Between the Thorns

Chapter 32

On the long ride to the Saviors base of operations, Eugene prepared himself for every horrible method of torture that he was sure would be inflicted upon him the moment he arrived. The last time he saw Daryl, the man looked like he had been beaten severely. So Eugene prepared himself to spend the rest of what was sure to be his now shortened life, in terrible pain. But when he arrived at the Sanctuary, that didn't happen. Instead, he was shown to a room and food was prepared for him. He was now on his third day in the place. And no one had even thought to lay a hand on him. He thought it was a trick at first, but Eugene was slowly starting to believe that Negan actually intended for him to simply work there.

Eugene had been assigned a personal bodyguard of sorts. Though at times, she seemed to be more of a tour guide. Her name was Laura. She was tall for a woman, and mannish, with a tattoo on her neck. She frightened him. But Eugene tried not to show it. She wasn't with him all the time. But she had been escorting him to the large communal dining area for all his meals. And anywhere else his presence was required. Other than her and Negan's wives, Eugene hadn't had much opportunity to socialize with his new group. And he didn't have much of an urge to. At least not until he spotted a familiar face in the cafeteria.

"Daryl!," Eugene hollered before he could stop himself. Normally, he wouldn't bring attention to himself by yelling in a loud noisy room of strangers. But he was so excited to see someone he knew, his mouth ran away with him.

Daryl turned towards the sound of his name, his eyes scanning the crowd. And Eugene was relieved that when Daryl spotted him, his eyes lit up in recognition. The man had a tray of food in his hands. He set it down on a nearby table, gesturing for Eugene to come towards him. When Eugene got close enough, Daryl grabbed his hand, giving it a couple hard pumps and smacking Eugene on the shoulder with his other hand. While such a rough greeting would usually be unwelcome, Eugene found himself gripping Daryl back and greeting him with equal enthusiasm.

"How the hell are ya?," Daryl asked, giving him one more whack on the shoulder.

"All things considered, I'd say I'm at a solid seven out of ten," Eugene offered. He watched as a girl about Carl's age crowded in close to Daryl, tugging on his shirt. Her face was a rainbow of fading bruises and her arm was in a sling. And for a moment, Eugene was forced to add up the time that had passed in his mind. Because though it had only been a few weeks, Daryl seemed to have suddenly gained an entire family. Behind the girl that was tugging on him, there was another younger girl. And a woman that was about Rosita's height but significantly thinner and less muscular.

Daryl made a funny grunting noise, as though he had not only forgotten about his entourage, but also had no idea what the appropriate course of action was now that Eugene had noticed them. The woman smiled softly, turning her big dark eyes on Daryl as she waited for some sort of introduction. When all Daryl did was shuffle awkwardly and grunt again, she stepped forward and extended her hand to Eugene.

"I'm Jean," she said. Gesturing to the girls, she introduced them as Rose and Lily. "I'm Daryl's wife," she added, giving Laura a pointed glance that Eugene did not fail to notice. Daryl suddenly seemed to remember what little manners he had, wrapping his arm around her and confirming that she was indeed his wife.

"This is Eugene," he said, "...we came 'ere from Georgia together."

"Wife?," Eugene repeated, trying to get used to the idea. He wasn't sure if it was the idea of Daryl getting married, marriage in general, or just how quickly it appeared to have happened that was throwing him for a loop. "Is being assigned a spouse part of the S.O.P. for the members of this group?," Eugene asked, turning and staring at Laura with a look of total horror on his face. "Because that's a level of commitment that I'm not sure I'm ready for at this stage of my incarceration."

Jean barked out a laugh before she could stop herself. Then she tried covering her mouth with her hand. But it wasn't doing any good. Her laughter was still escaping from between her fingers. Not only was Daryl's friend a funny looking and very odd acting individual, but when he turned to look at Laura like she might rape him dead at any moment, Jean just absolutley lost it.

"Don't worry Haircut," Laura told him, "...you're not my type." When all she got in response was more laughter, Laura turned and stomped off.

"Get yerself some food," Daryl suggested, gesturing to the seat across from the one he claimed for himself. Eugene eyed the crowded cafeteria nervously, fighting back horrible flashbacks from high school. But after a moment, he headed for the line and got himself a tray full of what looked to be a filling and possibly even tasty meal. Then he took the seat across from Daryl and proceeded to make what felt like a somewhat normal conversation given the strange circumstances the two men found themselves in. Jean asked him about his job assignment and offered him a haircut. Which he politely declined, to her amusement. Eugene did his best to fill Daryl in on the events that had taken place in Alexandria, leaving out the more gruesome details. He confirmed that Carl made it home safe, which he noticed the two girls were happy to hear. Daryl told Eugene that he saw Morgan and heard that Carol was alright and staying at another community. Before long, Eugene found himself doing something that felt like it was straight out of some weird twilight zone version of reality. He invited Daryl back to his apartment to play video games with him after dinner. Daryl only shrugged. But the two girls seemed quite enthused by the idea. And before long, Eugene was cracking open a bottle of the wine he requested for himself when Laura told him he could have anything he wanted and pouring it into three glasses. Once the girls were fully absorbed in the old vintage game system, Eugene took a long look at the couple in front of him and began to consider having a more candid conversation than the one they had during dinner. But he wasn't sure if he could speak freely in front of Daryl's lady friend. Or Wife. Whatever her title in relation to Daryl, she was a savior.

"It's okay," Jean assured him as if she could sense Eugene's hesitation. "...you can say what you need to say. I won't tell anyone." Daryl nodded in confirmation of this. And Eugene wondered again not only how Daryl became entangled with this woman but how she managed to win his trust so quickly, something that took the majority of their group months to do.

"I've spent the last three days getting myself acquainted with the saviors' organizational methods and procedures," Eugene said. "...and I think that the chances of our group beating them if it came down to any type of armed conflict are statistically unlikely." Daryl simply nodded again. He came to the same conclusion fairly quickly. Jean's mouth dropped open slightly, and she turned her big doe eyes on Daryl before looking back at Eugene.

"Your people are planning to fight?," she asked. "They're going to fight Negan? They'll die if they do that. They have to know that." Jean lifted her glass, draining the rest of her wine in a few hard gulps.

"They know," Daryl said. "But they're still gonna fight."