Chapter Thirty-Seven
''No, stop..'' Riley mumbled in her sleep while she frowned, her right hand turning into a fist as her whole body tensed up. Daryl opened his eyes as he felt Riley moving her body a little beside him on their bed. He had always been a light sleeper, but now with Riley he had formed this habit of actually waking up right away by the slightest sounds of discomfort she would make in her slumber.
''No.. no don't.'' He heard her softly whisper while she was still moving a little next to him. He frowned as he looked at the back of her head before he turned to his side, pressing himself against her back as he wrapped his arm around her. He could feel that her body was all rigid and placed his hand on top of hers, slowly prying open her hand.
''You're okay, I'm here.'' He whispered in her ear while he gently brushed his thumb over her knuckles.
After a few moments she calmed down again before she turned around in her sleep, pressing herself against his chest and let out a content sigh. Daryl placed his hand against her back as he leaned his chin on the top of her head. He had actually been doing this for four nights in a row already, comforting her in her sleep while she was apparently having a nightmare. After the incident in the tombs, Riley had been having them a lot and it was really starting to worry him.
In the morning she would just say to him it were merely stupid nightmares of being chased by walkers if he asked her about it, but he knew there was more to it. Everyone in their group had their occasional nightmares which was normal, who wouldn't have them in a world of decaying bodies that would try to eat you if they got their hands on you? No, Riley had been having these rather intense ones after she got freaked out by that dark figure she said she'd seen in the tombs. Daryl felt really guilty over it and did blame himself for the entire happening since he had been the one that actually brought her there in the first place. He should have never taken her to that room, what was he thinking?
She told him it wasn't his fault and there was nothing wrong when he mentioned it to her, just a phase she was probably going through. But Daryl knew that wasn't just it since Riley had been rather jumpy after that particular night too. During the day he would sometimes see her outside, looking around as if she was searching for something but she couldn't seem to find it. He had noticed her frowning before she looked at the ground with a panicked expression on her face. One time he had seen T-Dog touch her shoulder to ask her a question and she actually jumped a little with a panicked expression clearly visible on her features before she turned around to face the African American man, quickly forcing a smile on her face. But Daryl knew she was anxious, he could just feel it radiating off of her body in waves while she tried to keep up a brave face.
He tried talking to her about it but she brushed it off, saying that it was probably her imagination playing tricks on her. However Daryl was worried, he didn't like this at all. What if she actually had seen something and he should act upon it instead of just watching her like a hawk to make sure she was alright? He had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that she would not get so scared like that for no particular reason.
Even though she had some imagination but going as far as actually seeing things that weren't there, no he didn't believe that. Riley was not a woman who was easily scared, heck she would always try to come along with him if they were heading into danger, no questions asked. That woman was tough, period. So, if she said that she'd seen something that made her freak out like that, even if he hadn't seen anything himself, he believed her.
He lowered his eyes as Riley slowly moved her head upwards, her tired eyes looking at him. ''You can't sleep?'' She asked him in a drowsy voice.
''Nah, just woke up but ya go back to sleep, I'm sure I'll fall back asleep as well.'' He said to her as he brushed his hand underneath the back of her shirt, slowly trailing his fingertips over her bare skin. She frowned a little at him for a moment before she slowly nodded and nestled her head against his chest again.
He sighed as he pulled her closer towards him in his arms while he thought about the past events. He needed to do something, anything to stop this. It couldn't keep going, it wasn't good for her but it also wasn't good for him. He constantly woke up during the night now and he felt rather tired throughout the day because of it, even though he tried not to show it front of the others, especially not to Riley. She had been looking at him rather suspiciously when she caught him yawning a few times. He knew she would probably force him to sleep somewhere else and that was the last thing he ever wanted, knowing he then wouldn't be getting any sleep at all if she was not right there beside him where she belonged.
Heck, he didn't realize that he would get so used to that feeling if he looked at his past. He'd always slept alone, period. If the women he slept with were too wasted to get up and leave, he would quietly make his way out of the bedroom, feeling out of place. He couldn't help but feel a wave of that familiar loneliness wash over him now as he thought back at that particular part of his life, because that was how he'd unconsciously always been feeling before he met Riley, alone.
He tried to shake off all those troublesome thoughts, knowing he needed to get some sleep. He slowly closed his eyes, breathing in the familiar scent of Riley's hair while he drifted off to sleep.
That morning Daryl actually woke up all alone in bed, a bit of light shining through the opening of the grey bed sheet that Riley had placed in front of their cell door a few days ago to give them more privacy. He instantly sat up before he quickly got dressed to find Riley since she'd never gotten out of bed earlier than him, ever. He had probably been so tired this night that he fell in such a deep sleep that hadn't even noticed her leaving the bed and he wasn't liking this happening at all.
He quietly made his way down the stairs since he knew that everyone was probably still asleep because it was very early in the morning. He heard a few hushed voices in the front room of the cell block and walked towards it before he slowed down his pace as he heard someone very familiar quietly sniffling.
''You should tell him dear, you can't keep this up.'' He heard Carol say.
''I can't, he already worries enough about me. I've been seeing him watching me like a hawk throughout the day and he's been so tired because of me since I keep waking him up Carol, all because of my stupid imagination. I can't keep doing this to him, he needs his energy to stay alert, especially around here.'' Daryl heard Riley quietly say before she sniffled again.
''But it might help if you talk to him about it,'' Carol mentioned and Daryl inwardly thanked the older woman for trying to push Riley to confess this to him by herself.
