Hey guys. This chapter is a little longer, dodnt know when to stop ;o) Hope you enjoy reading R&R
Hae a nice weekend x
I regained consciousness lying on the floor in a cold room. It looked like a garage, or maybe a storage, or something like that. My heart began to beat faster becoming aware I was handcuffed and locked up. It was all a little blurry and my head hurt, but I blinked away the pain and saw Daryl strapped on a chair next to me, unconscious. I was kind of relieved to not be alone. But that was not the time to be relieved about something like that at all. We were captured by the enemy, we had forced entry and had killed their men, God knew what they would do to us.
I wanted to get up, but with my hands cuffed behind my back it was hard to even sit up straight. When I sat up pain rushed through my head. They guy that had knocked me out had hit me pretty hard. I forced myself to stand up and looked around. Maybe we were where Maggie and Glenn had been. I tried to remember how we had gotten there and how we could escape now. No window but one door. In here was nothing but me and Daryl strapped on a chair. No closet, no equipment, nothing to defend ourselves with. I walked to Daryl, whispering his name afraid someone could hear me. "Daryl!" He slowly opened his eyes and blinked at me. You could see confusion in his eyes, then his eyes became clear, remembering what had happened. He tried to move and realized he was strapped to the chair. "What the …" He tried to break free in an aggressive way, but couldn't. "Where are we?"
"Don't know." I tried to undo his fetters, but they were too tight. I turned my back to him so I could try to untie, but with my arms on my back and just one useable hand, it was hard to free him.
"Ella! Listen!" I turned to face him again. "Go for the door. Maybe ya can escape." I shook my head.
"Go for the door!" He ordered and I did.
"I am not leaving you behind!" I tried to open the door, but it was closed. When I started to walk to him again, I heard the door behind me cracking. "I never thought to see you again." I immediately froze as the voice curdled my blood. Someone grabbed me from behind and put his arm over my chest, a hand on my shoulder. "Mine!" He whispered into my ear. My eyes widened. I was shocked, my whole body ached. While I was paralyzed Daryl went crazy in the chair. "Let go off her motherfucker!" I would always remember this voice, always heard it in my nightmares. I would never forget all of their voices, their laughter, and their humiliation.
Phillip laughed behind me. "New boyfriend honey?" The hand he had put on my shoulder made its way to my breast and he let out a low moan. I held back a whimper. The world around me turned and I felt taken back to the time of humiliation. My knees became weak and I would have fallen to the ground if Phillip hadn't held me tight.
Daryl's eyes grew wide. "I said let go off her asshole." I felt more than humiliated and tried to shake him off, but felt cold steel on my temple when I moved. Daryl stopped moving too.
"That's right." Phillip pointed a gun at me. The look on Daryl's face startled me. I had never seen him afraid, his eyes wide, somehow helpless. I didn't want him to feel helpless, so I jumped back, hoping to slam Phillip back in the wall, but he just laughed, balancing me. I couldn't stand his laughter and went crazy in his grip. I shook his hand of and tried to kick him, but he pointed his gun at Daryl and I went silent. "Still a fighter." He looked at Daryl. "I always loved that about her." I stood right in front of him, my back to Daryl and when I looked at him, the first time since we split in the woods, I still saw the man Phillip. But his face had changed, next to his foul smile he had just one eye staring at me, the other had a bloody patch on. Seemed like someone had wounded him not long ago. He looked over to Daryl. "Isn't she all cookies and cream?"
Daryl growled. "Shut the fuck up."
He looked at me again. "We had some good fun. No one was better to fuck than you were. And now you came back to me."
"You never …" He slapped me hard and when I looked back at him –with all the hate that I felt for him – he smiled. He touched me again and I stepped back, but he released the safety catch of the gun which was still pointed at Daryl. "You don't want your friend to die, do you?" I didn't dare to look at Daryl. My eyes were fixed on Phillip and my brain was working hard on how to kill this guy.
"Look at her skin." With his free hand he lifted my shirt, to show Daryl my lower back. "I denounced her mine." He put his hand into the back of my trousers.
Daryl screamed at him. "Ya not man enough to fight me first?"
