Rainy day here! I love it. As long as it doesn't interfere with my internet connection, anyway. Hope you all like this one. I think some of you will want to kill me after reading this chapter but i promise I will get the next one up today! I try to not make you wait long XD Thank you for all of the reviews! Be gentle with me after you read this! My ego is a fragile thing! I hope you all have a great day =) Much loooove to you all!
Chapter Eighty Eight
Merle kept an eye on Daryl. The man looked as though he were about half out of his mind and if they weren't careful he would end up getting them all killed.
"She ain't fuckin' here!" He roared in Philips face.
Philip just looked at him patiently. If he was smart he would have backed up but he stood there. "Look, Daryl, I have men scouring the town. She might think she's going to be in trouble for what happened today. She could just be hiding."
Daryl's fists were clenched and finally Merle put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back a little. Philips men were starting to get anxious over Daryl's proximity to their boss.
"She wouldn't have done that." Daryl growled but he let Merle pull him back.
The muscles under Merle's hand were tense and he gave Daryl's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "He's right." Merle said calmly. "She wouldn't have gotten in trouble for what she did today and she knows it. That mouthy little piece of shit had it comin'."
"Excuse me?" Someone said from the crowd that had gathered around. A dark haired woman stepped out from behind the others, her face angry and eyes drilling holes into Merle's face. "That's my son you're talking about."
Merle gave her a dry smile. "My apologies ma'am." She almost looked appeased but Merle wasn't finished. "You must have mistaken me for a person that gives a shit. You're son is a bullyin' asshole that got his face smashed in by a little girl. A little girl he didn't have no business fuckin' with. Now shut the fuck up, can't you see that men are talkin?"
"Jesus Merle." Maggie whispered. "That was rude."
He just shrugged and gave her hand a squeeze. He was glad she was over her fit. God, he couldn't believe she had said that shit in front of his brother and Carol. He shook his head and focused his attention once again on Philip.
"We'll find her." He was saying to Daryl who still looked like he was ready to explode. Merle was scared but he knew that he had to keep his cool. Daryl was in the process of losing his damn mind and one of them had to keep it together.
Daryl ran his hand through his hair and then took a step closer to Philip, pointing a finger right in his face. "You psycho fuck! If you or one of your goddamn apes have done somethin' to her I swear to God every fuckin one of you will die screamin'."
Philip put his hands up and took a step away from him. "I understand how upset you are. I had a daughter once too and I promise you that me and the others around here will do everything we can to find her."
Daryl seemed to lose all his steam right then. They had been looking everywhere and there had been no sign of her yet. Carol and Andrea were walking towards them with Milton and Hershel. All of them looked grim. Carol looked dead on her feet, like the only thing holding her together was the other woman's arm around her waist. After another glare towards Philip Daryl turned and stormed towards them, eyes on nothing but Carol.
Merle watched Philip carefully as the man watched his brother walk away. He didn't show any other emotion on his face other than concern. Merle wasn't buying it for a second. They kept telling Daryl that Sophia had been upset enough to leave but that wasn't true. It wasn't that he didn't think the girl would get pissed off and leave for a while but he knew for a fact she wouldn't have left without telling Carl and Duane and since the two of them were the first ones to notice her missing in the first place he knew they weren't just covering for her. And Carl seemed to be in as bad a shape as Daryl was over the girl missing.
His eyes scanned his own group until they landed on the boys. Morgan, surprisingly, was standing with them. There was a definite divide from the group, the townspeople and Philips men. Morgan was usually with one of the latter two but tonight he stood next to Rick. Duane hadn't shunned his dad after what had happened their first night there but there was definitely tension between them now that had never been there before from what Duane said. Now the boy was back to being the same boy that Merle was responsible for before they had ever came to the town. And Merle liked it that way.
Duane looked up and met his eye. Merle gave him a swift nod and then looked towards the building they were all staying in. Without hesitation Duane nudged Carl and they took off. Merle would meet them there shortly.
