Before I start this chapter I just wanted to thank EonOfFortress for adding this story to their community, The Best of Daryl Dixon. I took a quick look and it seems as though there are some really good stories there. So take a look if you are wanting to find another story to read. Of course you should still keep up with this one! Anyways, enjoy the chapter. And as always I look forward to reading your reviews.
Daryl was anxious to get back. He knew she had been worried about today, but it had gone off without a hitch. Rick had a great idea on how to draw a lot of the walkers away. They had a plan, and Daryl was sure they'd be able to get in and out without a problem.
As Rick drove up to the prison, Daryl scanned the faces inside. He was a little disappointed that she wasn't out there in the yard. As he looked for Stella, her face flashed in his mind and he thought back to last night. There had been a desperation about her that he hadn't seen before. All night he could practically hear her mind churning. He had waited for her to talk about it, to tell him what she was thinking, but she had been silent.
When they drove through the gates he realized there was something wrong. Everyone was too quiet. The Hyundai was missing. Who left? It couldn't have been Stella. She would have taken her own car. But there was Gertie standing next to Carl. Gertie was always with Stella. So she wasn't here. Why would she leave? Rick had barely stopped the car when Daryl shoved the door open. "What happened?" he directed the question to Hershel, but it was Oscar that answered.
"There was a helicopter that flew overhead, it crashed. Glenn and Maggie went out to see." Oscar looked at Daryl. "Stella went with them."
Rick spoke up. "A helicopter? Are you sure?" Without waiting for anyone to answer he continued. "When was this?" Oscar looked at his feet.
"About an hour after you left. It crashed a few miles over that way," Lori said indicating the direction with her head.
"Four hours? They've been gone for four hours?" Daryl began to pace back and forth. Even if they had found survivors that they couldn't move, Glenn or Maggie would have come back, if only to let everyone know what was going on. It was wrong, it was all wrong. He was barely aware of the conversation around him, he was so consumed in his own thoughts.
Daryl suddenly turned on his heel and stalked over to his bike. As he kicked it to life Rick grabbed hold of the handlebars. "Let go." There was steel in his eyes.
"You can't go off half cocked Daryl. We need to think about this. There probably isn't anything wrong. They could show up here any minute."
"You just want to wait around and see if they come back? Is that your fucking plan?" Daryl growled.
Rick sighed. "No. It's not. Just wait for a few minutes. Leave the bike. It's too noisy."
Fifteen minutes later Rick, Axel, Oscar, and Daryl were back in the car heading in the direction of the helicopter crash. Daryl was all but bouncing in his seat. He wanted to scream at Rick to hurry up, but he knew it would get him nowhere. Rick had threatened to kick Daryl out of the car once already.
Oscar and Axel were talking over a map in the back seat. "Good news is, there isn't too many roads over that way. Should be able to find their car pretty easily." Axel volunteered from the back seat.
A few minutes later they saw a faint stream of smoke in the air. Axel consulted the map and Rick turned off onto a small road a few hundred feet up. They stumbled across the Hyundai ten minutes later.
Daryl bolted for the car, there was no one in there. He tried the handle and it was unlocked. He yanked the door open and his heart sank a little. There was blood on the driver's seat, just a small smear, not a lot. But it was fresh. He slammed the door shut. "There's blood," was all he said to Rick as he passed him. He headed off in the direction of the crash. The trail was a mess. It looked like they had started down this way, but at least two headed back to the car. The trail was too smudged to make out individual foot prints. He wished he knew who was the two. A piece of white caught his eye. He bent down to retrieve it, it was a roll of gauze.
He hurried towards the crash site, not paying close attention to the trail. It wasn't until he reached the clearing that he realized he was only following two sets of footprints, and neither one of them was Stella's. "Fuck!" He was caught between hurrying to the crash site to look for her, and turning back to find her trail. When Rick and the others came through the trees behind him, he decided to head back in.
"Daryl, where are you going?" Rick asked.
"Not all of them came this way. Stella didn't come this way." He hurried back into the forest. She must have separated from them for some reason. But why? She wouldn't have gone off by herself, she was too careful. Daryl kept scanning the trail but couldn't find where she turned off. He went back to where he was sure there were at least three footprints heading in the direction of the crash and then turned and went back again. He passed it three times before he saw it. It was tiny, just a broken twig on a sapling. He started down the new trail, but he found himself hesitating to go. What if she was dead? Or worse. He wasn't sure if he would be able to kill her.
