The start

Lydia

Although I was well and able to walk around I didn't go to the funeral. I wouldn't want to be disrespectful but I just couldn't face it. Jesus was gone and he was the leader for hilltop. Hilltop has no leader and the people are worried. They have no one to turn to. But that didn't stop them from continuing living. We still needed to do that. I transferred out of the medic and stayed in a room inside the house. For some reason Daryl slept and stayed outside. I guess he wanted to help guard and take care of the place now that Jesus isn't around. Maybe he felt gulity. Maybe he felt responsible for hilltop now. He was too busy guarding the place, taking care of henry and dealing with out new guest. Aka, the prisoner.

"Dog!" I called as I walked around hilltop. I could hear in the distance him barking and playing. No sight of Daryl. Dog comes running up to me with a stick. I could already see the drool and slober hanging off of it like a spider web. I gagged at the sight but went ahead and accepted the lovely gift he brought me.

"Thank you." I smiled at Dog as he looked to be grinning back. He barks at me happily waiting patiently for his stick to be thrown far.

"Go get it!" I yell as I throw the stick as far as I could. Without hesitation dog runs like a bullet in the wind for the soggy wood before it could even touch the ground.

Out of the corner of my left eye I could see two figures emerging from the cellar. The prison. I turn to face them and see Daryl and Henry. Dog walks back over to me with his slober stick watching the two boys with me.

"Go play." I tell dog carelessly as I walk over to Daryl. He was yelling furiously at Henry for some reason.

"I'm sorry. Okay? I didn't think that it would... Wait. You were listening?" Henry asked as he looked up at Daryl.

"Yeah, of course we were. Me, Enid, and a few of the others, we've been switching off, seeing what she'd say to you." Daryl answered.

"You were using me." Henry accused Daryl.

"Yeah, and it was workin', too." Daryl admitted. He wasn't ashamed.

"She's a good person who got messed up out there. And she's right about you. You know that? You're an asshole. You want answers, get 'em yourself." Henry says as he storms off. Daryl looks at me and then back at the cellar doors.

"They're kids Daryl. They don't think things through. They just want comfort and friends. Henry has no one here." I tried to explain to him.

"He has me and you." Daryl scoffed as he watched Henry walk away.

"Does he know that?" I asked as Daryl seemed puzzled.

"Does he know he can trust us? That he can talk to us whenever and about whatever without fear or judgment?" I asked as Daryl shakes his head unable to answer my questions.

"I'm going back down." He mumbles as he heads to the cellar. I stayed outside near the barred up window listening.

"You finally come to kill me?" The girl asked. Not even seconds later I could hear a bottle of pills rattling.

"It's for your ear. You keep pullin' on it like it hurts. No? I don't give a shit. It's up to you. Two of ours went missing. We found their horses, though. Half skinned, half eaten. You know anything about that?" Daryl asked. First time I'm hearing about this. Then again, I haven't been around much. I wonder who was missing.

"How could I? I've been here." The girl said back. She seemed irritated.

"What would your mom do if she crossed some of our people? Would she kill them?" Daryl asked her.

"She would if she had to." The girl trailed off.

"What does that mean?" Daryl asked.

"There was a time in the beginning. The very beginning. We were in a shelter for the military to come get us. They weren't coming. A few other people were with us. Some handled the waiting good and others didn't. Daddy would try to keep everyone together and quiet while mama would care for me. There was a man that freaked out and tried to leave. The doors had to stay closed. So mama made him stay quiet. Daddy used to sing that to me when I was scared. Which was a lot back then." The girl told her story. I couldn't imagine a child growing up Like that. I can't imagine a child growing up in a world like this.

"How old were you?" Daryl asked.

"5 or 6. Who knows?" She sighed.

"Your mom. Your mom did what she had to do." Daryl says. There was a moment of silence that followed after was a whistle. I could hear the bottle of pills again as it hit the ground and rolled.

"Doesn't have to be like that, though. There's a lot of good people here. They'll help you if you help them." Daryl says as there was another moment of silence.

"Can I have some water? What, you think I'm gonna hit you with it or something?" The girl asked. It got quiet again and then followed after was struggle. I could hear the girl grunting as I ran down the cellar and watched as Daryl grabbed the girls arm throught the bars. He then pulls her long sleeve down revealing the whip lashes on her arms. I gasped silently. Some were fresh and others were old. Scars. Who would do this to a child? The girl yanks her arm back and backs up into the corner of the cage as Daryl turns to me.

He walks past me and out the cellar as I stood there. I walked over to the cage slowly. The girl stood there unimpressed. Probably thought this was bad cop and good cop.

"What's your name?" I asked her as I stopped and stood right in front of the doors.

"What's your name?" She repeated back but with spite. She was angry. I would be too if I was locked up this long with no privacy.

"I'm Harley. And you?" I watched as she pulled at her ear like a cracked head at a 7/11 back when things were normal. Something wasn't right with it. She needed it checked out or flushed.

"How'd you end up with a guy like that?" The girl looked down at the ground. Her question seemed sarcastic. Normally I would be offended and fire back with something hateful back but I knew she was trying to avoid answering me.

"Let me guess, Henry told you about me? That's Daryl, hes my husband. Well, I tell you one thing, Daryl is a good guy and he's trying everything in his power to help you." I told her honestly. She needed that.

"That was help?" She scoffed and rolled her eyes not believing me.

"In his own way, sure." I crossed my arms and nodded my head.

I didn't ask for help." She said quietly.

"You didn't have to. He can see it." I told her.

"You can let me go. That'll help." She looked back up at me and shrunk her shoulders down to seem less of a threat. I've seen this tactic before. Carol did this when we first came to Alexandria to fool everyone.

"You know we can't. we need answers." I shake my head at her as she sighed dramatically realizing it wasn't going to work.

"I don't know anything." She shakes her head but then stops as she rest the palm of her hand up against her sore ear.

"I think you do. You just don't know it yet if you want to tell us or not." I studied her body language as she shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know," She tried to say again but I cut her off.

"Lets go back to my first question. What's your name? You have to know that." I asked as she bit her lip looking at me. Now she was studying my body language. I help a confident yet relaxed posture. I didn't want to come off as a threat. Daryl had already scared her so bad she needs something different.

"Lydia."

Trust is earned.