❛ 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 three.
"I might have to get her up to speed. You can't hear shit inside this thing." He banged Lucille against the coffin, his fingers on the edge ready to pry it open. "Sash, you're not gonna believe this crap!" Sasha barreled out, her teeth bared as she hissed at Negan. My eyes went wide as Negan fell off the platform with a turned Sasha now on top of him, trying to get a bite of his flesh. Carl retrieved his gun which had been knocked away from him and began to shoot, everyone following his lead. I whipped around and grabbed my gun back too, shooting a few of the people standing behind me before ducking down to dodge the other various bullets whizzing through the air around me.
"Go," Daryl ordered me, waving me away. I briefly looked at him in sadness before following his order and sprinting down the road to safety. A woman ran towards me with an axe raised above her head. I shot her without a second thought. She collapsed, dead. I quickly ducked behind a house to hide and hopefully wait everything out if things went right for us. I slightly stumbled back in surprise when my eyes met King Ezekiel's; him and his people were already gathered behind the house. They were crouching down, hoping to stay incognito. Carol saw me and rose to her feet without hesitation. I shoved through the crouching bodies in my way to get to her. She held me briefly in her arms before pulling me down next to her and rubbing my back comfortingly.
"You okay," she asked softly.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm fine. Just didn't think we'd being doing this bullshit again so soon". I turned my head to look at her, but came face to face with the tiger. A low growl echoed from the back of its throat. My heart began to thud against my ribcage, my mouth going dry. Imagine, surviving all this time with flesh eating monsters roaming the earth and getting taken out by a tiger. I feel bad for whatever sorry bastard has to meet that end and I have a feeling someone here today is.
"Shiva," Ezekiel whispered in a scolding tone. "She's a good, strong woman and shall be treated with respect." He ran his hand over her head while looking down at me. "Put your hand out." My mouth fell open in surprise at the command.
"I- I can't—" I began to stutter in protest. I was scared she was gonna bite my fingers off.
"It's okay," he assured, bowing his head to me. I glanced back at the tiger who stared back at me with interest, cold as stone. I swallowed hard before shakily lifting up my hand, flat out in front of me. Shiva made another low growl before closing her eyes and nuzzling her head into my hand, its soft fur a delicate and warm feeling. I nervously laughed while a smile spread across my lips. Shiva rested there, head butting my hand a few times to show her affection. "She can feel your energy, your soul," Ezekiel observed. "That's one of the many reasons why I love her," he grinned before calmly gazing out over the deadly chaotic scene before him. I could've sworn I saw a slight sparkle in Shiva's eyes. It might not even be possible, but I swore I saw it. It was reassuring to me, relaxing me to my very core. "Get ready. We run not long from now," Ezekiel instructed. Guns clicked behind me as the Kingdom residents suited up. I slowly drew my hand away from the tiger, turning away and pulling out my gun.
