Zedler, M.D. // Daryl Dixon

Chapter Fifty: Baxly

fifty YAY

Beatrix

My eyes blink open as I pull back into consciousness, but I can't see anything. I try to move my hands, but they won't budge.

Calm down, Beatrix.

My hands must be tied. I shake my head in order to confirm my suspicion that there's something over my head.

Just breathe.

I try to zone in on what's happening around me, but it's proving difficult as I'm being pulled out of my fuzzy state. This isn't a first for me; I've been through it before with Bob.

You aren't there.

"What can I say?" The sound of a loud voice pulls my mind into focus. It's a man, and he seems to be pretty close to me from what I can tell. Maybe ten feet away. "There hasn't been a night like this since the walls went up. And I thought we were past it, past the days when we all sat scared and huddled in front of the TV at the beginning of the outbreak."

Who is this guy? He probably saw me on TV if he was watching at the beginning of the outbreak.

"You were just as scared today as you were then," the man continues, and my breath catches in my throat when I realize he must be The Governor. "I failed you. It was my job to keep you all safe. Hell, look at me. I should tell you that we'll be okay, that we're safe, that tomorrow we'll bury our dead and endure, but I won'tto that. Because I can't promise that, because I am afraid."

I close my eyes, trying to focus on my body. I wiggle my hands again, but this time I realize that they aren't tied: they're being held by someone else's hands. Not as bad as being tied. I take a deep breath, trying to keep myself focused. There really is some kind of sack over my head, which could prove to be bad, but I have to focus and get ready to defend myself.

"That's right, I'm afraid of terrorists who want what we have!" The Governor yells out, and judging by the sound of his voice, he's a few steps closer to me. "And the worst part is, one of those terrorists is one of our own."

I hope this guy isn't talking about me, because I am definitely not one of them. I don't know why he wants me here. I just want to go back to the prison.

The crow mutters as the man pauses in between his words. "Baxly...." The Governor yells, trailing off at the end as the crowd becomes even more riled up.

Baxly. Could it really be my brother? Or just another painful coincidence?

"The man I counted on, the man I trusted! It was him. He lead 'em here. He let 'em in," The Governor grows in disgust. "It was you. You lied."

No! He is lying. If this is my brother, I had no idea he was even alive, let alone that he was here.

"Betrayed us all!" As The Governor says this, I feel the barrel of a gun being shoved into my back.

"Move," the man holding my arms growls, pushing the gun farther into my back. I stumble, but I do as he says, walking in the direction he leads me.

"This is one of the terrorists," The Governor says, and he's standing right beside me. He grabs my arm, pulling the sack off of my head. "Baxly's own sister!"

My eyes blink a few times, adjusting to the sudden light, but it all changes when I see him. Baxly is alive and he's standing right in front of me. Tears suddenly fill my eye sockets, and I blink to let them fall so my vision is cleared.

"Baxly!" I exclaim, leaping forward to him, but I can't throw my arms around him like I want. The Governor holds me back.

"Shut up," he growls in my ear. Everyone here is so aggressive. I turn to look up at Baxly, and my heart almost breaks at the sight of him. He's standing there emotionless, just staring at me.