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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~108 ~ 3209
Fifteen Years Earlier….
The second Isabell turned eighteen, her mother packed up her things and moved away without much word. The girl figured that her mom realized she was done taking care of her daughter since she was now of age. Days after her mother left as she packed up the house, Isabell received a phone call. The call was from someone that said he was her brother. At first, Isabell couldn't remember ever having any siblings. As Isabell dug further back into her memory, she remembered him. Garrett was more than twelve years older than her and had moved on to have his own family before she could even learn who the other person was living in the house. The two kept in contact over time and Isabell was even at the hospital for the birth of her first niece.
Things between Daryl and Isabell remained the same since Daryl told Isabell that he loved her.
Isabell managed to let it go and hadn't really thought about it since that day. She acted like it never happened.
Daryl struggled never to bring it up again since his feelings for her were, what he believed, true. Every time that he began to think of a life without her, Daryl's chest clenched up, and he had a hard time breathing. It would be hard to live in a world without his best friend. They had been through everything together since they lived next door to each other their whole lives.
Now though, they had a house together, with separate rooms for each of them and one to spare. They would sometimes start the night in one of their beds, but they hardly ever slept overnight with each other.
Daryl asked multiple times for Isabell to just stay with him, but when he drifted off to sleep, she was always gone before he woke again.
Daryl's older brother, Merle, was another story. He had never really been nice to Isabell. When they were little, Isabell was a girl almost six years younger than him, and it wasn't okay for her to be around. Then, as they got older, it seemed that the girl was trying to change Daryl and make him do his homework or study for the upcoming test. In Merle's eyes, all Daryl needed to know was how to live on his own. It didn't matter how good he did in school or what grades he got. Daryl would be fine keeping to himself, hunting for his own food and selling to local markets. He didn't need smarts so long as he had brawn.
Daryl was always torn between his brother and his best friend. Eventually he had a hard time choosing and dragged Isabell along with him when Merle took him hunting.
Isabell would quiz Daryl on the camping trips, even after Merle cursed at her to shut her trap. She would just roll her eyes at Merle's temper and try again at a later time.
Daryl and Isabell never expected Merle to come back, but when he did, he seemed to think that he belonged with them. Merle said that his little brother owed him and it wasn't like they didn't have the extra room. Isabell was reluctant, always wanting to say no, until Daryl found his way to get her to agree. Daryl would promise that he wouldn't ask her to stay in his bed so long as Merle lived with them. Isabell rolled her eyes and eventually agreed to let Merle stay.
Merle never did much to help out. He went out hunting every weekend and brought home a bunch of meat for Isabell to cook up. When it came to cleaning, Merle wouldn't have it. He wouldn't clean up his own messes, let alone someone else's. Isabell was fine with doing the house cleaning as long as Merle's messes kept to his room. Daryl knew that Isabell didn't like having Merle around, but he was thankful that she was willing to put up with Merle for him. It just made Daryl love her even more.
! #$# !
Daryl had been attempting to hack his way through the giant steel doors with an axe for a while now. He had let Isabell sit down beside Carol and Sophia, holding the two of them together.
Carol was distraught over Jenner locking them in and putting their fate in his own hands. They all just wanted to fight to live how they wanted, even if it meant living in a world where all they did was fight for the rest of their lives. At least they would have died trying to fight to get the world back to normal.
Isabell was mad that Jenner took things into his own hands. She was on the fence about whether she really wanted to go back out into that world. There was nothing left for Isabell in out there. Her entire life had been ripped to shreds the night of the breakout. Daryl was the only family that Isabell had left and even that relationship was confusing.
When Daryl got tired of swinging the axe at the door that wasn't going to break, he grabbed the bottle of alcohol he had and threw it against the steel. Daryl turned back to the center of the room. "Open the damn door!" He shouted at Jenner.
Jenner didn't seem to be phased by Daryl's voice.
Someone in the room had actually gone as far as to shush Daryl.
