…. Chapter 47 …..
Daryl was fast asleep on the floor of his cell when a bucket of cold water was unceremoniously thrown over his prone body. He instantly came up swinging, the waters frigid temperature stealing his breath away as effectively as a swift uppercut to the gut. Gasping for air, he swiped it from his face, completely fucking out of it and unable to remember a goddamn thing about where he was or the reasons why he was there.
Somewhere past the ringing in his ears, he heard Tony start to laugh from behind him... full belly rolls that had the bastard red faced and teary eyed almost immediately. For Daryl, that was all it took for the missing pieces of the puzzle to fall disparagingly back into place. With the grim reality of his circumstance searing back to the forefront once more, he slowly turned around in the small space allotted to him, feeling much like a caged animal that had been kept that way for far too long.
Tony was standing there with the dripping bucket in hand, all but confirming what he had hoped to that point had just been a shitty dream. He was still locked up in the far recess of the basement, having been left there alone with only his own caustic thoughts for company. As far as he knew Beth was still in the house as well, sequestered away somewhere upstairs to be seen only once since being pulled from the trunk of the car. For reasons beyond Daryl's depleted comprehension, his brother was there too, having returned from the land of dead memories like he was the ghost of fucking Christmas past. Last but not least came the task he was supposed to do today, the daunting prospect of which ensuring that he hadn't slept for shit anyways.
Soaking wet and now pissed off about it, Daryl glared over to where the fat man was still snickering at his expense. ''Ya lucky these fuckin' bars are here asshole or you'd be laughin' through what's left of ya teeth!''
''I'm sorry, what was that?'' Tony quipped, cupping a sarcastic hand to his ear even though he had heard what had been said perfectly. His features darkened and he pulled a gun from the back of his pants, pointing it through the very bars in question, ''I didn't hear you partner. Don't suppose you'd care to repeat it.''
Having seethed on the edge of a rage induced state for hours, Daryl struggled to reign his temper back. His inherent tendency to run off at mouth wouldn't do Beth any kind of good if he got his ass killed for it. Tony grinned like an idiot to see him accede himself accordingly, seeming to enjoy the level of superiority that came from being the one with his finger on the trigger. Upon regaining the upper hand that he hadn't necessarily lost to begin with, the big man stepped towards the cells gate, making sure to keep his gun trained on Daryl's chest as he dug into his pocket for the keys.
Feeling assuredly smug with himself, Tony unlocked the door and motioned forward with the end of the gun barrel, ''Figured as much. Get your ass out here nice an' slow. Try something and I swear to God, I'll drop you like the dead weight you are. Consider this a crash course on how shit goes down 'round here… not that it matters, least not to the likes of you.''
With little choice in the matter Daryl did as instructed, leaving the puddle of water behind as he stepped free of the cell's stifling confinement. His hardened gaze never left the man in front of him, the memory of the previous days beating still gnawing aggressively at his consciousness. As much as he'd like nothing more than to stomp this fat fuck into the cement beneath their feet, he reckoned he'd have plenty of time to do it once the gun wasn't a factor and the odds were a hell of a lot more favorable.
As if somehow reading his mind, Tony's beady little eyes narrowed. ''I know what you're thinking... hell, I'd be thinking it too if I were you. You're thinking that you could take me, ain't ya? That I'd be real easy pickings. You're thinking that if didn't have this here gun pointed right between your eyes, that you could get the jump on me and it would be payback time.''
''You're tha one sayin' it...'' Daryl ground out irritably, unable to help himself.
Tony tsked back a knowing smirk. ''Guess it's a damn good thing for both of us that we'll never have to know then, ain't it. Now move.''
Daryl trudged up the basement stairs, the whole time quelling his inherent need to verbally throw more fuel on the fire. He was in a shit mood, making it real tempting to do. It went without saying that the bolt wound in his arm wasn't helping matters. He had tried to take care of it the best that he could with what little he had available to him but the pain hadn't abated much and it was only getting worse the more he was forced to move it.