''He can't do anything about it Carol, I just have to get over it by myself. It's just… I feel like it's merely getting worse. I really try to ignore the feeling but outside I get all panicked because I can just feel something is wrong and I can't seem to figure out what, like this feeling of being watched.''
Daryl's jaw tensed as he heard Riley say all these things to Carol. She had been telling him that she was doing better but apparently that had just be a front to stop him from worrying. He hated the fact that she was keeping this to herself, like she didn't trust him enough to tell him her feelings.
''Yesterday when I was in laundry room with Beth I swear I saw this shadow near the door. I quickly walked over to it but when I reached the door it was gone. Beth said she didn't see anything when I asked her and I saw her looking at me in concern. She was probably thinking that I'm going crazy. God, Carol what if I'm losing my mind?'' Riley said before she started to sob. Daryl's hands turned into fists, not being able to listen to this anymore and walked straight into the room, seeing Carol holding a crying Riley in her arms.
Riley heard footsteps approaching, looking up from Carol's shoulder, freezing as she saw Daryl standing there by the cell door with an evident frown on his face as he looked at her. Riley pulled back from Carol and the older woman frowned at her before she noticed that Riley was looking at the cell door and she looked behind her, seeing Daryl eying the two of them in concern. She looked back at Riley, giving her a small nod to indicate that the younger woman should really tell him what was going on before she left the room to prepare breakfast for everyone since she would wake them all up in an hour or so.
Riley was quickly wiping her tears away with the back of her hand, feeling really embarrassed that Daryl had caught her crying like that. She felt stupid to be crying over nothing because that was exactly the case, there was nothing, it was all in her head. Who sees dark shadows lurking in the corner? Daryl probably thought she was insane and had way too much imagination.
When Carol had spotted her in the front room of the cell block half an hour ago since she had woken up in fright by this rather vivid nightmare of being grabbed by some unknown man who had pulled her into the darkness, she had been trying to keep a strong front like she did with Daryl. However, the moment the older woman asked further, she reminded Riley so much of her mother that she eventually broke down because she had been feeling so tense the past few days and couldn't take it anymore, it was too much.
Riley felt Daryl approaching her and she looked up, expecting him to stop before her and demand to know what was wrong but instead he pulled her into his arms. ''Why didn't you say anythin'? I asked you every day if ya were alrigh' and you said yes,'' he murmured into her ear and she started to sob again when he said that.
''I'm sorry, it's just me and my stupid imagination. It's nothing.'' She told him.
He pulled back a little and cupped her cheeks in his large hands, making her look up at him. ''Are ya positive that you've been seein' things?'' He asked her and she lowered her eyes but he moved his hands a little to make her look up at him again. ''Have you been seein' somethin' Riley?'' He repeated and she stared into his eyes for a few seconds, knowing he was serious when he would say her name like that.
She eventually nodded and he gave her a quick nod in return before he pulled her into his arms again. ''Alrigh' then, I'm gonna talk to Rick about this,'' he said, wanting to take charge of the situation and solve the problem.
''No wait, don't tell Rick. He will think I'm going crazy Daryl,'' she protested as she pulled back from him. He shook his head before he brushed his thumbs over her cheeks to wipe away her tears.
''You have been seein' shit Riles and that ain't nothin'. I'm gonna talk to him and we're gonna get to the bottom of this whether ya like it or not. I ain't gonna stand another night of seein' ya tossin' and turnin' in yer sleep because you're havin' nightmares over this.'' He told her and he could just see by the look on her face that she was trying to get out of it.
''But what if you just sleep in another cell for a few nights? So you can get a decent amount of sle-'' she started but he pressed his index finger against her mouth to stop her midsentence.
''Don't you dare suggest that, we ain't gonna be sleepin' apart from each other, fuck that.'' He told her in a firm voice, letting her know that this topic was definitely not up for discussion. ''And this ain't just about ya havin' nightmares woman, during the day you're all fuckin' jumpy and shit, that ain't good for ya either. This behavior ain't normal and I'm gonna fix it Riles, so stop arguin' with me 'bout it.''
Riley lowered her eyes to the ground, feeling horrible that Daryl was going through with this. She already felt like crap to be telling this to him and Carol, but now Rick was going to be informed about the situation as well? He would probably see her as an unstable member of their group and not let her help them anymore during supply runs or further clearing out the tombs. They should be able to rely on her and not let her stand on the sidelines.
''He probably won't let me help along anymore,'' she muttered to Daryl but he shook his head.
''Nah, he ain't gonna do that, but I'm sure he don't want ya to feel like this. He has already been givin' me these looks when you've been so panicked when a few people startled ya while they'd asked you a simple question. He knows somethin' is up and he trusts us to come to him if he needs to know 'bout it and now is the time.'' He explained and she slowly nodded.
Daryl placed his hand underneath her chin to make her look at him. ''Ya ain't crazy woman, somethin' is wrong and we're gonna find out what.'' He said to her in a firm voice and she felt this feeling of relief running through her body, comforted by the fact that he was believing her without a doubt. She took one step towards him, wrapping her arms around his torso before she pressed her head into his chest.
''Thanks for believing me,'' she told him and he brushed his hands over her back.
''Ain't no need to thank me for this woman, I'll always believe ya, no matter what.'' He told her and she looked up into his eyes before she slowly leaned in to give him a kiss on his lips.
After a moment, he pulled back from her lips to look into her eyes. ''I want you to tell me when somethin' is wrong woman, anythin', how small ya think it might be, I need to know it, alrigh'?'' He said to her and she nodded.
''Yes, I know... and I'm sorry for not being honest with you, I just felt stupid and was embarrassed to actually tell you.'' She explained, making him frown.
