"Where did she go, bitch?"
I spit at them. I wasn't going to tell them anything. Ryan pulled the chain and I was once again lifted off of my feet by my throat. They'd looped the chain over a low hanging tree branch. My arms were tied behind my back and my legs were tied at my ankle.
"Ryan, you're going to kill her. Her neck is already bleeding and so is her back. If you kill her, we won't have another one and I don't know when we can get one."
"She's not going to die. She's only going to wish she was dead." He released the chain and I dropped to my knees, gasping for air. He'd cut a switch off a tree and taken it to my back before he decided it was more worthwhile to choke me out first.
"I already wish I was dead, you stupid son of a bitch," I rasped hoarsely.
"Be careful what you wish for." He strung me up again. I was proud of myself. It took them two hours to catch me and another hour to pull me down from the tree I'd made my way into. Every time one of them got part way up in the tree, I'd find a way to kick them down. I exhausted my energy fairly quickly, but it gave Janey enough time to get long gone.
After a minute of watching me struggle, Jeremy smacked his arm and he dropped me back onto the ground. He hissed, "Stop. Do you hear that?"
"Hear what, you dumb fucker. I don't hear anything."
"I thought I heard a car."
"We're close to the highway. Even at the end of the world, there are always people traveling. Trying to get away from this fucking infestation. We killed six walkers yesterday." He called down to me, "You hear that, you stupid cunt? Six walkers. You sent that little girl out into a walker infested hell hole."
"Anything's better than being with you," I choked.
He leaned forward and hit me close fisted. I felt the blood gushing from the cut on my jaw before I felt the pain of the actual cut.
"That's the problem with you, you dumb whore. You never learn. You've been with us for three weeks now. I would have thought you would have learned by now. We really are going to have to kill you first, aren't we?"
"Go ahead, you stupid fucker." I turned my head to the side and spit the blood out.
He reached down and grabbed my jaw roughly. He growled, "You are my play thing. You will be my play thing until the day you die. Do you understand me?"
"Fucking kill me."
"That can…."
A strangled choking sound came from just to Ryan's left, where Jeremy was standing. We both looked over and watched as a second arrow joined the first in his stomach. Not an arrow. A bolt. I wandered in amazement at the bolts. There was only one man I knew that carried them with him. And, as if thinking about him brought him to life, Daryl Dixon materialized out of the trees, holding his crossbow braced against his arm. In his quiet voice with his burning blue eyes, he ordered, "I'd get the fuck away from my woman if I was ya."
"You shot Jeremy," Ryan said in shock.
Suddenly, my brother materialized behind Ryan and pulled him into a choke hold. He snarled, "And we're bout to do a whole lot worse to ya."
Still on my knees, I watched them gag and tie the two men. Jeremy was slowly bleeding out. He'd be a walker before we knew it. When they were safely disposed of, Johnny rushed to my side and ripped his buck knife out to begin cutting away at my bindings. I didn't flinch as he brushed the cuts and bruises that ran along my body. I just sat on my knees in silence, staring at my two heroes.
"Jesse, are you alright?" Johnny demanded. He looped his arm through mine and yanked me to a standing position. Daryl made his way over slowly, cautiously, like he was approaching a deer.
"Woman, ya okay?"
"Feel about as good as I look," I choked out before my world went dark.
[][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]
Scared me the way she looked. Scared Johnny too. We both knew things weren' okay. Things weren' never gonna be okay gain. She had bites up an down her legs an back. Human bites. Not walker bites. She had cuts deep on her arms an inner thighs. Blood was dried on her legs an caked in her hair. Her right eye was fresh black an her left had a cut bove the eyebrow that looked like it coulda used bout three stitches. Then, she jus went down. She spoke to us fer jus a second. Some smart ass comment. Then, she jus closed her eyes an went backwards. Johnny scooped her up an I ordered, "Get her to the car. Be there in a second."
He carried her away an I stared down at the two men in fronta me. One was bleedin' out. Bleedin' to death like my brother did. I asked, "Ya like chains, huh? Yer gonna like 'em a lot more when I'm done witcha."
I chained the one not bleedin' to a tree, an not by his throat. Right round his middle so he couldn' move. Took the other an chained him round his throat to the same tree. Right where he could be a walker an slowly eat the other one, kill him that way. Then, they'd be stuck. Walkers stuck to the trees. Never able to move. Then, I took off to the car where Johnny an my woman was waitin'. Soon as I got in, Johnny said somethin' made my heart drop to my chest. "Daryl, where she's bleedin' from, it's that kind of injury. They….they….I think they…."
