Disclaimer: Do not own The Walking Dead or any associated characters. If I did, I wouldn't have killed off Beth, and Merle. I only own Suzanne Giroux, and Emil Deveraux.
Warnings: Mentions of torture
Special Thanks To: gneebee, and Daryls wife for reviewing the story and thank you , and Zuke13 for following the story.
Hold Me Tight
Chapter 2
Daryl and Brandon had found a way to help David heal back at Meridian, getting his stitches done. Daryl had been waiting anxiously to see if Leah had returned with the girl - and unfortunately, he saw her come through, not that long after, dragging a body that had a bag over its head.
He doesn't show his disappointment. "Is she…?" Daryl asks as she heaps the woman into the room. Brandon comes over, taking the girl into the interrogation room.
"No... little bitch put up a fight though." Leah walks over to their medical unit, Daryl following after her quietly. "Used her damn sword or whatever it was on me. Sliced me up good." She glances over at Daryl as she wraps bandages around her gash. "Why are you so concerned if she's alive or dead?"
Daryl plays it off. "Don't care, really - but she could be of use to us. Have information we need. Would be a damn shame if after all that chasin' it would end in her dyin'."
Leah bites her lip, eyeing him up and down before nodding. "Yeah, I agree." Brandon comes out afterwards, coming to where they were. "She all tied up?" He nods. "Good. Time to wake her up. You two did good - I'll handle this."
Daryl and Brandon nod, watching her head back towards where the girl was. As soon as she was gone, Brandon lets out a sigh and heads towards where they slept. "I don't like it, you know." Daryl's brow furrows as he follows the man out. "Killing random people like that...I understand why we do it, but I don't like it. And I don't like torturing them either. Just have to do it."
Daryl says nothing, walking to where Brandon usually slept. There on his nightstand, he could see that there was a picture of Bossie, and a couple of things next to it. Daryl's brow furrows.
"What's all that?" Daryl asks quietly.
Brandon glances over at it and feels himself grimace. "Couple of Bossie's things...figure if no one else wants to remember him I might as well keep his memory alive." Brandon lays back on the bed, hands behind his head. "This place...they're the only people I can trust in this world, Daryl. I know we're brutal, but underneath it, they're good people."
Daryl's brow raises. "Pope is good?" He asks.
"Pope is...something else." Brandon runs his hands through his hair before glancing at the window. "But he's kept us alive this long. Might as well keep going with it."
Daryl shakes his head slightly, walking over to his bed. He didn't feel the same way about that, to say the least.
Suzanne gasps for dear life as she's woken up with water being poured down on her through a bag, barely able to get air. When the bag is yanked off her, she sees the glaring face of the woman before, the same one she had stuck her sickle into.
"Good morning, sunshine," she sneers to her. Suzanne spits up water as she does, coughing to try and get oxygen to her lungs. "Have a nice rest?"
"Fuck...you…" she breathes out, barely able to form a coherent sentence.
The woman snickers and shakes her head. "Sadly, other men have tried but I'm not into that sort of thing with women." Suzanne glares at her as she kneels down low to get to her level. "You either tell me who your group is, and where they're located, or we're going to have a bad time here. I can make your death easy or painful - your choice."
Suzanne's eyes narrow at the woman. "I'm not...giving my group...away."
"Don't say I didn't warn you then," the woman said grimly. There was a flash of regret in her eyes, but her face hardened. She nodded at Paul to start waterboarding her again. Suzanne struggled to breathe.
The bag felt like it was suffocating her as she struggled to breathe. The table was lifted upright. She gasped for breath and almost choked when they stopped pouring the water over her face.
"The others who were with you - are they with that woman and the tall skinny guy?" Paul asked harshly. Suzanne took a chance then and there.
"No... but they're probably all dead now thanks to you," she admitted quietly. The woman with light blonde hair was watching her intently.
"Why are you so far away from Georgia? You've got a southern accent," Leah asked suspiciously, Suzanne swallowed quietly. She missed her old childhood home and hoped that her grandmother was safe at the Commonwealth.
"Georgia belongs to the dead now, or the living who go around killing people, like you lot do. I was with my family, my husband, niece, and grandmother, she revealed cautiously. It wasn't a complete lie.
She was scared that she would forget her two older brothers and older sister's faces, including her niece. Her grandmother, Josette, had photos, but it wasn't the same.
"Where about in Georgia are you from then, little missy?" a man questioned coldly. She recognized him. It was the man that she had stabbed with Emil's sickle.
"I came from northern Georgia, but I've lived in many places for a long time," she admitted quietly, praying that the rest of her group had gotten away.
"What you got in that backpack?" the blonde-haired woman asked intently. She didn't say anything in response. She nodded at one of the men to take her backpack, so they could search it.
"Take her to a cell - see what Pope wants us to do with her," One of them suggested. They nodded. Before Suzanne could do anything, she was hit over the head and dragged out of the room.
Pope had sent Daryl and Brandon to do a sweep of the area, and while they did, both of them noticed a lot of walkers roaming around in the area.
