Author's Note:
Okay, I just really couldn't wait any longer to post this. When I saw the last time I updated this story was February, I about had a heart attack. That's a loooong time to leave you guys with such a huge cliffhanger. I hope this will appease you until I get some more parts written up. Thanks for showing Charlie and Daryl so much love and sticking with me through all this endless waiting. I am forever indebted to you all. Thank you.
-Nikki
Charlie
I felt bile rising up in my throat as the walker staggered towards me, its decaying arms grasping out in front of it. My breath was coming in panicked, heavy gasps. I was tied to a chair in a basement cell with a hungry walker and nothing to defend myself. It was then I remembered, thank god, that Merle had untied my legs before he disappeared. The walker came closer, reeking of rotting flesh and death. I kicked hard, my feet striking its chest hard. It stumbled backwards a few feet, giving me time to stand. With the chair still tied to my wrists it was a battle just to do that. I stumbled as I tried to gain my balance, my head beginning to pound again. The walker came at me again, horrible, guttural sounds coming from its gaping, open mouth. I spun around, hitting it with the chair. The walker was knocked to the ground but I lost my footing and hit the concrete hard. I felt like my lungs were on fire inside my chest as the air as I gasped for breath. My vision swam, my bruised face pulsating with pain. A cry of pain escaped my lips as I struggled to get to my feet only to collapse to the ground in a heap. I could hear the walker crawling on the floor behind me, clawing at the cement in a desperate attempt to reach me. A sob wracked my body, as I realized I wasn't going to live through this. I felt utterly drained as I used to last of my energy to push myself towards the opposite side of the room, lying on my side on the cold ground.
Suddenly, there were voices. Something flew past my ear, whistling through the air. There was a thud as the walker went silent. Panting for air, I lifted my head to see an arrow embedded in the zombie's skull. The relief that rushed through my in that moment was overwhelming. I was aware of the ropes that had bonded me to the chair being cut away and someone was talking to me in a low soothing voice, though it was hard to listen over the sobs that shuddered through my entire body. A pair of arms encircled me and I recognized the familiar sweet, musky scent as I was pulled into someone's chest. It was Daryl. I crushed myself to him, pulling him closer, almost afraid he wasn't real.
"It's alright, baby girl…I got you. It's okay. You're safe now." He said softly as I clung to him tightly, afraid to let go. I felt the tears subsiding, my breathing slowing. Daryl pulled away from me slightly and our eyes met. I watched as his gaze flickered over my battered face, taking in every cut and every bruise. The muscles in his jaw tensed, the look in his eyes hardening until he was left with a furious, bitter expression. He shook his head angrily. "What the hell did they do to you, Charlie?" He muttered. I winced as his fingertips gently brushed across my check. "I swear to god, I'll kill 'em for touchin' you. I'll rip those god damn assholes apart." He pulled me closer again, burying his face into my hair and I closed my eyes, breathing his scent in deep. "God damn it, Charlie. You scared the hell outta me."
"I was scared too." I managed to choke out, my voice a mangled whisper. "I didn't think I'd see you again, or anyone."
His lips brushed over my forehead before he gently placed them against my lips. I savored the sensation, one I had almost convinced myself I'd never feel again. We broke apart after a long moment, his blue eyes meeting mine. "You don't gotta be scared anymore, ya hear me? I got you…I'm not gonna let anythin' happen to you. I promise."
I couldn't bear to think about how close I had come to being walker meat. If Daryl hadn't shown up the exact moment he did, there was no doubt in my mind I'd be dead. Or worse. If Merle hadn't untied my legs, though, it probably would have been too late by the time Daryl arrived. I froze suddenly, remembering Merle. "Daryl." I said suddenly. He looked down at me, eyebrows furrowed. "Daryl, I saw Merle. He's here. He's alive."
Daryl's eyes grew wide as he began to shake his head in disbelief. "Merle is here?" He asked. "When did you see him?"
"He came in here and when he realized it was me, he said he was gonna help get me out of here. But then he never came back…" I trailed off.
Daryl's expression was far away as I watched him, no doubt considering the odds. His brother was alive, and of all places, he was right here. When he finally looked back at me, he was chewing his lower lip anxiously. "Charlie, there's somethin' I need to tell you too…and then we need to get the hell outta here." I shrunk back from him a little, suddenly worried about what I was about to hear. He quickly shook his head. "It ain't anythin' bad…just…you ain't gonna believe it. Come on." He said. Now I was really confused. He stood up from the floor and helped me up. My stomach churned nervously as we reached the door and Daryl swung it open.