He looked down at Maggie and sighed. He wanted to find Sophia but now he wasn't sure whether him and Daryl should go through with their plan. Or his plan, anyway. Daryl hadn't really seemed to eager to do it at first but had eventually warmed up to the idea. But it would probably be better to hold off on that. At least until they found Sophia. And they were going to find her. He wasn't going to let any other option even try to enter his head. He had to keep it together because Daryl was about to crumble and somebody had to keep their head straight.
"She's gonna be just fine." Maggie said, more to herself than to Merle. "Look at everything that kid has been through and came out just fine on the other side. She's like you and Daryl."
Merle pulled her to him, even though he was sill a little pissed off over the shit she was saying to him earlier. "You're right." He said as she wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her forehead against his chest.
~H~
Duane led Carl to Merle's room, where they were now waiting for the man to come to give them orders. Duane felt almost like he had the night that they had went on that rescue mission in the woods. He felt important. Merle had a way about him that made a kid feel like an equal. Right now him and Carl needed to be in soldier mode. Merle would figure this all out and they would get Sophia back. But at the moment Carl didn't look like much of a soldier. He was chewing the hell out of his nails and his eyes kept darting around worriedly.
"We're gonna find her." Duane said sternly, like there was no other option in the world. In his mind there really wasn't.
"I know." Carl said, removing his hand away from his mouth and taking a deep breath.
Duane really did feel sorry for Carl. To Duane, Sophia was like a sister. He had had plenty of friends before the world went to hell. Other kids that he had spent a lot of time with and was close too, but nothing like this. Sophia and Carl were closer to him than anyone else ever was. It was the three of them against the world. Even after realizing that this town had a good amount of kids in it, none of them had been the least bit interested in introducing themselves to the rest of them. They didn't need other people. They had each other. Duane figured that this was what it was like to have siblings.
All three of them were an only child but they couldn't have cared about each other more if they had shared blood. Sophia was his sister. Carl was his brother. He would do anything in the world for either of them, even if it meant risking his life. That's what you did for your family. But Carl felt a little different. He loved Sophia but it wasn't in any kind of sisterly way. Duane figured it was natural that they would be like that. Even though none of them knew what it meant yet. Eventually Carl and Sophia would be like Merle and Maggie or like Sophia's mom and Daryl. They'd be together. Carl knew it. Sophia probably did too but she didn't admit it.
"I think if one of the men took her then my dad would have heard about it by now. He's on our side, ya know. He is now anyway." Duane said, trying to get Carl to snap out of his weird mood. "He would tell us if anything happened."
Carl shook his head and stared at the door. "They know that. They know your dad is one of us because of you and they don't trust him anymore. Your lucky they haven't killed him yet."
Duane narrowed his eyes. He knew that it was probably true. It was one of the reasons him and Carl had talked about how they could kill the Governor themselves. Morgan would be the first of their group to be killed. "Well, some of the men still trust him or he would probably be dead right now."
Carl looked up and met his eyes. "We never should have let her go anywhere by herself. You see the way that asshole is always looking at her."
Duane shook his head stubbornly even though he agreed with his friend. "You know the fit she woulda thrown if we would have followed her. Remember who we're talking about now."
He had to believe that his dad would have heard something by now if someone had taken her. He was still angry at his dad for lying to him, it was still hard to look him in the eye after discovering that it was him that hot tried to kill Michonne, but he knew that the man was trying. He'd just wanted to protect him from the truth.
Both of their heads snapped up and they breathed a sigh of relief when Merle came in. He looked at them and then ran a hand over his tired face. Daryl followed him in and Duane actually took a step back when he saw the rage and anguish on the mans face. He was like a trapped bull. Duane knew then that somehow, someone was going die for this. Very soon.
"You're both sure she wouldn't have left the town?" Merle asked quickly.
