(A/N): Here is another chapter. It isn't as far off as the last one. I still don't have a schedule because my life is chaotic. I just am happy to be hearing from you guys that you like the story!
Chapter 11: Reunion
Daryl walked in with the group behind him. Rick and Noah were kneeling over the diagram that the young boy had drawn earlier. Two of the cops they had grabbed wanted to help with their current plan. One of the cops, the one Noah had vowed for agreed with their plan but they would need his help.
Daryl looked over to the two men. "Hey. Rick. You're gonna want to hear this."
Rick and the boy walked over to the group and started to talk about the plan. Daryl took the time to watch the blonde who hadn't talked since they captured the cops. She was currently listening to the plan the other cop had, but she didn't make any interjections. He couldn't tell who that woman was back when she was holding her gun to that cop. That woman was different from the one that he had gotten to know. The Ryder he knew was calm and calculated and strong, but there was a warmth to her. She didn't like to be touched by people, but as long as someone didn't move into her space, she was fine. She was approachable. Everyone at the prison had a different view of her, but if someone could look past her walls she had up, she wasn't what everyone thought.
The blonde that he saw with the gun in hand staring down that cop wasn't the same person. She was terrifying, to say the least. Daryl had looked into her eyes, and he couldn't see any emotion. He could tell that she was calculating if she should kill him or not but she didn't feel anything. He remembered he had been around her one other time when she was like that. It was at the prison when the Governor attacked. He had thought that it was just because she had hated the man but looking back now it was like she flipped a switch and turned into a machine.
Ryder looked back from following the group. She noticed that Daryl hadn't been paying attention when the cop was talking about his plan. She whistled successfully gaining his attention. He only nodded once and walked past her. Ryder scowled to herself. It seemed like he was colder to her more than he already was, if that was even possible. She knew the exact reason why too. It was a reason she didn't like meeting new people even when the world wasn't as it is now. Part of herself scared people and to be honest… It scared her too.
Ryder watched as Sargent Lamson and Rick talked about the plan and how everything was going to work. They were away from the other two cops. Sasha and Tyreese were carrying stuff in from the trunk of the car that one of the other cops had shown up in. She could see Daryl standing a few feet away watching the other cops but still close enough to be in earshot in case Rick or someone else from the group needed help. Rick walked away after Sasha perked up hearing that Lamson's name was also Bob.
Ryder walked over to one of the windows looking through it. She was watching to make sure that they didn't accumulate more walkers than they could handle. Luckily, the dead ones melted into the ground seemed to be keeping other groups from staying in the area. She also wanted to make sure that more people from the hospital didn't come looking for their three missing cops. She held back a scoff. This plan was going to fail at some point. These people were too cooperative for her liking. She didn't trust them at all. She was all for Rick's original plan to infiltrate the hospital quick and quiet for the least number of casualties on their side as possible.
The blonde was about ready to move to a different window when she heard Lamson comment from behind her. "Are you a cop too? Like your leader?"
Ryder didn't bother turning around. She didn't want to talk about herself ever, even more so with one of their prisoners that she didn't trust.
"Military?"
Ryder turned watching the other man. He was still bound leaning against a pillar. Everyone else was walking around getting stuff ready for their exchange. She walked over kicking a crate in front of Lamson. She sat down with her rifle she had been carrying. Her bow was still with her, but a rifle worked best for a trade. Didn't have to worry about reloading every shot.
The blonde leaned down more level with him. "Talkative, aren't you?"
"I can just tell by the way that you carry yourself that you aren't a normal civilian like most of the people in your group."
Ryder didn't bother saying anything else. She just watched him trying to figure out what he was doing.
"Having a military background, you know what it's like seeing friends die. One of the rotters melted to the ground. I knew him."
Before he could finish Ryder stood turning around.
"You wouldn't leave one of your comrades to suffer like that, would you? Have them suffering while you just sat there and watched not doing anything."
