Disclaimer: I do not own The Walking Dead. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.
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~105 ~ 4303
Isabell didn't really want to attend the funeral service. She hadn't exactly bonded with the people in the group. In a way, though, Isabell had gotten close to Carol, or at least she had begun to sympathize with her.
The second that Isabell saw Carol beat the crap out of her husband's dead body, she knew. It was hard to miss. Somehow, Daryl had found out about something that happened while they were gone. Ed started to get rough with Carol and Shane beat his face in. That meant that the majority of the ugliness she saw on Ed's face wasn't from him being turned. Isabell wasn't sure that she remembered things ever being that bad with Daryl. Then again, she knew that he probably would have hid the bad things from her so that she wouldn't freak out.
The group stood in a half circle around the graveyard. Daryl and Isabell stood on the end of the line.
Andrea, the blonde who had lost her sister, was trying to lower her sister into a grave. She didn't want any help, even though many people opted to help her out.
Dale managed to be successful in helping Andrea after many failed attempts.
No one said anything during the service. The group could only stand around, staring at the graves that had been dug.
Isabell looked to Daryl, standing uncomfortably. She wondered if anyone was going to say anything at all. Then Isabell wondered if she should say something, but these weren't her people.
Daryl was looking around. He was probably still bitter over his brother being gone.
Isabell sighed. Just as she had, everyone dispersed and began to walk back to camp. Isabell and Daryl had hung back since they drove the truck up the hill. She heard as Rick started to whisper to his wife, Lori, but Isabell didn't bother trying to strain herself to listen. That was, until their son spoke.
"Are we safe now, Dad?" The boy asked. "Now that we're together?"
Isabell stopped dead in her track and could feel a harsh lump forming in her throat. She felt an elbow poke her back and turned around seeing Daryl behind her.
Daryl flicked his head behind him, telling her to follow him. He brought her to the bed of his truck and forced her to sit down on the dropped tailgate. Daryl returned to his truck to get his own version of a first aid kit. When he came back, he pulled up Isabell's shorts to show the cut and got to work, stitching her wound back up.
Unfortunately, Isabell still couldn't get Carl's question out of her head. She swallowed the lump in her throat. "How are we supposed to let them sit by and let that child live in fear?" Isabell asked out loud.
Daryl looked to her for a second and scoffed away.
"I'm serious, Daryl." Isabell insisted. "Both Sophia and Rick's kid, the Mexicans. They're scared outta their pants. How'm I supposed to just let that go?"
"Not much we can do, Iz. Those aren't our kids." Daryl said, harshly.
Isabell watched his face as he studied the cut on her leg. She became frustrated with him. Did he feel nothing? "No, they aren't." Isabell snapped. "But now that we're stayin', I gotta do somethin'."
Daryl shook his head, obviously not knowing what to say to her.
Isabell looked around the hilltop, eyes barely catching sight of their camp. "We can't stay here." She stressed. "It's not safe. Cowboy Rick can tie up as many tin cans around the perimeter as he wants, but it'll never be safe enough for me to sleep soundly."
Daryl continued to work on Isabell's leg, without looking up or making a comment.
Isabell shook her head, feeling the pull of the needle and thread on her leg. "Daryl?"
He finally looked up.
"What are we gonna do?"
Daryl scoffed. "I ain't gon' do nothin'. All I gotta do is take care o' my own. That's only you."
"Yeah, it's only me now, but it wasn't. The world went to hell, that turned worse, and then you stopped fighting." Isabell said, but the second that she did, she regretted it. The look she saw on Daryl's face was almost as if she had stabbed him. Isabell shook her head, rubbing her face roughly with her hands. "Dammit." Isabell said, mainly to herself.
"It's fine." Daryl said softly, finishing off Isabell's last stitch and tying off the string.
Isabell looked to him, seeing his eyes avoiding her. "It's not." She promised.
"It's true."
"No, it's not Daryl. I was speaking out of anger. A short burst of anger."
Daryl nodded.
"Look, we tried, okay? We…. We just didn't get there in time." Isabell said, not bothering to fight the few tears that started to roll down her face. "We were too late. We both fought to get there, but it just wasn't enough." Isabell sighed, wiping her face free of the water droplets. "I never seem to make it on time." She admitted, even though she told herself she never would.
