AN/ this chapter was hard to write and contains attempted rape please skip over if it bothers you. Reviews are encouraged.
After wandering around for awhile she found Daryl out by an old fireplace half standing. From what she could tell he set up his own camp away from everyone else. He was sharpening his hunting knife when she walked up. "Do you sleep out here?" She asked
"Don't care much for sleeping close to T-Dog." He grumbled.
"Like to be alone while you sleep?" She arched an eyebrow.
"These days." He sheathed his knife back in his belt and stood up. Standing only a few inches taller than her, he came close looking down at her. "You want something?"
Standing her ground she replied "I want you to take me back to where you found me." He snorted.
"Want in one hand and shit in the other and see which one fills up." He tried walking away from her but she was quick and grabbed his arm.
"I have supplies that are needed and I need you to guide me back." She glared at him, trying to show that she was not afraid of him.
"I'll take you." He paused. She knew there would be a stipulation. "But I get the attic."
"You want to take my bed?" She asked a little surprised.
He shook his arm free from her grasp. "I get the attic and I'll take you where you want to go." He turned away from her and ducked into his tent.
"I wanna leave in a little bit!" Agatha exclaimed. She didn't hear a response, so she assumed it was positive.
She went and found Rick and updated him on her plans he was quite agreeable to the terms and suggested that she sleep in the room with him, Lori, and Carl. Agatha assured him she would be fine on her own. He provided her with a compass, map, and gas can full of gas warning her to try not use all of it. Lori was there of course mothering her and making sure she was fine with going out there with Daryl. Agatha expressed to Lori that she would be fine and with a sloppy double cheek kiss to Carl she followed Daryl into the woods, her trusty bat in hand.
After what seemed like forever she started to recognize her surroundings and took the lead back to the road she started. Cautiously she walked out of the tree line and scoped out the surrounding area for any walkers. Daryl mean while kept lookout on the road while Agatha poured some of the gas into the tank and crossed her fingers that it would start up, but before she could even open the drivers door Daryl pushed her out of the way. "I'm driving girl." He snapped.
"Excuse me but this is my truck." She huffed.
"You don't know where your going." He smirked.
"Fine, chauffeur me around then." She spit.
"Just get in." He threw open the door and set his bow on the center console. Agatha jumped in on the passengers side. He seemed to be puzzled on how to get it started.
L"Underneath the wires are there just twist them together to start it." She smiled knowing he didn't know what he was doing.
"How do you know how to hot wire a car?" He questioned.
"I come from a family of police officers. How do you think?"
"Since this went so smooth how do you feel about making a run into town?" He asked.
"I'm okay with it. But Uncle Rick is going to be mad at you." She over exaggerated.
"I'll tell him you kidnapped me." He replied harshly.
"Just drive."
Agatha fiddled with the radio for a bit seeing if they could get a signal on anything when that didn't work she turned it off and rolled down her window to light a cigarette. Without missing a beat she pulled one out for Daryl and lit it for him. Grumbling a thank you he accepted it and took a long drag.
"I want to change the terms of our deal." She stated.
"No."
"Yes, I think we should share the attic. It's big enough." She argued.
"What do you think 'no' means girl." He started to get angry. Appalled by the notion of sharing space with a bumbling little girl.
"How young do you think I am?" She snapped. "I'm 26. Probably 27 by now."
"Don't change my answer." Daryl looked at her noticing that she was in fact a woman, but she looked younger with the pigtails. He reached over and tugged on one. "These are for little girls." She turned scarlet and didn't reply.
When they reached the edge of town, he parked the truck grabbed his crossbow and told her to stay put. She was happy to oblige considering she wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. Agatha watched as he slinked around the first building to clear it of walkers. After a few moments she watched as he came back into view reloading his weapon. He curled a finger at her indicating her to follow. She climbed out of the truck and followed him in the the small general store he cleared.
"You stay here and grab what you think we'll need. I'm going to see if I can find somewhere I can get my own smokes." Daryl ordered. She nodded at him understanding.
Meanwhile Agatha saw a duffle bag hanging on a display and pulled it down, filling it up with various things, rope some duct tape and even chains. With the duffle bag weighed down she went and placed it into the bed of the truck. After securing it, she went back inside and looked for the stock room. Knowing that places like this had snacks but were already gone up front, most people didn't even think to raid the stock room. She found what she was looking for and loaded the boxes of beef jerky, various nuts, and candy.
Agatha waited by the truck for awhile before starting to worry that Daryl might not come back. Thinking about how her Uncle Rick was going to be mad at her for loosing him, she poured more gas into the gas can and started up the truck. Going over what she was going to say to the rest of the group she slowly pulled out intending to turn around she felt the truck jolt and heard a clunk.
Looking out the rear view mirror, she saw Daryl in the bed of the truck with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Smiling to herself she pulled away from town. When they got the highway Daryl yelled for her to pull over to which she obliged. He hopped out of the bed and jerked open the drivers side door.
