Hey guys. Sorry I've been gone so long. I didn't intend for it *insert excuse here*. I can promise it won't happen again, but at this point, it probably will, so . . . yeah, sorry :(
Pretty dramatic filled chapter I have for you guys. Hope you all like it :)
wickedclownsmile: Took ya long enough! Ha ha, joking - glad you finally caught up! I missed your reviews. And yes, I can promise you that this season will be very exciting from my standpoint :)
HaloHunter89: I'm still mapping out who's going to leave with Abe and them. Its still really, really fuzzy but hopefully, who I do choose, won't disrupt things that badly. And yeah, I'm sorry I haven't been updating as frequently as I said I would. I'll try and get better :)
kat hatake90: I do plan on their relationship being a little friendlier than the one Daryl has with Sam, simply because . . . well, read on, you'll see ;)
Cerulean F. Revelle and DarylDixon'sLover (I did get your email - just keep reading! :)): Thank you for your reviews - they were awesome!
Love you guys bunches!
- Nagiana
PS: For those of you who didn't know, I wasn't alluding that Daryl was gay, just that Kirkman had come out and hinted in a couple of interviews, that he wouldn't have minded if Daryl turned out to be gay. Recently, though, Kirkman has backed up and said that, yes, Daryl was straight. So yay, at least I won't have to deal with that chestnut! :)
PPS: Sorry about the cliffhanger too. Damn, but I do love those ;)
Tessa handed Aayla off to Daryl and was moving towards him before she even registered her feet were moving her. Her eyes blurred with tears and her heart had a strange ache to it that she only remembered having when she had stood there in front of his empty coffin as they lowered it into the ground – as the two soldiers shoved the folded American flag into her arms. He had that soft smile on his face – his arms were held out to her and when she threw herself into them, they enfolded her in a warm embrace. She thought she had lost him, but now he standing there in front of her. She had lost him but now she had found him again.
A slightly awkward cough coming from behind her, brought her screeching back into reality and she pushed herself away from him, her eyes wide. "You were dead . . ." She murmured, almost in awe, and he shook his head.
"I was missing . . ."
It was her turn to shake her head. "No, you were dead. I buried you! I buried an empty coffin and they handed me a flag – you were dead, Jeremy!"
"I was MIA," He gently corrected her. "Missing in action – I was a verified POW! When I finally got home, It-it was all I could do to get back Evan and get myself as fixed as I could. And then all this shit happened and I . . ." He trailed off and shook his head. "Goddamnit Tess, you know I would never have stayed away from you unless I had to!"
"I can vouch for him, ma'am . . ." Abraham spoke as he stepped forward, his lips turning into a thin line. Jeremy turned a surprised look onto him and Abraham glanced at him before returning his gaze onto her. "I'm Abraham, and I was in charge of the Marine platoon that found him. Drug his ass up out of a hole in the ground. He looked bad. Hell, he still is a little fucked up in the head."
Tessa stayed silent, her eyes turning back and forth between Jeremy and Abraham several times. When she finally spoke, her voice was strained and quiet. "You were dead to me, Jeremy, and I moved on. I picked up the pieces and moved on. And now you come back? Now?" She gave a sharp laugh. "God sure has a sick sense of humor, doesn't he?"
She caught the light blonde hair hanging around Jeremy and her eyes widened. "Evan?" She spoke and the girl exactly Ethan's age, gave her a smile and a nod. Tessa's eyes became pained as she reached out to her and pulled her into her arms. She held her close, marveling at the fact that the last time she had held this girl this way, she had been little and damn near her own daughter. She wanted to laugh at the cruel joke the universe was playing on her at that moment.
She hardly registered Ethan moving slowly up to stand beside them, his eyes narrowed. "Jeremy . . . wait, Jeremy?" He asked, glanced at his mom, who pursed her lips and gave a jerky nod as she released Evan. Her arm remained around her shoulders, though, and Ethan shook his head and gave a laugh as Jeremy shot him a look.
"You actually remember me?" He asked, and Ethan nodded.
"Barely, but how could I not? You were the closest thing I had to a dad back then." He shook his head again. "But then you left – you were killed and we lost you! We lost you and Evan . . . We went back to Sam and maybe if we had been with you, things . . . things could have been better." Ethan snuck a look at Sam out of the corner of his eye, only to see the older man look away. He saw the small, sympathetic smile on Maggie's face as she took his hand, and the jealous one Glenn shot them in return. This intrigued Ethan . . . he'd have to ask Glenn about it later if his mom didn't get the story out of Maggie.
Jeremy nodded as his eyes landed on Daryl standing behind them. He smiled. "And you must be Daryl . . ." He spoke and Tessa immediately tensed as Jeremy moved past them and extended his hand to him. Daryl slowly nodded as he reached out and shook that proffered hand.
