Death do us part

Screwed

"I said shoot her!" He yelled. Daryl looked up with rage, not wanting to meet my gaze. I nodded slowly and tears left burning trails down my cheeks. I was slumped on the wall, still not able to take in air and my whole body was aching. I just wanted it to end.

"Please.." I whispered, smiling a bit at my chance to free the world of my burdening existence. "Do it." Tears started to roll down Daryl's cheeks as well, disappointment clear in his expression and he shook his head, letting his hands fall and looking down.

Taylor marched forward and punched Daryl, kicking the gun out of his hand, then came to me and pointed his gun at my head. "Fine. If you don't, I will." He said, getting ready to pull the trigger. I took in a breath and closed my eyes.

"Don't!" Daryl yelled and tried to get up. Why couldn't he just let it happen? I slumped back down and made a sound that could only be described as a squeak.

"Then do it!" Taylor's voice ricocheted off the walls and my ears started to ring. He sighed when Daryl didn't budge and bent down next to me, placing his hands on my neck again, but not squeezing. I whimpered and reached up, trying to move his hands, but when I touched him he began to apply pressure. I held my hands away and he slammed me against the wall, walking away and pacing back and forth. All I felt was pain everywhere. The idea of death felt more and more welcoming. My body felt more weakened with each passing minute. I could feel the blood going down my face and my eyes begged to close.

  I looked to Daryl and he was watching me as if he had a plan. He put his arms up and slammed them against his stomach, breaking the ties and grabbing the gun. He aimed it at Taylor , squeezing the trigger, but the gun didn't fire. When Taylor turned around he was fuming, but a slight grin appeared on his face. Daryl slowly got up and charged at Taylor. He pried the gun from Taylor's hand and threw it to the ground by me then put him in a chokehold. I grabbed the gun and aimed up at them.

"Do it, Melody!" Daryl screamed as Taylor was trying to wriggle out of his grasp. I shook my head.

"What if I hit you?!" I cried hoarsely, trying to keep a steady grip on the pistol. The terrifying realization of the fact that I was using my left hand caused hesitation in my actions.

"You won't, just shoot!" He said, squeezing harder.

I closed my eyes and pulled the trigger, then dropped the gun and leaned my head back.

I felt some one slide next to me and grab my shoulders. I sobbed and tried to push them away, but I was wrapped in someone's embrace gently.

"It's okay. You got him. He's dead." Daryl said, pulling me close and putting his hand on my hair. He grabbed my face and examined the marks. I started to hyperventilate and I pushed myself away. A couple of people walked through the door and Daryl stood, shooting three of them pushing the door shut. He locked the door and grabbed a metal bar, wedging it underneath the door to prevent it from opening.

  He started to pace around the perimeter of the small room in search of an exit. I watched him tear the boarding off the walls and eventually find a small window that was closer to the ceiling. He broke the window and I saw grass from where I was, indicating that we were in a basement. He cleared the edges and walked back to me, wincing a bit with each step. I tried to get up myself but he insisted on helping me. He pulled me to my feet and put my arm around his shoulder, leading me to the small window.

    "Wait." I took my arm away and picked up a shard of glass, turning around. Taylor was on the ground with a bullet in his chest, but I didn't want to take any chances. I struggled to walk over to Taylor by myself and Daryl watched. I turned towards Daryl once I was over Taylor's body.

  "Go, I'll just be a minute." I breathed. He hesitated then began to climb through the window. I ripped my shirt and wrapped the end of the glass in the cloth so I wouldn't hurt my good hand. I knelt and raised my hand above my head, bringing it down and stabbing Taylor in the head. I did it again and again until he wasn't even recognizable as a human being. I tossed the glass aside and wiped my hand on my shirt, not allowing my emotions to show.

  I stumbled over to the window and Daryl was standing facing away from it. "Daryl." I whispered and he whipped around and knelt down. I reached up and grabbed his hand, and he pulled me through. Once I was through he picked me up in spite of my silent protests and began to carry me back to the road that we were captured on.

  We were both silent on the way back, neither of us wanting to talk about what happened, but once we got back to the church and everyone saw us, I couldn't help but break down. Daryl put me down and Rick ran up to me, shouting angrily about where we had gone and what had happened. He pulled me into a tight hug and it honestly hurt, but I didn't care. All I cared about was that we were back and Taylor was dead.

***

  "Are you ready to talk about it?" Tara asked, reaching out to place her hand on my shoulder reassuringly. I shook my head and moved away from her touch.

  "It's a long story." I mumbled hoarsely. She nodded and sat back. We were sitting in the back room and we could hear Rick talking to Daryl trying to understand what had happened. I slouched down and buried my head in my hands. We sat in silence for a while and I could tell that Tara wanted to comfort me, but I wasn't letting anyone get too close to me besides Rick.

  The door opened and I shot up, wincing from the pain in my stomach and neck. Rick walked in and looked to Tara, nodding to the door. She understood and got up, walking out and closing the door behind her.

  "I know you don't want to talk about it, but I'm trying to understand what happened." He said, sitting next to me and putting a hand on my shoulder.

  "So am I." I mumbled.

  "How did Taylor find you? How was he still alive? Did he do anything?" Rick asked frantically.

  "He said he just stumbled across us or something. He thought I was dead, because after the prison I found Elise and she let me stay in her community for a little while, but Taylor took me away from there. He's been trying to kill me since the CDC. I stabbed him and we got in a car crash, but I guess he thought I had died because when I woke up he was gone." I explained. Rick looked at me in shock. My throat felt swollen, and when I spoke, it came out as an airy whisper.

  "Why didn't you tell me this before?" He asked.

  "There was already so much happening and I didn't want to worry you." I choked out. There was a lump forming in my throat and tears threatened to spill out of my eyes. "He kidnapped Daryl and I and he kept hitting me. He tried to kill me." I paused, lifting my head up to the best of my ability to show Rick the bruises left on my neck. "He threatened to kill Daryl and gave Daryl a gun to shoot me. He kept screaming at him to shoot me.." I strained, letting out a sob, "Daryl got up and held him down and I- I shot him. He's dead. I just wanted to be sure..." I cried, fumbling over my words. Rick embraced me in a hug and shushed me, telling me it was okay.

  "The people from terminus are dead too. I just wanted to let you know. The threats are gone. It's okay." He held me as I sobbed into his chest. I felt so many emotions, but safe was not one of them.

***
-Kenzie

Written- 2018?
Edited- a lot
February 2019
April 26-27 2019
June 1 2019
March 23 2020