My Damaged Protector

Chapter Two ~ Vatos

The ride into Atlanta was quiet. Glenn and I tried to talk to Rick, Daryl, and T, but they wouldn't answer, opting to stay quiet, leaving Glenn and I to talk quietly between ourselves.

The truck came to a sudden stop and Rick jumped out. Daryl threw the back door up and jumped out followed by T and Glenn, leaving me to jump out last. "We walk from here." Rick said.

We ran down the tracks and under a bridge. The fence that was there already had a whole cut into it. Glenn pulled the hooks off of it and walked through, holding it open for me. Once we got through Rick questioned Glenn. "Merle first or the guns?"

"Merle! We ain't even having this conversation." Daryl interrupted.

"We are." Rick said, looking back to Glenn. "You know the geography. Your call."

"Merle is closest. The guns would mean doubling back. Merle first." Glenn replied and we took off for a building. Rick took the lead in taking us to the roof. I trailed slowly behind Glenn when Rick put his hand up, signaling for us to stop moving.

He pointed to his eyes and then to a dead one that I learned they called walkers, stumbling around the store. I held onto the back of Glenn's bag and watched as Daryl silently made his way in front of her. She growled when she saw him, but before she could do anything he sent one of his arrows into her head.

We climbed up endless stairs and finally made it to the roof where Rick took the cutters from T and undid the restraints on the door. Daryl kicked the door open and charged in. "Merle!" He called out. We trailed in behind him, me staying beside Glenn.

"Merle!" Daryl called again. We followed him across the roof and down a few stairs to find a gruesome scene. There were bloody handcuffs attached to a pipe and a hand lying beside a rusty saw. "No! No." Daryl cried. I had tears forming in my eyes when Daryl looked to T with hate in his eyes. "No!" he called again and collapsed next to the handcuffs.

We gave Daryl a few minutes to process the scene. I walked over to him and sat next to the man that saved my sisters life. "I'm so sorry." I whispered. He looked at me with tear stained cheeks. I didn't know what else to say so we just sat there, listening to the sounds of our breathing.

"Thanks." He finally mumbled to me. I nodded and gave him a small smile. "How come you been cryin'?" he asked, looking at the tears on my cheeks.

"Cause you lost someone you care about. I know how that feels." The words rolled out in a whisper. "No one deserves to go through that." I added. He nodded in agreement. "We should keep looking. He could be out there." I tried to keep some hope in him for his brother's life, but Daryl only nodded again. We fell back into a nice silence until the sound of the other three men in the background pulled us out of our thoughts.

Daryl stood up, still looking at the hand on the ground. He spun around and pointed his crossbow at T-dog's head. Rick pulled his revolver out and aimed for Daryl. I pulled my gun and had it hanging at my side, just in case. "I won't hesitate. I don't care if every walker in town hears it." Rick threatened.

Daryl hesitated before he put his crossbow down and fought off tears. "Rick." I said in a stern voice. He put the gun of safety and lowered it, me doing the same.

Daryl looked away from T and Rick and walked over to me. "Ya got a rag or somethin'?" he asked politely. I nodded and pulled out a red bandana from my bag. I handed it to him with a small smile.

He nodded a thanks and hesitated before he handed me his crossbow and went to the hand on the ground. He spread the bandana on the ground and spoke while picking up the hand. "I guess the saw blade was to dull for the cuffs." He held the hand up and examined it. He mumbled something under his breath that we couldn't hear.