Isabell scoffed, thinking to herself that telling him to be quiet never worked. If anything, it did just the opposite.
Shane joined Daryl after finding another axe and hit at the door as if he could do better.
Isabell stayed cuddled to her new friends, letting the others try to fight their way out.
Daryl grabbed his axe again. Maybe the two of them working at one time would benefit. Daryl started up against the barrier.
Jenner turned to look at Isabell. "You should have left well enough alone. It would have been so much easier." He explained.
"Easier for who?" Isabell demanded.
"All of you." Jenner stated calmly. "You know what's out there. There's a short, brutal life and an agonizing death." He shook his head and looked to Andrea. "Your — your sister. What was her name?"
Isabell kept narrowed eyes on the delusional doctor. "Andrea, don't answer him." She advised.
"Amy." Andrea said anyway.
Isabell rolled her eyes. "Please don't humor him. He's a jackhole."
"Amy." Jenner repeated, nodding to her. "You know what this does. You've seen it." The doctor turned to Rick as he reentered the room. "Is this really what you want for your wife and son?"
Shane and Daryl stopped throwing axes to the wall and joined the center of the room. Shane lowered his hands onto a desk and leaned against it.
"I don't want this." Rick stressed. He turned to his friend, who was trying to catch his breath.
Shane shook his head. "Can't make a dent."
"Those doors are meant to withstand a rocket launcher." Jenner informed.
Daryl came forward, swinging the axe behind him, going for Jenner much like he had against Jim. "Well, your head ain't."
Rick, Dale and T-Dog rushed to hold him back, taking the weapon from him.
Isabell pushed herself off of the ground and out of Carol's grasp. She pushed Daryl to the back of the group, acting as a wall between him and Jenner.
"You do want this." Jenner said. "Last night," he looked to Rick. "You said that you knew it was just a matter of time before everybody you loved was dead."
Everybody looked up at Rick, wide-eyed.
Even Isabell, who was almost on Rick's team. She was finally starting to believe that everything he was doing was a good plan.
Shane joined Rick's side. "What? You really said that?" He asked. "After all your big talk?"
Rick couldn't find his answer for a moment. "I had to keep hope alive, didn't I?" He asked, looking down at his wife.
"There is no hope." Jenner believed. "There never was."
"There is always hope." Rick insisted. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody, somewhere — "
"What part of 'everything is gone' do you not understand?" Andrea asked from her spot on the floor.
"Listen to your friend." Jenner counseled Rick. "She gets it."
Isabell took a couple steps toward Jenner but remained between him and Daryl. "That's because she believes that she's lost everything." Her eyes landed on Dale. Isabell noticed that the old man was rather upset to see her give up. "But she can't see what's in front of her." She snapped, turning her head back to Jenner. "We can't give up because of what one or two people believe."
"This is what takes us down." Jenner said. "This is our extinction event."
"This isn't right." Carol cried.
Isabell joined Carol's side, crouching by the woman.
"You can't just keep us here."
Jenner leaned forward, elbows on his knees. His hands were folded together as he kept his gaze on the woman. "One tiny moment. A millisecond. No pain."
"I don' care if I still feel alive after. This isn't your decision to make." Isabell argued.
"My daughter doesn't deserve to die like this." Carol stressed, beginning to cry.
Isabell stood up and took Sophia from her mom. She wanted to get the two away from Jenner, so they would calm down. Isabell saw Shane walk away from Jenner angrily as she wrapped an arm around Sophia's shoulders.
"Wouldn't it be kinder, more compassionate to just hold your loved ones and wait for the clock to run down?" Jenner asked.
Behind them, Isabell heard a gun cock, and she grabbed Sophia, holding the girl to her body.
Shane barreled through the group, pushing forward to Jenner.
Rick called out to stop Shane.
"Out of the way, Rick!" Shane ordered, pushing him away. "Stay out of my way!" Shane put the barrel of the shotgun right to Jenner's face. "Open that door. Or Ima blow your head off." Shane threatened. "Do you hear me?!"