He came to the top of the stairs only to have the gun at his back nudge him towards the back door. A gloom of morning light greeted him as soon as he stepped outside, the wet haze lingering in the air indicating that it had just finished raining. He squinted past its murkiness to find himself right back where everything had spiraled out of control the first time.
There next the parked LTD was Joe, looking slightly more disheveled than usual but no less authoritative. He had a grin plastered on his face that was disturbingly unnatural. Hanging loosely in his grip was the Horton, the weapon devoid of all the bolts that would normally accompany it. With Tony's gun prodding him sharply between the shoulder blades, Daryl made his way down the porch stairs and across the driveway to join him, looking around as he went to see Merle, Billy and Len nowhere in sight.
''Ah, there he is!'' Joe exclaimed, motioning towards him like he was welcoming a long lost friend. ''The man of the hour! Come on down, times 'a wasting!''
Heading over to the spot being pointed to, Daryl tried his best to ignore the sick feeling that was churning insistently at his empty stomach. There was a palpable sense of foreboding in the air… one that was as oppressive as the foggy haze that surrounded them. He couldn't help but feel as though the worst case scenario that he had been dreading for the last 24 hours was about to come to fruition. Trying his best to prepare himself for it either way, Daryl just stood there and glared at the man in charge, refusing to be the first to say a damn word as he waited to see what was about to go down.
''Bet you're wondering what we're up to today.'' Joe drawled, the warmth of his voice failing to thaw the coldness of his eyes, ''We're getting ready to have ourselves a good ol' time! But just so I don't forget… here… you're gonna be needing this…''
He held out the Horton, nodding encouragingly when Daryl just eyed it with suspicion. Damn thing wasn't of much use without the bolts it came with anyway so what was the fucking point? When he didn't make a move to take it, Tony jabbed him hard with the gun in his hand, pushing him forward against his will. Not much appreciating the unnecessary incentive, Daryl snatched the weapon from the hand offering it and stepped dourly back in place.
Joe chuckled, seeming to find his reticence amusing. He shook his head at it before muttering, ''You see? That wasn't so hard now was it.''
''Where's Beth?'' Daryl growled, getting straight to the only thing that was of remote importance to him.
''Beth? Why, that little girl's out there somewhere,'' Joe gestured widely to the sprawl of dense trees that occupied the acreage behind the house. Looking back over, his brows drew as though suddenly confused, ''I thought you knew that. Daryl, I'm going to need you to really start paying attention. If the whole point of what we're doing here is to have you go out and look for her, you didn't think that I'd leave her tucked away safe an' sound in the house, now did you?''
When the unnecessary sarcasm was met with an icy cold stare and nothing more, Joe continued... doing so this time as though he was talking to a wayward child that didn't understand the rules. ''Allow me to refresh your memory then, just so we're all on the same page. You see Daryl, I don't give a shit about you... I don't much give a shit about her… hell, I don't give too damn much of a shit about anything these days other than a healthy investment in my own personal survival…''
Daryl stood there listening as the man droned on, the connotations of what was being said making him worry habitually at his lower lip. The core instincts he needed to depend upon were starting to bottom out from under the stress of it, depleting what was left of his fortitude while undoubtedly frying his nerves. Pulling a calming breath as inconspicuously as possible, he was left wishing that the cocksucker talking would just get to the fucking point already and quit wasting time.
Joe paused, digging into his pocket for his can of chewing tobacco, ''Now, it goes without saying that the daily grind of doing that gets real tedious after a while… day in and day out… the same ol' shit everyday. Scrounging for food and supplies… keeping the ranks in the house strong so I don't have to actually do any of those things myself. Killing biters, you know what I'm talking about. For me, that all gets boring real fast. Way I reckon, it's the little things in life that make it all worth livin'. Might as well have me some fun otherwise why bother, right?''
''This supposed ta be your idea of fun?'' Daryl demanded, the words just spilling out of his mouth. ''Tha girl ain't never done a damn thing to ya an' you got her participatin' in this bullshit jus' 'cause ya bored? Tha problem ya have is with me an' me alone. She don't deserve this.''