He could see the the woods opening up to the clearing in front of him. She had taken another path. Why? Suddenly Daryl remembered the mess of prints where he had found the gauze. Her bag must have spilled. He was about to cross into the clearing when he saw a spot of trampled grass. There had been a small struggle here. And there was blood. Not just traces either. There was no indication that she went closer to the field. Where the hell did she go? He saw Rick step out from the helicopter wreckage. "Anything?"
Rick looked over. "Tire tracks, you?"
Ignoring Rick's question, Daryl bolted into the clearing. "Where?" He hurried in the direction Rick pointed. At least four men got out, maybe five. They were pretty big by the depths of the impressions. More than four got back into the truck, but how many Daryl couldn't say.
"What did you find back there?" Rick asked. Daryl looked up from the ground. Oscar and Axel were looking decidedly uncomfortable out in the open. Daryl couldn't help but wonder how much of it was because they had been in prison for so long.
"There was another trail, signs of a small struggle. A fair amount of blood." His stomach turned at the thought of it. But maybe it was a good thing. There had been a smear of blood at the car. If it was hers, it meant she hadn't gotten into this car. But then it meant that she was hurt. Where was she? He'd have to go back to the car and look for another trail.
"The helicopter crew is all dead, they've all been shot. Neither Maggie or Glenn would have done that. They wouldn't have risked the noise. What the fuck happened here Daryl?" Rick asked.
Daryl thought for a moment before he answered. "Looks like they headed here. Stella must have dropped some of her supplies on the way so she ended up taking another trail in. If I had to guess, whoever put the bullets in the crew took Maggie and Glenn. Stella.. I just don't know. There's blood and signs of a struggle, but it doesn't look like she was brought into the clearing. With the blood back at the car, I think we should start there. Start looking for her trail." He turned to head back.
"What about the tire tracks? Can we follow them? If they have Glenn and Maggie, we got to look for them."
Daryl shook his head. "As soon as they hit pavement, they'll disappear. Nothing to be done. I'm going to look for Stella." Without waiting for a response he headed back to where they found the car.
An hour went by, then another. He kept losing the trail and he was getting desperate. Everything the trail told him was bad. There were two travelling together. Both women, both light. One was Stella, the other one wasn't Maggie. And at least one was bleeding. "Son of a bitch!" he swore as he realized he lost the trail again. He moved to back track. He had a memory of searching for Sophia the same way.
This couldn't be happening again. She wasn't supposed to leave the prison today. He had been the one doing something dangerous, not her. He had suggested that they scope out the hospital today for exactly this reason. He hadn't wanted her anywhere near that hospital. Every hospital he had seen had been overrun. She was supposed to be safe back at the prison. She had no business being out here. She could have stayed at the prison and they could have brought any wounded to her. Who the fuck let her go?
Oscar stepped in front of his line of vision and Daryl snapped. He needed someone to blame. He charged straight for Oscar. "How could you let them leave? You should have kept her safe!" He felt Rick grab him from behind, try to pull him back. He shook him off easily. He tackled Oscar and let fly. He took some blows, but he dealt out plenty of his own. Finally Rick and Axel managed to get a hold on him and pulled him off.
"Jesus Daryl! Back off! Are you trying to kill him? It's not his fault. You know he couldn't have stopped them from going. They asked him to stay behind to protect the prison." Rick yelled at Daryl.
Daryl stomped around, trying to shake the red from his vision. He needed a minute. When he looked back he saw Oscar wiping the blood from his lip and his shoulders sagged. He held up his hands as he approached. "Sorry man," He held out his hand.
Oscar looked at him warily, then reached out and gripped his hand. "Don't worry about it. Probably would have reacted the same way too if it was my old lady." Oscar chuckled. "Honestly I'm surprised it took you this long. Figured I was in for an ass whooping the moment you got back to the prison."
"We've been gone for hours. Someone should head back and let the others know what's going on." Rick said.
"Can't take the car. If we find her, we might need to get back quickly." Daryl protested.
"I can hot wire the other car, head back." Axel suggested.
