So, Hi! I know I didn't post last weekend and I am very sorry I missed you guys. I had to get a new computer mine finally died. Thank god I have all these chapters saved on my one drive! I do that because I legit write everywhere, on the bus, at work, sometimes in the store.
Anyway, here is a new chapter! yay! Let me know what you think! Also, I am currently stuck on chapter 16, so give me some love and maybe my muse will come back!
Happy Sunday
Cracks
Without a word to Daryl, Pandora moved to zip the bag up. It took a few tries to get it closed as her hands were shaking violently. It didn't matter what she saw in that bag, it didn't matter. It was theirs now, finder's keepers. The school-ground logic was the only thing that seemed to make sense her.
"Let's go. Which way do you think the bike is?" Her tone was hard and her back was turned to him. In her head, she kept a running count of the time between breaths. In: 1,2,3,4 out: 1,2,3,4. All she had to do was keep moving and keep breathing, easy right? She didn't get far before he was tugging the strap of the duffle to stop her.
"Pandora we-"
Snarling, she spun around, her hand shooting out to stop him. "No Daryl!" Her voice teetered on the edge of hysteria, eyes brimming with tears. "I want to go home."
"That girl could die without those meds."
"Then she dies." She was nearly shouting now, the calm she had tried to hold on to was cracking slowly. "They knocked us over the head, tied us up and threatened to kill us. They are not good people." Tears streaked down her face now, her anxiety and fear building. Hands tightened around the strap of the bag over her shoulder.
Home was beginning to feel like a distant memory. Her wandering blindly into the woods felt too much like before ,before the wolves came. He didn't know, how could he even understand what she was trying to outrun. How could he know what haunted her in the night, he saw her wake up screaming but he had no idea.
Daryl was standing in front of her now, pulling her his solid, warm frame. "Ah'm gonna get us both home Ah swear it."
She wanted to believe him, god she wanted to. He had never let her down before but this, this was different. The lack of choice made her skin crawl. What else was she going to do if he went back; she would go with him because she couldn't be alone might as well lay down and die.
"We go back, trade the bag for whatever else they got and we go."
A few moments of him holding her solid and present was enough to calm the storm inside her mind even if only for a moment. The thought of her hands tied up still plagued her mind. The idea of being helpless again made her want to put a bullet in their brains. He stepped back then and turned his eyes down, stuffing his hands in his back pockets.
"Ya stay back ok? Ah'm gonna do this and you stay behind me."
They walked along slowly, more for her. Every step her body screamed in protest, a catalog of injuries was something she would need to do whenever shit stopped hitting the fan. No matter how slow she moved or how often she stopped, Daryl never allowed himself to get too far ahead of her, always looking back and checking that she was still there.
The more they walked, the more the pounding in her head increased. Just let me live to see the walls again. She had never had somewhere to go back to before. Now the promise of being back in Alexandria was like a siren's song calling to her.
Something caught Daryl's attention. Stopping, he put his finger to his lips. She stopped as well, her knife held tight in her hand. Peaking around his should she saw them sitting on a burnt fallen log, the blonde girl was leaning on the dark haired one. The sight of the girl pale and shaking didn't bring any feelings forward from her.
"Drop the gun! Drop it!" Daryl's was positioned high resting on his shoulder, aimed at the blond man's head. She tried to filter through the bits of conversation in her head, he had a name she knew that. Dwane? No Daniel? No Dwight she was sure he name was Dwight.
The gun in Dwight's hand lowered, on impulse, she stepped forward. "Give it to me." Daryl stiffened beside her, but she took the gun checking to see if it was loaded then pointed it at his head.
"What you for got for the duffle? You put us through too much shit just to give it back. Principle of the thing." Daryl's words were clipped tone rushed, he hoisted the bag onto his shoulder. Anxiety rode off in his waves, it made her feel uneasy.
Despite his question, the group in front of them remained silent, rage sparked inside her. "What else do you have besides this fucking gun!" She snapped.
"Nothing" The women finally answered, her arms around the younger girl tightening.
"What about that thing you were craving?" Daryl pointed the arrow tip at his pocket, the only place he could he carrying something.
Dwight reached into his pocket pulling out a small object, for a moment he kept his hand closed into a tight fist. Pandora trained the gun on him just in case. The day had been too long and too hard for her to trust anyone. One wrong move and she would put a bullet in his brain, problem solved.
"This? My grandfather taught me-"When he finally uncurled his fingers a small wooden around lay in his palm.
"Don't care, it'll do." Snatching it from his hand Daryl turned to her. No further words were needed, she shifted the bag off her should letting it drop to the ground.
"It's all there, good luck. You're going to need it."
They turned together and started moving away from them. A weight eased off her chest as they turned away. It was done, they had done what Daryl wanted to do and now he would take her home.
