TORRENT
Chapter 1: The Girl Named Zodiac
Full Summary:
'And that was the moment that Daryl Dixon realized that she would never get better, not fully, and something inside him shattered (though not his heart, he swore) and he wondered if this was what it felt like to be her.'
In which Daryl realizes love will hunt you down, beat you to your knees and make you care; despite the scars.
Just your typical story; boy meets girl, boy falls in love, and then the girl runs out of anti-psychotic pills and everything hits the fan. What? That's not how it goes?
Rating: M
Pairings: Daryl x OC, slight Rick x Lori, slight Glenn x Maggie
Genres: Tragedy and Romance, as well as a bit of Hurt/Comfort
Disclaimer: This disclaimer will be posted only once but will stand for the whole story, summary, title, etc. Anything you recognize is AMC's. I own the story's plot, the OCs, the writing, and nothing else.
Warning: Story will contain Child Abuse, Alcohol, Use of Drugs, Gore, Dark Themes, Gore, Minor OC Character Death, Sexual Implications, and Sexual Situations.
Hello, all! This is my first published work on this site, though this is not my first story. I would love reviews, and I would adore some constructive criticism! However, if you'd prefer to just read, go ahead.
The whole group had gone scavenging, simply because Rick didn't want to risk anyone going alone. It was an unfamiliar town, with unfamiliar streets and buildings and plenty of places for walkers to be hiding.
Rick noticed a sign taped to a window of a laundromat, advertising a circus in the small town. The colors had once been bright and lively, but had faded from age and the elements. The date of the circus was shortly before the outbreak, which made Rick frown sadly.
They entered a building called Mark's General Store, looting around for supplies, as they were running dangerously low. There was the sweet rotting stench of a walker, and Rick watched as Daryl stealthily checked out the aisles.
There was a squelching noise, and Daryl came back from aisle number 4, which advertised fresh vegetables and fruits.
"All clear," he muttered. It was obvious Daryl did not agree with Rick's decision to bring the whole group, save Glenn, Lori, Maggie, and Carl, who were watching the cars, but it was too risky to send only one or a few people out. Besides, Rick thought, they needed the extra hands to grab necessities.
As they exited the General Store, Carol tapped their leader on the shoulder, pointing to a gun store. Rick have her a thumbs up and kept his eyes out as the group crossed the street, everyone keeping watch with wide, fearful eyes.
The loss of Andrea and Dale weighed heavily on the group, and for the Greenes, Rick knew they were mourning Patricia and Jimmy, who had also been lost when the walkers overran the farm.
The farm had proved to not be a secure safe haven, and Rick was hoping to find something that would last his group a while.
He had to admit, though, it was a long shot.
When the group reached the gun shop, Rick told everyone to stay back as he and Daryl went in first.
A walker lay on the floor, a clean knife wound straight through the forehead- still oozing black blood. Rick cocked his gun, the click seeming suddenly very loud, and Daryl raised his crossbow.
"Hello?" Rick called out. "We don't mean anyone any harm, we were just looking for some supplies."
There was a rustling behind a large display of rifles, which had been looted, and Rick thought this was perhaps the worst store to face off an unknown amount of human foes. A look on Daryl's face told Rick he felt the same, and the hunter switched to his gun.
"Show yerself," Rick's partner snarled, and there was the sound of footsteps from behind the rifle display again.
Who 'showed themselves' was not at all what Rick was expecting. It was a small girl, no older than Carl, holding a semi-automatic pistol with the air of a survivor, a loosely fitting belt of knives on her scrawny hips. She had pale blonde hair, tied carefully into a French braid and unusually colored, steel blue eyes.
She had some dirt and grit on her face and arms, as she was dressed in a short sleeved white blouse and denim pants with hiking boots, she was relatively clean, which was unusual.
Rick lowered his weapon, but the tiny girl kept her's trained on him.
"Y'all dunno how ta use tha', girlie," Daryl scoffed, before his eyes went wide as the girl flicked the safety off.
Rick resisted the urge to chuckle, but Carol's wavering voice stopped him. "Rick? Daryl?" she called out softly.
"Are you two okay?"
The girl's eyes grew even wider, and before Rick could say anything she'd dashed back around the rifle display. Rick lunged after her, but was met with a swinging back door.
Quickly giving the all clear, the group grabbed bags and stuffed them with guns and ammo, before fanning out to look for the girl.
"There's no way she's by herself. Too clean to be without a group, and she couldn't have survived this far without one... even if she knew how to handle a gun," Rick told the others, the last sentence a playful jab at Daryl, who grunted and examined the tracks near the back door.
Without a word, he stood up and quickly followed an invisible trail, the others clumped around him. The ground soon become soft, and even Beth could find the young girl's footprints.
They led to another store; a small boutique. Unsure what she would want within, everyone filed into the little room. Two walkers lay on the floor, stab marks in the heads.
"You say she's younger than Carl?" Herschel asked in disbelief, stepping over the larger walker.
Rick nodded, and put a finger up to his lips. The group ceased their murmurs, and could hear someone dragging something heavy across a carpeted floor.
Herschel and Beth stood by the doors as the others approached the back of the store cautiously.