They shook their heads. "She isn't stupid." Carl said defensively. "The only way she would have left is if we had went with her. She never said anything about leaving. Not alone anyway. Whoever did this, and I know this is someone elses doing, they figured after how much trouble she'd been having here, everyone might think she had up and left. That's what I think anyway. Ya'll didn't see her after we left the school today. She was really upset."
Daryl glared at him and he took another step back. "And you thought letting her go off by herself was smart?" He snapped and then Merle put a hand on his shoulder. Daryl just shook it off and started pacing.
"It ain't their fault. I saw her too and I never went after her. You know how that girl gets when she gets something in her head. Can't nobody do a damn thing with her other than you. Not even her own momma." Merle said quietly.
"What do we do, Merle?" Carl finally asked.
Merle looked at Duane and then at Carl, wheels in his head spinning. "Get yourselves some more guns, extra ammo. I want you to search every fucking building in this goddamn town. I want you do search every room in every building you can, you understand?"
They nodded.
"I want you to be invisible. I mean it. You don't make a sound and you keep your asses outta sight. You get spotted you're most likely gonna die tonight."
Another nod from them both.
"You sure you can do this? The two of you are a lot less noticeable than we are. If not then I'd do this myself" He locked eyes, first with Duane and then Carl.
"We're gonna get her back. I don't care if it kills us." Carl spat, finally letting more emotion than just fear show through.
Merle nodded at Carl and then bent down so he was face to face with Duane. He didn't recognize the look Merle was giving him. He had become an expert at reading the man, knowing what he wanted of him before he ever had to speak, but he didn't recognize this look. His large hand came up and actually cupped the side of Duane's face. He could feel it shaking, Merle wasn't near as calm as Duane thought he was. He was surprised at the show of affection but he never let his eyes waver.
"You bring our girl back, boy. You understand me?" Merle whispered in a strange voice, thick with emotion.
"Yes sir." Duane whispered back.
"And don't you dare get your goddamn fool self killed tonight. Me and you gotta lot more trouble to get into."
Duane nodded and then just about pissed himself when Merle pulled him in and hugged him quickly with one arm before straightening up and nodding towards Carl.
"Get your asses movin' boys." Merle growled, sounding like himself again. "You run into any trouble, you get spotted, don't you give them a chance to ask you any questions. You kill'em."
"Yes, sir." They said in unison before hurrying out the door.
~H~
Sophia had been working at the ropes for a long time. No longer trying to break free of them but using her fingers to try to figure out the knots. She was frustrated, scared and more pissed off than she had ever been about anything in her life. She would figure out how to get out of here and when she did, the person that brought her here to begin with was going to pay.
The Walker in the wall, that was what she called it now, had quieted once more. She figured it was because it couldn't hear her anymore. She saw enough of it to know that it was a child. Smaller than herself. It's head was covered so she couldn't make out anything else about it. She had screamed earlier, and that had gotten the Walker worked into a frenzy. She'd screamed until she was sure her throat was torn but no one came. She had no idea how long she had been in this room.
She had tried smashing the chair into the wall but all she managed to do with that plan was hurt herself. She had given up on that after just a few unsuccessful minutes.
She wasn't giving up hope. She knew that as soon as she did that she was dead for sure. She had no idea what was in store for her but she was going to put up a hell of a fight when the time came. She realized after a few more frustrating minutes that she wasn't going to have to wait for very long. She saw the knob turn and then the door pushed inward slowly.
She wasn't surprised at all when Philip walked in, Martinez followed him, carrying a tray of food. She eyed the men with her chin up and her mouth set in a stubborn line. She wasn't going to cower for either of these men.
"Well well. And still, you sit their defiant as ever." Philip chuckled.
Martinez set the tray down on a table and finally looked at her. She was surprised to see that he couldn't hold her eyes for long and what she saw in his was pity. He looked like he didn't want to be there at all and his words confirmed it.
"Can I go now?" He asked when he pulled his gaze away from hers.