Daryl sat down in the bed next to her, and they both avoided the other's gaze. "What do you think?" Daryl asked. "Fort Benning or CDC?"
Isabell looked up at him, shocked that he would ask her.
Daryl had never really been worried about her opinion on where they were going before. It was always wherever he deemed best. Daryl had more expertise about how to survive off of this kind of world anyway.
"CDC." Isabell said easily. "No doubt Benning has been overrun. A place like that, secure and heavily armed. People would think to go there first. It's an easy target for an outbreak." She leaned back onto the palms of her hands. "Most of the world probably doesn't know what the CDC is. And, in thinkin' of all the weaponizable diseases they got locked up, it's probably more guarded than an army base."
Daryl nodded.
Isabell hoped that Daryl agreed with what she said, but he never said what he thought.
Daryl pushed himself off of the truck and stood in front of her. He reached a hand out to her. "Let's get back to camp."
Isabell smiled down at it, grabbed it, and let him pull her off of the truck. Isabell stared at Daryl for a moment. She could see so much in him, even though he gave off so little. Isabell hated to admit it, but, without the man in front of her, she'd have absolutely no idea where she'd be. Daryl was her best friend, her family, and every aspect of her life.
! #$# !
Twenty-One Years Earlier….
"Daryl!" The Isabell shouted. She couldn't have been much more than thirteen. Isabell ran through the woods that separated her house and his. She looked back and forth through the trees in hopes of finding her only friend. The two had said earlier at school that they would meet.
With Isabell's dad gone now and her mom slowly drinking herself away, she made use of her time the way that she wanted. Forging all her report cards and permission slips. Isabell did really well in school for not really caring about it. It came naturally to her. The girl had to help her friend, Daryl, get his grade up, forcing him to study with her before they were allowed to go hunting or camping on the weekends.
When Isabell got to the place she knew was the exact median between the houses, she stopped. Where is he? She wondered. This is where Daryl normally would be. He always got back home before she did. Isabell liked to take a quick trip to the library before walking home.
Then Isabell decided to go to Daryl's house. She thought that he may have forgotten that they were meeting. Isabell ran towards the house on the other side of the forest. The house on the other side was equally run down and beaten up as her own house. "Daryl!" Isabell shouted again, hoping he would come out of the house. She was never allowed in. Daryl wouldn't let her.
Isabell walked slowly up the porch step, trying to peer in through the windows. She didn't want to knock on the door in case she'd make Daryl mad. Isabell went against everything her gut was telling her anyway, and went up to the screen door that separated her from entering the house. She peeked in to see Daryl on the ground, covering his stomach with his hands and seething in pain. Isabell's eyes widened as she burst through the door. "Daryl!" She whispered, running to her friend's side. "Jesus, are you okay?"
"Izzy?" Daryl said, strain in his voice. "What the hell are you doin' in here?"
"Seein' you writhin' on the ground, I figured it was an invitation in." Isabell quipped. "You never showed up. We were supposed to study, remember?"
"Get outta here!" He said, pushing the girl away from him. "You shouldn't be here! I told ya never to come in this house." Daryl recalled.
"Daryl!" An angry man's voice boomed through the house. The back screen door squeaked open and closed quickly, slamming into the frame. "Who's there?!" He shouted.
Isabell looked to her friend, having no idea what was going on. She didn't know the origin of that voice was the reason her best friend was laying on the ground in pain.
Daryl's eyes widened as he looked back at Isabell. "Iz, you gotta get out o' here." Daryl pleaded.
Isabell shook her head. "Not without you."
"Alright." Daryl groaned. "Help me up."
Isabell nodded, helping him get one of his arms over her shoulders.
"Daryl!" The man's voice shouted again.
Daryl tried to rush the girl along. He knew exactly what would come to the both of them if they didn't clear out. Daryl didn't want it to happen to Isabell. Not his best friend. It was bad enough that it was happening to him.
The two tiptoed through the house, hiding around corners, checking to see if he was coming that way.
"Don't look back." Daryl pressured.
Isabell nodded. When the coast was clear, the two burst through the front door and took off into the woods.
Daryl's arm was still around the girl, so it was difficult for the two to run with much speed. They heard the man shout after them, but they didn't look back.
