'Loverman' - Merle Dixon x Y/N (TWD)

Sanitarium - Metallica

I felt a light seep through the blindfold as the dawn of a new day broke. Still not freed from my confinement or the bindings of it... It was cold and scary. -- Until I heard a squeak. The door had opened slowly, and the sound of boots clacking against the cold concrete floor filled the room. I squirmed, trying to free myself from the restricting zip-ties. The man, presumably Merle, walked towards me and grabbed my wrists tightly.

"Mornin, hot stuff." He said, cutting my zip-ties. The ties fell from my wrists and immediately felt sore. I went to pull away my blindfold when the man cut the ties binding my feet.
My fear possessed my body to rip the cloth on my face, taking in my surroundings and my capture.

"Ay' there, calm it down a bit!" Merle said as I looked up at him. His eyes met mine, and I noticed he was just who I thought he was. 'I saw you in Woodbury..' I sighed, scooting my back to the wall in fear. "And I saw yer ass bookin' it once them damn walkers clawed they way in." Squatting, he moved closer to me.
I knew it then. He was the man always siding with the governor in Woodbury! With his silver peg hand and the bayonet connected to it, my heart sank, and my jaw fell off its hinges.
He tapped the end of the knife to my chin, then pushed my chin up with it and caressed it gently against my neck. "Please.. don't -" My monologue sang. Merle cut me off before I could speak.
"Shh, shh, shh.. Look e' here, you think ol' Merle's gon' hurt this pretty lil' neck?" He whispered, coming closer to me. My face contorted in fear, my fists clenching and shaking, my pulse throbbing. "Ahhh.. You a cute girlie, aren't cha?"

I admit he's a silver fox. He's handsome and his frame is muscular. I wouldn't say a guy who looks in his 50s is my ideal man, but at that moment, I couldn't decide if I was scared or nervous. The disgusting misogynistic speech patterns irritated me more than his knife to my neck. No, this isn't that one syndrome where the captive falls in love with the capturer or whatnot, actually - I'm not sure. I'm scared to be in this big, bulky dude's vicinity. Even considering the conversation he had last night with a bunch of other men.

"Yer gonna help the man with the boy and the baby, right?" He said, grabbing my wrist with his available hand and yanking me up.
I wobble to my feet, blood rushing throughout my body, coarse in fear. My eyes wandered the room, looking for a potential escape. "I- Uh. Is this a prison?" Stuttering, I said. "Yup, yet you're not a captive." A man with a very police-like uniform said. "What's your name?!" ... My volume increased. "My name.. why do you need to know?!"
"WHAT. IS. YOUR. NAME?!" He said, approaching me with a stern look. A little boy with a hat ran up from behind him."Dad, who's that?" He said, the police officer holding him back with one hand. "Carl, go back in your cell with the baby. The adults will handle it..."
"Now tell me, what. Is. Your. NAME."
"My name.. my name is (Y/N), and I come from Woodbury."
The police officer's eyes widened. "Woodbury?!" He exclaimed doubtfully. "Merle, this girl is gonna track the governor right back to us.." He whispered to Merle, grabbing his shoulder, staring into his eyes with fierce and sternness. "She ain't not! The governor ain't gon' get her, he doesn't know her and he wouldn't care, Rick!" Merle shouted at Rick.

... A few moments had passed in silence as I was being stared at. Rick sighed, approaching me and placing his hand on my shoulder. "I just need to know two more things," he said in a low voice. "Have you killed anyone?"
With a sigh and tears forming in my eyes, I relapsed."No.. I couldn't draw on anyone, not even my mom."
Rick took his hand from my shoulder and placed them in his dirty khaki pockets. "Do you have experience with children?"
"I kind of do. I had a baby sister.. but.."
Silence swallowed the room as my speech trembled, tears forming in my eyes worse than ever, my throat tightening. Rick and the other people in his group already concluded what happened to my mother and my baby sister, leaving them in longer silence.

...

When this whole thing happened, I was coming back from court with my brand-new ID card. My mom was so very happy about me finally affording to become a registered adult,' she'd say. Hell, I'm 19, and I'm technically already an adult.. -- When I got home, it looked like my mom's car wasn't in the driveway. I unlocked the front door to her house to find colorful balloons, ribbons, and strings hanging from the ceiling, the table in birthday-like covers.. and smeared, thick blood all over the living room floor. It felt like my eyes bulged from my head once I saw. My keys fell from my hand, and I ran over to see what happened. I remember muttering curses under my breath as I looked at the silky blood. -- Then, my flip phone rang. My mom called, leaving a hospital as pure pandemonium builds in the background. "(Y/N), somethings up, and I'm pretty sure there's a riot happening. Hide in the bathroom. We're on our way now.." I remember faintly locking the back door and locking myself in the bathroom when my mom got home. I could hear it was her. She always wore the same high heels.
I emerged from the bathroom, my body trembling.
She fell to the floor, holding my baby sister. "Mom!" I cried, running up to her lying body and holding her arms to check her pulse. "Mommy, what happened?!"
"(Y/N), go- go to dad's side of the bed and open his top drawer. Grab the pistol and bullets.." She sighed. She sounded like she did when she had bronchitis. "Why?! Mommy, tell me what happened?!" Tears fell fast from my eyes as she held my baby sister tight, my sister crying loudly in her arms. As she pulled her closer, I saw it. -- The massive bite on her arm. It was still bleeding and the veins around it turned bright and bulgy. "You'll know. Get that gun, please, it hurts.." She sobbed. I looked at my baby sister's little calf and .. it was torn out. I guess my mom was bit when she was trying to protect her... Things escalated and I just couldn't end it. She lay down on that floor and didn't wake up, and so did my sister. When she did, that wasn't my mom anymore. It was supposed to be a good day. I lost her.

After the silence, Rick finally spoke up again. "I'm sorry..."
My voice felt a bit strained from how tight it got. "No, it's fine. E- Everyone lost someone important to them."