"Were you gonna leave me?" He growled.
"You weren't back and I wasn't gonna stay longer than I have to. I didn't know where you were or what you were doing." She defended herself.
"Suppose next time I'll whistle or something to signal you."
"Next time?"
"You're quiet. Glenn is even louder than you. Good trait to have in a hunting partner." He smirked at her.
"Oh we're going hunting now?" She pressed.
"Maybe." He pulled on her arm to coax her out of the truck so he could get into the drivers seat. When she was settled onto the other side they made their way back to the farm.
Pulling up to the farm seemed like a frenzy of "Thank God you're alives". Agatha thought that may have been because it was almost dark and they were late. Rick gave her a stern look and she felt like a little girl again. He walked up and asked what took so long. "His fault." she said pointing to Daryl. He gave her another stern look. "The run to the truck went so well that we decided to make a run into town."
"I'm not mad but I am disappointed." He walked away.
"That's even worse!" She yelled at his retreating back.
"You should've just let me take the blame." Daryl was standing right behind her without her knowing and made her jump when he spoke.
"Maybe next time. But I could have said no if I really didn't want to go." She walked away from him but before putting too much distance she turned around and studied the man. He was not much taller than her and didn't have too much weight on her either but with his tanned skin brown hair and badass attitude she figured he was attractive. "Next time though, you're taking all the blame." She heard him chuckle while she walked away.
Dinner again was a quiet affair. She was situated in between Rick and Daryl again. Shane was still missing. Locked up in the shed she reckoned, didn't really matter to her much. But curiosity won over and leaning into Daryl she whispered "Did you ever get around to doing something with that body?" He side glanced at her she could see a twinkle of mischief in his eyes "Nope." He replied. She had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing while she asked her Uncle the same question. "He's still in there!" he yelled. Agatha couldn't hold it in anymore and started laughing followed by Daryl. They both received shocked and curious looks from everybody but T-Dog when it dawned on him why Rick raced outside and joined the other 2 in laughing.
Agatha followed her uncle outside and helped carry the corpse to the bed of this little blue Chevy to take out to the field to be burned. She had hoped that he would leave Shane in there but sadly the cuffs came off and he was released.
Rick called Agatha over to join the conversation with Shane. "Now we need to make sure this doesn't happen again." Rick placed his hand on Agathas shoulder. "She is blood and nothing will change that. But Shane you are my brother but I can't trust you over her anymore and both of you know why." She could literally see the wheels turning in Shanes head. She wondered what he would try next. "Now let's go inside and enjoy the night."
Agatha finished her dinner in the kitchen while watching the women clean up. She was thankful she had another job in the group that didn't involve cleaning. After eating she made her way to the attic door and noticed that it was open. All she wanted was her book and he could have the rest. So she climbed up and met such a sight. Daryl was wearing nothing but a shirt, she felt her stomach clench from shock of seeing his toned, tanned, and bite worthy behind. She prayed he hadn't heard her and ducked back down the stairs.
Agatha decided to take a walk in the cool night air and maybe rinse herself off at one of the water pumps. She went out the front door and made her way to her truck to grab a few toiletries she had left in there. With the bag she was after in one hand and her bat in the other she went out to the barn to the well that was close to it to give her some privacy. She glanced around and thought she was alone so she stripped down to her bra and underwear. Between the cool air and the even colder water her skin felt like it tightened too much with goose pimples. She tried to rush the bath but there is only so much you can do in the dark and rushing was not one of them. Agatha was about to start on her hair when she felt a hand grasp her arm. She cried out but the other hand closed off her mouth.
"You think you can just show up and take over you little cunt?" It was Shane and panic ripped through her. He threw her onto the ground and grabbed both her hands above her head and straddled her naked form.
"I'm going to kill you Shane." She said with as much courage as she could muster. He lifted his left hand and it came crashing down against her right cheek. She could feel her cheek bone crack.
"I always knew you would grow into that baby fat of yours. Now look at you." His eyes traveled from her face to her breasts. "Let's take a look shall we." He tore her bra off, exposing her to the cool night air. "Nice." He kneaded her breasts one by one with his left hand while she tried to hold back the vomit that was sure going to come up.
She cried out hoping someone would hear her and she was met with another blow to the face. "You shut the fuck up!" He seethed. She screamed and he hit her in the ribs which took the air right out of her lungs. He cackled at her attempt to breathe and took the opportunity to rip her panties off too. "I'll show you who's in charge around here bitch."
But before he could do any more damage she witnessed the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. A crossbow came crashing down on the back of Shanes head and with one blow he was out. She cried out gaining her breath back and desperately tried to get Shane off of her. Daryl lifted Shane off of her and she quickly crawled away from him. Feeling some relief she started to cry and buried her face in the grass under her.
