Disclaimer: I no own Walking Dead
Warrior Angel
Once Charlotte had introduced herself and the name of the community they now resided in, she left the room and chained the door. The group had no means of escape. All the windows had bars on them and they were on the third floor, making jumping out of the question. Much of the group went to the windows, to see what was going on in the community.
"Rick, those are some big guns that them guards are carrying." T-Dog said. Men were walking on top of the wall, holding military standard rifles. Everywhere the group looked, they saw armed guards.
"Well, that makes jumping the wall out of the question." Rick said. Daryl, who was the only group member away from the windows, paced the length of the room. The man hadn't settled since Charlotte had left them there. Carl watched him pace, his gaze landed on the pair of angel wings on Daryl's back whenever the hunter turned his back to him. He shifted his gaze to his father.
"I don't get what those people were saying. Why'd they keep calling Daryl, Zerachial?" Carl asked.
"It's an Archangel, though I don't understand why they insist on putting so much emphasis on the "chial" part. They're pronouncing the name wrong." Hershel cut in.
"How do you pronounce it?" Beth spoke up.
"It's Zerachiel, with an "e". He's an angel from the Jewish religion. They call him the Angel of Healing. I don't remember too much about the angel, but I guess I can understand why these people would believe in such a thing. Believing in something that can heal them all must of been what's kept all these people going, thinking there's a cure for all of this." Hershel explained. Daryl had stopped pacing, so he could listen to what Hershel was saying.
"You ever rem'mber hearing s'mthin' called The Authority bein' mentioned?" Daryl asked. Hershel shook his head.
"No, I have a feeling that they made that part up."
"Wait, what's an Archangel?" Carl asked "You mentioned it earlier." Hershel looked over at Carl as he answered.
"It's an angel of a high rank. Zerachiel is one of the seven archangels in The Book of Enoch." Hershel told him.
"How do you know all this stuff, I thought you were a Christian." Glenn asked curiously.
"I am, " Hershel said "but my great grandmother was a devoted Jew and she often forced me to learn the Jewish religion, especially the angels. She had a fascination with them."
"It's not safe to be around these people." Rick cut in. "We need to find a way out of here, fast."
"Rick, they've probably got every entrance to this place heavily armed. How're we supposed to get out?" Glenn argued.
"I don't know, but we really don't have much of a choice." Rick answered.
"These people think Daryl's an angel, we can use that to our advantage. They're much more willing to trust all of us if we let them believe we're who they think we are." Hershel said.
"A bunch of Daryl followers who've come to heal everyone?" Lori asked. "I don't know, that's a ruse I don't think I could keep up." Rick glared at his wife, not liking that had she insulted the hunter so openly.
"I ain't no damn angel and I ain't goin' to pretend to be one neither." Daryl snapped. "These people r' delusional chickn' shits and I ain't want anythin' to do with im'. Let's just git the hell outta here n' back out in the woods where thngs' make sense." He said angrily.
"It ain't that simple, Daryl." Rick said. He was going to say more, but was cut off by the sound of chains clinking just outside the locked door. Everyone turned their attention to piece of wood as it slowly creaked open. Charlotte was standing on the other side of the door, smiling at them. A large group of armed men were standing behind her.
"Preacher Malory wishes to see now, Zerachial." She said with an almost insane grin. Daryl took a step back, wanting to get away from her.
"I th'nk I'll stay here." Daryl said. Charlotte's smile faltered.
"Please your Holiness, Preacher Malory is waiting." She insisted.
"I ain't goin' anywhere w'thout ma people." Daryl said stubbornly. Charlotte's face lit up at the request.
"Oh, of course. We will take The Authority with us. Preacher Malory was eager to meet him as well." She said.
"I mean the whole group." Daryl said with a low voice. A hint of agitation flickered through Charlotte for a brief moment. It was gone in a split second.
"I'm sorry your Holiness, but we cannot take all your holy followers. Don't you worry, though. By time you return from your meeting with Preacher Malory, everyone will have been transferred to a room much more suitable of your status." She said reassuringly, Daryl wasn't buying it. He didn't budge and only glared at the woman like she was completely mental, which she probably was. Rick walked up to Daryl and gave him a slight nudge.
"Just play along. Being uncooperative with these people will only do us harm." Rick whispered in Daryl's ear. The hunter gave Rick a sideways glare. Still, Daryl wouldn't move. He stood there, contemplating. Rick continued to give him looks, telling him to go. He wanted nothing to do with these people but he didn't seem to have a choice. Finally, Daryl caved. He let out a sigh and slowly walked over to Charlotte and her men. Rick followed after the hunter. Charlotte's face lit up as she and her men let the two through.
Charlotte turned to most of her men. "Take Zerachial's followers to the Shrine Room and get them comfortable. We will meet you there shortly after our visit with Preacher Jack." The men nodded. Charlotte turned to the remaining four men. "You men and myself with guide Zerachial and his adviser to the Preacher. Come, let us go now." Daryl and Rick were pushed in the middle of the four men while Charlotte led the way. They walked down the stairs and out of the building. They were immediately swarmed by a large crowd of people. Daryl flinched at the sight of them while Rick stood, surprised by the amount of people that lived in the town. The crowd let them through but wept in happiness as they watched them pass.