Something in Ryder broke. A flash of Matt's face found its way back into her mind. She turned facing the cop, seething. "Shut up. Shut up! Shut the fuck up!"
Ryder's yelling grabbed everyone's attention. Daryl and Rick jogged over to where they heard her.
The blonde's hands tightened around the rifle. She pulled it up ready to strike at the cop, but before she could hit him with the gun, Daryl and Rick grabbed both her arms pulling her away from him. She felt people touching her and ripped her arms from their grasp. She didn't know who had her, all she knew is that she wanted them to stop touching her. She pushed at the person who was closest to her. "Leave me the fuck alone!"
Daryl stepped back with his hands up watching the woman in front of him. He was stunned and confused. He didn't know what had gotten into her. Ryder turned and left out of the room and down the hall. Daryl didn't know what was happening to her. She seemed to be deteriorating. She had that panic attack and the couple times where she changed. One of those times she wasn't anything like how they knew her. Now she's breaking down in front of the group. Daryl started chewing his lower lip glancing at Rick out of the corner of his eye. Rick looked confused and worried about her too. The hunter shook his head walking past the cop. Sasha had brought him some water to help calm him down after Ryder almost beat his head in. They needed to figure something out after they got Beth and Carol back.
Ryder found a room away from everyone where she could be alone. Her breathing was ragged, her head hurt, and her chest was tight. The room had an old counter used for something covered in layers of dust. She dropped the gun to the ground grabbing onto the counter. With every ragged breath out, she disturbed the dust around her. Another flash of Matt's face flashed in her mind. She shook her head trying to get the images out. There was another flash, and instead of her comrade, it was Daryl. It was him in her dream blaming her for something. She screamed and started punching the counter she was leaning on. She needed to get the images from her mind. She needed something to think about other than the people she failed or was going to fail. She kept punching until her arms turned to jelly. She dropped to her knees, falling to her back on the ground. The gun she had dropped earlier was next to her head. Ryder's fists were throbbing. She could tell that she probably broke a few knuckles. Her hands were bleeding too. She didn't care as long as her mind was clear. She brought one of her hands up to rub her eyes trying to get the headache to go away that had formed.
While the blonde was laying on the ground in silence, she heard what sounded like glass breaking and then running. She stood up and left the room she was in. She was walking around trying to figure out where she had heard the glass break. The gun was up as she was moving around corners and equipment still around. She jogged back to the room with everyone. They all turned looking back at her, but she didn't see Rick, the cop, and Sasha had a bruise forming on her forehead. "What's going on?"
"Lamson decided to make a break for it." Sasha looked up from the ground. "Pushed me into a glass window, knocked me unconscious and took off."
"Where's Rick?"
Daryl spoke up from his corner. "Went after him after we found Sasha."
"No one went with him? Are you serious?" Ryder was making her way over to the door but when no one from the group said anything she took off out the door heading outside. She ran down a few halls and some flights of stairs busting through the door leading out into an alley. She noticed the cop car was gone so she took off running down the most likely path the two of them would have gone.
Ryder had her gun wrapped around her shoulders with her machete out. She didn't need to be wasting bullets on the walkers roaming around. She ran by chopping and slicing at the walkers dropping them if they got too close. She was still running trying to catch up with Rick in case he needed back up. That was when she heard the shot in the distance. She was getting close so she picked up the pace to the area she heard the shot from. That was when she saw Rick in the police car driving back the way she had just come from. She didn't see the prisoner they had though which meant he was dead. Rick stopped the car, and she hopped in the passenger side not saying anything. She didn't need to because she knew what had happened. She didn't know exactly how but she knew the cop was dead and that's all she needed to know.
Rick walked into the room followed by Ryder. She couldn't believe how stupid everyone was being about this. First, they were too scared to kill people to get their own back. Then, Sasha let herself get knocked out and now one of the prisoners they were going to use was laying outside dead probably being eaten by rotters.