When they got closer to Isabell's house, they slowed. The two sat on a large boulder in silence for a moment.
Daryl kept his arm around Isabell, if anything just to hold her together. He had figured that she was at a loss, wondering what the hell just happened. Daryl could tell that her mind was moving quickly, processing it all. Subconsciously, while Daryl's hand was on her arm, his thumb moved back and forth on her shoulder.
Isabell couldn't think of anything to say. She would open her mouth to try to speak, but nothing ever came out. After a while, Isabell just sighed and put her head in her hands.
Daryl bit his lip. He had been hoping that she would never find out, but it was bound to come out. "I'm sorry I didn't tell ya."
"Why didn't you?"
"It only just started."
Isabell nodded, the nerves she felt turning anger. "It's 'cause Merle left, innit?"
"It used to be him. He would hold off the ol' man from gettin' at me." Daryl shrugged, not thinking much of it. "Now that he's gone…." He paused, biting his lip again. "I can take it. It's fine."
Isabell turned her head to look at her friend. She had a hard time believing that Daryl had even gone this long without her finding out. Sometimes, Isabell needed to be reminded of how strong Daryl could be at times. "Come to mine, okay?" Isabell suggested. "You only have to stay tonight, if you want, but you can't go back without healin' up a little."
Daryl looked to her, catching her eyes. One corner of his mouth tilted up and he nodded.
"I won't go to the library anymore, either." Isabell insisted.
Daryl opened his mouth to respond, but Isabell quickly stopped him.
"I don't care what you say about it. If I hadn't gone, you wouldn't have been there and you wouldn't have gotten beat." Isabell sighed and laid her head on Daryl's shoulder. "I wasn't there in time. I should have been there."
! #$# !
Everyone had been packed up and ready to go for a while. The verdict was that the group would go to the CDC. Isabell was glad. She never would have chosen Fort Benning, even if she had known that it was safe. Isabell didn't do well when it came to authority. Especially when she would be trapped in a cage with all the firearms being waved in her face as they tried to decipher what the scars on her arms were from.
The group gathered around the cars with Rick and Shane standing in front of them.
"Everybody, listen up." Shane shouted. "Those of you with CBs, we're gonna be on channel forty. Let's keep the chatter down, okay? Now, you gotta problem, don't have a CB, can't get a signal or anything at all, you're gonna hit your horn one time. That'll stop the caravan." Shane paused for just a second. "Any questions?"
Isabell watched as the Mexican man, Morales, stood forward. "We're uh…." He stumbled. "We're not going." Morales said boldly.
Isabell shook her head. With just the four of them, two of them kids, there was no way that they would make it.
"We have family in Birmingham." Morales' wife shared. "We want to be with our people."
Assuming they're even there. Isabell thought.
"You go on your own, you won't have anyone to watch your back." Shane warned.
Morales nodded. "We'll take the chance. I got to do what's best for my family."
"You sure?" Rick questioned.
"We talked about it." Morales said, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders. "We're sure."
"Alright." Rick looked over to Shane and called out his name.
Shane dug deep into the bag the group kept the guns and ammunition in.
Isabell sighed frustratedly.
Daryl was just as upset as she was, but Isabell understood that the family needed it.
Shane handed Morales a gun and a box of ammo. "The box is half full." Shane informed.
Morales' wife nodded. "Thank you all. For everything." The group began to say their goodbyes and hopes of good luck.
Daryl and Isabell stood outside the group.
Isabell put a hand on his lower arm to calm him from the anger he was feeling.
Daryl just looked to her. He saw the warning look that Isabell gave him and nodded. Daryl hoped the nod would tell her that he was okay, so she took her hand off.
Isabell heard Shane whisper something to Rick about the odds of survival at the CDC, and she rolled her eyes. She wished that they would agree on just one thing.
"Come on." Shane addressed the group. "Let's move out."
Isabell moved towards the truck with Daryl. His brother's motorcycle was in the bed of the truck as well as more of their supplies. Though she didn't want to, Isabell climbed into the truck's cab. What she really wanted was to ride in the wind and completely have time to herself. Instead, Isabell had to sit in the awkward silence that was Daryl Dixon. Isabell remembered that Daryl was always comfortable when he was just sitting, being. She liked doing something, talking about something, so Isabell had a problem sitting around.