''Why in the fuck were ya embarrassed to tell me woman? You can fuckin' tell me anythin', ya know that.'' He said in confusion. Hadn't they gone through this conversation before? Hadn't they told each other already that they needed to talk more when one of them had something on their mind and the other needed to know about it? Wasn't she the one that actually made that very clear to him?
''But you're.. you and I'm.. me..'' She said and he looked at her with a confused expression on his face, his eyes telling her that she needed to elaborate some more because he surely wasn't getting it. ''Babe, you're Daryl Dixon, nothing scares you. I get scared of a freaking dark figure that I MIGHT have seen lurking in rooms, how stupid is that? Am I fucking ten years old, being scared of monsters in the closet or under the bed? Am I so wea-'' she started but he instantly cupped her face to make her look up at him.
''I ain't ever wanna be hearin' that out of yer mouth, you hear?'' He firmly told her. ''You ain't fuckin' weak. And if ya think nothin' scares me you're wrong,'' he mentioned and she looked at him in confusion. ''This what you're doin' right here already scares me. Fuckin' ain't tellin' me shit, bein' secretive 'bout it, pretendin' nothin' is wrong, that scares me, Riles.'' He confessed to her. Anything that was causing her to feel uncomfortable or scared, anything that might go wrong and drive a wedge between them scared him shitless, he never wanted to lose her, ever.
''I fuckin' love you woman, anythin' goin' on with you affects me too, period.'' He told her and she gave him a small smile as she felt her cheeks heat up a little, something she always seemed to do when he was verbally expressing his affections to her. Sometimes those words that he would say to her with some much emotion behind it made her go weak in her knees. How had this man been able to change from so distant and cold to loving and passionate? It had always been there, buried deep inside of him but it just needed to be drawn out by someone. She felt extremely grateful that he had let her in to actually do that.
''God, I really need to follow through on my own words, don't I?'' She said and he gave her a small smirk.
''Well, we're still learnin', only I'm just learnin' it faster.'' He proudly mentioned to her as he lightly squeezed her waist and she chuckled.
''Smartass,'' she said while she smiled as she patted him on his chest which made him smile in return as well. He didn't want to see her so unhappy and he would do everything in his power to make things right again. He lowered his head, eagerly wanting another kiss which she granted him, wrapping her arms around his neck to pull him closer. They would get through this, not matter what, it wasn't going to bring them down, but would only make them stronger.
Two hours later after everyone had their breakfast and spread out to go back to their routines of checking the fences and cleaning up around the cell block while trying to find more supplies laying around, Daryl pulled Rick to the side to inform him about Riley's situation. The woman in question was still sitting at the table in the front room of the cell block, eyeing the two men as they were talking to each other in hushed voices. She saw Rick nod to Daryl as his eyes turned towards her a few times. After a moment of listening to what Daryl had to say Rick walked over to her and Riley prepared herself for what was coming now.
''Why didn't you tell me this sooner?'' Rick asked her as he sat down opposite to her while Daryl took his place beside her.
''Because it's stupid? I already told Daryl it wa-''
''Because she didn't want us to worry.'' Daryl cut her off and Rick looked at the pair with a frown on his face.
''This group functions because we trust each other Riley, you should know by now that you should be able to mention these things to me.'' Rick said.
''But I don't have any evidence of this, nothing to go on therefore I didn't say anything. I didn't want you to worry for nothing.'' She mentioned.
Rick nodded in understanding before he spoke. ''Well, it clearly isn't nothing from what I've heard from Daryl.'' He started and Riley briefly looked away from his eyes but he lowered his head so she would look at him again. ''We need to inform the others about this, so they can be on the lookout as well, it's for your best interest.'' He said to the couple and Daryl nodded in agreement while Riley swallowed at the news since now everyone would hear about it.
''But no one can actually come in here, right?'' Riley asked and Rick shook his head.
''No, it's impossible. All those parts of the corridors and rooms that we have cleared out already are secured and locked, we're the only ones with a pair of keys.'' He mentioned and Riley's eyes widened as she thought about what he said.
''What if there is someone that found some spare keys to the prison as well? There have to be more guards around here, right?'' She said and both men looked at her in surprise.
''Well, it's impossible that the inmates have keys. We didn't come across any guards when were leading them through the tombs, and there weren't any guards in that cell block we cleared out either.'' Rick mentioned.
''Right, and behind all those cell doors that we've locked in the tombs are walkers, no way in hell are people able to get through to reach us without gettin' bit or eaten.'' Daryl said, making Riley sigh in disappointment since she thought she was onto something.
''Yeah you're right. We're barely getting into those hallways as it is when clearing them out.'' Riley mentioned with a frown on her face, realizing it was impossible for other people to actually enter the prison via those dark corridors they called tombs without them noticing, it was swamped with walkers. Their group had managed to clear out and secure only a few hallways and rooms during the last couple of days as they were slowly pushing through to take over the entire building, which was a pretty difficult task since the prison had been loaded with inmates.
''Where did you last got a feeling that you were being watched?'' Rick asked her.
''Yesterday afternoon, when I was washing clothes with Beth in the laundry room.''
''Okay, Daryl and I are going to check that area out, see if we can find some leads there.'' Rick said and Daryl nodded in agreement.
''And me?'' Riley asked.
''You're going to thin out those walkers near the fences outside. T-Dog is already busy with the right side of the field and I want you and Carl to take care of the left side.'' Rick said but Riley frowned.
''You don't want me to come along with the two of you?''
''No, I don't really like to take you along into those tombs after hearing this.'' He replied and this was just what Riley had been wanting to prevent since she was keen on helping the group when clearing out the walkers in the tombs. She had been doing that together with Rick, Daryl, Maggie, Glenn and T-Dog for days now.
