Chapter One: Maggie and Daryl's Rescue Mission
Alison, a fourteen-year-old girl, stumbled her way into a store called Sporting Life that was one of the stores lined up along one of the largest Strip Malls in Virginia. She grabbed a hockey stick that was amongst the clutter and slipped it into the two door handles in an effort to keep the dozen or so Creeps that had been on her trail for the past eleven miles or so out. She used her body weight to push a display case over for the extra protection before staggering over to one of the tables and used her arm to push all the sports merchandise onto the floor. Alison unclipped the strap of her bag that went along her chest and slipped it off onto the floor before fiddling with her belt, sliding it through the loops of her jeans and tying it around her arm just above the bite mark.
Alison knew what needed to be done as she had seen it done herself. If she had any chance of surviving, she needed to take her arm. She wouldn't allow herself to turn into one of those Creeps, not as long as there was still a chance of finding her community. She grabbed the machete that she had strapped to her leg before laying her arm down on the table and raising it up. She couldn't help but to hesitate for a moment as she gathered all the courage that she had. One quick movement, that's all it would take. She took some unsteady breaths before tightly clenching her teeth together and bringing the machete down onto her arm. The machete cut clean though, embedding itself into the table and leaving her arm severed just below her elbow.
Alison let out a blood curdling scream as the machete cut her arm clean off. She knew it would hurt, but she didn't think it would be this painful. She thought that her adrenaline would cover up some of the pain, but apparently not. It felt as if someone was holding a blowtorch to what remained of her arm. She couldn't bear the immense pain that was coursing through her body. The agony was unbearable, it overwhelmed all of her senses as she fell to her knees and wretched as bites of food she had eaten the day before splattered in front of her.
Alison felt her strength starting to fade, the corners of her vision start to darken as she collapsed onto her side. The ground felt hard beneath her and the longer she laid there the more danger she would be in. She felt her body begin to roll until she found herself on her back, staring up at the ceiling. She knew that she needed to stay awake and she couldn't let herself fall asleep, but her body seemed so heavy at the moment that she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer as she allowed the darkness to take her.
Meanwhile, a couple of stores down, Maggie and Daryl were gathering supplies at the Baby Boutique for Judith and Hershel. Maggie looked through what remained on the shelves, her focus mainly on clothing for Hershel as he seemed to be growing out of everything these days. Daryl helped by pushing the cart behind her and checking off items on their list as they went down the aisles. Normally Daryl would have huffed at the idea of going baby shopping, but he found himself needing to get away from Alexandria for a little bit and going with Maggie gave him the perfect opportunity to stretch his legs.
"Look at this!" Maggie uttered as she showed Daryl the price tag on one of the onesies that had caught her eye. "Forty dollars for one onesie! Can you believe it?" Maggie asked as she shook her head in disbelief. It was hard to think how anyone could spend so much money, especially on baby clothes. "I can't believe people had that kind of money." Maggie explained as she tossed the onesie into the cart along with a few others. The one good thing about the apocalypse was that they didn't need to pay for things anymore. If you wanted it, you could just take it.
Daryl allowed a small smile to form on his lips as he agreed with Maggie. He thought back to his life before the apocalypse and realized he had never spent that kind of money on a single thing. The only exception being his prized possession: his crossbow. Daryl had to save every single penny for a year in order to buy that crossbow, and it was the most expensive thing he has ever owned. Everything else was either taken from the trash or taken from others. For Daryl life was always making due with what you had which was why he was so good at surviving in this world.
"How are Judith and Carl doing?" Daryl asked as he continued to trail behind Maggie. It had been nearly a year since Rick disappeared, swept away in the chaos of the collapsing bridge they had been building. The uncertainty weighed heavily on everyone and they couldn't find a body. They didn't know if Rick was dead or if he was out there somewhere, injured and unable to get back home. It was hard on everyone, especially his two kids. Thankfully Maggie stepped up and took care of them as though they were her own.
Maggie let out a slight sigh at Daryl's question "Somedays are better than others. I keep thinking about taking them to Hill Top or the Kingdom, to get them away from Alexandria for a little while, but Alexandria is their home. I just don't know what to do." Maggie explained, feeling lost on how she could help Judith and Carl. "Judith is still having nightmares. She woke up crying last night saying that her dad was a Walker," Maggie explained as she pushed her hair out of face, "That remains me, we need to pick up some more pull ups before we leave." Maggie explained since Judith had started wetting the bed.
"They just need more time is all, it's worse not knowing." Daryl explained with a frown. He felt as if he failed Judith and Carl. He was out there for months looking for Rick, but there was nothing. No signs of what could have happened to him. He would still be out there looking, but with Michonne gone Maggie needed help with the community.