Philip was still looking at her with that strange expression on his face. That seedy smile made her want to gag. "You go ahead and run along, Martinez. I'd like to have a little chat with our friend here."
Martinez shot her one last apologetic look and then backed out of the room. He shut the door behind him firmly and then Philip finally stopped staring at her long enough to lock it. The finality of that small click actually made her flinch. This was it. This crazy man was going to kill her. All she could hope was that she could at least inflict a little damage on him before he did. If he untied her then she was going to give him everything she had.
Even if all she could do was claw his face up a bit, that would be enough to let Daryl and Merle know that he was the one that had done this. She actually found herself thinking back to when her and Carl had been lost in the woods. She knew that Daryl was coming for them then. Just like she knew he was coming for her now. He wouldn't abandon her, but this time was different. She wasn't lost in the woods where she had a fighting chance to live. She was tied to a chair in a room with a madman, a Walker child and a bunch of heads floating around behind her. Daryl needed more time to figure out where she was. Time didn't seem like something she had much of. And in the woods she hadn't been alone. She had at least had Carl, even though he hadn't been anything like he was now, it was still a comfort to not be alone.
Philip was still looking at her in that strange way. "I have to say that I've never seen anything like you in all my life, little lady. Look at you." He laughed. "You're tied up to a chair, probably with a throbbing headache, and still you shoot daggers at me like you aren't afraid of anything. If your daddy could see you now." he shook his head back and forth, giving her a wide smile.
She wasn't going to say anything. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.
"Have you met my Penny?" He gestured towards the grate and then he looked over at it with a morose look in his eyes. "She could have learned so much from a girl like yourself. I should have taught her to be strong like you, but I didn't. I coddled her, you know. Most daddy's do that to their little girls." He shook his head and then turned back to her. "I miss my daughter, Sophia." He said flatly.
She was starting to get more and more nervous. He kept his Walker daughter locked up in the wall and now here she was tied up to a chair, at his mercy. This was why she had gotten such a creepy vibe from him. He was batshit crazy. Completely wacko. And she was totally screwed.
The Walker chose that moment to throw itself against the bars again, growling and snarling, no longer this mans little girl. But he smiled at it fondly. "She's getting hungry." he said quietly.
Oh shit. Was he going to feed her to a Walker?
He reached for the latch that would open the door and this time Sophia did pull her legs up onto the chair. She pulled her knees up until they were pressed firmly against her chest. She didn't cry but she wanted too. She imagined all sorts of horrors during the time she had been here but she hadn't thought of this. She hadn't thought of being tied down and then eaten alive by some monster child.
He yanked the door open and pulled the thing out and hugged it tightly. Sophia wanted to look away but she was morbidly mesmerized by the sight in front of her. She saw a sharp look of pain cross Philips eyes as he held onto the struggling thing in his arms. The head was still covered up and she realized that it, much like her, had it's hands tight behind it's back.
Philip glanced up at her and smiled once more. "I know this must seem strange to you. But see, I think there's a way to change her back. I think my sweet girl is still in here somewhere."
Sophia groaned inwardly. How the hell was she going to get herself out of this? He was beyond batshit. She looked away for an instant when he placed a kiss on the side of the things face. At least it's head was still covered. Jesus, this was bad.
Just then he decided to rip the covering off its head. Sophia had seen a lot of Walkers but none that were this small. The eyes were milky, dead, unseeing. Mouth stretched wide as a feral cry escaped it's decaying throat. It was looking at her now. Hungry to take a chunk from her. Would he let her turn? Or would he just let the thing eat her? She pressed her knees closer to herself. She would do anything to have her gun right now. Anything to be able to at least run away, even if she couldn't fight. Her fingers were working frantically at the ropes that held her to the chair. This couldn't happen. She had to buy herself time so Daryl could get to her.
"How old is she?" She blurted out in a whisper.
Philip looked at her sharply. His eyes were suspicious but then his face softened. "She was eight when she was bitten. But she had a Birthday last week."