''But I need to help ou-'' Riley started to protest but Daryl placed his hand on her knee underneath the table to stop her.
''He's right, ya ain't gonna go into those dark hallways again, if somethin' happens and you freak out and freeze up ya can get bit.''
''Bu-'' she started however this time Rick cut her off.
''I know Riley, I don't like doing this either. You have been helping us a lot and you've been doing a great job but I don't want you to go in there now, not with this going on.'' He said and Riley sighed, knowing that Rick wasn't going to change his mind about this. She eventually nodded and Rick stood up.
''I'm going to get a few weapons to take along. I'll meet you at this cell door in ten, okay?'' He said to Daryl who nodded.
Rick walked off and Riley buried her face in her hands, why did this have to happen to her?
She suddenly felt Daryl place his hand on the small of her back before he gave her a kiss on her cheek. ''Don't matter woman, we'll figure this shit out and then ya can head straight back into danger with us again.'' He said and she chuckled a little at his comment while she lowered her hands from her face to look at him.
''I don't like heading into danger, I just hate doing nothing to help.'' She mentioned to him but he shook his head.
''Taking out those walkers by the fence is also helpin', ain't gotta dive into that dark maze of hallways all the time.''
''You just like the fact that Rick isn't allowing me in them anymore.'' She said to him with a smile as she bumped her shoulder against his and he gave her a small smirk since she was right about that.
Even though he hated this weird situation they were in now, he was sort of glad that she was not allowed to go into the tombs for a while. Yes, that part of him that wanted to protect her from danger at all times was rearing its head now even though he normally managed to suppress it because he knew that it would just drive a wedge between the two of them since Riley was dead set on standing right by his side.
''Asshole,'' she said before slapped him on his bare arm and he just shook his head while he wrapped his arm around her waist to pull her against his body.
''That just earned me a nice slap on your ass tonight, woman.'' He whispered in her ear and she got goose bumps on her arms at the sound of his husky voice.
She looked at him and grinned. ''You wish.''
He smirked as he shook his head. ''Nah, that ain't a wish woman, it's a fact.'' He said and before she could make a snarky reply, he already silenced her by pressing his mouth against hers. She clearly wasn't the only one to be using kissing as a distraction, but the way Riley wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer was surely evidence that she didn't seem to mind that fact one bit.
Half an hour later, Riley and Carl were outside in the field, stabbing the walkers that were near the fences while Rick and Daryl were in the tombs investigating the laundry room and a few other rooms Riley had mentioned. The others were also busy with their tasks, Carol and Lori were currently treating Hershel's leg along with Beth, the older man's health luckily improving while Maggie and Glenn were looking through some of the rooms they'd cleared out in the prison to see if they could find some useful stuff.
''How many walkers have we killed already?'' Carl asked Riley as he stabbed another walker right between its eyes with a metal pole.
''I think about fifteen now,'' Riley replied as she looked at the unmoving bodies laying on the ground behind the fence. It was impossible to actually clear out all of the walkers near the fences since they knew that when the next morning came there would already be another amount of walkers greeting them with their loud groans and grabby hands. It was now just a task of not letting them form groups but having them a bit separated from each other. Rick feared that the fences would not be able to withstand dozens of walkers just pushing themselves aggressively against one particular part of the metal fence.
Riley stabbed another female walker between its eyes before it fell down on the ground on top of another walker that Carl just had killed. It was so strange how their view on the walkers had changed over the course of time. These reanimated bodies weren't human anymore, they were monsters. Nobody in their group had a feeling of remorse anymore when they killed them now, knowing it was either this or be one of them.
After doing this for another twenty minutes or so, they decided to take a break and step into the courtyard before sitting down on two overturned wooden crates. ''I wonder if there are more groups like us somewhere, you know, doing the same thing we're doing.'' Carl mentioned before he took a sip of water from the bottle that Riley had given him.
''I'm sure there are, we can't be the only ones out here.'' Riley said and Carl nodded.
''Would be kind of weird, right? To be having new people around.'' The boy mentioned and Riley thought about it before she spoke.
''I guess, but it just takes some time to get used to each other and then we're all one big family like we are now.'' She said with a smile on her face as she lightly bumped her shoulder against his and he gave her a small smile.
''Yeah, sort of what happened when you joined us, right?'' He said and she nodded.
''Yup, and see where I am now?'' She mentioned as she spread her arms. ''A beautiful resort with a lot of grass, we even got ourselves a nice pool and a warm sun. Talk about being spoiled.''
Carl chuckled at her comment. ''Yes, minus the moving decoration at the fences.'' He added and she smirked at him.
It was silent for a moment as the two of them just looked at the field while they were trying to block out the familiar groaning of the walkers near the fences. ''Can I practice some more with your crossbow?'' Carl suddenly asked her and she smiled at him.
''You're really eager to learn, huh?'' She said and he shrugged his shoulders. ''I might ask Daryl to see if he can find you one of your own during one of his supply runs if you can really handle it properly.'' She mentioned to him and his eyes widened at her suggestion.
''Really?'' He said to her and the eager look on his face made her chuckle while she nodded. ''You would really ask him?'' He said again, just trying to make sure she wasn't joking around because she was known to do that, a lot.
''For real.'' She replied and he actually gave her a proper smile now, making her poke him in his side with her index finger and he swatted her hand away with a chuckle.
''Okay, my crossbow's over there.'' She mentioned as she pointed to the wall of the building. Carl nodded and quickly stood up, eager to be shooting with her crossbow again. As he walked towards it he happened to look at the fence, noticing something brown between the green bushes. He frowned as he walked towards it to get a better look.
