❛ now daryl, daryl was gray. he always seemed to be bitter and emotionless with no other dimensions to himself; his mere presence was the only one. gray was intriguing, almost acting like an acquired taste, but it had the potential to be beautiful t...
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seventy one.
Daryl and I crouched down in the weeds, our focus on a yellow house on the other side of the field that separated us from it. The door opened, a woman stepping out onto the porch to talk to the small group of people who stood in the yard. My hand flew back and grabbed Daryl's leg. I began to smile, shooting up with excitement.
"What're you doin'," he snapped, tugging on my pant leg in hopes to pull me back down.
"C'mon," I almost shouted, quickly peering back at the house. The group had abandoned her yard and she retreated back inside. "We gotta go," I told him before taking off across the field as fast as I could, almost tripping over my own feet a couple of times. I stumbled up the porch and knocked on the door as Daryl and I caught our breath. The door creaked open, her eyes flickering back and forth between the both of us. Her lip quivered as she hurried forward, throwing her arms around me. I held Carol close, taking another moment to breathe while tears wet my eyes. I sniffled once she pulled away to hug Daryl.
"Why'd you go," he asked, hurt in his voice. I heard her sigh.
"I had to." Carol's voice wavered with sadness. She pulled away from him. "I'm sorry. Just, come in. We shouldn't be standing out here for long." She ushered us into the house, closing the door behind her. "Sit down, please, I'll cook you something." She knelt down in front of the fireplace and ignited the logs inside. Daryl sat down at the table while I sat down on the couch, feeling safer than I have in a long while; I was with the two most important people that I trusted with my whole life. Carol sighed again, leaning back on her heels. "I-I couldn't lose anyone, any of them. I couldn't lose you guys." She paused briefly. "I couldn't kill them but if they hurt any more of our people, I would and there wouldn't be anything left of me after that." Carol stared at the ground as her whole demeanor suddenly shifted from calm to worried. "The Saviors... did they come?"
"Yeah," I was quick to whisper.
"Did anyone get hurt," she asked frantically. "Is everybody okay? Did the Saviors..." Her hand quickly flew over her mouth to stifle a sob. "Is everybody back home okay?" I didn't dare say a word. I stared into the bright flames of the fire, listening to the crackles that filled the lengthy silence. I found my brain drifting back to that night and what happened to me while in captivity. When Daryl spoke, it pulled me out of my regression.
"They came," Daryl spoke up, his voice rough. "We got 'em all, made a deal with the rest of 'em like Ezekiel. Everyone's alright." He nodded, clearly lying but only for her sake. Lord knows what would happen if she really found out what happened to everyone. "Everyone's alright." Carol let out a sigh of relief and pawed away her tears. I took in a deep breath in an attempt to keep my tears from escaping my eyes. "We gonna eat or what? Do I gotta be a king or somethin' to get food 'round here," he joked to lighten the mood. I let out a small laugh, tucking my hair behind my ear.
"Shut up," Carol smirked, rising from her position and bringing over the food she made for us. I happily took a bite first thing.
"Ezekiel," I began, my mouth full of food. "Is he okay? Is he good," I wondered. "I feel he is, but I just wanna know if you think so."