Rick looked at Daryl and raised his eyebrows. "Why don't all of you go back? I move faster on my own anyway."
"No, Oscar and Axel will go back in the other car. I'll stay with you." Rick said, his voice leaving no room for argument. That decided, Axel and Oscar headed back to the car and Daryl and Rick backtracked to where he last saw the trail.
Daryl found the trail again and kept searching. They came to a small stream. Daryl searched the banks for hours but could find no trace of where they came out.
"Daryl, it's going to be getting dark soon. We've got to head back."
"No way. She's out here somewhere. I'll find it. I know it."
Rick stepped in front of him. "Daryl, she could already be back at the prison. They wouldn't send anyone out to tell us, because they wouldn't know where to find us. Daryl, think about it. The trail is heading in the general direction of the prison. We'll keep an eye out on the way back, but she could be there by now."
He was torn. He wanted to find out if Rick was right, if she was back at the prison. But what if she wasn't? He couldn't leave her in the woods. If he left her, they might never find her again. She could disappear into the woods, like Andrea, like Sophia.
Daryl never thought he would wish he had a cell phone. Now that Rick had planted the idea in his head, he needed to know. Without saying a word he turned and started running back through the woods. "What if she was there? What if she was hurt? What if she was dying? Or if she had made it back, and he while he was out here died? If he missed seeing her face one more time.."
He reached the car and had to wait by the driver's side door for Rick to emerge from the woods. As soon as Rick reached the car, Daryl reached out for the keys. "No way, I don't plan on dying between here and the prison. You'd be too busy watching the woods to keep the car on the road. Other side of the car Daryl."
He wanted to argue, but he knew Rick was right. He climbed into the passenger side of the car. His eyes scanned constantly for any sign of her on the way back. When the prison was within sight he leaned forward eagerly. She was there, he knew it. She wasn't in the yard, so she was probably in the infirmary. There was Hershel. He'd tell him. The car screeched to a halt and he leapt out before Rick even had it in park. He ran to Hershel. "Where is she? Is she alright?"
Hershel looked confused. "Daryl, she's not back here. We were hoping she was with you."
Daryl looked slowly around at everyone. Rick, Axel, Oscar, and Carl were looking at their feet. Lori, Carol and Beth were looking at him with sympathy. It was the sympathy he couldn't take. Sympathy meant that they didn't think she was coming back. He stumbled back a few steps. He couldn't be here with them. He needed to be around her. He headed into the prison to their room.
He walked in and shut the door. He began to look at her things. There propped up next to the bookcase was her bow. Her gun was on the shelf next to it. Despair filled him. She was in the woods and she had nothing to defend herself with. With a cry of pain, he started knocking things off of the shelves. But that wasn't good enough. He gripped the shelf itself and tore it off the wall. He slammed it over and over again against the concrete, pieces flying everywhere. When he was holding only a small chunk in his hand he threw it against the door. It hit with a satisfying thunk. Daryl looked around the room then sat down heavily on the bed and placed his head in his hands. Then he did something he hadn't done since he was a child. He cried.
Carol had come down and knocked on the door. Did he want something to eat? He had ignored her. He didn't want to see anyone. But he couldn't sit in here anymore. He could smell her, that flower scent that he could never figure out. He had meant to ask her, but always forgot.
He walked past everyone, their conversations growing quiet, straight to the guard tower. He wasn't going to give up. She could still be out there. Carol was gone for three days. Stella could do it. She was tough. But why wouldn't she be back by now? Even on foot, she should have been back. He had seen her climb. She was good, and fast.
As he passed through the door, Gertie trotted in behind him. He paused and looked down at her. She pressed her head against his leg and whinned. "Yeah, okay. You and me girl. Come on." Together they climbed the stairs. Daryl sat down in the same chair she had found him in the other day. If she came back, he'd move the chair into their room. He'd make sure it never got thrown out.
Soon everyone else turned in for the night, except for Rick. He didn't come to the tower though, he stayed by the fire. Daryl was glad they had all left him alone. He couldn't talk to anyone. He felt... he didn't know what the hell he felt.