Rick walked ahead not saying anything but Ryder could see the looks on everyone's faces and she could tell they knew that the other cop wasn't coming back. They knew that something happened and he was now dead and their plan had just changed.
Ryder followed Rick over to the side where Daryl was coming over to meet Rick. Rick stopped and looked at Daryl. "He wouldn't stop. I tried giving him a chance to stop but he wouldn't."
Daryl grabbed onto the strap of the gun around his shoulder. Ryder noticed that she was doing the same thing because that's what she had always done. She took her hands from the strap and put them in her back pockets. "This change things?"
Rick looked over at the other cops still sitting tied up. "It has to."
"Maybe not."
Ryder looked over at Daryl incredulously. "What are you talking about maybe not? We should go back to Rick's original plan. Put a bullet in the head of each cop and then sneak in and put the rest down in the hospital. It's a safer plan for our group. They would already be down three cops."
Daryl couldn't believe what he was hearing. "You're serious? What has gotten into you? All you think about is killing now. There's other ways of doin' things."
Ryder bristled at his words. Her voice started to gain an octave. "You don't get it. These people will not hesitate to kill us. We shouldn't be hesitating to kill them. You're being naïve."
The hunter reacted the same way that Ryder did. His voice started to rise higher than hers. "Me naïve? I'm not the one who's thirsty for blood around here."
"You don't understand where I'm coming from! I'm trying to keep our group safe and you peacemakers aren't helping! I feel it in my gut that something is going to go wrong with this mission!"
Daryl had had enough. He started yelling at Ryder with no regard for trying to be quite like they thought they had been. "You fuckin' serious? Keep us safe? Like you kept your men safe? Who was your buddy? Matt. Like you kept him safe! Maybe your plans aren't the greatest considering he's not here." Daryl was huffing from the anger and yelling but then he stopped and froze. He just realized what he had said to her. She had trusted him with her secrets and her past and he just threw it in her face. He was trying to make her see that she was acting different and being bloodthirsty wasn't the best option. He looked over and the woman across from him and her face was blank. She wasn't showing any of her emotions. He wanted her to cry, yell, scream or hell even punch him in the face. She wasn't doing any of that.
Ryder had been pissed off that Daryl wasn't seeing where she was coming from. She never thought he would do what he just did no matter how pissed off he got. Sure, she was scaring him and she could tell. She had shit that she needed to work through. She didn't know that he thought that low of her. That's what he thought of her? She thought that he was the one she could relate to the most. She looked over at the other man and she could tell that he knew what he had just done. She could see that he wanted to say he was sorry or do anything to try to take back what he had just said but it was too late. "You're right. I shouldn't be the one making decisions. Let me know when you have it figured out."
Daryl could just watch her. Her face was completely devoid of emotion. He was lost. He didn't know what to do. He knew as soon as he registered those words he regretted saying them immediately. She turned and walked away from the two men standing there. She disappeared into the area she went when she had her outburst.
Rick just stood in silence looking between the two. "What was that about?"
Daryl wanted to tell him but he had done enough damage to her trust already. He didn't want to tell Rick a story that wasn't his to tell. "Nothin' I can handle it. What's our plan?"
Ryder walked over to the other side of the building she was in. She found a dirty wall and leaned her back against it sliding down the wall. She felt empty. The night that she had told him what happened when she was captured he didn't show any pity. It took him a minute to process but she didn't see anything bad. She didn't think he also blamed her for her best friends' death. She already did that every second she was awake. She reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out an old worn out folded piece of paper. She just looked at the picture that was printed on it that had been taken years ago. There were three fresh-faced recruits just about ready to join the army. Matt was on the left, Ryder was in the middle and Justin was on the right. Both men were in the process of giving her a noogie right as the picture was taken. They had been her absolute best friends. She served with them and then they went into the Ranger's together. They were the best of friends. Matt died that day in front of her but she never knew what happened to Justin. He took Matt's death hard and there was also a good chance that he blamed her for his friend's death.
