The Journey Ahead | Daryl Dixon

The Journey Ahead (8)

^^^ Song Name: "Can You Feel My Heart"
^^^ By: Bring Me the Horizon
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I tossed and turned on the cold concrete floor of the garage Daryl and I were held up in. I looked around to try and adjust my eyes to the morning light. Off in the distance I heard faint yelling. I got up off of the dusty floor and went to go see what the fuss was about.

I ducked behind one of the cars and looked around the corner to see Len and Daryl going at it. I automatically felt a pit in my stomach as I heard the yelling intensify.

"I didn't take Ya damn rabbit!" Daryl shouted.

"Yeah Ya did! I saw Ya take it!"

"Man you don't know what the hell yer talkin about!" Daryl said getting up in his face. He shoved him backwards a little bit, causing Len to trip over himself and fall against the side of a truck. Joe immediately caught sight of the two bickering and got between them.

"What's all the yellin for?" Joe said.

"He took ma half of the rabbit you split. Check em'! I saw him take it!" Len shouted frantically, pointing fingers at Daryl.

"You don't know nothin'" Daryl growled.

It was quiet for a couple of seconds until Len decided to open his mouth again.

"That girl you're coverin, she ain't gonna last out here. Not with someone like you to protect her. Nah, she needs a real man. One that'll please her." He said giving Daryl smug look of satisfaction. Before Len could go any further with his childish taunting, Daryl was on him instantly. The sickening sound of Daryl punching Lens face in was gruesome, but also worth it. Swing after swing, Daryl went at Len. As much as I wanted this to continue, I couldn't. It didn't feel right, not at all.

I ran out from behind the car and grabbed onto the back of Daryl's shirt. I tried to pull him off but he was a lot stronger than me.

"Daryl Stop!" I yelled, but he was gone, he was in his own state of mind. As of this moment, that mind was only focused on one thing, making sure Len got what he deserved.

I kept screaming for him to stop, but at this point it felt like screaming into the void. No one to hear me, no one to help. I crumbled to the ground, holding my head in my hands, constantly screaming 'stop' or 'enough'.

After a couple more throws, Daryl finally stepped back and looked over Len, admiring the work he did. He turned around to look at me, but I shuttered at his glare. His hair was sticking up in all directions, his face teeming with sweat, and blood... Everywhere. The coloring in his eyes was so dark that it was almost impossible to tell the difference between the pupil and the iris.

He stumbled closer to me, weak from the amount of energy he pored into beating Len. He outstretched his hand to reach out and hold me, but I scooted backwards, my feet frantically shuffling to get as far away as possible from him. I eventually hit the back of a tire from one of the trucks. My breathing quickened and tears eventually brimmed my vision. The man I looked at before me wasn't Daryl. This wasn't the Daryl I knew.

He stopped as he saw how terrified I was. He looked around and saw all of the men staring at him wide eyed, most were staring at Len. As Daryl looked around the group his eyes finally fell on Len, lying on the floor, bruised, bloodied, and beaten. Joe stumbled to Len's side and checked for any sign of life. He places his hand over Len's eyes and bowed his head. He was dead.

I stood up and ran for the door. My vision was clouded by the tears the threatened to fall. Just before I met with the entrance of the garage, I felt someone grab me by my middle and pull me back. One hand grabbing my hair, while the other wrapped around my middle keeping me in place. Another one of the groups members came up and took a knife to my cheek. He slowly pulled the dullish blade across my skin. A small line of blood trickled down my face and formed little droplets on the ground before me.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" Daryl yelled at the top of his lungs. Joe stepped beside me along with the other two holding me. Two men grabbed Daryl and put his arms behind his back firmly keeping him in place as well.

"Or you'll what, kill another one of us?" Joe said. Daryl shook his head at the fact he brutally killed someone.

I whimpered at the events that have taken place in a matter of minutes. A man was murdered, by the man I love. We were taken captive and are now held at the hands of the group. Was this how we died? My mind raced back and forth between what is and what could be.

Joe pulled out a pistol and placed it at my temple. He took the safety off, causing the gun to make a small click noise. My breathing only became more and more rapid. I looked up and saw Daryl frantically thrashing to free himself of the men's grip. The look in his eyes was hurt, sadness, anger, fear, all rolled into one. I've never seen anyone act this way before. Why was he so desperate to keep me safe. I wasn't his responsibility, but I was all that was left.

"You killed one of our own, now it's time that you paid the price." Joe said as he pushed the gun closer into my temple, his finger just resting on the trigger. I closed my eyes and awaited my death.

"Kill me instead! Not her, not her." Daryl said, shaking his head violently. Joe smirked and let out a small laugh out of amusement.

"Nah, that would be too easy." He said. Just before my final moments I saw tears running down Daryl's face. And just as a tear rolled down his cheek he whispered something barely audible.

"I love you."

A single gunshot was heard. Followed by a couple others.