Phillip just laughed. "It's more fun that way." The cruelty of his thought and action made me shiver. "New clothes?" He talked to me like an old friend. Hate boiled inside me, but I was afraid if I would fight him back he would shoot Daryl. Phillip touched my chin. His one eye starred into mine and I could see the madness behind his greenish iris. A tear escaped my eye and rolled down my face.
"Please don't …" No, I didn't want to plead, didn't want to show weakness. I had sworn to myself to never ever let anyone touch me like that. Never ever let this mad man lay a finger on me. The time of weakness and anxiety was over and had long been gone. I tried to kick him, but that just got me a knee in the stomach. I fell forward into his body. He violently hugged me and looked down on me, taking my face in one hand. "The man I killed – Andy, he liked watching me. Maybe he likes it too." He nodded towards Daryl. I had no idea what he was talking about, he had never touched me like that, nor raped me. Was it all a game for him? Did he just tell these things to anger Daryl, to work him up? What filthy fantasy did this man have?
"Get off her!" Daryl screamed, but Phillips attention was all on me. He put his gun in the front of my trousers. His smiling eyes almost made me retch. "Fuck you Phillip." I wished my arms weren't handcuffed behind my back … I could easily take the gun now and shot him down. There was nothing more in this world I wanted to do but to kill him.
"Get the fuck off her!" I heard Daryl scream behind me but didn't dare to look his direction. My eyes were focused on Phillip. I was waiting for a moment he would be unobserving to tackle him down or something like that. I wasn't week anymore, not that kind of weak when I had first met Phillip. Now I wanted to show him not to mess with me. I was strong!
"I'll do whatever you want, if you won't hurt him." I looked straight into his eye, my lips pressed in a thin line. "Promise you won't kill him!" I wanted my voice to be hard, to threaten him. Blood was pumping through my body, I almost didn't hear myself talking. I had a plan, if we would be alone I would fight him back until I die. And I knew I wouldn't die … not today!
"You know I can get whatever I want." His whole appearance was leisure, his voice so hard. He had changed into even worse. But I held on to my plan, to kill this bastard.
"Ella!" Daryl screamed, still trying to break free.
The moment I wanted to kick Phillip again he saw it coming, crashed me into the wall and pinned me up against it. His mouth in my ear. "You need to be taught a lesson." He took his gun and I was afraid he would shoot Daryl now or worse. With one hand he pressed my head into the wall, but I didn't feel the other. Was he already aiming at Daryl? I heard him trying to break free from the chair. And then there was a klick in my head, as if someone had switched my brain on: I needed to break free, out of my fears, out of my shell, out of Phillips grasp. But before I could push myself away from the wall, the door slammed open and almost crushed into my head. "You won't believe it." The man looked at me, than at Phillip. "I have to tell you something." He must be Italian or Spanish.
Phillip was mad. "Can't you see I am busy?"
The man shook his head a little afraid. "It's big news!"
Phillip turned me around and pushed my back at the wall hard. "Lucky girl." He released me but before he turned around, he slapped me hard across the face with the back of his hand. My head spun to the side and I fell to the ground. Without another word they left the room, closed the door and I heard them locking it. I rearranged my shirt not daring to look at Daryl.
"Was that the bastard who tortured ya?" I held back tears, my eyes on the ground. Phillip had been lying, he never raped me. He wanted to degrade me and anger Daryl. "Everything will be fine." He tried to calm me, but I couldn't believe him, he didn't know what once had happened. "Ella, look at me." I finally turned and looked up. His voice had a warm tone I had never heard before.
"He is not going to touch ya ever again. Not when I am still alive." I didn't want him to think I was raped. "Daryl … I …" The door slammed open and the man from before kicked me to the side. Another man entered and held a gun to my head. "You better listen and do as I say." He looked at me than at Daryl.
The Hispanic one put a bag over Daryl's head, cut him loose, and cuffed his hands to his back, just like mine. "What the fuck …" But he pushed him out of the room while Daryl fought back hard. My eyes never left him. "Daryl!"
