The Darkest Storm

The shot circled out through the woods and fields that surrounded them, causing birds hidden within the treetops to fly out of their nests and homes to somewhere they deemed as safe for the time being. But for the camp, it was only an echo that rang for miles in every direction as a reminder of mistaken identity.

Over the horizon the sun began to set for the day, but it was not the normal beautiful colors that somehow made everyone in that camp think of better times, but of dark and starless hues, signaling the walker they had shot down was in fact one of their own.

All she could remember was the limp body the two officers heaved over their shoulders towards her and the house, messy, dirty, smelling of death. Haziness and a faint ringing in her ears was all she could comprehend as she watched them get closer and closer, seeing his body worn out, beaten, unmoving.

Darcy didn’t flinch or make the slightest of sounds, but stood in a wave of her own mixed emotions. All were so powerful she put her hands up to the sides of her face, skin gone pale white as she stared at the dragging feet of her friend being pulled past her.

Gentle hands grabbed hers and turned her body towards the house, wrapping a steady arm around her shoulder and leading her in the right direction. It was until she was being caringly pushed with her back against the wall that she saw that it was Rick in front of her, looking down with worry and reassurance that Daryl was okay.

Throughout it all, his voice was cloudy and barely audible in her own mind, still eyes set on the body lying on the bed in the room behind the Sherriff. Darcy knew that unless she saw Daryl awake, her mind couldn’t wander away from heart-wrenching image that was now burned into the folds of her mind.

“Darcy?” Glenn said quietly from the hallway. Darcy turned then, realizing that Lori and Shane were standing amongst her and Glenn as well. He carried Daryl’s crossbow in his right hand, slightly outstretched towards her for her to grab it.

“I thought you might want to hold on to this.” He shrugged, adverting his eyes from hers as she mumbled a ‘thank you’ and took it from him.

Darcy placed the crossbow down carefully against the wall beside her, and made herself slide her back down the wall next to it with her knees brought up to her chest. With one elbow on the top of her left knee Darcy held her forehead in her hand, peering at the closed door across from her and ignoring the knowing stares from the others.

Loud and quick footsteps soon approached the quiet worried group members, and Darcy’s heart lurched and ached with the rush of adrenaline because she knew who the person was. Darcy only hoped they knew to stay away from her at that time.

“Is he okay?!” Andrea said, out of breath and looking between the four. T-Dog showed up right behind her, also catching Darcy out of his eye and wondered for himself if Andrea should be there.

Lori stepped forward with one arm crossed and another hand lightly raised, “He’s fine, he’s just unconscious. They’re trying to wake him up now.” Lori had said this quietly, giving a few quick glances over to Darcy who was still holding her forehead and sitting close to Daryl’s crossbow on the floor.

Darcy tried to drown out the noise around her, but the cracking of Andrea’s voice broke through her shield as she continued to explain what happened in stutters, “I-I didn’t know-“

“God, Andrea. Enough.” Darcy scoffed. “I am so sick of you constantly wining and complaining about everything, everyday.” Darcy stood up and the rest of the group went wide-eyed, not expecting such an outburst from her since she normally kept her cool and opinions under control.

Andrea’s facial expressions tightened, “How can you say that? All I’ve been trying to do is help out, look for Sophia, protect the camp. I have my opinions just like you, that’s not complaining. And what’s it to you, you barely know me? You have no idea what I’ve been through or what I’ve had to deal with-“

“You want me to feel sorry for you?” Darcy let her shoulders drop forcefully. “Because you lost your sister? Because you wanted to die? Because you shot Daryl? Every one of us has our own shit to deal with too, it’s not just you.”

Shane stepped forward and put a gentle hand on Darcy’s stomach to hold her back, “Girl, let’s just take a step back…” He whispered.

“No I’m not finished,” She looked to Shane, “Rick told you to put the gun down, Andrea. And instead of getting off your high-horse you decided to prove to everyone that you were actually useful and then this is what happened.” Darcy took a step towards the door and pointed forcefully.