Ryder gently folder the picture back up and placed it back in her pocket. She looked down at her right arm on her wrist. There were Matt's dog tags tattooed on her arm. She would never allow herself to forget what she had done to him. She blamed herself and apparently, Daryl even blamed her. She couldn't blame him. Who wouldn't blame her after hearing the story? Ryder leaned her head on the wall behind her. She closed her eyes and all she could see what Matt's face. She could see those emerald green eyes staring at her unwavering. He knew he was going to die and he didn't flinch or plead for his life. He went out a true Ranger, unlike her. Instead of opening her eyes she made herself keep them closed making the image of his eyes stay in the darkness.
She didn't know how long she had been sitting against the wall but she didn't care. Ryder figured that when they were ready they would come find her. She was sure they didn't want her around them anymore, Daryl especially but they needed her for the mission. They couldn't afford to be a man down. She heard the scuffing of boots on the ground. That's when Daryl's voice broke the silence. "We're ready." She stood up grabbing her gun walking past the other man. She wasn't mad at him she just couldn't see the blame that he felt in his eyes. Anyone else but she had mistakenly gotten too close to Daryl and she couldn't see it from him.
Daryl sighed as Ryder pushed past him. Even letting her be alone while they figured everything out she hadn't changed. She still walked around emotionless. He didn't know if she was mad and him or if she was sad. She didn't look like she had been crying but for Ryder, that wasn't that much of a surprise. If she did cry she wouldn't show that in front of one of her group members. He needed to find a way to fix this but he just didn't know how yet. It would have to wait until after the mission though.
The group walked out onto a parking garage overlooking another parking lot. Rick was going to go down and meet with the two officers in order to make the exchange. Sasha and Daryl were going to keep cover with the rifles in case Rick needed back up. Ryder was standing by the two officers with Noah and Tyreese but she moved up to stand next to Daryl. She made a point to stand a few feet away from him though. She had her rifle wrapped around her shoulder and she was leaning on the edge of the parking garage. She didn't know what everyone else thought about her so if she was going to stay with them she needed to make her self as safe as possible. So, she didn't have a gun at the ready because she trusted everyone else. She could see Daryl watching her off to the side. She inwardly sighed. He didn't trust her either. That was obvious. He was probably watching to make sure that she wasn't going to do something stupid to get them all killed. She heard Daryl snap as the police car came around to park in the parking area. Tyreese then messaged Rick on the radio letting him know that the other cops had shown up.
Ryder watched as the police car pulled up. Rick walked forward with his hands up. Obviously, he still had weapons but he didn't draw on them as a sign of good faith. The cops stopped the car and got out with their guns drawn. Everyone on top of the parking garage was too far away from the meet point to hear what they were saying. Rick pulled his python from its holder and laid it on the ground. He then turned in a circle showing the cops that he didn't have any other weapons on him other than the machete at his thigh. They two cops closed their doors and moved toward Rick cautiously. She could tell that they were talking and Rick was letting them know about the deal he wanted to strike with them. As they were talking the cops started to lower their guns but a walker entered the area with the meeting. Before anything could happen, Sasha was able to take out the walker and put her reticle back on one of the cops. The other cops were looking around trying to see where they were sitting with their rifles but they never found them. The two cops radioed the lieutenant and they were able to get into the building.
While they were in the cars going to the hospital Daryl watched Ryder. Since she had told him he was right she hadn't said a word to anybody. She had stayed stone-faced through everything. He could tell that he had hurt her pretty bad. They just needed to get through with saving Beth and Carol and then he could talk to her. He felt a strong urge that he needed to fix this. Ryder had been there for their group so many times and he had blamed her. Then, he treated her like shit. Because of the way she blamed herself for what happened instead of saying something back like she usually would have she shut down because in her heart she truly believed it was her fault. Daryl shook his head bringing himself from his thoughts. He didn't think it was her fault. Not in the least and she needed to know that. He wanted her to stay with their group for some reason and he felt like if he kept it the way it was right now. She was going to leave because she didn't think anyone trusted her.