On the other side of the door was a familiar lanky figure, with dark messy hair. I felt my mouth literally fall open as I stared in disbelief. There was no way. I watched him get swarmed by all those walkers. All this time, I had forced myself to believe he was gone even then something deep in my gut told me he was still alive and just waiting for me to find him. Now I had.
"Gabe." The word escaped my lips in a thin shaky whisper. I didn't give my little brother a chance to say anything else as I launched myself into his arms. I half expected to fall right through him. A part of me was so sure he wasn't there, just a ghost of my imagination. He was very much real, though, as I felt his arms encircle me and crush me to him in a bear hug. "I thought you were dead. I-I tried to find you, but I couldn't. I'm so sorry." Even though I felt as if I had drained myself dry of every last tear I had, I felt even more brimming behind my eyes.
"It's okay Charlie. It's not your fault." Gabe said, his voice thick with emotion. He pulled away, a look of disbelief on his face as he looked down at me. "I can't believe you're really here…who did that to your face?"
I shrugged. "I don't know…he was Hispanic. With a black beard."
His eyes widened. "Martinez?"
I looked at him quizzically. "Wait, you know who I'm talking about? How? Do you live in this place?" I asked, my mind suddenly reeling.
Gabe shook his head. "It's a long story, but I'm not staying here anymore. Not after this. If I hadn't of run into Daryl, I never would have known you were here." He said, shooting a weak smile towards Daryl, who was still hovering somewhere behind me. The sound of gunshots suddenly echoed off the walls.
"Time's up. We gotta move." I heard Daryl's gruff voice.
"I can take us to the wall and we can get out that way. With all the shit going on in the streets, I think we can get away. But we should hurry." Gabe said quickly, brushing past me to lead the way down the corridor.
"Wait!" I said suddenly, whirling to face Daryl. "What about Glenn? We need to get him too!" I felt suddenly panicky at the idea that Glenn was still being held prisoner somewhere while I was escaping.
"Calm down, girl. We found him. He's waitin' with Maggie at the end of the hall…he's in worse shape than you. Can hardly stand." Daryl said bitterly, shaking his head. "These bastards can rot in hell." He added before giving me a gentle push, reminding me we needed to go. My legs automatically started moving.
I stole a glance at Daryl, the muscles of his jaw tense and his eyes narrowed dangerously. I could feel the anger practically radiating off his body and it scared me. I had seen Daryl angry before, but never like this. It worried me that he might go off and do something stupid. "You okay?" I asked quietly.
"I will be once I find Merle and get the hell outta here. Hopefully kill one or two of these assholes in the process."
"Wait, you're going to look for him out there? Daryl-"
"Not now, Charlie. Let's just move." He cut me off. I could see Gabe impatiently waiting for us at the end of the hall. The set line of Daryl's mouth made it clear it wasn't up for discussion. So I forced myself to tuck my worry away for now and instead focus on finding a way out alive.
When we caught up to Gabe, he was slinging Glenn's arm over his shoulder, supporting his weight against his body. I stifled the gasp that fell from my lips as the Korean boy lifted his head to look at me. Blood was matted in is dark hair, his face was bloated and puffy. His skin was a palette of sickly yellows and deep purples where bruises were forming.
"Glenn…" His name trailed weakly from my lips while I shook my head. He looked about an inch from death but still forced a small smile in my direction.
"I'm glad to see you, too." He said.
I glanced at Maggie who was looking at me with an expression that was a mix of horror and undeniable anger. It was a toned down version of what I saw on Daryl's face just minutes earlier.
"Okay this staircase is probably our best bet out. It leads right up to the center of town, but the other way out goes directly through the armory and I'd bet my life they have someone guarding it right now." Gabe said hurriedly, gesturing towards the stairs with a nod of his head.
"Won't there be a ton of people out in the streets too?" I asked, chewing my lower lip nervously. I didn't like the idea of walking right out into some sort of crossfire, especially when I was still completely weaponless.
"Rick went ahead. He wanted to start causing a distraction, so we'd have a chance to find you and Glenn…if we're lucky, he's still out there trying to give us as much time as possible." Maggie answered quickly. She was on Glenn's other side now, helping Gabe support his weight as they carefully made their way up the stairs.
"And before I bumped into Daryl, I can tell you that the people here have no idea what's going on. They've never been under attack before so everything is chaos. Let's just make this fast." Gabe threw over his shoulder, giving me a small, reassuring smile.
