❛ now daryl, daryl was gray. he always seemed to be bitter and emotionless with no other dimensions to himself; his mere presence was the only one. gray was intriguing, almost acting like an acquired taste, but it had the potential to be beautiful t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
twenty nine.
I sat on the bed with my legs crossed, my notebook sitting in my lap. A pen rested in my hand while I drew squiggles and curvy lines carefully on the paper to pass the time. I heard the door shut but I didn't bother to look up from my art to see who it was. They stopped in front of the cell, straight ahead of me.
"Hey," they said, something hanging from their hand. I sighed, looking up at them. Carl awkwardly shifted back and forth, obviously nervous. His nose seemed swollen, complete with a huge bruise. My eyes flickered down to his hand. He held a wilted daisy. I stared at it in confusion. He saw my reaction and began to talk. "This is for you." Carl held it out towards me, moving a little closer. I looked at him suspiciously. I leaned forward and took the drooping flower out of his possession. I twisted it around in my fingers.
"Thanks," I muttered. Carl looked at me like he was waiting for me to say something, but I ignored him and went back to writing. He shook his head in frustration. I watched him leave out of the corner of my eye. Once the door closed behind him, I angrily snapped the flower in half and threw it to the floor. I returned to drawing, my then relaxed lines turning into angry jagged points. Merle leaned against the bars of the cell. He opened his mouth to talk but I slammed the notebook down on the bed and stood up. "Just leave me alone! I don't wanna hear what you have to say," I grumbled. "I'm gonna find Carol. I wanna talk to her."
"Good luck with that," he retorted just as I was about to leave the cell. I stopped dead in my tracks and slowly turned around to face him.
"What is that supposed to mean?" I scrunched my brow in confusion.
"She's gone."
"Gone? What do you mean gone? Where is she? Is she just out on a run," I asked him. He crossed his arms over his chest, sighing. Brief silence followed. "Merle," I lowered my voice. "Where is she?"
"She was sent away," he revealed. The annoyed look on my face melted away into sadness. "She took two of the sick, killed 'em; they had it first. She didn't want it spreadin', but if you look around ya see it didn't work." I glanced over everyone. They were sprawled out on their beds continuing to hack away, one person even vomiting on the floor. The atmosphere was wretched, awful.
"But she tried," I suggested. I could see where Carol was coming from. I could understand her thought process. "She was trying to help." He rolled his eyes at me. "When I get outta here, I'm gonna find her."
"You do that, Rick won't be too happy."
"Rick isn't too happy with me already," I fired back. "I'm gonna bring her back whether he likes it or not. She doesn't deserve to not be with us."
△
Night had already fallen, everyone well asleep when the door suddenly creaked open. I jumped at its sudden noise. Daryl stepped in, sauntering over to me.
