Lonely Soul

I believe there's a time and a place

To let your mind trip and get out of this place...

Laine: recently turned 21, skinny but still slightly muscled, 5'2"

Dallas: 46 yrs old, strong, 6'0"

Laine woke up with a pounding headache. She winced and tried to sit up, but was gently pushed back down onto the bed. A bed? Laine frowned and slowly opened her eyes. An older man with gray hair sat next to the bed. Laine's eyes widened and she pushed herself up off the bed with a cry. She quickly took in her surroundings and noticed a few other people in the room. Then she saw the door. She rushed over to the door just as it opened and ran right into Dallas.

"Whoa, hey girl. Calm down. Hey, hey it's ok. It's just yer ol' pal Dallas." He grabbed her shoulders and hugged her to him, petting her head. Laine's heart was pounding in her chest and she was breathing hard. Dallas let her go slowly when he felt her breathing slow down a little. "You ok, girl?" Laine nodded slowly. Dallas smiled at her. "Good. Now let me introduce ya, shall I?" Laine gave Dallas a look, and he laughed. "Git back in that bed girl. Ya hit yer head pretty hard. Ya need to rest." He pushed her over to the bed, everyone in the room watching closely.

That's when Laine noticed others standing in the doorway. She recognized some of them. She frowned and looked up at Dallas, one eyebrow raised. "What happened Dallas?"

Dallas looked at her. "Do ya remember anything?"

Laine looked down and gripped the blanket on the bed. "I was in the woods trying to find something for us to eat, but I didn't find anything. I-I was about to head back when I saw four walkers. They just showed up. I-I didn't hear em or anything. I must've been distracted or…"

Dallas squeezed her shoulder. "It's alright, girl."

"Well I panicked, and I ran the other way, only to run right into another walker. I fell and tried to get away. Then I tripped over a root or something and fell. I hit my head hard on something. Then everything started to get fuzzy. I-I must've passed out."

Dallas nodded, then motioned to the older man behind him. "Laine, this man here is Hershel. He's the one that fixed up yer head."

Hershel nodded at Laine. "You did hit your head pretty hard. Whatever it was that you fell on cut your head. I had to give you a couple stitches, but your fine. Nothing too serious. And you don't have a concussion. But you do need to rest. You'll probably be a little disoriented for couple days."

Laine eyed Hershel, then looked over at Dallas, who just smiled. "We can trust em, girl."

Laine looked back over at Hershel. "Thank you. I'm glad you found me before those things ate me."

"Oh I wasn't the one that found you." Hershel said.

Laine frowned. "Then who did?"

A man stepped farther through the doorway. "I did." Daryl said grudgingly.

Laine glared at him. "You? You were the one that saved me?" Laine looked over at Dallas. "You let that red neck take me here?"

Dallas sighed. "Now Laine, Daryl saved your life. He didn't haveta, but he did. Ye should be grateful. He found me at our little camp and said that he knew someone who could help ya." Dallas reached out and took her hand. "Yer all I got, girl, and ya almost died. I couldn't risk loosin ya."

Laine looked away, her eyes filling up with tears. Dallas sat next to her on the bed and held her. The others in the room looked at one another, feeling slightly uncomfortable and like they were voyeurs. Laine pushed Dallas away and looked over at the others. Everyone was surprised to see no tears.

Dallas cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "Everyone, this is Laine. Laine, this is, well, everyone." He then went on to introduce them. The woman with the long dark hair's name was Lori, and her son's name was Carl. Her husband was one of the men they'd met earlier, Rick. The man standing close to them was Shane. Laine got a weird vibe from him. Next was a woman with short hair named Carol. Then there was the asian kid Glenn, who looked like he was possibly around her age. Next to him stood a girl named Maggie, who was one of Hershel's daughters. His other daughter was Beth, who stood next to a boy named Jimmy. Then there was another older man named Dale, who reminded Laine of her own grandfather. Next to him was a blonde woman named Andrea. Then there was T-Dog, who stood next to an older woman named Patricia. Then there was Daryl, who stood like a statue in the corner.

Laine gave him a quick glare, then looked back at Hershel. "Thank you again for helping me."

Hershel nodded. "I'm glad you're doing ok. You should get some rest. Food should be ready soon."