The calm around them shattered with the sound of branches cracking around them. Daryl was fast, faster than she ever thought she could be. Before she could blink he was pressing her into a tree truck wedging her between the rough bark and his body.
There was the sound of boots and men shouting. The people were talking to them, screaming really. The words of the conversation never quite reached her ears, as hard as she tried to understand what they were saying.
Daryl pressed one of his hands to her mouth, it was then she realized she was hyperventilating. "Focus on me," he whispered into her ear. "We are going to run, ok?"
The idea of running seemed hilarious right now, they were surrounded. She could see them in front of her creeping through the trees, guns at the ready. Her head turned slightly, these must be the ones from before the men who had shot at them. Something clicked into place a like the last remaining piece of a puzzle. Those men on the road hadn't been waiting for just anyone, they had been waiting for Dwight and host group, and they had just gotten caught in the crossfire.
Suddenly he was shoving her forward, from the corner of her eye Dwight was trying to pull the blond girl up. Shoving her again Daryl moved backward putting his arm around the blond girl and tugging her forward. The five of them kept moving now together, staying low and quiet. The movement kept her focused, one foot, then another foot, head down, she gave instructions to herself.
Body running on auto pilot, she dashed behind a wall of burnt branches with everyone else. Panic thundered in her ears, she wasn't going to make it. It was too much, too much running, hiding and almost dying.
The voices around her were but only sounded like background noise to her brain. She curled into herself, knees putting pressure on her chest. One hand rubbed the raw skin at her wrist, the pain it caused helped only slightly. Something told her she should be trying harder to fight the fog to pay attention. But her body moved alone not needing her mind to be present it seemed.
"Hey come on, you got it." Daryl's voice snapped her into focus; his hand squeezed hers before letting go.
"What's wrong with her?" It was the man's voice again, Dwight. Somewhere she thought she heard someone call him Dwight.
"She's in shock. No thanks to you." For the first time, she heard the true anger in his voice. Anger at her she thought. Struggling, she blinked looking up at him, but he wasn't watching, his face was turned to Dwight.
"Like I said, we didn't know everyone there."
No reply from Daryl but they kept moving. Dwight shouted the younger girl's name, Tina maybe.
Then she was sitting again, Daryl crouched in front of her, wrapping up the wounds on her wrists. He spoke to her slowly but the words never reached her. She tried, though, tried to hear the words and take them in. Her world had become fog.
Her fingers traced the white bandages wrapped around her wrists. It was then she realized he was gone. There was screaming, then some crying. She only turned her head away from it to watch the sunlight streaking through the leaves. Time seemed to pass around her. Unable to keep track of its passing, she drifted away again.
Her body ached, her mind was tired. More and more she thought she was going to die out here. Daryl would make it, he always did, but maybe not this time. Something would happen and she would be given to the trees. He couldn't save her, he tried so hard. Part of her wondered why, why try?
"Come on Pandora, you gotta get up." It was Daryl's hands on her shoulders trying to pull her up. Her body didn't cooperate though and suddenly she saw the desperation in his eyes. "Come on."
"I'm tired." She whispered, turning away from him his hands falling from her shoulders. She was so tired, the weariness had sunk deep into her bones, making a home there.
"Ah know." That was all he said before pulling her up, ignoring her protests.
The next thing she knew he was talking about a car. She blinked, seeing him pulling the bike from under the branches where he hid it. That moment seemed like it was a lifetime ago already.
"Ah can walk it from here, until we meet with my friends. They have a car you can ride in." Glancing at her, he jerked his head to the side. "Ya hold on this side, ok?" She only nodded, wrapping her hands around the handlebar of the bike to help him lead it out from the bush.
Something clicked behind her, Daryl swore and spun around pulling the cross bow from his back. She stumbled, the weight of the bike too much for her to hold up alone, it tipped over onto the ground. Turning slowly, she watched them, trying to make sense of what was happening. Helplessly, her mouth opened and closed trying to form words.
Dwight's eyes snapped to her, "I'm sorry." He was looking right at her now, rage curled in her stomach. "Give her the crossbow"
"You gonna go back? - You gonna be safe? Ain't nowhere safe no more." Daryl growled at them.
"Give her the crossbow." Dwight said again his voice holding an edge. Pandora watched helplessly as he pulled it off his shoulder and handed it over.
Her body was flying into motion before her head knew what was happening. She flew at him, hands raised for the gun. Either she was slow or he was fast or both, but the butt of the gun connected with the side of her head, sending her spinning. Tumbling backward, the ground seemed to rise to meet her. The shock of the landing made her gasp, air rushing from her lungs. Darkness spotted her vision, she tried to blink it away but it only grew.
The last thing she heard was the sound of the bike's engine moving into the distance, then nothing.