Daryl stared at the walker on the floor. That's what he'd always told himself, zero tolerance for walkers. But it wasn't like that. That was his brother. He just killed his brother.
He just killed his brother...
The gun in his hands fell with a clatter on the floor. The world around him seemed to tune out. Everything was hazy. Carol's hands were on either side of his face but he couldn't focus on her. His vision was blurred. He heard a bang of a door opening behind him and then Rick came into sight. Rick's mouth was moving but Daryl couldn't hear. Carol was still gazing at him and trying to bring him out of this nightmare. But it wasn't a nightmare. He wasn't dreaming. Slowly backing out of the room, Daryl inched further and further back until he was sprinting down the stairs, out of the front door and into the woods. Nobody could stop him. He stopped and sank down to his knees. He could rub his eyes all he wanted but finally, in the middle of nowhere in the woods, he broke down. They were not loud and ugly sobs, just silent tears that fell down his cheeks. After a few moments, he heard rustling in the trees behind him. It was too fast to be a walker. He wiped his face furiously and whipped around.
"Damn it, woman, jus' gimme a-"
He stopped when he saw two men advancing on him with their guns trained on his head. His hand instinctively reached to his shoulder but his crossbow wasn't there. He had dropped his other gun in the house and he only had a knife on him now. That wouldn't do much good. The two men he recognised vaguely. They were from Woodbury. One of them smirked at the other, knowing they had him completely cornered. A round of gunfire could be heard from back up at the house. Daryl felt sick. Hershel, Beth, Judith, Axel, Merle... He couldn't take anymore death. Then he thought of Carol in the house and automatically stepped forward. The men held their guns further towards him.
"Make one more move an' you're dead right here," one of the men said.
Daryl gritted his teeth.
"Hands up," the other one said.
Daryl slowly obeyed, trying to think of anything he could do in this situation. Nothing came to mind. He heard screams from the house and more gunfire. He stepped forward again but, this time, he was met with a sharp blow on the back of the head.
Then everything went black.
...
Taking one last look at Merle's lifeless body, Carol tore herself away and made to go after Daryl. She flew down the stairs. When she reached the door she flung it open but was stopped when she saw five cars parked at the front of the house.
"Shit!" she cried, slamming it shut again.
She knew it had to be Woodbury but they were now completely cornered. Rick came down the stairs followed by Carl.
"What's goin' on? Where's Daryl?" he questioned, moving towards the door.
"Stop!"
Rick's hand froze in front of the door handle. "What?"
Carol had already stepped over two dead walkers downstairs and was at the window looking out at men from Woodbury. She saw three take off into the woods and fear gripped her chest tight. Daryl would be in there somewhere. Rick stood behind her at the window and cursed. He yelled upstairs to the remainder of their small group. Carol was still staring through the window. Who she presumed was the Governor was making his way slowly towards the house. Then she saw Andrea. She looked unhappy. Serves her right, Carol thought angrily. She couldn't believe Andrea had openly shot at the group. Unless... she didn't know it was them. Rick was running his hands through his hair. He didn't know what to do. But she wasn't concerned for him. Daryl was her main and, if she was honest, her onlypriority.
"Rick! Daryl's in the woods!" she shouted.
Rick stared at her as though she had two heads. Carol looked up at his father for guidance. Carl and Daryl had bonded quite well at the prison and he looked equally as scared as everyone else. Tyresse, Sasha and Michonne burst into the room. Rick stared at them all. He was at a loss. Bullets started to strike the house. The wood started to splinter.
"ALRIGHT!" Rick shouted.
The Governor yelled to all of them outside to stop.
"STOP! WE'RE COMIN' OUT!"
There was a pause and then a scream. Carol recognised it as Andrea.
"I KNOW THEM!" she shouted. "STOP IT!"
Carol saw Andrea being restrained by two other men.
"YOU SAID IT WAS A GROUP WHO WERE THREATENING US! I KNOW THEM!"
Carol saw the Governor step close to Andrea. His face was inches from Andrea's and his lips were moving. She managed to lip read "shut up" and then Andrea was carried into one of the cars, struggling as she convulsed in their arms. Then Carol saw a sight that made her stomach twist. An unconscious Daryl was being dragged to a car by three men. Rick followed her gaze and he dragged his hands over his face. He cursed before crossing over to the door and throwing it open. He stepped out onto the porch with his hands raised over his head. Carl stepped closer to Carol and she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a brave smile.
Seconds later, a dozen men filed into the house with guns trained on every person. Rick was knocked out with a blow to his temple from a gun in seconds. Despite the fact that Carl was determined to be a man in the group, he was pressed closer to Carol's side. Their hands locked as blindfolds were put on them and they were marched out of the house. Carol's thoughts were occupied with Daryl. She prayed he was okay.
...
When Daryl woke up, he had a throbbing pain at the back of his head. He gingerly touched it and grimaced as the pain shot through him. Then he took in his surroundings. It was an old room with dirty walls and various bits of broken furniture in it. He saw an open can of gas in the middle of the floor and then it hit him. He was at Woodbury. Memories came back of Merle... then the woods and the men... then he was knocked out. He cursed and got to his feet, scanning the room. The only door was obviously locked. He picked up a chair but, before he could slam it into the door to break it open, it was being unlocked. Dropping the chair, he backed up in the room away from the door. Two men stepped inside with a blindfolded woman and a young boy with her. Carol and Carl. Anger and worry surged up inside of him but the men were heavily armed. They pushed them both inside and locked the door quickly. Daryl caught Carol by her elbows.
"Hey, hey, 's me!" he whispered, his hands moving to untie the blindfold.
"Daryl?"
His hands worked quickly on them both and, as soon as she could see him, her arms came up around his neck, threading one hand through his hair. He glanced down nervously at Carl but the kid just gave him a slight smile before sitting down with his back against the wall. Daryl's arms pulled her in around her waist and his forehead rested on her shoulder. They hugged for a few moments before she pulled back and kissed him lightly on his lips. He smiled bravely at her then took her hand and glanced at Carl who looked defeated as he slumped down the wall. His head was resting on his crossed arms over his bent knees. Daryl lead her over to the boy and they sat down with him. His arm curled around Carol's knees that were against her chest and her head rested on his shoulder. He looked down at Carl who glanced up at him.
"We're gonna get outta here," he said.
Carl nodded and Daryl gripped his shoulder as tightly as his hand gripped Carol's own. They'd be okay.