Solitary {2} : The Walking Dead

Chapter Eight.

 The tattooed lady.

Iris nervously picks at the skin around her nails, Daryl glances at her every now and then as they sit outside listening to Henry and Lydias conversation. "I remember that look in his eye. Still see it. How cold it is. Was... Why am I even telling you this?" Lydia questions "Beats the quiet. Beats being alone." Henry says "Never been alone. My people travelled in groups with the dead. I miss the sounds... the smell..." Lydia says.

"Not gonna lie... Walking around in dead people's skins is pretty messed up." Henry says "Thinking this place isn't gonna fall like every other place... that's messed up." "Agree to disagree." "Your dad's an asshole like mine. All you did was sneak out. Is it even that hard? Are there a lot of guards posted here?" Lydia asks "Daryl's not my dad. He doesn't even want to be here. He's only doing it as a favour for my mom." Henry explains.

"I thought you said your mom died." "My second mom, I mean. She's tough. Not somebody you want to mess with. Hey, what happened to your dad?" Henry asks "My dad was a stupid man. My mom, though, she kept me alive. Kept me safe. She's a lot like your mom. You don't mess with her, either." Lydia says, Iris looks over to Daryl, both of them sharing the same look before looking away again.

.............

"You want my other egg? I could roll it to you, if... if you want." Henry says, "You don't have to take care of me." Lydia mumbles "I'm just trying to be nice." "You can keep it. Hunger's a gift. Why are you being nice to me?" Lydia asks "When me and my brother and my dad were found out there, we were pretty messed up, too. Took a lot of someone being nice to us to make things okay again." Henry explains. "You think I'm messed up?" Lydia asks "How is hunger a gift?" Henry questions "If I have to explain it, you wouldnt understand. It'll never be okay again." "Says who?" Henry asks, "My dad."

"He always... She always said that." "Your mom sounds nice." Henry says "Yeah. Is your, uh... Is your second mom the person who found you?" Lydia asks "No, it was my, uh... My dad, Ezekiel. Second dad." Henry explains, "Why isn't he here with your mom?" Lydia asks "They're the leaders of another community. Where I'm from." "Is it far? W-What's it called?" "It's called the Kingdom. It's probably like a day's ride from here." Iris and Daryl jump to their feet, Iris steps back as Daryl throws the doors open.

They walk down the stairs and Iris watches as Daryl starts unlocking Henry's cell, "Hey. What's going on?" Henry asks "Shut up. You're gettin' out. Come on." Daryl says, Daryl pushes the boy up the stairs and Iris follows them into a private area "Get over there!" Daryl orders "What the hell's wrong with you? Huh?" Iris questions "Telling her about the Kingdom? What if there's more of her people out there? You got family at the Kingdom." Daryl snaps.

"I'm sorry. Okay? I didn't think that it would... Wait. You were listening?" Henry asks "Yeah, of course we were. Me, Iris, Enid, and a few of the others, we've been switching off, seeing what she'd say to you." Daryl says "You were using me." Henry says in disbelief "Yeah, and it was workin', too." Iris says "She's a good person who got messed up out there. And she's right about you. You know that? You're an asshole. You want answers, get 'em yourself." Henry says before storming away from them.

Iris and Daryl walk back down to the cellar, Daryl sits on the chair in front of her cell, Iris leans against the wall next to him "You finally come to kill me?" Lydia questions, looking up at them, Daryl reaches into his pocket and pulls out a bottle of pills "It's for your ear. You keep pullin' on it like it hurts." Daryll says, the girl looks away from them "No? I don't give a shit. It's up to you." Daryl says, putting the pills back into his pocket.

Iris watches the girl for a minute "Two of ours went missing. We found their horses, though. Half skinned, half eaten. You know anything about that?" Iris questions "How could I? I've been here." Lydia says "What would your mom do if she crossed some of our people? Would she kill them?" Daryl asks "She would if she had to." Lydia says.

"Lydia, oh, Lydia. Say, have you met Lydia? Oh, Lydia, the tattooed lady. Lydia, oh, Lydia" the girl sings quietly, "He used to sing that to me when I was scared. Which was a lot back then." she explains "How old were you?" Iris asks "five, six. Who knows" Lydia says "Your mom... Your mom did what she had to do." Daryl says, Iris watches the girl mess with her ear, Daryl takes the pill bottle out of his pocket again.

He lets out a whistle and throws the bottle to her "Doesn't have to be like that, though. There's a lot of good people here. They'll help you if you help them." Daryl explains, "Can I have some water?" she asks, taking a pill out of the bottle, Daryl stands up and fills a ladle with water, Iris eyes the girl as she crawls to the cell door and stands up.

Daryl holds the ladle of water in front of the girl "What, you think I'm gonna hit you with it or something?" she asks, she stares at Daryl before reaching out for the ladle, she quickly reaches through the bars and tries to grab Daryl.

Iris steps forward as Daryl grabs the girl's arm, she watches him pull back Lydia's sleeve, Iris stares at the scars on her arm, the girl spits on Daryl and he lets go of her arm, Iris walks out of the cellar, Daryl following after her.