"Looks like a herd's coming past Meridian," Brandon observed quietly. Daryl nodded in agreement. From the corner of his eye, he saw one of the walkers at the front of the herd, sign to him and he realized with a start that it was Maggie.
He signed back to her, letting her know that the Reapers had captured a young woman and were hunting the rest of her group. He saw her nod and move along with the herd.
"Probably from the cities in search of food. Happened to me when I was in Atlanta," Daryl said distantly. In his mind, he thought of the group that was his family, and how many had been lost, from Merle to Rick to everyone. It hurt, thinking about it. He sighed quietly, as he looked at Brandon.
"Let's head back. Tell Pope what's going on," Brandon said finally. He nodded and followed after him as he thought of her then. He hoped the young woman was still alive.
Once they returned to the town, Powell gave them an update on their newest prisoner, and how they had caught another one. A man. And he was begging for them to let him go in exchange for offering information.
As they walked, Daryl noticed more bodies hanging upside down and recognized some of them. His stomach dropped as the bodies of Agatha, Cole, Duncan, Roy, and two young women were hanging upside down. Maggie must be heartbroken.
He glanced at the fence where Frost was tied up to, snarling and growling. He wished that he could put the man out of his misery. He knew that Frost's deepest fear was to turn into a walker and hurt people.
"Pope wants you two and Boone to question the woman while Shaw questions the man. Hopefully you three can make her crack more than Shaw is doing. She's going soft," Deaver said disdainfully. Brandon glared at him.
"She's upset about Bossie and Turner. Give her a break, he said warningly. The man scoffed as he walked with them to the building which they used as a prison.
"Bossie was a spineless bastard who abandoned our brother and Turner was getting cold feet. You saw how he reacted when Boone and Ancheta started raping the women. Hell, you fucking protested what we were doing and ended up getting marked for it along with Washington, Powell and Shaw," Deaver said contemptuously. The three men, including Daryl, glared at him.
No way in hell was he forcing himself on that young woman. He was a lot of things, but he didn't fucking do that.
"There's something fucking wrong with you, Jared. For fuck's sake," Powell said repulsed as he lit up a cigarette and moved away from the man, as far as he could.
Jared shrugged and glanced at Daryl with a smirk on his rat-like face. He felt like punching the prick.
"So how was it? Fucking Leah all those years ago? Shit, I bet she was wild in bed," Jared said disrespectfully. He'd tried flirting with Leah, but she would always turn him down.
"That ain't none of yer business," Daryl said coldly, as they reached the cell and saw the young woman sitting in the corner of the cell. It was dark, but there was sunlight coming through the barred windows.
"I'll leave you to it," Leah said finally, and walked out of the cell as Brandon, Daryl, Powell, and Jared enter the room. She didn't like the way that Jared was looking at the young woman.
"I'll take her first," Jared eagerly volunteered.
Pope granted him permission, and Jared drags her out with the bag over her head.
Suzanne felt someone shove her into a cell and sat down on the cold, concrete floor. She looked around and saw the cell opposite her was empty, but there was dried blood on the floor.
Whatever had happened to the person who'd been in that cell, it hadn't been pretty in the slightest. She swallowed as she heard footsteps and looked up to see a man standing outside her cell.
"What's your name?" The man asked coldly. She realizes that it's the same man that she stabbed with her sickle. Fuck, this wasn't good.
"Suzanne," she said quietly. The man chuckled as he stood in front of her and tugged her hair back. He pulled out a knife and began trailing the tip of the blade down her throat.
"Suzanne...that's a pretty name. My wife's name was Charlotte. You look like her a lot," the man said thoughtfully, and she could smell the alcohol on his breath.
"What do you want from me?" she asked wearily, trying to move away but froze when he pressed the tip of the blade against her throat.
Jared chuckles darkly before he lowers the knife towards her belly. "You're gonna tell me who your group is, sweetheart. All of them. Or else we're going to have problems."
Suzanne narrows her eyes at him before she hacks up all the energy she could and spits right into his face. "Screw you," she grunts to him.
Oh, he didn't like that. He didn't like that one bit. He instantly threw her up against the wall, causing her wounds to ache from the pain, and then grabs her wrists, pinning up against the stone. "You want to play that game, huh?" he growls. "I'll make sure you never play that game again, you little cunt!"
His hands start to travel towards her blouse and Suzanne begins to panic. Thinking quickly, she knees him in the ground, causing him to blunder with his grip and drop a hand and curse. She takes this opportunity to dip down and bite hard onto his hand. He yells in pain, screaming at her, but she holds it down until she chomps right through his bone. He holds his hand as he backs away, blood oozing out and spurting from where his index finger had once been. "You little cunt!" He screams.
Suzanne spits the finger out of her mouth, blood and flesh coming along with it. "You want to try that again?!" She asks angrily.
The man narrows his eyes at her before standing up, heading towards the door. "Your days are fucking limited, you bitch!"
He heads out and slams the door. Suzanne collapses in a heap on the floor, before bringing her knees close to her chest. God, she prayed her group got out safely. Prayed her sister was safe. Prayed for everything.
But what use did praying do in a world like this?