But the door was closed. The man tossed me to the chair. That's all what's left of you? The sudden appearance of my brother's voice startled me at first. A long time had passed since he had spoken to me, but he was right: I was a fighter. I wouldn't let them hurt Daryl. I stood up and faced the guy with an evil smile. "What?" He looked at me perplexed. I slammed my body into his and kneed him in the guts. He fell forward and my knee met his head. He fell to the ground. Was he unconscious? I kicked hard against his head, twice. When he wasn't moving anymore, I sat on the chair Daryl had sat in before and tried to move my arms from my back to the front. After a few minutes of struggle it was done! I was high on adrenaline, a real flash.
I took the guy's gun and aimed at his head. No, you are no murderer! So he was back, my brother was suddenly back … preventing me from murdering … I still aimed at the man's head. These men were evil, bad to the bone. They had kidnapped Maggie and Glenn and had wanted to execute them. They had tried to shoot us down and now they had Daryl. I released the safety catch. If I let him live now, he would sure come to kill us later … No! I couldn't stand my brother's pleading, so I went for the door. I was lucky, it was open. I slowly walked out, gun raised to be ready to shoot. I was alarmed and tensed, inside I was ready to kill anyone who was going against me or my group, my family.
Suddenly I heard screams. They sounded happy. Bewildered I shook my head. There couldn't be happy screams, but it truly sounded like cheering and a voice was talking loudly. It seemed to belong to Philip. I moved fast from one corner to the next, through a hallway that looked like some kind of storage. It must be the storage Maggie and Glenn had been held capture before and no one seemed to be in here right now. I walked cautious around the next corner and saw a door. There was just one man leaning at the wall next to the door. I raised my gun and shot him in the head. Ella! "Don't Ella me." I was furious. Phillip, the man I saw in my nightmares, had touched me again, and now he had Daryl. I would kill this bastard. I ran out of the door and looked around. They must have heard my shot, but no one was coming for me. I needed to move.
Again more people screamed happily. I turned to my left, there was light, a barn with torches around it. I approached it, walking in the shadows and when I reached the walls of it, I looked through the wood truss just to see some kind of arena and in the middle of it were Merle and Daryl … fighting. Why were they fighting? I saw Merle hitting Daryl twice but Daryl didn't act. What kind of brother would fight his own blood?
I looked around to count the men with guns. They were too many and I just might have a few bullets left. I opened the gun and counted the bullets in the magazine. Five. Jap, not enough. Pressing my face against the wood again and watching through the hole, I saw them bringing in walkers. Were they crazy? I realized the people around here were all screaming for Merle to kill his brother. They were all cheering for him. What world had Phillip built up in this small town? I needed to get in there.
Seeing the walkers, Daryl fought Merle back. The men had the walkers on sticks like dogs. Now the brothers stood back to back, fighting off the walkers. "Stop it Phillip!" This voice … I knew this voice, so familiar. I tried to see the woman who was screaming for Phillip to stop, but couldn't. I pushed myself from the wall and took a tight grip around the gun in my right hand. I had to help them, even if I got imprisoned in Phillips little dream-town again. I had enough bullets to take the walkers down. I looked around for a door. I found a hole big enough to could climb trough. The moment I was through it, bullets were flying through the air and smoke bombs were fired. I ran for Daryl, screaming his name. Thick fog was filling the scene and hindered me to get to Daryl. Moving unorientated through the white haze which made me cough, I didn't see anything but shadows moving and screaming.
Again luck was my foe and I bumped into Phillip who turned and faced me, grabbing my arm. His hatred eyes turned into an awful smile. "You just keep coming back to me, do you?!" In his other hand he held a gun, but I had a gun with me too. I could end it now, end my nightmares. I raised my gun, but before I could shot he twisted my wrist and my gun fell to the ground where the fog swallowed it. "Ah, the rebellious hot side is back." I was defenseless again, my gun somewhere on the ground. I tried to break free, but his eyes and hand fixed me.
