Hiraeth (The Walking Dead)

Chapter 3

"Daryl," Rick called.

Daryl spun on his heels to look over at the leader. Rick gestured him over with his head. "Put 'er down real quick."

Daryl left the angry Cailey by a tree with her arms crossed. The hunter followed Rick and Shane just out of earshot from Cailey. "Blinfold her with her bandanna," Rick instructed. "We can't have 'er knowing how to get to the farm."

Daryl nodded. "A'ight."

Daryl stalked across the grass towards Cailey again. "Quit poutin', let's go." He pulled her bandanna down over her eyes and tightened the knot. "Move it off yer' face and im'ma hog-tie ya."

"Asshole," she mumbled. However, she no longer fought with the man as he moved her around and threw her back over his shoulder. Her arms remained crossed as she was blindly pulled across the forest.

"Hershel!" Rick called out loudly through the house once they reached the front door. "Hershel," he repeated loudly.

The white-haired farmer rushed through the house to meet Rick in the living room. "Put her on the bed, quick," he pointed to the bed with white sheets. "Maggie, Beth," he called to his daughters, "Get my supplies, and a light. It's getting dark!"

Daryl gently dropped Cailey on her back onto the mattress. She instantly began pushing away and ripped the bandanna down her face. Her eyes darted from Hershel to his daughters to Rick and his group. She tried to push away, but whimpered in pain as she pressed weight on her bullet-wounded leg.

"Come on, calm down," Hershel instructed quickly and gently as he sat on a chair next to the bed. "Let's take a look at you."

Cailey pulled her body up the bed again, away from the others. Hershel made an attempt to unwrap her t-shirt bandage, but she kicked away and tried to escape him. Daryl clotheslined her, pressing her into the mattress. "C'mon, girl, jus' relax."

Cailey whimpered almost pathetically and tried to pull herself from Daryl's grip, and Daryl huffed as he pulled her down. She squirmed her torso and legs, but the redneck managed to pull her head against his thigh and hook his other leg around her torso. The brunette was forced to lie still as Daryl kept one arm around her shoulders and collarbone. He pinned her right arm against him as she tried to fight, letting her keep her other arm stuck under her body.

Cailey lied half under Daryl, defeated. Her chest moved with shallow and ragged breaths. Hershel untied the blood-stained fabric around her left thigh, examining the bullet hole on the side of her leg through the rip in her pants. "There are still fragments of the bullet in her leg," he stated, "We have to get them out before she bleeds out or it becomes infected. There's probably some in her side, too."

Maggie and Beth rushed to help find the small metal tools that their father needed. "I need the rest of you to get out," the veterinarian began to shoo away the rest of the group. "I need more space and light. Daryl, I need you to stay here in case she tries to move." Daryl did not acknowledge Hershel, he only remained over Cailey before she had the chance to make an attempt at getting up. "Maggie, I need warm towels, and Beth, I need more bandages than this. The rest of you, get out."

Shane and Rick left the house, along with two of Hershel's people who had been in the living room. The decrease in bodies brought more light as there were no more shadows to be cast on the floor and bed. The gasoline lamp brightened the entire room with a yellow flame. "Daryl, I need you to make sure she stays still," Hershel instructed, expressing the importance.

Cailey squirmed around slightly. "Quit movin'," Daryl told her. "Ya wanna get yer' leg cut off?"

Cailey stopped moving, and Hershel picked up one of his tools. The teenager couldn't see what the man was doing with Daryl's arm keeping her in place and blocking her view. The veterinarian used his scalpel to move her skin, getting to work.

Cailey tensed and forced her nails into her palm. She bit down on her back teeth as Hershel pulled on the muscle and began trying to remove tiny bullet pieces. Her breathing became more shallow as more and more blood began coming from the wound. Her leg felt like it was on fire, and Hershel held her leg down as he continued trying to work. He pressed a damp towel against the wound as Maggie came back into the room with the piles of white towels.

"Lucky you found her when you did," Hershel commended Daryl, "Already beginning to bleed out, she wouldn't have made it if you hadn't found her before."

Cailey managed to remain still for the rest of the time that Hershel fixed her leg. He bound it tightly in white gauze after ripping her pants more, tying it not-so-carefully. "All right," he exhaled, "Now let's take a look at this." Hershel moved up to her torso, shooing away Daryl's leg as it got in the way. Daryl lowered his leg off Cailey's torso and rested it by her side, keeping his arm across her collarbones. Hershel untied the fabric around her lower chest, running two fingers over the bullet wound in her side. He cautiously grabbed his scalpel and tweezers, beginning to pull on the bloodied skin.

Cailey tensed up and tried to force herself to sit. Daryl fought back, pulling roughly on her hair to force her head onto the bed again. Hershel gently lifted Cailey's shirt up to just below a black sport's bra, beginning to clean the puncture in her side.

Daryl could see several marks and scars on the girl's hips and stomach. Some scars looked like they had been cut open, others looked like permanent bruises. On her left side, there was a rippling burn scar from her back that just barely curled around to her hip and side. As Hershel moved around on the same side as the burn scar, Cailey made small whimpers and groans in pain.

Daryl realized it wasn't just the bullet wound that was hurting- it was also the chronic pain from the old burn. It appeared years old, but had to have caused damage and incredible pain. The hunter looked down at Cailey, who gazed at the ceiling with her chest rising and falling quickly with shallow breaths. He removed his hand from the top of teenager's hair, unwrapping his fingers from the dark brown strands to stop pulling on them.

Cailey gasped and trembled as Hershel pulled on her muscles, forcing out the tiny pieces of metal. Small whimpers still escaped her mouth as her side burned with terrible pain. Daryl couldn't help but feel bad for the young girl, and he gently ran his hand through her hair.

Hershel tied the bandages around her torso tightly. "That should hold for now, as long as she doesn't mess with them."

The vet looked over Daryl's arm at Cailey. "Just get some rest for now."