A Redneck's Wicked Game (A Daryl Dixon Story)

Nightmares

Chapter 27—Nightmares

*Adult Content

It's been a couple of weeks since Daryl and I had our conversation about trying for a baby and things have been going pretty good between us. The group has been busy getting ready for the cold winter that will arrive soon. There is a generous pile of wood stacked on the far wall inside of the mill. We've gotten plenty of firewood split and stacked outside along with adequate kindling to start the fires. Daryl, Rick and Trey cleaned out the chimneys so we won't have to worry about that. The three of them were almost black, covered head to toe in soot when they were finished.

Eugene and Abraham managed to hook-up an inside shower. We have a holding tank for the water that is heated by the solar panels. They even made an enclosure for the shower area and it drains back out of the mill over where the millstone is. We won't be able to take long showers but at least the water will be pretty warm. I never thought I'd feel so happy about having access to a shower, funny how the priorities in your life change when the world as you know it ends.

I've been helping with the stockpiling of food. Carol and I have been collecting wild mushrooms, herbs, wild garlic and onions. I've shown her how to dry them so we can easily store them for the winter. Maggie and Tara found a grove of Apple trees and spent a day collecting every single usable apple they could find. We've spent the last couple of days drying apple slices and making applesauce. Carol already knew how to Can, so at least that made the task easier. We should have plenty of food for the winter. We took an inventory of the food stored in the pantry and Rick wants to make sure we keep a detailed list of what is used. We've canned, dried, and stored as much food as we could since we arrived. Blackberries, raspberries, apples, pears, peaches and even a patch of potatoes we found in an over-grown garden at a farm on the road into town. It won't sustain us solely for the winter but it will definitely help stretch the supplies in the pantry further.

Daryl found 4 burlap sacks of dried corn in a barn on one of the runs. It's not fit for humans to eat but the deer and wild boar won't mind the bugs. It will make attracting the deer to the open meadow near the mill easy. We've been leaving corn in the field for the last few days and this morning we will be our first attempt to hunt using this method. Trey, Daryl and I will be hunting together for the first time in weeks.

Rowan's POV

I can feel them holding me down and touching me; their rough hands trying to push my thighs apart as they rip off my panties. I'm struggling against them as hard as I can; if I can just get my hand free and reach the hunting knife strapped to his belt loop. I can feel one of them biting at my skin, his teeth sinking into the soft skin of my breast, making me scream out in pain. I wish I had someone to protect me; someone to save me.

I wake up screaming, sitting up to catch my breath. Daryl is awake and pulling me against him as I struggle in his arms. His soothing voice tries to calm me, "Shh, Rowan it's okay. I got ya darling, no one will hurt ya; I promise." I'm shaking as I let Daryl pull me closer and realize this is the worst nightmare I've had in a long time. Daryl pulls me back down to the bed, never letting go of me. I nuzzle my face into the crook of his shoulder and whisper, "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to wake ya." He sighs, "It's fine princess, don't ya worry." He kisses my temple and whispers, "Go to sleep Rowan, I'll protect ya." I nod as I start to relax in his strong arms; quickly drifting off to sleep.

Daryl's POV

I groan and open my eyes to the early morning sun streaming in the large windows of our loft. I look to my right and notice Rowan's still asleep, her long red hair spread out on the mattress. I smile a little as I watch her snuggle closer to me, searching for warmth in her sleep. We have a couple of blankets on the two of us but if we're going to continue sleeping naked through the winter I need to find something warmer for our bed. I pull her closer to me and she sighs contently in her sleep. I know I should wake her up but I like watching her sleep; she's finally so peaceful.