Meanwhile, the minute Carl left her side, Riley was getting this eerie feeling again that she was being watched. Her jaw tensed a little as she frowned while she looked at the field in front of her, trying hard not to look around like she normally did. She was not going to let this stupid thing mess with her head. She was doing her best to ignore it now, just trying to focus on something else. She had this idea that if she tried long enough the feeling would actually go away. Even though there was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that it wouldn't be so easy.
''What's that?'' She suddenly heard Carl suddenly say and she looked back at the boy as he stood near the fence with a frown on his face. She stood up from the wooden crate she was sitting on and walked over to him, looking into the direction he was pointing. She noticed something furry lying between a few bushes and she stepped a bit to the side to get a better view, her eyes saddening as she noticed what it was.
''Oh damn, that's a dead deer.'' Riley said as she saw that walkers had probably been the ones to be biting a few chunks out of its neck.
''I wonder how it got here.'' Carl said as Riley stared at the deer, its eyes looking lifeless.
''Maybe some walker got to it and it ran away but eventually caved in with those bite wounds.'' Riley said to Carl who nodded.
Riley heard a few groaning sounds coming from the side, eyeing two walkers that were coming awfully close to the deer. ''That doesn't look so good,'' Riley mentioned with a frown on her face. If those two walkers would spot the fallen animal, they would surely be attracting the others with a feeding frenzy.
''Maybe we should like, drag it away somewhere?'' Carl mentioned and Riley looked back at the boy in surprise. ''Dad gave me the set of spare keys since Daryl has one on him.'' He added. Riley looked back at the walkers and then towards the deer, thinking about what Carl said. Maybe it was better if they did just that, getting that deer away from the walkers. They couldn't really ask for help now because everyone was busy. Only T-Dog was on the other side of the courtyard but he was taking out walkers in the field near the fence because they'd been gathering there. However, these two walkers were starting to be getting awfully close now, there was no time to get help. Luring them over behind the fence to stab them would only draw more walkers in one place.
''Okay, you open the gate and I try to drag it into the courtyard and then we can bury it or something,'' Riley mentioned since she couldn't exactly drag that deer deeper into the woods, it would only attract more walkers. She thought about burning it at first but they were currently out of fuel to actually light the fire by the amounts of walkers they had burned over the past few days.
''Okay,'' Carl replied and quickly walked over to the smaller gate that was near them to let her out while she secured her crossbow on her back. ''Be careful alright?'' Hesaid to her before he unlocked the gate.
''Yup, you just call out if you see a walker nearing,'' Riley mentioned to him and he nodded before he opened the gate with the small metal handle and she quickly walked over to the deer. She took her crossbow from her back, quickly shooting down the two walkers that neared the deer. Luckily for her other walkers hadn't spotted the deer yet so the animal's body was still intact. She swiftly strapped her crossbow on her back again before she bend down a little and firmly grabbed the back legs of the animal. She realized it must have died recently because the body was still warm. She started to pull but the deer was actually pretty heavy even though it didn't look like that in the first place.
''Oh shit,'' She said as she was moving at an awfully slow pace because of the weight of the dead deer she was dragging over the grass.
Suddenly Carl appeared next to her, bending down a little to the front of the deer in order to start pushing against it. ''Carl go back inside, it's too dangerous.'' She said to the boy but he shook his head.
''No it's okay, I can help. We just have to watch those walkers over there.'' He said as he nudged his head to the left and Riley saw a few walkers near the fence in the distance but they hadn't noticed them.
''No Carl, if your dad sees us he will kill me!'' Riley said in a firm voice, knowing that this was now endangering the both of them.
''I'm gonna help Riley, okay? I might be a kid, but I'm not stupid! You need my help so c'mon!'' Carl now said in irritation and Riley sighed in frustration.
''Goddammit Carl!'' She cursed and the boy merely rolled his eyes at her while he placed his hands back on the dead animal again. Sometimes Carl could be as stubborn as her and she wasn't liking it one bit.
''Okay, are we going to do this or what?'' Carl then asked and Riley heavily sighed.
''Fine, let's hurry up before the others see us and we're both scre-.. I mean in trouble.'' She eventually said and slowly started to drag the deer over the ground along with Carl's help to the direction of the gate. They all of a sudden heard a groaning sound coming from behind them and Riley looked back, seeing a skinny female walker nearing, one of its foot dragging behind it as it was merely attached to its leg by a few pieces of bone.
''Argh shit,'' Riley said, letting go of the deer's legs before taking out her machete. She ran up to the walker, driving her machete through its head before she quickly walked made her way back to Carl and the fallen deer.
''Okay, c'mon quickly,'' she mentioned to Carl and they started to drag the deer again. It really wasn't sitting well with her that Carl was outside, Rick would kill her, heck both Rick AND Daryl would kill her.
They were almost near the gate and Carl wanted to grab his keys that hung from one of his belt loops because there was no handle on the outside of gate to open it. ''Ah shi- I mean darn it,'' he said as he stopped pushing the deer when he noticed the keys were missing.
''What's wrong?'' Riley asked as she stopped as well.
''Keys must've fallen in the grass,'' he mentioned to her. ''Wait here, I'll walk back.'' He slowly walked over to the spot where the deer had been laying earlier, scanning the grass to see where his keys must've fallen.
Meanwhile Riley looked around to see if the walkers hadn't seen them but they were merely standing still near the fence in the distance. ''Got it!'' She suddenly heard Carl say in a hushed voice. She looked back seeing him picking the keys from the grass.
