𝖣𝖺𝗋𝗄𝗇𝖾𝗌𝗌 𝖪𝖾𝖾𝗉𝗌 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖬𝖾 | ᴅᴀʀʏʟ ᴅɪxᴏɴ ³

ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ᴛʜɪʀᴛʏ

«SIDDIQ»

     

CHLOE HAD JUST sat down for a meal with Daryl, Tom, and R.J. when came Gabriel knocking on their door. Their prisoner seemed to be in significant pain, and Gabriel requested immediate medical attention for him. 

Rushing alongside Daryl, Chloe found Siddiq and Dante already descending the stairs in a hurry to reach the cell.

"What happened?" Siddiq asked as they all walked in to find the man cowering in his cell, shaking.

"I don't know," Gabriel explained. "We came back, and he was shaking in pain."

"Put your healing hands on me, Doc," the shaking man gasped, and Dante crouched in front of him. "I'm burning up here."

"What's the problem?"

"How the hell should I know?! Just make it stop!"

Chloe stepped back, letting the two doctors handle the situation without crowding the place. However, when the man started seizing, she hurried to assist, attempting to hold him down.

In the dimly lit cell, the man's body convulsed uncontrollably, each seizure more intense than the last. His limbs jerked, and his entire frame trembled. Chloe, her concern etched across her face, held the man's thrashing limbs, doing her best to prevent any harm that might befall him.

Siddiq's voice cut through the room, his diagnosis unsettling. "His breathing is laboured, pupils dilated, muscles convulsing... but there are no signs of infection."

Dante, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, continued his attempts to stabilize the man. "It doesn't make sense," he muttered.

"Hey, hey, easy."

"Hold him!"

As the seconds ticked away, the intensity of the seizure seemed to reach a climax as the man committed blood all over Dante's white robe.

"Chloe, get the red bark from my bag!" Siddiq's urgent command spurred Chloe into action. She hurried toward Siddiq's bag, Daryl at her side, both searching for the jar of red bark. "Red bark!"

Despite their swift efforts, the man's condition deteriorated rapidly. He collapsed abruptly, succumbing to unconsciousness as an eerie stillness settled over the cell.

"No, Carol," Daryl's voice carried a note of distress as Carol entered with Lydia, but upon witnessing the scene, she turned away and left.

"This morning, did you give this to him?" Siddiq questioned Dante, reaching for a jar in the possession of the deceased man.

"Yeah, for pain and inflammation."

"You killed him," Siddiq accused.

Chloe stood there, still holding the red bark jar, as Siddiq and Dante began to argue. She exchanged glances with Daryl and Gabriel, both silently processing the unfolding scene.

"How?" Dante scoffed before realization seemed to hit him. "No, that's yarrow."

"It's hemlock," Siddiq asserted, looking up at Chloe.

"I didn't know," Dante said, and Chloe sighed in disbelief. "I didn't know. I thought, uh-"

"What?" Siddiq interjected. "You thought what?"

"I never thought hemlock would be in the bag because, um, because-"

"Because what, Dante?" Siddiq pressed.

"Because you packed it."

Chloe, Daryl, and Gabriel exchanged worried glances. "I packed it?" Siddiq's voice wavered.

"Siddiq, man, you've been off lately," Dante observed.

"No, no, I can't..." Siddiq stammered, unable to process the implications of his actions so instead he stood up and rushed out of the cell, Dante following.

After a heavy silence among the remaining three, Gabriel finally spoke up, "If people find out, they'll panic. If Alpha finds out-"

"She won't," Daryl assured him, swiftly taking action and stabbing the man in the head. "I'll clean up the mess."

"I'll help," Gabriel said. "'Cause it's not your mess to clean."

Chloe left them to handle the mess at hand and went in search of Siddiq. After looking for him in various places, she finally located him in Cheryl's now vacant home. Stepping into the room that Cheryl once inhabited, Siddiq stood there, his eyes reflecting inner turmoil.

Cheryl was gone too.

"She died because of my... unh-unh," Siddiq muttered, his voice strained. "I killed both of them."

"No, no," Chloe responded, her tone gentle yet insistent. "You did not."

Siddiq took a deep breath. "It's like I'm still there all the time," he muttered. "It's like I never left. The screams, the smell, the blood—everything. I can't get it to stop."

Chloe stood beside him, silently allowing him to express all that had been eating at him.

"People are dying," he continued, his voice breaking. "Cheryl is already-"

"Cheryl was sick," Chloe reminded him. "You did what you could, and as for that man? Screw him. No one cares. Daryl and Gabriel got it. Don't worry."

"Enid, Tara—the people that I love died right in front of me," Siddiq continued. "And now, I get to watch it over and over and over. And I did nothing. I did nothing!" As he uttered those words, Chloe's eyes glistened with unshed tears. She understood the weight of guilt, the burden of helplessness. Siddiq's pain became her own for a moment.

Moving closer, Chloe's gentle touch reached out to him like a lifeline. She guided him to the couch as he crumbled. And without words, she was able to comfort him, just by being there for him.

Siddiq. A friend. A doctor.

Had it not been for Carl and Tom, his presence might have remained unknown to them. Carl had introduced Siddiq into their lives, and Dante cruelly snatched him away.

The news of Siddiq's murder in the morning rattled Chloe to her very core. Less than twelve hours ago, she had been engaged in conversation with him, and now the abrupt news of his absence sent shockwaves through her.

Daryl was by her side, offering support to help her break free from the dark place she tended to immerse herself in whenever they faced a loss. "They need you," he whispered. "We all need you."

They needed her.

Chloe nodded, her gaze shifting from the sombre scene outside to meet Daryl's eyes. "I know," she replied, her voice a soft acknowledgement. "I just... It's hard, Daryl. Every time we lose someone, it feels like a piece of us goes with them."

"I get it, my love," Daryl said, gently placing a hand on her shoulder. "But you ain't alone in this. We're in it together."

"I just wish we could catch a damn break," she admitted, her tone carrying the weariness of someone who had seen too much loss.

"We'll get through this, like we always do. Together."

Together.

___________

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