WARNING: Allusions to stillbirth and non-con. TRIGGER WARNING!
Chapter Twelve
"I don't play with children."
A shot was fired and the sound that left her mother's lips was something hellish. Something she never wanted to hear again. He lunged and she closed her eyes, waiting for it to be over.
She wanted her mama back.
He couldn't breathe.
All around him, chaos reigned, his family fighting the beasts both living and dead, that attacked their burning home but his focus was on one.
The beast before him was handsome, visage deceptively opposite of its nature and he longed to expose its true self to the world. Everyone, everything deserved to know of the horrors behind the monster, his creator's mask.
They deserved to know how he was created, to see the beasts true face and he would be the one who revealed it all.
His onyx gaze flitted to the child hiding slightly behind him, crossbow trained on him even as tears streamed down her cheeks.
"Mama," She whimpered and he turned away.
"Mama," She called again but he ignored her, focusing on The Governor. He would protect her, even if it cost him his life…and his revenge.
"You're not what I expected when I pictured Merle's brother." Crooned a voice and Daryl snarled, fighting against the restraints binding his slim form to the bed.
A rough hand ghosted across his naked flesh making it crawl in revulsion and he swallowed roughly at the lust in those dark eyes.
"You look nothing alike, to be honest. He's callous but you," A zipper sounded and his heart began to pound viciously in his ears. "You're almost pretty. Too pretty."
His struggles grew wilder, fear blanketing every thought in his mind until rationalization was nothing but a distant memory.
"The perfect wife," His heart sank in his chest as his legs were forced apart and he was distantly aware of a slight pinch near his ankle.
All too suddenly lethargy took over, slowing his movements and terror flooded him. He let out an involuntary whimper and the Governor chuckled.
"Don't worry, dear. This is only the beginning."
The scream that left his throat when he was entered violently, wouldn't be his last by far.
How long had he been here?
Days? Weeks? Months? Years?
He didn't know.
Was there anyone looking for him? When he was younger he'd only had Merle…but Merle was dead, killed by the very man holding him captive and the thick, dirty silver color around his throat never failed to remind of that fact.
Rick would look for him, wouldn't he? The former cop had searched for Sophia where she'd gone missing, and Lori and Carl before that. He'd looked for Glenn and Maggie when they'd gone missing too. He would search for Daryl, was probably only seconds away from finding him and then he would be free. He shivered, pressing his naked frame closer to the grimy bars of his cage as the Governor's bedroom door opened.
He wouldn't beg.
Not for freedom.
Not for Food.
Not for his sanity.
His cage was opened and he struggled against the strong hand that dragged him from it by his hair, the muzzle on his mouth the only thing stopping him from biting the hell out of his assailant…again.
The Governor snarled angrily and threw him down on his bed, taking him violently. When he finished, he pulled out and smirked down at the hunter who lay silent, staring up at the ceiling.
He wouldn't beg.
This…this wasn't possible.
It explained so much, however.
The Governor had been…kinder to him for the past two weeks, allowing him to wash and feeding him more than just the scraps from dinners. The man had even allowed him to sleep in an actual bed, something he'd been denied since entering captivity six months ago. He hadn't questioned it at the time, his weary mind just grateful for the reprieve even if he was shackled to it whenever he was free of his cage.
Now, staring at the Governor's doctor who looked back with a pitying expression, he found himself wishing it was something else.
The Governor smiled proudly, eyes full of possession and he curled around his abdomen protectively.
Anything, anything else.
He was hiding.
It had been easier than he'd thought to play complacent so that the Governor had gotten comfortable enough to loosen his chains enough where he could easily slip them off and he'd immediately taken the first chance to run.
Now he was hidden behind the boiler in the main store house, his distended abdomen making it hard for him to curl as tight as he wanted to. His child kicked, sensing his stress and he rubbed his stomach soothingly even as his own heart beat pounded in his ears like rapid peals of thunder.
He had chained the doors of the room to make it difficult for the man to enter but his collar only reminded him that he was delaying the inevitable.
Fists pounded at the door.
"You can't keep me from our son!" The man taunted and Daryl paled curling tighter around his unborn child.
The pounding got louder before the door came off the hinges and he was yanked from his hiding spot.
The stillness of his child when he gave birth that night reminded that fate was often crueler to the Dixon's than it was to anyone else.
He was free.
Emptiness spread throughout his entire being as he stared up at the vision in front of him, taking in worried but kind blue eyes and the beard darkening a weary face.
After two long, horrifying years, he was finally being rescued from his prison and yet…he wasn't happy.
There was no sudden weight lifted off his shoulders, no sudden light at the end of the tunnel.
It just…happened.
The Governor had vanished to deal with a league of intruders and while Daryl would've once believed it was Rick and the others finally coming to his rescue he had long given up on such a thing.
So why now?
He stared at Rick, at Glenn, at Michonne and he couldn't understand it.
Why was it when he'd finally given up on life that they decided to reappear? Finally decided to save him.
Desolate grey eyes slid shut, forcing him away from the phantoms, and he slipped into unconsciousness, hoping it all would make sense when he awakened.
A horrific sound, a cross between a roar of fury and a vengeful scream echoed through the air, drawing the attention of everyone living and dead alike.
The Walkers, entranced by the sound, abandon their quests for food and moved toward the source, shuffling forward with soft snarls and groans. The Grimes, fighters, the only humans left on the battlefield fell back, eyes searching for the sound as the shuffled closer to their burning home. Hershel lowered his head, then faced the others.
"Start putting out the fires and salvaging what can be salvaged." He ordered and Lori glared at him.
"What about the others?! Rick and Shane are still out there!"
"Judith!" Carl cried as his baby sister ran over to them, her tiny face covered in tears. Blood dripped down her arm, but there wasn't a wound on her.
She ignored them all, rushing straight into her brother's arms.
"It's mama, Carl." She sobbed and his arms tightened around her, his own eyes burning.
"He'll be alright." He promised hoarsely. "They all will."
He hoped he wasn't lying.
He was beautiful.
A gorgeous nightmare, with his slender frame and abyssal gaze, he was something out of a grade A horror film.
He had created this beast.
He let out an elated laugh, shooting at the creature, who snarled when the bullet lodged itself into his stomach. Claws swung at him, barely missing his throat, leaving four shallow cuts in their wake and he chuckled cruelly.
"So beautiful." He cooed and Daryl growled at him, thick black poison dripping from his fangs and down his chin.
"Daryl!" He scowled as Grimes approached and called out his beloved's name.
"Daryl, Come back, darlin'." The man coaxed and his beast froze, then jerked a confused snarl leaving his lips.
The dark haired man from before moved to Grimes' side, eying Daryl anxiously.
"Rick, man I don't think this is a good idea." He urged and The Governor smirked.
"You should listen to you friend, Grimes. Look around you…The dead are coming and they're hungry."
The man didn't even look at him and he scowled only to gasp as he was tackled to the ground by his beloved, claws held high above his head.
"Daryl." He crooned lowly and the monster slowly calm, eyes melding back into their original storm blue even as he brought the claws down and plunged them into The Governor's chest.
The man beneath him gasped in agony then smirked.
The last thing he saw before his eyes went shut were three Walkers latching their teeth into his killer's tanned skin and Grimes' scream of anguish.
TBC..