"Agatha it's over he's out." She heard Daryl say although with the adrenaline coursing through her he sounded far away and not only feet away. He let her cry in the dirt. She had been sexually assaulted and needed to calm down. He felt angry mostly at himself for not following her when he first saw her leave. He thought it was too dangerous for her to be out here by herself with Shane free, and he was right. He'd heard her cry out through the open attic window and bolted out the front door looking for her. If she hadn't have screamed he probably would have found her too late. Daryl knew Shane would have killed her.
Now looking at her she looked broken and small. He knew she wouldn't stay that way. He knew she could fight and was tough as nails. But being vulnerable like that can take a piece of you and it was hard getting that piece back. He looked around for her clothes and noticed they had been trampled in the mud. So he took off his jacket and drapped it over her. He wasn't surprised she flinched and backed away slightly, but took the jacket which barely covered her top half. So he stripped his shirt off and held it out to her. She looked at him and accepted the shirt. He held his hand out for her to take and she closed her hand around his while lifting herself up. He noticed she was shaking badly and need to get inside to get warm. Turning his back to give her a sense of privacy she slipped his shirt on and tied his jacket around her waist.
"I'm sorry." He said quietly. He walked over to her boots and helped them on her. Using him to balance, he slipped them onto her feet while trying to avoid touching her, for which she was greatful.
After helping her with her boots Daryl took out a plastic zip tie from the jacket she was wearing it was small but he had enough of them to tie Shanes wrists together and ankles. He also used them to bind the man's wrists to his ankles. "Don't want him getting away." He said. Daryl picked up his cross bow and held out his hand to Agatha. She took his hand and he walked her slowly back to the house.
On the porch they could see Glenn and T-Dog guns in hand coming towards them. Daryl stood in between her and the other men.
"Go get Rick, Glenn. T-Dog go out to the barn well pump and watch Shane for me. If he wakes and tries to get away, kill him." He ordered. Glenn stepped back into the house. And T-Dog took off for the barn. Andrea was the first to come out.
"What the hell is going on Dixon. Glenn is yelling up a storm in there for Rick." She walked up to the two of them and spotted Agatha in her state of undress. "Oh dear lord what the hell happened." Andrea stepped to Agatha and wrapped her arms around her in an attempt to comfort.
"I think you should go to the barn and ask your pal Shane what happened." Daryl fumed. Andrea pulled away and glanced at Daryl, she glared at him and took off for the barn pulling her gun out of her holster.
Pulling Agatha up the stairs he guided her into a bedroom off the main entrance and sat her down on the crisp clean bed. Rick came in just as Daryl was shutting the door to give them privacy.
"What the hell happened." He knelt down in front of Agatha and took her face in his hands. She tried to speak but shock had set in, all that would she could say was jibberish.
"He was in the middle of raping her when I knocked him out." Daryl answered for her.
"Who?" Rick asked looking up at Daryl over his shoulder.
"Shane." Agatha said in a quiet and pained voice.
"Got him tied up with T-Dog and Andrea watching him." Daryl added.
Rick stood up looked at Agatha and walked out of the room and out of the house. Herschel came In with his medical kit and Patricia with a blanket. Daryl excused himself and took off for the barn.
When he got there Rick had his gun pointed at the knocked out Shane with Andrea trying to plead for his life.
"You can't kill him!" She pleaded.
Rick didn't even aknowledge her.
"He tried to rape Agatha." Daryl yelled at the woman.
"So she says." Andrea snapped.
"I caught him in the act!" Daryl added.
T-Dog just stood there not really knowing what to do except watch this unfold. Rick kicked Shane.
"Wake up!" He yelled at him.
Groaning started to come from Shane. "What do you have to say for yourself." Rick asked Shane. All Shane could do was groan and try to wriggle free. Rick kicked him again. "Answer me!" Shane just looked up at him like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Rick spit on the ground next to him and ordered T-Dog to put him back in the shed. And he walked away from him.
"Daryl." Was all Rick said indicating that he should follow the sheriff.
Daryl glided up beside Rick and they walked up to the house not one word shared between them. They both walked into the room where Agatha was being kept and Rick froze in shock at the sight.
Half of her face was black from the blows she took and he could hear her breathing but it was labored and shallow. Herschel walked up to the two men in the doorway. "She has a severe concussion, I suspect a hairline fracture to her cheekbone. She also has some bruising and road rash on her back and legs along with bruising on her wrists and chest." He sighed and started again. "Without the proper equipment I can only say she may have a broken rib or 2 as well. I gave her a full dose of pain medication and I'll want to give her a round of antibiotics just in case."
Daryl could see the pain on Ricks face as he said thank you to the good doc.
"This goes without saying, but I'm going to say it anyway. Shane is no longer welcomed. I don't care if you kill him or let him go but he will not be near me and mine any longer." Herschel moved passed them wiping his hands on a cloth leaving the 2 men with Agatha.
Lori appeared from the stairs behind them carrying clothes for Agatha and pushed passed them and shut the door in their faces.
"I'm going on first watch tonight. I want to be alone with my old partner."Rick stated while walking back out the front door.