I screamed as he grabbed my arm tighter. "Daryl!" A hand reached for me through the smoke, grabbed me and wrested me away from Phillip. I was pushed into the other direction. I looked back and saw into Milton's face. Did I really see him? It was just mere seconds, he must be the one who had pushed me away. I smashed into another person whose fist met my chin. I didn't dare to scream but inhaled a low cry and the scratchy fog flowed my lungs. It was Daryl. He was about to punch me again, when he saw my face. "Ella?!" He examined me. "Ya hurt?" He touched my face were his fist had met my skin.
Yes, you just hit me! "No." I answered instead.
People were crying and running around us. It was all a mess. I shook my head and he hugged me tight. Did he kiss me on the head? He looked around screaming for his brother. "Merle!"
Suddenly a knife came at me, I wanted to jump back, but it pierced through my hip. This time I couldn't hold back a cry and screamed in pain when I felt the cold steel piercing through me. Merle looked at me. "Fuck." He showed sympathy but spoke in a playful tone. "Thought it was the governor." He held his hands up in surrender. Actually it was one hand and one bloody knife on his stump.
Daryl steadied me, taking me in one arm. "Ella, you okay?" I felt dizzy. It was like I was drunk and not able to walk on my own. Was it because of the smoke or the burning in my side? I touched my side and it hurt. Looking at my bloody hand I almost threw up. "Damn it, Ella!" He held me close and started to walk.
"How did you find us lil' miss bad ass?" Merle eyed my side. But I didn't answer, I was too focused to put pressure on my wound and move my legs at the same time. Daryl ignored his brother too. I saw Rick at the end of the wall, looking for us. "There's Rick!" I wanted to say, but just a mere whisper left my lips. I felt already weak.
We ran his direction. The man in front of us had Daryl's crossbow. Merle hit the guy and took it with a triumphant smile. "Move. Move!" Rick screamed and we ran as fast as possible. I took a look back to see Phillip standing in the middle of the fog walking our direction. He saw us leaving and I knew he would follow us.
I zoned out a bit, but at some point we were at the bus-barricade again. Rick was arguing with Merle, while Maggie and Daryl pushed me through two busses and trying to get me through a hole in the wall. "Where is Glenn?" I stopped realizing he wasn't around, there was just Maggie. She told me with watery eyes, that he was fine, while she didn't look fine at all. Merle pushed himself passed me and went through the hole. Maggie helped me to get through the wall as well and Merle took me into his arms. "Hey darling. Ya look just great!" I pushed him off me and Maggie was at my side to steady me. The others followed and shot the approaching walkers.
"Come on! Move!" Merle shouted at us. When did he take over lead? Maggie pulled me with her and we ran for the woods.
"She is bleeding!" Maggie finally said when we were in the woods, far away from to be seen from Woodbury walls. We stopped and I felt terrible.
"It's okay, just a scratch!" I mumbled, not wanting to stop. I was afraid Phillip was at our heels, we needed to move faster.
Daryl took a closer look. "Fuck!" Merle was at his side to look at me too.
"That doesn't look too good." I watched Merle smiling at me, when Daryl grabbed Merle's good arm and ripped off his sleeve. He tied it around my torso, so my wound was 'patched up'. "She needs Hershel!" He said to Rick.
Maggie nodded. "Like Glenn. We have to hurry!" And we began to run again. Maggie was weak, her grab around my waist wasn't as tight as before and her breathing was uneven. I looked to Daryl who was still next to my side and pleaded with my eyes to replace Maggie.
"Let me take her!" As if he had understood my glance, he took me into his arms and carried me. I slung my arms around his neck and relaxed in his arms. I rested my head into his shoulder and enjoyed my small amount of time so close to him. "Stay awake Ella!" He ordered me.
"Thanks Daryl!" I lifted my head to see his eyes. He was so close. There was a reassuring smile on his lips. "Everything will be fine!"
The sun began to come up, and the woods around us began to shine in light brown and green. Maybe I had been unconscious from time to time … The night was gone and it was already morning. "Glenn!" Rick shouted and I heard him answer. "Rick!"
When we were almost out of the woods and on the street, Glenn and Michonne were running at us. "We got a problem here, so I need you to back up!" What was Rick talking about? I felt Daryl's arms around me tensed, but then he let me down quick. Suddenly everybody raised their guns and screamed at each other. I shook my head to regain full conscious, suddenly my friends right in front of me seemed to be blurry and far away.
