All I can say is WOW. Thank you so much to all of you incredible people who reviewed, favourited and alerted the first chapter. It means so much and I didn't expect such a warm reaction, I just hope I can live up to the hype and provide you all with some good reading material!
Enjoy, and thanks again!
Chapter Two
Lila felt herself being lifted from the truck, strong arms tucked beneath her knees and around her torso. The man carrying her was walking fast, close to running.
"Oh my god, what happened?" An unfamiliar voice sounded in the background.
"Lori hit her with her car," The man replied, sounding annoyed.
"Is she alright?" Another voice asked.
"She had a bad knock to the head, arm's dislocated by looks of things. Hershel back?" The man carrying Lila answered, walking into the white farm house and up the stairs.
"No sign yet," Another woman answered.
"Oh god…can you get me some towels and bandages, please," The woman demanded. The warm arms left her and she panicked, the arm she had been holding solidly onto for the past hour had disappeared.
"Daryl, could you stay with her," The woman asked.
"I ain't no babysitter," Daryl replied with resentment.
"Please," The woman continued, before she began speaking again, "I'm Maggie, Lila…I'm gunna take care of you as best I can until my dad gets back, okay?" Lila tried to nod, but the pain stopped her, warm tears fell from her eyes but as soon as her breathing began to quicken, a hand was on hers, warm and rough.
"We need to reset her arm…" Maggie said, an air of panic in her voice.
Daryl stared down towards the girl lying on the bed, her eyes would flutter open for just a moment before closing again, her long blonde hair was matted with blood and dirt, her skin pale and bruised. Some of the cuts and bruises looked days, maybe weeks old. Maggie gripped at the girls shoulder, while Shane held her arm in place, Daryl stayed firmly fixed at the girls side, his hand in hers.
"Count of three," Maggie stated, fear and sympathy in her eyes.
"One, two, three," Shane called, quickly he pushed the arm back towards the shoulder, forcing it into the joint. The girl let out a blood curdling scream, her back lifting up off the bed for a moment as her breathing quickened in shock.
"You're alright, that's the worst of it over with," Maggie soothed, brushing her hair back from her face.
"There isn't anything else I can too until my dad gets back, I can bandage some of her wounds, keep eye on her through the night..." Maggie said.
Daryl looked back to the girl, so tiny and frail looking as she lay on the bed, now unconscious from the pain and he couldn't help but wonder what she had meant when she said not to let them find her.
"I'll watch her until Hershel gets back," Lori said, stepping in to take Daryl's place.
"Fine by me," He shrugged, standing up and exiting the room swiftly. Lori sat down, placing her hand on the girls as she waited.
"Don't worry about Rick," Maggie stated as she tended to the rest of Lila's wounds, "He'll come back." Maggie continued, Lori nodded in reply, but sadness still lingered in her eyes.
Lila groaned, her eyes opening to the bright sunlight shining in through the window in front of her. She tried to lift her hand to shield her eyes but struggled, one of her arms had been bandaged up into a sling and the other was bruised and swollen.
Sitting up with great difficulty, she examined her surroundings. Cautiously, she slinked off of the bed, the pain in her sides and legs was immense, not to mention the sharp pain in her head that clouded her vision slightly. She limped across the floor, opening the door into the hallway. Glancing up and down it, she couldn't see anyone but could hear voices coming from downstairs. She listened intently, moving closer to the staircase.
"Did she say anything else? Anything at all?" A voice asked.
"Nothin', just her first name," Another replied.
"She won't be any trouble, she was wandering alone out there…she can't be much older than 20, we can't just send her back out there like a lamb to the slaughter." Lori's voice echoed, Lila very quickly realised that they were talking about her. She tried to step down another of the stairs, but a loud creak echoed throughout the house, Lila listened as silence filled downstairs, letting out an anxious sigh, she walked down the stairs, coming face to face with everyone stood in the sitting room.
"Hi," She lifted her hand in an awkward wave. For a moment, everyone paused, looking at her and then exchanging glances between themselves.
"I can go, if you wanna discuss my fate in private?" Lila laughed nervously.
Finally being able to put a face to a name, Lori stepped forward with a comforting expression, she walked over to Lila and lead her further into the sitting room.
"Sorry, Lila, we were just trying to figure out where you came from, we haven't seen any survivors for months," Lori stated.
"It's okay, I understand," Lila replied.
"What were you doing out on that road at night, alone," A man asked, his kind eyes meeting with Lila's.
Everyone eyed Lila suspiciously, when looking past all of the cuts and bruises that patterned her skin, she had delicate features, her eyes a light green and her skin a sun kissed porcelain. Her blonde hair was messy and still matted with grime and some blood, it hung to her ribs in a thick wavy mane.
"Honestly, I don't know…" Lila shrugged, "I hadn't eaten or drank anything in days, you know what the heat's like out here, I was delirious…I don't mean to be rude or anything, but do you mind if go get some air?"
"Go ahead Lila," An old man smiled towards her and she nodded, turning and making her way towards what appeared to be the front door.
Lila stood on the porch, leaning on the banister as she took in a long deep breath. She watched the campsite, everything was so still and calm…a world of difference to anything she had seen lately. Then her eye caught sight of something, a man exited the barn across the grass, wiping his hands on his jeans. His muscles rippled beneath the skin of his arms, every inch of him kissed by the sun and dirtied with mud and grime. His hair was a dirty blonde colour and a stern look was planted firmly on his face. As he walked closer to her, his eyes lifted to meet hers, he continued walking up the steps to the porch before pausing.
"You feel better?" He asked, the question itself seemed to cause some kind of painful internal conflict as his eyes burrowed into her. Immediately, Lila recognised his voice, the man from the truck.
"Yes, thank you," Lila replied hesitantly, her eyes moving from his.
"You were pretty messed up," The man continued.
"Thank you," She stated suddenly, causing surprise to fill the mans expression.
"For what?" He asked.
"You were the man that carried me here, right?"
"How'd you know?" He frowned.
"Your voice, I recognised your voice, Daryl isn't it?"
"Right," Daryl's brow furrowed even more, as if that was possible, he hadn't expected her to remember him.
"Lila Belle," She held out her hand, awaiting him to return the gesture. For a moment, he just stared at her small, pale hand as it shook in front of him, before he turned and entered the house, closing the door behind him, leaving Lila to stand there looking like an idiot. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd done something wrong or inappropriate, after all she hadn't really been around anyone normal for months, perhaps no one shook hands anymore. Perhaps this whole apocalypse thing had made people a lot less formal.