The caravan finally took off heading towards the Center for Disease Control. After driving for hours, staring at trees and thinking about where they were heading, Isabell started to get antsy. She looked to Daryl.
Daryl was concentrating on nothing but what was in front of him, the cars and roads the group took. His elbow was on the window being used as a prop for his head.
Isabell bit her lip and turned back, facing the windshield. "Daryl?"
Daryl hummed in response.
Isabell rolled her eyes, but continued to ask her question anyway. "Do you think that we'll ever find a place to stay? A place to settle. Guarded and stocked."
"What?" Daryl scoffed. "You want a picket fence? Laundry all strung up? A sill to let the apple pie cool?"
Isabell shook her head, laughing quietly. "Do I look like the type of girl who wants that?" She asked him, sending a sarcastic glare his way. "You know that's not what I mean. I'm just saying that there's someplace where we don't have to keep running. We can build some sort of society."
Daryl took a moment to think about the question after Isabell had clarified it for him.
Isabell was happy that Daryl was, at least, thinking about the question. Maybe she didn't want the apple pie and the picket fence. Surely she didn't want the laundry. But Isabell would like to have some of her old life back, even if it wasn't all of it.
Daryl didn't get to answer though because the caravan came to a slow stop. He stuck his head out the window to look ahead at the others. Daryl saw that the RV had broken down, not that it was much of a surprise. What was a surprise was that the car was still going.
Isabell got out of the truck and sat down in the grass on the side of the highway, enjoying the fresh air. She watched as the old man tried to fix up his RV. Isabell noticed that he was using more duct tape than actual car part and knew that there was no way that it would hold. From her spot on the ground, Isabell could see her bow sticking out in the bed of the truck. She debated on going hunting or not.
Daryl made the answer clear when he came over to her. He cleared his throat. "They're leaving String Bean."
"Good." Isabell admitted. "Is that what he wants? To be left here?" She wondered.
Daryl nodded.
Isabell copied his action. "Okay." She reached a hand toward Daryl, asking him to help her off the grass.
Daryl pulled her up and the two went to have some sort of goodbye with Jim. They didn't know him well, but he was agreeing to be left behind. After that, Daryl and Isabell were back in the truck, neither of them saying anything.
The caravan continued.
Isabell had hoped that the group would find something eventually. She hoped that Daryl thought they would, too. Isabell wanted to believe that they had a chance at somewhat of a normal life.
Isabell's eyes grew tired. She tried to stay away, figuring it was just the weakness from lack of food, but she couldn't fight it. Isabell moved to lay her head down on the middle seat, but Daryl stopped her.
Daryl pulled her closer to his, so she could use his leg as a pillow, earning a smile from the blonde. Daryl's face remained as poker-like as ever.
Isabell sighed as he put his right hand on her shoulder and drove with his left.
"We'll find somethin'." Daryl mumbled.
Isabell didn't move to look at him, but she knew that he knew she heard him. Nothing else could have been said about the matter, so Isabell closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.
! #$# !
Not knowing how long she had slept for, Isabell was awoken by Daryl shaking her shoulder. She lifted her head to see that it was almost dark. In front of them, was a rounded building that Isabell recognized as the CDC. She sighed in relief. That is, until Isabell noticed the lack of living bodies in the area. "Shit." Isabell whispered.
Around the building was complete destruction. Dead bodies and dead walkers littered the area. Everyone gathered outside of their vehicles, weapons in hand.
Isabell grabbed her bow and readied it, without drawing an arrow back.
Shane took the position of the leader. "Alright, everybody. Just keep moving and stay quiet." He ordered. "Stay at the ready and together."
Daryl had his crossbow out. He flicked his head telling Isabell to come closer to him, and she complied. "You stick to me, ya hear?"
Isabell nodded. As they moved towards the building, everyone had to maneuver around the bodies. Isabell kept her head clear as she stepped around and over them, trying to be somewhat respectful for the dead ones.
The other women in the group were much less brave. Carol was pushing little Sophia along, looking like she was going to cry at the surrounding ruin.
