Daryl's Angel: Saviour (Book Two)

Chapter 66: Siddiq

Tara and Scott return with news from the other communities about the outcomes of the many battles that occurred yesterday. There are losses, plenty of gunshot wounds for me to patch, and even more bodies to bury.

There are a few people who don't come home, but they're alive, just carrying out further missions elsewhere, like Rick and Aaron. Gabriel is MIA—no one can confirm whether or not he's dead, only that he was lost among the horde that was unleashed upon the Sanctuary. No one saw his body. No one saw him go down. I pray that he found a way out.

From Rick, he assures us that the plan is working and we're winning. We've lost people, but not a single Saviour was left standing at the outposts that Rick's team targeted. He admits that it's scarier than he thought it would be, but we're moving on to the next step. In two days, all the communities are to meet at the Sanctuary to end it all. Until then, he wants us to stay put.

It's not hard to imagine the Sanctuary crawling with walkers, every exit watched by the snipers that we placed there. It's not somewhere I would want to be. Hopefully, Negan feels the same way and surrenders before things get really bad for him and his people.

Maggie's letter is simpler. They won, but Jesus took prisoners. She's trying to figure out what to do about them and, until then, they're being held prisoner outside the gates of the Hilltop. It makes me think about my conversation with Carl.

Carol tells us the most heartbreaking news. They thought they had won, taking out the Saviours at their given outpost, but they were caught off guard. Only Ezekiel, Jerry, and Carol made it back alive. The Kingdom has effectively lost all of their fighters, including Ezekiel's tiger, Shiva.

"Is Rick seriously trying to recruit the Scavengers again?" I ask Daryl as we read over the letters. We sit in Elliot's garden, soaking up the sunshine while we still can.

Daryl snorts. "Yeah. Says we need more fighters."

The Scavengers were the strangers I saw on what was supposed to be my and Negan's wedding day, like the swan-necked woman and the man in the leather trench coat. Rick and Aaron had stumbled upon them during one of their supply runs, and Rick trusted them to help us. It turns out the Saviours already had them in their pocket, and they turned on Alexandria.

The fact that Rick still wants to ally with them is concerning. He must be truly desperate, or maybe he's more forgiving than I thought. Maybe a piece of Officer Friendly is still around. If he's open to trusting people who have already burned him once, then maybe Carl and I can convince him to welcome the man from the gas station into the fold.

Daryl hands the letter back to me as he stands up. "It's stupid," he mutters.

I nod, folding the letter into a neat rectangle. "I mean, yeah. I didn't think Rick was big on second chances anymore."

Daryl doesn't reply. He paces a little in place, glancing back through the infirmary doors, chewing on his thumbnail, fidgeting.

"Daryl?" I ask. He grunts in response. I raise an eyebrow as I get to my feet, my hands on my hips. "You good?" He shrugs. "You were talking about the Scavenger thing, right?"

"Yeah, sure."

I love him dearly, but my God, sometimes our conversations make me feel like I'm talking to a wall. "Daryl..."

He exhales heavily. "Look, 'm fine. Just don't like all the waiting."

He's also patient and yet not at all, like his patience only comes through in certain situations. I hug his arm as I gaze up at him. "You could go for a walk?" I suggest. "Let out some nervous energy."

He snorts, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, sure."

"Well, excuse me for trying to be helpful," I retort. I leave a quick kiss on his shoulder, moving past him to the back doors. "Try to find something to do that isn't destructive, please?"