Well, here's the next chapter! I wanna say sorry for the little wait, I know you all were looking forward to this chapter. Just so you all know, there's a lot of things that go on in here and I apologize if it all seems rushed. Action scenes are not my forte lol.
I hope you all enjoy!
This chapter has been rewritten.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Daryl shifted in place nervously as he stared at the box in Carol's hand. He had thought he had kept it safely hidden in the drawer of his bedside table, but that he had obviously not been the case. Somehow, he had forgotten it in the pocket of one of his pants.
"Uh," he finally said, though his mouth felt like sandpaper. "It's a ring."
Carol, with infinite patience, smiled gently at him. "I know what it is, Daryl. But...is it what I think it is?" The hand holding the box was slightly shaking.
Instead of answering, he wanted to ask Carol what she thought it was just to prolong the inevitable. This was not how he wanted her to find out. He had wanted it to be more romantic when he got down on his knee with the ring. Not with her holding it in her hand after finding it in his dirty laundry.
"Daryl...," she pressed, stepping closer.
"Yeah," he finally sighed and avoided her eyes. "It's what you think."
Instead of looking happy, she frowned. A rock settled in his gut. Did she not want it? "What's wrong?" She asked. "Did you change your mind about asking me? Is that why it was in your pants? Do you not want to get mar-?"
"No!" He cried, surprised at the questions. "It's just that I didn't want you to find out this way. I was hoping for something a little more romantic." He gnawed at the skin of his thumb, giving him something to do instead of just standing there in front of Carol.
"It's the apocalypse, Daryl. Things aren't going to get that romantic, anymore. It's not like you can take me to some fancy restaurant or anything like that."
"Just didn't want you to find out. I, at least, wanted to ask you properly."
"You still can," Carol said and closed the box to hand it to him.
Daryl looked at the box and instantly his palms began to sweat. This was it. He was finally going to ask Carol to be his wife. He took the box carefully, the velvet soft against his fingers.
However, before he could get on one knee to ask the most important question of his life, the sounds of a vehicle tearing up gravel and gunfire interrupted him.
Merle and Maggie walked out of their room, feeling satisfied and a little sweaty. They had wanted to get some fresh air and went to sit on the porch swing. The sun was still up in the sky but in only a few short hours, would sink below the horizon.
From where they sat, they had a clear view of the campfire in Rick's group. A few of their members were sitting around it. "I think Glenn may have a thing for my sister," Maggie said casually. Maybe a little too casually.
"Now, why would you say that?" Merle asked, trying to hide a grin.
"Because, earlier, he asked daddy if Bethie could sit by him at the fire and there she is." Unmistakably, Merle could see the littlest Greene's blonde head. "And look, there isn't even an inch of space between the two of them." Maggie looked up at Merle. "You wouldn't have anything to do with that...would you?"
"Me?" He asked, feigning surprise. "Course not. That boy is old enough to make his own decisions and I reckon it was his decision to have Beth sit by him."
Maggie's eyes narrowed and she pinched him in the side. "You're lying, Merle DIxon. I can always tell when you do."
Merle sighed loudly. "Oh, come on, Maggie. That boy needs a little lovin' and so does your sister."
Maggie stood and positioned herself in front of her husband, hands balled into fists at her sides. "What kind of lovin' are we talking about here?"
This could and would go south quickly if he said the wrong thing. "Uh, the totally innocent kind. The kind that doesn't involve sex, of course." He spoke quickly, hoping it would placate his wife. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with an angry Maggie. He'd rather face a whole herd of walkers.
She smirked, seeing the fear in his eyes and reclaimed her seat next to him. "That's what I thought." She patted his leg lovingly and leaned her head on his shoulder.
However, the peaceful summer evening was ruined when two black SUVS roared through the yard and headed straight for Rick and his camp. Men poured out of the vehicles, each with a gun in their hands.
