I do not own The Walking Dead.
Previously:
Unfortunately for her, Daryl knew more about the way she worked than she would like to admit. "I know. That's why I'm trustin' you t' take care a yourself. Your smart, you'll know what to do."
Calling Faye smart? That got you in her good books. Daryl calling her smart? This was her lucky day.
"Okay!" Faye beamed at the praise. "You've got to come back though!"
"I will." Repeating his previous action, Daryl patted the girl's head.
Moving to stand by Carl, the children watched as the adults climbed into the car and drove away.
"Finally got Judith to sleep." Hershel said as he walked up to where Faye, Carl and Beth were sat. T-Dog was currently on watch with Carol and had taken Axel with him after an awkward encounter with Beth. Currently, the three were checking over the guns.
Carl looked up from his work. "How are we for formula?"
"We have enough to last another month." The man replied. This was good, Maggie and Glenn had proven how dangerous going on a run could be. But, they'd be back soon. Faye had faith in the others.
"I'll take T-Dog to get some more at the end of the week."
Alright, apparently that wasn't enough.
"Your Dad and the others will be back by then." Beth said, an optimistic look on her face.
The boy looked up at her. "We don't know that." Like it or not, he was right. They didn't know, but the group was strong. All they had to do was sneak in and get Glenn and Maggie, right? "Right now, Judith's the only family I got."
Just as Hershel nodded in understanding, a faint scream echoed through the room.
"What was that?" Beth said.
The four looked around before the old man spoke. "That was from inside."
"Was it Carol?"
"It can't be, she went on watch with T-Dog and Axel." Faye added.
Beth and Hershel continued to discuss the problem as Carl and Faye exchanged a knowing look. Sliding the magazine back into her pistol and grabbing a silencer, both children stood up.
"We're going." Carl said firmly, only to be stopped by Hershel's crutch.
He shook his head. "I can't let you go down there."
Carl held his head up as he spoke. "My father would go."
Faye opened her mouth to say hers would too, but quickly shut it again. It probably wasn't an appropriate thing to say at that time. Only Hershel noticed her slip. Luckily, she didn't need to say anything, as they were allowed to pass.
Torch in hand, Faye walked along side Carl. "We've got to be quiet." The boy said.
"Then stop talking, genius!" She whispered back, but meant no harm. It was hard to tell through all the dark, but Faye was pretty sure he rolled his eyes at her.
The hallways were relatively empty, but Faye was glad she had Carl with her - she wasn't sure how she would've reacted to being by herself, surrounded by the decrepit walls. There was the odd body of a rotting walker here and there, but the creepiest thing was the shouts and screams that seemed to be getting louder at every corner they crossed. Unknowingly, she crept closer to Carl.
Suddenly, Carl stopped, staring at a door. Squinting to get a better look, a sign read 'Boiler Room'. Unsure what he was doing, Faye started to speak. "Ca-"
Cut off by the snarl of a walker, Faye spun round and shot, the bullet landing through the forehead.
The boy didn't have any time to explain himself as the screams continued and the two children rushed down another hallway.
Eyes widening in surprise, Faye ran with Carl to get a closer look.
There were people! In their prison!
The children looked at each other, gauging what the other was going to do, before they both raised their guns, Faye shooting a walker attacking a man with a hammer and Carl shooting for a woman with curly hair. Both adults turned to look at them in shock.
Eyes not leaving the intruders, the girl hissed to Carl. "We can't leave them here."
"I know." He replied. Raising his voice, he called to the new group. "Come on! Hurry!"
Not needing to be told twice, Faye and Carl were followed until the man carrying a woman who must have been his wife tripped.
"Come on!" Faye called, urging them to be quicker. "We can't get stuck down here!"
The curly haired woman ran back. "I'll cover you!" Faye kept an eye of them as Carl focused on the front, shooting a walker.
Turning around he shouted to them. "You have to leave them!"
"No way!" Replied the man in the hat, just as loudly.
As the unconscious woman was hauled over a shoulder, the group ran back through the halls, Faye sticking firmly to Carl's side.
"I'll take care of it." Carl said, expression grim.
The previously unconscious woman had died, a gaping bite wound on her arm. Carl had his gun aimed on the dead woman's head, two of the men sat beside her. Then man with a dark beard and hat raised a hand to stop the boy. Faye's hand gripped her gun, wary of this new group trying anything.
"Woah, woah, kid, wait a minute." He protested.
Carl avoided eye contact. "She doesn't have that long."
There was the broken Carl again. He must have been thinking of his mother.
"Who the hell are you? How did you get in here? Who are you with?" The remaining woman asked, shovel in hand.
Faye stepped in. "That doesn't matter right now. Do you want to see her turn? We have to deal with this now."
"Exactly." Carl nodded, holding the gun firmly.
The bearded man intervened. "We take care of our own." He reached back into one of his groups bags, pulling out a hammer. The husband cried out.
"No, Tyreese-!"