"What the hell is he doing here?" Glenn screamed with a weak voice. Now that I saw him in daylight, his wounds looked even worse. Michonne looked pretty messed up too. So she had come back? What had happened while we had been separated? She and Glenn had their weapons raised at me … no, not at me but at Merle next to me. I looked at him, realizing he had beaten Glenn almost to death.
Darryl had no gun in his hand when he tried to talk to Glenn who was furious. To my other side, Rick had his gun pointed at Michonne who tried to stab Merle. "He tried to kill me!" She screamed.
Merle moved behind me, as if he thought it was a safe place. "We both took our hits man" Daryl had his back to me, facing Glenn who had his gun pointed at Merle. Behind Glenn stood Maggie, pointing her gun at Michonne. Michonne had her sword raised in front of Rick, ready to kill Merle. Rick stood next to Daryl, his back to me too. I turned to face Merle who seemed to be more trouble than the governor. "Jackass."
He smiled at my words. "Shut up!" Daryl immediately turned around, shoving me away from Merle and closer to him. "Stop!" Everyone screamed at each other, we would never get a solution to the Merle-problem who had been an asshole right from the start.
"Get that thang out of ma face!" Daryl shouted at Glenn. Oh no, I hoped they wouldn't bite their heads off. We needed to be a group here, we had an army of undead around and a crazy Phillip in our back. I wanted to say something, but couldn't. My strength was merely enough for standing and breathing, not for talking.
Merle laughed. "Look like you're goin' native brother!" Why did he have to be a prick in the ass now? This didn't improve his situation at all.
Daryl on the other hand was furious at him. "Why are ya hanging out with that psycho back there man?"
"Oh yeah … He's a charmer, gotta tell you that!" He looked at Michonne. "He's fucking your friend Andrea big time!" He played with his tongue making noises that made me sick. So it was Andrea's voice I had heard back in the arena. Andrea, Amy's sister. I pushed Merle back to the tree. "Andrea is in Woodbury?" Where did this strength come from to push him back?
Michonne was about to kill him, but Rick pushed her back. "I told you to drop that!"
I looked at her. "You know Andrea?" She didn't answer, instead Merle's raspy voice answered. "Nubian queen cuddled up the winter with Andrea. They …" Daryl stopped him. "Shut up!"
But he did go on. "You're all pathetic …"
Again Daryl silenced him. "Shut up!" I never heard Daryl talking in such a loud and mean voice with his brother.
"What the fuck man." Merle pushed himself away from the tree towards his brother, but Rick hit him with his gun in the neck and Merle went limb on the ground. Silence filled the air. Seemed like nobody knew how to act now. Glenn was the first to leave, going for the car on the nearby street. The others followed while I looked at Merle. On his right arm where metal was around his chopped up hand was bloody. Seemed like he had found a way to compensate the missing hand. Daryl touched my shoulder. "How is ya wound?" He eyed my bloody side. The anger had left his voice and sympathy had replaced it.
"No worries!" My weak voice returned and I looked behind him where the others were waiting for us. He helped me to walk over to the car where his grab around me loosened and I propped myself on the hood next to Maggie. She started to inspect my wound. Maybe a habit because her father was the doc. When she touched it I screamed in pain loudly. "We have to go back quick. They are seriously wounded!" Rick nodded but moved away from the car. Maggie followed. I hadn't the strength to move, so I stood by the car. Michonne was next to me. Seemed we both didn't belong to the group right now. Just like back at Woodbury, where Michonne and me had been standing on one side and the guys on the other. Feelings of rejection started to sprout in my heart.
Daryl, Rick, Maggie and Glenn stood a few feet away from us and I couldn't hear a single word they were saying, so I turned to Michonne. "Why did you leave us?" I asked her, but she eyed the others not talking to me at all. I looked back to Merle who regained consciousness again and stood at a tree. I felt myself growing tired, due to the fact that I was losing blood and the exertion from before.