"And you're Jeremy." Jeremy nodded as well.
"Heard about me?" He asked, and Daryl shrugged.
"A little." Jeremy arched an eyebrow.
"Well then, you have me at a disadvantage. I happen to know a lot about you." He told him and Daryl gave another, silent nod as Tessa stepped forward. She stepped in-between them and turned a cold look onto Jeremy.
"Daryl is my husband, Jeremy. We have two kids – twins. Danny and Aayla . . ." She trailed off and he took notice of the two babies, the girl in Daryl's arms and the boy still in Maggie's. His face softened further as he willingly backed away and reached out behind him. He felt Rosita immediately take ahold of his hand, where he pulled her into him. His arm wrapped around her waist and he saw Tessa recoil, her eyes wide as he smiled.
"And this is Rosita. She's my girl." He told her, his voice tripping over 'girl'. Abraham looked away, his arms crossing in front of his chest, and the look of unease that flitted over the second group's features, was noticeable. It wasn't long ago that Abraham and Jeremy had fought over her like two dogs after a bone – they couldn't help but wonder if Abraham had finally managed to let it go.
But he seemed like he did. When he didn't march forward and object, Rosita smiled as her and Tessa jerkily shook hands. There was a tenuous peace there, it seemed like, one that Rick didn't feel like he was in the wrong for interrupting.
"We need to find a way out of here." He told them, and they nodded as Maggie stepped forward and handed Danny off to Tessa. She took him gladly, and situated him on her hip before taking Aayla from Daryl. Whatever happened next, Daryl's gun arm would be needed.
Evan darted forward and reached out for Danny, silently offering to take him so that she wouldn't have support that much weight. Tessa gave her a thankful smile and readily handed him off to her, where she carefully situated him.
"We ain' got weapons." Daryl spoke up, and Jeremy gave a shrug.
"Look around. We can make weapons." He spoke, and Rick nodded in agreement.
"Jeremy's right. All these loose boards and nails . . . we can use them as blunt weapons – put the nails in-between out fingers. We can do it."
"Before you guys got in here, did you find Tyrese?" Sasha asked them, and Tessa shook her head as she gave her an apologetic smile.
"No, we didn't. We assumed he was with you guys . . ." She replied, and Sasha shook her head.
"No. It was me, Bob, Maggie and Sam. We eventually met up with Glenn, Jeremy and the others. We were here when you guys got here, obviously."
That was when Maggie's eyebrows furrowed in confusion and she stepped forward. "Wait, where's Wren? W-where's Beth?"
They grew silent for a moment until Ethan spoke, his voice quiet and mournful. "We were hidin' out in a funeral home. Thought we had boarded up the house good – covered our tracks good. We were attacked and overrun, though, and while me and deddy distracted 'em, we told momma and the girls to run. When we broke free, we ran off to where we told them to wait and met up with momma. She had got separated with the girls, though, and we finally caught up with them, it was . . ." He looked away and swallowed hard. His jaw hardened. "It was just in time to see the both of them get stuffed into a car."
Maggie gasped, her eyes filling with tears, and Daryl nodded. "Black car, with a white cross across tha back windshield. We followed them as far as we could, but . . . eventually, we lost 'em."
Maggie broke out into a sob and collapsed, not into Glenn's arms like they had expected, but into Sam's. He gently shushed her as he wrapped his arms around her and Tessa and Daryl exchanged a 'what-the-fuck?' look. She definitely made it her business to get to the bottom of what the Hell had happened, when she could.
"But she's alive?" Maggie eventually asked, as she dried her tears and disentangled herself from Sam's arms. Daryl nodded.
"As far as we know – she's alive. Tha both of 'em." He spoke, directing his last words to his son, in particular, who did not answer.
Rick gave a terse nod then. "Well, let's get out of here and then we'll find them, okay? One thing at a time . . ."
They all nodded in agreement before settling down to making whatever kind of makeshift weapons they could. Belts were wrapped around their knuckles, boards were pulled up and sharped into stakes, nails were slid in-between fingers. As Maggie sharped a board she had pulled up, Tessa hooked her hand around her elbow and steered her off a way. Maggie's eyes were wide and surprised as Tessa moved to face her.
"Okay, what the Hell is up with you, Sam and Glenn?"
"Tess, I don't -"
"Maggie, we are about to go into one Hell of a firefight. Excuse me if I want to know if this sudden little spat, is gonna get in the way?"
Maggie gazed at her for a moment before swallowing hard. "I'm . . . Jesus, how do I say this? I'm . . . divorcing, Glenn." She told her and immediately, Tessa's eyes widened in stunned shock.
"You . . . your what?" Maggie nodded.
"It . . . came as a shock to me too, but . . . once I thought about it, I realized how much it made sense to me." Tessa gave a laugh and a grin.
