Solitary {2} : The Walking Dead

Chapter Fifteen.

 I believe in you. 

"Iris" the redhead stops and looks back at Daryl as he walks over to her, "listen, don't worry about it. Everyones moved on. I should too" Iris mumbles, Daryl watches her as she tries to hide from his gaze, "i was with someone else when you were gone" Daryl mumbles, not wanting to hurt the woman.

"Is that why you don't want me to go with you?" Iris asks "I thought you wouldn't want to come with when you found out" Daryl says, "do you love her?" Iris asks, Daryl looks into Iris's eyes, "no. every time i was with her i thought of you" Daryl admits.

"Then I don't care you were with her... i slept with Tara before i left and i thought of you when i was with her" Iris admits, "i love you Daryl" Iris says, "I love you too" Daryl says, gently placing his hands on her waist, "i want to start over" Iris says, placing her hands on the mans chest.

"Okay" Daryl says, Iris leans in and kisses him on the lips "then let's start over" Iris says, smiling up at him, "i'm Iris" she says holding her hand out between them, a small smile forms on Daryl's face and he reluctantly shakes the woman's hand "Daryl" he grumbles.

"It's nice to meet you Daryl" Iris says, she leans in and gently kisses him on the cheek. Iris smiles before walking away, looking back at him and laughing as he stands there, Iris stands and watches Judith throw something making Eugene fall into the water, "did you see that?" Judith says, looking back at Iris with a wide smile.

"You did a good job kid" Iris says, walking over and high-fiving the girl before she continues to walk around the fair. "Hey Iris" Enid says, "Hey" Iris smiles, she looks at the young girl hugging Alden, "what?" Enid asks "it's just good to see you happy" Iris says.

The redhead sees Lydia sitting by herself, walking over to her, "hey" she says, sitting on the bench opposite Lydia, "hey" the girl says, looking down nervously, "it'll get easier to be around all this" Iris explains, the girl looks up at Iris "trust me. It'll be okay" Iris adds, she pulls her hat off her head and looks down at it, "i was just like you once. But I found someone who believed in me. He handed me this hat when I passed the academy and I started working with him" Iris explains.

"I want you to have it. To remind you I believe in you" Iris says, reaching up and sitting the hat on the girl's head, "are you sure?" Lydia asks, "yeah. It looks cool on you" Iris says before standing up and walking away.

"Why did you give her your hat?" Judith asks, walking up to the woman "i met your dad when i was in her position" Iris says, walking with the girl, "he helped get into the academy and pass, when he handed me my uniform he gave me that hat, he told me that it was a reminder that i'm not alone, that he would always believe in me" Iris explains. "So you believe in her?" Judith asks "yeah, i do" Iris says.

...........

"Be safe" Tara says, bumping her fist against Iris's, "I will" Iris smiles, she shakes her head and pulls Tara into a hug, Iris moves back and stands next to Daryl "Thanks for, um, keeping me out of trouble." Henry says, shaking Daryl's hand.

"Take care of your mom." Daryl says, "Yeah." "Thank you. When Hilltop is secure, know that our doors are always open to you. We'd be honoured if you'd consider calling the Kingdom your home." Ezekiel says, Daryl and Iris look at each other.

"We'll think about it." Daryl says looking back at the others, "Good." the king says, "we'll see you soon old friend" Ezekiel says pulling Iris into a hug "see you soon" Iris says, pulling away and smiling at the man before walking away with Daryl. Iris sits on the back of Daryl's bike, holding onto his waist as he starts to drive out of the community.

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

Iris pulls out her knife as they slowly drive towards some unknown men, she relaxes slightly when she sees some of their people with them, she climbs off the bike and looks around.

"We were clearing the roads. Spotted tracks leading here." The man says, Iris looks around at the mess, "It's from Hilltop." Magna says, "Dead didn't do this... People did." the man says "The skins? You know about them?" Michonne asks.

"We got the download. Strange times, strange ways to cope. Anyway, Yeah. That'd be my guess. If anyone else was out here, my patrols would've seen 'em. Something else... They put up a fight." The man explains, Iris looks around and notices the tracks Daryl was already following.

"Hey. Drug 'em out this way." he says, "Let's go." "We can't all just go rushing in there." Iris says, "They could still be alive." "But if those skin freaks followed them from Hilltop, the whole community is in danger right now." "So we split up." Michonne says.

"Michonne, Yumico and I can go with Daryl and Iris. We'll track 'em. The rest of you, go on to Hilltop." Carol says "We'll keep up our patrols around the Kingdom. Just in case. 'Course, this means you owe us a couple of movies when this is done." the man says, "I'm sure I can work that out." Carol says.

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

"I don't know if there's a happy ending here." Carol says as they walk through the dark woods, "The trail... goes off in three different ways." Iris explains "Don't make sense." Daryl adds, Iris looks up when she hears a twig snap nearby.

"Come on. Come on. Head back. Let's go." Daryl says, turning back and walking away, Iris follows after but they stop when Yumico speaks up "Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." Iris grips onto her knives as she looks into the trees, Carol shines her torch at the walkers "They're from Hilltop." Yumico says, shooting the walkers with Daryl.

"Watch their hands. They could be skins." Iris says, stepping forwards and driving her knife into the walker's heads, "Back to the road. Come on." Daryl says, everyone stops when their path is blocked by more walkers.

"This way." Michonne says, but again their path is blocked, Iris raises her knives and looks at all the walkers, everyone starts driving their knives into the walkers head, when they kill the last one Iris looks up at the trees.

A skin starts walking out from the darkness, more joining it, the group back up to each other, covering each other's back as they look at the skins surrounding them, Iris watches as they pull out knives and guns, she freezes when a deep voice comes from one of the skins.

"Drop them. I won't ask twice."