Remember Me (Daryl Dixon)

Chapter Twenty-Nine: What's Ours

FLASHBACK BEGINS

"Help me! Please someone help me!"
I struggled against the hand over my mouth and tried desperately to break free and help this man.
He was going to die if I didn't. I had to get away and help him. The blood would be on my hands.
I struggled against the arms around me and tried to get away. I elbowed him in the chest, hoping that would get him off of me. It didn't.

"Please! I just saw you! I know you are out here!"
I whimpered and tried even harder to get away, kicking and clawing. Maybe if I made noise he would come see me. If I made enough noise, I could help save this mans life.

"Be quiet," Daryl growled into my ear as he held me even tighter. "If you don't stop, I ain't gonna hesitate to put you down."
My eyes widened at Daryl's words. I always knew Daryl was violent, but I never knew he would threaten my life. On a run, a man came running into our direction screaming for help. Since it was dark, Daryl was able to pull me in the bushes and keep us hidden. I didn't understand why. This man had to have been in some kind of danger. I decided that it was in my best interest to pipe down instead of getting shot in the head by a Dixon.

I stopped squealing and watched as the man continued screaming and begging for help. After a while, I watched as a group of men emerged from the dark forest. Something was familiar about one of them, but I didn't know what. "Well, look what we have here," one of the men purred, pushing the other man to the ground with his foot. I wanted to yell for them to stop, but Daryl's hand still remained over my mouth. The man pleaded for them to stop, but they never did. I had to watch as they beat this man brutally. I had to watch as they ended his life right before my eyes. Sometimes I think that was the moment that I forgot the world I used to know.

FLASHBACK ENDS

"Elizabeth? Earth to Elizabeth, this is Maggie speaking."
I quickly jumped up from my bunk and looked in the doorway. Maggie had been calling my name for several minutes and I never noticed. I mean this seemed to happen to me a lot these days. Sometimes the flashbacks would just make me go someplace else. It scared me, but I couldn't control it. They were the things that I wanted to forget, but couldn't. Things that happened when we were on the roads for all of those months.

"I'm sorry...I was in a daze," I replied quickly before running a finger through my hair. If I told her what was going on, she would give me some kind of mental examination.

"The others are back. I told you like six times," Maggie said with worry in her voice. I tried to ignore the glare in her eyes that told me I was scaring her. I smiled at began walking towards the cell door, "Well, finally. I've bee-"

Maggie cut me off by grabbing me by the arm and pulling me into whisper distance, "Elizabeth, I need to know what has gotten into you. Ever since Lori and T-Dog..."

I tried to shake those names out of my head as soon as she said them. How could I forget the ones we lost when everyone kept reminding me of them? I pushed past her, ignoring her words. I didn't have time for any of this. I was fine. I was not out of control. Nothing was wrong with me and that's all there was to it. People just needed to give me some time to recover from everything. We both watched Lori's death, so how was she okay? It was not fair that she could get over something like that and I couldn't.

I walked into the main room to find everybody gathered together, awaiting Rick's words. I had been anticipating his meeting with the Governor all day. The curiosity of what was said was completely overwhelming. Daryl and I made eye contact for a moment but quickly broke it once Rick began speaking. "So, I met this Governor," his voice trailed off as he tried to make eye contact with all of us.

The tone of his voice had me hopeful, but you could never carry around too much hope in this world. "I sat with him for quite a while," Rick began, nodding his head.
"Just the two of you?" Merle interrupted. My eyes fell upon him when he decided to open his mouth. Rick paused for a moment before nodding, indicating that it was just them.

"Should've gone while we had the chance," Merle grumbled, pushing past everyone and exiting the room. I didn't know what that was all about, but the eye contact he made with Glenn told me that it was partially between them. "He wants the prison," Rick said, drawing all the attention to himself. At those words, Daryl and I made eye contact. It was exactly what I thought it was.

"He wants us gone. Dead," Rick said before pausing. "He wants us dead."

I broke the eye contact with Daryl and began staring at the floor. "For what we did to Woodbury," Rick took a dramatic pause that threatened to deafen the room. "We're going to war."

I sighed and gripped the wall at the sound of his words. I knew that this would eventually lead to blood shed. I knew that this was something we could never escape. With that, Rick left the room and Hershel followed. I made eye contact with Daryl once more and he motioned for me to go up the stairs with him. I didn't follow him. I knew that there was more to this story and I was going to figure it out.

When everyone was distracted, I followed Rick and daddy. Since he was slow, I had to stay quiet so he wouldn't notice me following. Maybe Rick was telling the truth, but I knew that he left some of the details out. And I also knew that these details were important. I watched as dad went outside on the walkway, standing next to Rick. When I knew that they couldn't hear me, I pressed myself against the side of the door and began listening.

"The group is taking it as well as expected," dad said in a sarcastic voice. "Merle and Michonne are convinced we should hit first."

They were right. If we could attack first, we could have the advantage in this war. We could show them that we were not to be messed with. "Carol and I think we should take our chances on the road."

I scoffed at my father's words. If we left, it means he would win. I didn't know this man personally, but I did not want to just lie down and take it. We had to fight back. This was the first place I felt safe at since the farm. We couldn't let some random people walk in and take everything away from us.
"We're in this together," dad stated in a sturdy voice. "So if we stay and fight, so be it."

Yes, that is what we had to do. We had to stay and fight for this place. We couldn't just give it up when this was our home. It was silent for a few moments before Rick spoke. "He gave me a choice."

When he began speaking, I stopped moving and lowered my breathing. I needed to hear this part. "A way out," Rick began.

"What does he want?" dad asked, curiosity rising in his voice. Yes, what did he want? "Michonne," Rick stated after a moment. I craned my neck, trying to hear the rest of the conversation. "He'll kill her," dad replied after a moment.

"That's not all he wants. He wants Elizabeth." When I heard those words, my heart stopped. That's when I realized that threatening him was a huge mistake. Now I was part of the reason that we were going to be attacked. He wanted me and Michonne in exchange for everyone's safety.

"What?" dad asked in a shocked tone. "She threatened him through Andrea," Rick began. "She threatened to kill him through Andrea. And now he wants her head along with Michonne's. It doesn't matter, he would kill us anyways."

I couldn't hear anymore. I pushed myself off of the floor and began running. Not running to get away, but running to Daryl. He was the only person that could help me in a situation like this. There was no way that I could let the group die because of me. I knew that I would have to go to him, but right now I needed Daryl.

I found him standing in a cell, observing the walls just as I did. But when he saw me running at him and when he heard my frantic cries, he quickly turned in my direction. Crying, I jumped into his arms and let all of my emotions out. I knew that he was confused, but I just needed him right now. He held me and stroked my hair before asking what was wrong. With shaking hands and trembling lips, I spoke.

"I need to tell you something."