"And going to who? Sam?"
Maggie stayed silent at her words and the laugh and grin faded from Tessa's lips. "Oh sweet God, you are. What are you . . . are you serious?" Maggie gave another, firmer nod.
"We were stuck together, Tess, and Sam, he . . . he was there for me!" She told her, and Tessa shook her head.
"Honey, you were hurt! You didn't know if Glenn was alive or dead and you stuck to someone who made you feel comfortable! I know – I was there!" Maggie stubbornly shook her head.
"There's more, though. Glenn, he's been making me feel stifled lately. He's been treating me like a Princess, like I'm-I'm breakable! Sam, he gives me distance when I need it and he's there for me when I do. But most of all, he doesn't treat me like I'm breakable! He lets me fight but he's always there to back me up. I feel like more of a team with Sam than I do Glenn."
Tessa stayed silent throughout Maggie's monologue and when she was done, Tessa gave a smile. "I won't pretend to understand this. But . . . whatever makes you happy, honey, then I guess . . . I guess I can't complain. I just hope this works out for you." She told her, and Maggie gave her a thankful smile and a brief, tight hug.
"Okay, four of those pricks are comin' our way . . ." Daryl spoke up from over by the traincar's entrance, and Maggie and Tessa immediately broke apart. They shot each other a good luck smile before Tessa darted over to Evan, where she took back one of the twins. They hung near the back while everyone else who had weapons, grouped around the traincar's doors.
"Ya'll know what to do. Go for their eyes first, then their throats."
"Get your backs against the walls before we open the door." They called from outside and the words and voice immediately sent a tense, jumpy air through the group. They remained grouped around the entrance, though, staying as absolutely quiet as they could.
Until they opened a hatch on the roof.
Tessa felt her heart jump up into her throat as a can was dropped down into the traincar that immediately began spewing gas. "Shit - flashbang!"
"Move!"
It was Jeremy and Abraham who spoke, and they all ran to the back of the traincar as the thing went off, filling the car with a loud bang, flash and then smoke. They were wracked with coughs and through the smoke and the coughing, they heard the door to the car being thrown open. Someone entered and Tessa felt members of their group leave them as she pressed Danny's head into her shirt to spare him the brunt of the gas. She prayed Evan was doing the same to Aayla and when the door slid shut and the smoke finally dissipated, she looked around, finding Rick, Daryl, Ethan, Bob and Jeremy gone.
The sounds of a buzz saw filled the air as they were all plopped down in front of a metal feeding trough. Daryl and Ethan came down to their knees struggling and screaming behind their gags, but eventually, they hit their knees. They felt zip ties being tightened around their ankles, as well as their wrists and immediately began looking around – taking as much of their surrounding in as they could. Bob was first, then came Rick, Daryl, Ethan and Jeremy. The last three guys lined up alongside them, were three men they didn't know.
"Hey, would ya look at this one! Think we could take this guy?"
"Fuck, look at him – he's a fuckin' bull, man! Damn right we can take him! We'd have enough meat for a while."
"I mean, with his tattoos and all . . ."
There was a snort of laughter. "We've taken people with tattoos before, dude."
"Yeah, I know that, but we've always cut around them. This guy, though . . . he covered in them! We won't be able to cut around them . . ."
Jeremy felt everyone's eyes on him when they realized the conversation between the two men, were about him. He turned his head and his eyes crossed with Ethan's fearful ones before moving on to Daryl and Rick's alarmed ones. The metallic sound of sharpening knives, filled their ears, as well as the whimpers of the men on the end of the line. Daryl felt Ethan trembling beside him and he wanted to tell him it was alright – that they'd get out of this like they had everything else, but couldn't. It wasn't just because there was a gag in his mouth, but it was also because he just wasn't sure. They sure seemed to be deep in shit this time.
Rick and Jeremy, however, were as calm as could be. Jeremy knew flat out he could attribute his calmness to his military training. SEALs were put through every hardship imaginable – they wanted their soldiers tough as nails and who could stay calm and think through any situation they were put in. And while he was indeed kneeling there, feeling his thoughts whirl on how they could get out of this situation, he knew Rick was just stone cold angry. He had known men who got like that. That in order to stay calm, they just got angry. It was a little bit of a contradiction, he knew, but nonetheless, he had seen it happen. Those men almost always didn't last, though. You got angry, you might be calm, yeah, but you also ran the risk of doing stupid shit.