Rick attempted to talk Shane out of what he was doing.
Isabell looked to Daryl who was only staring at what was going on.
Shane screamed out and fired a shot, it landing in a computer behind Jenner.
Isabell pulled Carol and Sophia, putting herself between them and Shane's shots.
Rick fought to get the fun from Shane. He grabbed ahold of the weapon and hit Shane upside the head with it. "Are you done now? Are you done?!" Rick screamed to Shane as he lay on the floor.
"Yeah, I guess we all are." Shane snapped, glaring back at Rick. The room was silent as everyone stared at Rick.
Isabell unwrapped herself from the little girl and her mom and moved towards Daryl. She waited for him to say something that would make her think that they were going to get out of there.
Daryl didn't. Instead, he grabbed the axe again and tried for the door.
Rick tried against Jenner though. "I think you're lying."
"What?" Jenner asked.
"You're lying about no hope. If that were true, you would have bolted with the rest or taken the easy way out." Rick said.
Isabell saw where he was going with it.
"You chose the hard path." Rick reminded. "Why?"
"It doesn't matter." Jenner insisted. He shook his head.
Isabell looked at Jenner. "It does matter." Isabell promised. "It matters to us. We woulda been dead yesterday if you hadn't been here and opened those doors." She said. "You stayed when the others ran. Why?"
"Not because I wanted to." Jenner said, looking between Isabell and Rick. He stood up in Rick's face. "I made a promise." Jenner pointed his finger up to the big screen. "To her."
"You knew TS-19?" Isabell asked, furrowing her brow.
Jenner nodded. "She was my wife." He admitted.
"Test subject nineteen was your wife?" Lori asked to clarify.
"She begged me to keep going as long as I could." Jenner shared. "She wanted me to find a cure. She let us watch her development. How could I say no?" He asked rhetorically. "She was dying. It should have been me on that table. I wouldn't have mattered to anybody. She was a loss to the world. Hell, she ran this place. I just worked here." Jenner said. "In our field, she was an Einstein. Me? I'm just…. Edwin Jenner. She could've done something about this. Not me."
"Your wife didn't have a choice." Rick told him. "You do. That's all we want. A choice and a chance."
"Let us keep trying as long as we can." Lori begged.
Jenner debated in his head, glancing to everyone in the group.
"You saved these kids' lives once. You saved our lives." Isabell reminded, looking back at the children. "Just do it one more time, please."
Jenner thought for another moment. "I told you. Topside is locked down. I can't open those." He moved around Rick to get to his computer.
Isabell grabbed Sophia and Carol, walking towards Daryl. "He's letting us out." She said to him.
Jenner pushed a few buttons on his computer and the door opened.
"C'mon!" Daryl called to everyone, leading Isabell through the hallway with her tagalongs. Everyone stopped abruptly.
Rick was standing next to Jenner, the man's mouth next to the sheriff's ear.
Jenner was telling Rick something that no one else could hear.
Isabell pulled on Carol's arm though and lead her to the rooms with their belongings. She wasn't going to wait around anymore. They were getting out of there as quickly as they could. "Daryl!" Isabell called, wondering why he wasn't going with them.
"Go!" Daryl ordered sternly.
Isabell looked at his face, running backwards, shaking her head.
"I'll be right there!" He promised. "Go!"
Isabell nodded and continued to pull Carol down to their room. She and Daryl's bags were already packed, so she grabbed them from inside and put one around each shoulder. Isabell ran to help Carol gather her things together. She then remembered that T-Dog hadn't followed them either and grabbed his bag, too.
"What now?" Carol asked, feeling rushed.
"The lobby." Isabell said, trying her hardest to stay calm. She grabbed onto Sophia's arm and pulled her towards the lobby. When they arrived, Isabell let out a breath seeing Daryl there.
Daryl was trying to get the doors open with T-Dog's help.
