Unexpected Love | Daryl Dixon Fanfic

Chapter 34 - Fighting Ring

Daryl's POV

Bullets we're flying past my head as I shot into the smoke. I told Rick I was going to be right behind him, but I think we both knew that was a big steaming lie.

Maggie had told me that it was Merle who kidnapped them on their run, and that it was in fact Emma that tried to save them from him. For one, she was nowhere to be seen when we found the others and I wasn't going to leave her behind again, and two, my brother was alive and I had to see him.

Rick had run to the wall but I stayed in position under this doorway, laying down cover fire so they could escape. Over the noise, I heard Emma scream for Maggie and my heart skipped a beat. It had been so long that I barely remembered that English accent, but as soon as I heard it I knew straight away it was her.

The townsfolk let off another clip of bullets in the direction of the wall, but it was quickly cut off when I sprayed mindlessly into the fog. Now I knew that Emma was most likely safe and with the others, it was time to go and find Merle.

I stepped out into the open, ready to storm through the smoke and go in all guns blazing, but as soon as the barrel poked out of the safety of the doorframe, the gun was ripped out of my hands and I was tackled to the ground.

Rick started bellowing my name, but before I could shout back, a gag was forcefully shoved in my mouth and I was tied up in record time. It started crossing my mind that this may have been a bad idea...

I thrashed around trying to loosen the restraints, but it did nothing but dig the ropes further into my wrists. Two arms hauled me upright off the floor, and as a third went to blindfold me, I kicked out straight into his chest and I swear I heard a few ribs crack.

Ouch.

The man curled over and slammed to his knees, howling in pain. His friends didn't seem to care about his discomfort though, as they dragged me around him whilst he was still on the floor and heaved me across the street.

I dug my heels in and tried to shoulder barge them as they brought me closer to this big shed-looking thing, and although it made them stumble, it didn't change the fact I was going in the hole.

They pulled open the doors and shoved me in with enough force to send me to the cold, concrete floor face first. If I didn't have this gag in my mouth, the pricks would have got a little piece of my mind.

They slammed the doors just as quickly as they'd opened them, and I was plunged into darkness. I awkwardly rolled myself over onto my back and pushed myself up into a seated position once I knew they were gone.

I pulled and tugged at the restraints but it brought zero relief. It felt as though the more I moved, the tighter they got. I turned my attention to the gag and rubbed the fabric against my shoulder, and they obviously weren't as thorough with that as it fell off without much effort.

I swung my legs underneath me and clumsily got to my feet, just as large flood lights clicked to life and gleamed through the cracks in the door. I crept closer and peaked through one of the fractures in the wood and was appalled by what I saw.

The lights were positioned in a circle, closed in by what looked like bleachers. People were excitedly climbing the stairs and taking a seat, facing inwards towards a makeshift fighting ring.

A man walked in circles in the middle of the ring and waited for the crowd to slowly calm down, then shouted "Hasn't been a night like this since the walls were completed. And I thought we were past it... Past the days when we all sat, huddled, scared in front of the TV during the early days of the outbreak."

The whole place went silent as soon as he spoke, and I knew straight away that this was the governor. He didn't look a thing like I was expecting. He looked like the type of guy that was an accountant or some stuck up CEO before the turn, that lived in his big five bedroom, detached house with his poster wife and didn't have a clue what the term 'hard time' meant.