Merle and Maggie were instantly on their feet. "Shit," Merle cursed. "Come on," he reached for Maggie's arm and tugged her. "We have to get our weapons." Fortunately, the men had not noticed them on the porch and they had been able to slip inside the house
One of the men reached for Beth and started to drag her to one of the SUVs. She screamed and Glenn moved to save her, but one of the men bashed him in the face with a gun. Glenn went down but wasn't out. But more men surrounded him and he was forced to remain in the dirt. Another man was firing into the air, hoping to cause fear.
Maggie was the first to run back onto the porch, rifle in hand. Everything was happening so fast in front of her, she didn't know what to do. Then, one of the men looked right at her. He looked vaguely familiar.
"Hey. there's another one!" He shouted, causing two men's heads to turn in her direction. "Get her!" They began to run toward the farmhouse.
"They got Beth!" Carol gasped from the upstairs window. She was watching as everything happened down below. "Now, Lori!"
Daryl cursed from beside her and raced to the door where he had set his crossbow. Thankfully, he had brought it up with him when he had been looking for Carol earlier. "Looks like they're only grabbing the women. Do you see Rick or T-Dog? Your dad? What are they doing to them?"
Carol scanned the area, looking for the men Daryl mentioned. When she saw them, she gasped. "They're grouping them together. Glenn's on the ground, but alive. They have guns on all of them."
He cursed again. "At least, they ain't outright killing them. How many men with guns can you see?"
She did a quick head count. "I see twelve. One has Beth and another has Lori. Two are on Glenn, five are on the other men." She gasped. "And three are coming this way."
"Shit!" He threw open the door and held his crossbow in front of him. "Stay here," he ordered over his shoulder and ran out into the hallway without another word to her.
Stay here while he risked his life? There was no way in hell she'd do that! Especially since he wouldn't stay in a room while she went out to fight. So, she grab her knife from the bedside table and race after him. He was standing at the top of the stairs and when he heard her approach, he turned to face her. He didn't look happy.
"Get your ass back in that room, Carol. I ain't going to tell you again."
"No! I can help," she argued. "You know I can."
"No. You can't. Now, get back in that room before I drag you there." There was anger and fear in his eyes. He didn't want her out there with the fighting because he was afraid that she would get hurt, taken or worse.
"Daryl..."
"Now!"
Tears filled her eyes, but she finally did what he said. She slammed the door behind her and locked it. Angrily, she slid to the floor. When everything calmed down, she was going to let him know that he was never going to speak to her like that again.
More screams pierced the air and this one sounded more familiar than the rest. Carol raced to the window just in time to see her stepmother get dragged to one of the SUVS. At one point, she wrestled free, but the man was quickly able to grab her once more and slapped her hard across the face.
Carol winced. She couldn't just stay up here and do nothing. Merle, Daryl and Maggie were all out there, firing away at the men. The three that had been running towards the house had been quickly gunned down.
Even Hershel was in the fight, standing on his porch and firing his shotgun.
That was what did it for Carol. If the patriarch of the Greene family was out there fighting, then so would she. She raced to Daryl's side of the bed and reached into one of the drawers for his gun.
With a knife shoved through the loops of her belt and a loaded gun in her hand, Carol ran out to join the fight for her family.
It was like watching something out of an action movie.
Daryl and Merle took over on the side of the house. Every once in awhile, they would peek around the corner and fire at some of the men. Then, came the sound of another approaching vehicle and this one sounded fucking huge.
"Is that a God damn semi?" Merle asked in astonishment as a freaking semi truck barreled through the yard seemingly out of nowhere and crashed into one of the black SUVS. Fortunately, it had not hit the one Lori, Beth and Sharon had been shoved in.
The men holding Rick, Marc and T-Dog all looked at the truck and became distracted. This allowed Merle and Daryl to take them out one by one.
From the passenger's side, a woman hopped out with a sword and immediately made her way to the other SUV. The enemy seemed so shock at the turn of events that they didn't even see her approach until they were run through by her sword.
She opened the door to the SUV and ushered the three women out and urged them to make a run for the house. Maggie covered them with her rifle and led them to the side of the house where there was a storm cellar. They would be able to hide in there.