The group stayed silent, not wanting to look at either Darcy or Andrea. Darcy was fuming, that much was clear, but Andrea kept her eyes on the ground, letting the tears that flowed down her cheeks hit the wooden floor boards below her.

Creaking from the other side of the door way suddenly caught everybody’s attention as Rick and Hershel stepped out and shut the door behind them. Rick nodded at Darcy and walked over to Lori, “He’s going to be fine.”

Hershel wiped his hands on his white cloth, a mixture of dirt and blood being cleaned from his fingers, “I gave him a sedative. Should give him the rest he needs and the time his body needs to heal. It may be awhile before he wakes up, but we need to keep the wound in his side clean or it’ll get infected. Other than that, he should be fine.”

An instant wave of relief took over Darcy’s body, closing her eyes and rubbing them slightly with her fingers. “Can I go in and see him?” Her voice was raspy, tired, annoyed.

Hershel nodded and moved aside as Andrea spoke up, “Darcy, I-“

“Andrea,” Darcy clapped her hands once together and brought them up to her mouth as she spoke, “Stay away from me.”

The awkwardness and truthfulness of the entire situation made all but Lori and Shane stay put as the others left. Right when Darcy had her hand on the door knob to visit her friend, Shane caught her arm.

He whispered, “Is something going on between you two?” Shane’s eyes motioned towards the door.

Darcy scoffed again, and made it completely obvious as she looked back and forth between him and Lori. She narrowed her eyes, “Really?” before getting a taken aback look from both of them and making herself disappear behind the door.

-

Daryl’s eyes fluttered open, focusing on his surroundings in the small bedroom that was dimly lit. It was past nightfall, and the cool evening breeze flowed through the window and made the curtains be all but restless. His eyes flickered to the figure beside the bed, curled up onto the small sofa chair with their head resting on the arm. Darcy was fast asleep.

See. He brought a small smile to his face as he remembered the conversation he had with his brother, regardless if it was real or not. She does care.

Daryl grunted then, knowing he shouldn’t be even worried about her or anybody else. He just needed to survive. He closed his frustrated blue eyes, tired from such a horrible and eventful day. Daryl was angry at himself for this, for letting Darcy reach into the folds of his mind.

This was exactly why he was defensive and angry most of the time; her ability to make him weak in the knees with a smirk, to make him wonder about her every second of everyday when she wasn’t around. Of course it had never happened to him before with anybody else, and he had never allowed it to, until now.

Daryl opened his eyes again, wanting to watch her and for her to wake up and talk to him. It relieved him that she was there next to him, waiting for him to come to consciousness. Until that time, Daryl laid on his side and watched her sleep, stirring only in the slightest as she rested on the chair.

The door creaked open a slither, and Daryl turned round to see a hesitant Carol bringing a plate for him. His attention turned to her, and Darcy stirred again, but this time she was awake.

Peering through her groggy eyes and strands of hair that fell on her face, she kept silent and watched Daryl when he quickly pulled the sheets up over his body. Darcy had seen the scars already, and she knew if he brought it up then she would address it. She couldn’t risk getting into another defensive fight with him again, it was too hard on her even though Darcy didn’t show it that much. Instead, she watched how Carol would react.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

Daryl turned away from her, “As good as I look.”

“I brought you some dinner.” Daryl looked over his shoulder, “You must be starving.” Carol then noticed Darcy, still seeming to be asleep in the corner of the room.

“I was gonna see if she was awake, but I’ll bring her a plate too.” Carol mentioned.

Daryl looked to Darcy, “Is she okay?” He grunted.

Carol nodded, “She was worried about you. Waited for you to get back.” She watched as Daryl blinked and adverted his eyes back towards Darcy. Carol then leaned over, and Darcy saw the familiar flinch from Daryl as she kissed him lightly on his cheek.

