Fear the Dead, Fight the Living
Daryl POV...
As I sat in the tiny dark room they had me in, naked, I kept thinking about everything that happened. Glenn, Abraham...both of them are dead now, and Phoebe, my Phoebe, what was she doing there? I could only assume it had something to do with how Maggie looked, she looked horrible and knowing Phoebe she was with them to get her to the doctor at the Hilltop. That's one of the reasons I loved her, she had such a big heart and would do anything for the people she loves. Now I was here, and she was back home dealing with the death of our friends, our family, and it killed me, I just want to hold her and tell her it's gonna be okay.
Suddenly my cell door opened up and I put my hand up because the light was bright, I saw Dwight standing there holding a sandwich for me, that disgusting dog food sandwich that I was forced to eat, I wanted nothing more then to grab it and shove it down his throat, but I won't. I'll play nice, but they won't break me, nothing is gonna break me.
'We're on Easy Street , And it feels so sweet, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, And we're breaking out the good champagne, I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train'
This god awful song. I don't know how long I've been in here, days, weeks, I wasn't sure. I do know one thing.
'And when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats, Right here on Easy Street'
This song could drive the most sane person in the world mad, like clock work this damn song would go off.
'Let's have a moment in the sun, The magic's only just begun'
I would rather deal with walkers, hell even the Governor again then hear this god...damn..song. I hear the door unlock and I stand up as it opens seeing Dwight once again with the other form of torture. I, of course, grab it and eat it to play along while hearing that song
I had finally managed to fall asleep, I thought of home, and my home is my wife, our unborn child. I will not let her raise our baby by herself. I will go back to her, no matter what.
I got maybe 10 minutes of sleep when suddenly...
'We're on Easy Street , And it feels so sweet, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, And we're breaking out the good champagne, I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train'
I hope whoever made this song got killed because right now I want to shove a knife in their skull...
'And when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats, Right here on Easy Street, Let's have a moment in the sun, The magic's only just begun'
This time it was different though, when Dwight opened the door he threw my sandwich on the ground, I grabbed it then took a bite then suddenly he threw something else at me, I looked and saw it was clothes, sweats but right now I didn't care, it was something to cover up myself with.
'Oh, to a life that can't be beat'
The door unlocks then opens as I sit there lost in thought again when Dwight walked in holding my crossbow
'Right here on Easy Street, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street'
He grabbed me by the shirt and stood me up then we walked out of the room
He lead me down a few hallways and I took the moment to try and memorize them so I could somehow find my way out. I see a couple guys in the hallway mopping the floor as we move past them walking to a door, "Carson." Dwight called as we walked in and I saw a man and the girl I met with Dwight in the woods
"We were just finishing up."
"Hi, D." The girl says to him
"Hey."
"Daryl, right?" She asked me
"Don't talk to him." Dwight told her and pushed me over to the table she was just on and I sat down
"It's negative." I heard her say to him
"Well, maybe next time."
"Sorry. Still getting used to being my own assistant." The doctor says and the girl walked over to me
"Whatever they say...just do it." She says to me
"I said don't talk to him." Dwight told her again
"Okay, let's take a look." The doctor said as he looked at my gunshot wound that this prick gave me, "It'll get better-if you let it. Negan will take care of you. Trust me."
We started to walk back down the hallway when Dwight pulled me down and I hear chuckling, I glanced and saw him, the fuckin prick who killed two of my friends, "Dwighty boy. I need to talk to my associate for a minute. Go about your business." I heard him say to the guys that were still mopping, "Except for you. You, stand right there." He directed to the guy that was with him, Dwight pulled me up and moved me around the corner
"Sit." He said placing me down in the chair that was in the hallway then the other guy pointed a gun at me, Rick's gun. I glanced into a room I saw across from me, then I felt someone watch me and I quick looked at Dwight who walked over and grabbed me bringing me outside
We stood by a fence and I saw walkers on some metal poles and a couple guys wearing the same sweats I was pushing a couple against the poles when I hear my crossbow shoot killing one, "You know, I'm getting the hang of this thing." He says indicating to my crossbow and I look down at the ground then he grabbed me and pushed me up against the fence, "That's you, asshole. Unless you're smart. Your choice. You could be like them...or me. Or them."