Only two men remained. Merle watched in amusement as the men looked at one another before dropping their weapons and running. Hershel took out one, while he took out the other. Daryl stepped up to his side and smirked. It seemed that the ambush lasted almost as quick as it had started. Though, it was a miracle that no had been killed.
"Let's go see how those guys are doin'," Daryl said and pointed at the four men of their group who had been held at gunpoint.
Carol hadn't wanted to exit the house in the middle of the fight, knowing she'd be an open target and Daryl would be pissed if she managed to get herself shot or taken. So, she had walked out the door on the opposite end of the house and slowly made her way to the fight. Hopefully, she'd be able to sneak up on a few of the men to take them out.
But then, the gunfire stopped and she didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Had Daryl and the others taken out all the men? Or had Daryl and the others been taken out? She gulped and blinked back tears, forcing that thought away.
She had been surprised when a semi came flying into the yard, but didn't stop to watch where it was going. She was on a mission and couldn't afford to get distracted. Her friends were out there fighting for their lives and she was going to help them.
She was about to turn the corner, gun raised at eye level, when a arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her back. It wasn't Daryl. She knew his touch. She opened her mouth and screamed one long scream before the man covered her mouth with a hand.
"Shut up, bitch," the man's voice was low and cruel. "You're coming with me."
The rest of the group regrouped in front of the house in the waning daylight. The sun was barely above the horizon and cast long shadows on the ground.
Maggie, followed by her sister, Lori and Sharon joined the rest of the group. Lori and Sharon went right to their husbands, who engulfed them in their arms. Beth went right for her father, who wrapped her up tight in his arms. Glenn stood near, the cut above his eye still bled.
The woman with a sword, whose name was Michonne, stayed behind the group and kept glancing back at the semi. When one of the doors opened, she huffed and rolled her eyes. They all turned and watched as Shane climbed from the massive vehicle and headed their way.
He went first to RIck and hugged his best friend. "Thank God, you're all right. I was hoping to get here sooner to warn you all."
"How did you know they were coming this way, son?" Hershel asked.
"A few men stopped by a cabin Michonne and I were staying at. While we were hiding, we overheard them talking about this place and the fact you had two daughters. I knew exactly who and where they were talking about so I knew we had to warn you."
"And we thank you for that." Hershel pulled Beth closer and placed a hand on Maggie's shoulder.
"How come you were out fighting?" T-Dog asked.
"I would have," he said, looking sheepish. "But my gun's out of ammo and I wouldn't have been much help with just a knife. That's why I crashed into one of their vehicles. I hoped it would be enough of a diversion for you all to pick them off and it was."
"It definitely helped," Rick spoke up. "Daryl and Merle were able to get the men off of us because of it."
Merle looked around the group, then. Everyone was there. Except... "Hey, Daryl. Where's Carol?"
"Inside," he answered. "I didn't want her anywhere near the fighting."
His older brother nodded in understanding. He would have done the same to Maggie if she wasn't so damn stubborn. Though, he couldn't imagine Carol being okay with it, either.
A scream caused them all to freeze. Daryl was the first to snap out of it and began running in the direction of the sound. "Carol!"
"Stop struggling, honey," the man crooned into her ear and held Carol tighter. "Once we find a safe place, I'll show you how well I can take care of you."
Carol felt sick to her stomach as he continued to drag her off to the woods. She hoped someone had heard her, but her heart sank when no one came running from the front of the house.
Did that mean they were all dead? She felt sick again for a different reason.
Suddenly, the arm wrapped around her middle was gone and she stumbled. A scream bubbled up behind her. Carol turned and watched in horror as the man that had held her captive, got his throat ripped out by a walker. They hadn't even heard them approaching and looking back, she could hundreds of them trekking through the woods.
They were all heading toward the farmhouse.
She looked back once more before taking off. However, she ran into something solid. She screamed, thinking it was a walker. But looking up, she saw that it was Daryl.
"Are you alright?" He gripped her forearms firmly. "You hurt? Bit?"
She shook her head furiously and pointed to the walkers slowly making their way towards them.