"Zerachial!" Woman, men, and children alike cheered at them. Many wailed in joy when they saw Daryl's wings. Some rushed up to them, putting their hands on Daryl's back, touching the wings. They mumbled silent prayers as they did so. Daryl jumped and flinched away from the touching. His hands balled into fists and his breathing began to get ragged. Rick caught onto what was happening. Daryl was panicking. He hated being touched, the whole group knew that. The hunter especially hated it when someone touched his back, which all these people were doing.
Rick took action. He wrapped an arm around Daryl, blocking the wings from the crowd. Daryl instinctively tried to pull himself out of Rick's grasp. "Calm down," Rick whispered to him "It's just me. You've got to get yourself under control." Once Daryl realized it was just Rick holding onto him, he stopped jumping around almost immediately. Daryl had come to trust Rick with his life and was one of the few people Daryl allowed to touch him.
"M' really wishn' I had ma crossbow right now." The hunter said in a barley audible whisper. Rick made no comment about how shaky his voice was.
"We'll get it back. We'll get all our weapons back. But first, you need breath and calm the hell down." Rick said. His voice held no malice or agitation, just concern for his friend who looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack. The crowd continued to surround them, shouting and praying. Many still tried to touch Daryl's wings but was blocked by Rick. A hand touched Daryl's face. He coiled away from it, as if he had been hit. Rick pulled the hunter closer to him.
"Ya'll keep yer hands off of him." He snapped at the crowd. Many obeyed and backed off, but still watched them with expectant eyes. Finally, they came upon a large white house with thick pillars. Charlotte led them inside the building. The crowd didn't follow them in, but they all fought with each other to look through the windows.
"Go tell Preacher Malory we have arrived." Charlotte commanded. Two of the four men nodded and ran up the stairs. "Come," She said to Rick and Daryl. "Let us go wait in the living room." She said as she gestured to a separate room to their left. Rick looked at Daryl, who didn't seem to even realize that he was clinging on to Rick's free arm for dear life. His eyes were wild and his chest was heaving. The man trembled as his eyes shifted to the windows, which were packed with people. Finally, a group of guards started to push the crowd away from the house. The group began to disperse, but their eyes were still drawn to the house.
"Um, can ya'll give us a minute?" Charlotte, seemingly unaware of Daryl's predicament, gave them a happy nod and walked into the living room, followed by the other two men. Rick turned to Daryl again. "Daryl?" He got no response. Rick grabbed the man by his shoulders. "Daryl!" The hunter's wild eyes shot up to the former sheriff. Rick carefully led Daryl to a wall and urged the man to lean on it. "Hey, why don't you sit down for a minute?" In response, the hunter slid down the wall, letting his behind hit the floor. Rick squatted down and let go of the man's shoulders. "Breath, Daryl. You're giving yourself a panic attack." Rick insisted.
"Too m'ny peopl'" Daryl mumbled.
"I know. Don't worry about them, just look at me." Rick tried to get Daryl to look him in the eye. Daryl fought with him a little bit but easily caved. The hunter finally got himself to slow his breathing and he wild look in his eyes began to settle as the adrenalin in his system started to fizzle out. He closed his blue eyes and focused on getting himself to stop shaking.
Daryl's shoulders slumped in relief as the panic attack passed. He leaned his head against the wall and let his eyes flutter back open. Rick gave him a reassuring smile. His hands were still a bit shaky, but he felt much better.
"You good?" Rick asked. Daryl nodded.
"F'you ever tell the group 'bout this, I'll skin you 'live" Daryl half-heartily threatened. Rick chuckled and began to help Daryl to his feet.
"I'll remember that." Rick said with amusement. Once Daryl was able to steady his footing, they walked to the living room. Charlotte's men were gone but a man, who looked to be in his seventies, was sitting across from her on an old couch. He a thin, wrinkled man with a calm smile. He wore a priest's robes. The man stood and walked over to them as they walked in.
"You're majesty." He bowed as he spoke. He stood back up and looked Daryl in the eye. "It's so great to finally meet you. My name is Preacher Malory and I'm the leader of this holy settlement, dedicated to you. Daryl stared at him with wide, confused eyes. Preacher Malory turned to Rick. "And you must be The Authority. What an honor. I can only weep that I, myself, am not in your shoes. Please, forgive me for my envying sinfulness." Daryl and Rick shared a "what the fuck?" look before setting their gaze back on the elderly man.
"s'cool, man." Daryl said awkwardly, having absolutely no clue what to say. Rick let out an amused snort. Without looking, the hunter gave a him a quick kick to the shin. Daryl continued to stare at the older man, ignoring Rick's grunt of pain. Preacher Malory just grinned at them, not seeming to notice the awkward tension between the two younger man. Charlotte had the same strange grin that Preacher Malory had on her face. Rick swallowed a lump in his throat. He really hoped this didn't go downhill.
Chapter 2, thank you to all the people who have reviewed. Here, we meet Preacher Malory. More to come and please to me what you thought of this chapter.