There she was; the same girl from the gun store, her semi automatic pistol in the pocket of her jeans as she struggled with a duffle bag half her size.
Hearing them approach, she spun around and raised the gun.
"Woah, woah," Rick started, feeling quite sorry for the girl, as she looked scared and antsy, like a trapped animal.
"We don't mean you any harm. We guessed you had a group, and we need a place to stay... only for a little."
The girl straightened up, looking them over.
"Look, I'm Rick Grimes, that's Daryl Dixon- Daryl, put your crossbow down!- Carol Peletier, um, T-Dog, and then there's Herschel and Beth Greene at the door. We have four more, too, back at the cars- Lori and Carl Grimes, Maggie Greene, and Glenn Rhee."
The girl was now staring at them with a little less suspicion, and she flipped the safety back on her pistol and shoved it into her pocket.
"I'm Zodiac Pepper McAdams," she said stiffly, extending a tiny hand to Rick. The former cop shook her hand warmly, but Daryl scoffed.
"What kinda name is Zodiac? 'S somethin' outta a movie," the redneck jeered, despite the looks from Rick and Carol.
Ever since Sophia had been found in the barn, Rick had a feeling the hunter felt cheated, and was even angrier than usual.
The little girl ignored it, though she sent him a look, and said sweetly, "You can call me Zoe."
Zoe knew the town like the back of her hand, guiding them down crooked little streets and through back alleys.
The group only had to give her a rough description of where the cars were- 'big green building, rotting steps; near a little park'- and she was off, jogging through the town, which, though small, was impossible to navigate.
She was quick and quiet, leaping over debris on the streets and landing quietly. She led them up a steep road where the sidewalk had been turned to stairs, and jumped the last five, landing on all fours and licking her scraped palms without missing a beat.
It was hard to match her to Carl, though Rick found himself doing just that. They were both quite brave, he noted, and Carl had stepped up to responsibility quite well- though this girl seemed much older, despite her tiny frame, the way she confidently and assuredly led them.
Where it had taken the group a good twenty minutes to come upon the Main Street, they were back at the cars in ten, little Zodiac looking quite proud of herself as the vehicles came into view.
Rick sighed in relief as Lori waved, her arm wrapped around Carl. Maggie and Glenn sat on the roofs of the car, keeping watch and talking.
They were close, so close, when the shit hit the fan.
A shot rang out, startling everyone. It was Beth, fumbling with one of the guns they'd grabbed that had fallen. It was a blank, but the noise was just as loud as if she'd used a bullet.
Zodiac let out a shrill gasp as Maggie and Glenn stood up, waving their arms in panic. Lori screamed at the group to hurry up.
Rick patted his pockets, searching desperately for the keys.
"There's no time," Zoe snarled, and Rick was surprised at the authority in her voice.
Indeed, there was no time- straggling walkers had appeared at the sound of the gun, and there was a large herd, thirty or so, rounding a bend in the road up ahead.
"C'mon!" Zoe shouted to the four near the cars, who were scrambling to the group. "The safe house is near here!"
Turning in their heels, the group, now with Lori, Carl, Maggie, and Glenn, ran back the way they came, following Zodiac, who was reaching for something clipped onto her belt.
It was a walkie talkie, and Rick, keeping steady with her, heard her gasp, "Calyx, Charis- we have a flock!"
There was static for a moment, and then a boy's concerned voice, "How many, Zoe?"
"I dunno, Cal- a lot- but we got guests, too."
"Dammit, hurry up- Torrent's gonna kill you," the voice responded, but the boy was obviously worried. Rick couldn't understand the code they used, and his heart beat faster at the mention of this Torrent man, who obviously didn't take kindly to guests.
Zodiac clipped the walkie talkie back onto her pants and ran even faster.
Someone in the back screamed, and she turned and grabbed her gun, getting the walker that came too close to Maggie in her sights.
Rick lunged for her, certain she'd hit the young woman, but the bullet caught the walker in the head- albeit barely. Brain matter spattered onto Maggie, but she was obviously grateful and flashed a thumbs up to the kid.
"Holy-" Glenn started, but Zoe cut him off.
"It's up here!" she shouted, panting raggedly as they turned down a side street, walkers flooding after them.
There was a giant Victorian house up ahead, at the end of the road. It had a tall, iron wrought fence with sharp points at the top, and a fancy gate. There were three people standing on makeshift towers at the gate. So close, Rick thought.
There were even more walkers on their tail, and Zodiac was grabbing at the walkie talkie again.
"TORRENT!" she shouted into the device. There was only static.
Barking was heard from the house, and there were silenced shots. Rick ducked, but the figures were aiming for the walkers, that fell quickly.
Another person pushed open the gate, ushering the survivors forward. Adrenaline fueled them closer and closer, until the leapt through the gate, into safety.
"C'mere, you undead fuckers!" A distinctly feminine voice roared, and Daryl looked up to see a girl with curly chestnut hair jump over the iron gate from her perch, landing on all fours like the kid had done, twirling two giant buck knives in her hands, two more strapped to her legs and a pistol at her hip.
