"Get in." Daryl ordered, opening the door to the crawl space. Carol hesitated as she peered inside of it, it was barely big enough for the both of them, it was barely big enough for just one of them to get into it. Bile crept up her throat, opening her mouth to argue with him. Daryl knew how she felt about small spaces, but also knew that they didn't have a choice. He felt bad about it, but if he had to force her in there, he would. "Carol, we don't got time for this. I knew yer scared, but ya gotta get in. We ain't got a choice."
Carol turned her head and heard the footsteps of those they were running from. They only had their knives on them, her pistol and his crossbow have been taken off them hours ago. Knives could only do so much and even less against humans with guns.
"Carol, come on." Daryl grasped Carol's arm and shoved her towards the crawl space, desperate for her to just listen to him. Carol knelt down and climbed into the space, pressing herself against the wall as Daryl climbed in with her. He shut the door just as the footsteps became louder, engulfing them in complete darkness and silence.
She swallowed thickly, trying to keep the panic at bay as they waited for the threat to be gone. Carol felt a large hand rest on her knee, Daryl's simple touch speaking volumes as he tried to comfort her. She shut her eyes and went through every step of cleaning her gun and sharpening her knife to keep herself calm. If she couldn't think about the fact that she was in a small space, she couldn't freak out.
They were silent for a long time until Carol spoke, not having heard any movement for noise in a while. "Thank you." Her voice was soft and trembling with fear. It made Daryl cringe, but he knew that this was the best place for them to hide at the moment.
"Fer what?" Daryl grunted, turning to look back at the shadow where her voice came from. Daryl couldn't make her out, but he could guess where her head was.
Carol shrugged her shoulders. "You should have left me in that room, saved yourself." She opened her mouth to continue on, but Daryl interrupted her.
Daryl scoffed in response. "Wouldn't leave ya behind. Do ya really think I shoulda done that?"
"You might have been able to get out of here if you had. Get back to our group, get weapons and help, probably save -"
"Shut it." Daryl growled at her and Carol could feel the glare he was sending her. "Ain't no way I'd ever leave ya behind." He said. "Would ya do that? Leave me there?"
"Of course not." Carol responded, shaking her head. Even if she thought Daryl should have left her there and just come back with the group, she knew she wouldn't have been able to leave him there. "Even if I knew taking the extra time would guarantee our deaths, I'd do it."
"Right. So why would you want me to do that to you?" He questioned, turning his attention to the door.
"I didn't say I wanted you to .. Just that you should have."
"Well, I wouldn't." He mumbled, reaching a hand forward to gently nudge open the door. "I'd never leave you behind." Daryl added
Carol scooted a bit closer to Daryl, her chin against his shoulder. "Can you see anything?" She asked, unable to see out the door even with how close she was.
"Nah. Can't hear nothin' either." Daryl said, pushing the door open and crawling out. He wanted a moment before signaling to her that she could come out.
Carol crawled behind him and followed him out of the crawl space. She felt an instant sense of relief not being in the cramped space anymore. Carol stood to her feet, standing behind him.
"You read?" Daryl asked, looking behind him to look down at Carol. Daryl knew that their chances of survival were slim, but he hoped he could at least take some of them out with them.
Carol nodded, knowing exactly what was on his mind. She knew that the chances were one or both of them wasn't going to make it out of this alive. She'd do everything she could to make sure it was Daryl who got out if only one of them could. "If we die... At least we'll die together and hopefully take some of them with us." She said, wielding her knife in her hand.
Daryl let out a breathy chuckle as he pulled his own knife out, gripping the handle of it tightly as he reached behind him and grabbed her wrist. He had no idea how to get out of here, every time they'd found what seemed like to be an exit earlier it turned out to be a dead end. He didn't even know if there was an exit. "That's my girl."