Their attentions were diverted by a bald guy wearing a plastic apron and holding a metal baseball bat, moved slowly past them to the end of the line. A whimpering guy with platinum blonde hair was who he had chosen to stand behind, and all of them swallowed hard. Poor fucker . . . Jeremy thought and felt Ethan jump and cringe when the baseball bat came down hard and with a sickening 'thunk', on the poor guy's head. Jeremy closed his eyes at the last minute and when he opened him, it was only to see the guy leaning over the metal trough, right when the other reached over, grasped his head by the hair and upon pulling his head up, ran his dangerously sharpened knife across his throat. Blood splattered into the trough and the other men started yelling in fear and alarm as they continued to kneel there, unwavering and trying to be calm. Ethan was trembling between him and Daryl. He knew he was trying to be strong but by the wet sheen in his eyes, he knew it was hard. The kid had killed nothing but Charlie's up until this point. He was pleased to see the murder of a living, innocent human being, could still rattle him.
There was another wet 'thwack' and the second to last guy found his throat slit before they pushed him over the metal trough. There was one more guy separating Jeremy from getting his throat slit, and he found his eyes crossing with Daryl's then. They held gazes and something seemed to pass between them then. Daryl gave a jerky nod, and Jeremy repeated it as the guy beside him met the same grisly end as the other two.
Jeremy grit his teeth when he felt the cool, wet metal of the baseball bat meet the side of his head, but they were interrupted by Gareth entering the room, an opened notebook in his head. "Hey guys . . ."
The baseball bat disappeared from the side of his head, and Jeremy couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. "What are your shot counts?"
"Thirty-eight." The one holding the baseball bat, spoke, and Gareth nodded as he jotted the number down in the notebook. Rick glanced at Jeremy as he knelt there, noticed the big man's seemingly calm demeanor, before casting his gaze at the trembling Ethan and the heaving Daryl. His eye widened when the baseball man reared back, ready to hit Jeremy, but was interrupted by Gareth again.
"Hey . . . your shot count?"
The two men glanced at each other before the baseball man allowed the bat to fall limply by his side. The man with the knife gave him an apologetic look. "Jesus, I'm sorry man, I lost count. It's my first roundup -"
"When you're done here, go back to your point and count the shells . . ." Gareth spoke, his voice hinting that he was talking to an idiot. "Kaley won't be gathering them until tomorrow, anyway."
Gareth stepped forward and swept his hand over them. "So . . . five from A, three from D . . ." Bob's muffled voice split through the air, and eventually, Gareth settled him with a polite look. "What?" He asked as he took the gag out of his mouth, and Bob heaved for a breath.
"Don't do this! We can fix this!"
"No," Garth replied with a shake of his head. "We can't -"
"You don't have to do this!" Bob interrupted him, and Gareth let out a sound of impatience as he took a step back. "We told you, there's a way out of all this. You just have to take a chance!" He glanced down the line at Rick and the others, before returning his gaze onto Gareth. "We have a man who knows how to stop all this. He has a cure – all we have to do is get him to Washington. You don't have to do this, man – we can put the world back to what it was!"
Gareth gave him an almost apologetic look. He shook his head. "Can't go back, Bob." He spoke before he reached forward and replaced the gag in his mouth. They admitted, he had a point, but they were all enthralled by the sight of him kneeling down in front of Rick then, where he pulled the gag out of the infuriated man's mouth next.
"Saw you go into the woods with a bag." He spoke with a heaved sigh. "And come out without it. I had to pull my spotters back before we could go look for it. What was in it?" When Rick didn't answer him, simply continued to kneel there, glaring at him, Gareth chose to go another route. "So you hid it . . . case things went bad." He glanced at the rest of them. "Smart. Still, we'll find it. Eventually. But, it's too dangerous to go out there right now . . ." He leaned forward then after withdrawing his knife, and after hooking a hand around Bob's neck, brought him forward. Bob let out a startled sound, as Gareth returned his eyes to Rick. "So . . . what was in it? I'm curious. 'Cause it was . . . one, big bag."
Rick continued to stay silent, and Gareth rolled his eyes. "You're really gonna make me do this?" He asked, with a nod in Bob's general direction.
"Well, let me take you out there," Rick finally spoke up, his voice calm, cool, and collected – almost conversational, in a way. "But let me take the kid. Ethan and I can show you." He caught the look of gratefulness in Daryl's eyes that he shot Rick, but he knew Gareth wouldn't take it. He was too smart – too paranoid. It was worth a shot, though. Ethan didn't need to be there with them. Ethan needed to be back in the car with Tessa and his siblings, not kneeling there with them about to die bleeding like a pig. He just had the misfortune to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when they were pulling people blind through the smoke.
Eventually, Gareth shook his head. "Not going to happen. This might, though -" The point of his knife grew closer to Bob's eye, when Rick interrupted him.
"There was guns and ammo. AK-47, .44 Magnum . . . automatic weapons, knives . . . a night scope, a . . . compound bow and . . . a machete with an r-red handle." He shot him a look of utter hatred then. "That's what I'm gonna use to kill you."
That's when they heard the gunshots.
