We Are Risen

Chapter Thirteen

Toby's POV

As we drove, I kept looking over to Daisy to check on her. She hasn't said a word since we left. We had men holding us at gunpoint. My knee is hyperextended and my face is bruised, my dad's face is bruised, Ally still has blood running down her face, and Daisy? God, where do I start? Her lip is busted and her cheek is bruised. Her kneck and chest are covered in hickeys, and her cheekbone is bruised over the scar from the biter scratch.

I watched that RV rock back and forth for ten minutes. Ten minutes of being held at gunpoint and him putting Daisy through hell. I glanced over at her, and she was doing what she's been doing for the past hour and a half; hugging her arms to her body and staring straight ahead, tears running silently down her pale cheeks with her not bothering to brush them away as they dripped off her chin. I can't tell if her back is still bleeding. To be honest, I don't think I want to know. 

I gave her my jacket so she'd feel safe. So she could hide in the comfort of it. She had that ratty old hoodie for as long as I'd known her, and she would never take it off, even in summer. Now I know that she wore it to hide the scars. Not just from her stepdad, but from her suicide attempts. I'm still trying to come to terms with her trying to kill herself. . . And that I wasn't there to protect her. 

I told myself that I was out of my control. She hadn't even moved to Lakeview yet, I didn't even know she existed. I sighed, taking a hand off the wheel to rake my hair out of my eyes. It was already dark, and apparently, while I was caught up in my thoughts, Daisy had taken out a. . . pack of cigarettes? She was lighting it up and rolling down the window. 

"Where the hell did you get those?" I asked but was just ignored. "Daisy, c'mon. Those'll ruin your lungs."

I was ignored again. I glanced in the rearview mirror when I heard movement, seeing Bryson sit forward.

"Mind if I bum one off you, Dee?"

Daisy didn't even acknowledge him, shaking one out and handing him the lighter. Bryson lit it, taking a long drag before blowing out the blue smoke as he handed it back to her. I started looking at the road signs, trying to see if there was anywhere we could spend the night. I sighed heavily, seeing no sign of anywhere. 

"Guys, I think we're going to have to camp for the night," I told them. 

"But we have nothing to protect us," Ally protested from the backseat. 

"I know," I shot back. "Maybe if we had some wire and tin cans, we could set up a perimeter. If biters came close, they'd hit the fence and make enough noise to alert us."

"Or we could just sleep in the trees."

I glanced over at Daisy. She wasn't looking at any of us, still staring straight ahead.

"The biters wouldn't even see us," she said quietly. 

"That's a brilliant idea, Dee," I praised her, reaching over and gave her shoulder a squeeze. She flinched away from my touch. "What- what would we do without you?"

She didn't answer. Her face is pale, even more so than usual. Her deep red hair is tangled and messy, strands hanging in her face that she doesn't bother to brush away. Dark purple bags hung under her eyes. I sighed again, looking at the road signs. I saw a sign for a park and figured that was our best bet. I pulled into the parking lot next to a massive group of trees. We all got out and got some canned beans and spoons along with a can opener. 

We all climbed into the bed of Daisy's truck while my dad sat on top to keep watch while he ate. We passed the can opener around, but Daisy didn't take it. She didn't even look at the food. She just stared blankly ahead, her eyes cloudy and dazed over.