"Daryl!" I heard Glenn shouting and saw Daryl making his way to me with a fast pace. Rick was after him. "There is gotta be another way!" What other way, for what? They stopped almost next to me.
"Don't ask me to leave him. I did that once!" He stormed on, avoiding my eyes as he made his way to the back of the car.
"Daryl?" I asked without knowing what happened around me. But he ignored me and looked into the woods were his brother seemed to be waiting for him.
"No him, no me!" He told Rick and opened the trunk. Still confused I looked to the back of the car. Was he leaving? Balancing myself on the car I walked to him and Rick.
"You're leaving?" I asked but he didn't face me. "You said you would never leave me on my own." I tried to stop him. He already had his bag taken out of the trunk. He really was on his way to leave us.
"Ya not on your own. Ya have the others watchin' your back." He still didn't look at me when I came to a halt next to him.
"You said you would never leave me …" My voice was like a whisper. I reached for his chest, placing my hand over his heart. "You said no one would ever hurt me again." I tried so bad to stop him from leaving. I thought there might be something going on between the two of us, I thought there had been moments … Wasn't I important to him too? Suddenly I saw all the intimate pictures in front of me … all the moments that had happened … all the closeness … all the situations that had felt like in a romantic fairy tale instead of an apocalyptical ode.
"What kind of love shit is this?" Merle approached us. "I would love to have bad ass round. She is more fun than ya, baby brother. A good …" Daryl punched him hard, but Merle just laughed.
I was about to talk again when he made a step back. On his shirt, where my hand had been before, was blood, my blood. There was a bloody print of my hand, right above his heart. His eyes showed hurt. He looked at my hip. "Ya should put more pressure on ya wound. Ya loosin' too much blood." He looked at Merle - who was already in the woods - and was about to turn and walk away. "Daryl, don't …" I tried again, but he interrupted me with intense anger.
"He is family." He already hurt me by breaking his promise, but why did he look at me like it was my fault? "Daryl please stay with me." I didn't want to plead and beg like that. I had never felt so vulnerable.
Rick stepped forward. "You don't have to leave Daryl!" They talked while I was trying hard not to pass out and thought about staying or going with them. Maggie and Glenn were now behind me, watching the scene. Daryl started to walk away again. "Don't ask me to leave family!" He walked over to his brother who stood a few meters away between trees. I looked over to afraid-Maggie and beaten-up-Glenn. My heart ached but still I made a few steps in Daryl's direction.
Rick grabbed my arm. "You need first aid." I tried to break free and walk after Daryl, but I was already too weak and Rick held me tight. I eventually jumped out of his grab in Daryl direction and tried to run to him. It felt like flying over the ground while I not even made a real step forward. Daryl stopped, turned, and looked at me. "You'll stay with them." Now he looked me directly in the eyes. His words sounded like a warning.
"No." I sweated, my wound was bad. Daryl was right, I was losing blood and needed help. I already saw him in blurry shades. But I didn't care I wanted to stay with him, so I made my way towards him stumbling.
Suddenly he raised his cross bow and pointed it loosely in my direction. "You stay with them." Daryl's order was clear, but I still made a few steps towards him. "I won't leave you!" Suddenly my legs went limp and I fell on my knees. He didn't look at me, but behind me and I felt Rick's arms around me again. "Daryl, I …" But he turned and walked away.
Rick's grab grew stronger. "Let me go!" But Rick didn't let me go and Daryl didn't turn around, he just walked on to his brother. "Daryl!" But he disappeared with his brother between trees and bushes. Rick held me tight with both arms and I felt like I couldn't breathe. "Daryl." I silently whispered to myself realizing he was gone and never returning. I didn't have the strength to breath anymore and sunk into Rick's arms who carried me to the car. "You need help, just like Glenn and Maggie." He pushed me into the car and we drove away. Just like this we drove away … away from Daryl. I couldn't believe it.
"I am sorry." Glenn said to me, but I didn't look at him or the others. I rested my head against the window and closed my eyes. I had fought my way back to my group, back to him … I went through shit and hell and now he left me, left his family. I couldn't believe I made my way to my family just to lose him again.