As Carl looked back at her, he suddenly saw a rather large male walker emerging out of the woods behind her. ''Shit look out!'' He called out and Riley quickly looked behind her, her eyes widening when she saw the big walker's hands reach out to her. She was about to grab her machete but before she could do any of that, the walker instantly slumped down in front of her. She looked at the body, seeing a knife sticking out of the side of its head.
''You should be more careful,'' she suddenly heard a male's voice say and she looked towards the gate, seeing Tomas standing there with another knife in his hand, obviously having thrown his other knife straight at the walker.
''Hey you're not allowed to be out here,'' Carl said, quickly walking over to Riley as he noticed the inmate standing there by the gate.
Tomas shrugged his shoulders at the kid who eyed him suspiciously before he looked back at Riley. ''Need any help with that?'' He asked her as he nudged his head into the direction of the deer that was still laying on the ground.
''No it's alright, we can do this. You should go back to your cell block before the others see you, I don't think Rick allowed you to be on this side of the courtyard.'' Riley said as politely as she possibly could, actually feeling a little tense with the inmate being so close to her and Carl. She knew that Rick and Daryl would not like seeing the man out here, especially near people from their group. Rick had threatened the inmate that they would potentially kill him if he would come out here and she didn't want to get another argument escalating again.
''That's alright chica, I'll just help you drag that deer in here and I'll be on my way.'' He said before he winked at her and walked over to the walker he'd just killed, swiftly taking out his knife from its skull before he wiped it clean against the side of his pants. He then made he was over to the fallen deer, grabbing its back legs. Carl and Riley looked at each other with frowns on their faces, knowing that Tomas was not allowed to be out here.
''Okay, Carl just hold the gate open so we can drag the deer inside.'' Riley mentioned to the boy who gave her a quick nod in understanding. They both realized that the faster they would get the deer inside, the faster Tomas would leave. Riley knew she would have to tell this to Rick and he would most likely lock the backdoor of the prisoners their cell block as well now so they couldn't enter the courtyard at all.
Riley quickly made her way over to Tomas and the deer, grabbing the front legs of the animal before they both hauled it up from the ground in one go since Tomas was of course a lot stronger than Carl. They quickly made their way inside the courtyard, Carl locking the gate behind them again.
''Why did you want to have this animal in here in the first place? Can't eat it, those freaks already got to it, can't exactly be safe.'' Tomas mentioned after they'd placed the deer on the grass and he pointed at the deer's neck.
''I know, we just wanted to get it inside and burry it so the walkers wouldn't find it. They would probably just gather around near this part of the fence and have a feeding frenzy. It's dangerous when there's a lot of them together.'' Riley explained and Tomas nodded.
Smart thinking, guess this chick ain't all beauty but she has the brains as well. He thought to himself as his eyes roamed over Riley's body. He had seen her naked which only intensified the fantasy in his head of imagining the two of them in bed together.
''You should get back to your cell block,'' Carl now said to Tomas as he eyed the man. He wasn't trusting the inmate at all and he had actually seen him looking at Riley in a way that for some reason was making alarm bells go off in his mind. Carl might've been young but he wasn't stupid, he could just feel that the man radiated danger.
''So you're probably the boss man's kid huh,'' Tomas said, ignoring Carl's comment as he eyed the boy's hat.
''Yes I am,'' Carl said as he looked the man directly in his eyes who smirked.
''You want some help burying this deer?'' Tomas then asked Riley who frowned.
''No, it's alright. Thanks though.'' Riley said with a forced smile. This man was really creeping her out, she had caught him staring at her chest two times already when she was carrying the deer with him, and the way he was ogling her now sure wasn't making her feel any more comfortable either.
''Aw c'mon chica, I haven't really been out in the sun here, I could use the tan. Just let me help dig a hole and I'll get out of your hair, I'm not that bad you know.''
Riley nearly wanted to laugh at loud when he said that but was able to refrain herself. He had killed Big Tiny in cold blood back in the tombs, he was bad to the bone. ''Okay,'' she said and Carl looked at her in surprise. ''Carl, can you go get us two shovels?'' She said to him and the boy was about to blurt out that they didn't even have shovels to begin with but the look she gave him made him stop. ''I think they were near the laundry room, Glenn spotted them a few days ago.'' She added and Carl realized what she was doing, telling him to get Rick and Daryl since they were currently in the laundry room.
''Okay, on it. Be back in sec.'' Carl said as he looked at Tomas one more time before he walked away. When he was out of the inmate's sight he actually sprinted to the their cell block, making his way over to the laundry room to go get his father, knowing that he shouldn't leave Riley alone with the inmate for that long.
''So, your name was Riley, right?'' Tomas asked her as he neared her. Riley crossed her arms and stood straight, not letting the man see that she was actually feeling a bit intimidated by him. The way he looked at her was just giving her the creeps and alarm bells were going off in her head that this man was up to no good.
''Yes,'' she curtly replied.
''So, what's your background? I thought you were like me at first, Hispanic, but your skin tone is a bit different.'' He mentioned as he stopped in front of her.
''Indonesian, well half, my dad was American.''
''Good, got yourself a nice mix,'' he said with a smirk on his face while his eyes trailed over her body and she just looked at him without replying while her jaw tensed. She was armed and she could shoot Tomas if he tried to harm her but she really didn't want to let it come to that.
''So, how long have you and the redneck been together?'' Tomas asked, not beating around the bush.
''Daryl,'' she said and he looked at her in confusion. ''His name is Daryl, not redneck, so stop calling him that.'' She told him with a hint of agitation in her voice and he gave her a small smirk while he held up his hands in surrender.
