Lost Too Much 【REDONE】 ║ Daryl/OC or Shane/OC

Chapter 97: She wasn't a stranger to me.

I wasn't expecting a truce at the end of this. I expected this war to end with every last Reaper dead if I wasn't dead myself. Daryl had managed to derail our plan.

With Carver tied up, bound at his hands with a gag in his mouth, we made our way out to where we planned to meet. Carver was pissed, rightfully so, as Daryl roughly led him forward. The rest of us, including Negan, Elijah, Maggie, and myself, stood by with hesitance. No words had to be said out loud for me to know we were all thinking the same thing --- this wasn't ending the way Daryl wanted it to. I wasn't sure if the others had realized it yet, but Gabe and Shane were unaccounted for. It wasn't impossible to suspect Leah had gotten to them. This was going to end in gunfire.

Now that it was light out again, the damage we had done during the night was much more visible. There were walker bodies everywhere. Near us was the busted gate, and beyond it, I could see the chunks and shreds of metal left behind from the landmines. There was the occasional body of a dead Reaper, too. I knew by now that there weren't many of them left. We might've even had them outnumbered, though to be fair, they were strong enough individually that they could still probably win if we fought again.

Maggie and I didn't get a chance to talk yet, not since we arrived at Meridian. I wasn't sure if she was willing to go with Daryl's plan or if she was simply pretending to go along with it. The only thing I knew for certain was my own decision; I wouldn't spare Leah just to appease Daryl. He had never assured me our friendship would stay in tact if I killed her. I had decided I didn't want to risk my family to preserve our friendship. If he'd hate me for killing her, I'd learn to live with it.

As much as I wanted to trust Daryl's instincts and believe we could walk away without killing anyone else, Elijah was still hellbent on killing Carver to avenge his sister and I felt guilty taking that chance away from him. I had already done it to Maggie. I kept looking through my brain for reasons Carver deserved to die that didn't also apply to Negan back when it was truly a problem. I wanted to let Elijah get his revenge without making myself look like a hypocrite. I wasn't sure there was a way.

Daryl held the walkie-talkie to his mouth before pressing the button to speak. "Leah."

Hardly a moment passed before her voice returned through the radio, "We're here."

Across the road we stood on, a heavy, rusted door creaked open. Stood behind it, barely peeking out, was Leah. Seeing her face in the broad daylight brought me annoyance.

"Come out. Throw your weapons on the ground," Daryl demanded. Of course, she couldn't make it that easy.

"I need to see Carver first!"

Daryl seemed annoyed, too, though it didn't seem to personally be about Leah. I couldn't fathom the idea of him still having feelings for her after everything that had happened. Daryl handed his radio to Negan before placing a knife to Carver's throat, leading him out into the open. I had a hand placed on the gun I had gotten from Austin's body, ready to fight at any given second.

"Come out!" he commanded again. This time, the three remaining Reapers exited their shelter, standing in the open along with Daryl and his hostage. "Throw your weapons on the ground!"

Yet again, to no one's surprise, Leah ignored his request. "What are you offering?"

The four of us, still stood where the Reapers couldn't see us, seemed to feel the same sense of dread. Daryl's plan was the complete opposite of what we wanted coming here. Yes, I would prefer to get out of here quickly and without losing someone else, but Maggie and I both also wanted the Reapers out of the way. Elijah wanted revenge for his sister, and I couldn't deny him that right if no one else wanted to object.