"Shit!" He shouted. "A herd that size will tear down the house. We gotta get out of here."
The rest of the group had joined them, racing after Daryl after he tore off toward the scream. When they saw the herd, they all froze.
Rick acted first. "Grab what supplies you can from the camp and pile into the SUV," he ordered.
"You all can use my truck," Hershel said, slightly out of breath. "Throw things in there if need be. But we need to hurry."
"Eight people can cram into the SUV and six in the truck," T-Dog instructed as they ran toward the house.
"Beth, Sharon and Lori, come with me to the storm cellar," Maggie cried and veered off to the side of the house. The other three women behind her. "We can grab some of the canned goods down there and shove them in Daddy's truck."
"Shane, come with Glenn and I to grab the tents. Merle and Daryl can pick off any walkers that get near, okay?"
Carol looked around frantically at all of her friends doing jobs and gathering things. What could she do? She turned to Daryl.
"Stay close," he ordered before turning back to the approaching herd.
This was not happening again. She reached for Michonne's arm as the woman was about to run past. "Can you help gather stuff from the house with me? We'll need pans and clothes."
Michonne's eyes roamed over Carol's head to Daryl. "Pretty sure your man over there told you to stay close."
"And watch everyone else help out? I'm not a child and he's not my master. Please. I need to do something to help. So, will you?"
"You don't even know me. I could just be waiting for one of you to go off with me.
Were they really having this conversation now. "You wouldn't be here if that was the case. You would have taken one look at that herd and been off. Now, come on."
The woman nodded and followed behind Carol as they ran into the house. The first room they went to was Maggie and Merle's. They found a bag at the foot of the bed and started to stuff things inside.
Michonne then went to kitchen to gather cooking supplies and Carol went to her and Daryl's room. She grabbed all of the clothes on the floor and before she left, she snatched the black box from the night table. There was no way she was going to leave that behind, especially since Daryl had been about to propose.
More gunfire could be heard, telling Carol that the walkers were getting close and they needed to get out of there. "We need to hurry!" She cried rushing down the stairs. Michonne joined her in the living room, but the sounds of vehicle had them stopping.
No!
"They're leaving us!" Michonne cried, a heavy bag of supplies over her shoulder.
Without another word between them they ran out the door just in time to see the black SUV and Hershel's powder blue truck drive away.
Merle practically dragged Daryl to one of the vehicles, Hershel's truck, when the walkers started to surround the house. It had grown dark and it was no longer safe to be out.
"I have to find Carol," he said, trying to break free from Merle's strong grasp. "She went off to the house with the new woman, though I told her to stay put." There was no way he was going to leave her behind in a herd. Especially since she might not get as lucky as last time.
"I think I saw her get in the SUV with Lori," Beth piped up.
"You sure?" He narrowed his eyes at the girl. Why would Carol go to the SUV with Lori when she would normally be by his side. But he supposed that things were happening too quickly for her to even think about which car to get to.
She nodded, eyes round.
"Okay. Blondie said Carol was safe. Now, get your ass in here before you become walker food." Merle finally managed to drag Daryl to the truck and threw him inside next to Maggie in the back. Merle squashed in next. In the front, Hershel was behind the wheel with Beth next to him and Glenn on her other side.
Several walkers slammed against the windows with their clawed hands. Hershel stepped on the gas and they were out of there, leaving the undead in the dust.
"If we're all in here that means Rick, Lori, T-Dog, Shane, Michonne, Carol and her parents are in the SUV," Glenn ticked off each name on a finger. "That has to be a tight fit."
"It's a tight fit in here," Merle grumbled, his whole right side was pressed against the side of the truck. "And I'm pretty sure one of your arrows is in my ass, bro." He shifted in his seat and Daryl cracked a tiny smile.
"What the hell are we going to do now?" Michonne asked as she chopped the head off another walker that had gotten too close. More filled the space and she continued to swing her sword. They had dropped their bags and made a run for it.
