Lost ; Daryl Dixon

Chapter 7

Daryl walked alone, picking his way through the wood that bordered the road, having left his bike a couple of miles back. If the Sanctuary was still crawling with walkers, he wanted to be able to slip in and out as quietly as possible, without the roaring engine tipping them off to his presence. Rick had offered to come, and Maggie, but he'd turned them down, needing to do this on his own. He remembered the state he'd been in when he made his own escape, exhausted and a little disorientated, and knew that Y/N would need a little time and space to adjust. The least he could do was ensure that she had that.

He had to force himself to keep a steady pace, when all he really wanted to do was sprint along the road, crash into the building and scream her name until she came to him, but he couldn't be sure how many surviving Saviors would be hiding in the trees, deciding on their next move now that their kingdom had crumbled. It was safer to play it stealthy, keeping the element of surprise on his side, but it was killing him. He could feel her presence, so close now, and he itched to reach out and wrap her up in his arms, and promise to never let anything like this happen to her ever again. She was his girl, and he'd show her that a million times over until she felt like herself again, until she felt like his. He was sure it would be what they both needed.

The crunch of leaves maybe five metres in front of him halted him in his tracks, crossbow raised, as a hulk of a man appeared through the trees. He had a pistol clenched in one hand, a tin of peaches cradled in the other, and a large bloody gash split open the wrinkled skin of his forehead, disappearing under his receding hairline. He froze when he saw the archer's weapon pointed at his skull, raising his arms in surrender, before recognition flashed across his face.

'Well, whaddya know? It's Daryl!'

Daryl recognised his voice as one he'd heard through the door of his cell many times, and his finger tensed, ready to send an arrow flying. 'Where is she?' His question came out as a dangerous growl, as he fought to keep control.

'I don't know who you're talking about,' the Savior grinned, shrugging his shoulders nonchalantly and testing Daryl's patience.

'Y/N, the girl he took from Alexandria. I ain't playin' no games here, so just tell me where the fuck she is!'

'Oh, you mean that pretty little thing with the big doe eyes? Tends to forget how to breathe every so often? Shit, Daryl, I didn't realise she was your girl!'

The archer took a step forward, closing the distance between him and his prey, narrowing his eyes as he took a deep breath to calm his temper. 'Just tell me where she is.'

'I-I don't really know how to tell you this, man. She... she didn't make it out. Got torn to shreds by that crowd of walkers you guys let in. I saw it myself. Had to put her down to make sure she wouldn't become one of them, though I gotta say, there wasn't a whole lot left.' Though his tone was remorseful, the grin that spread across his face was cruel and mocking.

'Nah.' Daryl was shaking his head, refusing to believe that that could have happened. 'Nah, that ain't right. She'd of been locked up in a cell or somethin', ain't no way she'd of just been walkin' round, unguarded. That ain't right!'

'She wasn't in no cell, dude,' the man before his scoffed. 'Shit, she broke after the first couple of days. Since then she's been strutting round in one of them little black hooker dresses lookin' like she done owned the damn place, Negan's newest queen bee.'

'What? No...' Y/N as one of Negan's wives? It was unthinkable, and yet...

'I'm sorry, Daryl, I am, but I gotta tell you, your chick grabbed that marriage proposal with both hands and wrung every little perk she could get out of it. Led to her downfall though, if you think about it. If she'd stayed in her cell where she belonged, she probably woulda made it out of this mess.'