Completely unmoved, Joe just shrugged and put a pinch of the tobacco in his mouth. ''You're right, she don't… but what can you do? I just finished telling you that I don't give a shit so it's not like I can go backtracking on my word and proving myself to be a lair. Besides, we're just pissing away precious time by standing here uselessly chit chatting about it... time that Beth doesn't necessarily have to give. You see, much like everywhere else, this area has a biter infestation. With her tied up out there like she is, I hate to say it but it's just a matter of time before a horde of 'em find her. Keeping that in mind, it's probably best that we just move along and get this party started.''
Tony gave a conspiratory-like chuckle from behind him, one that Daryl chose to purposely ignore. His hackles rose instead as he bit out incredulously, ''What tha fuck! Ya left her out there with walkers around? What tha hells tha matter with you?!''
Wagging his finger back and forth condescendingly, Joe's normally unreadable features were schooled even more so, ''Now now Daryl, I can't rightly say that I'm liking your tone of voice. I'm thinking you might be in need of a little attitude adjustment…''
Before the statement had even finished registering, Tony came around to hit him in the stomach, the blow landing squarely beneath the ribs as the big man intended. Much like it had done to Len the day before, it took him down to his knees, the air instantly vacating his lungs to leave him painfully gasping for breath. The red haze descended almost immediately and Daryl threw down the Horton, damning the consequences and everything that came with them as his need to bring the situation to a violent end took over.
As if reading his mind, Tony set the gun barrel firmly to his temple, stopping him dead in his tracks as it dug painfully into his skull. Left kneeling there with a dangerous amount of adrenaline surging in his veins, Daryl could only listen as Joe said pragmatically, ''She's a beautiful girl, I can see why you like her. A little young though, don't you think? But hey, who am I to judge… whatever cranks your tractor, right?''
''Stop fuckin' around an' jus' say what ya need ta say!'' Daryl wheezed out through his teeth, feeling nauseous and at his goddamn wits end with the unnecessary banter.
Joe reached over to grab him by the vest collar, pulling him in close to sneer derisively, "You're as much of a pain in the ass as she is, y'know that? I can see now where she gets it from.''
He released him with a shove before backing Tony off as well, doing so with a casual wave of his hand.
''But since you're so hell bent upon knowing, I'll tell you... even though you're probably gonna regret the fact that you even had the balls enough to ask. I told both you and Len yesterday that I had a job opening 'round here but unfortunately there's been a slight change of plans." Joe asserted, circling his way around the man he was addressing while Tony looked on with a gleam in his eye.
"You see Daryl, both of you boys have managed to piss me off in one way or another... enough to where I don't think either one of y'all is qualified for the position. So I find myself now stuck in a bit of a quandary. As we all know, everyone here has to earn their keep and there ain't no exceptions to that rule. Your brother earned his by beating the shit out of Len yesterday. Luckily for him, that just means that he gets to eat today. You an' Len? You two ain't nothing but dead meat walking to me. I can't have useless pieces of shit like either one of you lying to my face and draining my resources… I ain't the fucking salvation army here!''
From where he was still on his knees, Daryl scowled up at him. ''We goin' somewhere with this or are we jus' shootin' tha shit here?''
''Well, you're going somewhere...'' Joe assured, hocking a wad of discarded tobacco spit onto the cement. ''That's kind of a given, especially considering that I'm looking to resolve myself of the very issue I just told you about. Now, me getting to have some fun at the same time? Well, that's just a bonus. This whole thing will ease the burden you two fuckers have created around here, all while providing a little entertainment value. This is where you come in Daryl so listen up. You still get to go out there and look for your girlfriend or whatever, that part ain't changed… only difference now is that the rest of us will all be getting to go out there with you… see who finds who first.''
Daryl just glared at him sullenly, not being told a damn thing he didn't already know. Still, he couldn't help but feel as though there was something more yet to be said… an unknown factor of some kind that was about to make itself known. Not having a clue what it could be, his depleted system braced itself to hear it, doing so as Tony roughly pulled him up by his arm to situate him back on his feet.