Dwight brings me back to my cell and I sit back down in the corner, "Make it easy on yourself."
"I ain't ever gonna kneel." I told him
"Yeah, I said that, too."
"Yeah, I know." I said
"See...that's the thing, man. You don't. But you're gonna." He told me then shut the door and locked it.
'We're on Easy Street , And it feels so sweet, 'Cause the world is but a treat, When you're on Easy Street, And we're breaking out the good champagne, I'm sittin' pretty on a gravy train, and when we sing, every sweet refrain repeats, Right here on...'
I'm gonna bash someone's skull in with that fuckin radio I swear to god. I stood up feeling around the door looking for weak spots then I started to try and kick it but I wasn't having any luck.
That song just keeps going and going, just then the door opens and I see someone else standing there, the guy that had Rick's gun pointed at me, he handed me my sandwich then leaves but...he didn't lock the door.
I slowly got up and grabbed the door knob slowly and quietly turning it opening the door, was it a trick? I'm not sure but I have to at least try.
I carefully moved down the hall from before looking for any signs of an exit, I came down another hall and stopped when I heard a door closing, I peaked around the corner seeing someone standing there then I heard foot steps coming from the hall behind me so I quickly ran down the other way
I went down another hall and peaked around the corner seeing a few people walk down another one, this place was a damn maze. I was to focused on waiting for the right moment that I didn't even hear someone walk up behind me, I turned and saw that brunette girl standing there, "Go back while you can. You know I did. Whatever he's done to you, there's more. There's always more. You won't get away. And when you're back, it'll be worse." She warned me. I looked at her then back around the corner seeing it was clear and I moved on. I reached a door that lead outside, I looked out the window and saw a bunch of bikes sitting there. Taking my moment I opened the door and ran over to them looking for keys but suddenly a door opens in front of me and a couple guys walk out, I turned to run the other way but the door I came out of opened up and some more guys came out and they surrounded me then I hear whistling as Negan walked over.
"Are we pissing our pants yet?" He asks walking into the middle of the circle, "Who are you?" He asked pointing his bat at the guy who had Rick's gun
"Negan."
"Who are you?" He pointed to another
"Negan."
"Who are you?" He asked all of them
"Negan."
"You see that? I am everywhere. And this was your shot to prove to me that that fundamental fact was sinking in, and you failed. Which sucks, because your life was about to get so much cooler. Am I right?"
"Damn right." The one guy says
"Now, Dwight gave you some options. I don't think you get it yet. So I'm gonna break it down for you. You get three choices. One, you wind up on the spike and you work for me as a dead man. Two, you get out of your cell, you work for points, but you're gonna wish you were dead. Or three, you work for me, you get yourself a brand-new pair of shoes, and you live like a king! Choice seems pretty obvious. You should know, there is no door number four. This is it. This is the only way." He chuckled, "Screw it." He says and he lifted his bat swinging it at me but stopped right in front of me, I didn't even flinch, "Wow! You don't scare easy. I love that. But Lucille...Well, it kind of pisses her off. She finds it to be disrespectful. Lucky for you, she's not feeling too thirsty today. But I am. So...I'm gonna go get me a drink!" He chuckled and walked away whistling I looked at the men around me and swung my fist up punching one of them, a couple of them grabbed me as I tried to fight them but they brought me to the ground and started to beat me.
"Daryl?" I hear the girl say outside my cell as I sat there in pain, "There's so many things I wish I never found out...I wish I didn't try...Back in the woods...after I lost Tina...when we took your stuff, when we decided to go back...I told you I was sorry. And you said, "You're gonna be." I am." She tells me then I hear her walk away
'Let's have a moment in the sun..'
The music shuts off and the door opens, Dwight stands there handing me a sandwich but I didn't take it so he tossed it on the floor, "Eat." He told me and I grabbed the sandwich, "You got your friend killed." He says hitting a sore spot, "I got Tina killed. And don't pretend like you don't know the score." He told me and I grabbed the sandwich throwing it at him, "You should be dead. But Negan's taken a shine to you. You're lucky. Don't forget." He reached over me and taped something to the wall, "Bon appetit." I grabbed it putting it on the floor then picked it up and looked at it. I leaned my head against the wall. It was a picture of Glenn.