The two officers from the meet walked into the hospital leading the group with their prisoners. Their guns were drawn ready for an attack. Rick had one of the cops while Daryl walked with the other. Ryder was hanging back ready for if someone decided to come up behind them and try to ambush them. They moved through different hallways and up flights of stairs. It had been a while since Ryder had been in a hospital. She forgot how much of a maze it could be. Finally, they made it to a set of double doors and waiting on the other side were the other officers and behind them, Beth was pushing a wheelchair with Carol in it. Before they opened the doors, everyone holstered their weapons. The two officers walked ahead to join with their group on the other end of the hallway.
Rick spoke first. "They haven't been harmed."
A woman standing on the other side of the hall spoke for the group. Ryder assumed that she was the leader and her name was Dawn. "Where's Lamson?"
Before Rick could speak the female officer standing in front of Rick spoke telling Dawn that rotters had gotten to him. Then the other officer backed her up by saying that they had seen everything happen.
Apparently, Dawn had been fond of that guy because her voice was strained. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. He was one of the good guys." She took a moment then continued. "One of yours for one of mine."
Rick nodded and motioned for Daryl to take the officer he was holding over to the group. An officer on her side grabbed a bag and wheeled Carol over to them making the handoff. So far everything was going smoothly for them. Ryder looked around she had a feeling that was going to change.
Dawn herself decided to bring Beth with her to the middle of the hall and so did Rick with the other female officer. Rick grabbed her making sure she was ok and everyone started to turn around. The exchange had been made.
Dawn stood there as everyone was turning away. "Now I just need Noah," Everyone stopped in their tracks. "and then you can leave."
Rick walked back over to Dawn. He was starting to get agitated with the other woman. "That wasn't part of the deal."
"Noah was my ward. Beth took his place and I'm losing her, so I need him back." The female officer that was just exchanged tried to keep Dawn from getting greedy but Dawn shut her down before she could say anything further. "My officers put their lives on the line to find him. One of them died."
Ryder watched Daryl push, Noah back into their group. "No, he ain't stayin'."
"He's one of mine. You have no claim on him."
Now Rick and Daryl were both standing trying to defend Noah. "The boy wants to go home so you have no claim on him."
"Well, then we don't have a deal."
Before Rick could say anything to Dawn Ryder walked forward with hands up and a rifle in one. She walked up to the group handed Rick the assault rifle and walked a few more steps forward. "Take me instead of the boy. He just wants to go home and try to find his family."
Daryl watched Ryder walk up to them. "What are you doing! You can't go with them."
Ryder ignored Daryl and kept watching Dawn. "Noah is weak. He's just a boy. I have army training better than any of your officers. If you let him go I'll work for you and only you Dawn. I will enforce anything that you want me to just please let him leave with the group."
Noah tried coming ahead. "It's ok. Ryder, you don't have to take my place. I've got to do it."
Dawn held up her hand signally Noah to stop walking. Dawn was watching Ryder and Ryder was watching her. She was true to her word. If Dawn let her trade places with Noah then she would do whatever the woman wanted. "Army?"
Ryder nodded her head once. "I was in the Army Rangers. I was special forces. I will be your right hand or your executioner. Whatever you need. Just don't take this boy away from trying to find his family."
Daryl stepped forward again. "This isn't ok. You can't leave. She can deal with the original exchange plan. This is bullshit."
Ryder still didn't acknowledge the hunter behind her. Dawn nodded her head. "It's settled."
The blonde hated having to do this. She didn't want to be under anyone's control again but if this is the price she had to pay then she would. Noah deserved to live his life as best as he could and have the ability to find his family. Ryder nodded to Dawn and started walking to the other side of the hallway.