Darcy then pieced everything together. From the scars, to the flinching, to the defensiveness of his childhood and how he knew how to stitch himself up. All Darcy wanted to do in that moment was cup his face and tell him it was all okay.

“Watch out, I got stitches.” Daryl moaned. Darcy smirked.

“You need to know something,” Carol started, causing Daryl to look her way. Her tone was soft, but serious. “You did more today for my little girl than her own daddy ever did in his whole life.”

Daryl turned away again, “I didn’t do anythin’ Rick or Shane wouldn ‘a done.”

“I know.” Carol smiled. “You’re every bit as good as them. Every bit.”

As the door opened and Carol left, Darcy slowly sat up. She brought her feet to the ground and leaned over so her elbows were resting on her knees. Darcy rubbed her face awake and pushed her hair back as she cleared her throat.

“You’re awake.” Daryl grunted.

Darcy lifted her head up and rested her chin on her fists. “What the hell happened Daryl?” Her voice was raspy, still upset and emotional.

“I fell down this, this cliff. Got attacked by walkers. Got shot.” He shrugged his shoulders and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. “Been a long day.”

“I bet.” Darcy sighed, and suddenly Daryl felt very exposed. The sheets had made their way down to his navel, and he quickly fumbled with them to get himself covered again.

Darcy spoke gently, “I already saw them.”

Daryl leaned back, feeling the shock of being exposed and suddenly felt weak in front of her, like he wasn’t the man he could be for her because of the scars he carried on his shoulders. Daryl didn’t know what to make of it, or what to do.

“So, what are ya gonna make me go back and face my childhood ‘er somethin’?”

Darcy shook her head, “No.” She said simply.

“Well, then this is it.” He said motioning to himself. “You got no use bein’ around someone like me.”

“Someone like you?” Darcy asked, raising her brow. “What the hell does that mean?”

“I don’ know. You tell me.” He said, referring to their argument the previous day.

“God Daryl, I didn’t mean it.” Darcy sighed and hung her head in her hands, “I was just so mad at you.”

“Had a good reason to I suppose.” Daryl lowered his voice, “I only did what I had to, to make sure you were gonna be okay.”

“And what do you call this?” Darcy pointed to him lying in the bed, injured and with stitches. “You promised.”

“I’m fine ain’t I? Why do you care so much?” He asked, starting to feel uncomfortable with how much worry she actually showed.

“Why do you?” She retorted.

“I don’t.” Daryl scoffed. Darcy sat back in the chair with a sulk, scoffing right back at him as she did. It grew silent between them, both awkward and trying so hard to hide their feelings and how much they did really care if the other was safe.

Daryl’s voice had suddenly grown soft, “Tell me what happened.”

Darcy shot her head up, “With what?”

“With the little girl in the house.” Daryl propped himself up on his elbow. “I wanna know.”

“Tell me about your scars.” Darcy said.

Daryl nodded, “Story for story.”

“You first.” Darcy commanded.

“My ol’ man wasn’t the kindest.” Daryl looked at the ceiling. He had never said anything about it before, to anyone. Not even Merle after he left home. It was never mentioned or even referenced. That statement alone showed how sensitive the subject was. “Go on.”

“That’s all I get?” Darcy sighed, watching him nod his head and waiting for her to tell him her story.

“Fine.” Darcy agreed. “The old group that I had left wasn’t just an old group. Part of them was my family. My uncle, and my niece.” She looked to the floor, “My aunt had died in a car accident a few months before the outbreak. The night that I told you a group of biters came through, my niece didn’t make it. My uncle started loosing his mind, grew abusive and, since he was the leader of the group, started making the wrong decisions.”

“Did he hit you?” Daryl asked.

“Threatened, more like. It was like trying to escape a prison.” Darcy sighed. “The things that he did, to some of the survivors we found…” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

Darcy patted her thighs and stood up. “I have to change your bandages.”