Isabell pat herself on the back for thinking quickly about T-Dog's bag.
Shane ran up to the windows on the side with his axe. "Daryl!" He called.
Daryl ran towards the windows with his own axe and started to help Shane hack away at the glass that didn't seem to want to break.
"Carol, we're gonna stay back here." Isabell said to her friend. "Something will break, and we want to be as far away from it."
Carol nodded. "Stay close, sweetheart." She said to her daughter.
Shane got defeated and came up with another idea. "Get away from the window." He told Daryl. Shane went back to his bag for his shotgun.
Daryl stepped away, looking in the group for Isabell.
Isabell nodded to him, assuring him that they were alright.
Daryl nodded once and watched as Shane let off a shot into the window that unfortunately hadn't worked.
"The glass won't break?" Sophia cried.
Isabell crouched to the little girl's level, pushing the short hairs behind her ears. "Don't worry. I promise that we will get out of here. Daryl's gonna do everything that he can. He always does." Isabell told Sophia.
Sophia nodded and Isabell pulled her into a quick hug.
Carol grabbed her bag and walked towards Rick. "Rick!" She called. "I have something that might help." Carol reached into her bag.
"Carol, I don't think a nail file's gonna do it." Shane said, sarcastically.
Carol ignored Shane's remarks and turned to Rick. "Your first morning at camp, when I washed your uniform, I found this in your pocket." Carol pulled out a grenade and held it out to Rick, her hand shaking.
Rick looked at her, debating in his head. He nodded and grabbed the explosive from Carol's palm.
Carol immediately turned and ran back to Sophia.
"You two stay right here." Isabell ordered, looking to Carol. "Keep your body over hers."
Carol nodded and hugged her daughter.
"Look out!" Rick shouted to the lobby. Everybody backed up to where Carol and Isabell were hanging out on the few stairs.
Daryl joined Isabell and put himself over her to protect her from the incoming blast.
Rick ran back toward the group. "Get down!" He shouted.
The blast was so loud that even though Isabell's hands were over her ears, she still felt like her eardrums were starting to burst.
Daryl pulled Isabell up and grabbed their bags.
Isabell made sure that she had a hold on Carol and Sophia as she pushed them in front of her. She pushed Carol towards the window first then handed Sophia down to her.
They ran the rest of the way, Carol holding onto her daughter and Isabell running behind them, just in case they were to fall.
"Get in the car!" Isabell shouted at them as they passed the yellow station wagon. She continued to run to Daryl's blue truck.
Daryl threw their bags into the bed of the truck while Isabell climbed in. He followed suit and pulled her down over the center seat and put his body over hers like he had in the lobby.
Isabell reached for his hand and held it tight, awaiting the blast that they knew was coming.
The blast went and it seemed to slow everything down.
Isabell and Daryl sat up in their seat, her hand not leaving his as the two watched the building fall apart. Motion caught Isabell's eye, and she leaned out the window to see Andrea and Dale get up from the ground and get into the RV. Isabell turned to Daryl. "Who stayed?" She asked.
Daryl shook his head. "Just Jacqui."
Isabell nodded. She pulled her hand out of his grasp and put it on the side of his face. Isabell pulled his face towards her and kissed him hard.
Daryl responded and moved his mouth against hers.
Isabell pulled away moments later when she needed to take a breath.
"What was that for?" Daryl asked, leaning his forehead against hers.
Isabell moved her head side to side on his forehead. "Just to thank you. I know you didn't mean to push me. You were just angry, tryin' not ta get me killed. Tryin' to do everythin' to protect me." Isabell smiled. "It made me think of a long time ago…." She trailed off.
Daryl furrowed his brow.
"'Member when you told me you loved me?" Isabell asked. "On my birthday."
Daryl sat up in his seat, looking to the dashboard, processing what she said. "I thought ya forgot 'bout that."
Isabell shook her head. She put a hand on the side of his face and gently turned his head back to her. "How could I forget the first time anyone ever told me that they loved me?"