"Wait!" The blonde stopped and in the process of turning around, she was met with a head full of blonde hair. Ryder felt the weight of Beth squeezing her giving her a hug. "Thank you for everything you have done and coming here to save me. I can't thank you enough."
Ryder hugged the girl back gently considering she was still beaten up. "It's ok." She leaned down and whispered in Beth's ear so Beth was the only one that could hear her. "Keep Daryl safe for me. If I can I'll try to come back to you guys."
Both Ryder and Beth heard Dawn whisper to Beth mainly. "It's not Noah but I still get my way and I come out on top like I always do."
Beth released the hold on Ryder staring at Dawn. She walked over to the older woman. "I get it now." Before anyone could respond Beth attacked Dawn with a pair of scissors and in the same second Dawn pulled her gun and shot Beth.
Everyone was in stunned silence about what just happened. Ryder pulled her gun that she had been carrying on her hip and without missing a beat shot Dawn in the back of the head. She had just started pleading and Daryl was in the process of pulling his gun but Ryder had beat him to it.
As soon as Dawn hit the floor everyone's guns from their end of the hallway were on her and her group had their guns on everyone down the hall. Ryder just stood there looking at Beth laying on the ground. Her blonde hair was now covered in red. She heard everyone shouting "hold your fire." She couldn't tell if it was coming from her group or the other group. But then the other female officer's voice broke through everything. "No! Hold your fire! It's over. It was just about her. Stand down." Finally, at her last command, she was able to get her group to drop their guns.
Ryder looked over and she could see Daryl with his gun still drawn and shaking like she had never seen him shaking before. He was watching the other group. He was losing himself. Carol came up to him and put her hand on his shoulder but he didn't drop the weapon. Ryder walked over putting her gun away. She walked in front of Daryl's gun moving toward him. He wasn't watching her. It seemed like he was starring at Beth. Ryder moved up slowly and she put her hand on the muzzle of the gun. Once he felt that she had hold of the gun he dropped it from his hand. He turned looking at the ground crying. Everyone was crying.
Ryder kept watching Daryl. He was pacing in a circle. He didn't know what to do. Hell, she didn't know what to do. She didn't know how to comfort someone. She heard Rick talking to the other group but Ryder stayed focused on Daryl. She moved over to him with one of her hands out. "Daryl, look at me." He kept pacing around not looking at her. She moved closer to him and was able to grab his wrist. He pulled away from her. He walked past her picking up Beth's body. The entire group made their way out of the hospital. Ryder had her gun and Daryl's gun in her hand. She was walking ahead of the group.
They walked through the double doors just as she saw a firetruck pull up to the entrance. The rest of the group walked up to everyone. They were looking at Ryder for confirmation. When Ryder just walked ahead behind them they looked to Rick. No one was giving the group what they wanted. Everyone piled out of the entrance and Ryder knew when she heard the gun hit the ground that Daryl had walked out carrying Beth. Maggie was screaming for her sister. Ryder turned watching everyone. She was mainly watching Daryl. He still had the remnants of tears in his eyes. It seemed like he was losing it when he heard Maggie screaming he couldn't hold it anymore.
Ryder sat on the hood of one of the cars. This should have gone down differently. If Beth would have just let her go with the other group she would be walking out of the entrance instead of Daryl carrying her lifeless body. Maggie's screams didn't stop. Ryder couldn't handle it anymore. She got off the car and walked over to the firetruck that the group had driven in on. She needed to get away for a moment. She got behind the truck and she finally flipped the switch off in her brain. She let herself feel the loss. For once in a long time, Ryder cried for Beth. The innocent girl that was too sweet for the world. She cried because another friend died and there wasn't any way to bring her back. She squeezed her eyes shut and she could picture the first time she saw the blonde. She had been standing on the grate of the walkway in the prison. Beth had been holding Judith and bouncing the baby on her hip. What happened shouldn't have happened to Beth. She was too sweet and Ryder couldn't hold back the sadness and tears she felt for the girl.