"We gotta do it, just take Ben and-"
Faye blocked out most of the words from then on, Carl motioning for her to follow him. She had at least a little respect for the man, Tyreese. He was just looking to care for his group, from the looks of things.
The two children quietly left the room, pulling the cell block door behind them. She knew it had to be done, respectful or not, these people were strangers. Beth and Hershel met them by the gate, confused looks on their faces. Shrugging as Carl locked the door, Faye looked back to see the woman protest. "Hey! What are you doing?"
"Kid, did you just lock us in here?" Tyreese added.
"Open the door!" She continued.
Carl sounded calm and collected as he spoke, but Faye could see him put on the cool persona. "This room is secure, you'll be safe. You have food and water." Scratch that, he sounded like Rick. Or rather, the old Rick. The Rick that wasn't losing it.
Faye held back the flinch as the woman walked up to the door, holding one of the bars. "Open this door."
"We can't." Faye added, backing her friend up.
"Come on, man, we're not animals! Don't do this!" She pleaded.
The girl looked from Carl, to Hershel, then back to the woman. Nope, she wasn't coming in.
Faye jumped as the woman slammed a hand against the door, the calm tone lost. "Hey! You can't just leave us in here! Open this door!" She shook it again. "Open it! Now!"
Like hell were they going to let her in.
"Sasha!" Tyreese pulled her away from the door, much to Faye's relief. "Back away from the door, and let the kids go. Look around you, this is the best we've had in weeks. Their house. We've got other things to do." Then, he turned back to the two children. "We don't want any trouble."
She'd believe that when she saw it.
The next morning, Faye was helping Beth get Judith while Carl watched as Hershel bandaged one of the newcomers. The older girl had a look of amusement as she spoke. "You know why Carl's still in a little tiff with me?"
Faye blinked as what must have been a guilty look made Beth giggle. Faye tried to gauge the didn't sound mad, so that was a good start.
"Erm... I didn't mean to encourage him. It was an accident!"
The blonde shook her head. "Don't panic, I'm not mad. He's a boy, he'll get over it by himself." Apparently, she still must have looked bad, so Beth continued. "Hey, wanna help feed Judith?"
Faye immediately looked up, a grin on her face. She enjoyed helping with the baby, it was relaxing. When she wasn't crying, at least. "Yeah!"
"Alright, grab the bottle. I'll show you how to make it."
Faye sat outside the prison, fiddling with a set of keys for the cell block, T-Dog next to her.
"Do you think whoever took Glenn and Maggie will be dangerous?" The girl asked, pulling her fringe behind her ear.
"I think anyone could be dangerous," The man replied. "It's how we deal with 'em. If we keep them others in the group, we'll have a better chance. I think it might work, me and Tyreese could get along."
Faye nodded, taking in the information.
"You ain't worried?" He asked.
Faye turned to him. "About what?"
"The others? Tyreese and his group? Anything?" T-Dog said, holding the back of his neck in a casual pose. "You're quieter, that much I remember. Used to bother us with all these questions and that damn imagination."
Faye shrugged, but then smirked at him. "Hey! I was right about the prisoners at least!"
"Alright, I'll give you that." He held up his hands in mock surrender, earning a quiet chuckle from the girl. Seemingly pleased with himself, T-Dog smiled. He was about to say something further, when he paused, leaning forward onto his knees.
"What is it?" She asked, trying to follow his line of sight.
To assist her, he pointed. "Look who's back."
As a car drove through the gate, Faye stood from her spot, a mixture of excitement and disbelief on her face. Shoving the keys in her pocket, both she and T-Dog ran to the fence to get a better look.
The first thing she noticed was that there were significantly less people leaving that car than there should have been. She clung to the fence as she moved her head closer, the car coming inside to park.
Rick was walking back with Carol and Carl, so he was fine. Michonne was lurking around, and there was Glenn and Maggie.
That left the prisoners to be missing, and Da-
No, he had still be in the car, maybe collecting a bag of supplies or something. That had to be it.
A few excruciatingly long moments passed and the truth of the matter hit Faye hard.
Daryl wasn't coming back. Daryl hadn't come back. Daryl was never coming back.
Hands dropping from the wire fence, Faye could see T-Dog staring at her, waiting for her reaction.
Turning around, she walked back to the cell block, senses numb.
She gave nothing away. No tears, no anger, no despair.
Just silence.
Author's Notes:
Hey! Sorry for the long wait, the chapters should go back to being regular now. Thank you to all the reviewers for the last chapter!
So, Faye assumes the worst pretty much immediately. In the next chapter, her feelings will be explored more.
On a different note, the new episode of Walking Dead... I don't think I can describe it properly. Dark, certainly. I mean, wow. I was freaking out over how crazy Lizzie was getting, but then later on, I didn't know how to process it. If you saw the episode, you'll know what part I'm talking about. Are you ready for the last two of Season 4?
Anyway, next chapter will be up on Thursday or, at the latest, Friday. I hope to see you then!
Please review, I love to hear your thoughts and advice.
Thanks.
Cobalt Flame.