RIDE OR DIE | DARYL DIXON

hostages

IT HAD BEEN APPARENT that multiple days have gone by.

Though time felt as if it were all over the place, their bodies were incredibly weak with the lack of food and water.

Neither one of them could get a word out to each other through their dried lips and throats.

They had thought they'd be able to wait it out, but each time they thought it was safe, the walkers were still lingering the hallways waiting for a bite. Willow would open the door slightly to see if there was any clear path they could take, but it always ended in her taking out a few walkers and retreating back inside once more came. 

They sat in the dark for days, hoping soon it would be safe enough for them to leave the small room, but the time and day never came.

Their muscles ached from being so cramped up into the room together. Their clothes stuck to them like a second skin from their sweat, rashes forming on their skin with horrible irritation.

It had felt as if they had lost all hope, but Willow refused to accept that.

She tried her best to scoot towards the door and open it in hopes of a clear path, but her weakness was no match for the body that blocked the other side of the door. She winced as she continued to shove the door, only getting it open an inch before it got caught on the body and closed again. 

Carol could see what Willow was trying to do with each little ray of light that peeked through the small inch of the open door. She reached over and tried to help Willow, but they both weren't strong enough at the time.

They tried one final time, only for the door to be slammed back on them. 

They kept quiet, assuming more walkers have already come along. Their heavy breathing from the efforts of getting the door opened sounded too loud, but they truly had given up in trying to stay quiet or even getting out of there. 

They could hear shuffling of footsteps on the other side of the door getting closer. Willow felt around the room for the broom, but the door had already been flung open. She looked at Carol one last time before she closed her eyes, waiting for the feeling of her skin being torn off the bone. 

But it never came.

She flinched when she felt a hand grab under her chin, tilting her head up. Her eyes flickered open, taking a few moments to focus on Daryl leaning through the doorway.

She felt as if she were already dead and she was just imagining it, but the warmth underneath his fingertips on her skin was enough for her to know it was real.

She tried to hoist herself up to her knees and eventually her feet, but she tumbled back down before she could even get there. 

She swallowed hard, trying to wet her throat enough to speak. "Take Carol first." Her voice was cracked and sounded more as a croak, but he understood. She watched Daryl scoop Carol into his arms and carry her out, using his foot to close the door behind him.

She leaned against the wall with her knees to her chest. She wanted to close her eyes, but the darkness already seemed like she had. Her body and her mind was tired, and there's not much that is keeping her awake except for knowing Daryl will come back for her. She's awake because they're not going to die in some small broom closet. They're going to return to their family, and it's because of T-Dog and Daryl. 

The door opened a few minutes later, another bright light beaming directly into Willow's eyes. She squinted hard against it and the irritation it caused her. 

"Let's go." She heard Daryl say as he bent down and picked her up into his arms.

Her body crumpled against him. She had felt bad for making him carry her like this, but there was no way she could've made it back on her own two feet. He made her feel weightless. Her muscles felt relieved and stretched. She kept her eyes squinted as he carried her past a few windows, catching a few glimpses of the vast amount of  bodies that lined the hallways.