In The End | Daryl Dixon

Chapter 55: Little Sister

Daryl and Glenn picked up the man, I pressed my gun to his head while Rick spoke through the walkie. 

"You can see we have one of yours. We'll trade." 

The woman on the other end came through quickly. "I'm listening." 

"First, I want to talk to Maggie and Carol, make sure they're alright." 

We waited anxiously for a moment before we heard the static of the walkie. 

"Rick." Carol's voice came through. "It's Carol. I'm-I'm fine, we-" 

More static came through. "Rick, it's Maggie. We're both okay. We'll figure this-"

"Shut up." The woman said, cutting Maggie off. "You have your proof. Let's talk."

I saw Glenn's face twist in anger, he was fighting internally to not kill this man where he stood.

Rick spoke again. "This is the deal right here. Let 'em go, you can have your guy back and live." 

"Two for one, that's not much of a trade." 

Rick gritted his teeth. "You don't have another choice, or you would've done somethin' about it already." 

More silence followed, and each passing second was torture. 

The man squirmed underneath Daryl's grip, making me press the gun harder into this head. 

"Look, I know you're talkin' it over." Rick spoke again. "It's a fair trade. Just come out, we do this, we all walk away. Do we have a deal?" 

"I'll get back to you." 

There was more static, then silence. 

"No-" Glenn quivered. "No, no, no!" He practically yelled. 

"Calm down." Rick said as he held the walkie. "We'll get 'em back." 

I made my way in front of the man, my gun still trained on his head. "Where's my brother?" I asked lowly. 

He chuckled darkly but remained quiet. I pressed the barrel of my gun into his forehead, "I won't ask a second time." 

"So you're the little sister he's been talking about?" He looked me up and down, his eyes making my skin crawl. "Not so little now, are we?" 

I tilted my head and squinted my eyes, trying to figure out what this game was that he was playing. 

"We can't let them get too far ahead." Rick interrupted before I could say anything else. "We'll search the surrounding area, if you find anythin' give a whistle." 

"And what about this asshole?" Daryl asked as he jerked the man around. 

Rick looked at the man with disgust. "We use him as leverage. Abraham and Glenn hold him." He stalked over to him, getting in his face and speaking dangerously low. "But if you try anythin', I'll kill you myself. Understand?" 

The man gave Rick a hard look, and I could see the weight of the unspoken words between them. Rick didn't flinch. Deep down, the man knew Rick would follow through with the threat. There was no question about it.

We all spread out, each of us drifting off in different directions, eyes scanning for anything that could tell us which way they had gone. The air was thick with unease, the forest alive with sounds—cracking branches, birds flitting from tree to tree, the faint rustle of leaves underfoot—but we barely made a sound as we moved.

Daryl and I slipped a few yards ahead, working our way through the trees. The air had a sharp, biting chill to it, the kind of cold that nipped at your skin, reminding you that you were alive—and that this place was far from safe. My fingers brushed against branches as we passed, moving them aside with care. My boots crunched softly over the underbrush, but I kept my pace slow, focusing on the ground beneath me.