Feisty little female huh? He thought to himself in amusement.
''Right, how long have you and Daryl been together?'' He repeated.
''Around nine months more or less.'' She answered, trying to just get a conversation going in order to buy her some time.
''Right, so you weren't together before this whole freak show started to happen?'' He mentioned and she frowned at the way he said it like he was trying to make a point.
''No,'' she replied and he just nodded at the information.
I knew it, he thought with an evident smirk on his face.
''Hey! Ya fucker get away from her!'' The two of them suddenly heard someone yell out loud, and Riley instantly breathed a sigh of relief since it was Daryl. They looked back seeing Rick and Daryl making their way over to them while Carl was left behind in their cell block since his father knew it was too dangerous for his son to be involved in this situation right now.
Daryl looked furious and Rick was not looking so happy either seeing that one of the inmates had gotten out of his cell block, knowing that he had to set up the ground rules one last time before he would do what needed to be done if the inmates would trespass into their territory again. He already had this nagging feeling in the back of his mind that Tomas was the one that was going to be starting trouble between the two groups.
''What are you doing here? I told you that you should stay in your own cell block and not come near one of our people.'' Rick said as they reached them, Daryl quickly walking over to Riley's side to conveniently wedge himself between her and Tomas before he pushed her back a little. The inmate was standing too close to Riley and he had to back the fuck off if he still wanted his balls to be attached to the rest of his body.
''I was just helping her to get that deer over there into the courtyard.'' Tomas explained with ease, not feeling a care in the world. Rick looked at the lifeless deer that was lying on the grass before he looked at Riley.
''Is that true?'' He asked her and she nodded.
''Yeah, I thought it would be better if we got that deer inside before the walkers would be drawn to it and start to gather at one spot near the fence during a feeding frenzy.'' She replied, specifically leaving Carl out of the entire situation, not wanting the kid to get into trouble as well.
''Why did ya do that on yer own? Ya should've come get one of us, ya know that woman.'' Daryl said to Riley with a hint of frustration edging his voice, not liking the fact that Riley had actually been behind the fence with all these walkers near.
''Yeah but you guys were busy and we didn't exactly have a lot of time because the walkers were beginning to get awfully close to the deer. Carl was looking out for me while I was dragging the animal, we were managing.'' She explained to him and he was not liking this particular news at all. The thought of her being behind the fences all alone was making his whole body tense up.
''Well, until a walker decided to show up from behind her and tried to grab her.'' Tomas conveniently commented and Riley's jaw tensed since it was obvious he was trying to make matters worse now.
''The fuck?! Riley! A fuckin' walker! Are ya insane!?'' Daryl now snapped at her.
''Sorry okay! Nothing happened and we got the deer in.'' Riley said to the hunter who still looked pissed off but tried to refrain himself from yelling at her, knowing that she just wanted to help even though it was stupid on how she had done it.
''You know that ya ain't allowed to go out there by yerself, how many times do I gotta tell ya that?'' Daryl said in a calmer voice, trying to get through to her.
Riley was about to reply but someone beat her to it. ''Damn woman, got yourself a very controlling man there,'' Tomas said and chuckled, making Daryl look at him with narrowed eyes. ''Guess she can't do anything on her own without you breathing down her neck now can she, hick?''
''Why ya fuckin' assho-'' Daryl started as he was about to near Tomas but Riley quickly grabbed his arm to keep him back.
''Daryl don't.'' She said, holding a firm grip on his arm. Even though Daryl was a hell of a lot stronger than her, he did stay put and let her pull him back while Rick now intervened.
''You go back to your cell block! I warned you not to go near my people and you trespassed. I'll give you one more chance since you in fact helped Riley out, but if you decide to come near one of us again we will kick you out, no questions asked.'' Rick said and Tomas narrowed his eyes at the man.
''You think you're so damn tough don't you, boss man?'' Tomas said to Rick who looked at him with narrowed eyes. ''As I already told you the first time, we were here first.'' Tomas added and Rick shook his head.
''And we got you out of that cafeteria? By all means go back in there if you want to.'' Rick mentioned and Tomas scoffed before he spit on the ground near Rick's feet.
''Fuck that,'' Tomas sneered at him.
Rick was actually not so easily intimidated by Tomas since he had proper training to deal with inmates when he was learning to become a sheriff, knowing how to keep calm. Daryl on the other hand was not so good with keeping his emotions in check.
''The fuck ya go 'round with yer demands?! Be fuckin' glad he lets ya'll stay here in the first place! We could've kicked you out and ya could try yer luck on the road!'' Daryl said in anger while Riley still had a firm grip on his arm.
''Daryl, stop it! Let's just go back to our cell block and he will go to his.'' Rick said to the hunter before he gave the inmate one last glance and walked off, looking at his fellow group members that they should follow. Riley did so, pulling Daryl along as well while he was giving Tomas a dead glare as they passed the inmate. Tomas merely smirked as Daryl turned his head after a moment, following Riley and Rick to their own cell block.
''I don't know what that hot-ass chick even sees in you, ya fuckin' dumbass hick!'' Tomas suddenly called out and Daryl's jaw tensed.
''Let it go Daryl, he's not worth it, just a stupid mindless asshole,'' Riley said to him, trying to keep him calm while she kept a firm grip on his arm as they followed Rick who wasn't even going to respond to Tomas's juvenile behavior. He knew for a fact that he was going to lock the cell block of the inmates so they couldn't get out into the courtyard again.
Tomas stood there in anger, the sight of three people leaving him without responding was pissing him off. Everybody used to fear him in this prison and to now be ignored, fuck that!