"I don't know," Carol cried, tears filling her eyes. "We can't go on foot. These things will be on us in seconds." Even with tears blurring her vision, she still managed to shoot a few walkers in the head. "I am so sorry for making you come with."
"It's okay." The woman offered her a soft smile. "I would have done the same, even if you hadn't asked me to come."
They were about to die.
Wait. No they weren't. Not yet.
"Can we take that?" Carol pointed to the semi, the passenger's door still open.
Michonne saw where she was pointing and smiled even wider. "Hell yeah we can."
They took off for it.
The group decided they were safe after driving on several miles of highway. It was dark when they stopped, but they regrouped in front of the vehicles headlights. Daryl looked over each member frantically. He counted twelve members.
There was no Carol.
He whirled on Beth, who cowered at the rage in his face. "You told me Carol got in the SUV!" He shouted, not caring if it drew more walkers their way. If Carol wasn't there, then she was...
"I'm sorry!" Beth cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I thought I saw her get in."
"Michonne's missing, too," Shane spoke.
"They were together when they went into the house," T-Dog said.
"Oh God, the house was getting surrounded when we left!" Sharon cried and pressed her face into her husband's neck. Marc looked extremely pale and tears shimmered in his eyes. The last time a herd had threatened his daughter's life, he had been there to save it. Now, there was no one to save it.
Daryl looked like he wanted to kill something. Merle reached over and grabbed his shoulder. "Easy, baby brother."
"Fuck that!" Daryl growled. "We left Carol again." He angrily swiped at the tears forming in his eyes. He had told her to stay in the house and she had almost gotten taken. He had told her to stay close and she had run off the moment his back was turned. Now, she wasn't there. Wasn't with him. She wasn't with him and was probably dead.
Why hadn't she listened to him?
He couldn't keep doing this. He couldn't keep wondering if Carol was alive or not. He had thought her dead once and that had nearly destroyed him. What was he going to do now? Especially if she was really dead.
It didn't take long for Michonne and Carol to navigate the semi onto the highway. As they went, they plowed through dozens of walkers. Michonne even let out a little laugh of glee as the windshield was sprayed with walker blood.
Soon, they saw headlights up ahead and knew that it was there group. Off to the edge of the group, Carol saw a lone figure and knew it was Daryl.
Thank God, he was all right.
She was out of the truck even before Michonne turned it completely off and was racing towards him. She flung herself on him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He embraced her back somewhat stiffly, which was odd for him. Looking up, she saw that he was looking at her with eyes full of steel.
What was going on?
"I told you to stay put," he growled and stepped back. He was clearly anger and Carol completely understood.
"I'm sorry. Everyone else was doing something and I couldn't just stand there to be baby sat."
"I ain't babysitting you! I'm trying to keep you safe." He paced a few times in front of her before stopping, shoulders slumped. "I can't keep doin' this, Carol." His voice was softer. Hurt. "I thought you were dead once and I was here thinkin' you were dead again. If only you had stayed by my side."
"Daryl, I'm so-"
"I can't keep doing this," he repeated. "I can't keep thinking you're dead because you ran off to do something stupid. I can't stop thinking about what would happen if you were really dead."
"Then, don't."
"It ain't that easy!" He nearly shouted. "I'm losing my fucking mind here and that's going to get either you or me killed. I can't do this."
Tears filled her eyes and her heart almost stopped. "What are you saying?" Please don't be what I think you're saying, Daryl. Please.
"This." He gestured between them. "I love you, but I need to be more focused on ways to keep you safe and not on ways to bed you."
"You can keep me safe and still be with me, Daryl," she begged and reached for him, but he took a step away.
"I think it'll be better for both of us if we took a break." He avoided her eyes.
"Daryl-!"
"I'm going to go talk to Merle."
And he left her there, alone, with her heart shattered in a million pieces at her feet.
I know I ended up on a sad note and I'm sorry. It may seem like the decision to take a break from Carol came out of no where, but lots of things were going through his head from the time he found out Carol wasn't there to the moment she finally showed up. I hoped that made sense! :)
Thanks for reading!