Once the group reached the building, Daryl stayed behind the group to catch any straggling walkers that came close to the group, just as a precaution.
Once clear and across the open area, Isabell moved up to the front of the group with Rick and Shane.
Shane pounded on the door.
"There's nobody here." T-Dog pointed out.
"These barriers wouldn't be down if there weren't people inside." Isabell shared.
"Walkers!" Daryl's voice shouted.
Carol and Lori pushed their children towards the front and away from the oncoming walkers.
Daryl shot a couple walkers down before passing the blame towards Rick. "You led us into a graveyard."
Shane shook his head. "He made a call." He said angrily, defending his friend.
Isabell was confused why Shane was defending Rick because he didn't want to come here in the first place.
"It was the wrong damn call!" Daryl shouted.
"Shut up!" Shane ordered Daryl. "Do you hear me? Shut up!" Shane turned to his best friend. "Rick, this is a dead end."
Isabell turned to look at the building, wrapping her bow around her body, trying to see if she could notice anything suspicious, or anything that would hint that there was someone in there.
"Do you hear me, Rick? There is no blame." Shane said. "Fort Benning is still an option."
"On what?" Andrea questioned. "We have no food, hardly any fuel left. Fort Benning is a hundred miles away."
"A hundred twenty-five." Glenn corrected. "I checked the map."
"Forget Fort Benning." Lori suggested. "We need answers now."
"We'll think of something."
"C'mon, let's go. Let's get out of here." Shane begged, before turning back to the others and fending off walkers.
Isabell looked back to the building and just as she had, she noticed a security camera move. She pointed it out to Rick. "There! Did you see that?" Isabell asked.
Rick nodded. "The camera. It moved!"
"You imagined it." Shane insisted.
"Well, we must both be doin' the same 'shrooms, 'cause I saw it, too." Isabell snapped.
Shane shrugged her off, putting himself between her and Rick. "Rick, it is dead, man. It's an automated device. It's gears, okay? They're just winding down. Now, come on."
"Shane, will you listen to me?" Isabell ordered, pulling on his shoulder, making him face her.
The deputy pushed her away from him.
Isabell punched at his back a couple times with the side of her fist. She was glad that Daryl hadn't seen Shane's actions, or Shane would end the day with a black eye. "You stupid hick!" Isabell shouted. "This is the CDC! It's locked up! That sorta high tech shit doesn't just move on its own! If they want to see something, they see it!"
Shane just continued to ignore Isabell as she groaned, stepped away from him. "Man, just listen to me." He said to Rick. "Look around this place. It's dead, okay? It's dead. You need to let it go, Rick."
"Rick, don't you dare listen to him!" Isabell pushed. "How could both of us have imagined the same thing? You know what you saw, Rick!"
Rick wasn't having any of what Isabell had to say. He was letting Shane talk him out of what he had seen. There was something about Shane that Isabell didn't like.
"Rick, there's nobody here!" Lori shouted.
Isabell sent a glare towards Lori. She of all people should be supporting Rick.
Shane tried to pull Rick away from the metal door, with the help of Lori. "Everybody get back to their cars now!" Shane demanded.
Daryl was still busy fending off the walkers heading their way, so Isabell moved her way to bang on the protective metal shutters.
"Let us in, you son of a bitch!" Isabell shouted towards the camera. "There are children out here! We have no food, hardly any gas!" Isabell banged on the door again. "If you don't let us in, it's just like you bit us yourself!"
Carol's hand suddenly tightened around Isabell's arm. She tried to pull her back to the vehicles. "Izzy, c'mon."
"No, Carol! Someone is in there! I know it!" Isabell insisted. "We gotta get Sophia safe! He's gonna kill her!" Isabell banged on the shutter with both fists.
"You won't be much help if we don't get out of here." Carol said, calmly. "There's no one there."
Isabell didn't want to believe that. She needed to fight to get everyone safe. But when Isabell looked down to see the look on Sophia's face, that strong will to get the door in front of her open just….melted.
The little girl was so afraid. Staying there wasn't helping her.
Isabell sighed and grabbed both Carol's and Sophia's hands and tugged them along, moving back towards the cars.
Just as Isabell took her fifth step, a loud bang came from behind them, and she turned to see the shutter rising and a bright light pouring out of it.