'I was all right, For a while, I could smile for a while, But I saw you last night, You held my hand so tight, As you stopped to say hello, Oh, you wished me well, You couldn't tell.' He plays a different song, 'That I'd been crying over you, Crying over you, When you said, "So long", Left me standing all alone, Alone and crying'
I couldn't help it, I cried, it was my fault, my fault that Maggie lost him, their baby lost its dad, it was all my fault, my fault that Denise was killed, my fault that Phoebe was now back at home without me. It was all my fault.
'Crying, Crying, Crying, It's hard to understand, But the touch of your hand, Can start me crying, I thought that I, Was over you, But it's true, so true'
"Step in." Dwight tells me leading me into a room with a bed and I see Negan standing there
"Ahh. Jesus. You...look awful. Don't you worry. We'll have Carson fix you all up. You thirsty? Here." HE handed me a glass of water, "Ah, hell, I forgot. Your mouth is all... puffed up like a baboon's ass. Need a straw? D, give him a straw. What's wrong with you? See that guy? He hustles. I like hustle. But believe it or not, things weren't always cool between us. See, D here - he worked for points, him and his super hot wife and her super hot sister. But, see, sis - she needed meds. And that shit is hard to scavenge, so it cost more. Sis fell behind on points, so I asked her to marry me. Told her I would take care of her in sickness and in health, blah blah blah, because I am a stand-up guy. She tells me that she's gonna think about it. Next thing you know, I'm dealing with an orange situation. Dwighty boy here stole all the medication and took off with his super hot wife and my super hot maybe soon-to-be fiancée. So I had to send my guys after him. Because I can't let something like that stand. There...are...rules. Cost me an arm and a leg going after him. And you know what-Dwighty boy?" He chuckled, "He still got away. But here's the thing. D-he saw the light. He manned up. He came back. He asked for my forgiveness. I like that. Made me... take notice. But Lucille... Well...you know how she is. She is a stickler for the rules. So, Dwight...he begged me not to kill Sherry, which I thought was kind of cute, so I was just gonna kill him. But then Sherry says that she will marry me if I let Dwight live, which, if you think about it, that's a pretty screwed-up deal, 'cause I was gonna marry her sister until she wound up dead, but... Sherry is super hot. Anyways, it was a start. But it wasn't enough. So Dwight... he got the iron. And then I married his super hot wife. Ex-wife. And then after all that, he still got on board. And now look at him. Pow! One of my top guys. And we are totally cool. The point being, I think you can be that guy. I think you are ready to be that guy. You look around here. This?" He indicated to the room, "And this can be yours again too" He tells me holding up my wedding ring, "Now I first thought maybe you lost her before this world went to shit and still held onto it which I get, but then when I had your people on their knees, and the girl that yelled your name when you hit me, well, it all clicked. She..is..smokin hot" He tells me and I clench my fist, no one talks about my girl like that, "Now I almost want to offer her the chance to stay here but how is that anyway to gain your loyalty?" He asked, if he ever touches her, "Well...anyways, it can all be yours. All you got to do is answer one simple question. Who are you?" He asked me and I kept quiet, "What, does the cat got your tongue? You're just overwhelmed by the awesomeness of this? I'm gonna ask you one more time. Who are you?" He asked again and I looked at him
"Daryl."
"This is the only-" Dwight started to say
"Hey. Sst, sst, sst. It's cool, D. He made his choice. Ain't my problem if he made a dumb ass choice." He said
"You're gonna wind up in that room or hanging on the fence!" Dwight yells at me putting me back in my cell and started to walk away
"I get why you did it. Why you took it. You were thinking about someone else. That's why I can't." He shut the door and I sit there. I can't do it, I have to stay strong for Phoebe, for our baby, for the rest of my family. They all need me, and no matter what I will get out of here. I just need to wait for the right moment, then I can be with her again.