We take Merle's car back to the prison. I drive, and Daryl stays silent, staring out the window. We don't speak, but I understand that he needs his space.
We arrive at the prison, where everyone is gathering outside. We pull up and I park the car. When we climb out, Rick hugs me and tries to talk to Daryl, but he walks inside without looking at anyone. Rick looks at me with a confused expression.
"Merle...he's dead," I whisper.
"Dead?"
"The Governor shot him and he turned," I continue. "Daryl had to...you know." Rick nods, and everyone else exchanges glances, their faces showing a mixture of emotions. "He died trying to help take out the Governor. If I were to guess, he wanted to prove to us that he was sorry for what he had done before. He died loyal to us," I finish, my voice breaking slightly.
Everyone nods, murmuring under their breath.
"We've got a plan," Rick says softly.
He leans down and whispers in my ear. I listen intently. The plan is perfect. It should totally work.
"Alright everyone! Pack up," Rick orders.
We head inside the prison, packing bags and anything else we have. We don't want to leave any trace that we were ever here.
I go up to my cell, where Daryl is already sitting on the bunk. I'm not going to ask if he's ok, and I'm not going to tell him anything that's a lie. He doesn't look up at me. I sit down next to him and wrap my arms around him, resting my head on his shoulder. He sighs heavily.
"I'm glad you were there," he says quietly. "Bein' alone would've been harder to handle."
"I'll always be here for you," I whisper, pressing a kiss to his tear streaked face. "He died a hero."
He leans down, kissing me with the same passion I felt the other day. I want to let him stay here and grieve, but we've got a plan to carry out.
"I need to tell you the plan," I say, and I lean up to his ear.
His eyes widen, and his mouth turns up a bit at the side. "Sounds good. Let's get out of this tomb."
We pack our stuff into our bags, cleaning everything up. I leave the cell and run outside to the cars, my backpack bouncing as I run. Daryl follows close behind, albeit slower than me. I toss my bag into the back of one of the cars, and Daryl moves to his motorcycle. He sits down next to it, and Carol comes up behind me.
"How's he holding up?" she asks quietly.
"I think he'll be fine, after a while. He still needs to grieve," I answer, glancing in his direction.
"Merle helped us. He gave us a better chance." Carol smiles.
I nod and walk to the bike. Daryl has his leather jacket and angel wings vest on, and he's sitting on his poncho.
I hold out my hand to him, and he takes it. I pull him up, and he climbs on his bike. The cars are driven a little ways down the road, hidden, and parked. The drivers come back and we all disperse, hiding in different spots.
Daryl and I go to one of the supply closets near the guard towers. We get in, closing the door and locking it. He sits and, seeing as we're very cramped, I sit down on his lap. We wait in silence, his arms around my waist, the only sounds are of our breathing. He nuzzles his face in my shoulder, no doubt still thinking of his lost brother.
Soon, we hear engines, and then gunshots. I hear a few explosions, more gunshots, and then the Governor yelling.
"Get inside! GO!"
Feet rumbling, doors sliding....silence. More silence, still only silence. Daryl's arms tighten around my waist and I lean back, holding my breath with anticipation.
Then, screams; the soldiers' terrified noises. I hear more feet rumbling and then more screaming. Gunshots ring out, and I grin. Maggie and Glenn are positioned on the links, ready to shoot down the attackers.
The screaming continues until the engines rev again and slowly fade out. Daryl and I ease ourselves up and open the door.
"WE DID IT!" Maggie whoops.
"WHOOOO!" I yell happily.
"Let's go finish this," Rick says.
People go and retrieve the cars, and start unpacking again. I grab my bags and Daryl's, running them back up to our cell. When I get back outside, Daryl has his motorcycle ready, and Rick is in the truck with Michonne. I climb onto the bike, and Glenn and Maggie open the gate. We drive out of the prison, determined to end this.
We've only driven for a bit when we find something.
The Governor's military vehicles, empty. Walkers dressed in the same clothes as the people of Woodbury feast on the other victims, and we kill them swiftly. As I walk by the big truck, there's a smack on the window and I jump backwards, startled. There's a rather young looking woman with curly black hair inside, staring at us with a terrified expression.
Daryl opens the door and the woman steps out, hands raised.
"What happened here?" Rick demands.
"The Governor opened fire on us. I hid under a body," she says, her voice trembling. "Please don't hurt me..."
"We won't. It's alright," I say kindly, and she gives me a grateful smile.
Rick motions for her to follow him, and she climbs into our truck. I sit back down on Daryl's bike and we drive off towards Woodbury.
YOU ARE READING
Daryl's Angel (Book One in the Apocalypse Angel Trilogy)
Fanfiction"Why're you bein' so nice to me?" "I would want the same if I were you." Hope Starling was alone when the dead started rising. She had always been alone, with parents that had disowned her and no friends to help her. Inside the department store in...