Jared had stumbled out not that long after trying to talk with the girl. He hadn't said more than three words.
"She bit me."
They were rushed, angry, and Daryl was confused at first what he meant. But when he saw that the girl had fucking ripped off the man's whole ass finger, he was a mixed bag. On one side, he was genuinely impressed that this girl could do that and since he fucking hated Jared so much, the man deserved it.
On the other hand, if he pissed her off, he didn't want to be on receiving end of that.
Deciding to take a different route after that, they moved to where Edward, he said his name was, was residing. He wasn't beaten bloody. He wasn't hurt. In fact, he had wanted to offer information up as best he could to get the hell out of there.
Daryl felt partially disgusted that the man was so willing to give up his community to survive, but at the same time, it's not like everyone had the bravery to take a beating. He knew plenty that wouldn't make it.
"You said you have information for us?" Leah asks as they had closed the door.
Edward nods from his seat. "Lots."
Brandon nods at him to continue. "Go on."
Edward sighs and sits back. "Where to start?" he mutters before looking to them. "Our group comes from the Commonwealth, a community that was rebuilt. Structured, has rules and regulations. Even a governor. Recently, we paired up with this other community called Alexandria." Daryl felt his hands turn to fists in his pockets. "We were tasked with heading to them to give them food, us and a big group."
Leah raises her brow. "What's going on with Alexandria?"
"Low on food, supplies, lots of shit. Commonwealth has it all and we were willing to trade."
"Where is this place?" Brandon asks.
"Not sure how far. I know we had to cut through Meridian to get there - hence why we were on your road."
Leah chuckles a bit. "You think that a place like that is going to last forever?"
"It's been doing a hell of a good job for a while," Edward states, shrugging. "This is really the first time something went wrong. Pamela usually takes good care of it - but this time, we fucked up. Simple as that. They don't live that far from here - maybe a hundred miles as the crow flies. Would take maybe a day to travel on horseback or something."
Leah and Brandon share a look before nodding. "Who would know the way to get there?"
Edward sighs. "That would be Suzanne, Lindsey, and Gavin."
Instantly, both Brandon and Daryl perk up slightly. Daryl's brow furrows as does Brandon's. "Who?" Brandon asks, coming forward.
"Well, Lindsey was the main person who knew the route after speaking with Pamela, but Gavin is a bit of a dick and likes to control everyone so he took us on this route that ended up in us getting sliced to shit...Suzanne looked like she wanted to speak up for Lindsey when Gavin called her stupid but then you guys came."
Daryl glances at the ground, trying to keep his face plain, but inside he felt like his heart was beating a million miles a minute. "Suzanne...that the girl we brought in?"
Edward bites his lip. "Blonde hair? Brown eyes? Southern accent?"
Leah nods. "That sounds like her."
"Probably. She may not look like much, but she is a fighter - knows how to kill. If only she could kill her husband."
Brandon takes a step back, the names suddenly registering in his mind. "Is Gavin her husband?"
Edward tilts his head in confusion. "How did you know that?"
Brandon instantly brings his hands to his head, muttering to himself. "It can't fucking be."
Leah looks at Brandon, her brow furrowed before looking at Daryl. He had leaned against the wall, his eyes closed, shaking his head lightly. There was no fucking way that was her. There was no fucking way that the girl they had hunted down...the girl Leah had shot in the leg…the girl that had bitten off Jared's fucking finger…was her.
And yet...everything made sense.
"Why do you two look like you've seen a ghost?"
Brandon and Daryl exchange their own look at step back. "I - we gotta see Suzanne. Now."
Emil didn't know when he had stopped running, but what he did know was that he was fucking hurt, and his body ached and everywhere was bleeding. Somehow, he had cut himself down from the rope, and made his way to a clearing where he had been hiding for so long.
Now, he felt like death was around the corner. But he was too stubborn for that shit.
As he tried to stand up, he felt himself groan a bit. When he turns around, he feels his heart stop when he sees three walkers, staring at him. Instantly, he goes to grab his knife, but they raise their hands.
"Stop," one of them whisper, shocking him to submission. What the fuck?
The one at the front takes off her mask, and he's met with a woman with dark brown hair - and surprisingly mistrusting but kind eyes. She was analyzing him, but he had a feeling he wasn't in danger.
"You look hurt," she states. Her drawl was from Georgia, like Suzanne's. "Reapers do that to you?"
Emil grunts, glancing down at the gash along his side. "Yeah...fuckers hunted down my whole group. Took in a couple too."
The woman sighs. "They did the same to us...one of ours is in there." She glances around. "There's a horde we're building up to take them down. If you can help us out, we can maybe help you get your friend back - I just want to take out these fuckers too."
Emil looks at her and nods. It was better to stick with other people anyway with these people around - even if they were strangers.
"Sounds fucking fantastic to me," Emil sighs before holding out his hand. "Names Emil."
She takes it, shaking it. "Maggie. This here's Negan and Elijah." The other two walkers remove their masks, nodding at him. "I'll get you bandaged up, and then we can get a mask on you - best we stick together until all of them are dead."
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