''She should actually leave you in a heartbeat, your back looks like you fell into fucking barbwire, it's like she got banged by Frankenstein!'' Tomas mentioned out of the blue, unintentionally just ratting himself out by saying that. He was a man that liked to get a rise out of people and when that wasn't working, he would go for a low blow. However, this time he hadn't exactly thought things through in the heat of the moment, and it was not going to do him any good.
Daryl froze the moment Tomas had said those words and looked at Riley who stared at the inmate in shock as all the pieces fell together in her head, the color draining from her face while Rick also stopped walking as he heard the comment, not understanding what was going on.
Riley's eyes slowly turned to Daryl's and without words they already understood each other. Tomas had seen the scars on his back which meant that he actually had been the one to watch them while they were having sex, heck he flat-out admitted it just now. This meant that he had also been the one that scared her to death that time in the tombs, he had been the one to watch her and follow her around during the past few days, he had been the one that made her feel uncomfortable and tense, he had seen her naked and got off on it for his own sick pleasure.
The minute all those thoughts poured into Daryl's mind he only saw red in front of his eyes. ''Let go,'' he suddenly said to Riley who was still holding onto his arm in clear shock, not knowing if she was either pissed off, scared, disgusted or just simply all three.
''But Daryl we sho-'' she started, trying to prevent a fight even though she wanted to punch Tomas in his face so badly for what he had done to her. The look Daryl gave her though stopped her mid-sentence and she let go of his arm before the hunter slowly turned around, looking at Tomas in blind rage while his hands turned into fists.
''What the fuck did ya just say?'' He nearly growled at Tomas who crossed his arms in a defensive manner, knowing what was going to come now. He had been through this countless of times and had always come out as the victor, he wasn't going to doubt it this time either.
Rick who had been witnessing the entire scene was standing there with a look of confusion on his face as he had no idea what Tomas was talking about. Daryl fell into barbwire? He unknowingly started to take a few steps towards Daryl and Riley, feeling that something serious was going on.
Daryl was now breathing heavily as he tried to contain his anger, his hands shaking. The inmate had taken it too far, he had gotten to the one person that mattered everything to him and with that a price had to be paid, the Dixon way.
''I called you Frankenstein, redneck. You don't even deserve that fine ass you call your woman. She's only with you because you obviously got the muscle without the brain.'' Tomas mentioned and Daryl was about to shout something back but stopped as Riley suddenly stepped right in front of him.
''That is not true you asshole! Stop saying shit like that!'' She yelled at the inmate in anger since she knew that Tomas was just trying to get a rise out of Daryl and she really wanted to prevent that. ''He's ten million times more of a man than you are!'' She sneered and Tomas just looked at her with a smirk on his face.
''How do you even know that chica? You don't even know my skills.''
''What weak little shit goes around creepin' after a woman? You've been stalkin' her for days like a sick little pervert.'' Daryl said in anger and Tomas now grinned as he shrugged his shoulders while Rick's jaw tensed as he now understood what'd happened. Tomas had been the one lurking around in the prison and driving Riley crazy. He did wonder how Tomas actually managed to do that, but he was going to find out, no matter what.
''Gotta have something to do to keep me entertained around here.'' Tomas replied and Daryl tensed behind Riley but she stood her ground in front of the hunter, trying to keep herself calm as well while she actually wanted to reach towards the inmate and beat that clear smirk of satisfaction from his face with her fists but she knew that they should let Rick handle this.
''I want you out of here, now.'' Rick intervened. ''You've crossed the line by harassing one of our own,'' he added with clear authority in his voice but Tomas didn't even spare the man a glance. He was trying to rile up the redneck even more now since he saw how tense the hunter was starting to become and the inmate knew just which buttons to push.
Just direct it to his little female and I'll get the ball rolling, he thought to himself. ''If you only knew chica, I would have you screaming underneath me with those fine-ass tits of yours bouncing in my face.'' He smirked and the moment those words left the inmate's mouth Daryl couldn't hold himself back any longer and lunged at the inmate.
''You're fuckin' DEAD!''
~ TWD ~
A/N: Uh-oh, apparently someone ratted himself out and Daryl is clearly not taking this news very lightly. What do you think is going to happen now? Will Tomas be killed? Will he be forced to leave the prison? Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Moreover, any suggestions on what you would like to see in this story are always welcomed! Some readers already gave me a few pointers here and there that I could consider so that's great! :)
Also, I wanted to apologize that this chapter came out later than usual. I was really struggling with it and I have been really busy with the final weeks of my internship as well. But I've thankfully finished it now so that leaves me with a lot more time to actually being able to think of particular plots and also write of course! ;)
Thanks to everyone that took the time to write me a review for my previous chapter, always great to hear what you as readers think about the story. Like always, I pm'd you all so I hope you received them. :) Moreover, I noticed that this story was added to three different communities, so like OMG cheers to that - I'm really grateful! :) Furthermore, a hello to the new followers and people that have been favoring this story! Hope you liked the journey of Riley, Daryl and the others so far.
To the reviewers I couldn't pm:
* Bella87: Thanks for leaving me another review and what a MAJOR compliment lol! But yes, what a pervert right? Daryl did find out now, what will happen to Tomas will be shown in the next chapter….. ;) Glad you like the way Daryl and Riley tease each other, that man is getting better at it every single day! I hope you liked this particular chapter as well, what do you think is going to happen?
* Lena: You were right about all hell breaking loose when Daryl found out. Happy to hear that you liked the previous chapter, I try to include as much happenings in one chapter as I possibly can haha. Thanks for leaving a review!