Laine sat back onto the bed. She watched as everyone slowly made their way out of the room. Dallas patted her leg and stood up. Laine grabbed his hand. "Thank you Dallas."

Dallas smiled and squeezed her hand, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. "Rest up now, girl. Ya need it. I want my feisty fighter back on her feet and healed. Ya hear?" Laine smiled laid down onto the bed. Dallas smiled and left the room. Laine closed her eyes and almost instantly fell asleep.

When Laine woke up, she saw Dallas asleep in an arm chair close to the bed, snoring. Laine smiled. Her smile grew when she saw a plate of food next to the bed. She didn't care that it had gotten cold. She ate it quick and moaned every now and then. She hadn't had a decent meal in so long, and this was just too good. She heard someone laugh and looked up at the doorway. Daryl stood there and smug little smirk on his face. Laine ate the last bite and set the plate down, glaring at Daryl.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "So was the food that good?" He said, still smirking. Laine kept glaring at him. "What do you want?" She asked, her voice harsh.

Daryl's smirk was gone, and he narrowed his eyes at her, his face hardening. "I save yer life and you treat me like shit. You should be thankin me."

Laine rolled her eyes. "I didn't ask you to save me, Daryl."

Daryl glared at her. "No you didn't. But you should be grateful I did."

"I should be grateful that I was saved by the asshole that called me a bitch earlier today?"

Daryl scowled. "You were acting like a wild animal. You looked ready to slice us all up."

Laine smirked. "Damn right I was."

"You don't trust us?"

"I don't trust anyone, Daryl."

"You trust that guy." Daryl pointed to Dallas, who Laine had forgotten about once Daryl had stepped into the room. Laine could tell that Dallas wasn't asleep anymore, but pretending to. Laine looked back at Daryl.

"I trust him because he saved me."

Daryl gave her a look.

Laine sighed, narrowing her eyes at Daryl. "You wouldn't understand."

Daryl glared at her. "Then enlighten me."

Laine frowned. "No."

Daryl took a step towards the bed., face hard "Why not?"

Laine looked at him, refusing to be intimidated by him. "Get out." She said, hoping she sounded forceful instead of a pathetic little girl.

Daryl blinked and stood up straighter, looking down at her, but not moving.

Laine frowned. "Get. Out."

"I think you need to leave now." Dallas said, startling both of them.

Daryl glared at both of them then stomped out of the room.

Dallas sat on the bed next to Laine. "You ok, girl?"

Laine nodded slowly. "Yea. Yea I'm fine. It just brought back memories of…"

Dallas took Laine's face in his hands. "Hey girl. They're gone. Those men can't hurt ya no more. You know that."

Laine nodded, closing her eyes. "I was thinking about them, in the woods. That's why those walkers were able to sneak up on me." She opened her eyes. "I was weak, Dallas." She sniffed and gently took Dallas's hands from her face. "I hate how weak they make me feel, even though I know they're gone. I hate it. I hate them. I hate them for what they did to me."

Dallas took Laine's hands into his. "Look at me girl. You are not weak. You are one of the strongest people I have ever met. You take down walkers like nobody's business." Laine smiled at this. "You helped this ol' man right when he hurt his ankle and cried like a little baby." Laine laughed. "When I found ya with those men, you fought them tooth and nail, even though you were half starved and beaten. You didn't give up. Ya kept on fightin. You are strong, Laine. Don't let yerself, or anybody else, tell ya otherwise."

Laine closed her eyes. "Thank you, Dallas."

Dallas hugged Laine. "I'm here fer ya girl. No matter what." He let her go and stood up, grabbing her empty plate. "Git some rest now, girl."

Laine smiled slightly and laid back down.

Daryl POV

Daryl stood on the other side of the door, eyes wide. If he had known what that girl had been through, he wouldn't have been so tough on her, so mean to her. He felt terrible now. No girl that young should ever have to go through an ordeal like that. No wonder she didn't trust anyone but Dallas. When he heard Dallas getting up to leave he quickly rushed out onto the front porch. Daryl sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe he should go easy on the girl from now on. Daryl shook his head and started walking over to his tent.

There's chapter 2! Thanks to those who followed and faved my story!

I hope you enjoy this chapter!

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