The hours passed slowly. He wished there was more of a moon. It was just the tiniest sliver. He could barely see anything. The walkers outside were just blobs, shadows moving in the fields surrounding the gate. Fucking walkers. Grabbing his crossbow, he stepped outside onto the perch. He scanned the field. There that one. Fat son of a bitch. Eating everyone. He began to take aim. Just as he was pulling the trigger, half of the walker fell. It wasn't one fat one, but two walkers side by side. Daryl took aim at the one still standing, but then it bent down and pulled the fallen one up. His finger flew off the trigger. It wasn't walkers at all. "Rick! Rick! Get the gate! Rick!" Daryl sprinted down the stairs.
Rick was already pulling the chain from the posts when Daryl reached him. He pushed past him and ran into the field. He heard Rick firing his gun, taking down the walkers in his path. It was, it was her. She had another woman with her. He couldn't tell who was leaning on who. "Stella!" he yelled when the women went down in a heap. He rushed to them.
"Take her, she's passed out. Go Daryl, I'll be right behind you." Stella said, her voice weak. He hoisted the unconscious woman into his arms but was reluctant to leave her. "Daryl, please. I promise I'll get there."
He watched as she pushed herself to her feet. He didn't want her out of his sight, not even for the time it would take to get to the gate, but with the woman in his arms he couldn't do anything. It would be better to get her in the prison and then go back for Stella. The decision made, Daryl bolted for the gate.
He could see the others streaming out, drawn by the sound of gunfire. "Oscar! Come get her. She's unconscious." He put the stranger down on the ground. When he turned Stella was almost to the gate. A walker came close to her and Rick put a bullet through it's eye. Daryl ran forward and swept her into his arms. He was so consumed with the relief he was feeling, he hardly heard Rick shut the gate.
She was here, she was really here. Daryl lowered her to the ground and started looking her over. "I'm alright, there's nothing wrong with me. I'm just tired. Its Michonne. She's been shot." She started to sit up, to pull away to go to the infirmary to check on the other woman.
"No!" Daryl was surprised at the ferocity in his voice. "Hershel can see to her." He ignored her protests. She had a duffel bag with her. She had looped the handles over her shoulders. He pushed them off. Leaving the bag on the ground he carried her through the prison into their room.
He had forgotten about earlier. She looked at him with questioning eyes when she saw the mess. He set her down and quickly pushed everything of the bed, and shook out the blankets for splinters. He took her hand and led her to the bed. She sat down and he knelt in front of her. He examined her face. She looked so tired. She had dirt and scratches on her face. He sprung up and walked to where they were storing the clean linens. He grabbed a stack of towels and then headed to the food supply area for water.
When he came back she was just as he left her. He set the things on the floor in front of her and knelt back down. He picked up one of the towels and soaked the end of it. He started cleaning the dirt off her.
"I have to talk to Rick, I have to tell him what happened. Maggie and Glenn-"
He cut her off. "It'll keep till the morning. There is nothing to be done about it tonight." He peeled off her shirt and threw it into the corner. He wiped the towel down her arms and chest. Moving around he sat next to her and pushed her hair out of the way. He started cleaning her back. She turned to look at him.
"I'm glad you and Rick are back safely. I've been so worried all day. "
He looked at her for a long moment, surprise on his face. "You've been worried? I've been out searching for you in the woods."
She gave him a light smile. "Yes, but I've been worried since you left this morning. You've only been worried since you got back."
Her smile tugged at his heart. He leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "Come on, let's get you to bed." He yanked her shoes off and pulled her to her feet. As soon as her pants were off, he pulled the sheets down and gently pushed her into the bed.
As he pulled his shirt off she said, "Daryl, will you go check on Michonne? See how she's doing?"
"No. If anything happens someone will come tell us." He wanted to do as she asked, but the simple truth was, he couldn't be away from her one more minute. He slid into bed next to her and pulled her in his arms. He kissed her on the temple and breathed in deeply. Tomorrow he'd ask her what that scent was.
I had felt like I had been losing some of Daryl's edge the last few chapters. He was too calm. I hope I managed to get back to what we all love about Daryl Dixon. His totally unorthodox, rude, sexy self. In other words, a bad boy with a heart of gold.
On a funny note, I almost ended up posting my home inspection report thanks to Gertie. (Yes, she is a real live dog and very much like the one in the story.) Lesson learned- don't leave your laptop open on the couch with a dog that thinks the couch is her personal bed. You never know what will happen.