She nodded as he stared at her. She breathed out a sigh of relief when he covered the things head back up and then pushed her back into the wall, locking it back in. she put her feet down on the floor and tried to look at him like she didn't want to rip his head off. She couldn't let her temper get in the way. She couldn't tell him to go to hell. She couldn't let him know that, first chance she got, she was going to kill him. Somehow she was going to kill him, before he killed her. But right now she had to play it cool.
"Why did you bring me here?" She asked, making sure she kept her voice curious instead of fearful or enraged.
He sighed and then sat down in the chair across from her. He clasped his hands in front him as he hung his head for a few long moments. When he looked back up at her his eyes and his smile were both tired. "I know what you must think of me. You think I'm a lunatic. But I assure you, I am not. I want my little girl back. Do you understand that? I would do anything to have her back."
His voice sounded so sad that she almost felt sorry for him. Almost. There was a reason he brought her here and it had something to do with that Walker. He kept telling her that it was his daughter but there was nothing left of the child in that rotting shell.
For just a few moments though she pictured herself in his shoes. What would it be like to look at her mom if she had ever been bitten and turned. Would she still think of her as her mom? Or would she be smart enough to not see it that way. She couldn't really say what she would do. She didn't know. Could she look at the people she loved, Daryl, Merle, her mom, Carl, Duane and know that they were gone? Or would she always try to see the people they were. Always search for a flicker of humanity inside the dead eyes of her loved ones? She shuddered involuntarily at that thought. Maybe this guy wasn't as crazy as she thought. Maybe he was just desperate. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. His life must have been a hard one.
He was still looking at her and she realized he hadn't answered her yet. Instead of saying anything he stood up and walked towards her. She wanted to cringe back into her chair again but she didn't. She lifted her chin once more and studied him. She didn't show any fear, even though she was full of it now, until he reached out with a shaky hand and touched her face.
She tried to jerk her head away but then he grabbed her roughly by the chin and held her in place. His grip was painful and suddenly his eyes were hard as steel as they bore into hers.
"I want my daughter back." He hissed between clenched teeth. "And you're going to help me do that."
She was pretty sure her heart was going to explode out of her chest. Why her? It wasn't like she was the only girl in this town. She had seen a lot of them. Why did he think he needed her? She blurted out the first thing that she thought of. "Nothing's going to bring her back. She's gone."
He moved so fast that she didn't see it coming. He tightened the grip he had on her face and then back handed her. She didn't cry out. She was too stunned to do much of anything for a few seconds. Her mouth filled with the copper taste of blood.
She pictured her mom then. Saw her kind smile and her pretty face and then she saw that face, in her minds eye, morph into a black and blue mess. Her mom trying hard to smile through all the pain in her face. And then she saw red. His face was close to hers, a gloating smile tugging at his lips.
She spit an impressive spray of blood right into his face and the front of his shirt and then she kicked him in the knee as hard as she could. There was no playing it cool with him anymore. She wasn't ever going to let a man hurt her like that without doing something about it. She didn't care anymore that she was tied to a chair and she didn't care anymore that this guy was completely unhinged. She lashed out again with her feet but he had limped far enough away that she couldn't touch him.
"You psycho son of a bitch!" She screamed as she struggled against the ropes. Her head was throbbing, her face was stinging and her wrists were burning but none of this mattered. She was going to kill him. Some how she would get her hands freed and when she did she was going to kill him.
He was rubbing his injured knee but he had recovered quickly. He looked at her, eyes flashing angrily. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small knife.
Oh hell.
He stepped around her and she felt the ropes give but they were quickly replaced by a pair of strong hands. He yanked her up out of the chair, one hand clamped around her wrists and the other hand grasping her by the hair and started walking her forwards.
She realized where he was taking her and she tried to pull away. She thrashed and yanked against him but every time he would just jerk her back painfully by the hair. He was walking her towards the door. Not the one that led to freedom but the one that the groaning Walker was locked behind.