I took a deep breath, but still couldn't shake the nerves. If we got caught and I ended up tied to a chair again, I didn't think I could take it. Even worse, it was unbearable to think about any of the others going through the same hell Glenn and I had endured.
"I'll get ya' outta here, Charlie. I promise." Daryl's low voice came from next to me. I turned to look at him and forced a nod. His calloused fingers gripped the back of my neck gently as he placed a swift kiss on my lips before pulling away, his expression set to grim determination. "Let's go."
I took a deep breath and followed the others up the stairs just as Gabe pushed open the door. I felt the warm night air hit me and breathed it in. After being trapped in that windowless basement prison, fresh air had never tasted so good. I only had a second to really enjoy it, though, before the faint sounds of gunfire and yelling grew louder as I slipped outside into the street. It was hard to see a damn thing. Not only was it dark, but thick, gray clouds of smoke hovered over us.
"Smoke bombs. Found 'em in the prison." Daryl explained. "Rick must've finally had to put 'em to use. Which way, kid?" He asked, turning his attention to my brother.
"Left. Shouldn't be too far from the wall." Gabe answered, Glenn's arm still slung around his broad shoulders. He took off as quickly as he could, with the poor Korean boy hobbling along next to him. The rest of us hurried after them, my eyes and ears alert as ever. While I knew the smoke was helping to hide us, it set me on edge. They couldn't see us, but we couldn't see them either. It was disorienting, hearing the gunshots and voices but having no real idea what direction they were coming from. I prayed that Gabe knew this place well enough to get us out of here, wherever we were. I felt my hand automatically go for my belt, where my knife was normally sheathed against my hip and remembered again that I was weaponless. The only choice I had was to stick close to Maggie and Daryl and rely on them, which I hated to do. It wasn't fair that I couldn't protect them too.
Daryl's hand suddenly came down hard on my shoulder, shoving me to the pavement. I stumbled to the ground, my palms scraping the pavement. I heard another thud next to me and rolled on my side to see a body drop to the cement, an arrow protruding from his chest like an extra limb. The stranger's fingers were still curled around a gun and I felt a shiver course down my spine. I hadn't even heard him coming. I scrambled to my knees and pried the weapon from the man's hand quickly. He wouldn't be needing it anymore.
"Holy shit, are you okay?" I heard Maggie, her voice uneven as her hands grabbed my arm and tugged me up.
I nodded quickly. "I'm fine, I'm alright." I assured her. I looked at Daryl, his crossbow held taught in front of him, eyes blazing with a dangerous intensity.
"Keep movin'." He said, finally catching me eye.
We didn't hesitate. We moved faster now, at least as fast as we could with Gabe carrying most of Glenn's weight. It wasn't long, though, before a huge, barrier came into view. It was a wall, no doubt the one Gabe had mentioned, meant to keep people out. In this case, though, it was keeping us in. It was a massive structure, built out of what looked like rubble, old tires, and overturned busses draped with sheet metal. There was a platform at the very top, no doubt made for look-outs although at the moment no one was there.
"We can slip through a gap between two of the busses, right up there." Gabe said, pointing. We moved fast, scouting the wall before finding the narrow space that was just barely big enough for a body to squeeze through. Maggie went first, helping to steady Glenn as Gabe pushed him through. He went in after them and then I squeezed through, feeling relief flood through me as I came out on the other side. I was safe. The feeling quickly dissolved like a drop of rain in a desert when I turned and realized Daryl hadn't come in after me. He was crouched down on the other side still, crossbow still had tightly in his hands.
"I'm gonna find my brother. Don't let her come after me." He said firmly. His eyes slid past me and I realized he was talking to Gabe. "No matter what happens, keep her here."
"I'll keep her safe." Gabe's quiet response came from behind me and I felt his secure grip on my arm. I tried weakly to shrug it off, my throat tightening as I looked back at Daryl desperately.
"I want to come with you!" I pleaded.
The hunter shook his head. His eyes, so spectacularly blue, sought mine out urgently. "No. You're stayin' here. I'll get Merle and I'll come back." He reached out a hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "I promise. We won't lose each other a second time." The words lingered in the air between us and I knew it wasn't a promise as much as it was a hope
"No, Daryl-" I lunged forward to grab his hand, but he had already disappeared. "God damn it!" I cried angrily, smashing my palm hard against the side of the metal wall. I sank to my knees. My chest felt heavy as I desperately fought back a wave of panic. He promised he'd come back. I just had to trust that nothing would come between Daryl and that promise
