A Survivor's Diary of the Apocalypse (TWD/Daryl Dixon)

S7Pt9 - Escape

Daryl's P.O.V

I was trapped in my cell again, left alone in the dark, and all I could think about was Kell.
What Negan did in front of all of us to that man, because of what he did to her.
Kell got raped.
I wasn't there for her. She was alone. She got taken advantage of, and I couldn't help but feel guilty.
"I should've been there." I thought to myself. "I wish I could've killed that guy, I swear I would've."
I needed to get out of here. Me and Kell have been apart for long enough. I needed to see her again.
Just then, a piece of paper slid underneath the door and hit my foot. I picked it up, and felt a key taped to the back.
"Go now."
I didn't wait another second. I used the key to unlock the door, and carefully checked the hallway. It was clear again, but instead of using the exit, I ran the opposite direction. I snuck around the compound, hiding from a few guards, until I reached the room I saw Kell always go into.
I quietly, but frantically, knocked on the door. I kept knocking until the door opened.
"What do you--" She said as she answered the door, but froze when she saw me.
I held my finger up to my mouth and gently pushed her inside, closing and locking the door behind me.
I turned around to see Kell just staring at me, and I stared at her. I was grateful to see her, but didn't know what to say.
Kell just stared crying, covering her mouth to stay quiet and shook her head. She walked towards me and I opened my arms to hug her. She quietly cried into my chest and I pet her hair, and I felt myself almost start crying too.
"I'm so sorry." Was all I could say.
"I missed you. I thought I lost you." She cried.
I pulled her back and looked into her eyes.
"I am so sorry I wasn't there. But I'm here now." I said. "I'm here now."
She nodded and I finally took a minute to look at her. I saw the stitches on her cheek and she sighed.
"How'd it happen?" I asked.
"At Alexandria, before they took me... I tried to kill Negan." She said, slightly bowing her head.
I nodded and then looked at Kell's arms, which had a few bruises, and looked at her legs covered in bruises that matched a hand print.
"I tried to stop him..." Kell said, trying not to cry again. "He was-- he just..."
"You don't have to tell me." I said. "I'm so sorry Kell."
She nodded and I just held her shoulders and looked at her, and she finally looked back at me.
"I love you Daryl." She whispered.
"I love you too Kell." I said.
For the first time in a long time, I embraced Kell and pulled her in for a kiss. She was hesitant at first, but she soon gave in. I kissed her again, then kissed her cheek, and hugged her tightly.
"We're leaving." I said. "But we gotta go now."
She nodded and we both looked down at our clothes, and we knew we needed to change. I took of my shirt and threw it across the room, and Kell kicked off her heels. She struggled taking off the dress, and I had to help her. I saw a glance of more bruises on her hips and shoudlers, but she quickly turned around. She walked over to a dresser and pulled out a tank top and jeans that would fit her. She tossed me a shirt, and I caught it, then went over to the closet. I grabbed a pair of jeans and saw a flannel, and took that too.
Kell quickly got dressed and I put on the jeans, about to put on the flannel, when Kell ran up to me.
"No." She yelled in a hushed voice, yanking the flannel out of my hand. "Don't wear that."
I just stared at her, and then remembered the guy who raped her was wearing a flannel. Before I could apologize, she tossed me a leather jacket, and she only wore a tanktop. She refused to wear that flannel.
"Come on." She said.
I grabbed a pair of shoes that would fit me, and Kell put on her boots. I then slowly opened the door, checked if it was clear, and then grabbed Kell's hand.
"Let's go." I said.
We snuck around the corners again, ran down a hallway, back to the exit. I opened the door and ran into the small courtyard, where I saw a line of motorcycles. I saw mine and we ran over to it. I began trying to start it, and Kell was keeping watch.
"The hell." A fat man said.
This man appeared, eating a hotdog, and saw us trying to escape. I saw he was wearing a flannel and Kell was biting her lip in anger. She calmly grabbed a pipe and twirled it in her hand.
"Woah." The guy said, putting his hands up and dropping his food. "Woah. It's cool. I swear."
Kell took another step closer, tilting her head and stared at the man. She dragged the pipe behind her, and if I was that guy I'd be scared.
"You can walk right out that back gate there." He said, beginning to panic. "I won't say anything to anybody. I'm supposed to be the now... Listen, I'm just trying to get by. Just like you guys... Please, don't."
"Please, don't." Kell mimicked him. "That's what I said too."
Kell raised the pipe and hit the guy in the head. She repeatedly hit the guy, smashing his brains, and sprayed blood everywhere. She began crying with sadness and anger, and kept beating the guy.
"Kell.." I said and walked over to her. "He's dead."
She backed up and threw the pipe to the ground, and turned around. She hugged me and cried into my chest again.
"I'm sorry." She said, wiping her tears and clearing her throat. "I'm okay."
"You're okay." I said, lightly touching her cheek. "Okay. Let's go."
We got on my bike and I turned it on, loving the sound of hearing the engine purr. Kell wrapped her arms around me and I backed the bike up. We stopped at the dead guy, and I saw something familiar in his back pocket. I bent down and picked it up, and held Rick's Colt Python in my hand. I quickly put it in my pants and patted it, knowing that is was going to bring it back to Rick.
Then, in just a few seconds, I turned the bike around and sped off, not caring who I'd attract. When leaving the compound, only a couple of Negan's men noticed us, but we were gone before they even had the chance to follow.