that." With a tiny flashlight she inspects Daryl's eyes. First the right and then the left. "His pupils are massively dilated. I don't know if you two knew but he's in a coma." My heart sinks into my stomach. "When he wakes up is completely up to him."
A long, tormenting silence passes before her eyes find mine. "I can help him."
"Do whatever it takes." Rick mumbles.
She begins to extract some of Daryl's blood and retrieves some clear tubes and such from a draw on the other side of the room. She hooks the wires up to Daryl's left hand and plugs them into a monitor with a lot of letters and numbers that I don't understand. Then she places two tubes into Daryl's nose, pushing them into him until a large amount of them have disappeared. And finally, with Rick's help, she places a thin one between Daryl's legs and hangs the connecting bag off of the bed.
"Can you explain to me what you are doing?" I ask, eager to understand what is going on.
But Harley just smiles. "I can do one better than that Beth. I can teach you, if you want to learn."
I answer, "I'd like that." And together we work, with her explaining each element of the daily process to keeping Daryl healthy, and me just listening and letting it all sink in.
She moves so fluidly around him I feel confident that Daryl's chances of coming back to me sooner than later have peaked to 100%.
*
"How did you find this place?" I ask Harley. She is sitting across from me and drinking coffee as she eats freshly cooked egg soldiers and toasted bread. It must be around 5 AM, with everyone still fast asleep we are the only ones up.
"I have lived here all my life." She answers, swallowing her food. "My dad showed me this place during one of our runs out for supplies."
"So you had a group before?"
"Yeah." Sadness overtakes her features. "They abandoned us when my dad did what he did."
"Oh." I didn't know what else to say. This world is full of heartless people, both before and after it turned to shit. I think over how different Harley's life could've been had her family joined our group? Would her brothers and sister still be alive? I can't help but think that they'd of had a better chance with us.
"What about you? I see how much you love him."
Daryl. Of course she is talking about Daryl. I hide the sadness in my eyes with a fake smile. "It's been six days... But it feels like six months since we last talked."
"I know." She says thoughtfully. She does. I have told her everything that happened between me and Daryl. I told her about the Governor; Daddy; my mom and even before the world became what it is today. We are practically best friends now.
"He will wake up Beth." She grasps my hand over the table, a sincere look in her eyes. "From what you've told me is a tough son of a bitch." We both let out a giggle of laughter. "But trust me. Between the two of us, they're gonna' be fine."
I swallow the lump of hope in my throat....because that's all I have, is hope...
*
Hey guys & girls :D I know this chapter is a bit boring and nothing much happened , it's mostly a character introduction . So yeah ..... Again if you have any suggestions as to where this story should go from here I'd really like to read them !! I'm a bit stopped at the moment :L
This chapter is dedicated to my dad, I wish we had more time together xoxo -- (your favorite daughter;) JD