An identical looking boy darted through the gate after her, raising his gun to his shoulders. Daryl, after only a moments consideration, decided that he couldn't let the kids die and slipped back into the fray, Rick and T-Dog following.
Two more joined the fight, another boy and another girl, the girl pushing Zoe back behind the gate, to safety.
The walkers groaned at the thought of a meal, and quickened their shuffling steps.
The battle was long and bloody- Daryl's muscles ached and he had run out of bolts and bullets long ago, using his hunting knives to kill the undead.
Three charged him, jaws clicking and snapping with every step, and Daryl lunged for the first, blurs of silver flashing past his ear.
He could hear someone cheering- Zoe, the kid; he absolutely refused to call her Zodiac- and more silver passed by, clearing walkers around them.
He chanced a look and Daryl's blue eyes widened as he saw a girl, no older than Glenn, nearly march into the fray, blonde ponytail whipping as she sent knife after knife into walker
It wasn't her age, or her accuracy, that startled Daryl, but it was how absolutely furious she looked. In his whole life, he'd never seen someone look that angry.
"Get the fuck inside!" she hollered, the survivors that remained and the ones from the new group moving back to the safety of behind the gate, leaving the blonde alone. t
The girl with knives stabbed two walkers in the head, moving as gracefully as a doe, as if she was performing some sort of bloody dance. But it screeched to a halt as a scream filled the air.
It was the only one that hadn't made it back to the gate- a girl from the other group. Long raven hair covering a ivory neck- that had been stained crimson red, a greedy walker standing over her.
If the girl with knives had been furious before, it was as if her body radiated viscousness.
"Alright, you undead motherfuckers!" she howled. "You wanna snack? Eat this!"
In a second she had reached the murderer, and without hesitation, one hand gripped it's throat while she punched straight through the walker's brittle skull.
"Holy shit," T-Dog muttered.
She moved so fast through the walkers, ducking and rolling from claws and eager mouths, stabbing upwards through brains.
The younger girl and boy were still picking off walkers, the silenced weapons efficiently eliminating the threat.
In a minute, it was over, and the knife thrower had rushed to the bitten girl's side.
An older boy opened the gate as the blonde carried her friend inside, eyes that resembled Zoe's perfectly watering slightly.
The raven haired girl's head hung limply and her chest barely rose with each gasping breath. Zoe motioned for the group to follow her as she climbed the steps of the Victorian house, keeping close to the oldest girl.
The group shared nervous glances, the same thing on everyone's mind; they had killed the girl- they had brought the herd. Beth sobbed against Maggie's shoulder, who rubbed the younger girl's back comfortingly.
When they got inside, the knife girl had laid the infected one on the marble floor.
A small pool of blood had formed around her neck.
"Tor?" the black haired girl gasped weakly, the other girl nodding, tears dripping down her face. The others stood around the bitten girl.
"Yes, Lilah?"
"We stopped 'em, huh?" Lilah coughed.
The blonde, Tor, smiled sadly, pushing the ebony locks out of the other girl's face.
"Yeah. You did good, Lil."
Daryl shouldered his crossbow and shifted his weight awkwardly, his group doing the same. Rick clutched Lori and Carl, who cried softly. Glenn and Maggie held hands, heads bowed, and Herschel had his arm around Beth.
Daryl felt someone move up close to him. He turned in surprise, ready to shop whoever it was away, but it was Carol.
She was crying slightly, and Daryl was sure she was thinking of Sophia. He patted her on the back, unsure what to do.
A rasping cough brought his attention back to the dying girl. He felt a pang of guilt for the- well, kid, really, who had rushed into battle to protect them.
She was coughing blood, and it stood stark and red against the paleness of her skin. She was pretty, with large, dark eyes.
Her expression turned to panic and fear as she grabbed the other girl's shirt, pulling her closer.
"No, no- I don't wanna die, Torry, I wanna live. I really wanna live, Torry- please don't make me go, please," she whimpered, tears mingling with the blood.
"I'm so sorry, Lil," Tor responded. "But it's gonna be better, huh? You'll see Gabe and Calla, yeah?"
"But I want to stay here... pl-please don't make me go... I'm scared."
Tor smoothed back the girl's hair, and Daryl felt Carol lean in his shoulder and cry earnestly.
The blonde shook her head. "You got to go, Lilah. It'll be okay. You'll be happier, you'll get to stop running away... You'll see Ace, too," she said, giving her friend a small, tired smile.
"Yeah? He'll be there?"
"Of course. They're all waiting for you, Lil. Don't you want to see them?"
Lilah let out a ragged breath. "Y-yeah," she murmured as her eyes slid shut.
The sound of crying broke the silence, and Daryl watched as the oldest boy led away Zoe, who was sobbing uncontrollably.
It was only another minute for Lilah to reanimate, and the group watched in horror as the girl rose up, pale skin a sickly grey and dark eyes blank, unseeing.
Tor stood from her kneeling position as Lilah clawed at her, and kissed the knife she held, before sending it straight between her friend's eyes.
Well, there you have it. Chapter Two will be up soon and more about our OCs shall be explained. That you, everyone who reads, and I am in the process of getting a beta, so soon that will be underway.