Firecracker ➝ Daryl Dixon

Chapter 2: Panic

The softness beneath her body was the first indicator that her surroundings had changed.  As she fought through the fog she could feel the plush pillow beneath her head, the thin blanket covering her torso and legs, and a cold wet cloth dabbing at her forehead.  At the realization that she was no longer at her camp panic began to flood her veins and force all oxygen out of her lungs.  With a low gasp her eyes opened and hand rose to chest only to feel it heaving up and down in an unsuccessful attempt to fill her lungs with air.

“It’s okay calm down you have to calm down.”

Although the female was sitting next to her the sound of her voice was distant and muffled.  Black spots began appearing in her already blurry vision as she tried to sit up, but she was quickly pushed back down by the female who was now calling out to someone.  A few seconds later an older gentleman hobbled into the room and placed his hands on her shoulders and said something she could not comprehend.  The touch was unwanted and met with an agitated grunt that would have been more forceful had she been able to breathe.

“Calm down,” the man repeated, removed his hands from her shoulders and instead placed them on either side of her face, “You’re hyperventilating, if you don’t calm down you’re gonna pass out again.”

Again?  That simple word made the world spin much faster than it already was and one thought kept repeating in her head.  I have to get out of here.  It was adrenaline that helped her stand up off of the cot and begin stumbling forward.  She had no idea where she was going and the quickness with which she stood made her nauseous.  Her head pounded as she tried to remember how she had ended up here.  Voices, there had been two voice.  A man with a southern drawl had picked her up, talked to her, he was carrying her somewhere but that’s the last thing she could remember.

“Hey now,” two hands rested on her forearms, propping her up and preventing her from moving forward, “You have to rest.”

“You,” she muttered, focusing on the pretty female face in front of her, “You were the woman…in the woods.”

“Yeah, yeah Daryl and I found you out there, brought you back to camp.  I’m Maggie,” a small smile came to her face, “And that’s my daddy, Hershel,” her gaze shifted back towards the white haired man who was sitting on a stool near the now empty cot, “And you are?”

“Hey looks like Firecracker is up!”  The emaciated female slowly turned her head to see an Asian man flicking his gaze between her and Maggie, “She okay?”

“Firecracker?” she asked, her voice cracking and knees beginning to tremble.

The smile stayed on Maggie’s face, “We didn’t know your name so Daryl started calling you Firecracker and it just sort of stuck.”

“Daryl?”

Hershel pushed himself up from the stool and pointed at Glen, “Help Maggie get her back into bed, she needs to be resting not talking.”

She wanted to struggle, every fiber in her being was screaming at her to run but her body wouldn’t listen.  All she could do was allow herself to be placed back onto a cot by these two strangers named Glenn and Maggie.  As her eyes stared up at the ceiling her thoughts turned to her brother.  Was he still alive?  Did he return only to find her gone?  “I…have…to get…back,” her breathing was still short  as she turned to look up at Hershel.

“You just woke up after being unconscious for two days; you’re not in any shape to go anywhere.”

A muffled sob left her mouth as she bit down on her bottom lip, “T-two days?” 

“Hey,” Hershel laid a hand on her shoulder as tears began clouding her vision, “Everything’s alright now, you’re in good hands.”

 If she hadn’t been crying she would have laughed because ‘good hands’ was not how she would describe her current situation.  She didn’t even know who these people were till a minute ago, yet here she was- lying on a cot barely able to move being stared at by a doctor, an Asian, and the woman who brought her here.  “I want to leave,” the words were desperate and came out between hyperventilated sobs, “Please.”

Hershel sighed, dropping the cloth back into the small bucket of water, “If you really want to leave then you need to rest.  You won’t make it an hour out there like this.”

“O…kay,” she nodded her head once and swallowed hard in an attempt to stop the tears and steady her breathing, “Ar-den,” she paused to fill her aching lungs with air, “My name…it’s Arden.”

It took Arden nearly thirty minutes to calm down and drift back to sleep; it took Maggie close to an hour before she could leave her side.  Bringing a survivor back to the camp had not been the plan when she and Daryl left on a supply run.  Then again going hunting for squirrel also hadn’t been in the plan but Daryl insisted.  Had he not insisted they wouldn’t have found Arden, had they not found her she would most likely have died all alone in that forest.  The thought had Maggie nibbling on her bottom lip as she entered her cell where Glenn was lying on the bed reading a book.  “You don’t have to stay with her so much.”

“I just feel bad for her,” Maggie sighed, running her fingers through her hair, “If you had seen her, lying there surrounded by dead walkers and trash, you’d be just as concerned as I am.”

“Yeah well Daryl saw her like that and he doesn’t seem to care what happens to her.”

For a split second Maggie wanted to stick up for Daryl but the realization that Glenn was probably right made her snap her mouth shut.  The last time Daryl had been around Arden was when they first brought her in, after that he seemed to be keeping his distance.  He did give her a nickname though, which had to count for something though Maggie figured she shouldn’t read too much into it.  “I think I’m gonna go back and brush her hair out some more.” Glenn lowered his book and raised an eyebrow, “It’s full of god knows what and I don’t see her lettin me touch it when she’s awake.”

“You could always I dunno spend some time with me?”

Maggie walked over towards her husband and gave him a single kiss, “I’ll be back soon, promise.”

Maggie knew that it was ridiculous to be caring so much for a complete stranger, but that didn’t stop her from trying to help this woman out as much as she could.  Despite what Rick said, there was no way this girl was a threat to anyone.  The poor thing was as frail as could be and her mental state didn’t seem too good especially if she wanted to leave the prison and go back out there.  Maggie was sure that once Arden was feeling better Rick would allow her into the cell block and she’d become part of the group.

The only other person who had sat with Arden had been Hershel, which is why when Maggie saw someone else sitting on that stool near her she was taken aback.  When she realized that it was Daryl she was downright shocked.  “I guess he does care,” Maggie whispered to herself as a sly smile came to her face.

It was her footsteps that alerted Daryl of her presence and once his blue eyes landed on her he was quick to stand up and begin walking away.  “Her name’s Arden by the way,” Maggie’s words caused Daryl to stop walking for a moment and look back at her, “Just thought you’d wanna know.”

“Well I didn’t,” the rudeness in his voice was to be expected, but what surprised Maggie was how Daryl’s gaze wandered back to Arden once more before he turned and walked away.

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Author's Note: Aww Daryl does care...at least a little.  On the right is a gif of Nina Dobrev, aka Arden.  Feel free to imagine Arden however you like (personally I imagine her with darker hair than Nina and currently she is much more frail) but for those of you who want an idea of what Arden looks like- there you go :)