Jerking himself free, Daryl cautiously picked up the Horton from where it lay, feeling somewhat better for having its weight back in his hand despite its regrettable uselessness. His grip on the empty weapon tightened when Joe pulled his gun from the waistband of his pants, ejecting the clip to check it before snapping it back firmly into the weapon's handle. He looked up to see Daryl watching him dubiously through the damp hair that still hung limply in his face.
''Oh don't worry…'' He chuckled, shoving the gun back from where he got it, ''I'm not going to send you out there unarmed. That wouldn't be fair now would it. You have your crossbow and just so there's no hard feelings, I'll even give you a bolt to go along with it. At least that way, the rest of us don't feel like we're all just shooting at a fish in a barrel.''
With it now confirmed that he was truly engaging in a hunt to the death, Daryl swallowed in dismay as his heart rate quickened substantially in his chest. A convoluted haze began to instantly cloud his vision as he struggled to process such a thing. Christ, could this thing be any more of a goddamn sadistic clusterfuck? Seriously, what the hell kind of chance did a single bolt have against a slew of loaded guns? Standing there attempting to wrap his brain around the twisted senselessness of it all, he quickly found that he couldn't… the situation and everything it entailed just couldn't be any more surreally unbelievable if it tried.
With the only person he cared about tied up alone in the woods somewhere, he pulled himself together enough to resign himself to participating... as if there was much of a fucking choice in the matter. Tony produced the bolt in question and held it out to him, doing so much like one would a greasy bone to a mangy dog. Daryl snatched it from his hand resentfully, not much giving a shit when the fat man's gaze sharpened at the unnecessary gesture.
With the one bolt still being one more than he had expected to get, he turned back around to Joe and asked, ''What about Len?''
''He's been extended the same courtesy as you, a single bolt – no more, no less.'' Joe muttered in response, his tone deceptively calm. ''Billy's got him just past that there tree line. Now whether or not he's cut him lose already, who can say. So you might want to get a move on… you know, for Beth's sake.''
The survival skills that Daryl was depending on immediately kicked into gear, sending familiar bursts of energy firing under the surface of his skin. With a renewed sense of determination, he swung the Horton onto his back, purposely choosing not to load the thing just yet. He couldn't trust himself to not try to take out one of the two bastards standing in front of him only to prompt the other to quickly do the same to him.
With the crossbow situated where it belonged, he paused. ''How do I know that ya won't jus' put a bullet in my back the moment I turn around?''
''You don't," Joe shrugged, "though I can see why you wouldn't want to necessarily want to take my word on it. I'll tell you one thing though, you really can't call something a hunt when the thing being hunted just stands there asking a bunch of stupid fucking questions and allowing itself to get shot, now can you? I'm thinking it would need… oh I don't know, a five minute head start perhaps… just to make things interesting. That sound about right to you, Tony?''
Having listened to the entire exchange silently up to that point, Tony just sighed… doing so as though he thought the time allowance to be completely unnecessary. Cocking back the hammer on his gun, he finally mustered the effort to drawl, ''Yeah, I reckon that should just about do it.''
Daryl's stomach clenched in a way that had nothing to do with the hit it had just taken. Jesus, five minutes? That's all? Five fuckin' hours wasn't enough time to get as far away from these two assholes as he wanted to be!
Stunned by the realization, he just stared at them both in disbelief. ''Five minutes?! Startin' when?''
Joe was back to grinning, the sight of it unsettling enough to where Daryl couldn't drag his eyes away.
''Starting… oh, I don't know… about ten seconds ago.''
…..
Thank you so much for reading. As always comments, reviews or musings in general are always welcome.
Author's note:
One of the things that I really loved about Daryl and Beth's story arc in the show was Daryl's determined quest to find Beth after she was kidnapped from the cemetery home. He was so resolved, the two of them having just made this special connection only to have her snatched right out from under him once they did. I remember just wanting him to find her... wanting her to be ok… only to be as heartbroken as he was at Grady Memorial Hospital.
This is my take on that quest. Daryl will have to be just as determined, just as resolved… only the stakes will be higher for everyone involved. I hope you stick with me to find out what happens!