"We gotta get her back to the prison," I interrupted him. "Herschel kin help her. Herschel will fix her. He's got to."
He sat in the back wit Jesse, holdin' her head in his lap an talkin' to her. Tellin' her everythin' was gonna be okay, tellin' her bout Beth an Lil Bit an Our Boy. Tryin' to jus get her to respond. I never been so grateful fer the enda the world. Couldn'ta did eighty on the main road 'fore the end of the world. Johnny an I stopped the car one time to get gas an, when we did, Jesse woke up fer a second, stared at me with those damn green eyes an said real quiet, "I'm sorry, Daryl."
"Ya ain't got nothin' to be sorry fer, woman. Yer gonna be jus fine. We're gonna get ya to Herschel .Yer gonna be jus fine."
She closed those green eyes an she was gone again. Johnny an I didn' stop gain 'fore we got to the prison round ten o'clock that night. Rick opened the gate fer us an as soon as we got the car stopped, I was outta the back wit Jesse in my arms, screamin' fer Herschel. Rick ordered, "Take her to office to the left of the bathrooms. We set it up as an infirmary for you. I'll go get Herschel."
Johnny an I ran to get her there an get her laid up on the lil bed they had in the middle of the room. Somebody musta went down to the prison hospital an got it fer her. A few minutes later, Herschel limped in an stared at her fer a second. Then, he ordered, "Johnny, Daryl, I need water. A lot of water. Hot if you can get it. And rags to clean her off with. Go get a sheet and cut it into strips. Get something for me to stitch her up with and get me as much light as possible. Round up all of the flashlights you can find."
We didn't pause, we didn't hesitate. We ran. I took off to the room off the cell block we were usin' as a storage room. Grabbed as many sheets as I could an as many flashlights as I could find. Johnny got a bucket an ran an got water. We were racin' to get all the stuff fer her an, when we got back into the room, Herschel had gotten her awake. She was layin' there wit her eyes open, starin' up at the ceilin'. Johnny an I dropped everythin' an ran over to her.
"Jesse," Johnny was cryin'. I couldn' feel nothin'. I was just numb. She turned her head an stared at us. She looked so tired. So worn down an beat down an just tired.
"I'm not giving up," she promised, her voice all broken from them chokin' her. "Just fix me up, Herschel."
She closed those eyes gain an I went back to work, rippin' the sheets apiece an handin' 'em to Herschel. Herschel ordered, "Help me wash her off. Be careful around the cuts and bruises."
I went to her face, Johnny went to her feet, an Herschel got her middle. I was tryin' to be so careful wit her, wipin' the blood up outta her hair an off her face. There was so much of it. Layers. Dried blood under fresh blood. Again an again an again. She was driftin' in an outta consciousness. I could tell when she was out an when she was awake, even when she never opened her eyes. She jus lay there. Johnny was at her feet, cryin' as he washed off all that dirt an blood an found more an more an more shit wrong wit her. We washed an Herschel got to stitchin' wherever he could an jus bandagin' where he couldn'. When he got done wit most of her front, he asked, "Jesse, do you think we could put you on your stomach so we can work on your back."
She didn' say nothin'. She jus lay there. I asked, "What's wrong wit her?"
"She's exhausted, Daryl. And we're putting her in a great deal of pain while we're stitching her up."
"She in shock?"
"Probably."
Johnny grabbed her feet, Herschel guided her middle, an I took care a her head an we turned her over. Her back was jus as bad as her front. She had fuckin' bite marks down her back. From her neck down to her legs. My stomach turned an, when I looked up at Johnny, he was green too.
"Boys," Herschel said real slow, "I want you to leave the room now."
"No." We said together.
"Daryl, Johnny, I need to examine her. I can stitch her up and clean her off without you. But, for right now, I need you to leave the room."
"We ain't leavin' the room," I snapped at him.
"Daryl, I will take care of Jesse. But I cannot do that if the two of you are in the room. Please, leave the room."
"I ain't…"
"Daryl," Johnny's voice was real quiet when he said my name. I looked up at him an he motioned towards the door. "We ain't doin' Jesse no good in here."
"But…"
"Daryl, please."
We went out to the hall an sat down in fronta the door. We didn' talk. We jus sat there an stared at the door, waitin' on Herschel to come out. Felt like forever, starin' at that door, waitin' to hear that my woman was gonna be jus fine. That my woman was gonna be out there in a few days, feelin' alright.