Unexpected Love | Daryl Dixon Fanfic

Chapter 43 - Sacrifices For Victory

The days seemed to be going by so quickly recently as the sun had begun its slow descent again. I rested my head in between Daryl's shoulder blades as he rode, psyching myself up for yet another fight.

I knew it needed to be done, but I couldn't help but think about those poor people that the governor had brainwashed into fighting for him, when it was going to lead to their inevitable deaths.

It reminded me a lot about the time that Mitchel and I were deployed into Myanmar to assassinate one certain war lord that had no respect for his people. We faced countless amounts of child soldiers that didn't even know the dangers they faced and although we tried our hardest to spare as many as we could, a lot became collateral damage to reach the final goal of peace.

I could still vividly recall their faces, their innocent eyes filled with fear and confusion. Just like the people the Governor had manipulated, they were victims in a twisted game of power and control.

I tightened my grip on Daryl, finding comfort in his presence yet again. He knew just how dark my past memories were, but not to the full extent. I had shared only the top layer of my experiences with him, but there were certain things that remained buried as I was unsure how he could ever love me afterwards.

It's not like I didn't trust him, I would trust him with my life if it ever came to that, I just didn't want to lose what we had built because I was a sick mother fucker with no conscience.

For some reason, Daryl started to slow the bike down and I peeled my head out of his back, glancing over his shoulder at what was holding us up. I expected to see a horde of walkers or something along those lines, but instead, the yellow school bus that was just outside our gates was parked on the side of the road.

As we edged closer, I stood on the back of bike, using the pegs to get a foothold. I glimpsed inside the body of the vehicle and it was completely deserted, not one person in sight.

"It's empty." I shouted, confusion racing through my mind as I was sure I saw at least ten people jump into the back of this thing. I scanned the road and there were no signs of any walker's passing through, only adding to the puzzlement of the scene.

Daryl brought the bike to a stop and we both hopped off to investigate. Michonne pulled the car up next to us and as he explained to the others that it was abandoned, I went into detective mode to try and figure out what the fuck had happened.

I started walking around the vehicle and felt the engine as I passed. It was warm, but not too hot to overheat. There was no oil on the ground underneath and no other visible signs that it had broken down either. Maybe they had just ran out of diesel and had to walk it back, but with the supplies they had at Woodbury, I highly doubted they would've set off on an empty tank.

As I circled the bus, I noticed something moving in the adjacent field, making the long grass sway and giving away their hiding spot. I brought my rifle up to my shoulder and slowly pushed forward, trying to make as little noise as possible as I stalked towards them.

Before I could even reach whatever it was in the field, I came across multiple patches of flattened grass that looked very much out of place. The closer I got, the more I was able to see, and was slightly taken aback when I was met with bodies littered everywhere.

"Uhh... Guys..."  I called out, my voice catching in my throat at the grim sight before me. I recognised some of these people from the prison and knew they were residents of Woodbury, alive less than an hour ago but now dead in a ditch with bullets riddled in their backs. "You might want to see this..."

Daryl, Rick, Michonne and Merle all quickly made their way to my side, their eyes widening at the scene that was laid out bare before us. The ground was fully saturated with blood, painting a horrific picture of the violence that had occurred. The bodies were strewn haphazardly, and it was evident that the attack had been sudden and brutal.