Daryl's Angel (Book One in the Apocalypse Angel Trilogy)

Chapter 15: Nightmare

"Most of the facility is powered down. We're running on energy reserves now. You can have your separate rooms, there's extra cots in the closet if you use up all the couches, and there's a rec room down the hall that you two would probably like," Jenner says, pointing to Sophia and Carl. "Just, don't plug in the video games ok? Or anything that draws power. Same thing for all of you. Oh yeah! And if you guys have showers, easy on the hot water." Jenner leaves, letting us get to our own thing.

"Hot water?" Glenn asks excitedly.

"That's what the man said!" T-dog says, grinning.

"Well, let's go then!" I say, running into the shower room.

I quickly disrobe and turn on the water. Gingerly, I step in. A sigh escapes me as the hot water rushes over me. I wash my hair and body, laughing as I hear the happy noises of my companions.

Once I'm done, I grab a towel and walk to the room I reserved for myself.

I dry myself off and change into more clothes that Lori lent me, sweatpants and a baggy, black, off the shoulder t-shirt. I comb my wet hair and head down to the rec room. I can hear soft music, and I smile, not having heard music in a while.

I walk into the room, where Carl and Sophia play Monopoly while Lori and Carol watch. I head over to the bookshelves. I run my fingers over the various covers until I find one that looks decent. I pull it out and walk to another couch, sitting down and beginning to read.

"Come on you two. Time for bed," Lori says after a while.

The four of them get up, leaving the room. I look to the clock on the wall, realizing that it's getting late. I tuck my book under my arm and head into my room again.

I lay down on the couch, and I pull the blanket up to my chin. For a second, I forget that it no longer smells like Daryl's blanket smelled back and camp. Nevertheless, I drift off to sleep.

I'm standing in a field. It's foggy, and I can't see anything around me, save for the dead grass beneath my bare feet. I can hear the moans of the undead all around me.

"HOPE!" I hear someone calling me. "HOPE!"

"Who's there?" I yell.

I hear no answer. I try to move from the spot, but I find that the scene stays exactly the same in whatever direction I move in.

A shadowy figure moves out of the fog. It's Daryl, and I let out a sigh of relief.

"Daryl, it's just you." I laugh lightly. "What's going on? Where's the group?"

He doesn't say anything. Rick and the rest of the group emerges behind him, surrounding me in a loose circle.

"Oh good! You're all safe," I say, desperately wanting someone to answer me.

I hear more groaning. I whip around, but I see no one but my friends.

"Guys...what's going-" I stop abruptly.

The skin on Daryl's face starts peeling off and gory wounds cross his body. Bone shows through parts of his arms and shoulders. His hands and face are covered in blood. His eyes are grey and lifeless, void of the beautiful blue they once were. He lets out a garbled growl, reaching a decaying hand out to me.

I scream and back away, only hearing more moans around me. I turn, seeing that the rest of my group are walkers too. They move towards me, teeth clacking and hands clawing the air, their eyes nearly glowing in the foggy surrounding of my dream. I reach for my knife, but it's not there. I have no weapons of any kind. I scream again as my friends pull me to the ground.

The last thing I see is the walker Daryl biting my throat out.

I wake with a start in a cold sweat. I instantly check myself; no bites, no wounds. I get up from the couch and leave my room, starting to creep down the hallway. Rick, Lori, and Carl sleep contentedly in one room, Andrea and Dale share the one beside it, and Glenn and T-dog are in the next one. None of them are walkers, like in my nightmare. I continue down the hallway, seeing my friends' calm and contented faces. I finally reach the room I'm looking for.

I push the door open and walk inside. Daryl lies on a big couch, sleeping soundly. I take two steps into the room when he wakes up.

"Hope? What are you doin'?" he asks groggily, rubbing his eyes.

"Sorry for waking you," I apologize immediately. "It's just..." I shiver and look down.

"Nightmare?" he asks, his face softening slightly.

I nod. "The group turned into walkers. I wanted to make sure I was dreaming." I sniff, a few tears running down my face. "I'll go now."

"Naw. Come 'ere," Daryl says, sitting up a bit and holding his arms out to me.

I walk to him. He lies down on the couch again, leaving room for me. I climb in beside him, and he wraps his strong arms around me carefully, as well as pulling the blanket over both of us. I sigh, snuggling closer to Daryl, pressing my face into the warmth and safety of his neck. He's tense, but I ignore it.

"What'd I tell you about not cryin' anymore?" he whispers.

He wipes the remaining tears off my face gently, his hands shaking a little.

"Thank you," I murmur.

He sighs. "Just, don't mention it to anyone in the group."

I nod. "You know, you're actually kind of sweet and caring when you try."

Daryl sighs again. "I haven't done this for anyone, ever. Just know that. There's somethin' about you that makes me wanna protect you."

I smile. "Your secret's safe with me."

"This doesn't change anythin'," he adds. "You're still just..." He stops, like the words are foreign and strange on his tongue. "...my friend."

"You consider me your friend?"

"I know," I say before I drift off again.

No nightmares plague me for the rest of the night.