Rebel || Daryl Dixon

f o r t y e i g h t

Aero took place behind the main truck.

Both she and the bike were itching and aching for the release of speed, but Negan had told Simon that in every case, he was to be placed firmly in front of her.

Apparently, that also meant while simply driving.

Simon was Negan's right hand man. His receding hairline and black eyes had always rubbed Aero wrongly. For the most part, they simply accepted the other's existence and carried on their own ways. From what she'd seen, he was brutal, cunning, and highly intelligent.

Aero had always found that the highly intelligent ones were the ones to look out for. She had never feared Dwight, another one of Negan's top men, but Simon? She often considered her words before she snapped at him.

Now, unfortunately, Simon was in charge of keeping Aero unmarked.

She swayed silently behind the truck, whistling quietly through her teeth to calm her bulging nerves.

Please don't be there...

If he was there, he'd be taken back.

She'd see him again, but likely in even less friendly circumstances.

Her charm was lethal, but it could only get her so far. Negan trusted her, for whatever reason, but lately his only intention had been to keep her absolutely far from harm. Two attempts on her life had pushed him over the edge.

Hence, the dozen extra men he'd sent to get this minor job done.

The Alexandrians were quick at opening the gate for them. Untrusting gazes fired through each of the Saviors, searching for any murderous smiles. 

She tried to feel something, looking at these people. A normal person would have felt a need to protect them, because they were the good...

But were they the good?

Weren't they all, after all, just trying to survive?

She swayed uncertainly on her feet, memorizing their faces while she unearthed their names from her arsenal of information. She realized quite quickly that many eyes were on her.

Daryl had been there. He had told them she'd released him. Upon that understanding, she realized that that they weren't looking at her because of Negan.

They were looking at her because they thought she was their only hope.

She kept her eyes level, not giving away anything. Pretending not to feel anything wasn't a difficult task when one wasn't even entirely sure of what they're even feeling.

She couldn't hear the words that Simon said. Water poured over her head--

COOL AND BLACK--

She blinked, snapping back into reality. Her eyes fell onto Rick, who had taken the time to gaze upon her. They held their looks, long enough for Simon to turn and look at her, a scruffy eyebrow raised.

She lifted her chin at Rick; a challenge.

His eyes darted away promptly-- a bird fluttering from what could be either a helping hand or a dangerous foe.

She used to love the sound of music. The low sliding notes. The sweet intervals, or the way it sustained a long line. How she'd loved the sound of the breaths between notes, or the way the musicians could make a single note seem timeless.

If music had been playing in that very moment, she imagined that it would be slow and rising; the spark before the blaze.

Simon said some more words and the Saviors split off. She knew what was happening, and her feet mechanically followed. Simon, however, snatched her arm; he'd expected her to try and dart off.

He peered down at her, a cruel smile written upon his face like the words of Poe.

"Stay in my line of sight, little lady. I'm not going to bother telling you not to go, because I know you will."

Her faced itched to smile. It was instinctive-- something she normally would have done.

She tore away and walked, whistling a merry tone to soften her hard edges. Time slowed as her fear built, a rising pillage of water that slowed every movement-- every heartbeat.

Rick pulled away with Simon, as she'd suspected.

Ahh, but men always tended to underestimate women. Aero paused, only long enough to gaze at Michonne.

They'd had a history, those two. Mostly it'd been forged with barbed wire and terse nods, but for whatever reason, each woman understood the shared look. Michonne split off and Aero followed.

A deadly duo; perhaps they'd been forged in hell itself.

Perhaps... Perhaps they were precisely what hell needed.

My life is hell, but I'm never too busy to update for my babies. ♥️