"I know. It's just hard seeing them in pain and being unable to do anything to help them." Maggie explained as she tossed a couple of teethers for Hershel in the cart since hers seemed to be going missing.
"You are doing something, you're doing a lot and Rick would be grateful for it," Daryl explained, "Everything is going to work out and if you ever need help I'm here and so is everyone else. You're not alone and neither are Judith and Carl. You guys have a whole community at your side." Daryl explained.
Maggie smiled, Daryl always knew that right thing to say to make her feel better. "Thanks," she said softly, "I just wish…" Maggie started to express her feelings, the words forming on the tip of her tongue, but before she could get another word out a loud scream rang throughout the store, startling both her and Daryl. Maggie grabbed for her gun that she had strapped to her leg as Daryl was quick pulling his crossbow to the front.
"Stay behind me." Daryl said firmly. During the past year he had taken on a protective role over Maggie, especially since she had three children waiting for her back home. He didn't want Hershel to lose the only parent he had left and Judith and Carl have lost enough for a lifetime. They didn't need to lose Maggie.
He stepped out of the small shop and into the long hallway, doing a quick scan of the place. He looked at the walls, the floors, and every corner, but there was nothing. They cleared this place out years ago and they haven't had a problem since.
"I think it's coming from there." Maggie informed, her voice steady yet filled with worry. She pointed over to the sporting goods store where rustling could be heard. "You think a Walker got in?" Maggie asked.
Daryl stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face Maggie, his eyebrow raising a little. "Only if Walkers have learned how to scream." Daryl sarcastically answered before turning back around and continuing forward. "Stay back," Daryl ordered as he stepped cautiously into the dimly lit shop. He kept his crossbow at eye level, ready to shoot at anything that might jump out at him. The air inside was thick with dust and there was a musty smell that filled the area. Daryl used his foot to push away the clutter that littered the floor as he made his way further into the shop. His gaze quickly went to the horrifying sight, a severed arm laying on the table with a machete.
His heart started to race as he carefully rounded the table to see a young girl lying unconscious on the ground. "Maggie!" Daryl yelled. Without hesitation, Daryl tossed his crossbow on the table and knelt beside the girl. He reached out and placed two fingers on the girl's neck, feeling a slight pulse. "She's alive!" Daryl informed as he turned back to see Maggie had made her way behind him, a shocked expression covering her face before turning back to the girl.
"She did it herself?" Maggie asked, horrified. The realization hit her like a punch to the stomach. It became painfully clear what had happened.
It didn't take much to realize what happened. The severed arm on the table with a bloody bite mark taken out of it. The machete embedded in the table and the belt around the girl's arm. She was bitten and in order to save her life, she took her own arm. Maggie had to hand it to the girl, she didn't think she would be able to do it if it came down to that. The severed arm with the blood still fresh. A gruesome bite mark, the machete, its blade stained and stuck deep within the table leaving no doubt on what happened.
Maggie took a deep breath, her heart pounding in her head as she pieced together what happened. The girl had been bitten and instead of allowing herself to turn she took her own arm in an effort to save her life. Maggie had to hand it to the girl, she possessed a level of courage that Maggie doubted she could ever have.
"We need to get her back." Maggie started firmly without a second thought. If this girl had a chance at living through this then they needed to get her back to their doctor, Siddiq. She placed her gun back into her holster before grabbing Daryl's crossbow and the girl's backpack, swinging it over her shoulder. "You got her?" Maggie asked.
Daryl gave a quick nod as he slid his arms under the girl's knees and supported her lower back as he lifted her up into his arms with ease.
Daryl carefully followed Maggie out of the building and to their car. Thankfully they had decided to park fairly close to the door. They both were on the lookout, avoiding the group of Walkers that were slowly making their way to the entrance of the store where they had found the girl. Maggie had a strong suspicion that these were the same Walkers that the girl was desperately running from. Maggie opened the back door, sliding into the backseat and scooting all the way over to the right before assisting Daryl in getting the girl into the car.
"Here!" Maggie yelled, her voice filled with urgency as she dug the keys out of her back pocket of her jeans and tossed them to Daryl. "You drive and I stay back here with her." Maggie explained as she took the girl in her arms.
Daryl didn't say a word, simply slamming the door shut before quickly making his way to the front seat and getting in. He put the keys in the ignition and as the engine roared he pressed the pedal down as far as it would go. The car shot forward, racing down the road. The tires screeched briefly as they headed back to their community in hope of saving the girl.