Darcy walked over to the dresser where Hershel had set up everything she would need. He felt that if a familiar pair of hands did the work, Daryl’s body might not tense up under the pressure. Hershel didn’t know how wrong he was.

“Scoot.” She tapped Daryl’s shoulder with the back of her hand and told him to lay on his side. It took no time cleaning and bandaging it right back up. As soon as she moved to the head bandage though, it was a different story.

“Alcohol?” He asked, wondering what she was cleaning his bullet wound with since it stung something awful. She nodded, grabbed it and leant over towards him. As he winced at the pain, a funny thing happened.

His fingers came down over hers, the most fleeting touch of skin on skin and for absolutely no reason at all, Darcy’s pulse quickened. The hairs on the back of her neck stood to attention, but it wasn't unpleasant, far from it. Her eyes widened, her whole body feeling suddenly on edge, as if she needed to shiver and as she glanced up, she did just that. Daryl’s eyes were on her, his expression totally blank but focused right on her face. They were close, too close. It startled her and, as if scolded, she stood up from the bed.

Darcy put her hands in her back pockets and stared at the lamp beside the bed, not knowing what else to do. Daryl was also sitting up straight at staring down at his feet, both of them unmoving in the slightest.

“I’ll finish wrappin’ it up.” Daryl whispered.

Darcy brought her eyes up to him and wondered what was going through his mind. A warming sensation went through hers, and she knew she didn’t want to leave him alone just yet.

She coughed to clear her throat. “No, I’ll um, I’ll do it.” Darcy stepped forward again, determined not to let a slight touch scare her away. For some reason this time, seeing him all beaten up and witnessing him almost get killed made a simple touch spark more than what it was intended to be.

Taking the bandage in her hands, her fingertips gently caressed the sides of his hair and around his head, securing the bandage in place while being as gentle as she possibly could. Daryl had his eyes focused on her the entire time, and all he could think about was back in the ditch where she had appeared to him in his daydream, and how that dream ended.

When Darcy was done wrapping the white cloth around his wound, Daryl instinctively brought his hand up to her cheek, causing her eyes to flicker towards his. Both of their hearts were pounding within their chests, eyes were faint, not really knowing what was about to happen but at the same time, both had a very clear idea.

Daryl would have never done such a bold move ever in his life, but something in his gut told him now was the time and he was not one to waste an opportunity. The two hunters were already close, but Daryl narrowed the gap between them even further and for a second his eyes flickered from Darcy’s sparkling amber ones to her soft, rose colored lips.

With a callously cold, nervous finger, Daryl tilted Darcy’s chin upwards towards him, and she didn’t fight it.

Suddenly, Daryl’s lips met with hers. Shivers shot down her spine as his hand continued to hold her cheek softly and Darcy closed her eyes, just letting the feeling of yearning and desire that had been secretly avoided for so long seep through their lips like an electric charge.

Daryl moved his hand round to the back of Darcy’s neck and pulled her lips into him even more, gently caressing them with his. Darcy felt the weight of her body buckle, moving her soft lips with his firm ones. He then slid his arms around her back and pressed his entire body into her while she cupped the sides of his face in her hands.

After a second that felt like eternity, Darcy felt his tongue pushing up gently against her lips and she slowly parted them. In an instant, Daryl took the chance and deepened the kiss softly and yet passionately as if he had to hold himself back from losing control.

The world seemed perfect in that moment, like nothing mattered anymore except for the two of them, flawlessly comfortable in eachother’s company…until the door opened.

Darcy shot up from the bed again, and Rick showed his face on the other side of the door. She had her hand up covering her mouth, and both her and Daryl’s faces went a scarlet shade of red.

“Carol wanted to see if you were up. We saved you a plate of food.” Rick said, looking oddly between the two.

Darcy nodded quickly and moved past him, not saying goodbye to Daryl or to Rick. The moment rushed up to her, and she suddenly was hit with a very disturbing consciousness of reality.