Tragic Coincidence | Daryl Dixon

Chapter Twenty-Five

It was like slow motion as i watched the smallest inmate run forward and tackle Glen to the ground, wrestling him for Tomas's gun. The larger of the inmates running to take down Rick who was trying to help him, and the other two looked confused as they hesitantly helped their fellow prison inmates. I pulled out my gun quickly as the short dark skinned inmate punched Glenn in the face, Glenn groaning at the impact of the quickness of it all. The large one also caught Rick off guard, who for a second put his gun down, which had now rolled to the side. 

I was pointing my gun at the inmates, waiting for an opportunity to shoot but it never came. My group members along with the inmates were all running around and throwing hits at each other it was hard to make out who was who most of the time. Maggie had ran in was panicking as the inmate was attacking the man that she loved, Hershel and Beth both yelling for her to get back as the largest inmate was firing shots that were missing people by inches, one barely grazed my hair. 

I ducked down to the ground and was couching behind a table to avoid any stray bullets, I was not going to die this way. Daryl was doing as I was and sitting with his crossbow behind a separate table, both of us I knew would have jumped in there had the one inmate not been pulling a trigger. "Carl, go stand guard!" I shouted over to the young boy who was pointing his pistol at the man choke holding his father. Carl looked over to me and nodded to his father who was gasping for air, clawing backwards to the man who was holding him. I nodded to Carl calmly, telling him I would do anything to help Rick. Carl hesitantly backed away before running out of the cell block, the last thing we needed was to lose another child.

Glenn had two of the inmates on him, one of them still trying to get the gun in Glenn's back pocket. I had a clear shot at the small white man who was blocking Maggie from helping Glenn, and I quickly shot him in the head. Maggie yelped and kicked the fallen inmate before running onto the back of the inmate  that was fighting with Glenn, and she quickly slit his throat from his back. I couldn't help but feel proud at Maggie for doing what needed to be done to help those that she loved, just like i did with Randall all those months ago, hell it wasn't but then that Maggie thought the walkers were all just sick.

With those two inmates dead, it left the two large black inmates who were holding Rick, who was still struggling for air. One was holding Rick by the neck while the second was now fighting with Glenn and Maggie over Rick's revolver that the inmate had grabbed hold of. I looked over to Daryl who looked like he was having an internal battle with himself over what to do, with two people fighting over a gun, one finger on the trigger, the wrong move could cost your life. I held my hand out telling Daryl to stay where he was, and he hesitantly nodded his head.

I could see I had a clear shot at the inmate that was holding Rick, who needed to let go now or Rick might die from lack of oxygen. "DUCK" I shouted at Glenn and Maggie who were in my line of sights. Glenn saw me jump from my spot on the ground and onto the bench beside the table, he grabbed Maggie and the both of them hit the ground leaving me clear sights to kill the man. I quickly pulled the trigger, and blood splattered all over the back of the wall along with Rick's face. Rick fell to the floor gasping for air, looking around from the guy who was holding him to me who had put him down.

Unfortunately for me I didn't hear a second gun shot ring out, coming from the man with Rick's gun. i looked around to see who had been hit, just like everyone else was doing, by the sound of the bullet it was clear it didn't just hit the ground or the ceiling. When the sharp pain shot through my stomach I knew it was i that had been shot. I fell to my knees off of the bench that I was standing on and grabbed my side. Another shot rang out, but I wasn't looking to see who was hit this time, I was only focusing on the pools of blood pouring through my side. 

I cried in pain and fell onto my back as i felt into my back for an exit wound, there was none. "EMMA!" I heard someone shout, before someone had lifted me up from the ground. I looked over to see it was Daryl who had yanked me up off of the ground. This wound wasn't pretty, the bullet was still inside of me, and by my labored breathing I knew it had punctured my lung. Being a doctor I knew everything that was going on inside of my body, unfortunately for me I could feel it all right now as well. My punctured right lung made it painful to breath, the blood that continuously poured from my body was leaving me weaker and the bullet that was still inside of me was causing even more problems.

"Hershel!" I heard Rick's voice call out as he fell to his knees on my other side. "Get her into the cell, now!" Carol yelled as she ran up to us with a blanket, and pushed it tightly against my side to stop the blood. I winced in pain at the amount of pressure she was pushing against my side, but knew it was needed to help me. Daryl was carrying me quickly into our cell block as Carol ran by his side holding pressure against my wound. Daryl brought me into Hershel's cell and laid me gently on the bottom bunk, and grabbed my hand with his own.

"Daryl, I need you to step out now" Hershel said firmly as he took away the blanket to inspect my wound . "I ain't fucking leaving her!" Daryl said loudly as he squeezed my hand tighter. I moaned in pain as i wasn't only cringing from the increasingly painful gunshot wound to my side, every breath i took felt like I was being shot all over again. "Please let him stay" I whispered out to Hershel who was grabbing tools from the table behind him. Hershel nodded before doing something I couldn't see in my side.

I felt tears of pain rolling down my cheeks and i gripped Daryl's hand as if if were my only anchor to the world around me. My head was pounding and i gritted my teeth as pain like this had never been felt by me in my entire life. "Emma, you'll be ok" Daryl whispered beside me, and I rolled my head over to look at him. I could see the worry in his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes that were always so hard were now filled with something I had never seen before. "I think I'm dying Daryl" I whimpered out gasping for breath as I felt Hershel insert some tool into my side. 

"Don't you fucking say that shit Emma! Your gonna live, your gonna be just fine!" Daryl said to me,but it sounded as if he were trying to convince himself more than me. "I have to find the bullet, this is going to hurt" Hershel told me, and I nodded for him to continue. Hershel took a deep breath before digging some tool way into my side, causing me to scream in complete and total agony. I sobbed and gripped Daryl's hand with the gip of life, hoping to god that it would be over quickly. 

Daryl tried to say comforting words in my ear, tried stroking my hand gently to calm me down, but I could only focus on the pain. I could only focus on the fact that I couldn't breath. "Daryl, It hurts" I cried out, still trying to focus on him rather than the pain. "Just look in my eyes Emma, look at me" Daryl commanded, squeezing my one hand in both of his. I looked over to him, and stared into his baby blue eyes, those beautiful eyes that have left me breathless more times than I can count. I looked to Daryl's lips and focused on his breathing...in and out.....in and out....in and out....

It was difficult given my one functioning lung, but watching Daryl still helped me. I heard a clank behind him and looked away to see Hershel had placed the bullet in a metal container on the table. I sighed grateful that it was over for now, but I knew there was still the issue of my lung. "Hershel, my lung" I gasped out once he sat down with sutures to stitch up my side. Hershel sighed and looked back up to me with saddened eyes. "I have to stitch you up for now, we don't have the equipment to fix your lung, you could bleed out before then" Hershel told me before sterilizing his needle and began to stitch me up.

I groaned again every time he stuck the needle through my side, stitches hurt like a bitch. My hearing started to dissipate and whatever Daryl was saying to me was lost, and my eye lids grew heavy and before I knew it I no longer felt the stitching in my side, I no longer felt the warmth of Daryl's hands. I no longer saw the bunk of the cell, and everything I heard or saw was black....